December

December then, and the Joy of the Season is rising somewhere I'm sure, so with that in mind, I'll prepare my Heart for the reality ahead and try to ignore all the clanging bells, and yet, it's not as easy to do this year..

They tried to bury Us

Change. Change, like rain effects people differently. For me, change means a closer bond with my Sons. Perhaps for another, change means growing into the Man you should have already become! No matter though, for the truth is steeped in reality, and that's where I do my best work...

Be Stubborn

O what a Blessing it is to know that a change in direction has the power to move more than just your own mountain. If you are out there today, please buy something for a one who truly has very little..

Quoted

“In our reasoning concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral evidence. A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence.”

Brothers in the Hood

Community, not unlike Fellowship and Family, requires an awakening of Responsibility, one towards the other. Surely, superficial relationships have their place, but in truth, in order to speak in Love, you must 1st. reject evil!

Women

Dawn breaks out over the State of Jefferson, and in its arrival, I am reminded that it was also the Woman who ushered in the day! Praise be to Women then, for in and through them is power to make the day Beautiful..

Romans 12:6-8

6 Having gifts (faculties, talents, qualities) that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them: [He whose gift is] prophecy, [let him prophesy] according to the proportion of his faith; 7 [He whose gift is] practical service, let him give himself to serving; he who teaches, to his teaching;

8 He who exhorts (encourages), to his exhortation; he who contributes, let him do it in simplicity and liberality; he who gives aid and superintends, with zeal and singleness of mind; he who does acts of mercy, with genuine cheerfulness and joyful eagerness. 

Right Brain

"For all [these] things are [taking place] for your sake, so that the more grace (divine favor and spiritual blessing) extends to more and more people and multiplies through the many, the more thanksgiving may increase [and redound] to the glory of God."

Live Beautifully

Did you know that when you draw your final breath, your life doesn't end? No really, did you ever think it through? Heaven or hell my friends, Heaven? Or hell. Either way, step today w/a purpose..

Found, and not buried

The truth Dear Charlotte, is that there are a plethora of people like you(us), with strange hobbies, talents and/or gifts and when you try to hide these realities because of the fear that it makes you(me) seem weird or that it might turn (weak)people away. 

In truth though, that's actually the mistake that stumbles; for when you consider what makes us so unreasonably unique is that sweet Joy which enabled every person we deeply Love into our Lives in the 1st. place! The truth is in anchored in the now, not buried under the back then.

Forward we treck

What if the answer were to step past an accepted behavior, in order to gain full(er) access to the Kingdom? Should we? Is that not what is Grace is for? Day One Then! Good morning Dear Family, and all the ships @ sea! The Week-End has broken out all around us, Let's Go. 

Somewhere

lis·ten /ˈlis(ə)n/ a verb : give one's attention to a sound.
synonyms: hear, pay attention, be attentive, attend, concentrate;
"Listening is often confused with hearing. While hearing is a process that can be scientifically explained, listening is a neurological cognitive regarding the processing of auditory stimuli received by the auditory system."

We're all Broken

Often as the day rolls along, having heard, or having read, or, as it were, seen it in my own reality, the truth is, we can, should we so believe, we can find Joy in this life, if we step more boldly into the fight!

Psalm 42:7-8

"Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 8. By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

Autumn

Finally! My favorite season has begun. Rain and the pasture(s) now being cleansed, the aquifer now being filled, the pond O so overflowing!
Praise the Lord..

Here and There

With the week-end in full swing, the #1 reporting in this morning(thanks Son), and the ladies skipping off to Eugene safely, well, though the clouds are promising rain(which I Love, by the way), my heart still churns for clarity. A nice word clarity, frightening for the wayward, but righteously embraced by those who live, freely.

I Love You

Weird as it may appear to others Dear One, indeed; You are embraced and acknowledged as the true Joy of my life! Not just as a friend, nor as a sister, or son, or another Brother, and/or fellow heir, but, Family Member! And in that, your smile(s), warms my heart always..

Breathing In

Change: transitive verb / to make different in some particular - alter to make radically different - transform - to give a different position, course, or direction. PS: And yes Charlotte, I will be in Miami soon! Part of that change(ing) thing. Good, Great, Better Life! Plus: Tiger Fish and Rock Lobster(s)!

Awake

The eye can do more than see.
Just as the mind can do more than just think.
You'll need to be fully awake for either to work though!

October

In all honesty Charlotte, there really aren't that many ways to live a good life. Sure, we can slice it by profession and/or economics, but the reality of Joy is anchored in the Loving of others as much as yourself(!), and in that, there isn't a better way forward. Me, I always seek ocean mornings and the salt of a new life, still, my best sleep is often found in the knowledge that with the new day, the ocean awaits me nonetheless...

Comprehension

Fear : noun - a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, trepidation, concern or anxiety; solicitude: whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. Synonyms: foreboding, apprehension, consternation, dismay, dread, terror, fright, panic, horror.

Wake Up:

per·spec·tive - a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view. synonyms: outlook, view, viewpoint, point of view, position, attitude, frame of mind, interpretation.

Orthodoxy. By: G.K. Chesterton

"But the new rebel is a skeptic, and will not entirely trust anything. He has no loyalty; therefore he can never be really a revolutionist. And the fact that he doubts everything really gets in his way when he wants to denounce anything.

For all denunciation implies a moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not only the institution he denounces, but the doctrine by which he denounces it. As a politician, he will cry out that war is a waste of life, and then, as a philosopher, that all life is waste of time.

A Russian pessimist will denounce a policeman for killing a peasant, and then prove by the highest philosophical principles that the peasant ought to have killed himself. The man of this school goes first to a political meeting, where he complains that savages are treated as if they were beasts; then he takes his hat and umbrella and goes on to a scientific meeting, where he proves that they practically are beasts. In short, the modern revolutionist, being an infinite skeptic, is always engaged in undermining his own mines.

In his book on politics he attacks men for trampling on morality; in his book on ethics he attacks morality for trampling on men. Therefore the modern man in revolt has become practically useless for all purposes of revolt. By rebelling against everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything."

Sadness, and yet, doesn't that resonate?

 Burning it down just isn't an option anymore, unless, it's in a YouTube video!

Passing

To Live and Love. To surrender and yet maintain your individual brilliance, well, to me, this is Life. Life that deserves more than just excuses or explanations, but a Life lived out loud deserves Love. And what could be better that that? Joy. Pass it on..

The universe

dis·tance / noun (1) An amount of space between two things or people. "I bicycled the short distance home" - synonyms: interval, space, span, gap, extent; length, width, breadth, depth; range, reach.

Which leads me to this: Around us all(I hope) are people and places of comfort, and yet, if you're in a desert place, distance(s) can be shortened as your need allows you to acknowledge it more fully. Me though, I just need a heads up so I can send a ticket and traveling expenses. 'tu capisci?'

Seeing

With the new day, The Lord refocuses my reality: "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Ancestors

Often in families, blended and otherwise, there are always those moments when you're tested beyond breaking, and sometimes, you break! Me, I had one of those today, and yet, even without a proper debrief, what I know to be the truth changes not: It's not about my comfort, nor is it about my way, but what it is about is His Word, and that says to persevere and believe.

Love requires more than just wanting to be recognized as a one with a need! Love requires giving more than you yourself deserve..

Just saying(s)

Contained within the sea of humanity, are actual humans after all! Some, truly seeking to see and be seen by others, and for me that's sad(ness).

For in the Joy that releases all Love and Passions, there's no reason for the peacock parade, and yet, I'm guessing we'll never learn that lesson until it'll matter not for much. 

Like Love;

Friendship like Love, requires an intentionality. Saying that you care, and yet, not calling, or even hugging another in public, but never spending quiet time getting to know the depth of a one is really more of a surface shrug than an actual embrace!

Monica Denise

Oddly enough, the beauty of loving a Woman is lost in the confusion of lusting after her outer self. Me, I just prefer to reach much deeper within the humanity of a Woman, which is her true self after all.

PS

Often Charlotte, I think the hardest part with being a one who can get it done completely, are those who seek to deflate your Joy, for their lack of verve and heart for service. Weird for sure. And yet, be yourself nonetheless, for that's who He created after all(!)..

Lover(s)

Reality, though a harsh mistress, is nonetheless, still your friend. So like in all good friendships, apologize for the mistakes(no matter who is at fault) and Love no matter the undesired outcome..

Free Thinking

Often, in the distance that separates me from myself, my only peace is found in the nothingness of work. Not that work is free from thought(s), but at least in the pursuit of completion(s), there's that peace which comes in the between of tasks...

September

September used to remind me of Wisconsin. Free thinkers, salted beer and cold winds, but now, September just awakens in me dread. Not because my Lord isn't strong, but for the weak minds loose on the land, and all they lead under with their twisted sense of truth(theness)..

August

The new month beckons, and yet, nothing is really going to change, unless, you do! Believing in the world, ties you to its systems. Believing in yourself unleashes your true potential(s)...

Him

Morning has come to the State of Jefferson, and though the world will seek to consume your Joy, be blessed in the fact that today, right now, His Love is as real as your pain, and that's the only past where you're not destine to dwell....

Just thinking out loud

In this life, there are a myriad array of poor choices that have more to due with a false sense of equality and less to due with headship and responsibility Charlotte, but what good is equality in a loving relationship, when the male never leads, and the female is left without a Man? "The quality of a man and woman is how well they take care of each other and inspire one another to be great and loving."

Just thinking out loud(again)...

Alternating currents

Wednesday finds me changing the conversation (again) after a lengthy panel discussion earlier about Deism and the formation of a unifying government system based on our ability to freely believe and assemble according to those beliefs.

Never the pessimist, I am though humbled by these ongoing misunderstandings! Not that something sown in blood can't redeem, but it sure seems difficult..

Bernie Sanders

Yes dear Charlotte, I have perceived through the fog of Ferguson MO., that there are those who think this struggle is about Race and Policing, and yet, not to injure their ignorance, but the real reason why citizens vent their rage in the streets(all over the world) is because in all honesty, all other avenues of discussion are already bought and paid for!

Hush

The reality is contained within accepting the challenge to be(come) the dream, not in placating the dreamer..

Explaining the Obvious

Reality: is the conjectured state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined.[1] In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible. A still more broad definition includes everything that has existed, exists, or will exist.

Three Generations of Love

Attraction

Sunday after it all finds me reflecting on Joy and Wonder: And you know Dear Charlotte, life was never going to be about who can win the most verbal skirmishes as the night closes in! 

As I am reading the manual, it would seem that life is an ever abundance of opportunities to learn to listen and then inspire the most from within another. Which is what I am about!

Days

Friday has entered the frame, and as such a one contained within, recognize that to be "Vast and Brilliant" it's really just surrendering to what you believe in! Living a Life that isn't broadly consumed by the culture,
but is rooted through the truth of you with Eyes Raised, and Arms Open.

Prodigious Strength and Luminous Love!
Standing in the Reality that is unbowed..

Wonder and Awe

Ever wonder why you breathe at all?
Not on those days, but through all things: You breath to Serve, to Love, to Provide Words of Comfort and Affirmation to others, to be Creative, to Cast Vision, and you Breath to Passionately Love others, so that they may have the Strength and Depth to Love Another as well.

"then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." Genesis 2:7

August

Life, like Love takes a willingness to Live.
In Living, we embrace the need to Love, and in that reality, I am free to care beyond my own fears and misconceptions..

Ahoy and more

In the new week ahead, seek to Live a Life that refuses to surrender to the ready weaknesses of others, but Lifts and Loves another in a way that reveals Their Truth.

Breakfast

Morning is busting out of its slumber, so best be getting my Saturday a popping as well! Joy and pancakes for sure..

1st. Two Sons:

Jonathan Charles, and Alexander Thomas. Different and yet, connected nonetheless..

Saturday then,

From across the distance still: "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with Joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:8-9

Across Worlds

Off in the distance, the sun also rises.
The rest then, is really up to You!
Me, well, I think you know my heart..

Wide and Wonder

"Just as a lotus flower is born in water, grows in water and rises out of the water to stand above it unsoiled, so I too, born into this world, raised alongside this world, having overcome this world, seek to live unsoiled by this world that exist around me still!"

Cows and Humans

I know what you're thinking, but hear me: Life has that way of revealing the nature of a person, as I have a way of connecting to that nature. 

Calling me then, calling home even, is less absurd than a Flemish cow, which, strangely enough, isn't as uncommon as you may think...

Parks and Benches

Sweet Breezes and Laughter:

Surely there's more to life than someone else feeding us another dead opinion about life, liberty and the pursuit of 1959! For me though, past the chitter chat and all that's never going to be again, I embrace change. Embrace Diversity and all that it brings.

Homogeneous isn't Biblical, and I like that. Fear isn't Biblical either, but, that's why I like Park Benches, and Sweet Breezes most..

PS of Sorts;

As the morning works to open itself more fully, I'm reminded that there's always more to anything, if we just look a little longer, and as such a one who seeks greater clarity, I just felt the desire to say thank you again. Thinking of me, praying for me, these are the unseen blessings that keep me grounded, grounded in those times, when I'd much rather be un-tethered, and in that, there is peace! Peace for the purposes of Him who knows, even when my heart and eyes are still unsure.

In the day break then, is contained the promise of a new day to live, and living requires Joy in all circumstances, which I like as well dear Charlotte. So off now, off to unwind some things, to wind up some others, to focus on the sun setting and the peace contained in another day lived, with you, in my life.

Monday(s)

To give Love, to be Love, to refresh Love, to be able to receive and accept Love, this requires a strength that have to call upon, and in that, I suffer a weakening to my nature.

Of course, enveloped in Love, my recovery time is lessened, but for right now, releasing all as is needed, well, resting into the morning is my reward..

Calvary Chapel of the RedWoods

Days run long when the light hangs across the horizon, and I like that! In the same way I like the Oceans roar, and the course burn of wind whipped sand across my face.

And yet, isn't that why we put it in? Why we work past close. Why we choose the friends we call family? Days run long, and as they end, tired feels good again.

Fear and Trepidation

Reality is often not what we'd want it to be, and yet, we have to accept what is, and move along into what's about to be. At work then, down on the farm, or even up in the tower(s), the facts seem to never warble much, what is, is!

In view of that, and other realities that I may still learn to experience properly, I rest(you'll rest) best, when I can walk away with my integrity intact, and the truth spoken freely.

Pacifiers and blankets Charlotte, are not the signs of Redeemed Adults...

June Fades

Already July's on the horizon, and yet with June fading so quickly Charlotte, I thought all the more about the right now, and how so easily, the clock, and our own thoughts can change without me noticing....

Serve GP 2014

Serving, and being in Service are often examples of Worship. But in revealing Love through service, well, there is no confusion in that.

Love in the world:

A feeling of strong or constant affection for a person. An attraction that includes sexual desire : the strong affection felt by people who have a romantic relationship.

Real Definition of LOVE:

An affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests, an assurance of affection or warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion to another. Granted, I use the word as a way to claim, and/or inspire another to see themselves as special, but as is often the case Dear Charlotte, the world calls consistently, we though, we have to always refuse its voice, and better still, encourage those around us, to tune it out as well..

Happy Belated Fathers Day

Earlier, as the tears flowed, I thought of how you would see me now. Wondered actually about whether or not you'd approve? And oddly enough, in that space between where you taught, and what you forced me to learn, I was at peace with it.

For what is a father? Does anyone really know? Sure, there's the Heavenly Father, and all that, but down here, where men cheat and kill for a chance at two dimes, being a father is no easy task, and you chose it 1st.

Giving up all those chances to do something else with your life, you tried to parent me, and even now, I still say the words you said, do those things you've done to move it along, and I'm no less proud to have been your son. Sure though, I am sometimes sorrowful. Sorry for all those years you wondered if I'd ever come home again. But you know what, in the end, I did. And I hope you see that still.

Happy Fathers Day Dad.

Of course, I hope you're waiting for me in that great by and by, but like you always spoke into me, in the end, it begins all over again, so yesterday will just have to have been enough...

Dear(est) Charlotte

As oddly as this may appear to you right now, today is your last day as a Father. And yes, though always do I seek to give you greater license in what we do together, in this, I truly believe, perhaps, it should be my role to grow into, and yours to step away from.

What, with all that we're altering in the universe, from this day, the purely Feminine should be yours to embrace alone(and there's plenty there), leaving for me, the truly Masculine....

Com·part·men·tal·ize: Ver

Divide into sections or categories.

"He had the ability to compartmentalize his life"

For me then Charlotte, what, with my life changing again, things seem different somehow. Not just with my Brother leaving again, or maybe even me, loving again. It's just that the journey is stepping up again, and in that, something’s will have to change(again)...

T.E. Lawrence

"All men dream: but not equally.

Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did."

Gun Control

There is a one(two actually), that has a Love of Weapons, and the Men and Woman who have to use them. And yet, there is another(okay, maybe more than that) who like myself, has heard the senseless excused, enough!

Where does it end?

Do you feel better with a Weapon. Does it increase your sense of individual Power and Force? Coward! Learn to disarm your foes, before you arm yourself. And if you still think it's about freedom, then in all honesty, you've yet to have pulled the trigger on another...

As an aside Charlotte

Growing up, my Padre used to say that in knowing another, we risk loosing sight of what we're looking at. Of course, as a boy, I never really got it!

Years later, decades actually, I now know that within the depth of another, is where my real joy with them lives.

There are choices in life.

Some, well, they're more like ultimatums! But then we're old enough to think for ourselves (and be believed by others), and strange enough, at that moment, we realize, we're somewhat afraid of our own voice(s). Weird.

This Week-End though, let’s just Be Happy.

Maybe not flip the world on its axis Happy, but Happier than our circumstances warrant. And then, in hearing ourselves smiling, tip your heads back and laugh. You'll thank(s) me later!

Safety & Moderation though:
There is an excuse to lose ourselves afoot. But that is not your song their playing.

In order to Love someone,

Truly, it's necessary to see and be with them, as they are, so as to appreciate what makes them unique, and thus, lovable(to me):

hy·poc·ri·sy [hi-pok-ruh-see] noun
1. A pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess. 2. A pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude. And me Charlotte, I'd prefer an unfiltered enemy, than a fraudulent relationship with someone in whom, I think I've found a Friend.

Life, isn't really that complicated;

Sure, I understand longing and loneliness, but the wrong choice(s), is still wrong: "As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly." Proverbs 26:11 

For even if you fail to know who you are, at least know to whom you're connected! 1. Be rightly placed in a specified position. 2. Fit in a specified place or environment. Which makes being punched in the face, a wrong idea, again! Change please, if not for yourself, then for them.

Fear, and well earned trepidation;

Are really not your friends Charlotte!

And yet, on this Sunday, underneath all the distractions that a Week-End can bring us both, I was nonetheless reminded that the future can indeed be brighter when the Truth is spoken freely by a one who really believes it!

Sometimes, knowing where I am,

Only reveals the reason and not the true intent of my being there. Just as in wanting to be there again, the reason is more rooted in who we could have been, and not so much, in who we're becoming.

Friday then Charlotte, and the reality of truth is about how you feel when you hear your own heart beating! Remembering when we spoke last, how was that rhythm for you then?

Sunday is coming!

Thursday reminds me that things that are in darkness, are often obscured by words more than with actual obstacles! Think it through. Challenge their conclusions.

There are often very compelling reason(s) for deception, and yet, you live in a logical awakening, so why discount logic just so you can believe what others do? Sunday for them is coming quicker than I imagined, but the fear is not mine to share.

Heat enveloped the valley earlier

And oddly enough, I painted myself green earlier today(long story). The good news is, I was wearing that blue shirt no one is ever very fond of me wearing during the daylight hours!

Wednesday night though, it's about to concludes w/out a Home Group Gathering, not sure how that changes my rhythm(s), but it does leave me with thoughts of something new.

Word to your Mother(s)

The Mothers Day Week-End is in full swing here @ the NW Chambre des Noirs. And though the laughter has been intense, and the Love amazing, there will always be that space between what was, and what we'll all miss in the years ahead.

Weird thought(s) then, wrapped in a poem, just in case you neglected to send flowers again: "Collectively, our responsibility as parents was not as great as we've imagined, for we did not supply the next great heart surgeon, nor a World Champion Formula 1 Pilot, and yet, because of who we've Loved as (our real or surrogate) Mothers, we do have a story to tell, a legacy to maintain, and the greatest gift of all to give, our Testimony of the Love of Jesus Christ in our lives."

Thanks be to all the Mother(s) who raised us,
and keep us focused still.