Aging....wink

 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Phil. 4:11 NIV

Aging, the monster we fight against with every breath, and with all our strength. The irony is this, when we were young, we fought very hard to be older. And for most of us, during our young adults years, we worked with much effort not doing anything so that we age gracefully and beautifully. It just not about the tangible, material things, or the funds; they make it easier to bear, but it’s the intangible, invisible things that make it all worthwhile. When we decide, just as the verse states above – learn to be content whatever circumstances. Why? When you are content with you, your contentment, your smile, your light, and your peace beyond understanding becomes infectious to others. Like now, you are smiling, as I am…wink… See, I am not as old as some nor am I as young as others, but one thing I do know sure – it is what it is, but it shall become what you make it! And whether we admit it or not, we make it become what it is with our thoughts, our words, our actions, our time, and our focus. But aging is beautiful, the changing to the body, the mind, and to soul reverberate our truth of the investment we have made in our youth…wink… The is really no room for dwelling on what we do not have, the lost love you let go, the missed opportunity, or the fortune you did not make. What is meant for you, is for you as long as you are living, we just have to do the one thing that is our illusive friend – Trust Him, God, because He is – Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord will provide, Gen. 22:13-14, and Jehovah-Shammah, The Lord who is present, Eze.48:35.

And yet, I know life, living, and reality gets in the way for most of us. However, we purport, assert, and profess to believe to very irreconcilable truths written in the scriptures – Heb. 11:1 ~ Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. and Num. 23:19 ~ God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill. If we really believe these things, there would be no doubts. The problem is not with God’s word, it is with our doing the heavy lifting, the difficult work, the arduous task of submitting with our obedience, releasing the unknown to our known God, and forgiving without reservation. We were designed with intense intentions, sculpted with loving hands, and planted with irrevocable promise but as in all things; we must choose to live it.

No one is knocking making enhancements but if you are not at peace with what God made, then no amount of change will satisfy your hunger. And you send a message to the Father that you have hide in your heart - I struggle with trusting YOU. Your life, your choices but we all are aging, and that too is beautiful.

‘He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose’ – J. Elliot

Convince: Game on....

Convince: Game on....

Game on....

Game is on, as we prepare for the presidential election again in November 2012. Before I go on, this is just my rambling, I am not pushing or advocating for any side. I am only going to put out some thoughts that are rolling around in my mind. As disclaimer, I am not going to address or get into a long debate with myself or anyone else for that matter, about anyone voting for or against a presidential candidate based on their race. It is going to happen, and it is going to happen on both side; discussion over.

Now what is rolling around in my head is this, how does the rest of each of us vote because everyone purports to believe in a God who does right for the greater good. A GOD, who is willing to sacrifice, to help all – John 3:16-17 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. - and then reconcile all to Himself with unconditional love. Legacy, legendary, and epitome of leadership in living color. Do we vote with any of this in mind, which means a sacrificing in our today to make a better tomorrow? Do we vote with an emotional bent or do we involved a healthy balance of God-centric focus? Do we take the time to see our culture, our communication vehicle, and the avenue we used to matriculate to our success, our accomplishments to vote, without stopping to ‘see’? We have not embraced the breath, the depth and the width of the larger issues in society, and we will never do so, unless we seek outside of what we know as diverse or different.  Are we willing to explore a more expansive lens in our work toward change that actually helps the marginalized voices within the larger society which includes female, minorities, and the poor that is beyond our comfort zone? Are we so caught up in our pedagogy of truth, firm in our well-oiled machine of reality, and inflexible in our perspective on what is economically and ideologically sound, we are unable to be reflective enough to give the opposition an opportunity to be actually heard, not just listened to, as you prepare to articulate your lucid response? Are we afraid that if I actually listen to the opposition utterance with the attentiveness, as I desire from them, it would re-shape, re- direct, and construct a more balance vision and understanding of what we need as a country? See all experiences are learning experiences, teachable moments, and epiphanies when we remove the defense, and speak what is right to do.  Not being hell-bent on what we have the right to do; this is a very limited or myopic lens.

Yeah, game on, and we need to remove the claws on attacks on each other, and begin seeking true change; we are as strong, as our weakest link. I believe we are so deep in ‘our perspective’ we cannot see the entire majestic panoramic view.  Marcel Proust had it right – “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” We can move to different places and see the same thing but when the lens changes, we see the difference in HD.

I understand, we all want what is best for the country, we seem to forget divided we fall. No one wins when battle lines are drawn, and eye for an eye mentality is the course of action. We most certainly go blind, with this mentality. So, as you look toward the election day of 2012, ask yourself what am I really voting for, or am I really voting against something. See change is a curious thing; we cannot truly achieve change, unless we are willing to change.  Wonderfully web we weave, when we first seek to deceive. The problem we do not even seen how damaging it is, until it is too late…Your vote, your choice, and game is on!!... “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what the nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” (Romans 8:5 NIV)