BECAUSE I CARE MORE DEEPLY THAN EVER

I have three daughters, who I hope and pray have long and fulfilling lives, as I hope and pray also for your sons and daughters. For that to happen I get the sense that the community we all live in is in need of a dramatic transformation of values. For that to happen the myths and the dangerous delusions must be seen for what they are and how they are destroying us. What has been happening in my life now for over two decades and what I have gratefully come to see has been happening in many of your lives also, gives me renewed hope.

I've recently been introduced to someone who puts into words much better than I do a case that exposes many of the delusions I came face to face with in my life 4 years ago. These were the delusions I lived in regarding the political and economic systems of the nation I live in. Talk about a disorienting scary experience facing these things that had left me so dysfunctional, all the while thinking I was pretty functional due to the fact that it all was working out pretty well for myself and my family. Jesus got my attention in such a way that had me listening. A year of repentance had passed before I ever realized what was happening. To say nothing looks the same to day is an serious understatement. I've never been more full of hope and I have never been more aware of the challenges that we face. And I have never been more convinced that love and grace and understanding are the only way forward.

So here is former US Army Colonel Andrew J. Bacevich. Listen through to the end to hear the pain this man carries around due to this dysfunctional reality we all find ourselves in.

Part I

Part II

A DAY WHEN THINGS WERE MOVING AND SHAKING

Things that just make no sense when looked upon outside the paradigm of love, because outside that, fear is still in place and is still the defining emotion.

"There are times when you choose to believe something that would normally be considered absolutely irrational. It doesn't mean that it is actually irrational, but it surely is not rational. Perhaps there is suprarationality: reason beyond the normal definitions of fact or data-based logic; something that only makes sense if you can see a bigger picture of reality. Maybe that is where faith fits in." The Shack

THE GARDEN IN REVERSE

Well, another growing season in the garden is coming to an end. Soon everything will be in rest/sleep mode until the temps begin to warm up next spring and things begin to awaken so to do it all once again. I love this process and part of that is sharing it with others. Thanks to all the encouragement through the kind words many have shared with me through this year when they have seen the garden either in person or through pictures. It's been a wonderful year of personal growth for myself, my wife and daughters along with many of you my friends. I look forward with great expectancy to what tomorrow holds for us all. So here are some highlights from the garden. I have left out the fall pictures since those have so recently been posted in other places. One place being here

THE LIFE OF INDEPENDENCE IS FULL OF BOTH LIGHT AND DARK

Another story about some plants I grow and about how humans carry within themselves the power to help and to harm all at the same time. The ravaged path of independence leaves people as unpredictable mixed bags.

"Digoxin---the drug derived from Digitalis (foxglove) for centuries---is a useful heart stimulant in carefully controlled doses. But ancient Romans also employed it to dispense with an enemy, as others would a double-ought operative." Ken Druse...Planthropology

FLOWN FREE

"Mack, pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly." She waited a moment, allowing her words to settle. "And if left unresolved for very long you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place." from The Shack chapter A Piece Of Pi

Listen to FLOWN FREE HERE

This brings many tears this morning...some of joy based upon the freedom I have found and still finding and many full of sorrow for people I love dearly who are still trying to find their way out of the cage.

IF YOU CAN ONLY HANDLE ONE...SKIP THE OIL CHANGE AND CHANGE THE FILTER FIRST

I will begin with a confession. The kind of person Richard Rohr describes in this video used to be me. I lived within the confines...the mindset...a world view shaped by Christendom. I never knew Jesus nor had I ever accepted him for who he truly is. That lasted until the day I could no longer live with the internal conflict...the day my hypocrisy and destructive world view came into full view and I came to understand that I had been perpetuating the hostility towards Jesus and those I was to love.

As Richard explains, the former filter just wouldn't allow me to see Jesus or even more importantly, hear Jesus. Since faith comes by hearing, hearing is an essential thing. Well, I began to hear things clearly and my first responses went something like this, Okay, I'm seeing and I am hearing but I don't know if I can do this. Turns out, I can't, but his life inside me makes it possible...makes it reality. It leaves me with nothing to boast about just One to marvel at and follow out into a very unpredicatable, uncontrollable world.

WOULD I RATHER HANG WITH VAN JONES OR GLENN BECK?

In reality, it's actually impossible for me to answer that question because I really don't know either one of them personally. But if going solely on the messages (and message can tell us a lot about the messenger) they are putting out in the public, my choice is clear at least as far as what resonates with my heart when it comes to the human element...lifting people up instead of tearing people down in order to maintain the status quo.

I've surprised several of my friends that have been watching Glenn Beck by saying to them that I would much rather spend a weekend having a conversation with Van Jones than with Glenn. And I am serious about that. The old game that Glenn and many on his side are pushing has nothing to do with moving humanity down the road towards justice for all...or to say it in a way that has taken on deep meaning for me...towards Honorable Relations. It actually just continues to ignore the problems that are at the center of the problematic dilemmas we face today in this nation and the world. The power class always fights change and they are almost always on the wrong side of justice, just like with Dr. King in his day. He was on the right side of justice and the powerful were not.

This morning I awakened with some words of Nelson Mandela in my head which led me to do a google search to find the quote. Instead it led me to an interview with Van Jones where he mentions Mandela in the context I was looking for...Mandela's refusal to dehumanize his oppressors during the 20 years he was incarcerated basically for being opposed to the oppressors form of governance.

As I say often, I really don't have much hope for there ever being a solution found through political means. But when it comes to government and the fact that it's not going away anytime soon...I'm really open to and hoping for a government that not only talks about equality and equal opportunity for all, but one that actually works hard to make it a reality.

You can listen to the interview HERE