Knock

You get up from your cozy couch

While reclining in your living room, you hear the gentle rapping of knuckles on the front door. It is a subtle almost imperceptible knock. You get up from your cozy couch, curious to see who this could be? There are slim windows on either side of the door and you take a peak out of one of them, a quick before opening the door assessment prior to deciding, open, or not? In an instant, a shiver runs up your spine, raising the hair at the base of your neck. Your soul shudders. Your eyes though, they drink in the elegant, attractive figure standing on the other side of the still locked door. You linger there a fraction of a second too long and because you have stayed, your eyes meet theirs. The gaze is intense and there is a slight lifting at the corners of the mouth, a smile that feels incongruent with the coldness you see there, in the steady gaze of unblinking eyes. The staring eyes seem to penetrate, shooting into and through you. Once again, there is a shudder, a body shiver of terror. You are held captive by eyes that appear to see into you. There is intimacy without invitation. You feel violated. A too far too soon depth has been travelled. Who is this? What do they want? What is this frightened feeling about?

What the hell was that? Was that hatred?

You begin to turn your head, breaking eye contact and just before you do, you see a flash of expressed emotion there that horrifies your spirit. With heard pounding, you wonder at what you saw. Was that hatred? Was that utter and complete distain and disgust? What the hell was that? Shaking your head you feel dumbfounded, unsteady, shaky. As you turn from the window, you hear knuckles again making contact with the door. This time, there is insistence and what sounds ever so slightly, like a demand, "Hello", the voice says pleasantly, "won't you open the door? There is something I have to tell you. It will only take a moment of your time. Do let me in." In confusion, you sort what is happening and the question of sanity comes to you unbidden. Am I making a big deal out of nothing, you ask yourself. Telling yourself that your imagination has gotten the better of you, your hand reaches for and finds the lock. You take a moment to collect yourself, hand poised to pull back the barrel bolt. Just as you are about to unlock, you startle with the sound KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, followed by a gravelly voice that commands and than attempts to persuade, "LET ME IN!". You hear throat clearing, "I have something to tell you. It won't take but a moment of your time." The intensified rapping of knuckles against wood, coupled with the tone and intention in the voice start the jangle of alarm bells ringing in your head. With racing heart it becomes clear to you, that to open the door would be shear folly, a hazard to health and home. 

Who will you let in?

The devil, the one knocking at your door, he cannot come in unless, of course, you invite him. With subtly he attempts to woo and when this does not work, he will persist, persevere and become, petulant. You have heard him, seen him and perhaps, you have even said yes to his winning ways? He can be charming in his enticements and in weak indulgence, he has captivated many an unsuspecting victim. He is murderous and wily, the king of lies and his way with you means destruction in life, death for eternity.


We are always choosing, God or the devil

Let's face it dear one, we are all subject to the ways of the world with all of their shine and sparkle. He knows this because he too, wants what he wants without being willing to pay the high price of conviction. You are always choosing, God or the devil. The devil competes deviously and viciously for souls whilst God, invites us into reunion through communion with Him by way of Jesus, our Saviour. Don't be fooled, this is serious business. The mutilation and degradation of souls brings great malicious delight to the devil, especially if he can destroy families, one daddy, one mommy, one child at a time. How have you invited the devil in? How would you like to escort him out? Be honest now, your life and perhaps the lives of many, hang in the balance with the decisions you make. He cannot reach you if Jesus stands in your stead, dear reader. Stand behind The One to whom the devil must bow and you are protected. The devil, even the devil and his demons know who Jesus is "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe-and shudder!" (James 2:19)

Who do you align with, dear one? Do you shudder at the thought of demons, or the thought of Jesus? Your answer, tells you to whom, you belong. 

The Way

How much more do you want out of life? I know I want more when I search and find, discovering that The Way was paved long ago by many far greater than I am. I say this not to be diminutive, or dismissive of my God given talents and abilities, I say this only as a statement of yet to be's. If others found the path and I have been looking for it, it is only a matter of time before I make ground, following closely in the shadow of the Masters footsteps until I can walk almost, almost, side by side.  The Secret is not a secret at all, it is the much and well professed Truth. The joy for me in sharing this is that you and I, we need not go far to find the off the beaten path, the already tackled and trodden track. Invisibly, without hearing them or seeing them, others broke branches and ground, saving us from the toil. We need only seek and find, step forward and walk the winding way through the woods.  What is she talking about, you wonder? It is this-I believe, I have faith, I have hope. I know in my heart mind and spirit that life does not have to be hard, challenging, yes, hard, no. Jesus is the path and following in his footsteps means He cut through the brush for me, for you, striking sin and death with a hacking machete, being The Way for the ones He knows cannot make it without Him. Am I dependant on Jesus you ask? Do I really need Him to set me right, chart the course, help me pick my path? I would be damned if I said no, I don't need Him. I am completely dependant upon Him and I grin, Mona Lisa like, as I type that it is my joy to write this for everyone or no one, except Him of course, to see. I owe Him my everything and because I am confident in this knowing, He supplies me with not only the path, but all of the wisdom of the ages to get every last bit of excitement, peace, harmony, fight, righteousness, ecstatic joy and sheer brilliance out of this amazing gift we call life. Don't you see, Dear One? You don't have to do the heavy lifting. You don't have to try and fail and make it on your own. You don't have to carve the path, make the way, forge through the forest solo. There are many disciples of Christ, historical and also the living and breathing professing faith Jesus lovers that can show you to The Way by example. This is how we learn, Dear One, by example. If you haven't good examples in your life, isn't it time you find some today? I am on the path to greatness because I am created and crafted in His imagine. It is my burning desire to honour He who made me, for His glory and for the souls that have yet to meet Him and fall fast in love. Join us, the many who have gone before, the ones who walk the path now and the ones yet to say yes to The Giver of life. You are forever, at least whilst you have breath, welcome to accept His invitation to eternity. 

Coming Clean

There is a way we all have, of avoiding painful truth. Avoid it we can but only for a short time and not even for a short time, because it doggedly follows us, licking at our heels, wanting to be seen, heard, understood. Our souls, they want to go on vacation, a soul segway so to speak, rolling fast and away to some distraction from truth because to face it means to face the consequences too. We all fall down. We all fall short of doing what is good, what is right, what is honourable and integrity filled from time to time. Some errs and omissions, some larger than life mistakes and even the tiniest of slips can cause devastation and pain in the long term. To look closely at these is to be held accountable, in the moment of the choice and in the aftermath of the results and or consequences. The truth is dogged because without it, without the acknowledgement(s) of wrong done and harm caused, no change is possible, no correction available. There is only the dodging and avoiding in an attempt to evade what we already know...we screwed up and there is a price to pay. Oh Dear Reader, if you can relate, you are not alone. It is the human condition to choose and to choose wrongly, until we learn how to choose better. What feels good in the moment is not always what serves us best in our future. Living with what is after the choosing, throws in front of each of us another choice. We get to look directly at our own decisions and say that was me, I thought that, said that, did that, no matter how painful it is to reflect upon it. The point of pain comes when we see that we cannot turn back time. Now is happening as a result of choices made in history, this is true for each of us. Here is where life can be either devastating or exhilaratingly liberated, Dear Reader. How willing are you, Dear One, to come clean? How honest with yourself are you willing to be? The truth will not drag you to itself, kicking and screaming. It follows closely behind you wanting you to look and see, hear and taste its goodness and be washed clean from the mud and muck of avoidance. This is true confession and it is indeed, good for the soul. You cannot change the past, but you can learn from it and in so doing, forgiveness of self is available. I recall a business decision my husband and I made that cost us some money. Upon reflection, I do believe I would make the same decision all over again, because I did not know then what I know now-now I know better and I can DO better. I did have to look at my choices, how rash they were, how I ignored red flag warnings that something did not fit, something was not quite right. In the reflecting I had to be honest with myself and look at some weak character traits. This was my work, my lesson, my learning and you have your own too, Dear One. NOW is your opportunity to learn from your own history so that you can shape your future. This honesty thing, its hard work-the payoffs are outstanding. Relief from the weighted and unchangeable past can lift us to heavenly heights. What was is no more, what will you do with your now? 

What Colour is Your Parachute?

You have a longing, a missing something, a piece of you yet to be discovered. There is a talent, a natural inclination and ability, a propensity toward what you are good at. While you know it is there, it has not become, it is on the waiting list of actualization. Potential wanting to be tapped. The niggling feeling you have is slightly uncomfortable and while it is a behind the scenes white noise hum in the background of your psyche, you carry on with everyday business. Business as usual, in other words.
You have stumbled upon your excellence before, tripped over it ALMOST by accident. Chances are, it was an innocent discovery during childhood, a certain activity that you could get lost in for countless wonderful hours. What was that thing again, the one you loved doing so much?
I remember working through the book What Colour is Your Parachute, a book so well used and received that it is revised annually. From my internet search, I learned that a free audiobook is available-check it out if you are intrigued.
Back to our theme. While working through this book, I had to tell my own stories, recall the me of my youth and in so doing, I discovered what my first real career would be. At the time, there were very few of "us", us being Personal Trainers. Being a trainer was novel in 1996 and drew attention-this is my twentieth year as a self employed trainer. I felt than and I feel now, blessed for what I believe was and is, a calling. Prior to the exercises I completed using the book, I had no clue what I wanted to be in this world. What Colour is Your Parachute guided me to myself. I worked hard to be an excellent trainer and while I made many a mistake, I do believe that my efforts have paid off. It is not how much money I have made or how many clients I can say I have trained. Success for me is about retention, referrals and the trust that clients repeated place in our relationship when we start our work(outs) together. I have several irons in the fire, other careers that I pursue actively, because I love to learn. With each new endeavour, I commit to being not so great at first with the expectation that with persistence, I can achieve greatness, excellence and a reputation for delivering services worth investing in. All of my pursuits are based on my joy factor, activities that I feel alive engaging in. This is how I know I have potential in an area that can be actualized.
Why am I sharing this with you Dear Reader? It is because it is YOUR turn now, your you of youth that gets to be revisited. You get to rediscover what you love so much you could get lost for hours in it. Perhaps you have the "it" already? If this be true, we are all very happy for you! If by chance you don't yet have the certain something(s) that light your fire and heat up your iron(s), isn't it time? What colour is YOUR parachute? Everyone is anxiously awaiting the real, fully alive you, to show up. Give us all the gift of you figuring the big part out so we can enjoy you in action. Blood sweat and tears invested can pay big dividends in expertise and service to other. Find this out for yourself. 

Master of the Universe

Who is the expert in your life? Every time we take a course, attend a workshop or a program, there is subjection. We are subjecting ourselves willingly to the guidance of another, the prowess and expertise of the leader or teacher. Big dollar tickets may be attached to the attendance of said courses, workshops/programs and when we willingly pay the admittance price, we have committed to being student, a humbling of self in order to learn from the course provider.  

     While you and I invest in the learning, the leader makes a living, a profit from the exchange. Sometimes we attend a learning event to capture what the teacher has seemingly captured, the ability to fill a room full of people who will pay us for our expertise. And the cycle of life continues. 

     I am fondly envisioning Jesus on a beach and some men toiling with cumbersome fishing nets, his verbal invitation being shared in Matthew 4:19 "And He said to them, "Follow Me (as my disciples, accepting me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk), and I will make you fishers of men." Leaving nets and fishy fishing behind, men did indeed, follow this mysteriously engaging and charismatic leader. I picture jaws dropped and some quiet in the head confusion for those who left what they knew behind to follow a fellow who seemed strangely (strange defined as: unusual or surprising; difficult to understand or explain) different without feeling like a stranger. Instant, inspired connection between Jesus and the men He commanded is evident in the retelling of this story. 

     I am grinning now as I write because I have a question for you Dear One. If He, Jesus, came to you and said "leave your desk, your office, your house, your country, your___________ and follow me", would you? My grin broadens. Close your eyes and see Him before you, your Jesus. His gaze is upon you. He beckons, waving His hand, requesting you to Him. How, Dear One, can you possibly resist, The Master of the universe? 

Scribe

Scribe has several meanings: 1 (historical) a person who copies out documents, especially one employed to do this before printing was invented; (informal, humorous) a writer, especially a journalist. 2 (historical) a Jewish record keeper or, later, a professional theologian and jurist. 3 a pointed instrument used for making marks on wood, bricks, etc., to guide a saw or in sign-writing. I am toying with these meanings and wanting to conglomerate them, pull them all together to help define Gods people, the ones that He chose to write and or deliver His message. Can you do this with me Dear Reader, using what we have above to design a picture of you and me as scribes for The Author of Life? Lets start with the raw materials, shall we? There is a message board that needs inventing, a way for the sign-writing to be displayed. I am delighted with the idea of you, and me, as walking sandwich boards! Picture it, what would you have written on the front of you, what would you want passersby to read? Once they have read the front, do the people who have read your sign have interest in knowing more, will they turn to read the back of your sandwich sign? What message will they find there if they do decide to check you out? This is a tough one, isn't it Dear Reader? What you have chosen to write on the front and the back of you is who people will see you as...this is a statement about your deepest beliefs, a reflection on your inner workings, a commitment to who you think and ultimately say you are. Setting this aside for a moment, lets pull from 2, the second definition above. We see that a scribe is a record keeper that later becomes a professional theologian and jurist (jurist is defined as an expert in or writer on law); a lawyer or a judge. How does one become a professional theologian or jurist by scribing, you ask? Quite simply, they are copying Gods laws, they are writing, journaling His message (to pull from definition 1 from above) and in so doing, become experts after much copying and studying. I want to be an expert too, how about you? Lets return to you as walking sandwich board. Where do you plan on getting your message Dear One? From whom will you retrieve the wisdom that says who you are to the world, what your beliefs are, what is important to you? You can be Gods scribe, in fact, His word is written upon your heart 2 Corinthians 3:2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You already ARE a walking billboard-what message have you chosen for all to see and read? May I suggest that if you do not know what message you want to display, you go now to His word and find it there? You are His, He has a message for you-go find it and become one of His living breathing walking Word messengers.