The Rational Rabbit Hole no. 10

“The Lord is [unwaveringly] righteous in all His ways

And gracious and kind in all His works.”

Psalm 145: 17 AMP

Embrace the Within.

Another day of traveling yesterday to meet up with the family and see them since I have the time over the summer and I am getting a lot better at driving long distances again. I am not a fan of leaving the house and my plantation, BUT it is important to make time for family if they are going to take the time to invite me into their home. So, it was really nice to see my aunts and uncles and cousins and parents and sister and brother after the trip up to Clear Spring this time. I am getting quite the time in Western Maryland this summer.

The one thing I have noticed is that I can feel the decades when I get to family gatherings like this because I can still remember when I was the younger one there. The one that was ready to go home while my parents just wanted to stay a little longer. My youngest was ready to go from the time we arrived BUT we managed to keep him there close to the time for fireworks. Any amount of time I get up the road right now is a blessing.

Now, I am in the middle area of life bringing the younger ones there to meet the older ones. Trying to carve out some more time with my family as long as I can. And that is one of those difficult things to start thinking about. The inevitability that those times are going to end. Those faces are going to disappear from this earth and there are going to be new traditions, new gatherings, and new people to meet while those old traditions, old gatherings, and old people are still etched into our hearts.

How much more important is faith and trust in God than at times like that? The opportunity to still be able to remember the great times of our youth and look fondly at our family and friends and the memories made. To reminisce with the people that were there and to tell the stories to those that were not and share some laughs and smiles and wonder over the majesty of life. There is so much that deserves thanks and gratitude. There is so much happiness that we overlook because we are just trying to get home and back to our lives. There is so much living we miss just trying to get back to living. The present is a present. And often times that is overlooked because there are so many other distractions out there.

I didn’t see a bunch of folks looking at their phones last night. I saw a lot of folks looking at each other, talking to each other, and being present with each other. And in this day and age where we carry our distractions around with us, that in itself was a blessing as well. And I hope that trend continues in my life as well. That my devices be subordinate to what is happening in the present.

Bless your body, mind, and spirit. Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin

The Rational Rabbit Hole no. 9

Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord,

And grant us Your salvation.

I will hear [with expectant hope] what God the Lord will say,

For He will speak peace to His people, to His [a]godly ones—

But let them not turn again to folly.

Surely His salvation is near to those who [reverently] fear Him [and obey Him with submissive wonder],

That glory [the manifest presence of God] may dwell in our land.

Steadfast love and truth and faithfulness meet together;

Righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Truth springs from the earth,

And righteousness looks down from heaven.

Indeed, the Lord will give what is good,

And our land will yield its produce.

Righteousness will go before Him

And will make His footsteps into a way [in which to walk].

Psalm 85: 7-13 AMP

Embrace the Within.

Loving something is learning about that one thing. If I love something, I study all about that thing until I exhaust myself in learning about it. I find videos, books, listen to podcasts, talk to others interested in that thing, connect my thoughts and knowledge with theirs, and find a deeper understanding of that thing as I go through life. I don’t just look at that information once and then figure I have it understood. Likewise with the people I love. I spend a lot of time with the people I love. I try to understand them. I use my knowledge of them and myself to help enrich those relationships. I don’t just meet them once and that is enough.

I think a lot of our love for God is cursory. It’s a nice thing to say we have when it’s convenient. It’s nice to be a Christian at church or on religious holidays or when a government decision goes the way of Law. It’s easy to pull out our Jesus hat and our scripture pad and post a little verse that shows we have a cursory knowledge of The Bible BUT it doesn’t show anything about loving God. Because if we loved God, we’d be spending a lot more time learning, studying, listening, reading, and talking about God. God wouldn’t be a t-shirt or hat that we could change into. God wouldn’t be a fashion that gets worn on Sunday. God wouldn’t be something that we hide until it is convenient for us. Love is all about being so interested, so enamored, so preoccupied with that one thing that folks recognize that you are in love.

Many of us remember when we fell in love and how our friends noticed immediately that we were in love. Has anyone noticed that you are in love with God recently? Has anyone mentioned that they notice your interest in God? Has anyone been concerned about your interest in being like Christ? If they haven’t, then maybe it is time to see if that love is still burning? Maybe it’s time to fall back in love with God all the time?

Bless your body, mind, and spirit. Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin