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Embrace the Within

Focusing inward to create the abundant life God wants.

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  • Jun 27, 2022
  • 4 min read

“What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how

infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and

admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like

a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet,

to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me—

nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so.”

  • Hamlet II, ii, l. 303-312

Embrace the Within.

It has been a week so far and it is only Monday. Wow. I am finally back on the routine and my body was hurting from the lack of structure yesterday. Lord willing those days of chaos and undisciplined existence are behind me and the road to abundance is straight ahead and working God’s way in my life.

Anywho, I am certain there will be more obstacles thrown in my path or that spring out at me from somewhere as this week continues. That just seems to be the way things are headed this summer. It is definitely not the summer I had foreseen BUT it is the summer I have. And rather than complain or cry about things, I can put in the work. And there is no substitute for doing the work. Working the routine, being disciplined, getting up and doing the physical, spiritual, and mental exercise to keep me focused on God and the journey ahead.

There is a lot going on around in the world today. Well, there is a lot of distraction every day around us in the world. Always something to get frustrated or angry or violent about. Always some new trauma or trouble that is so insurmountable that it is going to tear down the fabric of reality and change the whole nature of existence. BUT it isn’t and it doesn’t. These are just momentary distractions that feel like a great expanse of rugged terrain to navigate. BUT there is always help to get through these things and there is always another side. No problem lasts forever. No obstacle is too much. And the pain and anguish is temporary.

Even when I was not walking with Christ, I understood that the obstacles life threw my way were things I could either embrace or complain about. I could protest what was happening. I could fight and cry and swing my arms and pound my feet. Or I could figure out a plan and work on a solution. Doing that fourteen days ago led to a garden that grows actual food. Doing that fourteen days ago led to getting myself healthy. Doing that fourteen days ago led to taking control of my choices. Doing that fourteen days ago was not easy. These fourteen days have been tough. Some days they get easier. Some days they don’t. BUT whether the days are easy or not. You get the option to choose whether you are going to say it is too much. And when is it ever too much?

Over the past week I have made bad choices. Over the past week I have watched others make bad choices. Over the past week I have become frustrated with myself and others BUT I have not become frustrated in God’s plan. And I think sometimes being principled like that is important in life especially when the world is full of undisciplined and unprincipled folks. Even before I was walking this road with God, I was looking for principle and consistency and I see a lot less of it around in the world.

Usually this writing of the blog gets interrupted in the morning by my daily routine because I have to let the chickens out every morning. That time changes upon the sunrise time BUT what doesn’t change is what happens when I open that house in the morning. I have these two roosters that every morning I let them out, choose to start their day with violence. Now, the two have been cooped up together all night. They have roosted next to each other all night. And every morning I open that house and let them out, the two are out that door and ready to fight one another. They have to establish the pecking order every day violently when they get loose. And sometimes I feel like I see folks trying to establish a pecking order through violence. And it doesn’t make it right whether it’s done in the name of God or in the name of government or in the name of celebrity or in the name of an agenda or in the name of social justice. I know, and I believe most folks know as well, no matter what master they serve, that it isn’t right. I cannot believe the conscience has disappeared. No matter what I see from this seat or in the world around me, I cannot believe a people can be that far gone to not have an idea that there is a better way than daily trying to establish a pecking order.

And that is frustrating to me. It is not frustrating enough for me to make choices for other people no matter how wrong those choices might be. I am not going to advocate that folks get shots in their arms, get locked in cages, or be murdered for beliefs and actions. I am not going to use any external force to make you choose. I am just going to appeal to what I think is a better, principled, and disciplined way of living. And hope and pray that God will reveal a better way to you as well.

Bless your heart. Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

  • Jun 17, 2022
  • 3 min read

Updated: Jun 27, 2022

“Complaining is the American pastime.”

Embrace the Within.

There are many things about which we can complain. And some folks are trying and succeeding at making this their whole identity. And I am not going to foster that negativity in my life. I have no time for complaining without action.

If something is bothering me, then I have two choices. I can fix the problem or can I give it to God. The problem, at times, is trying to figure out whether I can fix the problem or not. After the storm last week, the outdoor electrical outlets were not working. So, I created a work around by plugging the chords into another circuit. After tripping that circuit several times, I figured it would be better to solve the problem with the original outlets. So, yesterday afternoon, I spent about half of an hour wandering around my house searching for the GFCI outlet that governed those three external outlets since the breaker for those outlets was not tripped. I wandered the basement, the first floor, and the second floor until I took a moment to think. And behold, there was the outlet right under the fuse box that I was initially looking at for answers.

And sometimes the answers are just like that. Right there for us to see if we know where to look. I have lived in this house for eighteen years and never once had to find that GFCI outlet. I never knew it was even there until I needed it. And there it was right where it was planned to be.

Complaining about the GFCI outlet wouldn’t have made it easier to find. It probably would have made that half of an hour much longer. Complaining never solves anything. Complaining is activity disguised as accomplishment. And we can choose to complain about all manners of things.

Human stupidity seems to be an often complaint around my house. There is a low tolerance for suffering fools around the plantation. Some of that stems from being a bit self righteous about our own intelligence around here and some of that stems from working in systems and some of that stems from human behavior. There is a potpourri of reasons for not suffering fools. BUT we have to because sometimes we are the foolish. I have no count of the number of foolish things I have done in my life BUT I am certain that number is in the hundreds at the least. And I am sure I am the focus of many complaints by other folks. So, that is something I now consider when seeing the folly of another. I need a little more love for the foolish and a lot less complaining about their behavior because I have been there and may return yet again.

I have very little control over my own foolishness and even less control over the foolishness of others. So, I get to choose whether or not I am going to let foolishness lead me down a path of complaining and resentment and hatred and anger OR am I going to leave the foolishness of myself and others to God. I have chosen the first path more times than not. And that path is no longer where I am choosing to journey. So, my only other choice is just to acknowledge that I have no control over the foolishness and leave it to God. Whatever your source of complaint, whether it be a system, a person, a community, a rule, a law, a place, a weather, a situation, or me, I hope you choose peace over complaint.

Bless your heart. Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

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