YOUR faith

I've felt this blog post developing over the course of the day, and I think it is important as a point to make in our day.  It is simple but complex, and I hope I do it justice.  It is simply but deeply this.. your faith is YOUR faith.

What do these figures have in common... Jesus, the apostles, Martin Luther, John Wesley, John Calvin, George Witfield, Oral Roberts, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, watchman nee, John Wimber, and more like them.  If you said leaders of religious movements, you are not seeing the origin story.  They are people that had faith that was not meant to conform and validate current religious structure but was courageous to speak what they believed and others followed.. all to benefit all of the various sects of church in one fashion or another over time.  But, at the time, they were much like Plato's figure that broke from the chains  to see what real life happened to be outside the shadows of comformity.

What do these figures have in common... Blaise Pascal, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, Samuel Morse, Galileo Galilei, Tolkien, Emily Dickinson, Florence Nightingale, etc.  They were believers in God but went on to do great things for people in other areas of need in the world.

What is my point in this?  My point is that all of their faiths were very important, and none of them were meant to be just like everyone else or to express their faith in predetermined ways.  I don't want to knock the value of having a place where you can comfortably commune with God, but that is not all there is to religion.. not by far.  There have been so many times in my life when there was no church at my back and no organization there to comfort me, but that didn't stop GOD from being there to comfort and inspire and teach me in ways and lessons that most would not understand and in some cases accept.  Religion is public and meant for a group.  God is individual and wants to be there for YOU.

So, don't feel that you are not good enough to hear from Him.  He literally took the blame so that He could listen to you and be there for you.  Don't feel like you have to be accepted by a group, either.  It isn't them that you need for peace, and feeling you are under a test definitely won't provide the bridge that HE desires, as well.

So, I will step on and step off this religious message that has been building for a bit and move on to other practical matters in future posts after I use this post to simply say this... you don't have to do it alone.  Speak to the stars or your sketchbook or however you connect with the Divine.  It will help heal you and lead you, if you take the time to rest and listen.  That's all I have to say on it.  Have a good week.

The Truths We Don't Speak

Part of the reason so many live disillusioned lives of depression is found in one society problem that has existed all my life and will probably always exist.  We celebrate fantasies and literally tell and expect people living dark days to keep silent.  We... don't say bad things out loud.  I was never very good at that rule.

The unfortunate result, of course, is that no one can learn from the failures of others, so we keep having to learn them over and over like one of those movies of days on repeat.  I try to make a difference in that area and honestly feel peace only when the truth is spoken.  I thought it would be good to post a few of those truths that are known to those that lived them but kept silent from those about to live them.

1.  You can do everything right and still lose... often that's the case, in fact.   Why?  Well... in part it us because while you're living a code of ethics, others are ... not.  So, you become easy bait and meal for the sharks that would feed on you.  In fact, it is my experience that when you start to object and defend yourself, that is seen as an attack by those only wishing to use you.  But... rather than lamenting all that, why not break free and save yourself.

2.  Religion has been anything but a history of comfort.  The religious get all silent when you mention their dark history... in part because many approve of that past and know it's non pc  to say it.  They don't see anything wrong with the church spending centuries trying to convert otherwise by the sword in the crusades, hanging scientists, burning witches, selling tickets to heaven, expecting women to keep silent in church and submit to men and make babies, and imposing christian morals on everyone that is NOT members of the faith.  Again... we keep the bad things quiet, so we can repeat them again.  And, we definitely don't talk about things like churches harassing LGBTQ members or the sexual assault happening in many church camps or by ministers to altar boys.  I'm not an atheist, but I definitely don't believe in churches from my experience.  I just haven't found one that doesn't turn out to have more sin and problems than the world from whom they... separate and condemn.

3.  Bad things happen, and that's a good thing.  People STILL maintain God will bless those that does good, and they judge those with struggles as sinful.  To be wealthy is to be "blessed" the belief goes.  Problem is that we have literally thousands of years of believers suffering and dying in their faith, and Jesus, himself, said its hard for a rich person to enter heaven... another thing we just don't... say.  But, facing challenges helps us all to grow up and mature, and that's what you need to do, if you're going to actually address your problems and overcome them, yourself.

I have much more I could say, but... some other time.  That's enough for today.