Even better than before

The shot.

The goal.

Score!!

The middle.

Two ways to go—Up or down.

Which way do you aspire your life to head. More important. Who do you allow into your life to help you lead the way? Tough question and hard realties sometimes are the indicators. But they do not have to be the compass by which you move through your life. Not that compass. Not another of those superficial compasses.

The compass you carry with you at all time and maybe did not even know it was there all the time!!

Back to basics. Back to fundamentals.

The shot.

The goal.

The score!!

The awesome return to a life well lived. In order to live a full life in order to give back to others. It is not a tall order, but an awesome order. Stick close.

Stick close to the closeness of the Father and He will lead the way. Even amongst the most difficult of times, he is close. Stick with the closeness of Jesus and God.

Jesus and God. The real dynamic duo!

What makes me an expert you scoff?

Would not be sitting here if I did not hear what my Father was teaching me for so many, many years. He taught me so much with so few words.

He taught me so much more with daily acts of kindness, deeds and selfless actions in the form of kindness and regard for others—even in the most hostile of environments. The distant of environments.How did I learn?

I paid close attention. Very close attention to Him because the alternative was too hurtful, too insidiously wrecking.

Yep.

There are choices. But like a child who is learning about life, we do not always assert that right. We do not know. yet, that we can. Can do it. The seemingly impossible. We behave like a child because we feel like a child sometimes, like there are no good alternatives.

There are many better alternatives. I guarantee this. How?

By holding hands with a friend.

And we have a friend in Jesus whose teacher was His Father. And from the stories shared, Jesus was a ready, willing and able student of life. A student of a life well lived. most importantly,

He shared the word of God so that we would put into action those words of God by being kind toward others. He takes us by the hand when we are down and struggle to get up, get back on track (pf). He encourages us to be and become better than before.

How will you know? Especially if and when you are feeling “alone”. A spot on choice. Spot on if and when you choose, make the choice to engage with your internal compass. And you will know. His kindness. his regard. In ways you never could have imagined. You will feel a closeness unlike anything you have ever known. It will encourage and energize you to “hop” to it—to become a person of action and not lowly and shallow words of nothingness.

Learn to open up.

Stop acting like the child inside is running the show. Grow in the desire to be grown up (pf).

How?

Vicinity is the first proclamation. To grow in goodness.(pf) To grow in love. It may feel uncomfortable at first. All this “love” may seem or feel weird, overwhelming, false even.

Learn to trust.

Like children who yearn to sit on their Father’s lap, learn to trust and love.

Bear witness.

To the better way. To a feeling of regard toward fellow men, even if and when we may be unsure—of their intentions and motivations. It does not matter when your internal compass is moving you in the best direction.

Transform your heart. Allow your heart to become transformed. Let go of the stubbornness of a child and just be. With Him. In the moment. When he is with you in the closeness of His spirit.

What good will this do you may ask? What good does it do for me?

Instill courage in others.

What a beautiful and noble goal this is. To be unselfish!!

The familiar and secure is not always the best place to be. It does not challenge the best in us and maybe even feeds our desires to wreak a havoc. Unintentional. Intentional. Does not really matter the outcome unless the outcome is one of love and trust.

Don’t lose faith. The beautiful action of faith. Perform many good deeds (pf).

Words don’t mean.People mean. Be a person who means to do good and right by others. Always. Every day. In every action.

Bear witness.

Witness freely given is service.

Witness freely given is service.

Bear witness.

Bear up under the toughest of circumstances and He is right there. By your side. Always. Every day. In every action.

It is a beautiful, beautiful awakening.

It takes much courage to trust.

I know.

Cuz I did.

And now I am able to share with you.

And it feels absolutely right.

”We become brave by doing brave acts.” Aristotle.

We do not become brave by meanness and cowardly acts. By being habituated to despise things that are terrible and to stand our ground against them we become brave, and it is when we become so that we shall be most able to stand our ground against them” (wjb)

Huh?

Standing ground against threatening things is not to be confused with fearlessness. Being afraid is a perfectly appropriate emotion when confronted with fearful things.

Be not afraid.

Always. In every day.

I can’t.

Yes. You can.

Who is standing next to you?

Your Father.

When the ship feels as if it is going down, please remember:

In Moby-Dick, Starbuck, the chief mate of the Pequod said, “I will have no man in my boat who is not afraid of a whale”. A fair estimation of the encountered peril and reliability of courage. Intelligent action. An utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrad than a coward.🥺🫣😳😡

The brave person is not the person who is never afraid. A rash or reckless person hard to educate “on the spot”. The coward may be the one who is susceptible to the encouragement of the example.

The bad example.

Be a good example not a bad excuse.

Remember.

You too.

Can become even better than before.

Trust and believe in the power of the goodness of the Father.

My Father. Your Father.

Our Father!!🙏🏻