Ask Jonathots … March 17th, 2016

 Jonathots Daily Blog

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I’m twelve, and have had the same group of girlfriends since first grade. Nowadays all they want to do is talk about boys, flirt and hate other girls. Do all girls have to become boy crazy, and is there anything I can do to get my friends back??

No.

There’s nothing you can do to get them back–simply because you must remember that we are a species.

As a species, we are men and women. And what you refer to as “boy crazy” is what keeps us going, alive, functioning and moving forward.

But there is no reason to copy what other people are doing if you aren’t prepared for it or if it isn’t something you desire.

There are only two stupid things to do in life:

1.  Something someone else thinks you should do.
2.  Doing it a second time because you’ve convinced yourself “it’s really your idea.”

There will be plenty of people your age who are not boy crazy or girl crazy, who are developing at your pace. Every once in a while, you need to find those people and spend a little of your free moments around them.

It doesn’t mean you reject your old friends–it just means that right now you need to include some other folks in your life who share your passions, your ideas, your hobbies and your pursuits.

In the process of doing this, you’ll probably end up blessing some younger folk and also discover a couple of new people you would never have known because we tend to hang out in our own circle of acquaintances.

But make sure of one thing: don’t be ashamed of your emotional make-up.

Beware of people who insist that you become their definition of “normal.”

Normal is how God leads you when you have a conversation with Him in your heart.

 

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Getting in Character… July 20th, 2015

 Jonathots Daily Blog

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From Act II, Scene VII of As You Like It, Shakespeare asserts that “all the world is a stage and all the men and women, merely players.”

Finding peace is rarely peaceful. It begins by admitting we are not satisfied. The position we find ourselves in is no longer acceptable. We may be afraid of change, but we are more frightened of the status quo.

Yet we have delayed. The reason is obvious: making peace is personal.

No one will become peaceful if they think we are still looking for a fight. Why do we fight? We don’t believe we have enough love, talent, passion, commitment, intelligence, and time.

Inner peace is a blending of our confidence with good cheer–confidence that we can accomplish excellent things, and good cheer because we know that failing butters our daily bread.

“All we are saying is give peace a chance”–a chance to teach us, warm us, enlighten us,humble us, uplift us, expand us, and mostly … simplify us.

For after all, less is more or less where we all begin.

All thing work together to the good for those who love…

• the Lord
• life
• honesty

… and conflict which ends in contentment.

God’s children make peace.

Peace starts within.

Within is when I’m no longer ashamed.

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Workman… December 15, 2013

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Pictured is the toilet that greeted me as I arrived in my motel room this past week. It had a bolt missing, of which I was extremely sympathetic, since I, too, have a screw or two loose.

I called the front desk and requested some attention to adjustments on my throne. In about fifteen minutes, the maintenance man arrived at my door. His name was Booger (I’m sure not the given name by his mother following the exertion of birth pangs).

I noticed that this gentleman, who had come to take care of my bathroom situation, was not very happy. To confirm that fact, in less than fifteen seconds, he began to explain why the management at this motel treated him poorly, cut corners and therefore was doomed to a godless hell.

It made me think of an old saying from the Good Book: “Study to show yourself approved … a workman that does not need to be ashamed…”

Even with all of Booger’s objections to other people’s frailties, he was unable, during his visit, to repair my toilet. It does not mean he didn’t spend time attempting to accomplish the task, but most of his visitation was encompassed by complaint.

It made me consider a simple question. When do we become workmen who are shameful?

• If we find that we’re complaining more than we’re praising.
• If we discover that somebody has stolen our “glad”
• If we’re overwhelmed by a feeling of being trapped.

Each of these situations are unpleasant enough by themselves, but the action of generating them also damns us to unfulfilled emotion, vacant spirituality, zero mental progress and an awareness of every physical ache and pain.

I really try to like everybody I meet, but in short moments I found myself despising Booger, wishing he would leave and find a bitching post elsewhere. I felt bad about being so uncaring, but then I realized that none of us want to be surrounded by feelings of inadequacy and sensations of dissatisfaction. We get tempted to join into the pity party, becoming part of the problem instead of a pathway to solution.

What does make a good workman? What will cause me, at the end of the day, to feel fulfilled instead of shamed?

1. I’m always glad to be here.

This does not mean that “here” is always pleasant–it just means that not being “here” means that I’ve ceased to exist.

2. I’m always “here instead of far away.

The key to life is finding joy in where you are instead of believing you have to travel somewhere to retrieve it.

3. I’m always staying away from what steals my “glad.”

Yes, life is filled with suckers and drainers–more than willing to enter your space and deprive you of any potential for glee or jubilation. To survive, you must find a way to avoid these people and situations as much as possible.

Booger and I probably will never be friends. I am not so naive as to believe that my mere presence, personality or input would be salvation to his soul. I am not a savior, I am a fellow-traveler. If you’re in the mood to travel, I can be great fun.

If you need a savior … I can offer a recommendation.

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity

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Tame the Shame… November 7, 2013

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I come to you today as a reluctant writer.

I rarely have apprehension about expressing my feelings, but there are two nagging pieces of silliness that have garnered great acceptance within the American public which I feel compelled to address. As always, I would like to do so by pointing the spotlight at my own inadequacies instead of others.

One of the reasons I hate to be referred to as a “blogger” is that the reputation of such a creature is that of an attack dog rather than a contented puppy. While recently reading an article on the Internet by an individual decrying the action of “shame,” I became conscious that our society is trying to expel all introspection in deference to self-acceptance, which unfortunately, neither helps us find self nor is accepted. Let me explain:

Last night I was trying to make a point. Thinking that my intentions were being repelled by those in the room, I kicked into a gear of vehemence. I felt justified. After all, what I was saying was grounded in truth and relatively important. But my words were crude, my attack vicious and the result was an acquiescence by those who heard me–due to fear of my temperament rather than understanding of the principles.

So when I laid my head down last night to go to sleep, I felt shame.

If I followed the psychology of today, I would reject that sensation as counter-productive to my self-confidence. I would have rationalized my deeds as being correct because they brought about the proclamation of candor. But I would be wrong.

I felt shame. And instead of rejecting that shame, I tamed it–embraced it, if you will.

For I will tell you, my dear friends, there is a difference between shame and ashamed.

• Shame is thrust upon me because of my conceited, unbowed head, which forbids any notion of lacking on my part.
• But ashamed is when I take the time to evaluate my own actions and realize that I was “weighed in the balances and found wanting.”

If I have to become angry to relate the beauty of love and truth, I am a bastard in the human family. The end does not justify the means. Hell, the present doesn’t even justify the means.

Without allowing ourselves to be ashamed, we fail to recognize the repentance which is necessary to create the change that we insist is the goal of a progressive society.

So how do I know if I’m experiencing the brunt of shame, or if a necessary amount of “being ashamed” is graciously applied to my life? If I am ashamed:

1. It’s my idea because I have taken truly holy time to look at my actions instead of justifying them.
2. If I’m ashamed and it’s to my benefit, it brings about the amazing mixture of good cheer and tears.
3. I want to do it better next time. If I’m ashamed and it is born of a spiritual instinct, my desire will be to have another opportunity to show more excellent results.
4. And finally, if I’m ashamed, I won’t be afraid to speak it out and admit it to others–because it was MY idea, and necessary to expel from my body.

Shame is when somebody else forces conclusions on you. In that case, pop culture is right–the scenario is useless.

But ashamed is opening the door to a repentance that allows us to become a person that we don’t mind lying down with and going to sleep.

So that’s Number One–shame.

Tomorrow we will take on bullying.

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity

Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about personal appearances or scheduling an event

We’re Open… October 9, 2013

Jonathots Daily Blog

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The restaurant was determined to communicate its message.

Since it found itself tucked away behind a barrage of construction, orange cones, dump trucks and road workers, it was important to communicate to the public that they were still there, making food–open for business.

As I head off tonight to Grace Lutheran in Pittsburgh, I wonder if they’re as smart as this restaurant. Do they understand that the true message of love, compassion, mercy and forgiveness is nearly hidden by a busy religious machine which has committed so many atrocities against human beings that it hardly seems likely that anything behind the curtain of theology has much to offer?

Yes, right out in front of your church there are blockades, orange cones, dump trucks and people with signs, squeezing the traffic of life down to one lane, headed away from you.

If you have any intention of helping the brothers and sisters around you, you’d better get a big sign and put it out in front of your establishment that says, “We’re Open.”

• We’re open to feeling. Yes, we don’t just recite things in our building. We let people feel the presence of God in the heart. Likewise, we don’t walk in ashamed because we have sinned. We come in looking for ways to do things better, so that next week we don’t have to be so embarrassed.
• We also apply. That’s right–spiritual ideas are not merely noted or read in a deep voice from the lectern. We actually take ancient ideas and make them current, and if we can’t, we move on to the next passage, probing for the new wine.
• We think.You will not need to leave your brain at the door and pick it up when you leave the service. We are willing to listen to great ideas, because after all, if we really believe in God, such noble overtures are completely within the spectrum of His will. And when we leave to head out to the parking lot to push past the construction:
• We smile. We know nothing in life can be achieved if we do not decide to “be of good cheer.”

Lo, we need to put up a sign in front of the fellowship house of God that says “We’re Open.” We need to hope that pilgrims trapped in traffic, aggravated by the construction and torn up roads in front of our location, will risk coming in, and when they get there, they will find people who feel, apply, think and smile.

Or I guess we can just hope they assume that “supper’s cookin’.”

As I said, the church tonight is called Grace. But true grace is extended to those who are confused by the screaming yells of religion and would love to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd.

We’re open.

Advertise it–but also be prepared to back it up … if somebody can survive all the detours.

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity

Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about personal appearances or scheduling an event