Jonathots Daily Blog
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Canvassing, Part 3
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art by smarrttie pants
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PoHymn: A Rustling in the Stagnant … March 22nd, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
(3254)
God Sees
The birds love to sing
They so enjoy the spring
The birds build a nest
Where they can find their rest
The dogs love to growl
Sniff about and prowl
They love to be alone
So they can chew their bone
The fish love to splash
Swim away in a flash
Steal bait when they can
Avoid the frying pan
The lion lives to roar
While hunting for the boar
Never feels to be the least
Always king of the beast
The roach likes to scurry
Always in a hurry
Hoping its legs are true
To escape the squashing shoe
Cats adore to lounge
Then briefly they may scrounge
Maintaining their feline cool
Never playing the pet fool
The human loves to complain
Exasperated, nearly insane
To appear to be in charge
Making problems seem large
And God sees each one
From His home beyond the sun.
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Met More for Us … December 11, 2013
Jonathots Daily Blog
(2091)
A caterpillar is just a maggot who has purchased a really nice coat.
Both of ’em are larvae–larvae being that phase in which something that’s come out of an egg is trying to resemble what it eventually needs to be.
Human beings are no different.
One of the reasons I believe in a Creator is that there is so much of birds, amphibians, cattle and monkeys in the human being, that you can see that God reached the end of His evolutionary fit, and just threw everything in the pot and made human goulash.
And this is why we love babies. It’s the egg phase. They’re cute, we can pretend they’re going to grow up and become great people, and we even distinguish their drool from the spittle of our next door neighbor’s offspring.
Then … they become maggots.
Somewhere between the age of thirteen and thirty, these little wunderkinds transform into ugly, creeping, crawling, cheating guppies.
We lament.
We decry.
We complain to our neighbors, seeking comfort because this “glob of goo” couldn’t possibly have come from our loins.
Time passes. They have children, cocooning themselves within a house, a mortgage, credit card bills and elongated PTA meetings.
Here’s the problem: nobody ever makes it out of the pupae to become a damn butterfly. Human beings seem to stop in the cocoon phase, encased.
So we’re cute as babies, ugly as adolescents and young adults, and trapped as grown-ups.
Where are the butterflies? Where is the beauty, flight and excitement that explains why the whole process was initiated in the first place?
In nature we refer to it as metamorphoses–but what I want you to understand is this: in our species, it’s met more for us.
God never expected our lives to end when we birthed our first child. We are inteded to take the new generation and teach by example how to fly off in the direction of our dreams.
Last night I sat at a table with my twenty-four-year-old son, celebrating his birthday. I suppose, to some people, it would look like he was in his larval phase. He is.
Perhaps in a couple of years he may even be embarrassed by some of his current choices, and cocoon in a relationship and a family. But if he’s going to be truly spiritual and whole, he will emerge from that cocoon in a wave of repentance–and soar.
- I was an egg.
- I was a really despicable maggot.
- I cocooned in my soul to regenerate my hopes.
And now, by the grace of God and the beauty of determination … I am a Monarch.
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He Said It Right Out Loud… November 27, 2013
Jonathots Daily Blog
(2080)
Children’s Sermon.
Honestly, I think the two words contradict each other. No child actually wants to hear a sermon, and no sermon is normally conducive to those under three feet tall. But there are gallant souls who make a valiant effort to communicate very important principles to little ones.
I was sitting in a church listening to one of these brave attempts by a delightful lady as she shared what Thanksgiving meant to her, proffering her ten points of gratitude. She started out by mentioning her home, followed by a house full of food and a warm furnace to keep things toasty. She shared with the kids that there are people in the world–mainly the homeless–who don’t have such blessings. She was about ready to go on to her next point when a young man piped up in a voice as clear as a bell, and obviously, a mind to match.
“Why don’t we let those people who don’t have homes come to our homes and eat our food and stay warm?”
It must have been that all the angels of God silenced the birds, because the room was still–almost afraid to move.
To her credit, she responded, “That’s what we should do.”
She then continued on with her list. Honestly, I don’t remember a single other installment on her array of goodies. My mind was frozen, transfixed on the question from the little boy.
Why don’t we?
I had to ask myself, what would I have answered this young man in the same circumstances. Please understand, I am not being critical of the woman or the job she was doing with these little folk. It’s just that sometimes a truly eternal question enters the room, demanding our attention and requiring that we drop previous plans and veer in the direction of the Spirit instead of clinging to tradition.
Why don’t we invite the homeless into our warm houses with lots of food in the refrigerator?
1. We don’t do that because it’s scary.
We’ve watched episodes of Law and Order in which homeless people are portrayed as possessing deviant behavior and all sorts of mental illnesses, not to mention infectious diseases. It’s that old American philosophy that “the danger outweighs the benefit.” I guess as long as we’re scared of people who are cold and hungry, they should keep their reservation for the park bench.
2. We don’t do that because no one said we could or should.
Most of us don’t have memories of our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles protecting the less fortunate or providing them a night of greater comfort. We never asked; they never told us. It was just understood that some people work, make money and get the fruits of the endeavor … and others don’t.
3. We don’t do that because cool people haven’t made it cool yet.
Our cool people are too busy promoting their own causes, nefarious attitudes and latest projects to take the time to consider something more universal, like brotherly love. Our cool people argue with each other about what’s cool. Our cool folks are overloaded in their schedules, making fashion statements. Our cool people must bring government to a standstill to prove how really cool they are. Like it or not, as humans we have a tendency to mimic the style of those who have more, know more and do more. Our cool people just don’t think it’s cool to bring others in out of the cold.
I suppose no one else ever gave the little boy’s question another thought, but it haunts me to this day. Can I overcome the scary parts of life to do more than I was told to do and make myself cool enough that I could start a new trend?
I don’t know.
But it sure gives me a lot to think about.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
Click for details on the SpirTed 2014 presentation
Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about scheduling SpiriTed in 2014.
click to hear music from Spirited 2014
Sunday Mourning … October 27, 2013
Jonathots Daily Blog
(2049)
Sunday mourning
Jesus is dead
Though he arose
As he said
Here is his body
In the bread
Drink his blood
That was shed
Gather, listen to the tune
Bow your head
And softly croon
“Rock of ages
Cleft for me”
Bass or treble
I assume it to be
Repeat after me
The magical words
Stained glass windows
With lilies and birds
Somber you came
And quiet you go
Reach the exit
End the show
A sermon of thoughts
Three in all
Very meaningful
But can you recall
The message shared
On this day
The names of those
For which we pray
A doughnut, some coffee
A word or two
A brief sense of one
And then we are through
Yes, God is our Father
On this we agree
But He works late at night
So quiet we should be
No running in the house
No whispering to your spouse
It is the way of the Lord
Though we feel quite bored
It is not for us to understand
It is not time to strike up the band
We worship a King
Our offering we bring
For we are lost
And He paid the cost
And never will we celebrate
Instead we carefully commemorate
Please, each of us redeem
From our unholy scheme
To achieve a pious conclusion
Our temporary absolution
To return again next week
Weaker and feeling meek
So we inherit the earth
In heaven at rebirth
Sunday mourning
Tears in our eyes
Is it true emotion?
Or fear of our lies?
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I’m Looking For… A Cool Cat January 31, 2013
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I don’t like cats.
I find them to be finicky, fussy–portraying great promise, with very little evidence of actual worth.
I grew up with them. My mother loved cats. There were always at least three or four hanging around our house. A case could be made that I’ve overdosed on the furballs, but the truth is I’ve just gotten to know them so well that I no longer find their peculiarities to be cute, but rather, obnoxious and arrogant.
They don’t really like people. Now, I’m sure your pet cat is the exception to the rule, but if you’ll allow me to analyze the species as a whole without feeling that I’m attacking Muffin, here are the things about cats that I don’t like:
- They use people when they need them and discard them at will.
- It is necessary to de-claw them because their jungle instincts come out only in disdain for your furniture.
- They never love when you need love, only when their psyche personally requires it.
- They leave the house and kill birds–actually, an estimated three and a half billion last year.
- They don’t make eye contact. They walk at a distance from you, looking askance.
- They don’t come when you call them. They interpret this as independence when it is actually overwrought self-worth.
- They will occasionally just walk out of the house to never return, leaving no note behind explaining their departure.
Please understand–I think cats have a greater potential in physiology and even attitude for FAR surpassing the dog in viability to the human family. They just don’t care. They are not interested in the propagation of our race or the whims and desires of our needs.
Cats aren’t cool.
So I am looking for a cool cat. Yes, I mean this in the sense of the feline, but also the “we-line.” Here are things I think would help make cats cooler:
- Stop playing so hard to get. They may refer to you as a Persian cat, but it doesn’t mean you’re royalty.
- Be grateful that somebody’s calling you, and walk across the room to respond to their beckoning.
- Never scowl or spat at those around you, even when they come up behind and surprise.
- Bury your crap a little deeper in the litter and stop being offended because people are not impressed with the residue of your stinky.
- Stop disdaining the dogs around you and realize that you’re not better just because you’re a cat.
- Enjoy the food set before you, even if it’s not presented in a fancy glass dish and garnished with a bit of parsley.
- Maintain the dignity of your claws–just don’t use them on people you love or the things they own.
There you go. Today, I feel like I have rebuilt the cat–and in the process, maybe I, myself, can learn to avoid the choice of being a lap dog … by learning how to be a cool cat.
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