Cracked 5 … August 10th, 2019

Jonathots Daily Blog

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Unique Ways to Avoid Gun Violence

A.  Make simpler bombs

 

B.  Cut the price on knives

 

C.  Pay women to go out with losers

 

D.  Body armor for the entire nation

 

E.  Stop making fun of loving one another

 

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation for this inspirational opportunity 

 

Good News and Better News… November 14th, 2016

 Jonathots Daily Blog

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Jesus offered a tender warning to each of us: Mother Nature does not favor us more than a tree branch full of sparrows.

Therefore we will be greatly disappointed if we do not access our willingness to repent and our endearing quality of good cheer. Without repentance and cheer, we become exhausted in our futility.

What is it that exhausts us?

This was fresh on my mind when I drove to the Belmont United Methodist Church in suburban Dayton, and encountered some excellent new friends. Pastor Randy, Mike, Janet, Terry, Larry and a whole bunch of other sparkling souls made us feel at home (once they realized we had arrived with no intention of robbing the joint.)

And as I had the blessing of standing in front of the congregation on Sunday morning to share my vision, it occurred to me that the actions and craziness of our society had worn out the people sitting in front of me.

But there were some surprises. There was one lady who came all the way from Mansfield, Ohio, after seeing us last week, and brought along one of her friends, who lives in Dayton. There was a great sense of anticipation in the air–that the spirit of innovation might just visit us with a baptism of rejuvenation.

Being exhausted is debilitating. It makes us believe we can’t do what we once did, and if we could, we’d rather not. So to get rid of that exhaustion that causes us to falter in the midst of our journey, we need to declare war on two nasty little faith drainers:

The first one is judging.

It will nearly wear you down to a nub of nothing if you think it’s your job to evaluate the lives of other people. It’s hard enough to breathe on your own. It’s even worse when you try to take the breath out of the life of someone else.

We are grouchy when we judge, we are ill-tempered, we are picky, we are fussy and we end up taking our eyes off of our own ability.

The second exhausting activity is complaining.

Every time we convince ourselves that we don’t have enough, we always end up failing to use what we have. Complaining happens when the brain overrides the spirit and creates an unholy alliance with aggravated emotion. We have an exaggerated sense of importance which causes us to think that we’re worthy of more than our daily bread.

So the first thing we did in Belmont yesterday was judge judging and complain about complaining.

Suddenly energy began to fill the room. We were no longer feeling the need to criticize other people or critique God and Nature because they failed to give us the quality we think we deserve.

The good news is that when you stop judging others and complaining about your life, exhaustion gets tired and leaves.

The better news is that when exhaustion stumbles away, we actually want to do things instead of feeling like we have to.

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

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Light a Candle, Set a Fire… November 10, 2012

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I thought I was in a good mood.

Matter of fact, I was pretty certain I was Mr. Mellow Yellow. Sitting in the parking lot of a Kroger

grocery store in Dayton, Ohio, I had even taken the time to jot down some lyrics for a new song and a couple of thoughts for upcoming essays for jonathots. The sun was shining, I had just enough money in my pocket to keep me from poverty, and life seemed to be heading in a direction away from the fiscal cliff.

Jan returned and informed me that the red raspberries that had been on sale were marked up and too expensive to buy. I thought I was fine with that. She had substituted strawberries, which were certainly to my liking. So I started up my van and headed out, when suddenly, to my right, a car came barreling through, moving very fast and forcing me to slam on my brakes. I honked my horn and said aloud, “What an idiot!”

It surprised me. I was alarmed by my own outburst, assuming that such a little misfortune should be taken in stride and handled with more grace. Was I more upset about the raspberries than I thought? Was my level of contentment peppered with a bit of arrogant pride? Did I feel good simply because everything was going well, and the minute an intrusion came on my path I reverted to a more carnal reaction? I don’t know. It got me thinking.

I asked myself a question: When should I light a candle and at what point is it appropriate to set a fire?

That’s pretty important.  If you don’t ever think about it, then reactions can come upon you which might seem foreign–but you feel like you have to support them, like unwanted, illegitimate children–because lighting a candle is a decision to trust your faith; setting a fire is the opportunity for you to” kick into doing.” Quite different.

I feel one of the reasons our nation is experiencing so much anger, frustration and accusation is because we have a waning of faith in the populace. When you don’t have faith in anything, it’s hard to trust–and when you don’t trust, you feel you must always defend yourself because no one else is on your side. When you get into that mindset, you protect your hunk of meat like a wild lion.

So even if there wasn’t a God, we certainly would need one in order for us to have faith in something other than circumstances, and trust in life to occasionally work out–instead of setting every situation on fire.

Yes, sometimes you need only to light a candle, so that on those other occasions, you can set a fire. It is necessary to choose moments to trust your faith so that you will know when it is time to “kick into doing.”

A car nearly hits me in a Kroger parking lot. Should I light a candle? Or set a fire? Should I shake my head and quietly say, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do?” Or should I honk my horn and chase them to the next stop sign? Should I turn to my friend and traveling companion and curse them for their stupidity?

Children are bored in church. Should I light a candle and say a prayer that things get better? Or should I set a fire and question why religion has become so irrelevant to the youth?

I can’t eat bologna and pizza and lose weight. Should I trust my faith and light a candle? Or set a fire of injustice in my soul that lends itself to further gluttony?

• My legs hurt when I walk.
• Syrians are dying in the street.
• Someone took my parking space.

What do you think? Light a candle? Set a fire? Should I trust my faith? Or kick into doing? Should I be an observer of what God is about to do? Or a doer, and watch my heavenly Father observe?

• I’m too fat, too bald, too old.
• Atheism is on the rise.
• I often lack money.
• I cut myself shaving.
• I need to drop pounds.
• I want to use my talent.
• I feel lonely.
• I feel cheated.

They mount up, you know. Maybe hundreds in a day–moments when we have to decide what to do with our flame–that bit of passion within us that determines our light in the human family. If you have no faith, it’s hard to trust. If you feel without strength, it’s difficult to move.

That’s why some people burn on the inside–the fires of hell in their bellies.

What should I do? Light a candle? Set a fire?

My mate is losing interest in me. Should I reach for the candle? Or set a fire to change the direction?

I am losing my faith. If I lose it, my trust goes out the window. If my trust is gone, I have to lean to my own understanding. And if I’m devoid of understanding, I am constantly on the verge of being angry.

America has problems. I am part of America. Do I light a candle and trust my faith? Or set a fire and “kick into doing?”

This is probably the most important question you will ever ask yourself. If you ignore it, you might just discover that you’re infuriated over an indiscretion by a poor driver in a Kroger parking lot, and because you couldn’t get them, you give life the raspberries.

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