My Story … May 26, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog

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Finishing up my time with the outstanding souls of Bluffton, Indiana, I mentioned in closing that it was very important that we try to remove our “opinions” from our daily outreach with our fellow-man.

One lady lodged a light objection by saying that she felt it’s essential that we share our story.

Oh, so true.

We must share our story–but we must learn that there’s a difference between our story and our opinion and even our story and our religion. If you’ll allow me to break it down:

1. My story.

What I’ve seen and heard. Nothing more, nothing less. If it’s in the boundary of my experience, I should feel free to share.

2. My opinion.

What I’ve heard, but not necessarily seen. There are rumors going around all the time, and we are tempted to adopt these ill-founded notions as fact. Matter of fact, we become excellent at convincing ourselves they are true. Now, there may be truth to them, but they are not part of our journal.

3. My religion.

What I’ve decided everybody should see and hear. Now, religion doesn’t have to be religious. It’s just some book, philosophy, lifestyle or practice that we have convinced ourselves is more regal than any other available ideas. Therefore, we begin to judge humanity on whether they have adopted our preferred practice.

So you can see the problem. When people mingle their story with opinion and seal it in a tomb of religion, they become less and less universal in their approach.

Yes, I will tell you–I have become and will continue to become a better person as I keep my spirituality to my own walk, my opinions to myself and allow my story to do the speaking for me.

Otherwise, opinions and religion just separate us–and such a breaking of fellowship always leads to conflict and war.

So on this Memorial Day, let me leave my wreath of peace at the doorstep of your heart, and just end by saying, “This is my story … and I’m stickin’ to it.”

 

 

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After an appearance earlier this year in Surprise, Arizona, Janet and I were blessed to receive a “surprise” ourselves. Click on the beautiful Arizona picture above to share it with us!

Click here to get info on the “Gospel According to Common Sense” Tour

Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about scheduling SpiriTed in 2014.

Click here to listen to Spirited music

 

 

While I’m Looking … February 5, 2013

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While I’m looking for a happy millionaire, a cool cat, a pleasant planner, a thoughtful thinker, a Christian Christian and a content God, I do believe it would be a good idea to pursue some of the things I’ve learned while trying to uncover these treasures.

For instance, I have discovered that the best way to be happy is to show up with your own batch of good cheer instead of assuming it will be provided upon your arrival.

The best way to be a cool cat? Be aware of the world around you, care about what people are saying–and only share when you know it’s going to edify and help someone.

Even though people exchange pleasantries all the time, I have learned that the best way to come across pleasant is to always lead with a smile–even if a frown is thrown back in your face.

And in this era of knowledge being pushed constantly, with tons of statistics backing up every point, I like to flush my brain out and become the thoughtful human being I need to be by living out a simple principle: whatsoever things are good, think on those things. There are people who may accuse me of having my head in the sand, but I think that’s preferable to tossing my mind in the gutter.

To honor the beauty of the word “Christian,” I have selected the following profile: I always imagine that Jesus has asked me to keep an eye on his house while he’s out of town. If my neighbor did that, I would be conscientious. If my neighbor asked me to watch his home, I would take care of it the way I know that HE takes care of it. And if my friend trusted me enough to watch over his abode, I would make sure that when he returns, it’s just the way he likes it. Jesus loved people, hated pretense and was not terribly interested in religious practice. He’s left us in charge of his roof and doorstep. We might want to respect his wishes.

And finally, while I’m looking for a content God, I am going to choose to believe that God most certainly must be more gracious, merciful and nicer than me. It amazes me that some people worship a divine being who is NOT as courteous and loving as they themselves. I do not know why I would want to give my devotion to a spirit which I would not want to spend ten minutes with, sharing a McDonald’s hamburger. Yes–most certainly God has to be better than me. Otherwise, I’m sorry–He doesn’t get to be God.

I figure these practices and initiatives are gonna keep me busy–and also, might prevent me from becoming cynical about my quest for finding these particular individuals. Because who knows? Maybe they don’t even exist. But if they don’t, my world does not become better by knowing that. So I will continue to look for…

• a happy millionaire
• a cool cat
• a pleasant planner
• a thoughtful thinker
• a Christian Christian
• and a content God.

After all, it’s not that painful to go around and investigate. Truth be told, I’m having the time of my life.

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