G-27: Figments and Fragments … June 6, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog

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After billions of years of evolution, the ushering in of humanity formed in the image of the Creator, a season of Utopia, a betrayal of trust, a banishment, a murder between brothers, an exile of the accused and the birth of a new son who brought promise, things calmed down.

And this manufactured serenity was viewed by most parties concerned as positive–except God.

For you see, God knew that we, as people, are best when hassled. We are more powerful when weakened. We are smarter when survival is at stake.

And yet, human beings began to breathe, work, eat, sleep and die. Many generations passed, following faithfully on the redundant path.

But in the midst of this malaise, a tragic miscalculation transpired. Although, as monkey-angels, we were pulled from the jungle and merged with heaven to have a heart, soul, mind and strength, each individual member of our race began to focus on one of these aspects, usually to the exclusion of the others.

We became fragmented, causing us to chase figments of our imagination. It is a problem that happened thousands of years ago and still persists to this day.

For you see, some people focused only on the heart, becoming very emotional and therefore tossed to and fro by circumstance.

Others became “soulish,” with a desire to study and worship perceptions of the supernatural, which often made them superstitious and bitter over their earthly lot.

Then there was a contingency that preened their minds with knowledge, which often became arrogance instead of a mission to eradicate ignorance.

And finally, a goodly number chased after strength, following a sensual lifestyle, which only dealt with things of the body.

We became incomplete people.

We segregated into our colonies of interest and even warred with one another because we believed our particular rendition of human behavior was more suited for the times.

We lost our way.

In the midst of a calm came a doldrums–a sense of hopelessness because of the aching sensation of incompleteness.

Let us be clear:

We are heart creatures. Our emotions cannot be denied, but instead, should be passed along to our soul, where they can be clarified. Once we’ve achieved this cleanness, we can renew our minds with information that is personal and not merely related to the experiences of others. Once the mind is given a mission, the strength can be directed in more profitable and healthier choices.

Yes, the goal of the human race is to use our heart to reach our creative soul to renew our extended thinking to pursue deeds of fruitful daring.

Unfortunately, things became calm.

People got lazy.

And the door was left open for confusion.

 

 

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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!

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Populie: Be Careful What You Say… June 4, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog

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“Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me.”

Many generations have used that little adage as a philosophy to handle the bullying, accusations and lies that fly around when our race attempts to jockey for position.

In times past, a man or woman were judged by what they did instead of what they said. (Honestly, a slip of the tongue is very common on the icy roads of daily fumbling.)

But the choices we make in how we interact with one another and the deeds we choose to perform are in our power.

Yet nowadays, we are obsessed with “right speak.” And “right speak,” by the way, is determined by the mood of the moment.

So very little is being accomplished because the whole world is self-conscious–to make sure and say the appropriate thing.

Religion loves this populie because it sets up a scenario for what we shall call a false persecution complex. If we can convince God that the heathen are attacking us verbally, perhaps some of our indifference and spiritual awkwardness will be forgiven, considering how bullied we are.

Politics uses this “be careful what you say” trend to attack opponents and also to pull up lame, hoping to gain the sympathy of the electorate over false reports.

And of course, entertainment finds this populie profitable because it allows them to test the boundaries of free speech and sell tickets based on alleged controversy.

Yet the most recent bizarre example is that of Donald Sterling and the tape that surfaced with his paramour, discussing racial issues.

First and foremost, that particular conversation he had with the young lady was private. I, for one, would not want things I share in my business meetings with friends and comrades to be trumpeted and played out on CNN.

Secondly, Donald Sterling has done many deeds of prejudice over the years, which should have been called out instead of using the back door of illegal intrusion to alienate and defile him.

Bluntly, I don’t want to judge anyone on his or her words. I will leave that to Almighty God. My job is to look at the fruit people bear in their lives, to determine the soul of their human matter.

Even though we’re not allowed to judge, we are entitled to view the efforts and deeds of our fellow human beings to ascertain their mission and goals.

Not only are we becoming too sensitive to words, believing they actually do break bones, but we are also creating a generation of false apologizers, who have turned repentance into a political maneuver and social evasion.

“I’m sorry” needs to mean “I’m sorry” again. Otherwise, it’s just a gentler way of proclaiming, “Leave me alone.”

Case in point: the chances of me saying something wrong in a daily column are innumerable. But I will not allow you to judge me by a term, a paragraph, or even one entire essay. My life is available for review and is played out on any Google search. Click away.

With that in mind, let me tell you how I believe things should be reviewed:

1. Hear.

Yes, listen for something you agree with and then take the leap to believe in it. Stop trying to be safe with your language so you can please everybody. Commit to something.

2. Do.

Don’t preach at people. Don’t quote scriptures, the Constitution or the latest popular book. Take that belief you have claimed and put it to a challenge, to grant it credibility.

3. Share.

And then, once you’ve gained a testimony–a piece of evidence–don’t decide for others that they should walk in your moccasins. Just tell your story.

I am not going to be careful about what I say. Because of that, I will make errors that are sometimes contrary to my actual heart, life and doings. Instead:

I will hear things that I believe and follow them.

I will do those things faithfully to see if they stand the test of time.

And then I will share my story with no condemnation or criticism in your direction.

In a world where we decry bullying, we are all eventually cast into the role of bully. Then what do you do?

I think we are best served by going back to defending ourselves against sticks and stones … and regain our sense of humor about mere words.

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

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

 

 

G-12: Wanting or Willing … February 21, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog

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Being human, I have an ongoing sensation that the world will not be completely set aright until those around me become more concerned and involved with my immediate happiness.

The difficulty with that thought process is that when eight billion individuals are campaigning for their own cause, you create collisions instead of promoting cohesion.

Matter of fact, if you’re in a room with ten people and there isn’t at least one person who abandons his own selfish intention to bring about a treaty of peaceful coexistence, the silent warring that goes on among the members will stall all progress and promote an atmosphere drenched in stress.

I don’t think anybody would disagree with that. Yet the reason nothing is done to improve this standoff is that we are convinced that it’s natural to be unnaturally contrary.

Actually, we don’t actually see the results of evolution in our lifetime because it is several generations before one single transformation emerges. Blinded by our own ambition and completely unaware of the need for change, we stubbornly pursue the status quo, selfishly.

But if you’re of a mind to consider something revolutionary, you might want to contemplate the difference between wanting and willing.

If you’re a person who is absorbed in the quest of wanting, you always end up with the same three questions:

1. Why did this happen?
2. Why isn’t it better?
3. What am I going to do?

On the rare occasion that plans work out to spec, you will find yourself happy. And the ninety-five percent of the time when your calculations are altered, you will revert back to this trio of nonsense.

The transformation to becoming willing is not adding a divine aspect to our nature. Rather, it is allowing our nature to accept the fact that divine conclusions will come if we just allow time and chance to work in our favor.

Here are three other questions sprouted by a willing heart:

1. Do I understand what has really happened?
2. What do I have?
3. Where is the starting line?

It is an advanced form of common sense that slows life down so that the subtle changes become more visible instead of whisking by quickly, oblivious to new possibilities.

Wouldn’t it be fascinating if the great evaluation of human life in the eternity of eternities ends up being a single question: were we just wanting or were we willing?

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

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Leaning … November 18, 2013

Jonathots Daily Blog

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I said yes to life, so here comes no–to give me a chance to prove my point.

The push.

I shove off to achieve and circumstances push back. Now what?

Leaning–either to my own understanding, or trusting God. One makes sense to me and the other sounds really religious. But here’s the problem with my understanding: it is generations and generations and situations and situations, literally screaming at me, “Be careful!”

Now deep in my soul I know that I’ve never been successful while pursuing a path of caution. I haven’t even managed to manipulate a comfortable status quo. After all, the world is filled with tribulation and if you’re not prepared to adjust to the new dilemmas, you will lose ground even if you don’t move one way or the other.

• My understanding tells me to find a safe path.
• My understanding reminds me to protect myself.
• My understanding has a tendency to negate the feelings of others.
• My understanding generates suspicion which limits my possibilities by removing folks who could be my benefactors.

Trusting God is the step of allowing myself to “be ready.” Ready for what?

• Ready for change.
• Ready for adjustment,
• Ready to use my talents.
• Ready to recognize opportunity.
• Ready to completely alter my circumstances if such a maneuver grants me my heart’s desire.

Yes, it comes down to a choice between “be careful” and “be ready.”

Case in point is what happened to me this weekend in Vandalia. I was a little bit frustrated with the circumstances of an engagement that came our way. It was a late-notice arrangement and I was never fully convinced that the venue wanted us to come in the first place. I’m a human being. I want to be loved, I want to be appreciated and I want to be needed. I felt the church had decided to “accommodate” me. I hate that word. I don’t want to be accommodated–I want to be desired.

So because of that, when a storm watch foretold of bad weather on Sunday night, I seized on the opportunity to cancel the date, fully aware that if there were a tornado watch in the air, all of God’s little children would scurry to their basements.

You see, it sounds logical. But actually I was being careful.

Careful about the storm, careful about the audience, and mostly–careful to avoid humiliation by small attendance.

As it turns out, the alleged vicious outpouring from the heavens never materialized and the concert could have been held without interruption.

My leaning was to my own understanding. Rather than being ready to use my talents, abilities and take a chance that things would work out to the good, I decided to be careful. I did it because I was frustrated, cautious and quite honestly, a little lazy.

So the good folks of Vandalia never got a chance to receive what we could share with them.

• I was tentative
• I was traditional.
• I was fussy.
• I decided to be careful.

And by the way…I was wrong.

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

Three Generations… January 20, 2012

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Live in Philadelphia, PA

It was a pleasant, quiet dinner last evening, with a party of six. Three generations.  A trio of the half-dozen gathered were children of the sixties. Another was “Back to the Future” with the Reagan years. And the final two young ladies were the offspring of a new century. Our differences make us alike because we share in common … being different.

 

About halfway through my entrée, I thought about how marvelous it is to have the influence of people of different ages, styles and thought processes. I also realized that the two young ladies, who just happen to be my granddaughters, will spend the majority of their lives without my presence on this earth. I don’t bring this up to be maudlin or macabre–just factual. Because even if I sprout a decent amount of longevity, these two wonderful damsels will live at least thirty to forty years beyond my departure. Probably most of their lives.

 

What do I wish they would remember about the individual they call “G-Pop?” I hope they remember three things about me:

 

1. Faith in yourself is best expressed by honoring your Creator through allowing human beings to find themselves without your criticism.

2. Hope is a powerful, but dangerous, elixir, which should only be prescribed when weariness threatens despair.

3. And finally, love is in evidence when your circle of family is expanding rather than shrinking.

 

Yes, I would tell these lovely girls that these three abide, but still greater than these is the Kingdom of God within them.

 

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Jonathan wrote the gospel/blues anthem, Spent This Time, in 1985, in Guaymas, Mexico. Take a listen:

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