G-Poppers … November 4th, 2016

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(3115)

G-Pop is insulted.

After six months of playground buffoonery passing itself off as a Presidential election, he finds himself feeling violated by the very same people who would solicit his support.

One of the candidates insults G-Pop’s intelligence and the other one insults his faith.

As Secretary Clinton touts her qualifications for the job of being the leader of the free world, listing numerous occupations which have prepared her for the position, she simultaneously pulls up lame, pretending that the technology of an email server is beyond her grasp.

She also has a litany of profiles to explain how four Americans in Libya–a very hostile environment–were lost on her watch.

On top of that, she continues to make excuses for a husband who certainly did his best to denigrate the gravitas of the job as Commander-in-Chief.

It seems that Hillary is incapable of comprehending that credentials need to be backed up with actions.

On the other hand, G-Pop’s faith is insulted by the lifestyle and urges of Donald J. Trump. Donald has taken one of the primary concepts of the Declaration of Independence–“all men are created equal”–and has whittled away, redefining the meaning of these words by placing special significance of one group over another.

He simultaneously has taken the respect, honor and equality that Jesus saw for women, attempting to turn our country back into a 1950’s philosophy, where it is assumed that men will step in to cover the inadequacies of the “ditzy female.”

But worst of all, Mr.Trump pretends to take on the mantle of faith in Jesus Christ, when three of the greatest principles in the teachings of the Nazarene are repentance, tolerance and forgiveness. By his own admission, he does not apologize, he does not view all humans as equals, and he would much rather attack those who cross his path and challenge him.

These two people are insulting.

If you have intelligence and a measure of faith, you will find their applications disheartening.

So what should we do?

Is it worse to have someone who insults your intelligence, or an individual who insults your faith?

Or is it more important for us to realize that as expected, no true transformation, revival or inspiration will ever come out of Washington, D. C.?

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

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G-Poppers … August 7th, 2015

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(2655)

G-Pop is in the middle of a hard-boiled fussiness with a side order of grumble hash.

Listening to three well-known journalists, ranging from 45 to 60 years of age, he was astounded by the inordinate amount of time they spent discussing Lenny Kravitz’s penis.

For you see, apparently Mr. Kravitz split his leather pants, which made his private turf suddenly public domain. Rather than performing as investigative reporters, as they tout themselves to be, questioning whether this was a staged event–since how odd is it for someone to be handy with a camera trained on the crotch?–they instead spent a lengthy time postulating on the penis at hand.

G-Pop will not even discuss how inappropriate this might be for morning television. Instead, he poses the question: when is it important to notice that the train is speeding up as we’re heading directly toward the mountain?

Very often, G-Pop becomes frustrated because his children and grandchildren deem him a prude because of his stance on alcohol, marijuana and the absence of courtesy in human interaction.

G-Pop is not a prude. A prude is someone who looks at your life and says that you should not do that. G-Pop has a private conviction concerning vices which have gained voices.

For instance, you can call yourself a “social drinker” if you have a beer or cocktail when you’re out with friends. The minute you buy alcohol to put into our own home on a weekly basis, you are no longer socializing. You are materializing a habit.

Yet G-Pop is called a prude.

What G-Pop has are private convictions. A private conviction is when you say to yourself, “I’m not going to do that.”

This often leads to a practical mission. Is there a way we can do this better?

But the minute you question questionable actions, the fallback position of those who prefer habitual anarchy is to call you a prude.

• Or maybe they call you prejudiced.
• Or maybe they say you have a phobia.
• You most certainly are out of step.
• Or you are trying to curtail people’s freedom.

If Lenny split his pants and it was an accident, we shouldn’t be sitting around discussing his penis or how it was adorned. If he planned it, and wanted us to go on and on about his penis, then we should seriously wonder why this artist feels that his music is not strong enough to gain the interest of the market and that instead, he needs to offer additional allurements.

And when G-Pop sees a group of older men who should have the gravitas to offer a more intelligent perspective suddenly turn into gossiping ninnies and giggling schoolboys who just discovered their first Playboy Magazine, he is astounded and fearful that we’ve lost all sense of balance.

G-Pop is not a prude. He’s not trying to tell people they shouldn’t do things.

G-Pop just believes that privately, he chooses to avoid that path …and that the human race can do better things with its time than leering at a celebrity’s penis.

 

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

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With All Your Getting … February 20, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog

(2156)

I am often puzzled over the hype and gravitas given to what is traditionally deemed to be the top three virtues of human endeavor: faith, hope and love.

I certainly agree that they do abide. They are present.

But honestly, faith and hope must have had pretty good agents to get them on this list. Because as valuable as it may be to hold faith in some creed, doctrine or philosophy, that faith has also been known to be misplaced, bringing about the death and destruction of human life. I dare say that misguided faith has killed many more people than vampires, let alone zombies.

Likewise, hope can be drenched in selfishness, while candy-coated with a thin shell of devotion, but end up being a mere wish list for selfish people. Or worse, a way for a politician or preacher to manipulate vulnerable human beings to enact his or her will.

Yes–faith: “I have something I believe.”

Good for you. But just because you believe it does not make it true, viable or enriching to others.

Hope: “I have something I want.”

When I look back at my personal history, I realize that if all my hopes had been granted, I would at least be a renegade, if not dead.

So love is the salvation of these two ambiguous fellow-travelers. Love: “I have something to give.”

Matter of fact, this may be what getting older is all about–sorting through our faith and throwing out the parts that are useless to humanity or God, and clearing out our closet of hopes and realizing that many of our wants are foolish, if not dangerous. So we gradually come to the maturity that allows us to focus on what we have to give.

God, Himself, made the journey. For after all, the Old Testament is full of faith and hope, as the Almighty stood back and asked people to believe in Ten Commandments, voices coming out of burning bushes and jaunts through the wilderness. Somewhere along the line, our Father which art in heaven decided to become a daddy.  He realized that the only purpose for faith and hope is to congeal them into love.

So by the time He got to the New Testament He had a different mantra: “For God so loved the world that He gave …”

There you go–love gives. Therefore I only maintain enough faith to make my love last longer. I pursue hope if it allows my love to continue to abide and interact with human beings. But my main focus is on love. What can I do this very morning to give, never feeling the loss, but knowing that this affection will return to me many-fold?

When we are young we pursue faith–we ardently believe in our own principles. We get a little older, we start hoping. After all, our faith did not deliver its full package of goods, so we need to release a new batch of wishes into the world.

But if we’re going to truly become spiritual and human, we will eventually understand that it’s all about love.

• I am here to give something.
• I am here to release.
• I am here to impart.

And in the process, suddenly the faith and hope that we proclaimed is resurrected from its death and comes to life again, bringing us glorious options.

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

With All Your Getting … February 20, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog

(2156)

I am often puzzled over the hype and gravitas given to what is traditionally deemed to be the top three virtues of human endeavor: faith, hope and love.

I certainly agree that they do abide. They are present.

But honestly, faith and hope must have had pretty good agents to get them on this list. Because as valuable as it may be to hold faith in some creed, doctrine or philosophy, that faith has also been known to be misplaced, bringing about the death and destruction of human life. I dare say that misguided faith has killed many more people than vampires, let alone zombies.

Likewise, hope can be drenched in selfishness, while candy-coated with a thin shell of devotion, but end up being a mere wish list for selfish people. Or worse, a way for a politician or preacher to manipulate vulnerable human beings to enact his or her will.

Yes–faith: “I have something I believe.”

Good for you. But just because you believe it does not make it true, viable or enriching to others.

Hope: “I have something I want.”

When I look back at my personal history, I realize that if all my hopes had been granted, I would at least be a renegade, if not dead.

So love is the salvation of these two ambiguous fellow-travelers. Love: “I have something to give.”

Matter of fact, this may be what getting older is all about–sorting through our faith and throwing out the parts that are useless to humanity or God, and clearing out our closet of hopes and realizing that many of our wants are foolish, if not dangerous. So we gradually come to the maturity that allows us to focus on what we have to give.

God, Himself, made the journey. For after all, the Old Testament is full of faith and hope, as the Almighty stood back and asked people to believe in Ten Commandments, voices coming out of burning bushes and jaunts through the wilderness. Somewhere along the line, our Father which art in heaven decided to become a daddy.  He realized that the only purpose for faith and hope is to congeal them into love.

So by the time He got to the New Testament He had a different mantra: “For God so loved the world that He gave …”

There you go–love gives. Therefore I only maintain enough faith to make my love last longer. I pursue hope if it allows my love to continue to abide and interact with human beings. But my main focus is on love. What can I do this very morning to give, never feeling the loss, but knowing that this affection will return to me many-fold?

When we are young we pursue faith–we ardently believe in our own principles. We get a little older, we start hoping. After all, our faith did not deliver its full package of goods, so we need to release a new batch of wishes into the world.

But if we’re going to truly become spiritual and human, we will eventually understand that it’s all about love.

• I am here to give something.
• I am here to release.
• I am here to impart.

And in the process, suddenly the faith and hope that we proclaimed is resurrected from its death and comes to life again, bringing us glorious options.

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

Ears to Hear … May 29, 2013

(1,896)

Do you know what the problem is with talking? It’s fairly important that you make sense,  don’t speak too long and bore people. That’s not easy.

Sometimes I wish I could just write and not do public speaking–simply because the possibility of me going haywire on my logic or becoming long-winded looms heavy. Matter of fact, sometimes I am reluctant to sing the second verse of a song because I fear I’ve lost the attention of the audience.
I will admit that it’s an insecurity. But I think it’s a good one.

There is just too much talking in our society. And to make sure that nobody else gets a word in edgewise, public speakers insert delays, “a-a-a-h-h-s,” and “u-u-m-m-m-s” just to maintain the podium while they try to figure out the next thing they want to say. It’s really ugly.

The only time to continue to share your thoughts is when you KNOW there are ears which are actually hearing. That would eliminate about 60% of political speeches and an equivalent number of sermons.

Matter of fact, when Jesus wanted to make it abundantly evident that he was saying something really valuable, he led off with, “Verily, verily, I say unto you …” He would often end that same passage with, “He that has an ear, let him hear.”

I’m desperately trying to only talk about things that are important. Sometimes that’s just being silly.  Yes, it is very, very essential that we be silly.  But I know this. Three things should be accomplished in the process of speaking your mind:

1. Never pontificate your points unless you’re ready to receive information that elaborates on your issue or even contradicts your assertion. There’s nothing worse than someone who gets caught in a mistake but continues to preach the same message even though it’s been proven to be erred.

2. Update your proclamations by including evidence that YOU find. I suppose if you read all the jonathots I’ve written since I began, you might find contradictions. They aren’t really contradictions. They are holy findings and realizations that have enlightened my original opinion with mercy and wisdom. It is not flip-flopping to move toward truth. It is stupid when you don’t.

3. And finally, the most important thing to remember when speaking is to convey that you are open. Every little piece of dialogue shared that shuts out another human being, puts God in a box, or forbids creative expression will have to be eliminated eventually–and replaced with openness.

So as I head off tonight to Lakeview United Methodist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, I must realize that these folks don’t OWE me an ear to hear. As a matter of fact, many will arrive and try to discern me on face value, tainting their own potential for receiving. But as long as I am ready to receive from them, find out new ways to communicate, and stay open, my time of words and thoughts will carry some gravitas.

I don’t know everything. I wouldn’t want to know everything–because it would make life tedious. And I do know this–the knowledge I possess needs to expand.

He that has an ear, let him hear.

A good thought. For after all, the human ear sits back on the head and has to take its turn behind a yapping mouth, a nosy beezer and sleepy eyes.

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

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