A Spring in My Step … January 12, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog

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Two words. Just a pair of words, which if applied well, makes life so much easier, happier and smoother.

Don’t complain.

“Easier said than done!” squalls the cynic from the back of the room.

Actually when it comes to complaining, the solution for this malady is easier done than said. For no single action has created more sour pusses, disgruntled souls and unwilling participants than complaining. It deteriorates every situation down to a sad conclusion, where you not only are failing to do what you want, but you’re miserable stuck doing what you’re doing.

I would suggest we all become a doctor–an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist:

Eye: stop rolling your eyes and squinting every time something comes along that looks like it’s a little different from your normal purview, and instead, be flattered that you get to try something in a fresh way and maybe for a noble reason.

Ear: stop listening to negative sayers, who have lost all hope in anything excellent being achieved and settled in to pursue the mediocre, strongly suggesting that you join them.

Nose: get your nose out of the air and stop following the ridiculous notion that you are better than anybody else or that your pedigree gives you a pass on the kitchen duty often required in the household of humanity.

Throat: if out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, you might want to build a toll booth in your throat to approve all words passing northward which have an attitude to drag down everybody in the room, southward.

And by the way, you could work on the abundance in your heart. If you change it to good cheer and hope, your words will follow.

Complaining is the exhausting, unnecessary trip around the block, only to end up back where you started, more frustrated.

As I spend the day in Spring, Texas, at Cypress Trails United Methodist Church, I will suggest that they gain the ability to be doctors of the eye, ear, nose and throat.

It will give you a clean bill of health, free of complaining. And once you cease to have anything to fuss about, your load will be lightened and your steps will be more joyful … in Spring, Texas.

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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

New Life… January 4, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog

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I picked up my calendar and noticed that tonight I’m going to be sharing at New Life Lutheran Church in Pearland, Texas. I couldn’t help but notice the two words: New Life.

I like that idea. I think everybody wants a new life to some degree, even if they’re enjoying the essence of their present journey. “New” is fun and fresh, and “life” is beautiful, if for no other reason than it’s the absence of death.

But I have never been a soul satisfied with the offerings of organized religion. I want new life, but Heaven and the promise of eternal existence is not enough to get me through Earth.

I need some heaven done here.

This is what Jesus promised in the Good Book–that it was possible for God’s will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. I’ve always wondered why we thought Heaven was going to be so special if we weren’t impressed with the adventure God offers us on Earth. It’s like owning a Toyota Camry and being dissatisfied, and having the company offer you a Tercel. Still made by Toyota. No reason to believe the different name will make things better.

So I go to Jesus to find out what he thinks life is. Two things jump out immediately. He contended that life should be “abundant” and life should be “joyful.” Actually–full joy.

So what is abundance? I suppose it could be interpreted as “wealth” or accumulation. But I think in this case it means variety.

Yes, I will know that I have new life when I’m not afraid of what’s coming. If God was with me yesterday, why would I believe that overnight He’s abandoned me simply because today offers a different dilemma?

Yet, it is what plagues us. We really gain new life when we’re not afraid of what’s coming and we welcome the abundance because we know it grants us the wisdom to use our talents to gain our security.

And I need joy. Joy is the decision to be happy while you’re pursuing contentment.

If you do it the other way around, you’ll end up quite disappointed, trying to find contentment as a means of determining your happiness. This means that every disruption of your experience, actually bringing abundance, will distress you instead of bless you.

Yes, “new life” is the ingenious blending of abundance and joy.

So as I talk to these folks tonight I will share with them that Jesus did not come to try to make things comfortable. Instead, he came to comfort us as we grow able to handle our circumstance while maintaining our good cheer, eager for a chance to prove that what is in us … is up to the challenge.. 

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

Silver Street, Golden Heart… November 19, 2012

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I prefer the word “unusual.” “Weird” always sounds too judgmental. Actually, I would rather you refer to my particular tastes, desires and inclinations as “selective.” But whatever your choices, whether “unusual,” “selective,” or if you insist, “weird,” you may feel free to call me that. Because whenever I arrive at a church, I am immediately looking for signs of Jesus.

Other people may be impressed with the building. You may wish to “ooh and aah” over the organ pipes. For me it is a quest to acquire the heart of the Master of our faith.

Silver Street United Methodist Church was my last stop-off on this Spirited Tour in 2012. I was looking for signs of Jesus.

It started on Saturday night when I met Don and Vicky, who pastor this congregation. Because of the situation with my legs, I am presently unable to carry in my own equipment. They took on a servant’s heart. How can I characterize a servant’s heart? It’s someone who arrives at your side at just the right moment and whispers in your ear, “Let me make it easier.” That they did.

Another sign of Jesus I look for is joyousness. I will never forget the lady who came up to me after yesterday’s presentation and with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face, exclaimed, “I just want to be happy!” She may have uttered the phrase which is truly the secret of the universe. Because as any well-seasoned traveler knows, happiness never arrives. It is always chased down and tenaciously embraced.

Jesus believed in life abundant. It’s one of his signs. Several people marched out yesterday saying, “I feel alive.” You can’t really blame people for crawling inside themselves and dying a little bit every day when our society has decided that the best way to act out our freedom and maturity is to be pessimistic and angry. So what happens when you remove dark predictions, fearful apprehensions and prejudice from your spirit? You suddenly feel alive instead of like you’re crawling into your grave.

Of course, one of the signs of Jesus is finding folks who want to be the salt of the earth. There was an old man yesterday who was just about as feeble on his feet as I am, who ambled to my side when I was packing up my books and said, “What can I do?” I almost cried. You see, that’s salt of the earth.  Salt of the earth is not complaining about the lack of flavor in your world; it’s sprinkling in what you have to offer to enhance the recipe of life.

One of my favorite signs of Jesus is finding folks who really want to be the light of the world. Being a light in any situation demands a faithful balance of bringing what you’ve got and arriving with a bit of humility. A young man came to my book table when he saw it was free of other visitors and asked me a very poingnant question. “Where do I start?” He wants to be a writer–or maybe it was a singer. Or perhaps a preacher–he hadn’t decided but he wanted to know where to start.

I didn’t get too philosophical with him and I didn’t tell him he needed to know what he wants to do now. I just said,”There are a lot of things going on. Find something that has passion, throw your heart into it and see how it feels. God will show you when you’ve harbored up in the right port.”

Looking for signs of Jesus.

So I headed out the door of Silver Street, having completed my work there, and was rising from my wheel chair to walk the few steps to my van, when a dear lady standing nearby said softly, “Does it hurt?”

There you go. Another sign of Jesus. Compassion. Merely being able to feel my own pain without transferring that experience into sensing the pain of others too often just become self-pity. For a moment that woman stepped out of herself and wondered what it was like to be me. Amazing. My response to her was, “Yes. It does hurt. But not as much when you know someone cares.” We shared a smile.

I went to Silver Street looking for signs of Jesus.

• I found a servant’s heart— “let us make it easier.”
• I spied joy— “I want to be happy.”
• A whole bunch of life abundant— “I want to live.”
• Then there was the salt of the earth— “What can I do?”
• The light of the world— “Where do I start?”
• And that blessed compassion, which asks, “Does it hurt?”

Thank you, dear hearts, for opening up to me and allowing me to open up to you–to create an atmosphere of openness. You were the omega to my journey and an ongoing reminder that as long as we can find Jesus in the church, we do have a very important reason … to assemble together.

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