Be Not Conformed

Rom. 8:4 “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Be Not Conformed

Yes, not choosing the mainstream chemo/slice and dice method is my choice and I have to live with this choice while people swim upstream to bask on the sunny beach along the shore. I see my battle from inside my own mind and never really thought about how it looked to other people on the outside looking in.

To some I appear a little bit crazy probably because they’ve never seen anyone take a diagnosis like this and tackle the healing part on their own, it’s just not done! If I were truly alone, I can assure you, I would have never gone in this direction.

Rom. 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

To me, the conformists I’ve read about can be Christians but they’ve conformed to the ways of the world. They read the Bible, see all of the amazing miracles, works, jobs, or duties of the men and women written about but for some reason, I guess they think God stopped working miracles when the man physically stopped writing the bible. 

They might believe miracles still happen but ‘to other people’, you know, those rare instances where the media pushes the story, or people are so loud a person hears about it via word of mouth. Yeah, miracles only happen to ‘those people’?

What about infants? I always hear people saying ‘what a miracle’ a baby is but do they really believe that? What concept do you believe that miracles happen to other people and infants are miracles? Look at the whole picture, we were all infants once; we were just a passionate thought of two people and God blessed the joining of two and out came…YOU! Yes, that’s right, you are a living miracle. It is what we conform to that makes us a not so special miracle anymore.

Do you ever think of the Lazarus story? He was a miracle, brought back to life. We’ve read about it, believed it, but what happened ten years down the line? Did he go back to being a ‘man of this world’ or did the miracle of Jesus bringing him back to life change him?

We have to think about these things if we are ever to become devout Christians. Too often I’ve read ‘be not conformed to this world’ yet when I look around all I see are people, conformed to this world, whether they’re Christians or not; conformity thrives and is very much alive.

While no one is perfect and we’re all out here just striving to live, to me be not conformed takes on extreme meaning. Conformity to me is being like everyone else, following the herd, walking the same line, and thinking inside the box. Well let me tell you, I’m not a rebel, I’m a ‘thinking outside the box’ kind of person. When you see a box as square I can show you how it is really round as the globe, with infinite possibilities, whereas you see the box as square because that is what you were taught. You take everything at face value.

Do you see what I’m getting at here? When I look up the word conformity, it gives me this meaning: action in accord with prevailing social standards, attitudes, practices, etc.. Can you see by the definition, that you have been conformed to the world? Even though the very bible you read daily tells you not to be conformed, you conform anyway because that is what everyone else is doing and for some reason, you have a need to fit in with this society. 

Rom. 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

As you can imagine, I’ve never fit in. Growing up I was called the rebel, I was always the one who thought about the broader spectrum of life, like of an infinite cosmos or eternal life. To me, these things were real as for others they were just a part of what they conformed to or were taught. Do they actually live and believe? Ask yourself that question when judging my choice in this diagnosis and treatment.

The other night it hit me pretty hard how I might be seen by other people when a friend (thank you Angela) directed me to a movie, Trolls. It was a kiddie movie (cute as all get out nonetheless) but it held a deeper meaning to me and helped me to see how some people might be viewing my incredible route I’m taking. Thank you for seeing outside the box! 

Rom. 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Let me share the lyrics of one of the songs in the movie with you, I’ve colored them to fit my story: 

I really hope I can do it

'Cause they're all depending on me

I know that I must leave the only home I've ever known

And brave the dangers of the forest

Saving them before they're eaten

I mean, how hard can that be?

Looking up at a sunny sky, so shiny and blue and there's a butterfly

Well, isn't that a super fantastic sign

It's going to be a super fantastic day

Such marvelousness

It's gonna bring a pocket full of songs that I'm gonna sing

And I'm ready to take on anything

Hooray!

Some super fun surprise around each corner

Just riding on a rainbow, I'm gonna be okay

Hey!

I'm not giving up today

There's nothing getting in my way

And if you knock knock me over

I will get back up again

If something goes a little wrong

Well you can go ahead and bring it on

'Cause if you knock knock me over, I will get back up again

Whoa oh oh oh, get back up again, whoa oh oh oh oh oh

I'm marching along I got confidence

I'm cooler than a pack of peppermints

And I haven't been this excited since

I can't remember when!

I'm off on this remarkable adventure

Just riding on a rainbow

What if it's all a big mistake

What if it's more than I can take

No, I can't think that way 'cause I know that

I'm really really gonna be okay

Hey!

I'm not giving up today

There's nothing getting in my way

And if you knock knock me over

I will get back up again

If something goes a little wrong

Well you can go ahead and bring it on

'Cause if you knock knock me over, I will get back up again

Infinite Love

Isa. 60:15 “Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.”

Compartmentalize

God is not religion. Man is the owner of the compartmentalized term ‘religion’ that they placed God into. In Genesis when the world was breathed into existence from a vast void in space, there was no religion. God spoke to men and that is when they began building a religion to suit their needs. 

Diversified- man grew to separate because as humans always do, they each see things differently. God told man not to worship false idols but sure enough man has built worlds of religious artifacts/idols to worship and in essence loses the intention of the Supreme Being and all He had wanted for mankind.

When I read that someone don’t believe in religion they only believe in man and nature. What exactly are they saying? Personally, I don’t believe in man. Man has worked for millennia to shape and construct religion and it has gotten them nowhere but in the center of war.

To ME, in my happy little world, the only thing I compartmentalize is love, there is no room for hate and thus my life in a bubble is my own, apparently. Love has shown me inside the mechanizations of the stellar space out there in the cosmos, love has shown me the inside of miracles and how they work. Love has carried me into a world where I kiss the Light of the Lord on a daily basis.

I often thought myself to be crazy and sometimes people are the ones that made me feel a wee bit insane but as I love to read and write, I see that some of the great philosophers, artists, writers and poets were all in the same thought of mind as I find myself. I’m not alone in the happy little bubble I find myself in, I am in great company with the Masters of times gone by. 

Yes, my thoughts are sometimes crazy insane but they are brought to you by the magnificent wonders of light and love. It takes a pretty strong SANE mind to stand naked in front of the Lord and shed all inhibitions and little boxes that man is so famous for creating. To humble oneself you must strip yourself of all ties that lead to anger and hate and there is where you’ll find yourself in the presence of the infinite Love of God. 

I can understand why men say they don’t believe in religion but to say they don’t believe in God is unfathomable in MY mind. Religion is the compartmentalized box that man has placed God into and if any of you know OF God, you know you cannot put Him in a box? He is EVERYTHING! He is infinite! He is ETERNAL!

John 12:25 “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”

When you look at a leaf, do you see a simple leaf or do you see the veins running through the leaf? Do you think of the branch that the leaf fell from or do you think of the tree? The veins of the leaf are fed by the veins of the tree as the tree sucks nutrition from the earth which the earth receives its nutrition from God. 

Our veins running through our body are nourished by the food we feed it. The veins in our brain are nourished by what we put into our brain. What you physically put out into the world is the you that YOU shaped yourself to be. If all you see is hate in the world I believe your brain is malnourished of nutrients. 

Our body was made to receive our nutrition from God but again, man put little compartments up so God can fit neatly into his life. Where you find compartments you find walls. Walls are built so the little compartments stand up stronger against wind and chaos. God can knock down those walls of anxiety, depression, angst, and hate but he needs YOU to nourish your body with Him so the waxed walls start to melt like a lit candle. 

What I’m trying to say is that man is depleting the world of God. One by one, nutrition is being drained from the veins of life. You might say to yourself I am only one person, what can I do? Well, bring the Living nutrition into your life and send bits and pieces into the world via positive fruit of the Vine!

Yes, we all fall, we all do wrong and make bad choices but we need to be aware of the bad and wrong choices so that the only thing we send out is LOVE! Infinite LOVE!

Rom. 1:20 “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”

Thumbprint On My Soul

Acts 2: 26 “Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:”

Yesterday my day was going along normally with me pitter-pattering around. I left to go to the store and in this small town that takes an hour or so. The drive was nice, the scenery was beautiful as the sun blemished the brown fields, and gas is a pretty low penny so the fill-up meant my day was going nicely as I silently rejoiced in all of God’s blessings. 

I returned home to see a package on my steps. Another praise Jesus moment because the postman usually takes it back to the Post Office and leaves me a note to pick up the parcel. Not this day and I was so glad because I had been waiting for this package for four whole days!

If you remember back in December when I received a box, there was some damage in the way that the Old Bay had exploded all over everything and left all of the contents smelling, how shall I say – seasonal? After all, it was Christmas and the rush to get packages delivered probably became a hurried chore and boxes got damaged.

Not this box though, no way, this was the box with my necklace that my mother purchased for me (and one for my sister) when my father passed away. It is a beautiful shiny pendant that not only has my fathers’ actual thumbprint on the front, it has my dads date of birth and death on the back along with his name. Talk about holding a part of my father in my hand. My eyes overflowed with tears as I held it to my heart and wept. 

Earlier in the day when my mother left me a message that she took her medicine, (this is my way of making sure she takes her medicine every day, because I NEED her alive) she said my father woke her up. I chuckled. So here my dad woke her up, made sure my package was on my steps, and when I called mother last evening our nightly ritual began. 

We started talking about my dad waking her up. She said, “Joni, I was sound asleep and I hear a tap tap tap on the bedroom door and I jumped up.” She went on to tell me how my dad always came to check on her by eleven in the morning to make sure she was alive? And he’d do so by tapping on the bedroom door. 

This isn’t the first instance that my dad has made himself known to her. There are just too many times to mention and no, my mother is not insane, she is in love and misses her best lifelong friend and he lets her know he is ever present in their home. I don’t judge because I’ve had my own experiences with my dad in some form communicating to me. 

For instance, I was in my laundry room talking to my mother. We were talking about the necklace and the box and all that was in the box and at that moment, all the lights on my washing machine lit up as if it was going into cycle. No, it was off, but all of the lights blinked on and chills ran up my arm and I just smiled because to me, my father was letting me know that he was there. 

I have a friend who just lost her father and I bet she has the same instances where her dad is letting her know and the rest of her family know, that he is a okay! I have a lot of friends actually who know what to look for in seeing their loved ones who have passed. I also know a lot of folks never see anything and I think it is because they’re just not believers in anything spiritual or supernatural, you know, things you can’t explain? Well, to non-believers nothing ever happens. To believers, we see everything!

My father left a thumbprint on my soul and now I carry his very thumbprint next to my heart. And coincidentally, there’s a hurricane out in the Atlantic. The first time in January since… the year my dad was born. They even named it after him, Alex! *wink wink*

God rest your soul, Dad!

Mark 8:18 “Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?”

The Box

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

The Box

It came without fanfare it came without ribbons and bows but it was the box that I was anxiously waiting for with memories of my father. It looked like any other box that comes in the mail, all wrapped in brown paper and taped beyond belief. I had quite a hard time getting into the box and it smelled kind of funny.

My mother had been building on my excitement the entire month when she said what was going to be in the box (minus my necklace) that still to this day has not been made ready by the funeral director!

This season has not been an anticipated season and to be honest, I’m quite down. I lost one of my favorite aunts in the beginning of the year and just last week I lost one of my favorite uncles, AND I lost my father at the end of October which is kind of putting a damper on my celebratory Christmas spirit!

My concern lies with my mother who is a brave ol’ soul enduring a lot and being a comfort to my aunt, her sister, in her time of need. Friday, the day of the funeral, I was supposed to go see Steven’s family and when Thursday came, I told him I just couldn’t do it in all good conscience. I was down and didn’t want to say anything that I’d regret. I couldn’t wear a mask and pretend all is right with the world when my world was crushed, my heart broken and my spirit in a quite stir.

My days on Facebook have halted for a spell because it is full of cheer and happiness. Can people REALLY be all that happy? It’s possible but I don’t know, I think they wear a mask over their sadness and make the world think they’re all happy as a horse. It could be my own sadness seeing things that aren’t there and that is totally possible too because I’m in a serious funk!

The box – it lifted my spirits on a day shadowed in death; it arrived. There was some good news and… some bad news. The good news was that it arrived! The bad news is that the Old Bay seasoning that my mother sent had been damaged, meaning in transit the lid popped off and splattered all over everything. The m&m bag was split open (shut up Benning) and Steven was a sport (the m&m’s were for him) ate for the first time Baltimore seasoned m&m’s!

She had put in there the funeral cards, some pictures, three lighthouses (for Adam), and two seasonal throws, one for me and one for Steven. They certainly gave new meaning to the SEASONal blankets, covered in Old Bay. Mind you that Old Bay is hard to come by out here in the midwest and that is why she sent it to me from Baltimore, land of the crab lovers.

Then my most prized possession that I was awaiting, the binoculars! These binoculars have sentimental value beyond belief! My dad acquired them from the shipyard he worked at over 40 years ago and they have been everywhere; Ocean City, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, and of course Maryland. My dad treasured these naval binoculars.

I held them in my hand, while dusting off the Old Bay, and could feel my dad’s hands wrapped around them. I put my eyes to the peepholes (ouch) and just a little burn from the Old Bay but they were here, in my hand, in MY possession! Every child in my family wanted these but they were the first thing I asked for when I got the sad news my dad had passed.

After the arrival of the box, my mood swung from happy to sad and then happy then sad. I was and AM on a roller coaster of emotions and I want off! I felt sad that I had turned down a visit to see his family but in all honesty, it was for the best. We all walked away happy and that is truly what I wanted.

Now onto Christmas…

“Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer. Cheer to all Whos far and near. Christmas Day is in our grasp, so long as we have hands to clasp. Christmas Day will always be just as long as we have we. Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart, and hand in hand.” Dr. Seuss,  How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Ten Tips to Keep on Writing

Prov.1:5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
***

1. Free-write without stopping
This is where you pick a word, picture, idea, and start writing about the subject without stopping. You can write about your day, your mother or sister, your dog or pet, anything, just to write something. Give yourself thirty minutes and if the keys are tapping so much you can’t stop, then DON’T!

2.Don’t make plans ahead of time
Just write the first thing that comes into your mind. Don’t debate whether it is a good topic or whether you’ll have enough to say, just keep writing.

3. Always keep tapping the keys on the keyboard. (Or keep the pen moving on the paper)
Don’t glance up to see if you’re making mistakes. (Or stop writing when you catch a mistake on paper.) Turn the internal editor OFF. There will be plenty of time for editing when you’ve written a few thousand words.

4.Sometimes it is helpful to have classical (or what ever you prefer) music to help you along.
If it becomes a distraction, turn it off and find whatever puts YOU in the mood. Is it complete silence? Is it background noise that helps? Maybe its rock & roll? Lit candles?
The ambiance setting is up to you.

5.Make your workspace fun and enlightening.
Having yourself surrounded in tranquility can help those stressful days of no-writing and turn them into productive days of key tapping.

6. Write with confidence.
If you are a writer, then having the confidence of a writer means that you will accomplish something on any given day. We, as writer’s, can not say, “I’m not good enough.” That shows lack of confidence in your writing. When you sit down in front of the keyboard, repeat after me, “I AM a WRITER!” Then write your heart out!

7. Study the craft
Make sure you have studied long and hard the craft that you are about to embark on. Roads have been paved for you, sure you can make your own paths, but if you lack the confidence of ever becoming a writer, it is for certain that you will NEVER become a published writer.

8. Step out of the box
You need to find a place where you fit in comfortably. Maybe you like non-fiction, spiritual tales, horror tales or sci-fi. Whatever the case may be. Don’t be afraid of stepping out of that comfort zone and trying on new clothes. Sometimes you might find a comfortable fit in sweats and a tee, but never be afraid of trying on that little black dress.
But as much as I say this, I won’t write or read outside of what my faith calls for.

9. Show determination
If you are not determined to be a writer, how will you expect to ever become a published writer? Writing for family can be rewarding, but are they hearing what editor’s are reading? No, editors expect professionalism from you and it is your determination to strive for the best that will make the editor stand up and say, “Now THIS shows promise!” Give them your best!

10.NEVER GIVE UP!
I say this because there will come a time when you just feel like throwing your work in the trash, times when you wish you could curl up in a ball and wish this talent away. But I’m afraid to tell you, that if it is a true talent, it will haunt your days and nights like the ghost of Christmas past, present and future all rolled into one!

Think Outside the Box

2 Sam. 22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
***

Have you ever placed yourself so tightly in a box you feel there is no way out? You know, gotten so used to a routine that going off the beaten path might throw you off track a little?

Have you taken the same exact route to the store, gone through the store hitting all the aisles like a robot scourging the shelves in the same pattern week after week? Sometimes we need to shake off the routine and go down a dirt road that has never been explored before.

In our writing, we broach the same topics, write in the same fashion, place everything in the box with us so we feel secure knowing it is right where we want it to be. I’m here to tell you to think outside the box for a change. Write something you’d never dare write, show us, in all the splendid color, what you have to offer.

Think outside the box and shake your writing up a bit. Maybe use a new word that you’ve never used before. Try techniques unfamiliar to you and practice them every day; fulfill your writing dream by letting go of the old cardboard box. Climb out and observe the world around you, swallow up all the beauty and write about what it is you see.

Do pictures help you tell a story? Then google Picture Prompts, you’ll get a slew of new images to meander through all waiting for a tale to be told. Do word prompts help you write a story? Then again, google writing prompts. All of these venues are there for the taking. It’s like dipping into a pool of thoughts and you jump in and grab what you can and come out dripping with a new tale to be told.

Exercise your brain daily. Get out of the box and try your hand at new things. Sail off into the sunset and resurface at the sunrise. As a writer you can travel the world, wind up in different worlds, delve into the consciousness of writing and be on your way.

Whatever you do, don’t get stuck in a rut. The rut will weigh you down, keeping you grounded in one spot, you guessed it, The Box.

So what will you do today differently than you’ve done in weeks past? Are you just going to sit there, tap on the keys, go on about your day in routine fashion and wind up here in the morning to do the same thing over and over again? I hope not. I hope you put your world in a blender and shake up your habits a bit and write your heart out, embracing new things along the way.

Today, as in all days, Think Outside the Box!

Job 37:1 At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place.