Renaissance of Love
I love quotes and this morning as I write this blog a good one comes to mind, "may your life preach more loudly than your lips". As I continue on with my "Closet to Clothesline" series this quote becomes even more apropos in my quest. The world is full of people that love to speak or preach their opinions in such a way that it alienates others, yet I find that few voice their thoughts in a way that draws people near in a loving manner. I will attempt to share my thoughts about life, love, faith, religion, and spirituality in such a way that it is inviting rather than repelling.
I speak frequently about my views on faith, religion, and spirituality. Until recently I felt as though they were just my views but as of late that has changed. I have met or emailed with many people that feel as though their spirituality is much farther advanced than many people's religion. When I mention spirituality I think it is only fair that I explain what I mean.
Spirituality to me is my connection to God. That in and of itself does not require faith because I am witness to the awesome power of God every day. Just the fact that there are endless amounts of stars in the universe, or that we have oxygen to breath, or we have feelings and emotions, etc. Everything that is living and procreating is fact enough for me that there is a higher power that has created all that we see. I can't imagine not being a spiritual being because every where I am God is already there.
In terms of faith, that is where things get fuzzy for all of us. Faith is the belief in what we cannot see yet we very possibly can feel. I think the ebb and flo of faith puts us in a position to elevate God to a status that is beyond explanation. I am not implying that faith is bad, actually we must have faith in order to have hope. Where we lose that faith is when we are told to pray, pray, pray, and we do just that with fervent resolve yet nothing seems to happen. BUT other people that seem to have no faith, no cares, and live life in such a way that makes bitter people look sweet seem to get all the so called miracles. It is as if God has some system of doling out special favors that we do not have the secret code to understand. You know what I mean. You see and hear people that say "oh God answered my prayers", while you and others are facing hopeless situations and have basically given up on the so called miracle system.
Faith for me is the belief that we all possess God in us. We all have the power to love one another in such a way that promotes peace on earth and goodwill towards others. God is love without question. When you see people whom say that they do this or that for God yet what they do is build walls or hatred, that my friends is not from God. That is selfish behavior that some people use to bully faith and religion on us. Faith and spirituality has to be alive and vibrant and it has to be personal. It is your connection to God and when you feel it, trust me it will show because your life will in fact preach louder than your lips.
Do I have faith? Yes more so now than ever. I will admit right here to my faithful blog readers that I do not attend church as frequently as I once did. Yet my faith and spirituality has grown ever deeper. I now understand clearly why so many people have drifted away from church in an effort to allow God to come alive in their lives. In this wonderful time in history we are facing an enlightenment of information and knowledge unlike anything the world has ever seen. People are empowered to say NO to their forced beliefs and YES to their inherent beliefs. God is manifesting in us in such exciting ways that over time we will in fact shower peace over the earth.
We live in a time of serious conflict, all in the name of God, Christ, religion, etc. People kill in the name of God, they judge with so called witness from the Bible, they alienate members from church because they are deemed unworthy, they with hold sacraments based on man's description of what they think God desires. To the truly faithful, the lovers of life, the lovers of God, the lovers of people, the lovers of peace, they have learned to accept people as they are, where they are. When I come in contact with these people and see the awesome love in their hearts I know I am in the presence of God.
Why do I write this extension of Closet to Clothesline in such a rambling across the board way? Because I am passionate about people finding meaning in their lives. I get tired of all the depression, hate, bitterness, and self righteousness that has left our religious institutions a mere shell of what they could be. God is love and there are God loving people that truly get it.
Let's all show what the power of love can do. Let's look past religion, politics, sexual orientation, skin color, health, wealth, and social status. Let's simply spread peace, love, and smiles every where we go. God has empowered us to share his love and the only way to do that is love the one you are with. Just think of all the people you come in contact with on a daily basis. You have the power to create miracles. Imagine what we can do if we all choose to be part of the greatest miracle in the world, which by the way is the expression of love. Can our lives preach louder than our lips? You bet they can just make sure the message is one of hope, peace, love, and acceptance.
peace to you
Dale
I speak frequently about my views on faith, religion, and spirituality. Until recently I felt as though they were just my views but as of late that has changed. I have met or emailed with many people that feel as though their spirituality is much farther advanced than many people's religion. When I mention spirituality I think it is only fair that I explain what I mean.
Spirituality to me is my connection to God. That in and of itself does not require faith because I am witness to the awesome power of God every day. Just the fact that there are endless amounts of stars in the universe, or that we have oxygen to breath, or we have feelings and emotions, etc. Everything that is living and procreating is fact enough for me that there is a higher power that has created all that we see. I can't imagine not being a spiritual being because every where I am God is already there.
In terms of faith, that is where things get fuzzy for all of us. Faith is the belief in what we cannot see yet we very possibly can feel. I think the ebb and flo of faith puts us in a position to elevate God to a status that is beyond explanation. I am not implying that faith is bad, actually we must have faith in order to have hope. Where we lose that faith is when we are told to pray, pray, pray, and we do just that with fervent resolve yet nothing seems to happen. BUT other people that seem to have no faith, no cares, and live life in such a way that makes bitter people look sweet seem to get all the so called miracles. It is as if God has some system of doling out special favors that we do not have the secret code to understand. You know what I mean. You see and hear people that say "oh God answered my prayers", while you and others are facing hopeless situations and have basically given up on the so called miracle system.
Faith for me is the belief that we all possess God in us. We all have the power to love one another in such a way that promotes peace on earth and goodwill towards others. God is love without question. When you see people whom say that they do this or that for God yet what they do is build walls or hatred, that my friends is not from God. That is selfish behavior that some people use to bully faith and religion on us. Faith and spirituality has to be alive and vibrant and it has to be personal. It is your connection to God and when you feel it, trust me it will show because your life will in fact preach louder than your lips.
Do I have faith? Yes more so now than ever. I will admit right here to my faithful blog readers that I do not attend church as frequently as I once did. Yet my faith and spirituality has grown ever deeper. I now understand clearly why so many people have drifted away from church in an effort to allow God to come alive in their lives. In this wonderful time in history we are facing an enlightenment of information and knowledge unlike anything the world has ever seen. People are empowered to say NO to their forced beliefs and YES to their inherent beliefs. God is manifesting in us in such exciting ways that over time we will in fact shower peace over the earth.
We live in a time of serious conflict, all in the name of God, Christ, religion, etc. People kill in the name of God, they judge with so called witness from the Bible, they alienate members from church because they are deemed unworthy, they with hold sacraments based on man's description of what they think God desires. To the truly faithful, the lovers of life, the lovers of God, the lovers of people, the lovers of peace, they have learned to accept people as they are, where they are. When I come in contact with these people and see the awesome love in their hearts I know I am in the presence of God.
Why do I write this extension of Closet to Clothesline in such a rambling across the board way? Because I am passionate about people finding meaning in their lives. I get tired of all the depression, hate, bitterness, and self righteousness that has left our religious institutions a mere shell of what they could be. God is love and there are God loving people that truly get it.
Let's all show what the power of love can do. Let's look past religion, politics, sexual orientation, skin color, health, wealth, and social status. Let's simply spread peace, love, and smiles every where we go. God has empowered us to share his love and the only way to do that is love the one you are with. Just think of all the people you come in contact with on a daily basis. You have the power to create miracles. Imagine what we can do if we all choose to be part of the greatest miracle in the world, which by the way is the expression of love. Can our lives preach louder than our lips? You bet they can just make sure the message is one of hope, peace, love, and acceptance.
peace to you
Dale
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