Brave The Wave

Author: adm785g72

  • Boredom Is A CHOICE

    Boredom Is A CHOICE

    In my book “Brave The Wave”,  I quote someone who I remember saying, “well, honestly my life is not very interesting.” This person was explaining why they spent so much time looking at social media and Instagram. It is really evidence of the phenomenon that we are currently seeing everywhere in this country. “Life watching”.  Either watching people live out their lives or trying everything we can to get other people to watch our lives.    Here is an excerpt from “Brave The Wave”,

    Joseph Campbell said, “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”

    I’ve heard people say, “Well, my life’s not very interesting.” But we have the choice to discover, explore, and seek our unique gifts and talents to use in this life, which makes life interesting, exciting, and worth living to our fullest potential. It’s our responsibility, because no one’s going to do it for us. We can make our own lives as boring or as interesting as we choose.

    We can choose to spend time merely “life watching.” We’re free to learn as many details of other people’s lives as we can, but we aren’t free from the consequences of that choice. We should remember the truth. We know the truth from the Bible, one that’s reaffirmed in NDEs ( near death experiences) : we’ll be held accountable for how we lived our life. We won’t be asked about or shown anything from anyone else’s life.

    Boredom isn’t part of the plan. Boredom is our own fault. It’s the unwillingness to explore our unique and authentic selves. It’s our unwillingness to examine our passions. We’re never bored when we pursue activities and actions that fully realize our individual uniqueness and authenticity.

    We need to remember that what other people are doing is not our business. We may be watching other people become who they were meant to be, while we’re wasting time ourselves in not discovering and realizing our own full potential.

    Whenever we feel bored or we feel the need to be “entertained”, that is an opportunity. An opportunity for discovery. It’s an opportunity to move closer to our authentic self.

     

  • The Grip Of The Love Of Jesus

    The Grip Of The Love Of Jesus

    The Grip Of the Love of Jesus

    “Paul said that he was overpowered, subdued, and held as in a vise by “the love of Christ.” Very few of us really know what it means to be held in the grip of the love of God. We tend so often to be controlled simply by our own experience. The one thing that gripped and held Paul, to the exclusion of everything else, was the love of God. “The love of Christ compels us….” When you hear that coming from the life of a man or woman it is unmistakable. You will know that the Spirit of God is completely unhindered in that person’s life.”
    https://utmost.org/the-compelling-majesty-of-his-power/

    Oswald Chambers. Look at the description of the power and overwhelming force of the “love of Christ”. A vise. We are subdued. Overpowered. Notice that he says “very few” of us really knows what it means to be held in this grip. He also says that the “Spirit of God is completely unhindered in that person’s life.”  That means access to power. Supernatural power.

    It’s my own non biblical scholar opinion that we need to work to experience and engage with this vise like grip of love. It is our responsibility. It’s on us. Every relationship on this planet requires effort.

    You know what would be a good idea? Sit the two people down who are about to get married and tell them straight up that they need to be prepared like 18 year old soldiers storming a beach at IWO JIMA. There are going to be shells dropping all around them and machine gun bullets firing at them as they storm the beaches. The best chance for survival is to stick together. Marriage is hard and it requires effort and sacrifice.

    Our relationship with Jesus is not as hard but it most certainly requires time and effort. Look at this excerpt from “Brave the Wave”,

    1. It’s our responsibility to know and understand the breadth, width, depth, and vastness of the love that God and Jesus have
    for us. Just because it’s beyond our comprehension doesn’t give us a pass.

    And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
    May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the
    fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:18-19 NLT)

    Notice the benefit of understanding this love. We’ll be made complete with the fullness of life and power. Our authentic selves
    perhaps? Power comes from the experience of the love of Jesus.

    Oswald Chambers is saying is that we are “controlled simply by our own experience.” What we need to do is swap experiences. What does he mean by “controlled by our experience?” If we think about our day to day kind of activities, most of our thought and waking life “experience” is tied to survival or distraction. That makes up the bulk of our time and effort.

    If you are the head of the household and the primary earner you are focused on your job and being able to pay your bills. You have to take care of your family. If you are the mom, you have all the chores and responsibilities associated with making sure your children have what they need and taking care of the household. Both are full time jobs and are very tough. These are primary identity “experiences”. If these survival activities aren’t attended to, there would be chaos and disaster.

    Once survival activities are taken care of,  then we have the “experience” of distraction. Down time. Whatever we do to blow off steam. Social media. Happy hour. Lunch with your girl friends. Hanging with family. So broken down, most of the time we are engaging in survival or distraction.

    How in the world do we get to “experience” a “vise like, compelling, subduing” love of Jesus? Time. We set aside time every day. We make it a discipline. We make it a spiritual habit. We read the words of Jesus. We listen for his voice. We write down what he tells us in a spiritual journal. It takes time and it takes effort to fall in love with Jesus. But he promises he will reveal himself. If you look at the picture above, Jesus is reaching down, we have to make the effort to reach up to grab his hand. If we want access to love and power, we have to move. We have to take action. It’s on us.

    Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them. (John 14:21 NLT)

  • Sometimes Failure IS The Plan

    Sometimes Failure IS The Plan

    Jesus said,

    “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you.” But Jesus said, “Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
    (Luke 22:31-34 NLT)

    Jesus already knew Simon was going to fail. So he prayed that when he repented, he could turn again to Jesus. Sometimes the plan is for us to fail. That is part of the plan for us at that moment. It’s hard to try to see the plan or the benefit of our failures. All we can focus on is the pain. I have been going through a painful situation and it is really hard to focus. It is so much easier to give advice about pain when you are not in pain.

    Sometimes you just need someone to tell you that they are there for you. There are feelings of inadequacy. A loss of self-esteem. There is the humility of failure. It’s hard to see the positive aspects of our stumbles. But they are there. Spend time looking over your stumbles and mistakes. We learn the most from our trials and our troubles. Awards, successes and accolades are nice. They bring nothing to the table when it comes to clarity and vision.

  • A List Of Regrets

    A List Of Regrets

    When we talk about clarity, there is one moment or one time in our lives when we can see the most clearly. That is around the time of death. When we know that our time is limited and we can see the finish line,  that is when we can see the things that  have the most value.  In Brave the Wave, I talk about an experience I had talking to a young AIDS patient when he was at this point,

    I’ll never forget sitting on the floor of a hospital room talking to a twenty-year old AIDS patient. I was a young medical student doing clinical training. He told me that when you know you’re going to die, and you don’t have much time left, “you think about death one hundred or two hundred times a day.” Then he started crying, and said, “I’ve never been this scared in my entire life.” He died about three days later. Wish I would have known then what I know now.

     That kind of reminds me of the Tim McGraw song “Live Like You Were Dying”.  The scene above happened decades ago, but I still remember that young man. I wish I could live that scene again so that I could talk to him about faith and the love of Jesus. That is one regret that I think about among others. The thing that may be useful for us on this journey is to think about our own deaths, not “one hundred or two hundred times a day”, but at least once or twice.

    Below is a list of regrets that were compiled from hospice patients.  This is from the book “Resisting Happiness” by Matthew Kelly. This is a good list to look at, and take inventory of, for pretty much everyone on the planet. We need to think about these things when we are healthy and happy, not when we are at the end of our lives. This is a good list for weekly if not daily review. Notice though that most of these regrets have to do with relationships. Other people.   Also many of the regrets are inaction regrets. Not action regrets.  There are good studies to show that the majority of the regrets people have at the end of their lives (eighty percent) are inaction regrets. We can see from this list, that inaction is what people focus on. I took the liberty of adding in common themes or ideas that my upcoming books and blog posts will focus on. Those topics are in parentheses, after the listed regrets.

     

    I wish I’d had the courage to just be myself.      (authentic self)

    I wish I’d spent more time with the people I love.   (relationships)

    I wish I’d made spirituality more of a priority.   (authentic self)

    I wish I hadn’t spent so much time working.     (authentic self)

    I wish I’d discovered my purpose earlier.  (authentic self)

    I wish I’d learned to express my feelings more.   (loving others, relationships)

    I wish I hadn’t spent so much time worrying about things that never happened.   (fear)

    I wish I’d taken more risks.  (fear)

    I wish I’d cared less about what other people thought.   (fear, opinion of others)

    I wish I’d realized earlier that happiness is a choice.  (authentic self)

    I wish I’d loved more.    (relationships, love)

    I wish I’d been a better spouse.   (relationships, love)

    I wish I’d taken better care of myself.    (passion, power)

    I wish I’d paid less attention to what other people expect.    (fear, opinion of others)

    I wish I’d quit my job and found something else I really enjoyed doing.   (authentic self)

    I wish I would have stayed in touch with old friends.   (relationships, love)

    I wish I’d touched more lives.    (authentic self, loving others)

    I wish I hadn’t spent so much time chasing the wrong things.    (passion, purpose)

    I wish I’d had more children.  (relationships)

    I wish I’d traveled more.   (passion, purpose)

    I wish I’d thought about life’s big questions earlier.  (authentic self, loving others)

    I wish I’d lived more in the moment.   (passion, purpose)

    I wish I’d pursued more of my dreams.  (passion, purpose)

    I wish I’d spoken my mind more.    (fear, opinion of others)

    Hopefully some of these ideas will become “sticky”.   If you come across an idea that is unique, or valuable or you see as a threat, it will capture your attention. It will spark or kindle a small flame. When we have a small flame in a tiny pile of kindling, we are in business. But it takes effort and time to nurture and grow that flame.

    Looking at this list not only reminds us that we should spend more time and effort on relationships and loving others, it also gives us clues as to what should be the focus of our lives. Clearly it’s relationships.

    Also there are themes of not fulfilling our full potential.   Not pursuing our passion or purpose.

    What is interesting about this list is  what is missing.

    I wish I spent more time watching television or on social media ?   Not there.

    I wish I had spent less time reading the bible or in church services or growing, developing my faith?  Not there.

    There is real value in a list like this. It gives us the answers to a test that hasn’t even been handed out yet.

     

     

     

  • Embrace Your Weird

    Embrace Your Weird

    What pops into your head when you think of the weird ? Weird is defined by unusual, mysterious, supernatural or otherworldly. I’m weird. You’re weird. You are supernatural, unusual and mysterious. We all have a supernatural side to us that we each have a capacity to get into touch with and into tune with. We are all spiritual beings. We are spirits surrounded by a physical body. So we have a dual type of existence. If you have no inkling or desire or belief in the spiritual side of your life, you are missing out on the most exciting, enjoyable and mesmerizing way to live. Spiritual experiences are the most fascinating, fun and engrossing experiences that we can have and they are available to each and every one of us.  Look at this excerpt from “Brave the Wave”

    There’s significant power in the study of NDEs as we learn to discover and develop our spiritual senses, because every experience that’s documented is an experience in “the spirit.” There’s power when we can begin to think of NDEs as total and full descriptive experiences of people fully engaged in their spirit. NDEs are unique experiences because there’s a total absence of the flesh or the body. You can try to get in tune with your own spirit by escaping your body, but good luck with that. I use the term flesh because that’s our tie into biblical doctrine. The bridge to the past. People who experience an NDE are separated from the body because the body is dead or incapable of functioning. It’s an actual glimpse of the world that’s outside our bodies. These experiences occurred only when the person’s spirit was freed from the confines of the human body. They don’t always occur at the point of death; some people have them during anesthesia or at other times. This allows us to get a peek into the spiritual world that surrounds us.

    Now look at what Jesus says about the Spirit.  Here is another excerpt from Brave The Wave,

    “truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

    Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

    Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:3-7 ESV)

    There’s a flashing neon sign on this one. It’s not difficult to see. When Jesus starts letting loose with the “truly, truly,” pay attention. He says “truly” four times here. How much more of a signal do we need? Sometimes it comes down to plain old fairness and common sense. Jesus is going out of his way to tell us and show us what’s important.

     

    How does this relate to our authentic self? Your true authenticity is found on a continuum. I describe it in my second book on power and passion. True authenticity is defined and developed on the spiritual side of life. When we focus on the fleshly, we are focused on the worldly. We need to e-valu-ate activities that focus on the fleshly or worldly side of life because there is limited power and limited value in things that don’t last. We may be focusing all of our time and energy on things with limited value. Things that are here and gone in a few years.   The temporary.  Focusing on the eternal has infinitely more value.

    I love focusing on the weird because it’s fascinating, exciting and rewarding. The spiritual life is focused on the unseen. The eternal and the unseen.  Being able to see the unseen is mesmerizing. Look at this verse.

    “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
    (2 Corinthians 4: 16-18 NLT)

    Getting a glimpse of the unseen is what this whole thing is about. We need to move closer to our authentic selves in order to see the unseen. This is the self that God created us to be. It is a movement toward Jesus. Toward love. Toward power. Toward peace. Toward Joy. “Brave the Wave”, is the first step toward authenticity. We all have many more steps to take. Me too.

    We Ride !!!

  • AT MY BEST

    AT MY BEST

    “At my best”

    When or where can you point to in your life when you were “at my best”. One shining moment in your life when you can say, yes at this moment, I was “at my best”. When were there moments when you were “at my worst”?   That is one moment I would like to have back or I wish I could change that moment because that wasn’t “one of my better moments.”

    Make a list. Just for yourself. It doesn’t have to be too long. On the left put a header, “at my worst or my worst moments or moments I was least proud of.” On the right put “at my best, moments I am most proud of.” Just make a quick list.

    Think about the moments where you were “at my worst”.  We all have them. All of the moments where I was “at my worst”, had some selfishness in there somewhere. Many times there was pride in there also.  Prideful thinking.

    Many of the moments I wish I could have back could have been different  if I had been more selfless and humble. Pride is a killer. It kills relationships and it kills love. it reduces us to our worst.

    Most of the time that I felt “AT MY BEST”, I was helping somebody else. The focus was off of me. If we can focus on our closest relationships and focus on love, automatically, we are “AT OUR BEST”.  If we can learn to be selfless and humble, we automatically avoid situations where we are tempted to be “at our worst”.   It ain’t easy, but it’s possible.

     

    We Ride  !!!!!!!!

  • The Stubborn Heart

    The Stubborn Heart

    Frustration. We deal with it every day. Think about the people around you and the relationships that are most important to you. The daily interactions that we encounter. Why are we so frustrated? Most often it’s because of the behavior of those around us. Those who we love most. Why are we so worked up? Because we want them to act in the way that WE want them to act. We want them to believe in a way that is similar to our beliefs. WE want them to value the things that WE value. Rick Warren says, “don’t expect someone to act like a believer until they become one.”

    So what is the solution?  We have to allow imperfection in others. Just as as Jesus allows imperfection in us, we allow for imperfection in others. We have to allow our loved ones to be themselves. Also we can’t change their hearts. No one has the power to change another person’s heart. We get frustrated when we convince ourselves that we can. That is pure self deception. It’s not reality.  It doesn’t mean we are powerless. We have access to power and truth.

    Just because we can’t change someone’s heart doesn’t mean we can’t pray for them.  In the movie, “The Case for Christ”, Lee Strobel’s wife prayed every day that her atheist husband would come to the knowledge of the truth.  Her prayer was based on Ezekiel 36:26,

    “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

    Being in a situation where you have a growing thriving relationship with Jesus and someone very close to you does not, is very frustrating. It lends itself to despair, anger and feelings of helplessness.  The best thing we can do is pray the verse above and keep asking for God’s help. I write about this in “Brave the Wave”,

    It’s interesting that in my Bible study group there’s always one topic of discussion among the participants. We consistently lament the fact that family members or loved ones are resistant to coming to Jesus or coming back to church services. We get frustrated because we would do anything we could to bring a brother, sister, mother, brother-in-law, or father-in-law to the knowledge of the truth. It always brings the image to my mind of being in the desert and stumbling along with all my family members. It’s hot, and our lips are chapped and dry. The wind is blowing hard, and sand is getting in our eyes. We look over, and there’s Jesus standing in an oasis right next to a well. He’s drawing water from the well. It’s hard to make him out because of the sand in our eyes.

    A few of our group will then fight the wind-driven sand and wipe it from our eyes, as we make our way to where Jesus is standing next to the well. It’s much calmer there, and we can see Jesus. We’re dying of thirst, and he gladly gives us a drink. He’s smiling at us and looking at us with eyes of love. We start drinking the water, and then he starts to give us food. We’re laughing and joking, and then Jesus looks over at some of my family still out there in the desert with sand in their eyes, walking aimlessly. And he says, “What about them?”

    We’re trying to get them to come to the oasis. We wave our arms wildly and shout, “Come over here. We have food and water!” But our loved ones say, “No, we’re okay over here.” They continue to stumble around in the desert with the wind-driven sand in their eyes.

    I’m telling you, I’ve been in both places, and being next to Jesus is so much better. There’s not only water in the oasis, but also a garden and fruit trees and many wonderful things, things you can’t see from outside. There’s a whole world that opens to you when you stand next to Jesus and accept the water from the well.

    Changing someone’s heart is in the realm of the supernatural. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to do that. In the mean time, we just keep on loving this person, being patient with this person and having faith.   We allow for imperfection in others because we know that we are imperfect and Jesus allows imperfection in us.

    I bet every single one of us has at least one person in mind that we would give anything to have them come into a relationship with Jesus. So we aren’t alone in this situation. We are all in this thing together.

    We Ride  !!!!!!

     

     

  • Find Your Authentic Self Blog !

    Find Your Authentic Self Blog !

    Whose Version of You Are You?

    How do we find our authentic self ? On a Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago, a college football coach was being interviewed by a sideline reporter before a game and he made a comment that he was looking for each member of his team to be the “best version of himself”. That is the current catch phrase right now. Authentic self. Best self.  “I’m looking to be the best version of myself.” I’ve been hearing this a lot lately.

    Someone told me recently, “Oprah has been using that authentic self term for years.”  Oprah said, “I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had, I’d have done it a lot earlier.” But how do we find our authentic self?

    Authentic means: genuine, real, bona fide, true, veritable. Where do we find truth? Ourselves? We lie to ourselves more than anyone else. Other people? Humans are human.  We make mistakes. We all do.  Many times we get it wrong.

    I believe that there is only one source for truth. Jesus. He is truth. He is our source of authenticity. We can’t find our “authentic self” without him. He pretty much laid it out for us in this verse:

    “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

    (John 15:5 NLT)

    That statement is kind of a bottom line statement.  Notice he doesn’t say “without me you may find it a little harder to reach your goals.” He doesn’t say “without me it may take you a little more time to get to where you want to be.”  He says “apart from me you can do nothing.”  NOTHING.  Of course we are free to accept and embrace this idea, or ignore and reject it.  It’s our choice. We have freewill.

    How Do We Find Our Authentic Self?

    My book “Brave the Wave” is the first in a series on the authentic self. The self we were created to be. It is more closely aligned with our spiritual selves. When we are seeking spiritual pursuits, those are supernatural. That is why we need supernatural guidance.  We need a standard for truth and wisdom. So we use the bible primarily.  In addition,  I also use NDEs or near death experiences as an adjunct for two reasons. One, I think they’re fascinating. Two, I believe they are supernatural experiences that can help us discover our authentic selves and they actually serve to point out a “false or socially conditioned self.”

    When it comes to true authenticity, we start with our relationship with Jesus. For my own transformation, it began with this verse.

    “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth, but not have a rich relationship with God.”

    (Luke 12:21 NLT)

    That verse started a ten year journey of discovery, revelation, exciting spiritual experiences and clarity.  “Brave the Wave” documents many of these experiences and there are three more books in varying degrees of completion that comprise the Authentic Self series. Those books delve into the topics of purpose, power, passion, pain and fear.

    This blog should be called the Rumbling, Stumbling, Tumbling Bumbling Blog, because that describes the author.  A rumbling, stumbling, tumbling, bumbling, sinner.   I believe there is value  in many of the ideas on this blog and in the books to come. This has been a ten year marathon and I’m only on the first leg of the race. Got a long way to go. I hope you want to join me on the journey.

    The Trials and Storms Are a Comin’

    One important idea is that when it comes to trials, troubles and waves, we all know  they’re coming. I repeat this line in “Brave The Wave”  several times because I believe it to be true,

    A central idea that’s a recurring theme in this book is simple and elementary, but it’s also critical to understanding almost every other principle that’s outlined here. It’s the idea that no matter who you are, or how much money you make, or how smart you are, or what you believe, or what your race or ethnicity is—you’re going to see trials, storms, and tribulations. They come like waves, one after another. Sometimes you can see them coming; sometimes you can’t.

    Sometimes we can see the trial or wave coming and we just go underwater and let it pass over our heads. The problem is that we could be missing out on opportunities for growth, wisdom, clarity and a leap or jump towards our authentic self. The self we were created to be.  If we can look at these waves and trials as opportunities and sources of power, things begin to change.

    Together, we Brave The Wave,

    We Ride !!!!

    Here is the link to buy Brave The Wave.

    The image above is from Clark Little Photography. Here is the link. https://clarklittlephotography.com/

  • Diet Drinks, Heart Attack and Stroke

    Diet Drinks, Heart Attack and Stroke

     

    Drinking two or more diet beverages a day linked to high risk of stroke, heart attacks

     

     

    Uh oh. Two or more diet drinks a day?  I’m in big trouble.  I ain’t no spring chicken so I have to look at these habits.  I love diet drinks. I love coffee too.   Lets look at the article.  Here is the link. https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/14/health/diet-soda-women-stroke-heart-attack/index.html

    “More bad news for diet soda lovers: Drinking two or more of any kind of artificially sweetened drinks a day is linked to an increased risk of clot-based strokes, heart attacks and early death in women over 50, according to a new study by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.

    The risks were highest for women with no history of heart disease or diabetes and women who were obese or African-American.

    These data are concerning because of the number of subjects in the study. If you look at studies and there are 20 people in the study, the results of that study can be questioned. In this study there were 80,000 women who were being asked about how many artificially flavored drinks they were having per day. The thing that is most eye opening is the fact that even if you had no increased risk of heart disease, you increased your risk of heart attack and stroke just by drinking two or more diet drinks a day.  This suggests to me that any benefit you get from having both sides of the family devoid of heart disease is negated by just two or more diet drinks a day.   I am not suggesting totally negated, but it is clear that these numbers should make us stop and think about our diet drink habit.

    “After controlling for lifestyle factors, the study found that women who consumed two or more artificially sweetened beverages each day were 31% more likely to have a clot-based stroke, 29% more likely to have heart disease and 16% more likely to die from any cause than women who drank diet beverages less than once a week or not at all.

    The analysis then looked at women with no history of heart disease and diabetes, which are key risk factors for stroke. The risks rose dramatically if those women were obese or African-American.”

    The key statement here is “after controlling for lifestyle factors”, probably smoking, diet or activity levels.

    Should you be concerned if you are female over 50, obese or African-American?  I would definitely consider keeping my diet drink consumption to one a day, and even better, stick to water.

    “This study, as well as other research on the connection between diet beverages and vascular disease, is observational and cannot show cause and effect. That’s a major limitation, researchers say, as it’s impossible to determine whether the association is due to a specific artificial sweetener, a type of beverage or another hidden health issue.”

    Remember that this is only an association. There is no cause and effect. That is a limitation, but until  we have more answers. I would limit diet drinks.

  • Easy Is An Illusion

    Easy Is An Illusion

    Easy is an illusion

    Look at this excerpt from “Brave the Wave”

    I emphasize this because we live in a world that uses catch phrases or words to sell products. They grab people’s attention. The most commonly used words in advertising are free, now, you, save, money, easy, proven, and guarantee.[i] We’re bombarded with ads using these words all the time. People are preprogrammed to look for free and easy.

    Embrace the mindset that there is no free, there is no easy, there is no guarantee, and there’s not much proven out there. There are no quick and easy steps to anything. If you’re an adult who has been through any difficulty, you already know that anything of real value is difficult and requires time, effort, and energy.

    [i] https://www.thebalance.com/most-powerful-words-in-advertising-38708.

    We are brainwashed to look for free and easy. The average adult sees about 5000 ads a day. It’s hard to sell difficult or hard. It’s easy to sell easy. “If the road you are on is easy,” Terry Goodkind says, “it’s likely you’re going the wrong way.” If you are spending time and energy looking for easy, you are chasing an illusion. Every task of value is difficult. Really if you think about most of the things that we are doing in this life are difficult. Work is hard. Marriage is hard. Starting a business is hard. Raising children is hard. Getting a degree is hard.  Relationships are hard. Life is hard.

    When you seek value, and you understand spiritual principles, you EXPECT hardship. You EXPECT tough times. You EXPECT bumps and obstacles. From my own experience, the value is what lies over the hill and when the wave takes us into shore. Guess who is standing on the beach waiting for us? Jesus.  He has all the insights, revelations and clarity that come from enduring those trials and those difficulties. We just have to keep trusting and believing. When we choose to Brave The Wave, we have access to power, insight, and the full expectation of greater proximity to our authentic self. We only grow through adversity.  I know. It sucks. But it’s true.

    “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
    (John 16:33 NLT)

    Notice Jesus isn’t saying you MAY have trouble. He is saying you WILL have trouble. Especially if you are doing anything about sharing the gospel and bringing others to Jesus.  You are putting on a helmet and getting into the fray. Expect bullets. Expect arrows.

    I will never write or speak about a topic that I know nothing about. When it comes to spiritual warfare, those battles are real. Spiritual warfare is no fairy tale and it isn’t Disneyland. (I love Disneyland.)  But we are never alone.

    Spiritual battles aren’t easy.  We need insight, revelations, clarity and power in order to be effective in battle.   Those things never come easy. Easy is an illusion.