Controlling the God Encounters

     It almost seems too easy to change history today by overanalyzing and twisting perceptions.  Your friend comes up to you with a pale face, racing heart, and stammering words.  “I saw a ghost!” they shout.  You begin the process of dissecting the event.  “Where were you? What time was it?  What happened?”  They walk you through the event—with passion in their words.  The event obviously altered their perception and impacted them.  Now comes your choice to believe or reject their story.

     Most people would be skeptical and want to experience the ghostly encounter before diving off the cliff of sanity and believing that ghosts exist.  You decide to visit this haunted house and find out for yourself if ghost wander the hallways of the condemned house.  Nothing happens to you.  You don’t brush shoulders with the undead.  You go on believing that ghosts don’t exist.  A year later you do the same thing—same results.  Another year passes, and you’ve come to a point where you want to believe because of the impact it had on your friend.  This time, you actually see a hovering spirit.  You believe!

     You rush to your friend and share your experience with them.  But they’ve had time to question the original sighting and came to the conclusion that ghosts don’t exist and the event was just an emotional response to a hallucination.  “What!? No! You actually saw the same thing and experienced it.  Why are they changing the past?

     Belief does that to us sometimes.  If we’re not careful, we can do the same thing to our faith.  God enters our personal space and touches us. It changes us and we run around—on fire with this encounter.  Time passes, and the inferno becomes a dwindling flame.  But don’t hurt yourself by nitpicking the event that sparked change in your life and concluding that you somehow had control over God’s appearance.  Don’t question it so much that you step back, take a different aspect, change your perspective, step back into the role, and convince yourself that something else took place.  You can’t rewrite history in honesty.

Captive

Tell me, how can life get better than this?

Sitting here, wondering if there’s something I missed.

Bottled-up scream behind my lips.

No one listening as I burn to a crisp.

Someone, somewhere, rescue me!

I’m chained and bound, can’t be free.

Consumed by complete misery.

On the ground, off my feet.

Happiness turned to rage!

Can’t even turn the page!

Fear my life is a waste!

It’s time I went away!

A slow, soft whisper begins to rumble my core.

Shaking the chains as I lay on the floor.

Pulsing a brightness and prompting something more.

Drawing me to my feet and pushing me forward.

I rise from the ashes, and the chains fall to the ground.

Weight is lifted, and I’m no longer bound.

In a place of solitude I look around.

Is it possible I was lost, but now am found?

Steady, stop, listen, I have something to say.

Stop looking at the past, tomorrow is at bay.

The darkness is gone, light shines a new day.

Move your feet and let’s start this race.

I have the key to the chains you held.

Bondage was a mindset, leading you to Hell.

I gave you life and sight to see.

I broke the mold to set you free.

I filled your heart, know I’m here.

I gave you courage and took the fear.

The chaos is gone from your life.

Leave the darkness, come to the light.

A new beginning starts tonight.

I conquered the battle and won this fight.

Peace, be still, and know that I am Lord.

Now, take my hand and let’s explore…this life together.

 

 

 

God the Tourist

Have you ever been on a guided tour?  Let’s place this scenario at a historic site.  Maybe you did some studying or have an interest in the location you’re visiting.  The guide leads you from one house to a barn to a field where a battle took place.  At each stop they bring history to life with fun facts and interesting tidbits.  Somewhere along the way you decide to speak up about something you learned that the guide didn’t mention.  Maybe the group comes to life with this new information or maybe the guide just ignores you and continues along the way.  Whatever happens, you stay on the tour until it is finished.

 

Life is a long tour.  God sent Jesus to earth and Jesus became the interpreter of how things run down here.  Have you ever stopped to think that maybe Jesus’ time on Earth wasn’t enough?  Times change, societies evolve, and new is always around the corner.

 

God said, “The Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.  Deuteronomy 31:8

Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20

I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. Genesis 26:24

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall

not overflow you. Isaiah 43:2”

 

Some people think that God is distant and never interacts with us.  Others think that God shows up and leads us in our times of need.  But God says that he is with us always; every minute of every day.  That makes God a tourist in the journey of our lives.

 

With that in mind; where are we leading God?  Are we showing Him all the marvelous things we’ve learned or experienced ourselves?  Or are we constantly showing him junk that He’s seen too many times before?  Do we ignore Him when He speaks up to share with us something we didn’t know? Or are we captivated with the new information and share it with others?

 

God created us and He wants to be with us.  He is with us every day.  You take Him to work with you.  You sing along with the radio in your car and He is with you.  Maybe it’s time to stop thinking that we’re just along for the ride.  Life is unfolding before us and we bring God into each new adventure.  He’s like a parent who watches His children’s expressions as they learn to ride a bike or experience something new, or battle with pain.  God created the world and He wants to know how much we appreciate it.  Let’s show Him the marvels of His creation and listen when He has something new to share with us.

Daddy Children's Books

     If you search “Mommy Children’s Books” you will find a list of amazing books for children with respectable themes about childish adventures and outpouring love from Mommy to the child.  If you search “Daddy Children’s Books” you get something completely different.  There’s titles such as “Daddy Needs a Drink”, “When Mommy and Daddy Divorce”, “My Dad is Big and Strong, But”, “When Mom or Dad Dies”, and a list of other mature themed books for children. 

 

     Don’t get me wrong.  There are a few books that compete with “Mommy” books like “I love my daddy because”, “Daddy Kisses”, and “When a Dad Says ‘I Love You’”.  But there seems to be a shortage of children’s books that emphasize the importance of father’s in the lives of children.  I don’t want to sound too negative with this article, but if you want to continue your research and educate yourself on crime statistics based on the absence of a father figure, then you can google away.

 

     Fathers and their children have a special bond and it is often considered dorky or humorous which is why books come out about daddy snoring too loudly or daddy’s bald spot, but where are the stacks and stacks of books that fathers want to see?  Where are the books describing the adventures that children have with their fathers?  Every time I go to the park with my children we tell a story that involves dragons, captive princesses, a hero, and a theme where everyone returns home safely.  Where are the stories that show what fathers do best: picking up children and soaring them through the air, helping build projects, pushing them too high on swings, playing sports, going for a ride in the car to get ice cream, giving a big hug when something is wrong?

 

     I think it’s concerning and the storyteller inside of me is going to do something about it.  On the beach one day I asked little Donnie to draw me in the sand.  He did so and the character he drew inspired me to draw the same thing over and over again for the past two years.  I’ve been telling bedtime adventures for the past five years and it’s time to give fathers around the world books that display the importance of a hero daddy and a daddy whose there for his children.

 

     In January I hope to have my first children’s book available to the public.  It’s titled “The Adventures of Bubba and Sissy; Daddy Does the Same Thing” and follows the adventures that a brother and sister have with or without their daddy present.  Children play at school or in a daycare or at the park before their daddy gets home from work or visits them.  The story displays these adventures and shows that daddy does the same thing when the children are having fun.  When the children come together with their daddy they can continue the adventure.  The important thing is for children to include their fathers in their imagination time, so when he arrives they can establish a deeper bond.

 

     The role of the father will always be important to children.  A boy views his dad as a hero and someone to look up to.  A daughter sees her dad as a knight in shining armor.  Expanding their imaginations to make daddy larger than life will always have a better effect on a child than adult based humor about how out of shape or disgusting daddy can be.  After all it is the father who gives his daughter away on her wedding day and helps his son grow into a man.

Your Breath of Life

     Have you ever felt the effects of adrenaline and what it does to your body?  Your heart begins to pound as you take a seat in the roller coaster.  Your lungs open up and you take in more air.  Suddenly, you’re aware of the people’s conversation three cars back.  Your vision becomes more focused as you see the first hill in the distance the coaster will soon climb.  You began to sweat.  Blood races to your arms and legs and gives you strength.  Fear slowly disappears and you feel like you can conquer anything.  That’s what adrenaline does in a single circumstance.

     Have you ever realized that you’re standing at the fork in the road of your life?  This doesn’t happen as often as adrenaline rushes as hindsight usually plays a role with that moment has passed.  It might be a job choice or something more dramatic, but you know that your choice will influence the rest of your life or until another meeting with destiny arrives in your future.

     Have you ever placed another person above yourself?  Your wife or husband or children need something that everything inside of you screams can’t happen.  You make a decision that is ninety percent out of your control, but you know just part of you has to be willing to give it a shot for something to happen.  The outcome isn’t promised, but courage is needed in the first step.

     Combine all of these and you get a glimpse of the definition of “Breath of Life”.  It’s the past, present, and future all combined into one moment that changes your life.  You will eventually be able to look back at that moment and realize that the path you are on is better because of that choice.  You can then say that you’ve experienced the breath of life.

     I want to hear your story about that moment in your life.  It might have happened decades ago or you could be standing at the fork in the road with a decision already made and the future clear and crisp like adrenaline’s gift to your body.  Visit facebook.com/breathoflifedonaldstidham and tell your story in the comment field below the “Your Breath of Life” post.

The Ultimate Social Network for Writers

I’ve heard it time and time again that writing is a lonely profession.  I’m somewhat inclined to agree with that because we have to be alone to get our thoughts out and into the physical world.  But, today I realized there is a social network that completely erases the loneliness.

I’m currently editing my novel “Pieces” which I plan on releasing in the spring of 2014.  As my eyes sweep over the pages I realize that other people could be watching me since I’m in a public place while enjoying a coffee.  For the next few minutes I keep myself in check as my book causes emotional responses.  I’m laughing and then I stop.  I grit my teeth and pull my fistful of hair until my scalp hurts.  I reposition myself in the seat while smiling at the screen.

I think, “What are these people around me thinking about me and my reactions?”  That leads to the thought of me on a couch with a therapist.  I would pour out my questions and concerns about my characters and ask why they had to do the things they did.  By the end of the session my therapist would deem me crazy for actually thinking the characters I create are real.  I’ll take the crazy pill because my characters are a part of who I am, therefore they are real.

Do any of you writers out there feel the same way?  A character may start out as an idea, but somewhere along the way they become real.  If something bad happens to them, then it hurts us.  If something good comes into their lives, then we’re happy for them.  Some may say to change the story if something bad is going on, but it’s not that easy.  For some of us writers the story unfolds and it’s like history; it can’t be changed.

This is when I realized that writing is NOT a lonely profession at all.  The social network for a writer is greater than any social network available to everyone else.  Facebook can never have as many available friends and events going on as the worlds and characters my books offer me.  I can sit and think and social network for hours.  “Christina, what’s happening today in Bakersfield, California?”  “Mel, how are you going to propose to her?”  “John, are you going to make it through this journey with Claire?”  “Dougan, why did you pick up that hitchhiker?”  “Hayden, how deep does your love for your father really go?”  And the answers start pouring in.  At that point my fingers hit the keyboard and make it happen.

You see, our characters entertain us beyond imagination.  It’s not a false reality that some psychologist might argue.  These people are real and their lives are imprinted on us as writers.  Reality is more beautiful because they exist.  It’s not crazy.  What’s crazy is thinking that the world could go on without these pieces of us existing.  Because of that the ultimate social network for writers will always be in our minds.

 

Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ.

There’s a simple question that has been diluted over time.  The question was posed to some of us while growing up, some later in life.  Once the question was asked and time moved on it becomes ease to forget the powerful meaning behind it.  “Do you want a personal relationship with Jesus?”  The question could have been phrased differently, but there is a key in there I want to take a look at; Personal Relationship.

 

All of us have relationships, some romantic or plutonic and others biological.  In the intimate relationships they all started out with speaking to the other person.  The development of that relationship might have started slow; with respect and astonishment that someone blossomed into feelings deeper than friendship.  It could have started with fire and passion, adventure and intrigue that could only be defined as crazy love.

 

Remember those early dates way before talks of marriage?  You might have written notes or bought a simple card.  You could have constructed a poem or bought flowers.  Maybe you made reservations at a nice restaurant and caught a movie before staying up all night and just talking to that other person.  You listened for hours on the phone while they chatted about everything possible.  Think about all those hours and days and weeks you put effort into that relationship that gave it a foundation to where you are today.

 

What about Jesus?  Maybe you said that prayer, opened your Bible, read it every day, went to church every Sunday, joined a ministry, became a missionary, help your local Christian outreach programs, pray every morning and night, and fill your schedule with honest deeds for Christ.  Maybe you’re not that outgoing.  If you’re an overachiever, prayer warrior, or silent Christian you may have lost focus on the very basic definition of your proclaimed faith; a personal relationship.

 

Think of the best relationship you’ve ever experienced with another person.  Now, think of the best thing they ever did for you.  Was there a sacrifice on their part; money, time, effort, etc…?  Now watch this.

 

 

 

Jesus did this with you on His mind.  He endured more than just flogging and humiliation.  He carried a cross up the mountain of despair in your life.  He planted that cross and was nailed to it.  He died with you on His mind.  It doesn’t stop there.

 

 

 

When you wake up Jesus should be on your mind.  You should give Him at least a minute to thank Him for that sacrifice and talk to Him.  Listen to what He has to say.  See where He wants you to go for the day.  Tell others about the best relationship you have on this earth.  Strive to become closer to God just like you strived to be great in every other relationship you’ve been in.  A personal relationship doesn’t start with a prayer and get refueled on Sunday mornings.  A personal relationship comes to life with a prayer and fuels your every movement and every breath.

 

 

Movie clips from Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ on youtube.