Discovering Your Desire

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said: Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out? Come to me. Get away with me and you will recover your life. Ill show you how to take a rest.Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly. (The Message) 

The desire for a different sort of life doesn't appear out of thin air. The longing for something more, no matter how weak or crackling with heat, is evidence that God is already at work in your life. You wouldn't want more of God if the Holy Spirit wasn't first seeking you. It is the Trinity's action within that fans the small flame of desire motivating us to "Keep company" with Jesus. In fact, the very desire or desperation you feel can be God's way of readying you to walk and work with Jesus. Take heart, transformation happens as you keep company with Jesus. 

What do you want Jesus to do for you? 

Wanting to to work with and watch Jesus is where transformation begins.Willpower and discipline alone can never fix your soul. Striving, pushing, and trying harder will not recover your life. Unforced rhythms of grace depend on something more than self-mastery and self-effort. 

 

 The simple truth is that wanting to keep company with Jesus has a staying power that "shoulds" and "oughts" seldom have. Jesus wants us to recognize that hidden in our desperation's and desires is an appetite for the Lord and Giver of life. In fact, he says, "You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat." (Mathew 5:6 The Message)   

The very first thing Jesus asked his soon-to-be disciples wan, "What do you want?" (John 1:37) Over and over again he asked about desires: * "What is it you want?" (Mathew 20:21) * "What do you want me to do for you?" (Mathew 20:32;Mark 10:36,51) * "Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6) 

Jesus knew you wouldn't get well if you didn't want the responsibility that came with wellness. He also knew that the mother of James and John was clueless about the meaning of her request to have her sons be power brokers in Jesus' Kingdom (Mathew 20:21). So he pressed her to consider what her desire might mean. Jesus never attempts to shut down people's longings; nor does he ask people to transcend their longings as some religions do. He knew human desire to be an incurable black hold of opportunity. Accompany him and watch his welcome people who want something more: * "A man with leprosy ... begged [Jesus],... 'if you are willing, you can make me clean." (Mathew 8:34) * " They pleaded with [Jesus] to leave their religion." (Mathew 8:34) * "Save us! We're going to drown!" (Mathew 8:25) * " Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left." (Mathew 20:21) * " Sir give me this water." (John 4:15) * " If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." (Mark 9:22) * " The man who had been demon possessed begged to go with [Jesus]." (Mark 5:18) * "Lord teach us to pray." (Luke 11:1)

 Jesus doesn't grant requests like a genie in a bottle. He works with people, allowing their desires to draw him into the core conversations of life. For Jesus, requests for water, healing, rest, vindication, approval, status and so on all engage soul hungers. 

Misguided, self-destruction, true or addictive desperation's and desires opened doors to relationships. Learn from Jesus as he keeps company with people who want something. Watch him attend to the hole in their heart that is bigger than the galaxy. Many of his deepest interactions with people get at two things: (1) the true nature of people's desires, and (2) a spiritual practice that helps them make space for God in their lives.  

Five Definitive Characteristics of Righteous Leadership

In the versus, the spiritual discipline is in quotation marks. * Martha desperately wants Mary to help her. Jesus tells Martha to "detach" from her drivenness to serve and attend to the first thing-to him (Luke 10:41-42) * The man cured of demon possession wants to go with Jesus , but Jesus calls him to be a "witness," Knowing that telling his story to those who know him can change their lives (Mark 5:19).

* The rich young ruler wants eternal life, but he doesn't want it enough to give his earthly wealth away. Jesus calls him to "confess" and reorder his priorities (Mark 10:21). 

 Love the fact that the lord's prayer comes to us through a disciple's desire to connect with God like Jesus did. "Lord , teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1) Jesus gave the disciple a spiritual practice to learn and do. He offered him a prayer to say. There was no seminar on prayer, No steps and techniques for talking to God. Through praying this prayer the disciples had access to the same relationship with the heavenly Father that Jesus did. 

Educational Edit book share : Spiritual Disciplines Handbook. Practices That Transform Us by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun. No infringements or ownership implied. 

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Since then many have quoted him; was Acton one hundred percent correct in his assessment? Not really. I understand this is the case when a person’s morality rebels against God’s moral law his moral principles are dominated by ulterior motives. It is also true that if a person understands that he or she will be held accountable, not only in this life but also in the one to come before Almighty God who is the sovereign ruler, the supreme lawgiver and judge of the world, the universe and heaven, then there is no power on earth or hell that can cause that person to be corrupted.

 God has absolute power, He cannot be corrupted; Jesus in His public life manifested self-control that not even Satan’s best offer of power and prestige persuaded Him to consider even for a second to accept such temporal earthly fame to corrupt himself. Jesus had power over the enemy and his host of fallen angels and humans who followed his lies (Matthew 4; Luke 4). Jesus, in his earthly body, left us a testimony that absolute power given by God cannot corrupt a heart whose delight is to do God’s will. Christ conquered death by His resurrection; before His ascension he declared: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). He delegated that very same power to His disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, …and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" Matthew 28:19-20). Since then the true followers of Christ cannot be bought or corrupted by any power or fame. History is filled with testimonies of men and women of all ages who left a testimony to their generation as well as future ones that absolute power does not corrupt.

Are voters serious about restoring America's original foundation in biblical principles which made it the most powerful and prosperous nation in the world? 

WE’RE CALLED TO PRAY FOR BIRTH RIGHT LEADERS WHO RECOGNIZE HONORING GOD COMES FIRST.

TODAY is Americas time to start making 'We get out of God what we put into God.' it's number one priority in life, in thoughts, and actions in accordance with the truth of His New Testament word.

In Gifts for the Journey, one of Sister Marilyn's "Wisdom" songs begins with "Wisdom is a Spirit." Its refrain is "And I say: ask and you shall receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you. And I say: the Lord will make you his Light." The Lord will Actually Give Us His Mind. If we become conscious enough, we can actually begin to think with the mind of God. 

The development of consciousness is thus, among other things , a Process of the Conscious Mind Opening Itself to the Unconscious in Order to be Congruent with the mind of God. 

When we become Aware of New Truth, it is because we Consciously Re-recognize it to be True; We re-new that which we knew all along in our Unconscious mind. 

 

 

Common Criminal Thinking.

 

If we're honest with ourselves, most of us must admit that at some time or another we have engaged in criminal thinking, which is but one form of disordered thinking. The bulk of critical theory on criminal thinking has been derived primarily from people who are incarcerated or have otherwise broken the law. 

But there is often a thin line separating criminals behind bars from the rest of us. The research on criminal thinking underscores the most common patterns of irrational thought that lead to disordered decisions. Most common criminal thinking patterns are not so much convoluted as simplistic and one-dimensional. Then there is a tendency among some to see themselves as always the victim. People who think this way do not take responsibility for their choices. For others still, there is a lack of perspective about time, which results in living primarily in the present, without investigating in the future or taking into account the consequences of one's actions.  

One aspect of criminal thinking patterns stands out most because of it's  prevalence among noncriminal segments of the population. It is an attitude of ownership, or what can be referred to as a sense of entitlement. Inherent in this attitude is a cockiness that borders on blatant narcissism.

 Those with an an extreme sense of entitlement are able to justify violating other people or their property without regard to their rights. if their thinking stems from an "inferiority complex," those who feel entitled see themselves as helpless and often as victims. They complain and protest greatly about the lack of opportunities they have had in life because of their ethnic, economic, or family background. They discount their own failure to put in the effort required to improve their lives. Some will choose to steal, manipulate, and otherwise take from others because of their belief that the world owes them. They fail to see their own negligence in considering alternative ways of thinking and living. 

In others the sense of entitlement arises out of a "superiority complex." A person may believe he should always have first shot at everything, again because of ethnic, economic, or family background. He thinks those like him are also superior and therefore due anything they desire, even if getting it means taking from others. 

He feels entitled to the best educational or job opportunities, and is often offended by others who want the best for themselves. Desiring the best in life is not the problem. This thinking is problematic when people are willing to violate others by discrimination, exploitation, and oppression, denying them the same rights, opportunities, and access to valued resources. 

Of course, all of this is simplistic thinking. It  is as apparent among those considered to be otherwise intelligent and successful, who have attended top-notch schools and run major corporations, as it is among the uneducated, underprivileged, and criminal and mentally ill populations. The common denominator is our human tendency of failing to think well. 

Educational Book share, no ownership implied: The Road Less Traveled and Beyond Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety by M. Scott Peck, M.D.

What Do You Want Jesus to Do for You?

Wanting to work with and watch Jesus is where transformation begins. Willpower and discipline alone can never fix your soul. Striving, pushing, and trying harder will not recover your life. unforced rhythms of grace depend on something more than self-mastery and self-effort. 

The simple truth is that wanting to keep company with Jesus has a staying power that "shoulds" and "oughts" seldom have.  

Jesus wants us to recognize that hidden in our desperations and desires is an appetite for the Lord and Giver of life. In fact, he says, "You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat" (Matthew 5:6 The Message). The very first thing Jesus asked his soon-to-be disciples was, "What do you want?" (John 1:37). Over and over again he asked about desires: "What is it you want?" (Matthew 20:21) , "What do you want me to do for you?" (Matthew 20:32; Mark 10:36, 51) , "Do you want to get well" (John 5:6) . Jesus knew you wouldn't get well if you didn't want the responsibility that came will wellness. 

He also knew that the mother of James and John was clueless about the meaning of her request to have her sons be power brokers in Jusus' Kingdom (Mathew 20:21). So he pressed her to consider what her desire might mean. 

Jesus never attempts to shut down peoples longings; nor does he ask people to transcend their longings as some religions do. He knew human desire to be an incurable black hole of opportunity. Accompany him and watch him welcome people who want something more; "A man with leprosy ... begged [Jesus] 'If you are willing, you can make me clean. ' " (Mark 1:40) , "They pleaded with [Jesus] to leave their region. " (Mathew 8:34) , 

"Save us! We're going to drown!" (Mathew 8:25) , "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left." (Mathew 20:21) , "Sir, give me water." (John4:15) , "If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." (Mark 9:22), "The man who had been demon possessed begged to go with [Jesus]." (Mark 5:18) , "Lord teach us to pray." (Luke 11:1)  Jesus doesn't grant requests like a genie in a bottle. He works with people, allowing their desire to draw him into the core conversations of life. For Jesus, requests for water, healing, rest, vindication, approval, status and so on all engage soul hungers, Misguided, self-destructive, true or addictive desperations and desires opened doors to relationship. 

Learn from Jesus as he keeps company with people who want something. Watch him attend to the hole in their heart that is bigger than the galaxy. Many of his deepest interactions with people get at two things: (1) the true nature of peoples desires, and (2) a spiritual practice that helps them make space for God in their lives (in the versus below, the spiritual discipline is in quotation marks). Martha desperately wants Mary to help her. Jesus tells Martha to "detach" from her drivenness to serve and attend to the first thing - to him (Luke 10:41-42) , The man cured of demon possession want to go with Jesus, but Jesus calls him to be a "witness," Knowing that telling his story to those who know him can change their lives (Mark 5:19) , The rich young ruler wants eternal life, but he doesn't want it enough to give his earthly wealth away. Jesus calls him to "confess" and reorder his priorities (Mark 10:21). 

In conclusion,  love the fact that the Lord's' Prayer comes to us through a disciple's desire connect with God like Jesus did. "Lord. teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1) . Jesus gave the disciple a spiritual practice to learn and do. He offered him a prayer to say. There was no seminar on prayer. No steps and techniques for talking to God.  Through praying this prayer the disciples had access to the same relationship with the Heavenly Father that Jesus did. 

Educational Book share, no ownership implied: Spiritual Disciplines Handbook , Practices That Transform Us by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun. 

Are you a Republican, or a Fox News Republican? Survey says there’s a difference

Donald Trump: America's Mistake

Ronna McDaniel is stuck between her Romney roots and Trump’s Republican Party

Mark 3:25: If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand

Trump: 'We're going to win so much, you're going to be so sick and tired of winning'. Had enough yet, or do you desire more in the same as gluttons who loved punishment.

New research shows why those who search for personal glory fail as leaders.

You would most likely agree that a key component of leadership is the ability to inspire others through one’s own personal charismatic appeal. During times of crisis, such as during the current COVID-19 pandemic, you particularly need to be able to trust those who offer public guidelines, reassurances, and updates. It might be the head of your organization who sends out a video message, a national or regional politician, or a local religious official.

More evidence Republicans don’t care about people like you.

You want to believe the people in charge who deliver their words with great confidence. However, what if these are people you've come to conclude from their past behavior that they derive their self-assurance from the grandiose form of narcissism? Does it make you wonder whether they have your best interests in mind or does it seem that they just want to grab the limelight?

Trump Doesn’t Want to Be President - He wants to be communications director.

To be sure, a key component of leadership is the ability to inspire others so that they will follow and this can require a healthy dose of positive self-regard. Equally important to leadership is the ability to withstand criticism if not the public humiliation of losing an election. Indeed, people who run for their nation’s highest offices may famously fail on their first try or two.

Those who seek promotions in the workplace, similarly, may be turned down a few times before they receive the advancement they crave. 

You might have even experienced the pain of losing the confidence of those you want to lead if you’ve ever lost a committee election in a volunteer organization. As much as you’d like to try again, though, you can’t muster up the self-confidence you need to give it another go. It makes you realize just what it takes for people to repeatedly put themselves on the line. “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

Unfortunately, the very qualities that can contribute both to charismatic crowd-pleasing and the thick skin needed to survive psychologically after a loss can require a certain degree of narcissistic grandiosity. 

Donald Trump has no strategy, no beliefs, and no principles.

The Shadow Knows.

Bull's Eye: Trump Is His Own Worst Enemy.

What does the Bible say about being mean-spirited?

Psychospirtual and Historical Baggage.

Johannes Gutenberg—Universität’s Nina Wirtz and Thomas Rigatti (2020), studying workplace relationships, note that leaders high in grandiosity may be able to rise to the top of their organizations but at the cost of those they lead of becoming emotionally exhausted and turned off by their work under leaders who exploit and take advantage of them.

As the German authors note, "on the one hand, narcissists are perceived as charismatic and visionary, emerge more easily as leaders, possess public persuasiveness, and demonstrate good crisis management" ... but "on the other hand, narcissism has been related to low levels of integrity and contextual, interpersonal performance, as well as workplace deviance." Within the workplace, their "sense of entitlement, lack of interest in personal relationships, and strong emotional reactivity are likely to cause interpersonal difficulties" (p. 1). Furthermore, for employees high in the vulnerable form of narcissism, exposure to such leaders can be particularly stressful and emotionally exhausting.

Fools, Scammers and Liars call evil good to seek self-gratification without the constraint of God’s truth.

One conclusion from the German study is that not everyone will be negatively impacted by a leader high in grandiose narcissism. However, for those who are, the workplace becomes a scene of constant stress and turmoil. However, if you think about what such situations are actually like, you know that seeing narcissistic leaders prey on the weak creates an uncomfortable, if not toxic, environment for everyone else as well. 

Presidential non-negotiable's in regards to what makes any incumbent the effective Spiritual leader - under God - a great nation founded upon principles deserves.

We can't hide behind a fake administration where God has called us to reach out to people.

According to Envisia Learning’s Kenneth Nowack and Claremont Graduate School’s Paul Zak (2020), this toxicity stems in large part from a lack of empathy on the part of those in charge. Again, you can probably relate to this if you’ve seen a coworker constantly belittled by a supervisor who seems impervious to the damaging effects of this behavior on the coworker’s self-esteem.

According to what Nowack and Zak refer to as the "empathy-altruism hypothesis," a leader whose lack of empathy translates into a toxic interpersonal style creates “serious problems for employees, organizations, and society.” Conversely, altruistic leaders are able to experience the distress of others, show concern for other people’s feelings, and take the perspective of those under their authority. This type of altruism requires that the leader puts the goals of the group ahead of the personal need to gain acclaim. Such leaders want those they lead to do well not because it enhances their own image but because success benefits everyone. Some of the "empathy antidotes" that they recommend include supporting and practicing a culture of appreciation, enhancing an "empathy mindset," and even more radically, for organizations to "screen, select, and promote for empathy" (p. 6).

Returning to the example of your belittled coworker, an empathic leader would refrain from public shaming but instead would seek a one-on-one chat to try to help resolve the situation. Maybe that coworker forgot to set up the conference room for a scheduled meeting. An empathic leader would try to understand the reason for the memory slip from the employee’s point of view. When workers feel that their superiors care about their feelings, they should be more likely to remain loyal to the organization, feel more engaged, and even experience better physical and mental health.

It’s possible that such interventions could have a beneficial impact due to changes in the electrical activity of the brain. Catholic University of Milan’s Michela Balconi and colleagues (2020) used EEG to measure what they call “interpersonal tuning” between managers and employers. The Italian team asked a sample of 11 managers and their employees to role-play a performance review under two conditions varying in empathy while their EEGs were recorded.

Trump-induced existential anxiety has torn the nation apart, but it's fixable.

In the low-empathic condition, managers provided their employees with a numerical rating only, and in the no-rating, high empathic condition, the leaders used explanations to provide a more softened form of feedback on the employee's performance. The high empathy condition, as predicted, produced EEGs that reflected greater synchronization between the role-playing pairs as well as perceptions of greater emotional tuning and feelings of cooperation on the part of both team members.

We have too many leaders who believe their position mandates their influence shall lead by forced coercion - a “my way or the highway” mindset that makes them more like dictators.

If we extrapolate now from these findings in the workplace to situations involving leadership more generally, it seems clear that empathy can become a key component to ensuring that the actions of leaders have a favorable impact on those they lead. Leaders obsessed with trying to feed their narcissistic sense of self instead of understanding the plight of the average individual fail to provide the necessary reassurances to make those average individuals feel better about their situations and "interpersonally tuned up" enough to carry on despite any hardships they may be experiencing.

Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you, says the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

We have forgotten that it was the sin of pride 

that got Satan kicked out of Heaven.

When God's about to Abandon a Nation: It is always instructive how relevantly it speaks to our time and to our lives that will be true.

Educational article share: 

Why Do Narcissists Make Such Poor Leaders? 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/202004/why-do-narcissists-make-such-poor-leaders

When real leaders speak people listen.

leaders often walk confidently into a room full of people only to discover that they have totally misjudged the leadership dynamics of the situation.

A LOT OF POSITIONAL LEADERS DO THAT OVER THE YEARS. THEY TELL THEIR PEOPLE SOMETHING LIKE THIS: “HEY, WAIT! I’M THE LEADER. YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW ME.” BUT THAT DOESN’T WORK. PEOPLE MIGHT BE POLITE TO YOU, BUT THEY WON’T REALLY FOLLOW.


IT’S SIMILAR TO SOMETHING FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER MARGARET THATCHER ONCE SAID: “BEING IN POWER IS LIKE BEING A LADY. IF YOU HAVE TO TELL PEOPLE YOU ARE, YOU AREN’T.”

THE BOTTOM LINE FOR FOLLOWERS IS WHAT A LEADER IS CAPABLE OF. ULTIMATELY, THAT’S THE REASON PEOPLE WILL LISTEN TO AND ACKNOWLEDGE AS THEIR LEADER. AS SOON AS THEY NO LONGER BELIEVE YOU CAN DELIVER, THEY WILL STOP LISTENING.

CHARACTER COMMUNICATES.
WHENEVER YOU LEAD PEOPLE, IT’S AS IF THEY CONSENT TO TAKE A JOURNEY WITH YOU. THE WAY THAT TRIP IS GOING TO TURN OUT IS PREDICTED BY YOUR CHARACTER. WITH GOOD CHARACTER, THE LONGER THE TRIP IS, THE BETTER IT GETS. BUT IF YOUR CHARACTER IS FLAWED, THE LONGER THE TRIP IS, THE  WORSE IT WILL SEEM TO THEM. WHY? BECAUSE NO ONE ENJOYS SPENDING TIME WITH SOMEONE HE DOESN’T TRUST.

TRUST IS THE FOUNDATION OF LEADERSHIP.
Every leader has a certain amount of change in his pocket when he starts in a new leadership position. From then on, he either builds up his change or pays it out. If he makes one bad decision after another, he keeps paying out change. Then one day, after making one last bad decision, he is going to reach into his pocket and realize he is out of change. It doesn’t even matter if the blunder was big or small. When you’re out of change, you’re out as the leader. General H. Norman Schwarzkopf points to the significance of character:, “Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character.


But if you must be without one, be without strategy.” Character and leadership credibility always go hand in hand. Anthony Harrigan, president of the U.S. Business and Industrial Council, said, The role of character always has been the key factor in the rise and fall of nations. And one can be sure that America is no exception to this rule of history. We won’t survive as a country because we are smarter or more sophisticated but because we are—we hope—stronger inwardly. In short, character is the only effective bulwark against internal and external forces that lead to a country’s disintegration or collapse. Character makes trust possible. And trust makes leadership possible. That is the Law of Solid Ground.

CHARACTER COMMUNICATES CONSISTENCY.

LEADERS WITHOUT INNER STRENGTH CAN’T BE COUNTED ON DAY AFTER DAY BECAUSE THEIR ABILITY TO PERFORM CHANGES CONSTANTLY.

NBA GREAT JERRY WEST COMMENTED, “YOU CAN’T GET TOO MUCH DONE IN LIFE IF YOU ONLY WORK ON THE DAYS WHEN YOU FEEL GOOD.”

IF YOUR PEOPLE DON’T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM YOU AS A LEADER, AT SOME POINT THEY WON’T LOOK TO YOU FOR LEADERSHIP.

CHARACTER COMMUNICATES POTENTIAL.
JOHN MORLEY OBSERVED, “NO MAN CAN CLIMB OUT BEYOND THE LIMITATIONS OF HIS OWN CHARACTER.” THAT’S ESPECIALLY TRUE WHEN IT COMES TO LEADERSHIP. TAKE, FOR INSTANCE, THE CASE OF NHL COACH MIKE KEENAN. AS OF MID-1997, HE HAD A NOTEWORTHY RECORD OF PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY VICTORIES: THE FIFTH GREATEST NUMBER OF REGULAR-SEASON WINS, THE THIRD GREATEST NUMBER OF PLAY-OFF VICTORIES, SIX DIVISION TITLES, FOUR NHL FINALS APPEARANCES, AND ONE STANLEY CUP.
Yet despite those commendable credentials, Keenan was unable to stay with a single team for any length of time.


In eleven and a half seasons, he coached four different teams. And after his stint with the fourth team—the St. Louis Blues—he was unable to land a job for a long time. Why? Sportswriter E. M. Swift said of Keenan, “The reluctance to hire Keenan is easily explicable. Everywhere he has been, he has alienated players and management.” Evidently, his players didn’t trust him. Neither did the owners, who were benefiting from seeing their teams win. It seems he kept violating the Law of Solid Ground. Craig Weatherup explains, “You don’t build trust by talking about it. You build it by achieving results, always with integrity and in a manner that shows real personal regard for the people with whom you work.” When a leader’s character is strong, people trust him, and they trust in his ability to release their potential. That not only gives followers hope for the future, but it also promotes a strong belief in themselves and their organization.

CHARACTER COMMUNICATES RESPECT.
WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE STRENGTH WITHIN, YOU CAN’T EARN RESPECT WITHOUT. AND RESPECT IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL FOR LASTING LEADERSHIP. HOW DO LEADERS EARN RESPECT? BY MAKING SOUND DECISIONS, ADMITTING THEIR MISTAKES WHEN THEY MAKE THEM, AND PUTTING WHAT’S BEST FOR THEIR FOLLOWERS AND THE ORGANIZATION AHEAD OF THEIR PERSONAL AGENDAS.
J. R. Miller once observed, “The only thing that walks back from the tomb with the mourners and refuses to be buried is the character of a man. This is true. What a man is survives him. It can never be buried.”

BY THEN, IT WAS TOO LATE.
MANY WOULD ARGUE THAT MCNAMARA’S ADMISSION CAME THIRTY YEARS AND FIFTY-EIGHT THOUSAND LIVES TOO LATE. THE COST OF VIETNAM WAS HIGH, AND NOT JUST IN HUMAN LIVES. AS THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’S TRUST IN THEIR LEADERS ERODED, SO DID THEIR WILLINGNESS TO FOLLOW THEM. PROTESTS LED TO OPEN REBELLION AND TO SOCIETYWIDE TURMOIL. THE ERA THAT HAD BEGUN WITH THE HOPE AND IDEALISM CHARACTERIZED BY JOHN F. KENNEDY ULTIMATELY ENDED WITH THE MISTRUST AND CYNICISM ASSOCIATED WITH RICHARD NIXON.
Whenever a leader breaks the Law of Solid Ground, he pays a price in his leadership.

McNamara and President Johnson lost the trust of the American people, and their ability to lead suffered as a result. Eventually, McNamara resigned as secretary of defense. Johnson, the consummate politician, recognized his weakened position, and he didn’t run for reelection. But the repercussions of broken trust didn’t end there. The American people’s distrust for politicians has continued to this day, and it is still growing.

No leader can break trust with his people and expect to keep influencing them. Trust is the foundation of leadership. Violate the Law of Solid Ground, and you’re through as a leader.

Educational book share: THE 21 IRREFUTABLE LAWS OF LEADERSHIP - JOHN C. MAXWELL

Grace and Serendipity. 
However hard we try, the reality is that we humans can never will miracles into being. 
This fact, this lack of control, is one of the reasons the secular generally turn a blind eye to the miraculous in life. They fail to see the grace - and hence the proof - of God and God's Love. Within nations  primary identity as a scientist, we want and like proof. Being as much a logical sort as a mysterious one, it expects statistical proof whenever possible to convince us of things. But throughout the ages as republic continued to mature, it became more and more impressed  by the frequency of statistically highly improbable events. In their very improbability 'We The People' have seen the fingerprints of God. 

There is a pattern to these highly improbable events: almost all seemed to have a beneficial outcome. A synonym for grace: serendipity. 
Webster's dictionary defines serendipity as "the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for." This definitions has several intriguing features. One is that serendipity is termed a gift, which implies that some people possess it while others don't, that some people are lucky and others are not. it is a major thesis of many that grace, manifested in part by "valuable or agreeable things not sought for," is available to everyone. But while some take advantage of it, others do not. 

One of the reasons for the human tendency to resist grace is that we are not fully aware of its presence. We don't find valuable things not sought for because we fail to appreciate the value of the gift when it is given to us. In other words, serendipitous events occur to all of us, but frequently we fail to recognize their serendipitous nature; we consider such events unremarkable, and consequently we fail to take full advantage of them. 

The indications of grace and / or serendipity as described seem to have the following characteristics: 
* They serve to nurture - support, protect, and enhance - human life and spiritual Growth. 
* The mechanism of their action is either incompletely understandable (as in the case of dreams) or totally obscure (as in the case of the paranormal phenomenon) according to the principles of natural law as interpreted by current scientific thinking.     

*Their occurrence is frequent, routine, commonplace, and essentially universal among humanity. 
*Although they are potentially influenced by human consciousness, their origin is outside the conscious will and beyond the process of conscious decision making. 

In other words, have come to believe that their commonality indicates that these phenomena are part of or manifestations of a single phenomena; a powerful force that originates outside of human consciousness and nurtures the spiritual growth of human beings. 

Those who are properly skeptical and scientific-minded  may be inclined to dismiss this force since we can't touch it, and have no decent way to measure it. Yet it exists. It is real.  

Understanding of that is limited, again, by difficulty in dealing with paradox. Many want to identify things rationally. The paradox of grace is that, on the one hand it is earned. The bible has already mentioned a number of reasons why our becoming blessed by grace is a matter of choice. 

On the other hand, try as we might to obtain grace; grace comes to us. The paradox that we both choose grace and our chosen by grace is the essence of the phenomenon of serendipity, which was defined as "the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for."

In the road less traveled, The path to holiness lies through questioning everything." Such questioning is necessary to move from a hand-me-down existence to the fully mature life. 
Revelation: believe that the radical healing influence of grace is manifested to us not only through such widely improbable circumstances but also through revelation. 
Whenever something happens that is beyond coincidence, the chances are great that the hand of God is at work. 


Educational Book Share: The Road Less Traveled and Beyond - Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety. M.Scott Peck, M.D.

When God's about to Abandon a Nation: It is always instructive how relevantly it speaks to our time and to our lives that will be true.

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