Sophia Saturday: “escape” there’s always a way out
There’s always a way out.
There have been many crucial times in my life when I have felt completely trapped. Those have been the most distressing times, depressing, hopeless and despairing. No matter which way I looked, I could see no light, find no door or window, detect no other alternatives.
Then suddenly, usually in a dream, a way is opened up to me. And in every case, this is what it looked like:
I am not trapped! Simple as that! I went to bed imprisoned. I woke up a free man. Nothing externally had changed. But internally everything changed.
Just like Sophia here, she discovers a route that has been there the whole time, right under her feet. All it took was an ounce of courage, determination and a little bit of planning to make her escape.
I would wake up from these dreams realizing that the greatest jailor of my entrapment was my own fear… my fear of making a difficult choice of walking away from my prison and its guardians and into my own liberated future.
I receive emails every day from people feeling trapped. I read their stories that are so similar to mine. Their fears are identical: the fear of unemployment; the fear of losing community, friends and even family; the fear of rejection; the fear of not being adequately educated or trained for a new life, vocation or job; the fear of losing their faith, backsliding, or even becoming an atheist; the fear of going crazy; the fear of the unknowable future; the fear of innumerable things.
As one who has experienced this many times and walked, I can testify that it can be done. I escaped. I am a free man.
You can do it.
Do you want to invite me to speak? Or do you just need to talk? Just email me to set up a time. My fees are reasonable and adjustable.
Check out my books and my gallery.
a good place to begin
Sometimes, when you get to the place where you no longer care, that is the best place to begin!
I noticed this when pastored a church. If I cared too much, I often would try to bend things to my agenda. But when I gave up, that’s when the best things would happen.
Same with this blog. I notice that when I care too much, try to make nakedpastor into something important and useful, it becomes dry, forced and unpleasant. When I give up and just be, that’s when it resonates most with my readers. Most of them anyway.
Maybe it’s time for you to give up. Certainly on some things.
Do you want to invite me to speak? Or do you just need to talk? Just email me to set up a time. My fees are reasonable and adjustable.
Check out my books and my art.
10 questions for when you’re dying
What is the point of pretending?
One of the greatest regrets people have on their deathbed is that they weren’t more honest about their feelings and what they really thought. The dying realize they would have been happier being more truthful, authentic, real and honest with those around them, but, more importantly, with themselves.
Pretend you are on your deathbed. Here are some questions:
- What do you really believe?
- What do you no longer believe?
- What conventions did you comply to but had no conviction for?
- What controls in your life, either self-imposed or imposed by others, could you have lived better without?
- What motions were you going through that were detrimental to your soul, your conscience, your intelligence, and even your health?
- Who’s feelings were you trying to protect by continuing to live a life of deceit?
- What do you wish you’d done differently?
- Who are the few people you wish you had taken with you on your journey?
- Who would you have been better off without?
- Do you realize that rejecting your idea of That-Which-We-Call-God is not rejecting that which the word points to? The word is not the thing!
These are just a few questions you can ask yourself that might enable you to start living a fuller life now.
Why wait until it is too late?
(I remind you of an excellent short post by Bronnie Ware called “Top Five Regrets of the Dying”. Check it out.)
Do you want to invite me to speak? Or do you just need to talk? Just email me to set up a time. My fees are reasonable and adjustable.
Check out my books and my art.
Gay Thursday: new kind of bible theme park
I thought it would be interesting to have a new kind of bible theme park that contained attractions about the nastier parts of the bible. There’s a whole lot more I could have used. Like Lot being raped by his two daughters. (Ya, sure!) Or the stoning of a man who picked up some kindling on the sabbath. Or David hamstringing a herd of horses. I also thought of a ride called “To Hell and Back” where you take a journey through the center of mega-church services.
Maybe you have some ideas.
Do you want to invite me to speak? Or do you just need to talk? Just email me to set up a time. My fees are reasonable and adjustable.
Check out my books and my art.
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graffiti artist on the walls of religion
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