Discipleship is not about:
Though they all help!
It is about submitting every thought — and emotion! — to Christ, so we more consistently manifest the Fruit of the Spirit.
[By denying our Self so we can follow Jesus all the way to the Cross]
Which is how others learn to enjoy Him.
#AmygdalaGospel #TheTransition #FruitOfTheCross
Continued from Acolyte, Wisdom
A teenage boy enters, red-haired with freckles.
Adept: ‘Thena, where are you?
Thena: [entering] Right here. And who are you now, my dear Rogue?
A. I think ahm what they call an “Adept.” Which either means skillful or magic user, yeh?
Continue readingContinued from Rogue, Wisdom
A young girl in a white robe enters the garden.
Acolyte: Athena? Athena? ‘Thena, are you there?
Thena: [entering] Rogue, is that you?
Acolyte: Um, sort of? I know I was Rogue when I started looking for you, but now I have become… this.
Continue reading
Continued from Rogue, War
Athena: So what did you think of my brother?
Rogue: Ares? He… wasn’t at all what I expected.
Continue readingThe modern idea of freedom
Is that my right-ness
Is my own responsibility
Versus the traditional view
That society determines
My right-ness
Both are half-true
And wholly wrong
[Warning: contains explicit language]
Two combatants enter the room.
One, a hairy giant of a man in classic bronze armor.
The other, an androgynous youth clad in black leather.
Continued from Part 5
The eagle stands apart on a nearby rock, delicately nibbling a newly-harvested liver.
The mouse looks on in horror;
The spaniel-coyote with amusement.
The snake loosens its suffocating grip on the former owner of that liver.
The man slowly regains conscious, groaning in pain.
The snake raises its head to stare into the man’s face.
The man opens his eyes, and gravely greets the snake.
Earnest: Thank you, Nehushtan.
Continue readingThe work of Faith
Is the risks we take
To carry Hope
On hearts that break
The inverse of anger at sin
Is where reconciling begins
For when we all seek
To help out the weak
We shift from win-lose to win-win
Yesterday I was laid off from the startup I’ve worked at for the last six years.
I am incredibly privileged to be a highly-educated tech worker in a growing industry, from a (formerly) two-income family. But it still hurts. Especially since we haven’t really recovered (financially or emotionally) from my prior layoff.
Which is why this post today from my friends at Pure Glory really spoke to me. Rather than reacting out of fear and dread, I choose to believe God is using this crisis to confront the doubt, deceptions, and division that have stolen my joy and crippled my impact.
Because the only thing truly standing in the way of my destiny is my own sin. So I rejoice that God is using these challenging circumstances to bless, purify and heal me in ways I could never imagine.
No matter how much it hurts.
by Apostle Gabriel Cross God is going deep to heal each one of us. God is dealing with the deep things in your spirit, the hidden things in your …
The Healing Hand Of The Lord
Today I will hold fast to the cross
And loosely to all else
We all want power
We all want fame
We all want to choose
How to win the game
We all seek status
We have our pride
If only to shield
What we feel inside
Sober reflections on the recent Supreme Court ruling
What’s taken as good news by one
Another calls evil being done
Whichever way we choose
Someone is sure to be bruised
Continued from Part 4
After a long arduous climb
With a mouse, dog and snake
We pause at a cave
For a much-needed break
I’m seeking the eagle
That serpents do fear
Hoping he’ll tell me
My quest’s end is near
Will he be heroic
Decisive and quick
Or fat and despondent
Like Thor when he’s “thick?”
Then I hear his cry
Shadow on the wall
And discover he’s not
What I expected at all!
Aquila: Ooh, you brought lunch!
Earnest: You’re a girl?!
Yes, the manly eagle I had sought turned out to be a female. And not just female, but a tween girl; some sort of teenybopper.
And I don’t like the way she’s eyeing my companions. Apparently, neither do they.
Sminthus: Eek!
Nehushtan: Hiss!
Qhuinn: I believe the correct canine response is: “Grr, stay away from me and my friends!”
A. Ooh, you can talk. Who’s a cute puppy? Who’s a cute puppy!
Q. I say, stop that. I’m not actually a dog. No, please, not the feathers. I’m really the incarnation of… Ooh! Right there. Ahh…
Qhuinn flips onto his back and starts flailing his legs while she scratches his belly. So much for my fierce protector.
E. Um, excuse me, we’re actually here on a serious quest.
A. Of course you are. Who’s a serious doggie? Are you a serious doggie? Are you enjoying your quest?
Q. Best… Quest… Ever.
I start to interrupt her, but then realize that tickling my friends is vastly preferable to her eating them. I decide to wait it out.
A. Okay, there you go. All done.
Qhuinn mumbles something inaudible from where he is sprawled on the floor. Aquila giggles and slaps him away.
E. What did he say?
A. “Marry me!” [snorting]
This encounter is not going at all like I planned. Sminthus is still too terrified to be of help. I gaze imploringly at Nehushtan. He sighs and raises himself up on his coils to look Aquila in the face.
N. Greetings, fair maid…
Before he can finish, Aquila transforms from dreamy schoolgirl into fierce predator. She lunges into the air and pounces on Nehushtan. One razor-sharp talon pins his head to the ground — facing away from her — while the other hovers a fraction of an inch above his throat.
A. Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh! No lookee-lookees from the snakie. I’m not old enough yet to face all my future fears. [She turns to me and winks] My parents don’t even let me date yet!
E. Oh! Parents. Er, could you perhaps call them? I’m sure there the ones we were supposed to meet. You see, we are on…
A. I know, a really serious blah blah blah save the world blah blah quest. My parents already know all about it. That’s why they sent ME!
The sight of a killer eagle batting her eyelashes is apparently enough to shock Sminthus out of his stupor.
S. My lady… are you really the one meant to help us? Then were you… just kidding about… eating us?
With a flick of her claw, the young eagle casually tosses the massive snake against the back wall of the cave. She walks over to stare out the opening, a heavy weight seeming to descend upon her young shoulders.
She doesn’t meet our gaze. Her voice is soft, almost a whisper, with none of the frivolity she so recently displayed.
A. I… am sorry. I did not realize this would be so hard. Yes, I am here to help you. But you know little of what you ask, and less of how much it would cost me. If I am to survive long enough to be of use to you, you must feed me… a sacrifice.
Cold dread freezes my bones. Could I really sentence one my companions to death, if that’s what it took to achieve my goal?
Well, maybe the snake…
No. That is not the way. At least, not The Way.
E. Eat me.
She turns at looks at me, then giggles. The toss of her head reminds me of Artemis, for some reason.
A. You? You have already laid down your life many times over. You will not get off so easily.
E. You don’t need all of me, right? Perhaps just a.. a part of me? My… heart?
A. You want to give me your heart? Silly man, I told you I was too young to date!
She snickers, then looks at me with a dangerous gleam in her eye.
A. And anyway, your Greek friends should have taught you the proper sacrifice required of those who would share the secrets of heaven to mortal man.
A sick horror overcomes me. I glance down involuntarily at my chest. I begin to shudder.
A. That’s right. I get to eat your liver. Every. Single. Day.
To be continued in Part 6
The easiest strategy
When faced with other’s pain
Is simply to care less
So we won’t be hurt again
Ambition is a cruel god
But a wonderful horse
Only knowing the real God
Can keep it on the right course
The kind of relationships
We all savor
Are those that make us
Full of Favor
To know that those
Whom we esteem
Rejoice to see us
Is like a dream
Alas! The mirror
Of that gift
Is mortal terror
Of a rift
The Right to Hate requires the Right Hate
Whatever we demonize, we do badly
Because we do it reluctantly
As a last resort
Rather than deliberately
As a spiritual practice
Reflections on Chapter 1 of The Pandora Problem by E. James Wilder
The opposite of a narcissistic individual
Is a redeeming community
Radically Happy 
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