Giving Up On Hope

In several of the last years, I have encountered people who have given up on hope. They have allowed themselves to be controlled by the ugly things of their lives and have failed to see all that is good around them.

This may sound like an indictment, but I promise you it says more about the people around them than of themselves. Sometimes, it is hard to see the good things when you are completely covered in ugly. For the person who wakes up every morning to find themselves confined to the bed with only a television or computer to interact with, life is hard. For the person who is suffering with cancer and its wonderful brother Chemo treatments, the world can look downright unpleasant.

For those of us whose worst problem is find a match to the sack left in our drawer, our days are far different than our counterparts. We can see the bright side of life once we realize no one will probably notice one green sock and one blue. But no amount of color correction will cure cancer. Nor will a great sunset over the ocean cheer up a person in convalescent care.

Just because we can't cure them doesn't mean God can't. What we can do is keep them joyous while they await God's healing. Finding just a moment to send an email or visit them is such a little thing I wonder why we don't do this more often.

One last thing, God cures His own, everyone of them. Some He cures while they are on earth. Others He cures while in His midst. Ones that are cured in Heaven get their reformed bodies, ones that last an eternity. They get to once again run, jump and play as if they were brand new, which they are.

If He is willing to heal us in that manner, all we have to do on earth is offer comfort and support to those people who are obviously going to be healed in God's presence. We simply have to help them see the vision of God so that their wish to be healed will not be blocked by the loss of a vision of hope.

See ya soon.

Is There A Person Alive Who Would?

I often think I am something of a freak. I don't like wearing clothes. I don't think God cares about our dress or how we look. I do think He worries about me, though. Just think about it. If you were God, wouldn't you be a little concerned about turning something as important as leading a group of Christians to me might give God a little heartburn every time I make a mistake?

I find myself waking up at night to hear God talking to me about something I did that just wasn't right. Maybe I was unkind to my wife. Maybe I slighted someone, Perhaps it was just a little oversight on my part. God knew I would only listen if He had me sitting still and focused on Him. What a great time to choose.

I also notice that God finds me in bed at night to comfort me a well. Not that I deserve it, but in the midst of turmoil, He can simply wake me and give me a feeling of peace, and the next day is a delight, no matter what troubles await me. This is coming so often that I can now anticipate a troubling day just from His evening visit. I can only conclude from this that God has His hand on the situation.

If there is nothing in this world I want more is for a loving God to have control of my world.

till then...

Just a Bit of Business

As I am chronicling the more boring aspects of trying to build a Christian life, you may find it difficult to read much of what is written here. I apologize for the mundane stuff, but I really want to have a record of how this goes, either so that I will have a pattern for others to follow or a pattern that depicts exactly what not to do.

If, by the end of this run, we are not successful in building other churches in the nudist communities, we can say that this message is not of God and go on. If, by His hand, we do help others to assemble together and become part of the Second Reformation of the Church, and by doing so, further The Word, God has been kind in letting a lowly servant like me serve the Most High One.

The Second Reformation? Yup! You got it. We are reforming the church again. Martin Luther is not the only one who can bring our church to life. (well, actually, it was God, but we are not trying to label her.) If you look at what has been happening in this century, you will see that, just as the judges of the Old Testament revived the Hebrews, so has a handful of Christians begun the work of transforming the church into a vibrant and effective soul winning, Christian healing hospital where we strengthen the members rather than shooting the wounded.


Christian nudists, I believe, are one of the most wounded Christian groups around. Don't beleive me? Well, we have a test. The next time you are in a group of Christian nudists, ask them how many have been put out of churches for being a nudist. Ask how many have been taken out of service for Christ because they were nudists. The numbers are staggering.

Jesus would find this offensive. This is not a matter of judging and condemning a person for wrong doing, which is wrong in and of itself, but a matter of defying what God has set as a Christian mission and the churches and pastors involved in this are actually working against God and His plan for the nudist community.

One thing we can all do is to keep the Christian nudists in our prayers. The other is to keep the churches and pastors in our prayers. God can heal this process.

Lastly, we need to be fully aware of the Reformation that is taking place and fully unite with the reformers to begin to put our church back on the Christian walk.

We need to stop looking at abortion as a question of baby or women's rights. We need to look at the causes that lead a woman to want to destroy their own flesh and blood.

We need to stop crying over small bits of doctrine, like sprinkle or dunking in baptism, and fully embrace the baptism of the Holy Spirit in our lives as He transforms us into eternal creatures of the Light.

We need to stop worrying about what we wear or how we look and begin to see ourselves as God sees us and strive to wear the robe of righteousness. Without it, we are nothing more than nekkid ole boys sitting in the sun, missing out on the Son.

Now, I am suffering with all the same things everyone else is. I am not perfect, nor am I fully immersed in the truth, but I can strive to be all that I can be. I can shoot for the mark and perform out of love for Christ. That is all that He has asked us to do.

Learning to Tithe

Over the weekend, I had an opportunity to discuss our benevolent fund situation with several members of our church. We were all in agreement to keep funding the the benevolence, but I had this idea stuck in my head that I could not get release. I wanted us to start tithing our gifts ans physical strengths.

This may sound strange, but I wanted us to start thinking of our talents and strengths as assets and tithing ten percent or better of those gifts to us. It sounded strange to me, but it didn't sound strange to those people whom we talked. They thought it great.

I suppose I should be glad that this went smoothly. I thought that maybe it would bring on some problems, both in execution and in understanding. That is what I get for underestimating the people around me. This week, we will be bringing this suggestion to the full church and I anticipate the program will be in place shortly.

The Program:

I envision a group of guys and gals who will share of their talents and gifts to the community where we can be of help. If a person needs help with their taxes, we will find someone in the church or around who can help with this. If someone needs a hand fixing a porch rail, people will show up and fix the rail. If there is a need for whatever, we will search out the person capable of helping and help will shortly be on the way.

In theory, this will be easy. It is easy to say, anyway. I realize, however, the process of actually finding all these helpers will be more difficult. The person in charge of this will have to keep a good inventory of the talent we have in house and those talents lying on the fringe of our community.

If you think about us over the week, please pray that we find the perfect person to run this and that the church will follow along with this plan. As I think of it, I promise to give you updates on how it goes.

Clothes In Heaven

Anyone else ever wonder if there are clothes in Heaven? I have pondered this on occasion and I think there must be. What are your thoughts?

God's GIfts

Nudists often find solace in the warmth of the sun. I personally can sit in the sun, close my eyes, and feel the heat warming my skin and engulfing me in an intense happiness. It isn't a sexual or even a sensual feeling. It is one of pure spiritual release.

Others find the touch of the breeze blowing across their nude body to have a certain caressing quality that can only be described as divine.

Divine is a funny word. It indicates a presence of a Divine One. It offers the possibility of the whole world being here at the request of one all powerful master that either guided or molded this world into place. The word is so appropriate for the feelings we get when we are sitting in the open and are exposed to the elements our Creator has placed around us. It is no accident that we have these wonderful feelings and a desire to continue in their presence. They are no less than the handiwork of the Divine One.

John 1:1 states. "In the beginning was the Word..." There can be no mistaking the indication that Jesus was there at the creation in His glory. He knew the winds and the sun would be on earth to allow us those feelings of closeness to God. As He walked in the Garden with God, do you think that Jesus might have wondered if Adam and Eve ever understood why the wind caressed them so? Do you think He might have smiled a little when Eve would stretch in the sun and smiled at the pure delight by being warm and safe?

The reasons we enjoy nudism are not separate from what God knew from the start. He knew we would be naked. He planned for us to be in the sunshine, open to the world, and enjoying His creation. It was His intention that we be naked all along.

I used to wrestle with the questions of how God knew what to do to make us comfortable on earth. The answer is really simple. He knew us. He knew us before we were born. He knew us before the world was reformed and built for our personal use and pleasure. He knew what we would need and what we would find on our own. He knew us so well that when it came time to create a world, God knew how to place everything in motion for us to survive as long as we need this earth.

As nudists, we get to enjoy the earth as we were intended to use the earth. It is not a place for simple survival, but a place where we can take full advantage of the sun, the rain, a fragrance that drifts passed us. We can see the beauty in God best creation.

Yes, I know most people don't admit to enjoying the sight of a nude human, but we are His best creation. Take a moment to enjoy it from an art standpoint. There is nothing more simplistic in visual beauty than the human form, but the sheer drama of the lines and curves are astounding. Such a complex body is hidden in the simple lines and curves.

If we learn nothing else as nudists, we need to learn to give God the Glory for placing us in t his wonderful world. I am not sure if our textile counterparts realize what they have available to them, but as we are knowledgeable, we are responsible to acknowledge His creation.

Thank God for nudism. Well, thank God in all things, but thank God for our special gift.

See ya soon. Allen

Family

I find I often hate going to family reunions, weddings, and funerals. We all say the same things. "You look great!" "You haven't changed a bit." Well, we all know these are lies we tell each other so that we will not hurt their feelings and in hopes that we will receive the same kindness. As an opportunity to escape the drudgery would not avail itself to me in time to keep from going to the next tribal occasion, I spent the weekend dining and talking with my wife's family. The occasion? A wedding.

Now you know why I haven't posted the last couple of days. I was too busy eating great food, having good conversation, and struggling to keep my clothes on in the sultry heat of South Carolina in September.

Now the good food was a given. But the trouble with good food is that when you eat all that great stuff, your pants are now too tight. In the textile world, you can't just throw them on the dresser and return to the table. No, you have to find a way to discreetly unbutton the trousers and then pull your shirt tail out to hide the fact that your pants are gapping at the top. Perhaps next time I will have my wife sew in an extra flap for expansion.

Listening to all the gossip of the family kept my ears buzzing with anticipation all weekend. Nothing says great gossip than the whispered tones of two women hiding in the corner. With all the corners of that house and more women stuffed in those corners than should be allowed at one place, I spent much of my time wandering around the room trying to grab the latest bit of juicy news.

Unfortunately for me, I am a writer. Writers are a special breed of people. We are often shunned from gossip circles because of our propensity to use said gossip in our stories. Fear of being exposed to the world keeps most families from allowing their authors near any of the good gossip. The only exception is the one lady who can't keep any secret. Thank God for building one friend to the writing community.

If you must know, I really did enjoy the time with family. I am hoping there will be more of these and that God prevents me from escaping them. I just wish He would convert the family to nudism. Eating would be much more satisfying.

And the wife wouldn't spend two days complaining about spaghetti sauce on my pants.

Joyous Heart

There is nothing greater than to find a person to talk to who has a joy in his heart that permeates the entire room. Such a person will lift your spirits and give you such a good feeling that you hate to even think of being blue. Any idea of being in a bad mood simply fades as your new found friend, whether you have known him for years or not, brightens your entire day.

Anyone else noticed that before? Well, maybe it is just me.

I believe, however, that all of us find some type of pick-me-up out of those people who have a natural gift for being joyous. A person with sch a gift is most definitely deserving of my praise. It is rare, but I am not sure this is an innate gift, one that is born into an individual, as it is a learned gift, one that we all can obtain.

James tells us in his first chapter to consider it great joy to be persecuted. If we can consider it something, we must be able to obtain it. If we can consider joy, then all of us can obtain a joy in our hearts.

The word joy is an unique one. It implies a happiness regardless of the circumstances. For us to be joyous during trying times as James suggests, we must be talking about something more powerful than simple happiness. We must be living in a place where we are content to be regardless of our destiny.

I can only see one place where that scenario might exist. That is living in the light of Christ. Once we let our bodies and our souls be warmed and comforted by the light given off by Jesus, we find ourselves not caring about the other items in our life. Finding that comfort level and installing our hearts there will make us one of those people who always seems to be filled with joy.

The best testimony we can give is to let the joy of living in Christ's light be our beacon. Once we begin to show what Christ has done for us, others will desire our joy as well. Perhaps that was what God had in mind all along.

Allen