Practical Christianity for Positive Living

Wednesday ~ April 25, 2007

“A day without laughter is a day wasted”—Charlie Chaplin

I was raised as a Roman Catholic---catch the word Roman there, just gave my age away did I not? Anyway, one of my finest memories of attending a little Catholic Church in Farmington, Iowa (Which by the way, the ambiance of that little church has not changed in all these years.) was the memory of a hefty jovial priest who I think was called Father Jolly, rather out of love from his parishioners or respect for his birthright, I do not know. I do know that after he came there the place went from a lot of open seats to standing room only and that was outside, no room at all on the inside unless you got there an hour and a half early—many did! Why? Because I think it was due to he loved life, right smack dab in the middle of the mass, he might pause to share something with the congregation that he had forgotten to mention earlier. This would bring roars of healing laughter, a realization that a priest is a human being too, and a great deal of love for the man.

We have to laugh don’t we? Rather it is while hearing a tasteful joke, watching a comedy on TV or movie or as in my case goofing up something….Maybe it is a shared comment of one of our fellowship during the Sunday service that brings the howls of laughter. Whatever, intrinsically, laughter is woven into the very frame work of who we are as humans.

Is it natural to laugh? Of course it is God invented man didn’t he? Now there is a demonstration of the sense of humor of the one power, the one presence in the universe, God the good.

Laughter is a critical, life sustaining component of any culture. It is a gift from God. With respect, this gift has to be managed to mimic our creator and experience a lasting joy for our fellow beings, not against them or at their expense in any way.
This includes ourselves. We must be able to laugh at our own silliness, mistakes and boo- boos. Lighten Up! Enjoy life, cease with taking everything as being so politically correct or it cannot be funny. Think how hard it would be to enjoy your life experience in the short life span not of your choosing, this all work obsessed, negative, ME society of today if we could not laugh and let the steam out of the cooker.
The next time you start to go see one of those brutal, chop them up movies ask your self does this movie
make me feel good about myself, my friends, my family, my society about me, my lady friends, my children?
Does it give me a proper perspective on life according to Proverbs 17:22, “a merry heart does good like medicine”
Is it pleasing to God, after all laughter is the direct product of Joy.

If we are living a full and meaningful life, we will be known by our Joy and our true laughter. Know any good jokes?

Blessings
Fred.


Women’s Ministry

We are enjoying our breakfasts together. We have been learning what we have in common and taking concerns to our hearts for prayer. Come join us, we would love to see you at our next breakfast.
For our next breakfast, please bring a jar that would be large enough to place a 4” by 4” label on it. The label will be provided at the next breakfast on the third Saturday of the month. A jar or canister with a lid on it would work best. We will be creating our own “Joy” jars to provide daily inspiration, prayers, and well wishes for our family, friends, neighbors and ourselves. (There might even be a little humor for some days.)

Youth Ministry:
Despite the space crunch we are experiencing as we grow, one of our former youth teachers has stepped up to the plate to work with our young ones just beginning the teen years….thank you Ginger.

At the present time we are in discussion with a young lady who has shown an interest in teaching the “Wee Ones” details will follow.

CHAPLAIN’S CORNER:

This month the ole thief of the voice box has been making his rounds, so our chaplains have been sending out some cards as we continue to hold those now in special challenges in our prayers.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU to all from Canada, Puerto Rico, and the fifteen states who have taken time to drop us a brief note at newdayunity@aol.com expressing their enjoyment of our timely messages. We are filled with joy to be able to do this weekly message. You are a blessing and add to our inspiration to continue to be open and receptive for new ways to share with all who will listen. We ask now that you all join us in your daily prayer to send out a blessing to our newest reader from Wales! Not Wales, Florida, rather the part of the United Kingdom. Thank you all for reading and praise be to God.

NEW LINKS:

PRAYERMASTERS@AOL.COM This was an idea that has been on the back burner for sometime, basically anyone in need of a special prayer need only drop us a very short line to the prayermaster’s address with only your first name and state, city, or country you are from. A brief line or two of your request and we will hold it in prayer for 27 days, to be prayed over at 1600Greenwich mean time every Wednesday.

www.dystoniamonologues.blogspot.com, a beautiful, insightful site that really contains a little something for the warmest of heart.. This marvelous site is truly crafted by one who has the apostle Bartholomew foremost upon their shoulders yet combines the talents of so many of our 12 Powers. Take a moment to stroll through this lengthy site and you will be thrilled.

CAN WE PASS THIS ON? Yes by all means please do and for any back messages all the way to November please feel free to go to www.newdayunityfellowship.blogspot.com and spread the word.
April 29th Service 10AM sharp, “Fred’s Gone Wild”

Join Brenda and Sasha for a fun filled adventure of mastery on Carnival Cruise Line,
November 4-11, for the Odyssey I Cruise, leaving from Tampa, to sacred sites, towering vortexes and enchanted places of the Mayans in the Yucatan region.
Hosted by the renowned author and spiritual leader; Sasha White, at www.sashawhite.com.
coordinated and hosted by Brenda Brinn, 813-786-6311 or email brendabrinn1@msn.com for information or reservations.

New Day Unity Fellowship

"Practical Christianity for Positive Living"

“He did not let any follow him but Peter, James, and John” Mark 5:37

“Jesus, took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray” Luke 9:28

There are even more passages where these three appear to be the closest to Jesus—Mark 14:32-33 during his final hours. Luke 8:51 during the time of a special event.

Notice something here?

To the casual eyes they were his buddies, his homeboys, his comrades, those Jesus called brother--- his friends. We do not just fall upon people and proclaim them friends, quality friendships are a matter of our free choice, people will know the type of person you are, your character, your true nature will be revealed by the friends you keep long before those others ever meet you.

Do you ever wonder who you truly are?
Ever wonder just where you are going in the future?

All you have to do is take a close look at your friends.

It is hard for us to imagine Jesus even needing friends with all he could do or gain, but since he was a human finding his divinity, he too was “wired for sound”, he needed some friends to make him laugh, to cry, to eat with, share intimate conversations with, moments of discovery with, all those things that true friends do with one another, through the thick and the thin of it all. And he loved them.
Finally, yes, a true friend is one that you would lay down your life for. John 15:13

So if Jesus needed friends, what makes one think they do not need another person on this earth?

If you look at his example just a tad bit further you see where we are being instructed as to what kind of friends we are to have.
Jesus representative of man, he chose his companions carefully, always had Peter one who had faith in God, was faithful and loyal to the friendship, John someone filled with compassion, with love of man, love of God, love of strangers about him and finally James, some one full of wisdom, logical, sensible about those things in life .

There are so many things in our life journey we must deal with and get under control, things we are faced with daily. If we take these basic three as our base into prayer and add to them the power of two or more of our God given traits, our Apostles if you will, meditate, clear your mind, listen, be open and receptive, then act upon what the universe is telling us, what God is telling us, then we have Our universe in alignment with daily life experiences and all is well and we have lasting solid friendships.

You have some today, I bet, that have been with you for what seems like forever, well at least a long time, praise be for if you look close you I venture to say you will find some familiar ground here.

Blessings,
Fred

Up and coming events:

April 21st Women’s Ministry Breakfast, 9am, North Dale Mabry at Perkin’s Pancake House.
April 22nd Earth Day! Service 10am sharp, “Well Just What Would Jesus Do?”
April 29th Service 10AM sharp, “Fred’s Gone Wild”

Join Brenda and Sasha for a fun filled adventure of mastery on Carnival Cruise Line,
November 4-11, for the Odyssey I Cruise, leaving from Tampa, to sacred sites, towering vortexes and enchanted places of the Mayans in the Yucatan region.
Hosted by the renowned author and spiritual leader; Sasha White, at http://www.sashawhite.com/.
coordinated and hosted by Brenda Brinn, 813-786-6311 or email brendabrinn1@msn.com for information or reservations.

New Day Unity Fellowship

Practical Christianity For Positive Living

Did everyone have a happy Easter?

We at the Fellowship certainly did! It was heartwarming to see the turn out of those that came to eat with us at the pancake breakfast.
Prepared by Ginger & Danny while being served by Susan and the set up by the boys and Jaclin, and probably a couple of others I have overlooked to recognize, but to you all who pitched in ------- thank you!

Last night one of the major networks had a program called What Would Jesus Do?

As I had already announced one of my Sunday morning messages was to be about those little bracelets that are so popular and asking the question: “Just What Would Jesus Do?” I made the attempt to watch the program as soon as I could upon my late arrival home. I admit I missed a good portion of the show.
.
I guess I came away with the point that seemed to make the most impression on me was the statement by a guest speaker “If Jesus was married. So What?
Did this make the truth of his teachings any less significant?”

I tend to agree, if He was married would this not make his human experience even more fulfilling?

I have always asked the question, “If Jesus was God on earth, how could we as humans condemned to Sin, ever hope to reach the perfection of Jesus while on earth ourselves?”

Yet, there does seem to be some truth in the matter that Jesus was a man, who recognized he was a part of God, connected to God, and this was “The Way” to travel this time span of our human experience. Undeniably the body returns to the ground, but it seems to me that by following the rules of the universe, life can be filled with Joy in this unspecified time we have here on earth.

I have never quite understood anyway, if God created everything, knows everything past- present- future and foresees everything, and the bible states in, Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the thoughts I think of you.”
If we are at one with the universe, we are Christ connected, His thoughts are our thoughts, our thoughts His thoughts, thoughts produce action, action produces cause and effect, then what has God got to experience?

I am not going into the mind-idea-expression and a whole bunch of other things that popped into my head. I am merely bringing out the fact Jesus is reported to have said for us to question authority not defy it.

We profess to be Christian and follow the teaching of Jesus the Christ, and then should we not also question some of the things we hear and see on the radio and TV?

The truth cannot set us free if we do not seek it first!

This morning as I came across the big bridge of the inner bay, I was listening to a Christian radio show and they were commenting about how many individuals would die for Jesus.

True, I admire what Jesus did; you have to admit it took a lot of moxie, a lot of faith for Him to go on through all he did even after trying to get out of it in the garden.

I could not help but wonder have we missed the boat.

It takes very little to die for, but, it can take a whole lot to live for.

So why are we continually harping on the death of Jesus for us, when we should ask how did Jesus live for us.

Especially for all that Jesus did stand for. So many lessons of life are presented here.

My question is are we wrapped up in the name “Jesus” so much that we are forgetting what Jesus stood for?
Sacrifice or teacher?
Excuse or inspiration?
Representative of man or God
Does dying for give human kind an excuse to do?

Are we worshipping the man or worshiping the man’s way back to the father?

John 14:5-6: Thomas asked how can we know the way? And Jesus said; “I am the way, the truth, the life: no one comes to the father, but by me”
By my way, as I am doing, as I show you, by my example through LIFE!

Notice he did not say through dying like me.

So if Jesus did not command us to die like him, rather He came to bring us life, abundantly, why in the world do we have to proclaim “to die for”, to keep crucifying ourselves over our sins, whatever they are again and again and again.

Why not take the drama of his sacrifice, the lesson he presented for us into a practical application for our daily lives.

With so many people having fragmented and superficial relationships in life today, Why not change our negative situation by changing our minds to a positive thought?

Through Prayer, Meditation, Listening and Reacting, Our outer action will be reflective of our inner connection with God through the Christ within us all.

It stands to me our world would be more peaceful, if we would be honoring the Father, the image of Jesus, the very idea of mankind if “we lived for”, if we lived the way of Jesus.

Man = Jesus = the Father = all the universe has to offer. John 10:30 “I and my father are one”

Blessings
Fred

Wednesday ~ April 4, 2007

I love spring. Do you love spring?



For those of you living in the North, it usually means the weather is finally starting to turn warm. Or at least to a temperature above freezing that you call warm where by you run around doing daily chores dressed only in Levi jackets or a sweater and long sleeve shirts.

For that same weather, we in Florida would think possibly your brains up North had been out in the cold just a little too long and have not quite thawed out yet. For what temperature you call warm, we would have on parkas and mittens. Any temp below an open refrigerator is a ice emergency for us, call out the National Guard and salt the roadways Tillie !!!!!!



Spring is a great time of the year; it is a time of new animals and new plants. A time where mother earth takes on a whole new attitude about itself….Even the wind seems to be of a softer nature stirring a single leaf on a poplar tree or rushing about giving of itself freely to all that would inhale it. Never withholding, joyously, softly rushing along to fill any emptiness, yet it is never used up-- just constantly beckoning us to come out of our closed up homes and enjoy the beauty, the refreshing fragrances of the world God has created.



The clouds appear more white and the sky decidedly more blue, rather one be standing in the Great Smokey’s or the majestic Rockies, Chattanooga, Tenn. or Des Moines, Iowa, Portland, Ore. or Key West, Fla. at this time of the year people are drawn back to mother earth.



Though we generally think only of farmers and cow hands, as being so close to the earth, Most people who are close to the earth are tranquil people whether it is great wheat field or sandy beach. Unknowingly, together, they are all one beating tranquil heart of the great earth mother.



Jesus was close to earth, He loved to be alone in the deserts and on mountains. He spoke of sowing and reaping, of fig trees, of vineyards, of flocks and lilies of the field. John even called him the Lamb of God, in fact when Jesus thought of how we could remember him-- He took up the bread and wine, all by products of earthly goods.



John 15;11, reminds us that Jesus spoke of such things so that the joy that He has might remain in us, and it is with just such joy that we should look at this time of the year.



With spring we associate Easter, a time we associate with crossing over from where we are to where we would like to be….a time when our old ways need to die so that we can be rejuvenated, refreshed, realigned, resurrected to a new refreshing path way of life.

A time when we can evaluate how we can be come a part of the planet and not just on the planet.



Just as spring is a time of new life , so is the Easter time a time for us to have a new life through the Christ within. Once we are through all the Easter bunnies, eggs and ceremonies, let us just pray-meditate-and as we cross over from all this material examples of Easter let us become more spiritual as we recognize the Christ connection that is within us all, and let it radiate out to all those in our neighborhood in confidence of resurrecting a new love and understanding for ALL of the world.



Happy Easter



Fred



One Church Two Languages



Luis informs us that he is now praying, writing letters and listening to request of 25 to 30 Spanish speaking residents a week at the nursing home he has begun to minister to.

This week the flowers we use for the Sunday service were taken to the nursing home for the enjoyment of all that would like to gaze upon the majesty of God.



EVENTS:



9am Easter Sunday we will serve a pancake breakfast to any and all that would like to join us,,,,the Easter service will start promptly at 10am.



April 21st - The Women’s ministry will meet again at Perkins on North Dale Mabry and Stall Rd. for breakfast and what ever you women do, evidently it is fun, the last time we had to pry them out of there with a vacate order.





April 8th- will be our explanation of the last two of the 12 Powers of Man by Fred

April 22 – We all wear those little bracelets, but, Just What Would Jesus Do?-by Fred

April 29-God Does Not Want You Happy!—by Fred







ON THE GROWING LIST;

We are still looking for musicians that would like to play contemporary and Christian Gospel music, if you know of anyone with a keyboard, and or guitar, please contact Danny at 813-973-7889





Now, it is time for us to grow even more. We are beginning a search for individuals with biblical/metaphysical knowledge who can pass a police background check, have an imaginative mind, and a desire to instruct school age children. Please contact Pastor Fred at 813-748-7095




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