Inspiring Others, Encouragement, and Appreciation, $21,900, A Christians Reflection

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world."
— Mahatma Gandhi

Good morning from Florida. We could not get out yesterday; after a failed attempt at the airport, we returned to Cousins and spent the day working at the dining room table. We went for a long walk at 4:30, got a drink and some appetizers, and then came home and watched Yellowstone. David is leaving today, and if our flight does not get canceled, we will return home tomorrow.

I am blessed to have many friends who send me encouragement and appreciation for my daily work. So I thought today I would share some of the notes I received and show you the quality of my friends and the quality of their thought and messages.

From my friend in New York, Josh sent this:

I hope you had a superb New Year, Anson! I saw your 2022 goal on LinkedIn! The Buddha said: "Of all footprints, that of the elephant is the deepest and most supreme. Of all contemplations, that of impermanence is the deepest and most supreme." I don't know of any concept that cultivates humility as much as contemplating this. Shakespeare put it well... 'Might Imperial Caesar, dead and turned to clay, stop a hole to keep the wind away?'

My friend, Chris from Colorado, sent this:

"I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
— Mahatma Gandhi

Hey buddy!  How's it going?  Happy New Year. It sounds like you enjoyed your stay in our now home state of Florida.  We are across the state from you in Sarasota. We are headed back on our road trip to Colorado first thing in the morning.  We'll be taking the southern route to avoid the weather until the last few hours.  It's longer this way, 35 hours vs. 24 hours across I70, but safer this time of year.

The Gandhi quote is sad but true.  Two things happen that create this picture of Christians.  The first is that people confuse being religious with Christianity.  "Doing the best I can to be a good person," attending church, claiming to be a Christian, even giving to the poor, and other good deeds are merely a religion, not Christianity.  Look how many wars have been fought in the name of religion.  Christ never said we should destroy someone who believes differently from us or someone who doesn't believe in Him.  The "wisdom" of men created all of that.  The truth is none of us can be good enough to approach God.  All religions except Christianity preach that we must do something to see God.  Christ said it's a gift.  He gives salvation to us, and through Him, God accepts us just as we are.  We only need to accept the gift.  "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven" Mt 7:21.  So, just claiming to be a Christian doesn't make you one.

The second thing is that since we are saved by grace, all of us are imperfect humans and we don't immediately, or ever, for that matter achieve perfection.  Not until we do actually see God.  Once we have accepted God's gift, he empowers us to make the changes in our lives that we couldn't make for ourselves.  This is a process.  I pray God will chip off my rough edges, but I know I still have some… many, actually.  People that don't understand grace see that imperfection and say, "if that's being a Christian, I don't want any part of it."  I know some people see me drink wine and say, "how can a Christian drink alcohol?"  Maybe He'll ask me to give that up someday.  Right now, he has more important work to do on me.  That being said, we have to allow God to change us.  I want to be better today than yesterday, so it's a constant process.  Looking back, the changes are enormous even though they seem minor in the short term.

Preachy, I know, but I felt the need to comment.

So, I've been looking for what's next in my life.  I'm still looking, but I believe one of the things I might be led to do is a blog, at least for now.  But, I still need to give it some more thought and pray about it.  You have been an inspiration for me.  I don't want to steal your idea, but I thought I'd see if you'd check my stuff and give me some critical feedback.  You're superhuman in doing it daily.  So, I thought I'd be a bit more mortal and start with once a week.

I asked Chris if I could share, and maybe you agree that the man can write, and I encouraged him to start a Sub-stack; we will see where he goes, but if you follow my work, you might enjoy Chris's work as well.  

I got a note from Jack in Texas; he said, "send me the information on the family that lost their home in Boulder; I want to help." Brydon in Indianapolis shared, "Can I Venmo you money to give to the family that lost their home in Boulder?"

Jeremy in Carmel sent me a note with a photo of stacks of $20.00 with the message "you inspire me." Later in the day, Patrick from Colorado sent me a note and said I'm stealing your $7300.00 idea, and I shared Jeremy's photo. So if you are playing at home, that is $21,900 that will be distributed to people in need $20.00 a day the entire year. So far, I have dolled out $60.00 while in Fort Lauderdale.

Are your friends like my friends, do they have giving hearts, do they step up, and when you have a reasonable idea, do they share your passion for helping others? Well, mine do, and I'm blessed to have some of the most incredible humans alive today as friends. 

Surround yourself with incredible humans; I have friends all over the country that mirror my passion for helping others. So maybe this little word soup will get you thinking about how you can do something little every day to make our world a better place.   I have many more friends that send me notes regularly.   People notice when you write daily, and if what I write resonates, they tell me, and I get a shot of serotonin to my frontal lobe. So join me in trying to inspire others to be their best selves.

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world."
— Mahatma Gandhi