2 Fellows in the Same Ship!

KOINONIA is listed in the Strong's concordance with this meaning:

"(lit: partnership) (a) contributory help, participation,
   (b) sharing in,  communion, (c) spiritual fellowship, 
     a fellowship in the spirit."

Partnership. Fellowship. Communion. "In the spirit".  This is how I view
the term "fellowship". OR ... two fellows in the same ship! And you know,

"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 
If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls 
alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep 
each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? ..." (Ecclesiastes 4:9ff NLT)

Well ... it's better to sail with a partner, than alone! I mean, especially if you need 
help in "bailing" water out of the boat! Or with the oars, paddling! OK. Maybe your boat
has a motor and all that, you don't need oars. But if you ever hit a storm on the sea,
you're going to wish for a "first-mate" if you are all alone!
There's a lot you can draw from this passage; but suffice it to say, fellowship is very
important! Yes, it is vital and necessary, but there have to be some guidelines.

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. 
For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? 
And what communion has light with darkness?"
(2 Cor. 6:14)

Just imagine 2 oxen yoked together. One wants to go left, the other right. What???
You think that'll work?? No, not for a minute. You have to have the animals be
in the same mind, to work together.
"Unbelievers" doesn't always mean "non-christians",
like so many would like to believe. Nope. Paul is talking here to christians, and there
are "unbelieving christians" out there ... oh yes there are! People walking around with
UNBELIEF (a refusal to believe, not inability) in their hearts! You can't get anywhere
if you are yoked up with the like! Lawlessness, rebellious spirit that wants to "do its
own thing" *and* "light mixed in with darkness". Not happening. LIGHT dispels and
gets rid of and exposes darkness! So ... try to fellowship with some of that! But sadly,
christians all over try every Sunday or so ... to no avail. If you are in such a place,
where "unbelievers" dwell, and they prevent the move of the Spirit, and cannot grasp
your vision or understand your calling, I dare say you should seriously consider
"getting the heck outta Dodge" as soon as possible!

Two fellows in the same ship. They partner together for the voyage of a lifetime.
Their hearts are one, even though their ideas may be different. They want the same
goal ... to reach the destination. Safely. There are jobs that can only be done, by having
a partner ... do you really wanna try and do it all?? We need each other. As long as we,
who are working & sailing on the same ship, are all on the "same page".
In fellowship, there is Partnership. There is Intimacy. There is Sharing. There is
Communication. It's FAMILY. Not dysfunctional. But operating ... smoothly.
Like a fine-purring boat motor, a well-oiled machine.

DO NOT FORSAKE??

"and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,  
not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, 
but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."
(Hebrews 10:24,25 NASB)

Now many church pastors & teachers will tell you, that you have to be "at the church"
... "everytime the doors are open" and coerce you to tithe and be present to be in good
standing with God. These same pastors & teachers may have a BIG problem with the 
present-day move or "Grace Message". Why? Because it hurts their doctrine of "jumping
through all the hoops"!
What exactly is "church"? Is it the building? NO. It is from a 
Greek word that means simply "called-out-ones". And we are "called-out" from the rest
of the world, to gather with Jesus. He said, "Wherever two, or more of you agree together on
anything, and are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst"!
So, this doctrine of "not forsaking", which is a complete and gross exaggeration from the 
original text ... AUDIENCE RELEVANCE  here, folks! The mysterious Hebrews writer
was talking to 1st Century believers who apparently, were former Jews. Because of the
"times" they lived in, because of the persecution, and that the time was getting close
to Jesus' complete fulfillment of all, they were exhorted and encouraged to "not forsake" ...
but NOTICE that some were in "the habit" of doing so! 1st Century believers just didn't
meet on SUNDAYS, but sometimes "day after day"! It was necessary for them THEN,
because of the need for encouragement, spiritual growth stimulation, etc. It wasn't a
LAW, or an edict to meet at the same old meeting house every Sunday!
When we lived in Branson, we would 'meet' other believers at WalMart! We could stand
there virtually for "hours", just having a good time in the Lord! Many christians worked
on Sunday mornings, so we would have to meet at a hotel or somewhere just to have
quality fellowship. Emphasis on QUALITY. Those were some great times.

This doctrine would never work if you lived on a desert island, and you and a few
others were "all there is". OR in a war-torn country where, if you profess to know Jesus
openly, could result in you becoming "toast".
We ... our family, have had house-church
meetings, right there at home, for YEARS. We fellowship with others, be it as it may,
rather randomly, but we run into believers EVERYWHERE. And we are no longer
involved in IC ... institutional church (many times which is fashioned after the Old
Testament construct, with the pastors being The Levites, etc.). Once a month, we
also meet with a brother who holds meetings in his house. It's an unusual group,
but we often feel at home there, and maybe even "fit in".
And also ... we have our Facebook Family. There has definitely been some great
fellowship there. Does it have to be "in person" to be real? You tell me! I have
been blessed by a post, a phone call many times, even sometimes better than
"face-time" with a friend. We can't get legal on this one folks.

THAT'S IT.  You have to go where you fit in. Where you are Loved. Where you can
contribute something, be a part of something. But ... the Church of Jesus is much
bigger than all of us, it is indeed "without walls". What I write today, it is in hopes
that you no longer come under guilt or condemnation if you quit "going to church",
or you don't do things the way everybody else does, in this matter.  You have to
obey and follow the Spirit. Jesus is the Shepherd. You have to obey him. And if
you are indeed one of the ones who are "called out" into ministry, then you really
gotta hear the Spirit, and FOLLOW JESUS, not men.


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God Bless You!

My HAPPY NORMAL LUCKY BOY!

This blog is very personal, it's about our son NICHOLAS JUDAH PRINCE,

who just graduated from North High School on May 19, 2016. A very impressive

milestone, and a very exciting time for us. But ... the pathway to this awesome

achievement was fraught with many trials ... and I'm writing about that tonight;
this is about "my journey" with my son, my experience raising him.

But this blog is dedicated to "Nick" and in his honor. He has come a long way,

and we are very proud of him. So, on with the tale . . . .

THE BEGINNING

Nicholas Judah Prince was born in Branson, MO ... July 6, 1998. He was born "naturally"

(not caesarean), but he was a BIG kid, weighing in over 9 pounds. He had to have a little

help coming out, as his shoulders were very wide. The local preacher commented that

we should be sure to enroll him in football when the time comes (which never happened,

but it was still a funny joke at the time).

Nicholas had a bout with jaundice at the start. But we believed God, and he was healed.

We opted out of all vaccines completely ... however, we are not too sure that someone

may have slipped him something, as we observed later that he had AUTISM. Don't have

any proof about that "someone", but we did wonder. Anyway, we loved our son just the

same. He seemed normal and healthy and we were happy.

While Nick was growing up, we then observed that he didn't talk. At all. He looked

and acted intelligent ... he didn't have any other developmental problems physically=

speaking, motor-skills etc. were all fine. He just didn't talk.

At age 4, he was playing around on my computer. He totally re-arranged the format

of my desktop! I could not figure out what exactly he did, and when I asked him, he

just laughed out loud!! That was the day that I realized, this boy is not just "special",

but highly imaginative, creative and intelligent.

We did not have him tested *at first* ... we just didn't trust anyone in the area where

we lived at the time. We began to homeschool Nick, and he seemed to especially enjoy

computers, and working with a program called "Color Phonics". We acquired quite

the curriculum from Lighthouse publishers, and homeschooled all our kids. We also
decided that we would trust Father God for direction for his education, and the
meeting of his "special needs".

THE MOVE

We, as a family, always believed that our true destiny, and location was somewhere

out WEST. Our girls were both gifted as artists, etc. and we were big into music and

ministry . . .  we believed that we would be more fulfilled in our callings in ... yep,

you guessed it ... ARIZONA.

We didn't just move. We waited. And waited. And waited. We wanted the timing to

be just right, and we wanted God to be in "the move".

One day, the specific circumstances in our lives had changed. Dramatically.
We (Renee & I)

were sitting on our front porch in Kansas, we looked at each other and, we both had

the same thought, at the same time. I said, "Why don't we rent a storage unit, put all our

stuff in it, and just move?" Boom. We were thinking the same idea. Renee said: "I was

just going to suggest that!" A friend gave us $500 ... we prayed. We heard one word, "Go!"
(Uh-huh. Another one of those "faith trips". Yeah, that's how it went down. Crazy.)
Preparations had to be made of course. And to get our 3 daughters and son in gear.

THEN ... we loaded up the van and moved to Beverly ... er, umm I mean Arizona.

THE ESCALATIONS

We ended up in Surprise, Arizona first. "Surprise!" Funny joke, but a real town.

Things weren't exactly smooth for us at first, getting settled and established. But

when we did, we started to get into a routine. It was Summer 2007, and we were

learning to get around in big old hot Phoenix. Nicholas started to have a "melt-down"

one time when we were heading into WalMart ... somebody said, "Ya know, they've

got medicine for that!" At this time, we still didn't know exactly what Nick's problem

was, but we were soon going to find out. We wanted to treat Nick as special, but not

"broken" or something "wierd". He didn't like going into stores ... too much stimuli.

He would look down at the tiles while walking inside. So, for a while, we could not

take him to the store a lot. That changed ... one day, I asked him if he wanted to go

and he said "Yes!" I had him hold onto the shopping cart and steer it. That was his job.

He liked that. Remember, this is the boy who "didn't talk" or at least, not very much.

He didn't say a complete sentence until he was 6 years old. We were at a church

meeting, he was downstairs with the kids. He was upset, came upstairs and blurted

out, "The big kids always take the toys!" Yeah. We were all shocked too. But that was

very revealing.

I became Nick's AID. "Aid" as in Nick's personal chauffer to school and back, and
anything else he needed to be, for support.
We enrolled all the kids at a very good school (at the time), a

charter school known as "Imagine". The prinicipal was very cool. He created a job

for Renee on the spot. I began to work for a film producer/video expert. Soon, a

whole battery of specialists and psychologists came to evaluate Nick. We all discovered

that he was "autistic, moderate to severe" with some 'retardation' (their words, not ours).

We accepted the autism thing, tried all we could to learn about the autistic spectrum etc.

But ... *sigh* . . . there were so many escalations. They were so frequent. Little things

would set Nicholas off. And emotions were heightened, so little things were "big things"

to Nick. I also learned how to restrain  him, when it was necessary to do so. Several

times in fact ... once in a store, and once on the city bus.

We chose not to drug our son. The school was good for him, he had a great teacher,

Ms. April Gardner. I do not know how she accomplished this feat, but she taught him

how to read. He was in the fourth grade by now. He could read. He could express

himself. BUT ... I want to underline just how painful it was for me.  During the years

that I conducted him to and fro school, there were uncaring people who just didn't

seem to accept Nick, and they didn't understand his "special needs". I loved and love

Nick. I enjoyed him, and never complained about taking care of him. One time, at

a different church, I had to leave him in a special room. Of course, I was feeling down

because of all the "judging" around me, I felt nearly every day. This one precious young

lady came up to me and said,
"You must be a wonderful father to have a special son like that!"

Wow, lady. You made my day. And I was crying on the inside.

THE CHANGE

I had to remove Nick from this one charter school and take him to another.

I thought it was going to be a better experience, but it was a greater trial.

The administrator, though she claimed to be a "tongue-talking christian",

she didn't really understand Nick, or accept his disability. She wondered

why I didn't have an entourage of specialists in his trail, like these other

"special" kids had. I said No. Don't think so. Nick is autistic. She even

tried to have him expelled, suspended etc for his "behavior". I got pissed

off one time, and pulled him out, and drove him home. That was a winter

break, so it was okay. But I didn't come back. She finally called me and

said they have funding to work with Nick's "special needs" and they even

taught the teacher how to train him, and how to handle his escalations.

Nick got out of there in one piece. He was ready for junior high.

When the time came, I enrolled him in Herrera Jr. High. It was perfect

for him. His escalations became lesser, and he excelled at his classes.

He was much calmer. I enjoyed the time he spent at Herrera. He also

graduated from there, with honors.

That very special day arrived, when everything CHANGED. We were

at a bus stop, waiting on Valley Metro to take us home, and there was

this very old Japanese lady sitting there. She noticed Nick, and how I

acted "nervous" at the time, because Nick didn't really get "personal space".

LOL

I will never forget what she said. She spoke up and said these words:

"Never apologize for your son. From now on, you call him your 'happy-

normal- lucky-boy!" I could not argue with this wise woman. I simply

replied, "Yes. Yes Ma'am!"

And that was the catalyst; the power to see Nick become everything

he was meant to be. I didn't HAVE to apologize or explain "Nick" to anybody ...

I didn't have to see Nick as anything but a very special, yes, but dynamic kid.

Young man. My son. And I am so very proud of him.

COMMENCE TO START

Nick went onto North High School. They told us that they had the better

"SPED" program for him. Turns out, they also had fantastic teachers. Yeah,

we opted to have him in "public/charter" schools, it worked out great. He

has been a straight "A" student. He is a math whiz. He loves computers.

He loves gaming. And his blue-tooth headphones plugged into his phone/tablet

where he listens to his favorite EDM. He is a movie-aficianado; he can tell you

most names of voice-over actors. Oh, my he is so smart. And funny! He always

kept his fellow students and teachers in plenty of laughter. Oh, yeah ... there

are also the days when he gets to "dress professionally" for his business class

at Metro Tech. Seems like a lot of kids knew who Nick was, or they had a class

with him. One kid said, "Oh yeah, I know him! He's good!" (Art class).
Today Nick is what one would consider "higher-functioning" in the autism spectrum.
Some people see this autism as a disability. Others have commented that it
may be a "different way of thinking". Nick is well-aware of the autism, he often
"fights" it, and he catches himself when he gets upset, and he apologizes if he
thinks he did something wrong. He is a good kid. And he works hard, and
expresses himself fairly well these days. We don't treat him like he's "different".
We just love him. And it works well for us.

NOW ... Nicholas has grown up, he is 17, and he has officially graduated from

North High School, Phoenix AZ.  I was so excited to go to his graduation, there

was nothing like it, in all my experience. But here ... is the best part. I had Nick

place his cap & gown in his backpack, so that when he arrived to the Coliseum

(the venue of the commencement), he could put it on inside, and not have to

wear the thing all the way there. When he was done, got his diploma, we picked

him up, because we had to go to a celebration in his honor. When we were walking

in the parking lot to the car, I asked him where his backpack was (thinking he may

have left it or forgot it) ... He said, "I put it on my back under the gown!"

Brilliant. Simply brilliant. He then gets to the car, and takes off the cap & gown, and

there he is in his street clothes. Go Nick. You Rock. You are the Happy Normal Lucky Boy!

And you shine forevermore.

WE LOVE YOU. 

 

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GOD BLESS YOU.

WHEN is a Family NOT a Family??

>>> When It's An Empire!!!

   After viewing several episodes of the series Empire, I came to conclusion:

There are some families that really put the FUNK in "Dysfunctional"! My wife

has been binge watching the series on Hulu for quite some time. Not me. I just

jump in from time-to-time and then piece things together ... Or Renee will give

me a running commentary on the show if I let her! Anyway, some of the deeds

and antics of the members of the Lyon family are just ca-razzzy, and borderline

on the dastardly.

   One of the things I observed is regarding the father, the patriarch of the family.

He started the whole "Empire" thing, being a self-made music-mogul, and CEO

of his own company. It's a family company ... but that's where that image stops.

The father is proud, and does all he can to protect his name, "Lucius Lyon" and

his company. He has 3 sons (two who are very musical)

and he has a love-hate relationship with them all.

There are hostile takeovers, cursings of family members, dirty deeds swept under

the carpet, et al. It's a lot like "thug-love" meets the music industry ... makes me so

very glad that I'm not caught up in that stuff, being that I'm an Indie artist.

Anyway, there's also the mother. "Cookie", she is called. She's an amazing A&R

talent, having a good ear for new talent and she can produce almost any act that

comes her way. She loves her boys . . . well, loves them when she's not also cursing

them with choice words. One episode shows her slapping the back of one of her

sons on the head, because she thought he was being stupid. That's typical for Cookie.

Cookie is tough, she's sexy, curvy, and someone you don't want to tangle with. She

spent 17 years in prison (taking the fall for her husband), and she can still beat the

crap out of any competition who's thrown down in front of her.

   So, here, I am going to refrain from spoilers and such, just in case you want to

watch the show. Some believers out there think that watching this show, that it's

evil and a waste of time. But for me, it has been an education. Oh sure, there's some

good music and all of that, but there is actually some good in the characters, even

if you have to dig for it. They try to come together as a real family, embracing all

of their faults and flaws and fighting ... that part was good. But underlying all of this

is still this prideful protecting thing, and a 'we're gonna hold onto this company no

matter what, and do whatever it takes to do so' mentality.

   I realize that this is just a fantasy. It's not real. It's a bunch of stories. However, it

does depict a lot of acts & garbage that has taken place in the Biz. Jealousy, cut-throat-ism,

murder, fierce competition and back=stabbing.  We could probably pull from real-life

stories like Tupac, Notorious Big and others and compare notes. This stuff actually

happens out there in the real world.

   So where is "the family"?  It often gets swallowed up in the heirarchy and fear of

and from the patriarch himself ... Lucius Lyon. I mean, he is THE KING. All bow

before him, and don't forget to pay him tribute, because . . . without him, you're

nuthin' and you wouldn't even be here!! While watching the show, I began to wonder

if EMPIRE was the name of the record label, or the family itself! 

   So much dysfunction . . .  let me talk about that for a minute.

THESE THINGS OUGHT NOT TO BE

 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in  what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.   Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.  Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.  So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.

See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!  And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.  For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.  But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;  from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.  Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?  Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. 
(James 3:2-12)

That's what I'm talking about. Word Curses. Praising God, but cursing our neighbor,

brothers, sisters, etc.  In the Lyon family, it goes something like this: "You are all beautiful

boys ... but you are a bunch of punk-asses!" (The parents actually said this).  This kind of

talk happens all the time. Blessing & cursings coming out of the same mouth. Sometimes, at the same time!

JESUS DESCRIBED REAL FAMILY

And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.”   But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

(Luke 8:20-22)

Aha. Real Family, according to Jesus ... Jesus' Family . . . are those who hear the word of

God, and DO IT.  True families love one another. They cheer one another on. No betrayal.

No-one considers another "a burden".  You could insert 1st Corinthians 13 in here, because

the description of God's Love really fits. Thank God there are True Families out there

who really love one another, it's unconditional ... there aren't a bunch of hoops to jump

through to earn love. AND it isn't phony ... it isn't one way only.

Jesus also made a promise to his followers who leave all to follow him, for the sake of

The Gospel:

 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,  but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, aionian (age-enduring) life.

(Mark 10:29-31)

In the family of God, there is restoration and redemption of Family Life ... if your family

has been crappy to you, misunderstands or abuses you ... which oftentimes leads some

to "leave" ... God promises you "Mothers, brothers, sisters, children, land" and the rest.
I mean real-loving-people who care about you as an individual, showing the Father's heart.

For those who trust upon Jesus and have left all for the sake of the gospel, this can

happen for you! I have seen it happen, and there are many testimonies of this. Jesus

really does "feel your pain" and can relate! "He came to his own, and his own did not

receive him" (John 1:11). Let Yeshua heal you and restore all things to you, he knows

what is in your heart, and he can deliver you from dysfunction, trauma, abuse or

even having to "pay tribute" at the feet of some family "King". Jesus IS King! You can

give him your pain and hurt and wounds and he will give you freedom and peace

in its place. And all of that ... FREE OF CHARGE! 

Thank you for your time and for reading my blog.
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