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Graced Like Mephibosheth Book Download

The story of David and Mephibosheth is incredibly more than just a story. It isn’t really about David and Mephibosheth but what they represent or more accurately, what they point us to.

In this book, you’ll explore the story of David and Mephibosheth with all the relevant culture and history around the story. You’ll get deeper insight into the words communicated and their hidden meanings.

Most importantly, you’ll observe the fine threads of profound truths that are interwoven in the story. These threads are numerous and diverse but this book focuses on the fine thread of grace.

Which lessons about Grace can we learn from the story of David and Mephibosheth? Well, download this book and let’s scroll through its pages to uncover the lessons for ourselves.

Graced Like Mephibosheth Download

The Game of Life

Have you ever wondered what life is all about? Or perhaps you might have already generated your own perspective and description of life based on personal and collective experiences?

I’ve heard things like “Life’s good” (which is true for those enjoying a good life), “Life’s not fair” (true for those who feel mistreated), “Life’s a battle” (true for the aggressive folks) among other descriptions.

Even if you’ve already imbibed a particular description of life, it wouldn’t hurt to pause for a moment to see life from a bigger and higher perspective. If we can for one moment take everyone’s unique description of life and sum them together, what would be the outcome?

It is obvious that our perception of life often depends on our experience. So the best place for us to start our quest for understanding life is by understanding the source of our experience.

There’s really so much to this but I’ll just take it from one point- thought. By thought, we are also considering the psychological framework which includes our feelings, emotions and perspectives.

How come a comment I make can totally piss one person off but make the other person glad? My best guess is because they both don’t really hear what is said but what they actually hear is their interpretation of what is said. This underlies the human condition and yet many well meaning people think they really hear what others are saying. This is an illusion which may lead to dire consequence if not addressed.

This isn’t just true about what other people say to us but it also applies to the circumstances of our lives. I was bewildered when a wheelchair bound patient who suffered from the severest form of cerebral palsy commented that she lives a fabulous life.

Her condition suggested otherwise but her experience of life didn’t depend on whatever condition she was in. Her condition didn’t wield that power. That power lied within, somewhere in her thoughts and perspectives.

I’m not advocating for the mantra “Change your thoughts, change your life”, rather, I just want you to appreciate our experience of life. If you can just see that whatever label you have tagged life with is not life but your own interpretation of it, that alone is enough. Enough for you and I to realize that life isn’t what we say it is, life is what it is.

If you can just see that whatever label you have tagged life with is not life but your own interpretation of it, that alone is enough. Enough for you and I to realize that life isn’t what we say it is, life is what it is.

When we look full at the vastness of life and realize that where we pitch our tent of experience isn’t life but what we are making of life, we see that at every point in time, we have a million options available to us. Several ways to experience life.

Life becomes a game where you experience a whole wide range of happenings, emotions and situations and still not be tied to any of them.

Instead of clinging to certain experiences and happenings with fear of experiencing anything other than what we are used to, we can simply let go and let life flow. There’s no need to fear, doubt or be suspicious. Isn’t that why we are here in the first place? Aren’t we here to have and enjoy life?

Life is but a game and every game needs a player. Be that player. Try new stuff which resonates with you. I can’t assure you of success in every attempt but I can assure you of experiencing the joy of living at every attempt you make at life.

Spread your wings, feel the wind beneath your outstretched wings and loose yourself to the wind. That’s the only way to soar.

Dealing with a creative block

Creativity begets creation. Every invention was as a result of the flow of creativity through the mind of the inventor. Thomas Edison, Beethoven, Albert Einstein and all the other famous inventors had the experience of being conduits of the creative energy of life.

But like with every flow, creativity has an inherent challenge of experiencing a blockage which can be really frustrating especially if you are a full-on creative.

As a writer, there are times that I go days, weeks and even months staring at a blank page. Not that there’s nothing to write but all the ideas seem so cluttered and incoherent. They lack the vital touch of creativity to be translated into form. I bet you also have your own experience with this even if you aren’t a writer.

One of the pertinent questions I’ve sought an answer to is how to get your creative juices flowing again after having an episode of creative block. What I discovered might not really be what you anticipate for a solution.

So what do you do to get your creative flow back? Very simple- nothing. Nothing? Yes, you heard me right- nothing. In this extremely busy world of ours, nothing never seems to be the solution to anything.

We prefer 10 steps, 20 action plans and whatever chore we can find to nothing. And it’s completely understandable. I’m also quite a doer myself so till date I also have a hard time doing nothing, sometimes.

Perhaps, not everything requires our intervention to happen, they just happen on their own. I often ask people this question, “So, what did you do to make the sun come up this morning? And after a hard day’s work, what will you do to drive it away to make way for the moon?” Mostly, the response I get is penetrating silence which with time, I have found to be synonymous to nothing.

The facts as we have them show that the earth has its own pattern or orbit around the sun and is programmed to follow through its orbit. There’s nothing for us to do about that, it’s just for us to know.

The same creative power that creates and sustains all of creation including the earth, moon and sun flows through us. If we don’t need to do anything to make the sun come up in the morning, then is it absurd to think that the creative flow within us can take care of itself even if we do nothing?

It is not surprising that even after hearing that there’s nothing for us to do, we turn around and make “nothing” into a chore. So we sit on a bench grim faced and wave at the first person that passes by “hey look, I’ve been here doing nothing for an hour”

Doing nothing has more to do with mental activity than with physical chores. So even if you sit on a bench for 12 hours with a mind fluttered with activities such as what you should be doing, what you’re missing, when your creative juice will begin flowing again… you’re missing the point. Your mind is still cluttered hence will offer resistance to your creative flow.

Stress and creativity do not mix together. Creativity is at its optimum when your mind is at rest. That said, it means you can be washing your clothes, typing a presentation or even cooking your favorite meal and still have your creative juice flowing again after experiencing a creativity block. As long as the mind is not stressed during these activities, there’s enough aperture for creativity to ebb.

Stress and creativity do not mix together. Creativity is at its optimum when your mind is at rest.

I love Ursula’s advice to Kiki in the anime, Kiki’s Delivery Service. I believe it’s exactly what those who are experiencing a creative block need to hear: “Stop trying. Take long walks. Look at scenery. Doze off at noon. Don’t even think about flying. And then, pretty soon, you’ll be flying again.”

New Book Release- Graced like Mephibosheth 🌟

The story of David and Mephibosheth is by far my favourite Bible story.
From the theme to the minutest detail, the story of David and Mephibosheth
presents us with precious lessons that can help us enjoy deeper intimacy in
our relationship with our Heavenly Father which also improves our relationship with those around us.

DOWNLOAD NOW

This book is in two parts. You will find reading this part extra rewarding because it holds the key to unlock the treasure gates of the entire story. You will observe the interplay of culture, and wits which makes the story come alive. Of course, I added some colours in the form of drama, suspense and a good dose of exaggeration but I did all that not to alter the story in any way but to make it more relatable and engaging. Besides, Bible characters are not heavenly beings who are worlds apart from the human experience.

Continue reading “New Book Release- Graced like Mephibosheth 🌟”

Listening and Compromise

Listening remains one of the most difficult tasks known to man. Sure we all have ears but we also have brains which interfere with listening just as much as they enhance it.

I remember how my teacher demonstrated this to me in high school. After engaging us on an exciting topic, he called out three students who were most attentive and contributed throughout his presentation.

His open ended question “What did you hear?” brought interesting answers to bear. To some he nodded but for others he quickly remarked “I never said that”. Imagine how many students heard things that were not uttered by our teacher that day.

Unfortunately, what we just described isn’t just a classroom experience, it also happens quite frequently outside the classroom especially in our relationships.

It is said that couples who actively listen to each other grow to know and appreciate each other. Without listening, all we have as explanations for what others do are our own bigotry. We map out a world of cause and effect in our minds and subject everyone else to the confines of its narrow paths.

Of course there appears to be nothing wrong with this when it gives you the reassurance of being right. But appearance can be sometimes the greatest deception there is. We can never get the true picture without actively engaging the people whose picture we seek to grasp.

I once read about a couple that had what they called listening time. It was a time they consciously set aside to genuinely listen to each other. During this time, only one person is allowed to pour out their heart at a time while the other plays a supportive listening role.

Even if the speaker says something that the listener finds offensive, the listener is supposed to remain a listener. This kind of couple moment needs a lot of mental and emotional prepping to be fruitful. I mean, just one word uttered can completely throw the listener off balance resulting in yet another uproar.

Without listening, all we have as explanations for what others do are our own bigotry. We map out a world of cause and effect in our minds and subject everyone else to the confines of its narrow paths.

A good mental preparation for listening to your partner is to listen for a reason to adjust your own opinions. This is what compromise is all about. In compromise, we make the choice not to have it all our way.

We decide to let others have their opinions imprinted on our canvas of ideas. No true relationship can be sustained without compromise.

However, compromise isn’t an unconscious activity; we can’t just go around compromising just for the sake of it. There has to be a logical basis for compromise and that’s why we listen to our partner. But again, don’t fall into the trap of writing your partner’s opinion off as irrational.

Even in the irrationality, there’s a bit of logic to consider. Learn to pick the pearls from the dust. As abnormal psychologists will tell you “there’s a bit of sanity in every insanity”.

Imagine what true satisfaction both of you will have knowing that each partner’s opinion is welcomed and respected.

I’ll end with an admonition from the Bible. The Apostle James wrote “My dear brothers (and sisters), take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19).

This is the formula for long lasting relationships. The efforts shouldn’t be so much about speaking out or reacting in anger. It’s really about taking out that precious time to listen. To listening, be quick but to all else, it is okay to be a little slow and hesitant.