LUNY JUNE 2020

Luny June, Loony June, Blue Moon June, Moody June.

Sleepless, tossing and turning, I create titles for this month's blog that I write almost a month late.

There is nothing to say.

Not that I cannot find words but there are not enough words to try to explain this crazy month.  

Yet, I try to verbalize the crazy chaos swirling about me.

We visited a restaurant a couple decades ago, the name I will never forget.

Matzaluna.  I have no clue what we ate but the catchy name still lingers in my soul.

My personal translation would be “unleavened bread-moon.”  

How crazy is that?

That’s the whole point.  

We were told that it actually translates as crazy lunatic.  

I’ll accept that.

It’s a crazy name that is meant to be unforgettable.

Luny June is the name I give to a culmination of decades of self-indulgence that is also unforgettable. 

The world today is “matzaluna”!  

It’s a crazy, lunatic world.  

It’s not what is happening because we feel like we’ve been caged for months and now, in the process of un-caging, act out in a myriad of ways.  

It’s not because some rightfully have unresolved grievances that have passed from generation to generation and are called to make their voices heard.  

It’s not because we are moving into those ‘sticky’ months where we physically feel hot and bothered.

It’s because we human beings have been pampered far beyond what we deserve.  

Our expectations exceed what we have earned mentally, emotionally and physically.  Economically, the entire world, even the most poor nations, far exceed expectations of past eras.  We have more so we want and expect more.

I decided to study self-indulgence by watching documentaries of human behavior over the past few decades.  At the same time I continue to study the life of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who are in ‘covenant relationship’ with God.  The grace of God and the blessings bestowed on an indulgent people of the old covenant are no different than today.  

The people who came to be know as ‘Israelites’ sought the God who made Covenant with Abraham each time they needed help.  

God obliged in abundance and pampered His Chosen People.  

As they prospered, God’s people forgot about the ‘Source’ of their blessings, turned to other gods and then wondered why they had nothing, felt empty and suffered great loss.  

They learned, over and over, from generation to generation, that only by honoring the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob could they survive and even thrive abundantly.

This scenario has never changed.

There is only one source from which the well of abundance never runs dry.

“God, our Creator, created creation to be creative and create in God’s image.”

This is a saying I ‘created’ early in my search for understanding of who I am.

As I studied the only book I could trust, the only book that has outlasted the shelf life of all other books for over two thousand years, I learned that I am NOT the center of the universe.

I canNOT do all things in my own strength.

I canNOT have the abundance I desire from other sources without consequences.

The only Source who will never forsake my dreams, assuming my dreams correspond with His dreams for me, is God . . . 

One far beyond my understanding . . . 

One who can provide far beyond what my tiny brain can comprehend.  

Only one problem.

I must find out what His dreams [plans] are that He already planted deep in my soul while I was still in my mother’s womb.  

God knew me before I ‘was.’

God created me to be all I am suppose to be.

Yet, it is for me to find out who I am according to His will.

After all, I was created as a ‘being’ . . .  not as a ‘doing.’

I was created with all the tools, all the parts I need, to become the ‘image’, the representation, the example of human life that God created me to be.

I am a human ‘being.’

If, indeed, so many call themselves human ‘beings,’ why do so many act like Matzaluna . . .  crazy people . . . spinning out of control . . .  ‘doing’ everything they can to feel better, do better, have better, indulge better?  

Why do so many overstep the logical process of learning about God and, by taking the necessary steps, become content to learn about themselves as made in the ‘image’ of God?  

Why do so many want to skip steps of self-awareness and move right into self-indulgence?  

Why do so many not think through reasonable steps to become who they are called to be and then move forward one step at a time?

If asked their ‘religious preference,’ The average person on the street may respond with a variety of answers.  

One person says “I am Jewish” yet has not entered a synagogue in decades.  Indeed, by heritage, that person may be Jewish and will remain so in heritage.  

Same for Muslims.  

Yet, this is not the same for Christians.  

Many who say they are ‘Christians’ only say so because their parents made them attend a Christian church when they were younger.  

Since leaving home, they have ignored regular attendance in a church community and, if asked, may not be able to tell you what it means to be ‘Christian.’  

The name “Christian” may be attached to a person but that person is not attached to Christ as a ‘Christ-follower.’  

Recently a new name has popped up. 

NONE. 

Those who say, ‘I am a None,’ seem to be intelligent, reflective and honest.  

They take questions of religious preference seriously and seem to be more self-aware than many ‘Christians.’ 

They are non, nothing, no-one, nadda, niet, NONE.  

I give them a gold star for honesty but my heart grieves deeply.

So many have so much, are able to attain so much, have been so overindulged, pampered and protected that they are NONE, nothing, non, 0.   

I watched several documentaries on economics and how nations that have expanded in wealth have also expanded in personal self-indulgence.

One documentary tracks self indulgence of the past twenty-five years, all over the world.  The ability to attain wealth is at our fingertips.  

Wealth seems to define us but it’s more than money.

It’s opulence in every degree.

More is better.  

More of anything is best.  

The belief system of the NONE is MORE?

The ideology is, “If I work harder and more hours each day I will make more money.  If I make more money I will be able to purchase my dream . . . ?  If I am able to purchase, in abundance, anything I want I will . . . ..

Fill in the blanks.

If that were not enough, this body which God created, this body which is a miracle of function and beauty, because God made us in His image of perfection and beauty and so much more, seems not to be enough.

Our body can be desecrated by the decisions we make about our own value.

Because those who are NONE do not realize the ‘Source’ of beauty in their body, they may abuse it or overindulge it.  

To ignore and not take care of this ‘temple of God’s creation’ is just as bad as trying to ‘fix’ it.  

Yet, this body we live in is not just flesh and bones.

God gave us an incredibly complex brain that, when tapped into God’s plan, can draw us into exponential opportunities for creativity, growth and change.

God gave us a will that can be focused inward toward self-indulgence or can be focused outward to seeking God’s will.

God gave us emotions that can be expanded upon in joy or sorrow when we focus on specific events that move those emotions into action.  

We are invited to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.  

Emotions, when used appropriately, are good for our

health.  Yet, too often we project our own anger and jealousy onto others.  

The NONE cannot cry out to God because they have declared themselves to be ‘nothing.’  God is everything.  

To seek everything through God is not possible according to the NONE philosophy.

The only other option is to share their self-indulgent need beyond their own space and into others’ space.

It’s as if the majority of the world has discarded any reliance on a ‘higher being’, GOD, and swapped a life of abundant treasure in the Almighty for MORE of NONE. 

This is what I mean by Luny June . . . Matzaluna . . .  Loony . . . 

If one seeks MORE but is NONE, how can one BE?

As Shakespeare, who believed in God, said,”To BE or NOT to BE, that is the question.”   

Has humanity ceased to exist?  

A NONE can BE but in order to BE, a NONE has to become ONE with God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  But, if this is the case, the NONE must disappear and simply BE.

The Apostle Paul said, “It is not I who live but Christ lives in me and the life I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for ME.”  I choose to follow these words of Paul.

I continue to seek answers about my Being.

I seek to take one step at a time to greater self-awareness through God-awareness.

So far I have gained much treasure in my heart.

I feel full to overflowing with the abundance given to hubby and me.

We give thanks every single day we wake and feel our limbs and stand up and walk and work and talk and exchange thoughts and marvel at wonders around us.

Yet, each day I am on this earth I will continue to seek,

to know more, to be more, to enjoy more, as I learn more of who I am as one made in the image of God.

LUNY JUNE, a crazy month, unlike months past and months ahead.

It’s all Good for one who is NOT a NONE.