Koinonia House

07/17/2026

People are born gentle and weak;

at their death they become hard and stiff.

All things, including the grass and trees,

are soft and pliable in life;

dry and brittle in death.

Stiffness is thus a companion of death;

flexibility a companion of life.

An army that cannot yield

will be defeated.

A tree that cannot bend

will crack in the wind.

The hard and stiff will be broken;

the soft and supple will prevail.

To claim to be a master of the Dao goes against everything this ancient text is meant to portray. For myself and many like me it has become a companion to leadership, providing so many valuable lessons with ancient wisdom.
To truly appreciate the wisdom is to look honestly at all of life, to notice how true the ancient text is at is relates to the life-cycle of all living things. Nature is indeed in no hurry; yet it paints a perfect picture of these deep truths. The mighty oak simply starts as a seedling, planted in dirt, bursting forth as tiny sprout, then growing to give shade to all who would sit under it’s mighty branches. Gentle and weak it arrives as we do into the world, and as it grows older, the branches grow stiff and hard when cut off from the nurturing root of life deep within. Dry and brittle—speaks of death as the great change agent, making room for the new.

Seen through this amazing lens we can look at life and appreciate the great truth that those who are kind—are gentle and seem weak, but they are flexible in life and so they show by the very nature they possess that life is within them. Just as the tree that is not able to bend in the wind—will break and crack. So too, do our lives bend and break when we refuse to be flexible.

When we soften to life, to flow, to growth, to the pliability of life—we find that naturally our shoulders begin to soften, our body begins to sway, and the music that seemed distant now plays a melody that is clear. When we soften the stiffness of needing to be right in favor of being kind—we prevail.

07/01/2026

July 1 – Identity

Wayne Dyer
"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."

Jordan Peterson
"Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today."

Friedrich Nietzsche
"Become who you are."

Shared Theme: Transformation begins with changing your perspective and taking responsibility for your own becoming.

Journal Prompt: In what area of your life have you been comparing yourself to others instead of measuring your own growth? What would it look like today to become just 1% more of the person you are capable of becoming?

The art of becoming is often an art of remembering. The greatest thief to who we are is the comparison of who someone else is. When we compare ourselves to others, we do a great disservice to who God has created us to be. Each person is unique and connected, but so often we send our brain and heart to search for the parts that aren't the same and look for points of disconnection, which help feed our mind, "We are right." In this way, we never look honestly upon another person except through the lens we put on.

This is both the source of our misery and our salvation from it. When we do change the way we look at others, at life, at experiences... we change our minds about them, about the event, and we have always had this amazing gift. We just lost sight of it chasing perfection—something impossible from the self-standard we impose. Perfection, as the horizon, will constantly recede. It must. If we reached perfection on this side, we'd destroy something just to have something to build. It's a constant in our experience.

When we can look through the lens of compassion vs. sitting in a seat of judgment in regards to others' behaviors or choices, we sit in honesty upon the earth, loving and being loved. This is the progress of a heart directed by power and purpose beyond ourselves.

The love we have for self is the spark. That spark ignites a flame, and the flame is shared to light the way for others. Not that we become the light for them, but we point to the light, and they can see it within us, and then awaken to it within them. Entheos—God within—creating and sustaining the enthusiasm we need to live an extraordinary life.

1% better each day means we compare ourselves only to who we were yesterday, not to who others are. What steps can I take to be better? How do I choose to grow today? That will affect tomorrow. Habits. Systems. What can I choose to continue to pursue to allow God to sustain and bless me?

It is by allowing the gifts and skills to be used to help others, to guard my energy as sacred, and say my prayers not simply hoping but knowing that divine favor is mine. That the sum of my life has always been and will always be blessed.

That my life will always be a reflection of value added to others, using those gifts with those who wish to change and want to change. That is a life well lived.

06/26/2026

The Road Less Traveled

Robert Frost speaks wisely of a fork in the road being Traveled and how he looked down both as far as he could see. He choose the road less worn, the one less traveled and it made all the difference.

In a world driven by fear, survival, and division. Rebellion to that looks and feels amazing…kindness, love, compassion, truth, and choosing health.

It is the path less traveled though, and with that comes much learning and I'd dare to say unlearning. We remove beliefs that were inherited that no longer serve us.

The Power of conciousness and I'd say Christ Conciousness is the awareness of power within. Awaking or Rembering you are not broken. You've just been patterned and patterns can be changed.

You are one decision away from a different life.

Two roads diverge ….which will you choose?

06/15/2026

Day 15 – Honesty
Frankl
"The truth is told by deeds."
Peterson
"Tell the truth—or, at least, don't lie."
Journal Prompt: Where in your life do your actions and words need greater alignment?

In relation to words and actions…I am and work hard to do a consistent job of aligning words With actions in most areas of life. Right now, the one area that I'm focused on is health consistency again. I am a healthy individual and as I take assessment of those choices can see where at times the words and actions were not aligning.
The toughest part of that is not in the kknowing. I know how and what to do..it has been cheap dopamine. We all get use to the feeling. But I've made a concious choice to focus on this. Being aligned with words and actions in this area. I fully believe if you can self control what you eat and choose to fuel your body with. You can self control every other sector of your life.
Pushing forward in all things.
Today is the day as a choice and also as the greatest example of living in the present. There is no other timeline but today. These hours , minutes and seconds are what we have to live our lives with.
Be grateful for breath and life today.
151K other people didn't wake up today and they went to bed same as you…thinking tomorrow would come. It didn't arrive.
Momento Mori. Amor Fati.

06/10/2026

The quote burn the ships is most likely even more ancient than Cortes whom it is often attributed to. The metaphor it provides though has stood the test of time. If you want to take action and move forward…you must burn the ships and way of turning back.

We on a whole as a species like comfort, the brain craves comfort more than growth which is why most struggle when challenges arise to move forward. Though growth happens on this side our brain and the reactivity will just follow the script unless we interrupt it. We do have that power. I believe the greatest gift GOD has given is the power to choose one thought above another.

I believe that we are far more loved and powerful than we've ever believed. That True North has always been signaling and when we quiet our minds and the noise we hear more clearly and see much farther. It is in those moments ✨️ we find our path and the trail we must blaze on it.

The entire world loves to divide itself. It has since the beginning on time, but the truth is…we don't have to live like that. We can rise above the noise, the division , and free ourselves from a herd mentality that only serves those who profit from it.

Robert Frost talked about the road less traveled. This road diverged in the woods and the road less traveled he took and it made all the difference. It can make the difference still today if we are willing to acknowledge each person's humanity first and foremost. To be kind in a world constantly trying to prove their point of view is right and to be love led vs fear fed.

When we do follow this ancient path. We find a quiet confidence within. We find a power that was always there. We awaken to a North Star always shining, and dreams we've always had. We hear the birds sing, nature shines just a but brighter in every way, and we find that what we needed most was never without or external to us…it's been inside the whole time. ♥️

Find 3 people today and encourage them with a small compliment. The impact reaches people.

A story to show how little it can be to be an encourager. Yesterday while waiting in line to pay for my items at a convenience store the person in front of me kept complaining about the pump card reader not working The lady behind the counter said they had a ticket in for it. And then he kept complaining. She looked off and back to him. Face tightened. (It's amazing what you can observe when you aren't constantly occupied with yourself) Finally he left, and she said is this it for you today. Another worker came and she said did you hear that guy complaining about the pump reader.

As I left simply said “just gotta get your magic wand out and fix it” her smile was genuine and she laughed and said yes. Right ?

In that moment ..in the simplest way…she was seen, she was heard, and she was understood.

People are dying for lack of an encouraging word. It takes so little to be kind and loving so as you go about your ordinary life…look for these opportunities ✨️ they make all the difference in ways you may never fully realize.

06/09/2026

Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude Daily. It honestly will help order your day.

Our words are life giving or life draining...as Brennan Manning says..there is no neutral exchange.

Complaints against the way things are, will never change things. Choose to be a voice of Kindness and Love in a world filled to the brim with hate and despair.

What's 1 thing you are grateful for today ?👇

06/03/2026

If you were to ask 1000 people the question what is more important…. What you know or how you feel more important?

Almost all would respond “how I feel is more important” The dilemma it seems is that as universally true as this is, where our wisdom truly lives we act and live out as though the cognitive level is more important.

Learning to deal with matters of the heart, dare, I say, are the most critical skills a person can learn. If we learned to live from a heart based posture--where our true wisdom lives versus our thinking minds--there would be less problems in marriage, social problems such as drinking and drugs would be less tempting and kindness would be far more common place.

So what's missing to access this beautiful place of wisdom within? 🤔

Intention. A simple and yet profound quieting of the thinking mind. Seeing storming thoughts as a rock machine that has a huge funnel at the top and if you have too many coming in at once they will get clogged. Learning to back off the thought process is the clearest way to access this intention and wisdom within.

Once practiced over and over the strength grow just like any other muscle. You become stronger in using your inner wisdom, refusing to be pulled from the divide and division the world so easily serves up.

Life is beautiful is this place. Will you embrace the journey?

06/01/2026

This month two very loud voices at least in the states will shout at each other. It’s become a common battle-ground month for most. It’s almost unavoidable unless you choose the Narrow Enlightened Path. That’s the invitation I want to extend to everyone this month, heck—all months. Climb and Walk with me, up a path in the middle of two divisional points.

The world is almost always dividing us into ‘us and them’ in every single way. Division sells, products are made for both sides to purchase, rallies are held for both sides to protest and come to, money is made by those who support one side or the other.

The path least traveled offers a place of Truth, Love, Mercy, Grace, and Goodness that neither side often understands. It is no respecter of persons, it offers to all the peace found within the climb and walk for those who take its route.

May you choose to walk this enlightened path—this month and all months, and not be drawn into the either -or- paradigm. OR the ‘us vs them’ paradigm.

There’s only one race in the world — the Human Race and we are all more alike than we are different.

Come walk and climb with me.

05/31/2026

Available on Kindle now

This book was not written from a mountaintop. It was written from the valley, in the dark, on mornings when the only thing I could do was pick up a pen and tell the truth. What you are about to read began as a private practice — daily devotional journaling through the letters of Paul, the Prover.....

05/27/2026

https://findingyourtruenorth.substack.com/p/it-costs-nothing-to-be-kind