Category: LIVE

Seal the Life Cracks Now!

When there is a little crack in a roof, water finds a way to seep in. Then, the crack expands, and more water seeps in. Pretty soon it can be a deluge of water. The same holds true of your life. Seal the cracks before negative thinking and the devil—or whatever you want to call evil—finds a way into your life and takes over.

Just like a roof or any other outside structure, you need to do a checkup on your life to find the cracks. Then, you need to seal them ASAP. If not, the cracks will become holes, even gaping at times.

I am far from perfect, so I’m not preaching. But every morning I try to think back to the other day and week to find any cracks. Most often the cracks are negative thoughts—even actions—about a situation or person. Then, I pray on it, filling the cracks with prayers.

It’s not always easy being honest with yourself. Don’t I know it! But when I’m not honest about the cracks they always start expanding. And the situation always gets worse. So, fill those cracks today. Pray. Be honest with yourself. And pray some more. God is always listening.

Have a GREAT rest of the week. And fill those cracks!

Commit to the Lord

Here is one of my top 10 “life” Bible verses:

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established” Proverbs 16:3

This is so very simple but so profound. Commit to the Lord—your work and, in fact, everything—and your purpose in life will be clear. As I have written many times over, we all have a special, unique purpose in life. In fact, I think that the purpose of life is finding that purpose, our reason for being. But you need to really commit to the Lord to find that purpose. Half commits won’t do it. You have to fully commit!

Spend time with the Lord. Quality time. Quiet time in contemplation. Then, commit. It’s really that simple. There is no mystery, rocket science, or complication to this. Commit to the Lord. It’s that simple.

Enjoy the weekend and, remember, commit!

Positive Thoughts, Positive Life

This message is pretty simple: Think positively if you want a positive life. If your thoughts are always negative, your life will be negative. It’s really as simple as that. Positivity breeds positivity.

We all have negative thoughts, at least from time to time. I’m right there. But when I have a negative thought, whether it be about a person or a situation, I try to let it go. Think holding on to something and simply opening your hand to let it go. I try to do the same thing with my mind. I let go of the negative thought.

There is really nothing more to add. Think positively. I know that is often difficult. Understand. Been there, done that. But this needs to be simple. Think positive. Be positive.

God is the essence of positive. He wants you to be positive and to enjoy a positive life!

Hope you have a great, positive weekend!

Are You the Good Samaritan?

My guess is that most people know the basic story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible. Essentially, several people pass by a beaten, robbed, and wounded man before a Samaritan stops to help the person. What some (most?) don’t really get is that the hurt man was a Jew and the person who finally stopped was a Samaritan. This is pretty striking because Jews and Samaritans didn’t really get along. Jews looked down on Samaritans as religiously impure. And to an extent, Jews despised Samaritans.

So, the real striking point of the story is that a Jewish priest and a Levite (Jew; tribe of Levi) passed by the man paying him no heed. It was someone who basically was not only a stranger but also someone not typically seeing eye-to-eye with Jews who did stop and helped.

In this age of animosity, political differences, deportations, etc., etc. where are the Good Samaritans? Are you one? Would you stop if anyone was lying hurt in the middle of the road? Would you reach out to help any stranger, especially if they didn’t look like you, dress like you, etc., etc.?

This is something to contemplate. Jesus gave us one simple commandment. To love. Anyone. Not just who we really love. He wants us all to be Good Samaritans. It’s that simple. Are you?

Enjoy the week and look out for someone in need to help!

Cherish Ever Day!

I recently passed out during a jog with my dog (long story; I’ll spare you). Short story, I ended up in the hospital through the ER to get checked out. Found I have a little bit of a cardiac issue that most likely is a combination of age and genetics. Anyway, it just brought home that we need to cherish ever day like it’s our last. I’m not talking about being fatalistic. I’m just talking about cherishing life.

Think about dropping your eight year old off at camp and never seeing her again because she was swept away by a flooding river (think Texas). Or your spouse going to the store to pick something up but never returning because he was killed in an accident (true story; colleague of mine).

Life has its ups and downs. And its twists and turns. And its lives and deaths.

You never know when God is going to call you to Him (or elsewhere). When it’s time, it’s time. Don’t be fatalistic. But cherish every day as if it is your last!

Have a great rest of the week cherishing every day!

It’s One Step Back Time, But Now Two Steps Ahead.

We all screw up. We’re humans and imperfect, no matter what you think. I recently took one step back but vow to move two steps ahead. That’s how we make progress in life. Make up for the one step back by taking two steps ahead. That’s a winning strategy to live by!

Life is full of twists, turns, and obstacles. Sometimes we not only take a step or two back but we may also veer off the path and go down a dead end. Stuff happens! That’s life. The trick is to stay on the path that God intends you to be on and constantly move forward, even if you take a step or two backwards.

God has a plan for you. A special, unique plan for you that is as unique as your fingerprints. You’re special. Most of us don’t realize that and wander through life as the Israelites wandered through the desert for 40 years. Take a lesson from that story about how it should have taken 11 days to get to the Promised Land but it took them 40 years of wandering. There’s a life lesson in that story for each one of us.

Don’t cry pity when you screw up and certainly don’t beat yourself up. Just regroup and move forward, taking at least two steps ahead.

And if you don’t know the path you should be on just ask God. He’s less than a heartbeat away and always listening. You just have to quiet your world around you and give God some time.

Enjoy the weekend and moving ahead on your path!

He Is Always!

I just took a God “vacation.” Didn’t go to church for two weeks—can’t remember the last time I did that and was not sick—and didn’t pray every day in the morning. I just kinda wasn’t there. I’m now looking back on the past few weeks and realized that although I wasn’t there, God was there. He is always there no matter when we aren’t.

God Creator, Son, and Spirit never go anywhere, no matter where we go. We may be the prodigal sons and daughters going off and squandering what we have been given but God is the Father always waiting for us to return. And rejoicing when we do return.

I’m not kicking myself as I usually do for how I squandered the past few weeks away from God. I’m actually looking it as a good thing for realizing how empty my life is without God. A true vacation from life is when I turn to God, not away from Him.

Have a FANTASTIC week ahead vacationing with God!

No Better Human Being

I don’t care what your views or “religion” are but you’ll be hard pressed to find a better human being than the late Pope Francis. He wasn’t perfect. None of us are. But for someone on the world stage he both preached and lived a very humble existence. He walked the talk, something very rare in this day and age.

He obviously had to go by the pomp and circumstance of the Vatican. I’m Catholic and I don’t like it. It’s not Jesus—what He preached and how He lived His life. But The Pope did his best to keep everything in his life as down to earth as possible. To emulate Jesus. He will be missed!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all the world leaders attending the Pope’s funeral took a lesson from his life. The world would be a dramatically better place. Heaven on earth. Unfortunately, that won’t happen.

I hope Pope Francis stays in the hearts of the faithful to inspire us. This world needs inspiration—and a lot more light.

God bless the Pope, the new Pope, and all of us!

Good Friday Every Day

Good Friday is an enigma. We call it “good” but it is this solemn day of mourning Jesus dying on the cross. I mean, what is “good” about that? And why have I titled this post to imply ever day should be a Good Friday. Here goes.

I think that Good Friday should be a day of reflection, not mourning. We should reflect on Jesus in human form taking all of our sins—past, present, and future—and pinning them to the cross he hung and died on. No wonder the “human” side of Jesus sweated blood in the garden even thinking about the enormity of that task. I don’t think the sweating blood was over the pain, suffering, and death to come. It was the daunting task of taking all that sinfulness and wiping it out.

I don’t think that we should use one day to mourn what Jesus did. I think that every single day we should reflect on what He did and give thanks for it. Not one day. Every day. That’s why I intend to keep Good Friday every day.

Forget about sins of humanity past and to come. There is so much sinfulness in the world today that just wiping those present sins out is a mind-boggling, incomprehensible task. Thank you, Jesus!

Don’t ever forget that your sins—past, present, and future—are forgotten if you reflect on them, repent, and then ask for forgiveness. That’s the message of Good Friday and the message for every day.

Have a wonderful, blessed Easter Sunday. Jesus has risen! Rise up with Him!

Destroying Lives as Hell Awaits

The fires of Hell are burning brighter than ever. Satan has to loving that there is no kindling needed because the logs of lost souls keep coming and, by the looks of it, a lot more to come. The fires of Hell are burning brighter than ever! There is such animosity and pure hatred in the world that the devil is glowing. Jesus must be wondering why He died for us; as am I.

Take the story of this college freshman who’s life has literally been destroyed by an idiotic sports moron (forgive me God!) who fed an untrue story about her. I won’t even dignify repeating it here. That wasn’t bad enough but tons of other morons ganged on and have made this poor girl’s life a living Hell. They’ll all be surprised the day that their lives are a living Hell forever—as in eternity.

I am one of the most positive people you will meet but the reality of the world is that it is coming apart at the seams. The Godhead of Father, Son, Spirit obviously know what is happening but must be shaking their heads.

Now is the time those of us who see the darkness in this world must ignite and shine our soul lights brighter than ever. Smile, help, donate, turn the cheek, be the better person. I’m no saint—far, far from it—but our world needs help. And it starts one person at a time!

Enjoy the weekend and shine your light brighter than ever!!!