Category: Thought for the Day

Step Back. Two Steps Ahead.

I’m not making excuses for my mistakes but every now and then I take a step back. I shut my ears to God and what I should be doing. I let my body run wild over my mind. It’s a step back from what I should be doing in life and where I should be going. But I regroup and take two steps ahead.

I have lived long enough to know that you make mistakes. I am perfect in my imperfection. I goof up. But what I try to do is to keep moving forward. Because getting trapped in the past is death.

My wife tells me to turn off the Catholic guilt. She’s right. Guilt just holds you back from going forward. After all, Jesus died for all of our sins. If we understand that and truly ask for forgiveness we don’t get chained to the past. Let go, let God!

Don’t get stuck in the past when you take a step back. Dust yourself off and get back in the game of life. Move forward. Two steps forward, at least, for that step back you took.

Enjoy the weekend!

Positive Thoughts, Positive Outcome. Negative Thoughts, Look Out Below!

God mans life to be so simple but it’s beyond comprehension how we complicate it! I don’t know how many hundreds of times I have written and said this but it is so true. So, flowing from all this is a very simple concept. If we think positive thoughts, positive things will happen. But if we dwell on negative things, negative outcomes will happen over and over again. It’s that simple. Like life itself!

If you’re stuck in a negative rut, thinking positive thoughts won’t turn everything around on a dime. But life will turn around. What may seem like darkness will become light. You just have to force your thinking to positive thoughts.

If you’re looking for something positive, start with God. Whatever life has thrown your way, think about God. LISTEN for/to Him because He is always with you, not matter what you think. He is the root of all that is positive because there is no negative in God.

I love Romans 12:2 because it sums up the power of positive thinking by detaching yourself from the world, which lately is a very negative place.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Want to get out of the negative rut? Start focusing on the positive. I know it’s not always easy when the negatives in life seem to overwhelm. But transform your mind by forcing the positive thoughts. Start with God because He is positive. He wants simplicity in your life. Start with the positives. Your mind, and life in the process, will be transformed.

Have a POSITIVE week! Think positive!!!

Fear?

Do you fear anything in your life? On occasion, fear of something or another takes over my life. I feel fear. I live fear. But that’s when I go back to my faith because faith is the opposite of fear. You simply can’t fear if you have faith.

There are no two better opposites than fear and faith. Fear blocks out all faith and hope. Faith is all about hope and knowing that whatever happens God is always less than a heartbeat away. Living your faith simply blocks out fear. You can’t fear if you have faith.

We’re human so faith can ebb and flow. We can think more of ourselves than we think of God. That’s when fear can creep into your life and take over.

There is one way to overcome any fear you feel. Simply open up to God and ask for His Help. He is listening and ready to help. You just have to open up completely to Him. It’s so simple but we make it so difficult.

Have a GREAT week ahead living in faith, not fear. Fear not with faith!

He is Risen Every Day

We’re past Easter and the glory of the Resurrection. But Jesus is not past any of it. Because He is Risen every day. In us. If we let Him!

The true glory of Easter is not Easter Sunday but every day. Because Jesus is truly risen every day and in us if we let Him.

What does this all mean? It means that Jesus is in us every day we believe that He is in us. It’s more than a feeling, it’s about the way we live. In LOVE. With every one. After all, Jesus told us that His one commandment to us is to LOVE.

LOVE. It’s truly one of the Real Secrets to Life. We LOVE and Jesus is in us, risen every day.

You don’t have to be a saint to LOVE. It’s starts with a smile, a helping hand, and putting yourself behind others. It’s looking at others and seeing the risen Jesus. It’s not about relighion. It’s about how you live your life.

Enjoy the week ahead with Jesus risen in you!

Celebrate Life!!!

I write a lot about the darkness in the world. Well, there is a lot of darkness in the world right not. It’s hard to deny that. But the way to help clear the darkness is to CELEBRATE each and every day. After all, Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)

Jesus wants us to have life to the full. What better cause to CELEBRATE than that? I want to wake up every day remembering that and no matter what is going on in my life to celebrate the new day.

When I’m home and not traveling for work our dog (my boy) Rip wakes up each day wagging his tail and ready for a good scratch. He’s so full of joy! He knows no darkness. Now, I’m not saying we should act like happy pups but we should simply CELEBRATE each day, a day in Christ. Toss your cares away and put them on Jesus.

There is one sure fired way to cast out the darkness in your life. Let the light of Jesus in. CELEBRATE life. Let His light light your light. CELEBRATE! REJOICE! Yes, it’s dark out there but you and I can help light the world!

CELEBRATE!!!

Can You Throw a Mountain?

Yes!!! What? When Jesus talked about throwing a mountain into the sea He wasn’t talking about a literally mountain. He was talking about the “mountains” in our lives, those seemingly unmovable obstacles. Jesus’ message if that you have faith, and do not doubt, you can move the “mountains” in your life.

The problem we always run into is we doubt. Doubt is that cancer that erodes and even overcomes faith. It’s the devil’s tool to stop us from believing we can do anything. Doubt keeps us locked in the past and stops us from moving forward in life. Faith allows us to press forward and overcome any “mountain.”

Rely on faith in your life to move the “mountains” and toss them away. You’ll find faith where you find God. He is always les than a heartbeat away. You find God by simply taking the time to “hear” Him in your life. He’s there. You just have to take the time and LISTEN for/to Him.

Have faith. Move “mountains” in you life. Trust me. You can do it.

Move some “mountains” today!

Hate is Like Cancer

Hate spreads like cancer if it goes unchecked. It’s a disease that destroys life. It erodes. Most of all, it is ungodly. Jesus left us with one last commend: to love. Hate is the exact opposite of love. It’s ungodly.

It’s clear to see that hate is spreading across the globe. In the United States politics have become politics of hate. The Middle East is a cauldron of hate. Russia is driven by hate. It’s ungodly. The cancer of hate is spreading. Really bad things follow hate.

I refuse to give into hate. I force myself to see people around me as what they are: all children of God. I’m far from perfect. I’m the perfect sinner. But I do my best to stop hate anywhere in my life. I stop anger and bad feelings immediately because tiny negative sparks can light the fire of hate.

No one who hates is a Christian. You can’t follow Jesus Christ if you hate anyone. In fact, you can’t follow Jesus Christ if you don’t love. This is all very simple.

The devil may be winning and “loving” the spread of hate but it won’t win in the end. The devil loses because Jesus wins in the end.

You pick what side you want to be on and where you want to spend eternity.

LOVE! It puts out the flames of hate!

Don’t Think God is Talking to You? Try LISTENing!

I have a NEWS FLASH! God is talking to you, me, and everyone else. He is less than a heartbeat away. If you don’t hear Him it’s because you are simply not LISTENing. LISTEN for/to God and you will hear Him!

I know this sounds crazy. Trust me. But if you quiet your mind and heart, find a quiet place, and really try, you will “hear” God. It won’t be some loud thunder clap or a booming voice. You may not hear God in your ear but in your mind and/or heart. He is talking to you! You just have to LISTEN with an open mind and heart.

I have found 7 Secrets to Life. And the first, and most fundamental, is to LISTEN for/to God. He is there and everywhere. He is reaching out to you. You need to accept Him.

You won’t hear God if you let the noise of the world drown Him out. You need to quiet everything around you and try. Remember: You are on God’s time not yours. So don’t give up fast. LISTEN. You will hear God. Trust me!

Have a GREAT week LISTENing for/to God in your life!

Light or Darkness?

It’s tough these days to think about living in the light. Darkness is all around us. War, shootings, greed, egos, basic lack of civility, and just a general lack of kindness in the air. It’s depressing. It feels like the darkness is enveloping the world. Yet, if you look through the darkness there is always light. Jesus.

John starts out his gospel by telling us that, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The light, which is Jesus, shines in the darkness and the darkness “has” not overcome the light. It will never overcome the light of Jesus. Jesus is our light. We just need to let Him into our lives.

Want to see the light? Tired of all the darkness. Simple solution. Spend some time with Jesus. You don’t have to seek Him out. He’s less than a heartbeat away. You simply have to reach out to Him. Jesus is there. He is everywhere.

Find a quiet space. Focus. Be still. LISTEN for/to Jesus because He will speak to you. Trust me. This isn’t some religious mumbo-jumbo. This is life. Real life. Jesus is there, here, and everywhere in abundant, radiant light. Just reach out and see and feel the light.

Be still. Be quiet. Give it a chance, in your mind and heart. Trust me. Jesus is there to shine light in your life.

Have an AMAZING rest of the week in the light!

It’s Not Too Late!!!

As we hit the end of January, and New Year’s resolutions seem a distant memory lost, I’m here to say it’s not too late. Sure, in the resolution department it’s never too late to make a resolution to change for the better. That can happen any day, and not a day too late. However, I’m talking about your life and changing it completely and going in a different direction. It’s never too late for that, no matter what your age is.

Look at Jesus as your model. He lived a life of obscurity as a carpenter in a dusty little town. Then, He spent the next three years—what amounted to about 11% of his life—saving all of us and changing the world forever.

Now, I know what you are thinking. That Jesus is God. Easy for Him to do. But all of Jesus’ life shows the mortal side that serves as a model for us. You just need to decide to follow that model. To get up and do something totally different in your life.

We are creatures of habit that love to live in our comfort zones. Going from a carpenter in a backwater town to the talk of all Israel almost overnight is a big change. We can make any change in our lives if we just believe in ourselves and the power of God.

Itching to make a change in your life? Start by calling on the Holy Spirit to empower you. Push forward and ahead, out of your comfort zone. You can do it if you try. I’m not saying it will be easy. But nothing worthwhile is often easy.

Change today and enjoy it. Change is within your grasp!