Tag: inspire

Filling the Emptiness

I heard a comment that we are all born with emptiness and I think that’s so true. That’s why especially in these “COVID” times so many are searching to fill the emptiness but so many are failing. That’s because they are looking in all the wrong places—drugs, alcohol, sex, food, gambling, etc. All these vices and more seem fulfilling but they leave you empty. There is only one way to fill the emptiness. God. Father, Son, and Spirit.

I know that this is preaching and sounds like religious mumbo-jumbo. But it’s life. Simple life with a simple answer to fill what we all have as an inherent emptiness. God. Father, Son, and Spirit.

More people are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Gambling is as close as your iPhone. You can bet on anything these days. Virtual sex is also as close as your iPhone. And we are inundated with everything food. I could go on and on. Lots of all the wrong things, available more so than ever before. And in all this God gets pushed back and back. It’s no wonder our world is increasingly screwed up. Like the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years—to simply go less than a dozen miles—we are lost. Because we have lost God in our lives.

There is only one way to fill the emptiness we all are born with, whether we realize it or not. God. Father, Son, and Spirit. God is a meaningful fill that satisfies and is not fleeting. In fact, I think understanding the emptiness of life and filling it with God is what this life on earth is all about. It’s the key to an eternity of never-ending bliss.

Understand the emptiness. Open up to it. Then fill it with God. Father, Son, and Spirit.

Have an AMAZING fulfilled week ahead!

What is The Real Secrets to Life About?

I started this blog close to 10 years ago because I found what are to me The Real Secrets to Life and how to live your life by them. This site is about simplifying your life and changing it for the better forever. It is about unlocking a new life of lasting happiness, peace, and fulfillment that no person or event in your life can ever take away from you.

The messages are very simple but powerful and life changing. I am not trying to impress anyone by using big words or conveying complicated thoughts. We live in a very complicated world that grows more so by the day. That is part of the problem. We need to uncomplicate the complicated. We need to simplify our lives. God does not mean life to be so difficult. We make it difficult by complicating it. God wants us to be happy, at peace, and fulfilled. We get in our own way.

As Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and it is us.”

In living out our hectic lives today we have a tendency to overlook the obvious. We make things more complicated than they are or should be. Moreover, we have experts for every little facet of life. The experts may mean well but I think that they just help us complicate things so much so that the obvious becomes less obvious. We have a tendency to turn to experts for answers rather than looking to ourselves and to God. God, the only true expert on life, is always there ready to help us uncomplicate and simplify our lives.

I want to make you think and reflect about the real road to true, lasting happiness, peace, and fulfillment. That road leads to God. Whatever challenges you face on your life journey you can conquer. That’s because God is in you and nothing is impossible for God. You should greet every day with enthusiasm, eager to continue your journey. Once you open your life to God you want to get closer to him every day. Regardless of your circumstances, you can forge ahead if you have a clearer vision of where you are headed.

God doesn’t put any obstacles in our way—he clears them. We just have to trust him like any great football running back that knows he has to trust and follow his blockers. Follow God. He will help you get by any obstacles in your life.

There is a new you in you. Trust me. No, trust God.

I always try to challenge you to think and reflect. This stimulates thoughts that will eventually lead to answers but only if you go with the flow. Go ahead and disagree with me. However, don’t just throw out what I say without giving it an honest try. Keep a positive outlook. Don’t let negative thinking and doubt cripple you by not trying this. Again, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Sometimes, people don’t like the truth. They don’t like simplicity. They hide in complexity. Complexity becomes their safe place but a false safe place—a desert—where they aimlessly wander keeping them from finding the Promised Land in their lives. Don’t be one of those people. Life is meant to be simple. Find your own Promised Land of happiness, peace, and fulfillment.

And have a GREAT week!

Listen. He’s Talking to You. Yes, You!

My first Secret to Life is simple: LISTEN. LISTEN to God because He is talking to you. Yes, to some this sounds crazy or the delusions of a religious fanatic. I can assure you I am neither. Simply, I have found that if you stop and LISTEN for/to God He is “speaking” to you. But you have to stop and really LISTEN.

Several things to understand.

First, you can’t ever possibly hear God if you don’t stop and really LISTEN for/to Him. Our lives are so busy and are a cacophony of sounds and diversions. We don’t stop for anything. We don’t have quiet time. We don’t think that God is ever talking to us. We don’t. We don’t. We simply don’t. So, how can we ever expect to hear from God?

Second, “hearing” from God is not waiting from some booming voice on high. It’s not necessarily in the ears. It’s in the heart. In the mind. In the soul. Yes, I hear God talking to me. But it’s an inner “talk.” And I only hear God when I stop and really LISTEN. Every once in a while God needs to give me a whack on the side of the head to get my attention. But I only “hear” from God when I stop and LISTEN.

Finally, If God is “talking” to me I can assure you He is talking to you. There is nothing special about me other than the fact that I am simply another child of God. We all are.

Stop your busy world. Find a quiet time and place to LISTEN for/to God. You will “hear” Him. But you have to really LISTEN. Really LISTEN.

There is a reason why LISTEN is the first Secret to Life.

LISTEN! And open up a whole new world of possibilities! You are special, unique, and have your own purpose in life.

The Mask Comes Off

Walked into church this morning and was greeted with the new CDC guidance: The mask can come off if you are vaccinated. In addition, there were no pews roped off. My little church in Northeast Pennsylvania was open for business once again. Normal business. Well, almost normal. You couldn’t sing. What’s up with that?

The mask has represented so much during the past year. Taken literally, it’s protection for you and the people around you to cut down on spreading airborne particles of the virus. To others, it represented just another move by the government to take away your independent liberties. I hated the mask but I wore it because I know that it protects me and others. What I really hated was only being able to look into other people’s eyes. I had to learn to smile with my eyes.

It was good to see faces again. To see smiles all around me. To hear people’s voices not muffled by the mask but clear voices. To take in whole faces.

As I wrote in a previous post, yes, Jesus would have worn a mask. He would have worn it because He would want to protect others, before Himself. Because the civil authorities required Him to wear a mask. But Jesus would have missed seeing whole faces. To seeing smiles. To hearing clear voices.

I hope in this crazy, upside-down world of ours we can start returning to “normal”—whatever “normal” is. But most of all, I hope we can smile. And see smiles. They have been covered for too long. It’s time for smiles to come out like flowers in spring. Let’s all try to spread some smiles.

Have a GREAT week ahead. And smile!!!

What Would Jesus Do?

I’m dating myself but I remember those WWJD wrist bands that were all the rage 20 years ago or so. I don’t think that today you will find many people—any people—wearing wrist bands touting What Would Jesus Do?. But I’ve found myself thinking about What Would Jesus Do? and trying to answer that question relative to several current events.

Would Jesus storm the U.S. Capitol or be part of a mob looting stores in U.S. cities? The answer is clear. No. Jesus would not be involved with either the “right” or the “left” destroying property or human lives. The most Jesus did in a fit of anger was to overturn the tables of the money changers outside the temple. Nothing was destroyed. Jesus simply made a statement.

Would Jesus be some pundit on TV pulling people right or left, just for the sake of making money? Again, the answer is a clear no. Although Jesus said he came to divide, that division was actually about uniting. Jesus drew people to himself so that He could be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins—past, present, and future.

Would Jesus live His life judging others? No again. Jesus clearly told us to first fix ourselves before we try to tell others what they are doing wrong. Jesus’ clear message was that we shouldn’t be judges.

I could go on and on but will stop here. It’s just so cleansing to look at your life and those around you and ask What Would Jesus Do?. I’m not talking about judging others. I’m simply asking the question of What Would Jesus Do? You don’t need a trendy wrist band that most wouldn’t be caught dead wearing today. I’m simply talking about asking what Jesus would do in all types of situations.

Have a GREAT week ahead. And ask yourself What Would Jesus Do?.

Cleaning The Closets

We moved. After 25 years in the same house and 35 years in Connecticut we have moved. Well, kind of moved. It’s complicated. We are going to end up in North Carolina but for the next nine months we are living in Pennsylvania. Why am I boring you with these details? Because moving entails cleaning a lot of “stuff” out of your closets. It makes you think about all you have and all that others don’t have. It’s humbling.

There is another aspect of moving that makes you think. It’s actually gratifying looking at your completely empty house for the last time. We donated a lot of our clothes, furniture, and other possessions to two good charities. You feel good slimming down and making good use of things that others can better use. I found out it feels good to clean a closet and even better to clear out a house. You lighten up, you free up.

This move has made me think about cleaning out the “closets” in my life. Not physical closets but the mental ones where we tend to accumulate emotions, life scars, things we don’t want to deal with, etc. It has to be as liberating to clean out the life “closets” as the real closets in our former house. Maybe more difficult to clean but I can tell you those real closets were no picnic—they had a lot of stuff in them!

I could go on and on about moving and how it has made me reflect on life. It’s tough but refreshing. It’s closing one chapter in the book of life and opening up a new one. Lighter, stronger, and ready for new surroundings.

Have an AMAZING weekend!!! Do some cleaning.

Divided We Are Falling: From Judges to Scotland

The United States is falling, I hate to say. Falling and failing. Why? First, we are pushing God out of our lives. And pushing hard. We just don’t want to separate church (God) from state (our lives), we simply want to leave God far behind. We have other gods to worship (greed and ego). Second, we don’t see the commonality in us. We see black, yellow, red, left, right, Christian, Jew, Muslim, etc, etc, etc. God sees us as all the same, individually and equally. We see each other as different. Love should abound but hate—and I mean HATE—rules.

We should be taking lessons from the past, starting with the Bible, but we know better. I know this sounds bleak (hint: Because it is VERY bleak!!!) but the reason I’m writing and doing my part is because change can happen, but it happens one person at a time. And change needs to happen! And fast!

Just last week I wrote about the lessons from the exodus of the Israelites wandering the desert for 40 years for a journey that should have taken 12 days at the most. Wandering, leaving God in the desert dust, complaining, and worshipping false gods along the way. Bad things happened. The Israelites were lost. No one was happy. Well, fast forward to the period when the Israelites had judges—rulers who were not really kings but rulers. Read the book of Judges in the Bible to see how well that period went. Once again, the judges did some pretty bad things and the people were once again lost. Bad things happened. God didn’t forget the Israelites; they forgot Him.

Really fast forward to Scotland, which has this history of warring and divided clans. There were periods (William Wallace, etc) when Scotland kind of, sort of united but the constant friction from the clans didn’t keep Scotland united against England over time. There’s a reason the saying goes, United We Stand, Divided We Fall.” Or as Jesus said, “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25)

I really don’t know if we will learn. Our country is more fundamentally divided that any time in modern-day history than I can remember. But as I wrote last week, and write here again today, the future lies in God—or not. United and with God we stand. Separate from Him we are divided and will fall.

What am I doing? Keeping God in my life. Trying to be a uniter, rather than a divider. Smiling. Reaching out. Helping. Trying. Following the Secrets to Life.

Doing my part. Please do yours!

The Pale Blue Dot — Great Perspective on Life

HIGHLY recommend watching this three minute video to get some great perspective on life.

The Pale Blue Dot

Watching this is humbling, as it should be for all of us. But keep in mind as insignificant as this may make you feel, God loves you. You are not insignificant to HIM. You are the only thing that matters.

I’m not going to write anything itself. Simply ponder the message of the pale blue dot in the context that God loves you and you’re not insignificant to Him.

Have an AMAZING week!!!

Take Him Down!

That’s one of my mantras for 2021. Take Him (Jesus) down from the cross. What??? Jesus was taken down over 2,000 years ago. Is this more “religious” mumbo-jumbo? No, it’s about life and changing mine for the better. Here’s my thinking.

Jesus died on the cross for our sins—yours, mine, and every living being past present, and future. My sins were up there on the cross. In fact, effectively my sins hammered in those nails at the hands of the Romans. I had a hand in putting Jesus up there. It’s my responsibility to take Him down.

OK. Let’s get practical. How do I take Jesus down from the cross? Simply by doing what He showed all of us to do—love. Every day, every step, should be a walk in love. Sure, I veer off the love path all the time. I get inpatient with people. I get mad. I look down. But I try to look back on every day and be honest when and where I messed up. I then repent. And try not to mess up the next day. I envision Jesus hanging on the cross and me taking Him down. It’s really that simple. Try, review, and repent. Constantly try to do better, be better.

Yes, this all sounds simple. But then again for the 1,000th-plus time, God means life to be simple. We are the ones who complicate it so very much.

Take Him down! Easy enough to think about, harder to execute. I know. Trust me. But we all get points for doing our best. That’s what God expects. Try.

Have a TERRIFIC weekend ahead!!!

Sow & Reap

There are more “sow” and “reap” messages in the Bible than you may think. But my favorite is what Paul wrote to the Christian community in Corinth, Greece: “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6) The message is pretty simple—you get back according to what you put in. And the message pertains to everything in life—relationships, work, and God.

We live in a time when people want but don’t want to put in the effort. People want quick fixes. But what you put into something is sooner or later tied to what you put into it. Invest more in a relationship and you will “reap” more. Work harder (and smarter) and you will “reap” the rewards. There are rarely quick fixes that will get you through life. They may work one once in a while, and even a few times, but they won’t get you through life. What you “sow” in life is truly what you will “reap.”

And sowing and reaping is no truer than with your relationship with God. In fact, you can’t have a relationship with God until you put something into the relationship. God is always there. But you have to be there. You won’t hear God until you take the time—real time—to hear God. You won’t “feel” God in your life until you stop to feel the “touch” of God in your life. What you “sow” with God is what you will “reap” with God. Not because God wants you to start but simply because God is here—there and everywhere. He’s already taken the first step. It’s your turn.

“Sow” a little and your “harvest” in life will “reap” a little. “Sow” a lot and you will “reap” a lot. In everything. God and everything. It’s that simple. But, then again, God means life to be so very simple. We are the ones who clutter and complicate life.

Have a SPECTACULAR week sowing and reaping!!!

%d bloggers like this: