Tag: lifepurpose

I Cleaned My Garage

Boy does it feel good! The garage in our new house was the victim of massive clutter. Any box we didn’t know where to put landed in the garage. My tools were all over the place. It was beyond a mess. So, I took the time to clean it, get rid of the clutter, and organize everything. So, what does this have to do with anything other than having a clean garage?

Life is like my garage. We accumulate feelings and emotions over time that just become cluttered with thoughts all over the place. It’s tough to navigate a garage with stuff all over the place. And it’s equally tough to navigate life with emotions, thoughts, and lack of focus. So, just like cleaning the garage is satisfying, cleaning out the clutter in your life can be beyond satisfying.

If there is ever a good time to start tossing out the life clutter, getting organized, and prioritizing in life what’s really important, it’s the start of a New Year. It’s a great time to take stock, look at your life in a different light, and get rid of the clutter. And, boy, will it feel good.

Just like with my garage, it can be daunting as to where to start. But you just have to pick a corner, or aspect, of your life and start there. What’s really important? What’s not? What are the hurt feelings that you can discard? Just start cleaning and don’t stop.

Just like my garage, you can’t let the clutter come back. You need to organize, and keep organized. And every once in a while you need to clean. You can’t let the garage be the place for things you don’t really use. And the same is true of your life.

Start cleaning today and have a BLESSED New Year!!!

Be You!

This is a very simple message. Be you! Not someone else. Be you. God created you as a special, unique individual. You have a special, unique purpose in life. But you will only realize that purpose if you be you.

I think more people aren’t comfortable in their own skin. They don’t like being them. They need to realize like Paul did that they are what they are by the grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:10).

When God created you He threw away the mold. Even if you have an identical twin who you look and think alike you are special and unique. One of a kind. The secret to life is understanding that and connecting to God to realize the unique purpose He has for you.

Connecting with God is simple. You have to listen for and to God. Unplug from the world. Stop the noice and distractions. Plug into God. Give Him some time out of your busy life. He’s less than a heartbeat away. If you do I guarantee the world will become a clearer place. And your place in it.

Be you! And enjoy being you. You are special and have a special day and week ahead!

Throwing the First Stone

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7

I don’t think I have ever lived through a time like now when people are so quick to judge and throw stones at others, sometimes for what they said 40 years ago. Get real!!! News flash: I’ll say it right here and now that I have said stupid things, done stupid things in the past. I’ve made many, many, many (did I say “many” enough to make a point) dumb things in the past. But I have tried to grow and learn from my mistakes. But I still make some today.

I’m not perfect. And neither are you. And neither are the politicians and self-righteous pundits flooding our cable news airwaves. We are all born in the image and likeness of God. We are children of God. But imperfect children trying (hopefully) to move towards Godly perfection. In fact, that’s what I think our earthly stay is all about. Learning and growing. Maybe not to perfection but towards it.

When I go to cast that first stone my visual is Jesus bending over and writing in the dirt and challenging anyone without sin to cast the first stone at the woman caught being unfaithful. Says it all because I am never without sin. Although there are some who very obviously think they are perfect—without sin.

Jesus is writing up on the clouds challenging those of us without sin to throw that first stone.

Have a GREAT week!!!

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!

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.

It’s All About God (Repeat: It’s All About God)

Take a look around this country and the world. Storming the U.S. Capitol. Asian hate. Rioting and looting Portland. Crazy conspiracy theories. Black Lives Matter. Blue Lives Matter. Shootings. Russian tampering in U.S. elections. Congressional partisanship like never before. North Korea. China. Myanmar. Miami beach spring break. Masks. No masks. Everything COVID-19. And on, and on, and on. Where is God in this? MIA. Why? Because we don’t want God in our lives. Pure and simple.

Regardless of COVID-19 resulting in more people turning to God, the world is absolutely moving toward secularization, which means away from God. I sound like a broken record —even to myself—but look no further than the exodus story in the Bible to see how this ends. Repeatedly, the Israelites turned away from God in their 40 years of aimlessly wandering in the desert. And bad things happened all along the way. There is a reason this story is in the Bible. Because it is now our story. The people of this world, starting with the United States, are aimlessly wandering in this desert of a world, which ironically is becoming more of a desert. And as we turn further away from God bad things happen.

No, I don’t think that COVID-19 was thrust upon us by God as punishment for turning away from Him. COVID-19 is just another one of the millions of viruses on this planet, but one we let get ignited because we simply don’t have out act together. Bad things happen because we let them happen as we increasingly don’t look to God for answers.

We should be a people with a vision of where we are going; namely our own Promised Land. We should be looking to lift each other up, to not let anyone go hungry or without. We should be good stewards of this earth and looking out to the stars. We should be looking to God for direction and answers, not trying to cut Him out of our lives.

I’m not some doom and gloom guy. I’m someone who constantly looks at the good and believes in the best. But as we turn our backs on God more bad “stuff” will happen. It’s that simple. Like the Israelites in the desert we will moan and groan and be unhappy. And bad things will happen. It’s as clear as day.

I for one will do everything I can to make this world a better place. Change happens one person at a time. I’m certainly no saint. In fact, because I think I know the answers, but screw up all the time, I may be the world’s greatest sinner. But I try. And I constantly turn back to God for direction and answers, God. The only answer in life.

It’s simply all about God!!!

I hope you have an AMAZING week ahead. Look for God in your life. He will make all the difference in your life!

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!!!

It’s NEVER Too Late!

It’s never too late to course correct your life, to do something different, be someone different. Don’t ever say you wasted any portion of your life, regardless of how old you are. Look at Jesus. As best we know, He lived an obscure, quiet life as a carpenter. Then, for three years at the end of His life He had His ministry. He died around 33 years old, which by today’s standards sounds like a babe in the woods. Until you realize that the average age expectancy back then was around 35 years old. By today’s standard, Jesus was an old man!

So, it’s never too late to change. To be a different person, do something different. Sure, I often think I should have done this or that differently, walked down a different path in life. But I’m here now and making the best of where life has led me. Or where I have led life.

If you give up it’s you giving up. I know there are different situations and obstacles that make life changes difficult and at times seemingly impossible. But you’ll never change, or course correct, unless you set your mind on change. You can do it. Jesus showed by example. Easy for Him to do it. Sure. But there’s a reason why Jesus is a living model for us on how to live life.

It’s NEVER too late! Start TODAY!!!

Have an AMAZING week ahead!

Is God Lost?

I have heard more people questioning where is God? Is He hiding? Has He given up on us? All good questions in the middle of a pandemic that has claimed over a million lives, civil unrest that has virtually locked down some big American cities, and a world seemingly one button away from nuclear destruction. It just seems that we all hate each other and God is lost in all of this mess. Well, NEWS FLASH: God is NOT lost. We are!

I don’t know how many times I have written about this—too many to count. But our current story is the story of the Israelites thousands of years ago. They fled Egypt to make what was an 11 day journey across the desert to the Promised Land. It took them 40 years (as in 40 YEARS!!!) to finally cross over to the Promised Land. And only two Israelites who fled Egypt made actually made it to the Promised Land. All others died along the way.

The Israelites had no vision of where they were going. They doubted God, complained to Him, and turned their back on Him worshiping false idols. Wow!!! We have no vision of where we are going, what this country or even the world should be. We turn our backs on God, even during the scourge we call COVID-19. We have thrown Him out of our schools, and want His name off our dollar bills. And those idol bills we worship with a passion! The story of the Israelites has become our story. We are the ones aimlessly wandering in the desert of this world.

Whether you like it or not, God made you and me and everyone else. He is hardwired into each one of us. As such, God is less than a heartbeat away. Always there, always present. We’re the ones who deny that presence. We doubt, complain, and deny. We turn to all the idols we have built.

What can you do? Keep God front and center in your life. LISTEN for/to Him. Understand the unique, special purpose He wants you to fulfill with your life. Smile, laugh, love. Get away from the crowd. Craft your own path. Find your own Promised Land. It’s not hard. It just takes centering your life on God.

Take a read of the Old Testament dealing with Moses and the trials in the desert. Think about that and reflect on today. Then, set out on your own path and enjoy every step of the journey.

Have a TREMENDOUS day walking your walk with God in your life!

What Am I Missing???

I just don’t get it. Someone needs to help me out and explain something. God gave us very explicit instructions to love. That’s not about loving those you are close to you, it’s about loving everyone, especially “strangers.” Strangers, as in we don’t know them. And Jesus gave us a very simple command to love—to LOVE— before He sacrificed Himself for us. For us! So, what’s going on in this crazy world of ours? Why aren’t we loving?

So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul… You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭10:12,19

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12

Of course, I know the answer. Because we trust in ourselves. Not God. We know better. We know how to hate and abuse each other, regardless of race, gender, political leanings, country, etc. We have become experts at dividing us. God is shaking His head in disbelief. Satan is laughing all the way to hell. He’s winning (or at least he thinks so).

This isn’t about religion sports fans. This is about life. We either love or hate. There is not much of a middle road. And to put a dash of “religion” into it, one way leads to eternal bliss and the other to eternal anguish. You pick.

Change happens one person at a time. It’s time to change this world of ours spinning out of control. It’s time for you and me to start that change. With a smile, with a helping hand, with a donation, with love.

Spread a little love around this week. Make it a good one!

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