This Carpenter is not on Angie's List.

Yesterday was the annual Christmas cookie tray delivery day.  Melissa and I team up every year to give our good friends another reason to watch their cholesterol and blood sugar, wind up their grandchildren with tons of sugar goodies and basically destroy all thoughts of holiday eating restraint!  After all, nothing says I love you like a great big tray of home baked goodies along with some eggnog.  Ahh, the joy of the season!  Anyway, as I was sitting in the truck waiting for my wife to come back from dropping off a tray, I was listening to the some music on the radio.  Not just radio but I have Sirius/XM radio.  Every station from news to music to sports to weather to, well you know what I mean, is available.  Well between the overwhelming smell of sweet baked cookies and the Christmas music channel I was overdosing on bliss.  I needed a dose of reality to give me that healthy shot of cynicism we all get everyday from the news.  You know, the antidote for contentment.  So on went Fox News. 
  Well that was a colossal mistake!  The first five minutes of mayhem, disasters, wars and  sadness were enough for me.  I quickly turned off the channel and went back to my merry mix of holly magic!  Now I don't know if this time of year makes me more sensitive, but I was both saddened and dismayed by the news, more so than usual.  We have a lot of problems in our world and country.  They seem to be getting worse.  That being said, I was taken aback by my reaction a bit.  Does this season mean so much to me as a Christian that I have more sensitivity to the things that are going on around me than any other time of the year?  Am I being desensitized the rest of the time?  Heaven help me if that's the case.   I am not being the representative of Christ that I often write about and proclaim and that bothers me.
  You see it's relatively easy to give of oneself to the people we love and hold dear in our lives.  And it should be.  Everybody needs the gravy for their meat.  But it's the meat that takes the most time to prepare. Setting aside all the doublespeak and parables for a moment, what about those that don't get a tray of cookies and a hug?  What about those who are the lonely and downtrodden.  Those that are suffering or in despair?  They need joy and peace too.  We are not in an exclusive club.
  Two thousand plus years ago a bright star shone over Israel and led the shepherds to come and visit a lowly manger where the Gift was lying.  God in all His infinite wisdom, sent the joy and peace we so often crave deep down but find so elusive sometimes.  That first Christmas morning all despair and hopelessness, sadness and tragedy, hate and divisiveness were all put on notice.  You see entrusted to a carpenter named Joseph and his meek and loving wife Mary , was and is, The Prince Of Peace, The Bright And Morning Star, Immanuel,  and Mighty Counselor!   As the angel said then, "Peace on earth and goodwill to all men!"  Jesus still is the answer.  He hasn't changed, just we have.  But we don't have to.  This evening when you begin to sit down with your families and friends for the Christmas Holiday , or attend church, take in the enormity and power that is Him.  Listen to the Story.  Soak in His promise and love.  That warm fuzzy feeling is not from the eggnog but rather from the inevitable power instilled by His love that cannot be removed by any atheist campaign, societal ills or prejudicial remark.  Light always conquers dark and if we just put more good in the world the evil will flee.  So spend time with Him this year and get to know Him.  Christmas may leave the calendar but won't leave you the rest of the year.  May God keep you all and richly bless you this Holiest of seasons and into 2015!

Isaiah 9:6-7

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Thanks Is Important, But More Giving Is Needed!

Every year about this time my mind starts to form an intimate and heartfelt circle of thoughts and memories both from my past and hopefully those to be. I don't know, but it seems to be an automatic reaction that stirs inside of me almost like that of the changing of the seasons.  Call me sentimental I guess.  But this time of year is one that I've come to consider the great window of opportunity and I have embraced it more heartily as I've gotten older.  It is the time to give and I don't mean the obvious material gifts and such.  I mean to give my family and friends real lasting gifts.  Thank yous and smiles, hugs and laughter, prayers and encouragement, visits and time spent, a bigger ear and smaller mouth.  See, you get the picture.  The greatest gift of all is giving of oneself.  Not by just going through the motions like some bored teenager who knows it all and whines to their parents about going to Grandma and grandpa's house again, but true giving.  You know, the gift!  L-O-V-E!  Yes, that word we don't use often enough.  The one we guard as if gold but seldom expose it even to our closest and dearest friends and families.  Now, we do share quite an array of other emotions though and all of them have their effects both cumulatively and temporarily,  positively and too often negatively.  But none affects our lives such as the one emotion that truly expresses our life's purpose and the divine will of our Creator and eternal soul.  We are meant to give love and receive love but to often we don't.  Oh, what a difference we could make. 
  If I may let me give you an example.  I often speak of my wife in these circumstances because she more than anybody I know,  practices what she preaches.  For those of you who don't know, she is an ordained minister and profound spreader of love.  She does it so often and willfully that her countenance is changed permanently.  She gives of herself whether it's asked or more often not.  And I have to tell you the cumulative effect of her love is felt by countless people.  We often joke and call her Joyce from the movie "Just Friends".  For those of you who've seen it, you know what I mean!  Anyway,  she just cares and gives so openly and without prejudice, it makes some people uncomfortable sometimes.   That is until they see her true motivation and heart.   I have seen tough teens, cranky old folks, hurt and lost single mom's, and many other folks have their lives impacted by her in a positive way.  She is a mentor to many and counselor to a few more.  But she often deflects it all off of herself and gives glory to her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  She is an endless well of good grace and the world is better off because of her.  Imagine the impact we could have if we adopted such an order of giving and grace.! 
  Just over two thousand years ago a simple carpenter's son, walked this earth and gave of Himself so completely and unabashedly that He went to the cross for us and His impact is as unending and  transformational today as it will be tomorrow.  Christ lived by the great tenets of giving thanks and love in equal portions.  The world was and is better for it.  Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."   We need to embrace the opportunity to give more love to each other.  So start simple, say it  to someone near and dear to you who needs to hear it, and say it regularly.  You'll soon see the difference in them and be encouraged to go further.  Difficulties and differences in life often happen for the lack of love and compassion not the abundance of.  May you all have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!!  Oh yea, don't worry, you're still getting a cookie tray too!!

First Corinthians 12:4-8 “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Renovation Realities!

Happy Indian Summer friends!  Sorry I've been away these last few months.  We have been renovating a 100 year old stately home into a duplex this past year and this summer we've finally finished the project for the most part.  Whew!!!  What an ordeal!  I guess I can describe it in a way that most of you would understand if you've ventured into these waters before.  It was quite plainly, exhilarating and exhausting!  Yep, that about sums it up.  You see when you renovate a building that is this old it is always full of surprises.  Some good, but most having you gnashing your teeth and like Larry the Cable Guy, asking the Lord for forgiveness after muttering countless words you shouldn't under your breath.  Couple that with always stretching a budget to the extreme and the usual contractor problems and the ride is truly a roller coaster.  But when it's finished, you look back and look at each other and smile.  You know the kind of smile that starts deep inside you and wells up to stay on your face a few days.  Call it pride or whatever.  I call it soul satisfying gratitude and I have to say folks the house came out beautiful! 
   But, in doing this project which at times was equal parts agony and ecstasy,  I learned a few things.  As usual they weren't taught by myself.   I was the pupil and it was the Lord who taught me and the revelation He revealed to me was that I, myself, was actually quite similar to this old house.  Let me explain, please.  Whenever you renovate a building the process is usually like this.  You walk through and assess the job.  You then create a concept for the transformation of the building.  You draw it out then price it for materials and labor.  You then commence implementing the plan.  Sounds logical right?  Ahh, but therein lies the rub.  You see once the work starts you often find the hidden problems and in this house there were quite a few.  Old houses are not built by today's modern computer designed and cut standards.  Walls and floors are notoriously out of plumb.  Plaster walls are not the same as drywall to demo.  Old wiring and plumbing is well to say the least, dangerous!  I found nails in places where screws should have been and visa versa.  Hidden compartments, dead critters,  leaks and water damage and "Uh oh this isn't gonna work," were more common than not.  You would make some progress then hit an obstacle and have to change your design on the fly.  In finding this out, I realized a lot about both patience and persistence.  Needless to say we adapted, overcame, and worked through everything but at times it was a monumental struggle. 
   Now does any of this sound familiar?  It should because we are that old house and God is doing the renovation.  From the time our Father called our bodies into earthly being, He had a plan for us.  He designed us, conceived us, built us cell by cell in our mother's womb, then looked down and smiled when we were born.  But like all other temporal and earthly designs, we are subject to wear and tear through out our lives. Physical and emotional pain, takes it's toll.  The circumstances of life often hurt us to our core.  We become worn down and worn out. That's when God has to renovate us.  When we strip a wall, or pull out old wiring or plumbing, it's similar to God chastising us.  He corrects us by gently but sternly causing us to look within ourselves and remove all the old worn out problems and attitudes and replace them with new, better and more practical aspects of ourselves which reflect His perfect will and desire for our lives.  But in order to do this we must commit to the stripping down of our own walls.  To taking our own physical and spiritual house down to the foundation and rebuilding it.  It is then and only then after removing the old and replacing it with the new, that you become the house that God says, " Now I can dwell in thee."  Like the home we renovated, I experienced all the feelings and frustrations God does when He's trying to fix us.  But being the Master Builder, He never gives up, always adapts on the fly and with our newly humble attitude, transforms us into a palace fit for the King!  So if you want to truly have the perfect home to live in I suggest calling 1-800-NeedGod.  He's not on Angie's List but I couldn't find a bad review about Him!

Ezekiel 36:26 - A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Divine Creation by Professor Tino

   The other day I was out in the front yard of our house trying to get a section of garden prepared for some new perennials I want to plant.  As usual, with all of our kids mostly grown up and gone, I had my faithful but ADD afflicted dog Tino.  Now Tino is quite the character folks.  He's one half Scottish Terrier and one half Welsh Pembroke Corgi.  Or as we call him, a Scorgi.  He looks like a grizzly old fox but with shorter legs and with the attitude of a terrier.  For those of you who are dog lovers you know what I mean!  He also has the herding instincts of a Corgi.  This makes him quite the energetic lad.   Anyways, as I was spreading a load of dirt in the garden there was Tino standing guard as usual.  Smack dab in the middle of our two acres, puffing his fifteen inch high twenty seven pound frame up as much as possible.  His steely gaze taking in every movement and sound. His tall erect ears and darting eyes moving constantly back and forth, sending notice to all the squirrels, ducks and rabbits that this was sacred ground!  His sacred ground.  You see, Tino thinks he's the biggest and baddest dog in the neighborhood, no check that, the city.  He has the heart of a lion, the demeanor of a Doberman but the temperament of a cute little bunny rabbit.  He thinks he's tough.  First one to the fight and first one to get thrown out!  You can see why he's conflicted.  The first thing he does when I let him out the front door is sprint to the nearest oak tree and clear the area of any squirrels.  We happen to have a commune of them on our property.  Then he's off to another tree to do the same.  When he has finished dispatching all the little nut grabbers, he proceeds to disappear into the woods by the river and scatter all the bunnies and mallards.  It's somewhat amusing to see them dart out from the wood line and sprint furiously in all directions as this little tyrannical tornado disturbs them from their morning meal of clover and dandelions.  He actually reminds me of the Tasmanian devil character on the old Saturday morning cartoons I watched when I was a kid.  He's a virtual whirling dervish of spastic energy.  It is quite amusing to watch and the little guy provides us with endless hours of entertainment.  The only activity he likes better is a rousing, and I mean run till your exhausted game of fetch.  Sorry I'm wandering!
   I'll get back to my point for this essay on the disproof of evolution.  I am a big believer in that God uses all His creatures to teach us lessons in life.  So often it's just by observing His glorious living painting called nature. But that's another story.  Well, Tino taught me a whopper that made me smile at God and thank Him with a shake of my head and chuckle!  We all know about the wondrous attributes of man's best friend.  Loyalty, faithfulness, unconditional love, even when we don't deserve it, protectors and defenders of life and property.  The list goes on and each day whether on Facebook or in the news we read about numerous of tales of heroism, bravery or spectacular feats done by these lovable friends.  So, I'm wandering again.  Must be my old timers disease kicking in!  I am out raking dirt and I notice on my brand new sidewalk the largest pile of bird poop I had seen a a great while.  I look over to my black truck and there was the remainder of the bombing run.. Right across the grill and hood of my clean vehicle.  Isn't that always how it happens?  Anyway , I kept stepping over this virtual lake of excrement over and over again as I was trying to finish spreading the dirt before it rained.  My complaints on the ignorance of birds and their bowel movements were quite audible to my little friend.  Now, Tino at this time was over in the shade settling in after patrol to offer me company and his approval on my work.  Finally, after working my way down to the end of the planter I looked up to check my work and wipe off my sweaty bow, when I noticed the lake of poop was gone.  Not just gone but gone!  I checked my shoes to see if I had stepped in it.  Nope!  I looked up and down the sidewalk as if it got up and moved.  Nope!  Then I noticed Tino was missing.  I called, he didn't come.  I whistled he didn't come.  I walked around the house, all the way around.  Nope!  When I came back around the front again, there he was.  Sitting on the stoop, with the goofiest look on his face and his trail wagging.  He also had a big white and gray stripe on the center of his back!  Now I know there was no wet paint around folks.  Seems our little friend in his infinite God given wisdom, at least I'm convinced, decided to take care of the problem.  Mind you now, he was just freshly groomed last week!  There it was, wet, gooey and stinky right on the back of my little buddy.  Now you can look at this in two ways.  The evolutionist will say, that's what dogs do to over millions of years of natural order for a host of logical reasons.  To mark territory by erasing other animals scents.  To mask their own from enemies.  As far As I'm concerned that may be, but if that's what evolution is, then it clearly is regressing.
   Me being a pragmatist but trusting child of my Father thought otherwise.  The way Tino was looking at me was not as if he had done something wrong.  You know ears down, hiding with his little tail tucked between his legs.  No, he was sitting proudly up, tail wagging enthusiastically seeking approval.  I'm utterly convinced He was simply communicating to me that God told Him to help the crabby complaining child of His, me, and clean up the mess so I wouldn't step in it and become more foolishly enraged.  So clean he did.  For my benefit it became his mess.  Unselfish service without complaint, followed by the simple need of a pat, a treat, and a thank you.  Oh, and a bath.  Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Our little Tino, the wonder dog, is truly a gift from our Heavenly Father.   The Bible says that God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise every day.  I just wonder why I seem to always end up foolish.  Just God's way of keeping me humble I guess!  So stop and look around your little world and give your little friend more credit than you normally do and be amazed to watch our Great God prove that creation is all His for us to enjoy!  Silly rabbit that's why they call it the Theory of Evolution!

Revelation 4:11
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Moms, The Mortar That Binds The Bricks!

My wife Melissa and I have the privilege of taking care of a five month old baby girl named Wren right now.  She is the daughter of a new friend of ours, a courageous and devoted young woman, who is raising two girls as a single mom.  Wren's mom is here in NW Wisconsin finishing her training as a game warden for the Indian tribal nations of the Great Lakes Region.  So we have her little one with us most evenings and I have to tell you she makes this grizzly old fart, smile, a lot!  Her innocence, unabashed wide eyed joy and helplessness touches me deeply.  As the father of five grown children, it takes me back to a time long gone and I often wonder where those days went so fast.  But this story is not about me and my sappy emotions, rather it's about mom's and the sacred honor and duty of motherhood.
  Seeing her on my wife's lap, getting fed or changed, played with or set down to sleep, there is a twinkle in my wife's eye and a warmth from her countenance that only comes from deep within the unspoken bonds that mother's and children have.  Even though she is not our own, I can see it in my wife's face, absolute joy, unspeakable joy!  I have to say I have been remiss in appreciating the special love and nurturing that God gives to women.  Come to think of it, it's the same way she looks and treats our own grown kids when they are around.  I guess I just took it for granted.  But to see her happiness and eagerness to take care of, comfort and protect that child, reassures me that all is well with God's divine nature in a women's DNA.  Us men, may be mainly the providers, protectors, disciplinarians and family stalwarts, or so we think, but we don't have the gift of making all things well in a child's world no matter what the circumstances.  Women, moms to be exact , they have it, and it's priceless!
  Think about all the times when your own children were growing up.  It was mom with the band aids and popsicles when they fell down and were crying as if there leg had just fallen off.  It was mom who picked the outfits out for Easter Sundays, first day's of school, Christmas pageants and countless other events.  It was mom who sang, read and prayed with them each day and most nights while dad's were working or slumbering in their easy chair exhausted from work that day.  Countless meals, meetings, sporting events, recitals, photo sessions, counseling sessions, and lectures filled almost every waking minute of the day.  Mounds of laundry, toys and bikes to pick up and still most times a smile, at least in my house there was!  Seriously folks, mom's are vastly underpaid and often times under appreciated.  Certainly albeit without meaning to, we take them for granted.  But it speaks well to the eternal reward God has for loving mothers and the crowns of righteousness they deserve to receive.  In this day and age of feminine emancipation and the degradation and demeaning of stay at home moms, the honor of servitude and it's nobility is proved over and over again in countless households across the world still. 
As far as I'm concerned there aren't enough flowers, Sunday brunches, gifts or platitudes we can give our wives and mother's.  It simply pales in comparison to the yeoman's duty they perform.   I have found that just the simple hug and thank you seem to work best for my wife.  Oh don't get me wrong she appreciates gifts, flowers, and dinners out like anyone else.  But a mom's real joy and happiness in life is often manifested in the lives of her children and grandchildren through the wonderful impact she had on them.  So Happy Mother's Day and Happy 39th Birthday to my wife and all the mom's out there!  We men won't admit it often enough but you are the greatest gift God gives us in this world outside of our Lord Jesus Christ!  Thank You!

Proverbs 31:26-31
"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many woman do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive , and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. *

"It Is Finished!"

There are a lot of famous phrases, some cliched, still others with profound wisdom and prophetic implications, that have been uttered throughout history.  John F. Kennedy's, "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country."  Neil Armstrong, probably America's most famous astronaut uttered the historic phrase from the moon, "That's one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind."  Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address began, "Four score and seven years ago..."  Patrick Henry, one of America's most passionate founding fathers and orators shook his fist in the eye of England's King George and yelled, "Give me liberty or give me death!"  Japan's Admiral Yamamoto stated rather prophetically to his celebrating staff of officers after Japan's devastating attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 said, " I am afraid all we've done is awoken a sleeping giant."  Martin Luther King's speech on the Mall In Washington D.C. began with this familiar phrase, "I have a dream..."
  All of us can recall our favorites that have seared our memories and touched our hearts with endearment for the cause at hand and the brave fights waged by ordinary people made extraordinary in their brief moment in history.  Certainly, when debating their impact, it would seem to emphasize the fact that their importance at that particular time period when ours and other countries were at critical crossroads in history was enormous.  Be it known however, that a lifetime of noble work and achievement is fine for the chronicles of history books but their words would forever capture us and seal their larger than life status and immortality through time!  But all the monumental catch phrases and inspirational quotes pale in comparison to the three words uttered over 2000 years ago on a rugged cross in Calvary.  In unspeakable agony, beaten mercilessly and nailed to a crucifixion cross, a carpenter from Nazareth shouted the words that would shatter the bounds of time and limits of mortality for us all.   "It is finished!"  John 19:30 in the Greek language translates the phrase to "Tellestai!" and no single sentence ever spoken has had the immeasurable timeless impact like this one.  Almost all well known famous quotes are linked primarily to a specific time and place or events.  But this one short deliberate statement cuts through every single circumstance or event that's ever happened here on earth.  It unequivocally, interprets one way and one way only.  At that moment as Christ's life was leaving His battered body, His mind was clear and His mission was about to be completed!  God's Holy plan of redemption through the sacrifice of His only beloved Son had sent shock waves through the universe!  Hallelujah, the price had been paid, albeit at great cost to both the Heavenly father and His Son.  Yet today, a significant and growing number of people when hearing this greatest assemblance of words, this short seemingly meaningless sentence, cannot place it.  Here we have the single greatest historic and spiritual moment in recorded history and it's often relegated to a back of the book presence in today's Easter Bunny, chocolate egg, superfluous world.  Let alone preached about in many of our watered down churches.  Yet the powerful impact is still there!  Millions of us walk around today completely unaware of the fact that the life given on Golgotha that first Good Friday then resurrected on the first Easter Sunday, paid it all!  All! 
  We can rest assured knowing that Jesus never did it for publicity or fame.  He craved neither!  He never did it for sympathy or self martyrdom.  He died for you and me because He loved us so much that He knew that their was no other way to reconcile our lost and fallen nature to His!  No way to heal our brokenness, remove our bondage.  Consequently, His marvelous and glorious resurrection confirms and gives hope to the lost and hopeless today.  I am changed because of His sacrifice for me.  I love Him and try to honor Him in my life.  I am encouraged by the glorious reunion and restoration that is to be at His second coming.  So in the midst of Easter brunch, little ones gorging on candy, family dinner and fellowship give Him your thanks and heart for the three greatest words ever spoken!  Our Lord is an all loving and all inclusive God and this promise is meant for every color, creed, religion or belief.  May God bless you all and keep you this Holy and Happy Easter!

John 15:13
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

They Call Me Grandpa!

One of life's great pleasures is the proverbial passing of the torch or the changing of the guard as my father used to say.  Melissa and I have recently been blessed with the news that we are going to be grandparents for the first time!  When we first heard the news from our daughter, our initial reactions were quite typical for a father and mother.  My wife of course, for those of you who know her was born to be a mother but her DNA is inundated with the grandma gene.  After all it's been twenty years since we last celebrated the birth of a child, our baby and youngest Rebecca.  She has had numerous battles with withdraw over the years and her favorite phrase for reminding me about the blessings of having kids even after our years of fertility is " Blessed is the man who's quiver is full."  She would've given the Duggar family a run for their money!  That's how much she loves children and being a mom.  Alas, God was generous to give us five beautiful and healthy children so we are not lacking!  Now the smile hasn't left her face since she heard.  She already is looking for cribs, car seats, clothes and planning for baby showers and years of smothering the poor child with so much sweetness, love and affection the baby will have cavities before it's teeth come in!
  Me on the other hand reacted as the typical father, as if I was investigating a crime.  Alright, how did that happen?  I need to speak to him.  Well, that changes everything!  Ok, let's sort through this for a minute!  What?  Sort through it?  How did that happen?  It was almost as if I was in denial!  Then reality kicked me in the pants and I came to my senses as I looked at my beautiful daughter and put on my sunglasses to keep me from going blind from the light of my wife's smile.  I was going to transition from dad to grandad.  I could feel the waves of anxiety come over me.  I had passed through the next great portal of life and there was no going back.  My hair was thinning, my wrinkles were suddenly more pronounced, my AARP card mysteriously appeared on the table, and I had the sudden desire to buy a Buick.  My Lord, what was happening to me!  My wife and child were hugging in tears of joy and I suddenly needed to see my chiropractor!
  I was awoken from my paralyzing fear by my daughter saying, " Well grandpa what do you think?"  It was then the Lord checked my spirit and said quite pronounced, "Rejoice and celebrate this life to come, for I have given it to all of you."  It was as if I was becoming a father for the first time.  So, I just grabbed her, gave her a hug and told her how truly excited and happy I was.  How could I not?  One of our own beautiful girls was going to be a mom and experience all the joy and emotion that God puts into our lives through the privilege of being a steward to His most precious creation.  This is life's most important task besides our own salvation and relationship to Him. It all makes so much sense to me now.  As my life has wound along it's highways, I've lost my way a number of times, made my share of mistakes and not been the best child to my Heavenly Father.  However, He was always there.  Ready to forgive, love some more, put me back on the right path and reveal His will and blessings for my life.  I have had many!  They all center around my family.  First my beautiful wife of 31 years Melissa, then five great children, DeAnna, Christina, Alicia, Ricky Jr., and Rebecca.  Now our grandchild!  It's been a marvelous and awesome ride and now it continues.  Melissa and I get to pass along our wisdom and love again!  God is truly good.  So to all my friends and family out there who are or will be graced with grandchildren, embrace the moment.  Jesus said, " I have come to give you life, and give it abundantly."  Truer words could not have been spoken.  Now it's off to the store for some Rogaine and Just For Men hair coloring!

Psalm 105
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Happy St. Patrick's Day...But Hold the Cornbeef and Cabbage!

  Today marks the annual celebratory festival of the Irish.  Beloved by millions of people across the country and around the world, it's often marked by wearing green, drinking green beer and subsequently feeling green, parades and of course the gold standard of Emerald Isle cuisine, corned beef and cabbage!  That traditional dish with it's pungent aroma of stewed cabbage, potatoes and carrots with slices of pickled beef brisket is everywhere from restaurants to households, but will have no place at my table.  Don't get me wrong, I like potatoes, carrots and even cabbage.  But the combination of them with the beef is enough to send me reeling with nausea.  Maybe it's the Italian in me who's been raised around fresh garlic, olive oil, linguine and clams, traditional spaghetti and meatballs with sausage, I don't know.  But I simply will not for the life of me eat or order it, ever.
  Now don't get me wrong, I love almost all things that the scenic and beautiful country of my Irish brothers and sisters has to offer.  They have great beers and stouts, world renowned whiskeys, Bailey's Irish Cream and awesome Shepherd's Pie, but alas that's about it.  But that's ok as they have never laid claim to be the center of the culinary universe!  Instead the Irish are proud, fiercely loyal, stoic and brave people who's history has been checkered, and difficult at best, but regardless an exercise in persistence and tenacity that make the Irish people truly embrace life.
   Some facts you may or may not know about this great country.  Northern Island is well known for the civil war between Catholics and Protestants.  The ongoing conflict between England and the IRA still subliminally exists. They invented the tank, modern tractor, the submarine, color photography, the cure for leprosy, ejector seats for planes and of course Guiness Stout.  Their national heroes and some famous alumni of the green isle include, actors Liam Neeson, Pierce Brosnan, musicians James Galway and Bono, singers Sinead O'Connor, The Celtic Women, Nobel Prize winning writer and poet, William Butler Yeats, writer Samuel Beckett and many, many more.  They have been instrumental in the building of America and have influenced all walks of life in the USA.  Famous Irish Americans include, Teddy Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Gene Tunney, Ben Hogan, Mark McGwire, John McEnroe, Tom Brady and also many, many more.  But the most influential and greatest hero of Ireland is without a doubt St. Patrick himself.  But do you know his story other than the holiday named after Him?  Well, if not, here you go!  This biography is from the website Catholic Online.
 
Patrick was born around 385 AD in Scotland, probably Kilpatrick. His parents were Calpurnius and Conchessa, who were Romans living in Britian in charge of the colonies.
As a boy of fourteen or so, he was captured during a raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. Ireland at this time was a land of Druids and pagans. He learned the language and practices of the people who held him.
During his captivity, he turned to God in prayer. He wrote
"The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same." "I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain."
Patrick's captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britian, where he reunited with his family.
He had another dream in which the people of Ireland were calling out to him "We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more."
He began his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained by St. Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerre, whom he had studied under for years.
Later, Patrick was ordained a bishop, and was sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. He arrived in Ireland March 25, 433, at Slane. One legend says that he met a chieftain of one of the tribes, who tried to kill Patrick. Patrick converted Dichu (the chieftain) after he was unable to move his arm until he became friendly to Patrick.
Patrick began preaching the Gospel throughout Ireland, converting many. He and his disciples preached and converted thousands and began building churches all over the country. Kings, their families, and entire kingdoms converted to Christianity when hearing Patrick's message.
Patrick by now had many disciples, among them Beningnus, Auxilius, Iserninus, and Fiaac, (all later canonized as well).
Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in Confessions. After years of living in poverty, traveling and enduring much suffering he died March 17, 461.
He died at Saul, where he had built the first church. 

  You see without St Patrick's faithful service, Ireland would be a pagan nation today.  Instead he like St. Valentine, St. Nicholas and St. Joseph spent their lives in service to our loving and almighty Lord.  All of them are celebrated through holidays on the calendar and all were devout men of faith who helped paved the way for the spread of modern Christianity.  Unfortunately they are usually just footnotes to the raucous and often unchristian like celebrations that are supplanting their noble work and divine service.  By the way did you know that the shamrock is famous because St. Patrick used it to describe the Holy Trinity when he taught, not for luck as it's known today.  So when you raise that green beer and dig in to that steaming plate of corned beef and cabbage, salute all that God gave us Irish, especially the man who gave his life's service for Ireland's spiritual future!  Top of the morning to you all!  I'm off to order a pizza!

John 12:26
If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

 

Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace!

There is an eerie malaise sweeping across and overwhelming America.  One that doesn't cause concern with most of us immediately or even seem to affect our daily lives, but it's festering and spreading like an aggressive cancer that will eventually kill it's victim.  It's called silence, and it's turning out to be deadly to us.  Everywhere that it exists it's opposition flourishes like weeds in a roadside ditch.  Since God and the Holy Bible have existed and humanity has been around, there has always been the struggle between good and evil.  Triumph and tragedy, victory and defeat, life and death, they all coexist because we can't have one without the other. The stories of good triumphing over bad have given us hope, courage, and new beginnings.  There has always been a light at the end of the tunnel and a sun to come up on a new day.  But at this moment in time things are changing and darkness is enveloping us.
  Whether you know it or not the voices of wrong are not out numbering the voices of good, but instead they are out shouting, out working and out changing our country.  Some people call it long overdue progress, or social justice.  Others say it's just our ever evolving enlightened society.  I call it a reshaping of Morality.  It is a large and hardly innocuous seismic event that is breaking apart our country and we must choose to engage or be run over.  Whether you are Democrat, Republican or Independent, white, black, Asian, Hispanic or Indian it doesn't matter.  Child or adult, rich or poor, it doesn't matter.  It has infected us all!  We have become so self absorbed and narcissistic, so withdrawn from the concerns of our fellow man that chronic apathy has saturated our lives and turned us into foolish cartoon like caricatures of what were designed to be.  Truth be told, not enough of us care!  The war of propaganda and governance being waged today is so slanted and biased that it is changing everything from the making and enforcing of laws, to reinterpreting or changing on the fly current laws, that there is no room for the scales of justice to work equally.  Respect and obedience to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are under constant assault!  Courts and judicial benches are interpreting laws for political gain.  Contrary to what you may be thinking, this is not a right or left argument.  It's a wrong or right argument!  If we are not willing to speak up, get involved, take a stand, or care enough to even vote why should we complain?  Americans have always stepped up when called upon or compelled by their beliefs to do so.  If courageous African Americans like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks didn't speak up the civil rights movement might not have happened.  If America hadn't gotten involved in World War II then how many more innocent people would have died and how many more Jews would have been killed?  If pro-life volunteers don't show up at abortion clinics and protest, how many more babies would be killed or young mothers traumatized?  Finally, if God hadn't loved us and sent His only Son to die for us what hope would we have?  I could go on and on.  The fact is we need to battle for what we believe in!  We need to speak up and fight for our country.  This not about you but us, our children and grand children!  What are they inheriting?  Look at the list of goodies.  Chronic long term job loss, higher and higher tax burdens, unsustainable debt, lower moral relevancy and increased decay, distrust in government, Christian persecution, traditional God given institutional change, decaying personal rights and freedoms.  Shall I continue?  And where is the church in all this?  That in itself is a sad discussion for another day.  Whether you like it or don't like it, agree or disagree, these shifts are occurring.  A recent poll was taken and asked Americans if they thought their children were better off being born now or 50 years ago.  Overwhelmingly the poll indicated 50 years ago.  Hmm... I wonder what America was like then?
  I for one am willing to forsake anything and everything in my life to wage the good fight!  Melissa and I have been immensely blessed in our lives and we have the five greatest children God could give us!  So we are and will continue to speak up.  Because I would rather be respected than admired, and leave something better than something worse behind when God calls me home.  We owe it to ourselves, our children and our country!  Because if America's light goes out, so then goes the worlds!  The time is now and the stakes couldn't be higher.

Ephesians 4:25
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

If Love Is Fleeting, Common Sense Is Long Gone!

For those of you who had the privilege to know my father he was a man who was known to put a unique perspective on the travails of life.  Often times it was humorous, with words we never knew were in the English language before, and others more often, simple, straight to the point and profound in their application and meaning.  I remember one of his more common phrases, usually when I or one of my siblings would screw up and do something amazingly stupid.  He would just shake his head and say, " You know, common sense is a course that they should teach in high school and you must pass it to graduate and be allowed to go on in life!"  I would think, whoa thanks dad!  Nothing like parental support at a time of one of my more egregious episodes of prolonged boneheadedness.  But after rectifying my mistake and learning my lesson, it gave me pause to understand the clarity and simplistic truth of his statement.  We could often sidestep a whole lot of pitfalls and prevent dining on our own feet if we would just use our God given gift of common sense.  Yes, that's right God given!  He so wisely gave it to us and life's road along with loving parental guidance, a good set of ears and a mouth twice as small as the one we often use, refines it's application.  At least in practical theory, it should.  But alas, as we see everyday in our world the opposite is often true. 
  Just listen to a speech or quote by almost any politician regarding current policy or legislation, almost anything that pours out of an entertainers mouth, notable interviews from famous athletes, news anchors and commentators or opinion editorial journalists in many papers.  How about some of our neighbors and family members?  Or most certainly ourselves!  Even worse yet, how about our biblically educated and supposedly enlightened clergy, who from the place of the pulpit are supposed to speak the Truth and quite often are a test case in contradictory evidence for true Christianity.  How about many of our young people today?  At least the young folks have the partial excuse of inexperience and ignorance to blame.  The rest of us should not be accorded such grace. There just seems to be an overall lacking in thinking before we speak or act period.  It's becoming more hurtful, candid and even unthinkably worse, tolerated.  Frankly, it's an epidemic and I think I know why.  We have a breakdown in moral absolution and reasoning.
  As the family unit suffers in an age of redefining and our societies morals change, so does our ability to reason effectively and cope with situations.  The foundational structures and teachers of such principles that used to be there such as a strong family along with moral,spiritual and educational supports are eroding. Where we used to draw on good advice from mom and dad, older siblings, trusted teachers, our local priest or pastor, lifelong friends we trust, or our own good conscience, we now feel both external and self imposed internal pressure to make snap decisions or judgments without consulting anyone other than Facebook or Google or slowing down  Too often they hurt us or others because we didn't take the time to think, pray, seek help or just wait a bit.  So out it comes raw and unfiltered instead of smooth and tempered.  Or we take hasty action and cause further harm to an already delicate circumstance thereby making it worse. Sometimes we blurt out something so preposterously stupid it leaves everyone speechless and us mortified.  How many times have you said to yourself, "What was I thinking?"  Sound familiar? 
  The solution is simple and the same it always has been.  Seek Him who is and teaches patience, compassion, knowledge and the peace that surpasses all understanding.  Read and meditate on His perfect word.  Be wise enough to seek and listen to good counsel from those people He puts in your life's pathway.  Tell the truth, no matter what and remember that our words and actions are no longer our property when they leave us.  Finally, understand that you are not here to be all the world wants you to be but rather what God wants you to be.  After all it's better to be part of the solution than all of the problem!

Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

The Tragedy Of Fame

Seeing the news that one of the great actors of our generation, Philip Seymour Hoffman had passed yesterday was truly saddening.  Not only was he immensely gifted in his profession and enormously successful by the world's standards, but he was admired and loved by many peers and fans.  It is always shocking to lose someone we know or care about  before their time, but the incidental rate of these tragedies is seemingly and needlessly rising.  It seems fame has a cost and potentially a very high one at that.  Inside the fishbowl that comes with international stardom and fame comes immense scrutiny and a lack of respect for a person's privacy. But that's one of the sordid byproducts.  Since Hollywood has been around and as long as I can remember the famous of the world have had no fewer problems than us regular folks.  Money and multiple houses won't buy happiness, peace and contentment.  Often as we read or see in the news, on the internet or on the numerous tabloid television programs more and more celebrities are spiraling out of control.  In some ways how could they not?  Look at the recent cases of Justin Bieber and Lindsey Lohan.  Both are young, rich, talented and surrounded by parasitical entourages and money grabbing publicists and promoters.  They are in essence expendable cash cows, racehorses to be exact.  Both are nothing short of tragic and their lives unfold to us in a daily dose of wild unruly antics, drug and alcohol excess, shoddy behavior and a total disregard for laws and people. Because actors and performers are relied upon for the generating of revenues of the multibillion dollar entertainment and music industries they are in essence trapped inside a gilded castle.  Isolated, coddled, nurtured in many wrong ways and idolized to ridiculous degrees, they can become demigods who think they can do no wrong and are somehow immune to the constraints of life itself.  By the way, both Justin and Lindsey are from broken homes with enabling divorced parents who also are regular tabloid fodder.  But that is a discussion for another day.
   Because we glorify the altar of celebrity worship, we in essence have created the monster.  It is the general public's insatiable demand for entertainment in both it's forms public and private, that there is no rest for these people.  They become ticking time bombs and often tragic one's at that.  In the past two decades numerous promising actors, singers and musicians have died mostly unnecessarily before their time.  They have left a huge void for all of us and especially their loved ones because of the God given enormous talent they squandered and the fame that they succumbed to the pressure of.  Actors such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Corey Monteith, Brittany Murphy, River Phoenix, Corey Haim, Chris Farley, Lisa Kelly, Heath Ledger.  Singers and musicians like Chris Kelly, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston.  The list goes on and on and the common denominator being by far, drug and or alcohol abuse.  Why?  Because they often are overwhelmed and unprepared emotionally, physically and most definitely spiritually for the 24/7 demand of their profession.  They become commodities instead of precious human beings who have insecurities, feelings and needs.  Everybody wants them or a piece of them.  Quite often the circles of friends or advisers become like a malignant cancer eating away at them till there is nothing left.  So they often self medicate to escape with tragic results.  In the case of Philip Seymour Hoffman, he leaves behind three beautiful children and a grieving girlfriend.  Let me be clear, I'm not formulating an indictment of the the entertainment industry itself, as there are many successful actors and actresses, singers and musicians who are great role models, philanthropists and decent moral human beings.  But the propensity of ungodly amounts of wealth, ego driven fame and an insatiably demanding public fan base is a toxic combination in the right circumstances.  Unfortunately those circumstances are becoming all to common.  We need to hold our society and it's industries of entertainment to a higher standard and reset the moral compass. Drug and alcohol addiction are cancers throughout all aspects of our society but are especially high amongst the rich and famous.  But poor choices are without prejudice and certainly these celebrities made them.  If we don't seek help or relief from the pressures of this world we will continue to become victims of the merciless pressure of it.  God offers us that rest!  He offers a place to retreat to.  A retreat for the renewing of the mind and soul.  We all need rest, love and healthy support.  But Hollywood proves over and over that the world offers the wrong kind of solutions.  That without Christ we are truly alone!  Maybe some of these celebrities could have been saved.  Maybe a few of their lights would still be burning brightly! Don't let the world's offerings be the source of your happiness, choose the Water that gives life and doesn't take it.

Colossians 2:8
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."

55 Million and Counting... The Silent Genocide!

  I was reading my news reports today and one of my websites was reporting on a rather ominous anniversary.  This one often flies under the radar because of the polarizing feelings and heated emotional battles it causes just in the mention of it's name. That along with the liberal bias in most of the American media, methodically works to sweep it under the carpet.  Forty one years ago today seven supreme court justices decided to legalize the practice of abortions in the USA, via the landmark Roe vs.Wade case.  Now I know that some of you may be cringing at the mere mention of this case and it's historic implications, but the staggering amount of aborted children senselessly murdered, that's right I said murdered, in the USA each year has averaged 1,375,000 unimaginable acts of infanticide.  Most legal, all shameful and incredibly barbaric.  To give you an idea of the amount of loss, that equates to over 166,000 more deaths each year than the total of 1,209,000 brave American military men and women who have lost their lives in all the wars in the history of this nation up to this point.  We eclipse that on a an annual basis and you almost never hear about it!  It's not until the most egregious and horrific cases come to light, such as the Dr. Gosnell case in Philadelphia last year that you would ever be privy to the horror.  But in essence, is there any difference when it comes to the inhumane procedure whether it's performed in the best of medical conditions with the most accommodating of doctors and pristine clinical atmospheres or in a filthy and sordid clinic in West Philadelphia?  The results are startlingly the same.  A child, an innocent child dies.
 There are no small white caskets, or grieving family members, or touching church eulogies with pictures and stories of a life tragically cut short.  Just a bag labeled medical waste and a trash bin as the final resting place for someone who will never have a name, or mother and father to raise and love them.  I am passionate about this subject because as a father of five beautiful children, the lives of my wife and I have been equal parts blessed and enriched by the greatest gift our loving God gives us , life!  We simply could not imagine our lives without our children and the joy and light they bring to us and the world they interact in each day.  According to a lengthy study in the British Journal of Psychiatry, 85% of women suffer from serious or periodic episodes of depression, regret and overwhelming sadness after abortion procedures.  Not to mention the guilt associated with the dis- attachment from the life they carried inside of them.  I respect all political views of reasonable adults, friends and family but do not always agree with them, but this subject I have zero tolerance for!  You simply cannot convince me that this abhorrent practice honors anything that God has intended for us!  Nowhere in scripture does it regard the sanctity of human life with such callous disregard.  It is a crime we are already under indictment for. The most serious kind of indictment, God's!  A few years back I was having a lively discussion with a family member at Christmas regarding politics and namely a woman's right to choose.  This particular relative is pro choice.  To make a long story short they were going on about how unfair it is to intrude on a woman's personal choices regarding their bodies.  I looked at this person and said, "Aren't you glad your mom wasn't pro choice?"  Dead silence engulfed the table and a look of conviction rushed over her face and the subject was abruptly changed.  Point made I thought to myself.  Another opponent to my position said to me, "If your God is so merciful how come there's no cure for cancer or other crippling and fatal diseases, or peace in our world, or people are allowed to starve to death?  I simply said, "How do you know that the doctor who finds the cure for cancer, or the next great president, or scientist who solves world food shortages, was one of the aborted children never given a chance to use their God given destiny and talents?"  Maybe God had them ready to enter into this world and we so selfishly decided their life wasn't worth it or precious enough.  I won't go on without stating that I do sincerely empathize and feel for women who have contemplated this life altering act.  Or to pretend to know the circumstances in their lives. There are many post abortive ministriestoday that effectively help women to regain their lives and seek forgiveness from the Lord for the oppressive guilt that they carry.  Thank God our Lord is merciful and there is healing for them and their lives!  But that doesn't excuse the cruel fate that awaits a child who is innocent our our irresponsible choices.  They did nothing!  Right now in America, we are not having enough children to replace and reestablish generations of future workers and citizen's to keep this economy and country going, both economically and socially.  We are in essence depleting our species by both refusing to have children or aborting them.  I urge you to reeducate yourselves on this heartbreaking tragedy before we are too late.  God will not be mocked and our children deserve to know that the safest place they have when God releases them to our earthly stewardship is in their mother's womb.  Pray for the unborn and the mother's who carry them!  Hold the father's feet to the fire of honor and responsibility.  Let's all reach out to show compassion to help those women in need and restore the utmost in regard for the most innocent of us.

Psalm 139: 13-16
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait,...Really?

Last summer while traveling back up north here to our new home in Rice Lake Wisconsin, we stopped at a rest area along the interstate.  After walking Tino, our dog, I went inside to go to the bathroom and wash up.  As I entered the building I couldn't help but notice the long row of vending machines and the many people digging for loose change frantically trying to appease their highway hunger pangs and quiet down the kiddies for awhile.  What made me take notice though was the instantaneous change in attitudes when folks had put their money in and selected their snack of choice or beverage then gave it to their children.  The decibel level dropped immediately from a somewhat high pitched fingernails across the blackboard whine to instant, albeit momentary bliss.  Instant gratification, how convenient!  Anyway, the thought that made me chuckle as I was walking back to our vehicle was the irony that this was a microcosm of our world today.  I am not criticizing the actions of other parents who need to soothe restless and sometimes impatient children on long road trips.  Not hardly, since I can wholly empathize being a father of five now thankfully grown up children.  But rather the the many instantaneous solutions we have in our world now designed to quell or stave off inconveniences or solve problems. 
If there are two words that sum up our ever rapidly evolving planet they are, right now.  In our haste to solve all of our own problems we constantly try to accelerate almost all aspects of our life to make them easier or more convenient.  Man made solutions have spawned full time industries for the ever increasing list of man made problems.  The ultimate vicious circle grows not smaller as we had hoped but ever wider like an intensifying hurricane.  Have you ever heard the saying when people need something immediately, "Today is good, yesterday was better, tomorrow won't work."  That's how we've become.  Whether it be important decisions in school, work, life choices, or any crises, we have gone from hold on a minute let's think this through first.  Or better yet, let's pray about it and seek God's wisdom, to Google it, text somebody, Facebook search it, Twitter it or change a channel. In this world of at your finger tips results, we have subliminally conditioned ourselves likewise and have set moral relevance and common sense aside. Our new man made god's serve us faithfully in increasingly faster ways and encourage our dependence like the ambivalent entities they are.  Data in and data out!  I am not berating the wonders of such technology, as it has helped us in way good ways. We simply rely too much on our technology outside of it's designed applications and it's enticing aspects of speed and answers, instead of slowing down to reflect and take the time to seek the Creator of all that has been given to us in this world.  Whatever happened to meaningful soul searching by asking our pastor and intimate discussions with family members when we need to make important decisions about our lives?  Or quiet prayer time with ourselves to seek the One who has no bad advice or wrong answers.  That's right, God's record is perfect!  Unlike man made devices which rely in part on imperfect men designing them and then putting in imperfect data.  Consequently, you have breakdowns and software malfunctions. God always answers you correctly.  Let me repeat myself for those of you hard of hearing, I said correctly and not conveniently.  You may not want to hear God's unfiltered, unedited, never late, or even silent responses sometimes but they are always true and loving.  He always has our best interests at heart and cares for us more than any source of help, human or technological on earth.  And heaven help us, all it takes is earnest effort on our part in seeking and the dreaded "P" word, patience!
In my own life's road there have been many potholes, a few crashes, some property damage and tears.  But their have been many more miles of smooth roads, sunny days and peaceful traveling.  I simply had to stop wanting to solve my own problems my own way and to seek guidance from He who knows me best.  For my type A personality that was most challenging.  I've learned when God is sought out earnestly and I take His guidance and advice, I don't make bad decisions. So slow down, because in case you hadn't noticed God's not going anywhere!

Psalms 32: 8-10
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. {9} Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. {10} Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him.

My New Year's Resolution, Fuggedaboutit!

As a real estate broker and sales manager for most of my adult life, one of the bedrock tenets I preached about to my sales teams was the importance of setting goals.  Let me clarify if I may, realistic goals.  The significance of which often separated the long term career oriented successful and ever improving salesperson from the short term quick hitter or ninety day wonder as we used to say.  Whether you are an aspiring athlete, academic, business manager or virtually any other profession you need the self discipline of setting and working towards completion of goals to continually progress and succeed.  The same can be said about our lives too, at least for the most part.
I'm talking about the annual unrealistic process we go through that involves a measure of self loathing, personal assessment and then the putting together of the ultimate crash and burn, surely doomed to fail New Year's resolution list!  You know the upcoming new achievements you talk about at parties after we all end up comparing our houses, careers and possessions to one another.  Oh, come on now, we all at sometime have done it.  After all we're proud of our hard work, families, accomplishments and purchases.  They have become our measuring stick for life in many ways.  At least in the world's eyes. But when the conversation goes from our jobs or kids to ourselves that's when a life size mirror immediately pops up in our minds!  All of sudden for some reason the image of yourself is most always susceptible to self criticism.  Instantly a litany of images appear!  I'm too heavy. Where did my hair go?  Why are all my parts moving south?  My face has more lines than than an airport at Christmas. I should bleach my teeth, pluck my eyebrows, join a gym, eat less, eat better, upgrade my wardrobe, climb Mt. Everest or my personal favorite, be a better person!  What?  What the heck does that mean?  It could mean anything or nothing.  Because it has no definition or boundaries to work towards.  I mean if I helped an elderly woman across the street once this new year does that technically make me a better person than last year?  I guess so.  If I have set the bar as low as my big toe.  No my friends it doesn't.  Neither does making a list of resolutions each year!  Studies have shown that over 88% of us do not stick with our resolutions.  It has something to do with the frontal cortex of our brains and our willpower.  Hah, what does that say about our willpower?  So why do the vast majority of us set these unrealistic goals each year?  I don't know, ask me after my third piece of Lou Malnati's pizza when I'm trying to eat better and cut my cholesterol.  Seriously folks, it has to do with our self image.
Because we live in a botox, liposuction, get a lift or implant, Photoshopped, Hollywood worshiping narcissistic, I am never good enough society, we feel compelled to do this.  It's a constant both in your face and subliminal assault and it's a shame and wrong.
Yes, we should take care of our physical temples that God made our souls to live in.  We should exercise and eat a well balanced diet too.  But we should also live according to His perfect desire for us and not the world's!  Did you ever hear the statement, "That so and so is beautiful on the inside as well the outside?"   They are usually a person of great spiritual peace which God then uses to further enhance their physical beauty.  In short they radiate an eternal perspective on health, prosperity and joy.   If Jesus lived a perfect life and God created us in His own image, then in His eyes we are all beautiful and loved equally.  Another words, He set the standards we should live by.  So when you go to make that list every year of doomed to fail resolutions, don't.  Instead, promise yourself that you are going to make changes mentally, physically and spiritually that will naturally improve your self esteem and image.  I guarantee you if you pray everyday, read God's word and apply His love to others in your life, people will be clawing over one another to ask you about how you do it.   Remember my friends, a narcissist needs only a room full of mirrors to feel loved.

1st Cor. 6 19-20
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.