Helping Others

This is something that's been on my mind a lot lately, trying to find ways that I can actively help others. Of course situations to positively impact a person in need don't typically fall right into our laps; we have to actively look for them. Frankly I think it's pretty easy in this cynical world where we're always in a hurry to get from one place to another to actually happen across situations more often than we think; we just simply not see them as we have our blinders on for the day.


I came across this link the today; it has 21 very nice selections of verses about helping others, so I've posted my favorite of the bunch below, but be sure to check out the full selection HERE. You may find a few others that resonate with you stronger.


My end goal is to try actively seek out more situations that I can positively impact someone's life, and make difference in their journey, and do this at least once a week. Baby steps.


I guess when I sit down and think about it, the holding the door, the saying please and thank you, it's nice, but everyone should be doing that stuff anyway, right? That's not really going out of my way to spread God's word and love around to our fellow man, and I just want to be able to give back and do more.


This is going to be a work in progress...I'll keep you posted on the results.


Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Let Bygones Be Bygones

Mark 11:25
25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”        

Forgiveness is hard, it fights our very human nature,. Often times, if someone does wrong, whether it's to us personally, or in the public setting that we have nowadays with 24/7 "news" coverage and the accessibility that social media gives to many people on the planet. We want to see "justice" done, we want to karma come in make this terrible awful person pay for their transgression against society. Now that manifest itself in some very extreme ways, which unfortunately can occur over something like a political issue. I've seen what appears to be totally rational thinking people divulge into wishing that someone die or be physically harmed, simply because their viewpoints differ on an issue. Of course it's at times like these that the "T Word" gets thrown around.

"Why you intolerant (insert some sort of accusatory name here), you're such a hateful (insult 2) that I hope someone (insert terrible awful physical violence action here) to you." Because nothing says tolerance by verbally attacking someone who differs in opinion than you on something, accusing them of being intolerant of this, and then having so much tolerance for their differing viewpoint that you result to wishing physical harm on them. Really people? C'mon?!?! This happens way too often, to the point that it's just become one of the norms of the internet.              

And really it boils down to one question, where does all of this hate come from? Cities are being burned down, riots started, violence on both sides, and ultimately it comes down to this idea that a wrong, whether real or perceived, must be met with a more extreme, and often times final, wrong, due to this vengeance society that seems to currently be consuming the country.

When does it stop? 

Two wrongs don't make a right. The answer to violence isn't more violence. 

The answer is forgiveness. The answer is love. The answer is God. Go to him, seeking forgiveness and the strength to bury the hatchet with your fellow man. Trust that God knows all, sees all, and judges all. The Lord is the only one righteous to judge. 

Go with peace, and forgive, and spread Joy.

God Bless.           

Those Rainy Days

The weatherman predicted today to be a day filled with harsh thunderstorms, crackling lightning, and heavy down pours. Of no real surprise, that prediction didn't come to fruition, but man my internal clock sure didn't get that memo. Today was one of those days, where despite yesterday's post and thoughts still being fresh in my mind about using perspective to meet the speed bumps we encounter in our daily routine with gratitude for the things that have gone right, I just couldn't pull myself out of the "rainy day funk." Maybe I'm alone on this, but often times I find that my mood reflects the weather, if it's a dark rainy day, the kind that makes you just want to curl up on the couch and dive into a good book, an old favorite movie, or for most of his in the parent world, just try to grab a nap and catch up on some sleep.


Well today was one of those days for me, my internal clock and general mood was setting on rainy day, and I had a hard time drudging through the day, despite the sunshine we actually got. I'm sure that is in part to the latest office rearrangement we've undergone at work leaving me out of eyesight of a window. And I'm going to guess that trying to kick my energy drink addiction this week isn't helping. (Boy do I miss my high-doses of caffeine).


It effected me so much that I was even struggling to find the motivation to put out a post. Luckily my friend Google came through with a great list of encouraging Bible Verses. The particular list I scrolled through (found here) ranged in topics from overcoming fear, perseverance, and the theme that relates to my lethargic generally apathetic attitude throughout the day, purpose.


And so, here are a handful of verses that happened to resonate with me today.


Isaiah 26:3
3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.


John 16:33
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”


Psalm 55:22
22 Cast your cares on the LORDand he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.


God Bless!

Being Thankful

Alright, a little later than I wanted to get this one out today, but better late than never!


You've heard it a thousand times, and you'll hear it a thousand more, but that doesn't diminish the focus of today's reflection, and that is being thankful for what we have.


It's really easy to take everything we have for granted, especially when we get focused on our daily routine and those constant sources of frustration. At least it is for me. The running theme so far has really been me trying to consciously prioritize God as THEE focal point in my day. I mentioned it in a previous post, about squeezing the rest of your day around God, instead of trying to squeeze God into the remaining time in your busy day. Perhaps the easiest way to accomplish that, is to acknowledge God's presence in each aspect of your day, and consciously take stock of the blessings he bestowed upon us.


So my mission today is to point out the things I'm grateful for, that I often take for granted, but are 5 things that people in many parts of the world, and even this country, go without.


1.) Today I woke up, my wife woke up, and my 2 year old son woke up, and all three of us were healthy and able to move about on our own power.


2.) I went outside my aesthetically outdated yet sturdy, comfortable ranch home and surveyed my gorgeous 12.5 acre property of Upper Midwest woodlands and let my two fantastic dogs out to run.


3.) I managed to get the kiddo to daycare and make the 35 mile trek to work without issue. My wife also made it to work safely.


4.) We both have jobs that often leave us frustrated, physically, emotionally, and mentally drained, and yet we both make a pretty decent salary, and are able to make enough to support our little family and pay the bills.


5.) After a day at the office, we all made it back home safely, and sat down and enjoyed our third meal of the day.


This may seem like boasting but it isn't, it's simply taking a brief 5 minutes out of the day to acknowledge the fantastic gifts that Jesus has blessed me with, and be truly grateful.


Honestly, despite all of these wonderful gifts, there are days when someone asks me how my day is going, where without investing too much thought into it, I just say "terrible," or "typical Monday." We all feel that way at times, but it's all about perspective. There are people out there homeless, there are people out there hungry. There are people out there that over the course of the day lost loved ones to traffic deaths, heart attacks, or acts of violence. There are people out there that lost their homes to natural disaster. They are the ones that are truly having a terrible day. Me, I just was maybe 5 minutes late to work or got screamed at on the phone about something that wasn't my problem. In the grand scope of things, while they may be frustrating, they are certainly nothing worth souring the quality of another day on this earth.


That's not to discount the everyday struggles we all go through, or lessen the impact that the stress of a job may bring, but it's important to be able to pull yourself out of that negative spin, to take a step back, put it into perspective, and release just how blessed we truly are. I'm as guilty as anyone of easily succumbing to a negative attitude when minor things don't go my way.


So thank you God, thank you Jesus, for another day on this earth, with a healthy loving family. I may not always be the most appreciative, or consciously grateful of the blessings you've bestowed upon me, and for that I am unworthy of your grace, merciful God. Thank you for all that I have, and for the love you've given me and my loved ones. Please guide me in sharing that love, and spreading your joy in this world.


Amen.

What Good Do I Accomplish on a Daily Basis?

Wow! First and foremost, let's address the elephant in the room! I didn't even make it two consecutive days of sitting down and devoting time to post a Daily Devotional! It pretty much illustrates exactly what I was trying to improve upon, and that was being aware of cutting out some time each day to reflect on God's mission for me!


Sure enough, Monday and Tuesday rolled around and I let the hectic shuffle of the day consume me, and forgot all about my goal! It's all about the process folks, so hopefully I can get better on this!


Monday evening I fell asleep watching the Olympics, so I didn't even have my end of the day wind-down prayer to catch my mistake! It wasn't until I was laying in bed praying last night that I caught my error, two days gone without workday devotional time!


So sorry for the delay, I'm back today, and as promised on Friday, it's a look at the second component of this Daily Devotional's genesis, and that is all about trying to make a difference, no matter how small.


As father Huber's sermon was bouncing around in my head the last couple of weeks, I got to thinking one night as I sat up with my restless two year old at 2 am one morning. (In his defense he was recovering from surgery where he got tubes in his ears and had his adenoid removed, so his throat was pretty sore.) Do I make an actual difference in the world on a daily basis? Outside of my family, do I improve the world around me?


That's a pretty heavy question, and something that I think many of us have pondered at some point in the world. Outside of working a job we don't enjoy, to collect a pay check to support our family, and then coming home and spending time with our spouses and children, is our impact felt outside our core family and the small group of people we interact with on an intimate level?


And from there I got to thinking, do I do anything good? I mean I don't do anything particularly bad. I didn't stop off and rob a gas station or punch a stranger on my commute to and from work. But not doing bad isn't exactly the same thing as doing good.


And so I got to thinking, while I may say, please and thank you, or wish the person working the register at the gas station to have a nice day as I pay for my morning energy drink, and then hold the door for the person coming in as I exit the building, those aren't anything particularly earth-shattering in the "good" department. I have fallen into a rut! A victim of the daily schedule, I go from home to work to home, with a few stops in between to pick up or drop off my son at daycare, and occasionally buy something for lunch, breakfast, or a needed item for home. Not exactly prime material for a eulogy. "He was a good man that Kyle, he said thank you and have a nice day when he bought his morning Nos." Not exactly the send off we're all dreaming of when we pass on from this life to the next.


And so I thought, what's one way I can make a positive impact, and add it to my daily routine that consists of limited human interaction. Well, how about I spend time to publicly reflect on my faith journey. Maybe someone else can gleam some help along the way, or share something with me, and in the process we happen to help each other in some way in this journey called life. If just one person is able to get through the day, or find some assistance with a struggle due to this little blog, then mission accomplished! Public Good Achievement Unlocked!


It certainly sounds better on a tombstone than "great at holding the door."


And hey folks, if you've grappled with that dilemma yourself, then why not share? What steps are you using to spread the message and routinely impact your community positively? Let's hear him, I'd love to adopt some of your practices and try to enrich my own community along the way!


Thanks for reading! God Bless!

Daily Devotional

So what's this whole thing even about?


Good question, and to properly answer that, I need to sit back and share a bit about the genesis of this whole thing, which goes back to Church sermon from a few weeks ago. Admittedly, I don't make it to Church as often as I would like, or as often as I should. There are all sorts of excuses I can, and do make for this. Oh I don't have time, oh our 2 year old son won't behave and sit through the whole thing. Oh it's a 45 minute drive to the Church we go to (more on that another time). Oh this afternoon is my best chance to get the lawn mowed over the next week, etc. I'm sure many of us find ourselves in this boat, or find ourselves making these excuses for ourselves on why regularly attending Church just doesn't fit into our busy, busy lives.


Well, as luck would have it (or more likely, God's will), we just so happened to make the trek to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church that fateful Saturday afternoon to hear a fantastic sermon by Father Huber. It was all about making time for God in our lives a priority, and it harkened back to a bible school lesson I remembered from 3rd grade. The gist of the sermon was that when we try to squeeze God into the space in our everyday lives, He, and our faith, are often the ones that get pushed to the bottom of the priority list, as we scramble to deal with the commitments of work, paying bills, and the recreational activities in our life. When we finally get to the end of the day, we either forget, or have a very rushed shoehorned time to dedicate to personal reflection, prayer, and connecting with God. But, what's really the whole point of this rat race we call life? Is it to get that project done at work? Is our sole mission in life to get that mortgage paid off? Is Billy's Tee-Ball practice the reason the Good Lord put on this earth. Of course it isn't, but it's easy to forget that when we're in the stress-filled moment and facing a deadline.


The bible school visual I remember that drove this point home back in my childhood, and instantly came to mind as I listened to Father Huber, was taking a glass Mason Jar, filling it with sand, which represented the "stuff" that makes up the routine day-to-day activities in our lives. Then, when you try to take 3 golf balls, representing God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, they're isn't any room for them to fit into the jar. Now dump the sand out, put the 3 golf balls into the mason jar, and add that same volume of sand back into the jar, and everything fits! The message is, prioritizing God and our faith first each day, we'll still have time to squeeze everything else (the sand stuff) in afterwards. But the same doesn't work in reverse.


And that was essentially what Father Huber was saying as well. As a Catholic Priest, he has to spend time knocking out 5 devotionals a day, and he shared with us how much he struggled with that in his early days as a Priest, that is until he began to set aside times dedicated to completing these tasks. Once he did, he had no problem completely these 5 periods of devotion as well as the rest of his day to day activities.


It's a simple message and a simple concept, but like many things in life, the simple things are often the hardest to follow through on and execute.


And so that's really the first half of the genesis of this Daily Devotional blog, it's my set aside time of day, Monday through Friday, to take time, sit back, reflect, and devote my time to God and spreading his message. I figured if I'm going to take the time myself for this, I may as well try to share my faith with fellow followers of Christ as well. Maybe someone too can benefit from reflection, and share their own thoughts to benefit my faith journey as well.


So come back Monday! In that post, I'll be diving into really the second half of where this blog comes from, or the other mission I want to fulfill.


Thanks for reading, and God Bless You!