The Gift of Christ

Life’s Like This — There is no obstacle in life, predictable or unpredictable, that can’t be conquered with a spirit of hope and determination. We all go through life hoping that it will be filled with experiences that have the least amount of adversity and disappointments. Unfortunately, life will always present you with your share of adversity — it’s inevitable– but what is not inevitable is how we face the adversity we are confronted with. Finding boundless joy and happiness in life is something we all long for and that we should strive for, but when circumstances arise that create situations that are unpleasant and difficult to deal with, we are faced with the choice to either rise above the situation and conquer it, find some middle ground to cope with the situation, or give up in defeat and allow ourselves to succumb to it in despair. For many of us, the easy road is to give up, to throw in the towel, to sweep it under the carpet, to rid ourselves of the problem by walking away from it and pretending that it no longer exists. In reality, problems are never solved by walking away from them and pretending that they magically disappeared. The presence of sin in our lives is one of those problems that encompass so many of the short-comings and failures that we must confront in life. We then need to decide if we are going to be victors over the sin, or allow it to rule our behavior and lead us down a path that can further separate us from God.

Smiles From Heaven

Life’s Like This — Anyone can make you smile or cry, but it takes someone special to make you smile when you already have tears in your eyes; my mother was one of those people. It’s been a year now since my mother passed away. During that time I have discovered that while her physical body is no longer on this earth, she is still very much in my heart and mind. Her presence in my life is so real, that on days when I have something troubling me, I find myself saying “I need to call mom” but quickly remember that she is now in heaven, enjoying a new life with Jesus. But despite her absence, I know that she is smiling down upon me with the same impish eyes she had when her physical body was here. Memories of her are intricately entwined in my life and will never be forgotten. Despite the hardships my mother endured on this earth, she was always there to love and comfort me and the rest of our family with grace, humility, and spiritual wisdom — she was truly the heart of our family.

Preserving Your Marriage

Life’s Like This — If you truly want to preserve a loving relationship, you need to be willing to put in the work to cultivate and sustain that relationship. You need to be willing to communicate and share your needs so that your love can grow. And just as important is a willingness to listen and respond appropriately to the feelings and concerns of the one you love. In marriage, effective two-way communication is the thread that ties every aspect of marital life together. When two people commit themselves in marriage, they have embarked on a journey that will have peaks and valleys; times when everything in their relationship will gel and go smoothly, but more often then not, there will be rough patches that can put a strain on even the most loving of relationships. When two people blend their lives together a journey of discovery begins; a discovery of character traits, interests, insecurities, temperament, and a host of other relationship issues that in many cases had not been known before they made their commitment to each other. If truth be told, even prior to marriage, these things may have been revealed in some degree but ignored out of what can only be described as “love blindness”. We all want to see the best in people, especially the person you chose to spend the rest of your life with. We have romantic illusions that love will conquer all; that there is nothing that can tear apart the love that binds you together in marriage. The reality is that loving relationships are tested everyday, and with the passing of time, comes the opportunity to embrace all the virtues that you can tap into to cultivate and sustain the love your marriage was founded on.

Planting Seeds For Christ

Life’s Like This — Never underestimate what the Lord is doing in your life. You may not think it’s important, but it is. What you say to people, how you treat others, the way you handle adversity — God uses these things to reveal himself to the world. When you stand for righteousness and refuse to compromise, you are bearing a witness for Him. [Source: Charles Stanley] — Living your life for Christ is a challenge beyond all challenges. It entails a devotion to reflecting Christ-like behavior, actions, and thoughts in every area of your life. If doing this sounds like an impossible task, it’s because it is. This is the dilemma all christians face in their walk with Christ. While we may have a faith that is unshakable, the realities of life, coupled with our sinful nature, cause us to fall short in our efforts to reflect the life of Christ. We owe our failures to sin that we have allowed to take root and infect the way we think, the way we respond, and the way we act toward ourselves and others. For many of us, we may have doubts that we can ever be used by God — we may think that we are such failures that there is no way that God can find anything redeeming in us that can be used to serve Him. Yet, despite our short-comings, God can use us just the way we are to reveal Himself to others. We just need to allow Him to come into our hearts so that we can be molded into a character that reflects His love for all of us.

Transforming Our Failures

Life’s Like This — However badly we may have failed in the past, today is not too late for us to put our complete trust in God. Failure will eventually place its foot print in each of our lives — it’s inevitable. No one can go through life and not experience some kind of failure, especially when we set goals or high expectations for ourselves. While we may strive to be successful in whatever endeavor we choose, none of us can control circumstances that are beyond our control. And even those circumstances that we have the ultimate control over, our behavior and our personal choices, we always seem to make decisions that test the wisdom of our choices. Failure, however, should not define us — we are more than the sum of all our failures, we are more than the random acts of choices and behaviors that we make in life. While it may be discouraging to experience failure after failure, those failures can often be stepping stones to success if we choose to embrace the lessons that can be learned from them. One of the most profound lessons we can learn is to put our faith and trust in God in every area of our life, those we have control over, and those we have absolutely no control over.

Nothing Lasts Forever?

Life’s Like This — Even the prettiest flower will wilt one day; it’s nature’s way of teaching us that nothing lasts forever. Love is like a wilting flower — if you sever the stem providing the nourishment for its growth, it too will wither and die. The seeds of love often spring forth with a beauty that is unique and precious in the eyes and heart of the beholder. The experience of a romantic love can captivate your heart and sometimes blind you to the realities of life. As precious as romantic love can be, the essence of true love is often tested when the emotional high subsides and you come face-to-face with the stark reality of blending the lives of two people who are bonded together in a spirit of love. We all want love to last forever and we all want to hold onto the feelings that led us to love the person we have devoted our lives to. But as the days, months, and years pass, we often begin to take love for-granted and as a result, the wilting phase of our love begins. And when that happens, we are often unaware that the wilting process has even begun, and that lack of awareness can be the biggest factor that ultimately leads to the loss of a love that you once held dear to your heart. Love is more than emotions — it is a gift of your will — it is a choice. If you want to preserve the love you have for someone, you need to be alert to the warning signs that can blindside your relationship.

Understanding Emotional Walls

Life’s Like This — Sometimes all you can do is smile, move on with your day, hold back your tears, and pretend your okay. It isn’t easy to put on a happy face when inside your heart your emotions are tied up in a knot and you feel like you have been put through the wringer of life where every ounce of positiveness has been squeezed out of your soul. You may wake up in the morning with every intention of ushering in a day filled with hope and joy only to encounter emotional setbacks that leave you reeling with feelings of anxiety, frustration, disappointment, and perhaps even anger. As your day unfolds, people you come in contact with may perceive you as being okay, with no worries or concerns, and with no idea that inside your heart you are going through an internal struggle that you desperately want to escape from. For those of us that have bubbly and out-going personalities, the mask of deception can be greater than for those whose normal appearance is more reserved. But for each personality, the pain one feels is still lurking in the corners of their heart, yearning for someone to understand, someone to reach out and see behind the mask and be able to touch their hearts in such a way that the emotional walls begin to crumble so you can then begin to share the pain that has been hidden from others.

Knowing God's Will

Life’s Like This — Most of us want to know God’s plan for our lives, but we’re not always sure how to find it. One common misunderstanding is the idea that God’s guidance will come to us out of the blue, that it has nothing to do with what we’re doing now. But if we’re always looking around for God’s next assignment, we run the risk of ruining whatever we’re working on right now. I remember as a young man having a deep belief that God had a special purpose for my life, one that was above the ordinary, one where I would leave a significant contribution to society before I left this earth. Perhaps this was just a childhood fancy where I had illusions of becoming something greater then what God had planned for me. Yet, it was something I always believed deep in my heart and dreamt of being fulfilled. As it turned out, life unfolded as it should, one that was filled with ups and downs, twist and turns, and that left me wondering if the path I was heading down was the path God intended for me. I’m not sure that anyone can truly know the heart and mind of God without delving into the scripture combined with an active prayer life where we seek out His will. But I do know, that I failed to faithfully go to Him in prayer so that His will would be revealed to me; instead I chose my own path — one that turned out to have more than its share of disappointments and failures.

The Truth About Truth

Life’s Like This — If the truth is so simple, why does the United States Court System have people swear the following oath before they testify: “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” It is a wonderful oath covering everything within reason and logic, and knowledge. When it comes to matters of man’s written law, the truth should be pretty clear-cut. When it comes to the Word of God, there should be no second-guessing. When it comes to our own personal truth, the waters can then become murky because what is true for one person may not be true for someone else. I think it would be a fair statement to conclude that our perception of the truth is often based on the belief system we have chosen to adopt. Even within the Christian beliefs, there are interpretations among liberals and conservatives that simply are different and do not reflect shared “truths” concerning biblical scripture and yet for each of these groups of people, what they believe is their truth, regardless of what the Bible states is the truth.

The Gift of Salvation

Life’s Like This — Like a minor cut or abrasion that becomes infected when left untreated, sin grows and soon poisons the whole body. I was at church yesterday, kneeling before the alter and about to receive communion when I realized that sin has a way of creeping back into the forefront of your mind. I was anxious as the pastor approached because I was not yet ready to receive the sacraments. Even though I was granted absolution of my sins earlier in the service, my human tendency to not forgive myself for my sins was an impediment to my receiving the body and blood of Christ — and for the renewal and restoration of my relationship with God. In a fervent prayer, I cried out to God, confessing my sins and praying that he will help me in my walk with HIm as I continue to try to turn from my sinful nature and escape the bondage of my sins. That’s the nature of sin, if we allow it to fester and grow it can take control of our lives and keep us from experiencing a oneness with God that is so important for our spiritual transformation and growth. By confessing my sins, and clinging to His promises, I was able to prepare my heart, mind, and soul so that I might enjoy the blessings of the sacraments. I had to realize that nothing I could do could restore my relationship with God, unless I first came before him claiming the gift of salvation that His Son, Jesus Christ, gave to us all when he paid the price for our sins on the cross so many years ago.