Do It Anyway

I got this poem off my ex-wife’s Facebook of all things! It is something I have to take to heart for sure and just wanted to share it with you all!

Mother Teresa wrote this poem –

People are often unreasonable,
illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Read more at Mother Teresa Poem : Do It Anyway

Franciscan Blessing

I haven’t seen this prayer for years until I came across it a few weeks ago, and I had to share it! That fourth stanza is something else isn’t it? May you all be blessed to do what others say couldn’t be done!

 

 

 

Four-fold Franciscan Blessing

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator,

Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour,

and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide,

be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore.

AMEN

Christian Atlases

A pair of quotes from Brennan Manning I would like to share …

“God’s love is based on nothing, and the fact that it is based on nothing makes us secure. Were it based on anything we do, and that “anything” were to collapse, then God’s love would crumble as well. But with the God of Jesus no such thing can possibly happen. People who realize this can live freely and to the fullest. Remember Atlas, who carries Brennan Manning the whole world? We have Christian Atlases who mistakenly carry the burden of trying to deserve God’s love. Even the mere watching of this lifestyle is depressing. I’d like to say to Atlas: ‘Put that globe down and dance on it. That’s why God made it.’ And to the weary Christian Atlases: “Lay down your load and build your life on God’s love.” We don’t have to earn this love; neither do we have to support it. It is a free gift. Jesus calls out: “Come to me, all you Atlases who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you.”

“The saved sinner is prostrate in adoration, lost in wonder and praise. He knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven. It serves as an expression of gratitude rather than an effort to earn forgiveness. Thus the sequence of forgiveness and then repentance, rather than repentance and then forgiveness, is crucial for understanding the gospel of grace.”

Amen!

Rumi/Unless You Lose Your Own

“Dam the torrent of ecstacy when it runs in flood, so that it won’t bring shame and ruin.

But why should I fear ruin.

Under the ruin waits a royal treasure.

He that is drowned in God wishes to be more drowned.

While his spirit is tossed up and down by the waves of the sea, he asks,

“Is the bottom of the sea more delightful, or the top?

Is the Beloved’s arrow more fascinating, or the shield?”

O heart, if you recognize any difference between joy and sorrow,

these lies will tear you apart.

Although your desire tastes sweet,

doesn’t the Beloved desire you to be desire less?

The life of lovers is in death:

you will not win the Beloved’s heart unless you lose your own.”

God Sings! Zephaniah 3:17

Zephaniah 3:17

17The Lord your God in your midst,The Mighty One, will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Read this and take it personally! Your God, your Creator … rejoices over you. Your King quiets you with HIS love, and sings over you. Can you even wrap your brain around that? I try…I believe it is the romancing that the One who created romance, is pouring out on us..if we let HIM. Why would we not want HIM to do that?

I can not wait to hear what God sounds like singing!! I know it will be the most beautiful thing I have ever heard and will ever hear……HE sings…over me…over you…a divine love that compares to no other. Wow!

Have a blessed evening everyone! Tim

A God Who Can Kick IT!

Just some thoughts …

I cruise around a lot of Christian sites from time to time and this observation has struck me of late … God in general seems to be pictured as, for lack of a better word at the moment, “nice.” There seems to be a want for a God that provides but not one really who meddles in our lives. A God who protects but never demands, never judges, keeps His distance … This nice God doesn’t seem to say much but greeting card slogans. Sheesh! A God who is basically a wimp!

But the fact of the matter is God is not just nice. God is a consuming fire! Although He cares for the sparrow, the fragile, the hurt, He just isn’t all that pampering. God’s main business isn’t getting us the best parking spaces at the mall or otherwise make us nice and comfy. His main business is making us holy which requires the niceness …. And sternness of our God.

Let me share this verse from Exodus 20:20, “Do not be afraid, God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Do not be afraid … Only a God we fear, and yet not be afraid of can make our hearts burn with a passion. The God who truly is, who seeks after you and me is far more loving and comforting than the “nice” God depicted seemingly everywhere. He is also more fierce and fearsome than this “scorekeeper” God of those who threaten us with damnation with every misstep and misthought. His anger is not just irritability … Its the distillation of His justice, His hatred of evil.

This is what we want, even demand from a good God. A God who can kick tush and maybe even spank our own when necessary… A nice, kindly old man type of god could never drive us to our knees in desperate prayer. He could never set us up on our feet in fierce determination ready to roll. A nice god could never inspire fervent worship, awe or sacrifice. The nice god is someone easy to dismiss unless we want or need something. How can we possibly explain a God that has His Son die a cruel, bloody death for us with a picture like that? God demands all … In Hebrews it says its a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Yet the thing more dangerous than that is to NOT fall into His hands! God may not be all sweetness and fluff … But He is good!

Just wanted to throw this out there …

Take Time

Take time to think;

It is the source of power.

Take time to read;

It is the foundation of wisdom.

Take time to play;

It is the secret of staying young.

Take time to be quiet;

It is the opportunity to seek God.

Take time to be aware;

It is the opportunity to help others.

Take time to love and be loved;

It is God’s greatest gift.

Take time to laugh;

It is the music of the soul.

Take time to be friendly;

It is the road to happiness.

Take time to dream;

It is what the future is made of.

Take time to pray;

It is the greatest power on earth.

–Author Unknown

Confessional

A few years ago there was this movie Phone Booth which pointed out our culture’s growing need for confession, even from a secular viewpoint. What’s the attraction all about? Is a new “confession-craze” dawning, or do you see something different, something deeper?

Repentance is good for the soul, and we cannot be Christians without it. Many a “Christian” believes that if he simply mutters his confession into his pillow at night, that is good enough. God may very well hear and forgive, however the sinner robs himself of absolution through Christ’s body, The Church. James says in his epistle, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another that you may be healed.” (James. 5:16)

“Private” confession to God is nowhere taught in scripture, and this practice is probably responsible for the millions of dollars spent in this country every year on mental health professionals, dealing with “guilt feelings,” instead of dealing with the actual guilt through the sacrament. It is important to understand, that if we have trouble confessing our sins to a priest, a fellow sinner, how can we confess our sins to the righteous and Holy God?

Just some thoughts on a Friday … Tim

A Nice Pair of Francis’

“It is not fitting, when one is in God’s service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look.”

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

~ St. Francis of Assisi

One Year Later: Life is a Sandwich

As the new month begins I’ve become more aware of the passing of time and the passing of years.

It’s been a good time to think about the blessings of the past year since my heart attack a year ago yesterday and identify hopes and goals for the future. School … Kids growing and becoming …. I would recommend you do that.

But that’s not all that happens, is it?

(By the way, those of you who have had no pain or disappointment in your life can skip to the end now. Thanks.)

We also realize that it’s one more year since that loss, or one more year of dealing with some pain or hurt. We say to ourselves, “Wow, it’s been 3 years, (or 5, or 20) and it still hurts! How can that be? I didn’t know it would last this long.”

What if it still hurts? Is that okay? What about the hurt that is going on and growing now?

I used to believe that life was a series of events and experiences and each one has its own time and emotions, then you move on to the next, kind of like flipping through a picture book. But I believe now that life happens in interwoven experiences and emotions, layers stacked on top of one another. It’s more like a sandwich you bite into. All of those experiences add to the taste and texture. Yes, sometimes I do wish that we could just have one at a time, preferably just the sweet ones. Never cared all that much for the dill pickles …. But hey, I’m blessed by saving anything in this life at all …

We grieve over someone dying at the same time we learn of a new birth. A friend lands their dream job while our neighbor’s company closes. A friend tells you that she just met the man of her dreams while you are aching inside from the message you just got from your wife saying that your marriage is over. (Today is seperation day.) Your child says you are the best parent in the world while your other child is in total rebellion.

All of these layers happen. They are all there. They are all real. They all move us. We remember them. We become them.

This coming year will come with all of its own texture. Allow your life to have the texture it needs this year. Know that the layers are all there. You get to have all of them. You have to have all of them. That’s the deal. The only life you get is the real one.

It’s okay if the hurt is still there somewhere. But, it’s not the only layer, is it? God made life very thick. He must know what he was doing …