Whenever I am forced into battle I want to fight fair. The only way I know how to do that is to first engage in prayer and second to make sure my total being is coming from a perspective of love. When I am engaged in prayer and focusing on love, I begin to feel compassion for whatever combat is headed in my direction. I normally avoid battle, but sometimes I am tossed in before I even know what is happening. When I am caught off guard I have to stop and focus on what is most important. For me…
I was speaking with someone who was a bit frustrated with a friend who lives life as a follower of Jesus. This person was given advice to trust in Jesus, and that it will all work out. Here is the catch. The friend giving the advice was very worried about something and was not following their own suggestion. The question was, “How do I help someone who is giving me advice to trust Jesus, but is not trusting Jesus with their own worries?” Think about how strong we would be as followers of Jesus if we all applied his advice…
It is time to stand strong seeking truth, unity, and love. As we move through our day we are targeted with information from every direction. It is not easy to uncover the truth. Much effort is necessary to begin to uncover what is real and what is misinformation. The truth often is hidden behind everything circulating on social media. I utilize prayer to uncover the information I believe is needed to make important decisions. Praying that I will see the shortcomings of the misinformation and that I will be led to the information I need to make an educated decision…
When I am aware that my mind is awake the first thing I do is make the assumption that it’s going to be a good day, and thank Jesus. Before my feet hit the floor I know that everything is going to be okay and that there is a reason to get up and enjoy the day. I don’t give myself time to think about how I feel or all that I need to accomplish. I simply move forward and assume it will all work out. There never seems to be an advantage to thinking about all…
It took decades for the real me to expose myself fully. Not even understanding that the real me was in disguise. I felt like I lived by the “Golden Rule” and genuinely attempted to do the right thing under all conditions. There were times I was wrong or off path, quickly adjusting to get back on track. I was a good person trying to live life with compassion. That life was interrupted and turned upside down. For most of my life, I was a leader. Someone who took charge when necessary but stayed in the periphery by nature. My predictable…
If you want to become closer to Jesus, it is simple. Not always easy, but very simple. It starts with love. Difficult things are going to happen, issues are going to arise, problems will need to be solved. Those are all things that happen in our daily lives. The difference is how we approach what comes at us each day. What is our perspective? Are we able, under all circumstances, to keep focused on love? Problems come to all of us in different ways at different times, and often they are only visible to us who endure them. Rarely do…
Have you ever been part of the periphery of a gathering, club, sport, job, culture, etc.? If you have, you know the feeling that starts to creep through your body as you fully understand that you aren’t within the circle of influence. That you are on the edge looking in by choice, because of fear, due to finances, ethnicity, or because you are new to the circle. There is some reason you are not part of the influential group. I have lived most of my life on the periphery. Much of that is by choice. But some of it…
It is difficult to keep out of the world of comparison. Around every corner, there’s another opportunity to explore what others are doing. It doesn’t matter how those opportunities arise, the view many of us see is the snapshot on social media. No matter how great or terrible the opportunity, it is the photo that people see. Viewing all the opportunities for comparison from the perspective of love helps us be happy for everyone’s moments of joy. In between the snapshots, there is a whole story that is not told. The story doesn’t need to…
A few days after dropping my daughter off at college, on the first day of classes, the students were notified that they needed to evacuate the campus for the hurricane. I started to read the social media comments from parents trying to figure out how to help their students evacuate with no cars or relatives in the area. My daughter was very fortunate that one of her local roommates offered to house 6 students. She managed the evacuation as a normal part of Florida life and had a plan. What was interesting was seeing how much more effective people were…
Every so often I need a wake-up call regarding assumptions. Similarly to judgments, I try to avoid assuming anything, but it happens. Most of the time I know I am making an assumption before I even finish my comment or thought. Why do I assume that I know what’s happening or how someone is feeling? When one sees an unfortunate situation the mind often goes to the negative. But what if the person was not looking at the situation as a negative? What if the event was considered a stepping stone to the next adventure? Or maybe a…