Inspirations

  My day can get crazy! Appointments, work,  family obligations,  church, it all takes a toll on me. I end up tired, cranky And easily irritated. I am around people every day, tons of them. All of them have needs and burdens, Just like me. Desiring to help, I often come away feeling overwhelmed, Drained, Emotionally exhausted. In our pleasure-driven society,  where going places and doing things seems to be the hallmark of success, I am thankful for Our Lord's example of going away to be himself. He hid away from the “world,” so he could get recharged. “After he had dismissed them,  he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,” If the Son of God needed alone time, brothers and sisters, So, do we. I thank God for the times when I can be alone with him, Even if it means getting up early Or staying up late just to have that time. I find myself better able to help others, When I have found a place and time to b...

  Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.    Ezekiel 3:17 God told Ezekiel he was a watchman.   Watchman is an obsolete word.    However, in the ancient world, the watchman was the one in a position to see what was happening.   A city would build a wall. The watchman was the one who would stay on the wall watching to see if an enemy was coming.   If they saw an enemy, they would blow a trumpet and warn the people.   Their job, if you will, was to report what they saw.   They were to warn the people that the enemy was attacking.   Friends, we are God's watchmen.    We are the city on a hill, the perfect vantage point to see what is taking place.    We can see the brother caught in addiction.   We can see the sexual indiscretions.  We can see our friend ready to make a bad choice. ...

You wake up, crawl out your warm cozy bed,  make your way the coffee maker and get your coffee.   With your coffee in your hand,  you sit down to watch the weather before you face the day.    The weatherman tells you about a disturbance in the Atlantic.   Overnight, a storm is looming.  It may or may not come your direction.   You keep your eye on the storm.   You also prepare.   You will gather necessities such as food, toilet paper, water.    You board the windows and sandbag your house.   You may even have somewhere safe to go in the event the storm is too strong.   Often have an emergency kit.   A few things that you might need if the weather gets bad.   Sometimes life can throw a hurricane at us.   It's the kind of troubles and trials that we can see looming in the distance.    These are the things that you try to prepare for ahead of time...

    Some storms pop up without warning out of nowhere.    One moment the weather is fine and the sun is shining,   the next the dark clouds are rolling in,   the thunder roars and lightning streaks across the sky.    There is little time to prepare.    There is no time to prepare for this kind of storm.    They blow in and blow out fast.   In our lives, we may experience some pop-up storms.    They are the situations in our life that pop up without warning.    One moment our life is calm and serene   and in a second the storm has come barreling down on us.    There is no way for us to prepare for these storms.    They may bring rain or a tornado one never knows or a small shower.   The only thing we can do is hang on and wait out the storm.    Don't get me wrong,   they can wreak havoc but they rarely last a long time.    Maybe you're in the middle ...

The past few months have been horrible for me.  I have faced some storms that I never  thought I would face. My life has never been easy, but the things I face now seem  insurmountable.  I don't say this to gain pity or have anyone feel bad for me. Instead, I want  to encourage you with these words from the gospel of John.  " In this world you will have  trouble." Trials and troubles  are a certainty and we can expect nothing less.   We all face  storms and no one is exempt.   For some of us, the storm  is the betrayal of a friend.  For  others, It may be a financial setback.   Still, others face the storm  of divorce.  For many, it is  sickness or death.  If you are not facing a raging storm at the  moment,  hang on it's likely around  the next curve in the road.  Storms always bring so much  uncertainty.  Sometimes as the ...

  Quite a few years ago, we were given a silver minivan.   It was a lovely luxury van.   I really liked it, but honestly, I did not value it.   How do I know?   Well, It was always messy.   I was ashamed of how it looked and rarely ever offered anyone a ride in that automobile.   I couldn't be bothered with the task of keeping it clean.   Fast forward to today.   I have a little ford Fusion, it is quite clean.   I even go through the carwash at least once a month.   It is clean inside and out.   I have put some value on this vehicle.   I have had other things over the years, some I valued and some I didn't.   It's ok because they are just material things  and should not have a place of great importance anyhow.   The point is that we can choose whether something is valuable to us.   Imagine that two people both have baseballs sign...

  Examine   yourselves  to see whether you are in the faith; test  yourselves .  2Corinthians 13:5 Yesterday, we decided to go to the beach.   After parking and changing into more appropriate clothing,  we headed across the expanse of sand and into the water prepared to enjoy the day.   It was then that we encountered the phenomena  familiar to everyone who chooses  to dip into the lake, sea, or pool even on the hottest day of the summer.   The beautiful crystal clear lake felt cold.   Not a numbing bone-chilling cold, but cold all the same.   We carefully waded out, letting our bodies adjust to the temperature of the water,  laughing and teasing until we finally took the plunge and ducked under the water.  We swam and enjoyed the lake for some time, then we decided to lay on the sand.   Then we experienced this phenomenon in reverse.   As we started out of the water, ...