My Advice

Just some fun pieces of advise I wanted to pass on...

Create mantras for yourself.  Overuse a catch phrase even if you’re the only one who finds it funny.

Have a theme song. Something that makes you feel like a million bucks when you walk into a room!

Laugh when you fall.  ‘Cause life is just too darn short

Be kind to everyone you meet.

Be grateful for what you have right now AND for what is on it’s way. Say “thank you” in advance.

Forgive yourself for not being perfect. There is no such thing, so stop trying.

Find things to be in awe of.

Travel. Outside New York State

Sing out loud, even if badly. Those of you that know me, know I practice this often.

If you don’t have anything nice to say, you know the deal.

Tell someone that you love them. Yes, right now

Take more pictures, but remember to live life through your own eyes

Watch Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, and 30 Rock (in that order)

Jesus Friend of Sinners.

I have recently heard more and more people discussing who should be “allowed” in the Church and what the Church should protest or support. This topic is so disturbing to me because Jesus was a friend to sinners, the lowest of the low. Here we as a church are cutting down people in His name that we have labeled as sinners, but the sword was never ours to swing. It is not our place as imperfect humans to judge others for sins, it is our place though to be a source and beacon of the Lord’s Love for all to see and experience. Countless have been hurt by the Church and what we’re against. What we as a church should be exclaiming is what we are for, Jesus Christ. And if this post makes me sound like a hippy or that I’m promoting sin, you’ve got it all wrong. I know I simply cannot judge because I am a sinner, who will be asking the same mercy from our God.

He Will Provide.

Life has never been easy, but it has never been impossible. I am blessed in many ways but have had trials in some. I am happy and healthy now, but it has not always been that way. About a year ago I went through a period in my life that will stay with me, my family and my beloved friends for the rest of our earthly lives. I was told that God was testing me, and I had to keep the faith. I was told that God does not give us anything we cannot handle. I was told to pray for miracles, I did and began to rely on them. I was asking for miracles, which worked out in my favor, but I recently ran across a quote which changed my whole perspective of the experience. The quote reads "Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it." Cancer sucks to put it bluntly; I used to shudder at the sound of the word. I don't fear the word anymore or the disease, because we have a God who can breathe and leave a trail of galaxies, He's our Savior, our Defender, our Healer, He's our King. And I know He will not only shelter me from dangers, but give me the fearlessness to face them, He will still my pain and my heart, and give me peace. This I know because He's been doing it all along, just without me knowing it. 

Something to Think About.

I cannot say
"Our"
if my religion has no room for others and their needs.

I cannot say
"Father"
if I do not demonstrate this relationship in my daily life.

I cannot say
"Who Art In Heaven"
if all my interests and pursuits are in earthly things.

I cannot say
"Hallowed Be Thy Name"
if I, who am called by his name, am not holy.

I cannot say
"Thy Kingdom Come"
if I am unwilling to give up my own sovereignty
and accept the righteous reign of God.

I cannot say
"Thy Will Be Done"
if I am unwilling or resentful of having it in my life.

I cannot say
"On Earth As It Is In Heaven"
unless I am truly ready to give myself to his service here and now.

I cannot say
"Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread"
without expending honest effort for it or
by ignoring the genuine needs of my fellowmen.

I cannot say
"Forgive Us Our Trespasses As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us"
if I continue to harbor a grudge against anyone.

I cannot say
"Lead Us Not Into Temptation"
if I deliberately choose to remain in a situation where I am likely to be tempted.

I cannot say
"Deliver Us From Evil"
if I am not prepared to fight in the spiritual realm with the weapon of prayer.

Never let the Flame of Hope Go Out.

I recently came across this story at the perfect time. It's so encouarging!


The Story of the 4 Candles

The Four Candles burned slowly.

Their ambiance was so soft you could hear them speak...

The first candle said,
"I Am Peace, but these days, nobody wants to keep me lit."
Then Peace's flame slowly diminished and went out completely.

The second candle said,
"I Am Faith, but these days, I am no longer indispensable."
Then Faith's flame slowly diminished and went out completely.

Sadly the third candle spoke,
"I Am Love and I haven't the strength to stay lit any longer."
"People put me aside and don't understand my importance.

They even forget to love those who are nearest to them."
And waiting no longer, Love went out completely.
Suddenly... A child entered the room and saw the three candles no longer burning.
The child began to cry,

"Why are you not burning? 
You are supposed to stay lit until the end."
Then the Fourth Candle spoke gently to the little boy,

"Don't be afraid, for I Am Hope, and while I still burn,

we can re-light the other candles."
With shining eyes, the child took the Candle of Hope

and lit the other three candles.
Never let the Flame of Hope go out.

With Hope in your life, no matter how bad things may be,

Peace, Faith and Love may shine brightly once again.

Wearing Your Christanity.

We've all seen it- people who walk around with be-dazzled crosses swinging from their necks. Why do they do it? I would hope it means more than a fashion accessory to them. The reason I wear a cross is in hopes someone would ask me about it, and I would be able to share about our Savior and all He has done for me. Other people wear the cross as a physical reminder of the crucifixion and His sacrifice. However, I began to wonder if I should stop wearing it and demonstrate my Christianity through my actions and not rely on a piece of metal to show the world I am a Christian. I came to the conclusion it cannot hurt to do both. I wear a cross for three reasons now: to promote questions, to be a physical reminder of His sacrifice and to remind me that when I wear a cross I am representing Christians and my actions must reflect that.

The Heart of Christ

The Bible simply records Jesus breathed His last and died. Oddly, Islam officially teaches that Jesus did not die on the cross but merely swooned and passed out. If Jesus had not died, that would in and of itself be a miracle, especially in light of the fact that the soldiers were not yet finished ravaging his body.

Jesus hung on the cross for at least six hours—from the third hour to the ninth hour, when the darkness ended (Mark 15:25, 33). How long after that He breathed His last and died is not clear in Scripture. What is clear is the fact that if a victim remained alive on the cross for too long so that it interfered with another event such as a major holiday, it was customary to break the victim's legs, disabling him from pushing himself up on his cross to fill his lungs with air and thereby prolong his life. However, in accordance with the promise of Scripture, Jesus died quickly enough that His legs were not broken (Ps. 34:20; John 19:36).

We read in John’s gospel (John 19:34) that “one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.” C. Truman Davis writes concerning the medical significance of the blood and water, “We, therefore, have rather conclusive post-mortem evidence that Our Lord died, not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure…” Heart failure that began to develop in the garden when Jesus was sweating blood continued to build when he was rejected by many of his disciples and came to utter fruition when his people nailed him to a cross.

Jesus died with both a literal and metaphorical broken heart.

The Power of Our Thoughts.

People always tell me "it's all in your mind." To be perfectly honest it is all in our minds. Our victories and accomplishments start in the mind with our thoughts. We can think ourselves into a mess or we can think ourselves into a victory. Our thoughts become our life and future.

The way we talk to ourselves is one of the most important things in our life. We can never get beyond what we think especially what you think of ourselves. These thoughts may always be with us. However, if we will fill our mind with God's word and what He has to say about us, the old stuff will never come back. Because we find absolute truth in God's word.

The mind is the battlefield, it's where Satan attacks. Satan can get us to believe all of his lies and deceptions. What's so terrible about deception is instead of remaining a lie in our minds, it can become our reality if we let it. I've witnessed this first hand. I allowed the devil to fill my head with lies about how I wasn't good enough, that no one could ever love me, and that I was just damaged goods. These thoughts were with me for years, and I allowed it to happen. Even though those lies I allowed in to my mind are nothing like the life that God has given me, I could never get over them. Until someone finally told me recently that we have to think right before we can live right. God has a great plan for our life but if we can't believe it or let it happen, God won't be able to do it.

Get the Best of Evil.

Recently I've been thinking about and experiencing changes in friendship good an bad. After much prayer and reflection and the constant words of the Lord in my life I've come to this conclusion:

Love from the center of who you are; Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply.

Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Lord. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder.

Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down.

Don't hit back discover beauty in everyone. Don't insist on getting even, that's not for you to do. God says He will be the one to do the judging.

Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go feed them; or if he's thirsty find him something to drink. Your generosity will surprise them with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you, get the best of evil by doing good.

Awesome.

This just about sums up my entire walk with God.