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Everyday Life

On the Inside; On the Outside


 
Aug 06 2015
Love0

In the Silence of the Stillness

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Sabbath Place Hermitage

Sabbath Place Hermitage

This past weekend, I went away on retreat to a place called Christ in the Wilderness (http://citwretreat.com) outside of Stockton, Illinois. I typically try to go away for at least four days, but with the way my calendar was this year, I could only manage a weekend. I didn’t set my spiritual expectations too high due to the short two-day retreat. (It usually takes two-days just to wind down from the stresses of life before I can solely focus on my relationship with God.) But this time, it was different.

Being completely isolated in a secluded wilderness hermitage immediately placed me in God’s presence. I was surrounded by nature, birds, animals, and God’s love for me, and an immediate peacefulness enveloped me. Read More

Jul 02 2015
Love0

Naked I Stand

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Recently, when praying the Liturgy of the Hours, I read a verse from the Book of Job that suddenly reminded me of something that I was taught in one of my classes during diaconate formation. The verse was:

Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall go back again.

HumanSilhouetteI remember the teacher telling us that when we die, we will stand naked before the Lord – bearing everything about us. We come into this world with nothing, and we leave this world with nothing. It doesn’t matter how much or how little we possessed while on this earth. It is all about what we’ve done with our time here. Everything we do remains a part of us. It is like our skin is an invisible tattoo displaying everything we’ve done during our earthly lives.

Therefore, when we stand before the Lord naked, are we to be ashamed? Will we stand before our Savior with our hands covering our body parts, embarrassed for who we are?

Perhaps today is the day when we truly look at ourselves and see who we really are. Perhaps today is the day when we decide to begin anew. We need to live our lives in the way that God desired – not to walk around thinking that we’re better than others; but to live a life of humility, love, and service. We are to live a life where we love everyone, serve those in need, and do whatever is necessary in order to make a difference in the lives of others. Maybe then we can stand naked before our God, fully transparent, unafraid, and comfortable in our own skin.

Jun 28 2015
Love0

We’ve Sprung a Leak!

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bucket-holeDo you ever feel like the bucket of your life has a hole in it that leaks faster than you can fill it? No matter what you do, how hard you work, where you go, what you try, you just can’t fill it up. Work, play, friends, and family all leave you feeling empty, restless, and searching. You can’t seem to get enough. The outflow is greater than the inflow. You are left drained of life: tired and weak, frustrated and hopeless, angry and resentful, sorrowful and grieving, fearful that you will never have the life you want. If you know what that is like, perhaps you can relate to the hemorrhaging woman in today’s gospel  (Mark 5:21-43). Read More

Jun 25 2015
Love0

Building a Life on the Rock

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What kind of foundation are we building on? In today’s gospel (Matthew 7:21-29), Jesus wasn’t talking about building an actual house, but about building a life – a life that is meaningful – a life worth living. We could certainly apply this teaching to marriages and families too.

When we’re building a life, we want it to be a life that we can look back on at the end of it without any regrets. When we’re building a family, we want that family to be stable, strong, and full of joy and love. If we want to build a life or a household that will last, that will stand, that will make a difference; we first need to understand what Jesus means when he talks about storms. Read More

Jun 04 2015
Love0

Busy is as Busy Does

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We all are busy people. There is always something going on, somewhere to go or something to do. Between work, school, family commitments, sports, hobbies, leisure, etc., we barely have time to breathe. Our calendars fill up more quickly than a rain barrel in a thunderstorm. Let’s face it: we are insanely busy! And yet today, Jesus tells us that there are two additional things that we have to find time to do:

  1. Love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
  2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

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May 07 2015
Love0

Spring is in the Air

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Ah, Spring! That glorious season when the sun warms, temperatures steadily increase, trees begin to come alive again, birds sing their happy songs, the grass begins to regain it’s color, and a menagerie of ground vegetation emerges and blossoms from the shadows of winter. Ah, Spring! How lovely it is to have you back with us. But along with all of these joyful experiences of this season, a frightful and disturbing life form develops… Read More

Mar 11 2015
Love0

The Spirituality of the Activity Band

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activity bandFor my birthday this year, my wife Stephanie bought me one of those fitness activity bands. If you’re not familiar with these, it’s a small device that you wear on your wrist, and its main purpose is to monitor how active you are and to motivate you to get moving and get healthier. It will monitor the amount of steps you’ve taken, miles walked, calories burned, stairs climbed and even how long you’ve slept at night. And it even tells you what time it is! And, the one that I have also monitors my heart rate so I know when to increase my workout. I love this thing! And since I’ve received it, I have changed many of my old habits and have taken the necessary steps (pun intended) to improve my well-being.

And that’s exactly why I love Lent! It’s a time for us to monitor our daily spiritual activities. It’s a time for us to realize that we are not doing all the things that we should be doing (or perhaps doing things that we should not be doing). We need to check our heart to see if we are loving others, treating them with respect, and putting their needs before our own. We need to measure the amount of steps we’ve walked in another’s shoes, so we may not judge others according to our own standards or personal beliefs. We need to ask ourselves, “How many people have I burned by my hurtful or slanderous words?” We need to wake from our sleep and be rejuvenated in our faith and in our prayer life.

Now is the perfect time for us to be reconciled with God. We’re about mid-way through Lent – and it’s not too late! We can reconnect with the Lord. We can change our bad habits into good habits. We can become the people that God made us to be. We can be active and transform our lives for the better – but only if we want to do so.

The good news is that we don’t have to do this on our own. Jesus is right here to help us (and to get us moving)!

Behold, now is a very acceptable time; now is the day of salvation!

Mar 05 2015
Love1

Riding My Bike with the Lord

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Tandem bicycle“When I decided to give my life over to the care of Christ it seemed as though I was riding a tandem bike with Christ pedaling on the back seat. I kept steering the bike as best as I could. It was a hard and rocky road. So I kept pleading for Christ to pedal harder to help me make it through the dangerous areas. There were treacherous corners, steep mountains, large rocks and deep holes on the road I was traveling. Because of the complexity of the path I kept crashing the bike and running off the road. I kept getting injured and I often lost hope that I could follow such a difficult path. After several serious mishaps, my Savior asked, ‘Might I steer for a while?’ Reluctantly, I agreed and climbed on the back of the bike and began pedaling as best as I could. I watched in wonder as to the new way that Christ maneuvered the bicycle through the obstacles on the path. He was able to navigate through every danger ahead. If I ever felt frightened He would lean back and touch me with comforting assurance. When I needed rest, He would stop pedaling to give me living water and the bread of life. He guided me to places and people who helped me gain knowledge, healing, acceptance and joy. Now I understand, the power of the tandem bike is to let Christ do the steering and when I think that maybe I can’t do it anymore, Christ always smiles at me and reminds me to keep pedaling.” ~Author unknown

Today, I want you to reflect on this question: do you trust in Jesus for all your needs, in every area of your life, and for anything you may encounter? If we trust in the Lord He will be there to help with decisions, temptations, illness, social situations, and whatever else we may encounter. We will find renewed trust, hope, love, and a deeper relationship with Him. In good times, in tough times, or in a year of drought, we can be like the tree by the waters that does not fear or worry; whose leaves are always green and never fails to bear fruit. (Jeremiah 17:5-10)

As we continue on our Lenten journey, let us realize that it’s all about trusting God even when we can’t see what’s ahead for us. It’s about letting go of the handlebars of our lives and allowing God to take the lead. When we place our complete trust and confidence in the Lord, we will be blessed. That’s HIS promise! That’s OUR challenge!