Do You Ever Feel Like Mary Mc Fly?

“It’s not too late”, so many times I have heard these words ring in my ears, sadly too many times I have ignored these words. We all have times in our past when we wish we could go back in time and change things. If we could, should we? I don't know until the day of time travel is available I will not ponder the idea, but with all the issues Marty Mc Fly had on his adventures in time I think I will leave things as they are. That it though in a way. Sometimes we spend so much time on the past that we overlook what we can do in the present. I like where I am, no wait, I LOVE where I am. It could be better it could be worse, but the thing I love is that everyday I get to rise and learn and grow. 

It’s been a long road but I have learned so many valuable lessons along the way. The most important lesson I have learned, just love. Love and compassion are the Swiss Army Knife for life they can get you out of so many things and solve so many problems. I used to be the guy that was out for “Numero Uno”. I have learned the problem with that. I have fallen it to the pitfalls of following that creed. What got me out? Love, love and compassion got me out of the dark pit I was in. It took the perfect love of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross to pull me out. God doesn't care where you are or what you are in the middle of doing.

“It’s not too late”, he says.

God is like the most amazing GPS on the face of the planet. Wherever you are he can show you the way to get home to heaven. You make a couple more turns along the way, turn to God and he will help you get back on track. Follow God though and he will deliver you to the most direct way to peace, love and serenity. Keep following him, take Jesus Christ as your lord and savior, become baptized in the Holy Spirit and you will find yourself in heaven. Where life really begins. 

Remember though, this wont just happen to you. You have to make THE choice. 

You have too choose. Right now we live in a world where it’s okay to rip on Christians. We seem to be one of the last groups around that it is okay to discriminate against. Why, I don’t know, maybe because we take it. We love and have compassion and we turn the other cheek. Thing is we need to start standing strong. Actually for many of us the first thing we need to do is stand up and be counted. As Christians we need to band together and LOVE. We need to make it a priority to put love back in this world the way that Jesus teaches. We need to be noticed that Christians aren't just a group of people that go to church and then act like everyone else till next Sunday. We need to be able to be CONVICTED of being Christians. We need to love and act out faith in this world. We need people to point and say, “Yeah, I can tell that dude is a Christian. Look at ‘em. You call tell just by the way they act.”

We need to love God everyday and show the world that we love God everyday. We need to sing his praises. We need to invite God into every second of every day of our lives. The first way we start doing that is by building a relationship with God. We need to talk to him, and then most importantly we need to LISTEN to him. We need to find that 10 minutes a day to pray and give him permission to enter our lives. 

There is amazing abilities in us all which God gave us. We are all pieces in the is puzzle of life. When we come together God’s way we are strong. We are strong in our unity and can accomplish amazing things. We need to come together and the best place there is to do so is church. We need to worship together and love together, both God and each other. We need to make church the hub of or wheelhouse on one of the spokes on it. When we let God be the center of our daily lives not only do we find peace, hope, faith and love but it helps the rest of our lives become more centered, focused and fulfilling. I know we have all heard the stories about how some just attend Mass or goto church for social reasons. Let’s not allow these words to discourage us and shy away from God. Don’t worry about what the person next to you is at church for. If they are there for the wrong reasons, the awesome thing is that at least they are in the right place. It’s easier to reach those in the house of God then trying to pull the ones on the outside in, but that is our mission. 

We need to share. I learned long ago from my mother the importance of sharing. God is an awesome thing we shouldn't be hoarding him all for ourselves. We need to share our love for God and when we feel the Holy Spirit speaking to us we should invite others in. We should share our faith. We should share Jesus and his teachings. There is plenty of God to go around. He made sure of that. God isn't some sort of exclusive club. It’s for everyone. No one in God’s house is free of sin. That’s is why we are there, at least part of it. We are there to invite God into our life and share his wisdom. We are there to listen to the teachings of Jesus. We are there to be touched by the Holy Spirit to be strengthened for the coming days ahead. We are there to worship, show love and thanks. 

God loves you. God wants you. Jesus is waiting for you. There is so much you can do and we can do together with love, so all that junk in the past, take it to God. He loves you and will forgive you of anything. He wants to heal you and take you forward so that you can be the best you can be. This is the beginning, not the end. 

1 Maccabees 4:36-37, 52-59

36Then said Judas and his brothers, "Behold, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it." 37So all the army assembled and they went up to Mount Zion. 52Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year, 53they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering which they had built. 54At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals. 55All the people fell on their faces and worshiped and blessed Heaven, who had prospered them. 56So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and offered burnt offerings with gladness; they offered a sacrifice of deliverance and praise. 57They decorated the front of the temple with golden crowns and small shields; they restored the gates and the chambers for the priests, and furnished them with doors. 58There was very great gladness among the people, and the reproach of the Gentiles was removed. 59Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with gladness and joy for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev.

1 Chronicles 29:10-12

10Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly; and David said: "Blessed art thou, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. 10Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly; and David said: "Blessed art thou, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. 11Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. 11Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. 12Both riches and honor come from thee, and thou rulest over all. In thy hand are power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 12Both riches and honor come from thee, and thou rulest over all. In thy hand are power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

Luke 19:45-48

45And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46saying to them, "It is written, `My house shall be a house of prayer'; but you have made it a den of robbers." 47And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sought to destroy him; 48but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people hung upon his words.

Michael

Whisper Behind the Light

obbo_91@yahoo.com

Oh, Before You Throw That Thing

Ever have one of those days?  I have, actually I think sometimes that I have my share and a couple of other people’s share too. The days I wake up, loose my glasses, try to get out the door and it takes like an hour cause I keep forgetting things. I’m in a hurry but I need to get gas then I hit all the red lights and all my errands are on opposite sides of town. I get in the store but I left my wallet out in the truck. I get home to realize I didn’t hear my wife right on the cell and I was supposed to bring home lunch, and it just keeps getting better from there. I used to get mad so easily. I would yell and scream and sometimes throw things (and then have to buy new). Prayer comes in so handy. Nothing works better than a little alone time with God. It helps me find clarity when life is confusing. It helps me calm down with life is spinning out of control. Through prayer helps me find answers to problems. When I worry for others I goto prayer and God listens and even sometimes enlightens me on how to help those in need. God is my greatest cheerleader and through prayer he gives me the hope to succeed. Through prayer with God I find my faith strengthened so that I don’t doubt in times of question. I find talking to God through prayer he shows me how my charity can be put into action and where to go to help. Most of all prayer is awesome for asking for forgiveness when I do sin. Confession for me is the most amazing, wonderful, uplifting thing. My favorite place to pray is in my church, but God is everywhere he is at my beckon call 24/7. He doesn’t always do what I want. He says and does what I need. Going to mass I find such peace because it is like one GIANT prayer. I don’t know what I would do without God in my life. I know how it went before. I was lost, constantly trying to feed my needs. I didn’t care about anyone else but myself. I was a slave to vices that I thought defined my life as free. Now I have hope instead of fear. I have faith instead of feeling lost, and I have charity instead of being self-centered. It all started with prayer. God is waiting, he loves you and wants to hear from you. He doesn’t need fancy words. He just wants to hear what is in your heart. He just wants to help you feel whole. He wants you to feel as special as you are. He knows cause he made you. 

Luke 6:12-16

12In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; 14Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.