Amazing Grace Lyric Video

My Life 6 1 2017

A Story, the Walk Through the Forest

It was a beautiful summer day. A Father and his son were walking through a forest on a trail exploring. The canopy of the trees provided shade that kept the two cool. 

"Where are we going?", asked the son.
"You will see", the father replied.

The young boy's ideas began to run wild. He started to imagine what they might encounter when they reached their destination. It'd been a long hot summer, perhaps they were going to a pond or better yet a waterfall where they could cool off and play in the water. They journeyed further down the trail and the father made sure to take the time to pause and point things out. The young boy felt as if he'd walked into an  entirely different world. Even though he was local to the surroundings  he was unaware of all the different kinds of birds and animals and insects that live in the area. Finally the father and the son reached their destination, the boy couldn't believe his eyes. In the middle of this forest they came upon a clearing. The grass was soft and there was a cool breeze flowing through the area. Even though the sun shone through brightly it wasn't too hot, it was a perfect day, and yes on the opposite side of the clearing was a small waterfall and pool of water.

The young boy could barely hold in his excitement. He jumped up and down, clapped his hands and giggled with happiness. Both father and son took off their packs, set them on the ground, took off their socks, shoes and shirts and proceeded to play in the pool of water. The young boy could not have asked for a more exciting adventure. Soaking up all that nature had to offer they, finally decided to rest on the grassy banks of the waterfall. There they laid in the warm summer sun and dried them selves.

The father finally turned to his young son and said, "We probably should get going."
"Why?", the boy replied.
"It is beginning to become late in the day and we don't want to be stuck out here after dark", explained the father. 
"Please please!", begged the little boy, "Can we please stay a little bit longer? It is so wonderful out here!"
"No I am so sorry son. We really must get going", the father firmly stated.

Displeased the young boy got up with his father and began to get ready to depart. The young boy saw no reason to leave at that time. There was plenty of daylight, and still so much more fun to be had. The young boy began to dawdle to try and spend as much time in this beautiful area as he possibly could. The father could tell that his son was dragging his feet and coached him to hurry. The boy wanted nothing of it though, and moved slowly anyway. Finally both were ready to go and they began heading along their way. What was peculiar to the young boy though was that they were not taking the same trail back as which they came.

"Why are we going this way?" the young boy inquired.
"This way will be quicker son. Trust me, we need to hurry up and get back before nightfall.", replied the father.

The son still sore from having to leave the beautiful waterfall so early in the day continue to drag his feet. To the young lad it seemed as if the father had no idea what he was doing or where he was going. The trail that they were on team to be taking them out of their way and was going to be making for a longer trip. They could have saved time by going back the way they came in, and that would've  allowed them to spend more time at the beautiful waterfall. Noticing the sour mood of the young boy and how slowly he was moving, the father decided to pick up the pace and stop pointing out things in the forest. Continuing on, things got more difficult the trail narrowed and they encountered a steep grade that they had to walk up. On top of this it seemed as if it seemed as though it was later in the day than the boy had realized, and the light was becoming more and more scarce. 

"Stay close son, nightfall is near", explain the father, "This is the last place that you would want to be on your own son."


The once beautiful and majestic forest slowly began to change before the young boy's eyes. With the sun setting, the shadows began to rise and slowly a blanket of darkness began to cover the entire forest. What little light there was began reflecting off the leaves of the trees and it almost appeared as if they were surrounded by a crowd of night lit eyes constantly staring at them. Even the sounds in the forest began to change. The birds that were once chirping quite happily became silent. The nighttime sounds began to take over the forest and the boys fear begin to swell in the bottom of this stomach. The air was cooling, and the young boy could feel his legs begin to ache. He was tired and was beginning to feel pains of hunger. Young boys father was right in front of him and he could see him fairly well so he paused for a moment to look in his pack and try to find his canteen. 

"Please son, it is no time to stop now", asked the father, "Let's keep going."

But the young boy it was so thirsty you continue to look for his canteen. He did not realize it but his father had continued on. Finally, he found the canteen in the bottom of his backpack where it had been thrown hastily. Cracking the lid open, putting the rim to his lips and throwing it into the air the boy felt nothing come out of the canteen. It seemed that in the frustration and displeased-meant he forgot to fill his canteen before leaving the waterfall. The boy quickly put the cap back on his canteen and threw everything back into his backpack and looked up, his father was gone. The boy panicked, he could barely see. Barely making out the trail he scrambled up the hill, up the trail as fast as he could. The texture of the trail began to change, he could feel it getting slick underneath his boots. Now he was heading downhill and as he encountered a sharp turn his feet slid out from underneath him. His body hit the ground, it felt as if rocks and sticks were piercing his right side. His body began to roll down the hill off the trail in a direction he did not know. Once he had stopped rolling he quickly got up, but in his fall he had rolled his ankle, and it was very sore so he had to favor it. Putting most of the weight on his left leg he began to look around to get his bearings. Has he looked back in the direction of the trail he heard a rustling of leaves.

"Father!", the young boy exclaimed.

There was no reply. The boy called out again to his father very loud and in a more panicked tone. Young boy continued to hear leaves tussle. It sounded as if they were getting closer but the movement  also slowed. The boys heart sank and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end as he heard a faint growling noise. Panicking the boy took off in the direction of the trail it was a steep climb. Quickly, he looked around and try to get his bearings and continued the way he thought he should. 

Why did he do this? The boy started to feel so regretful. He should've listened when his father said it was time to go. He shouldn't have dragged his feet. The boy began to think that if he had just merely listened in the first place he probably would be home safe with his father right now, reminiscing about the wonderful time they had at the beautiful waterfall. Working hard to catch up and stay on the trail the boy began to lose his breath. Where was his father? Wasn't he looking for him? How could a beautiful day have gone so wrong? Suddenly he tripped over a tree root protruding up from the ground in the middle of the trail. The boy fell to the ground hard. The boy just laid there he felt as if he just wanted to give up. Tears began to well up in the boys eyes and roll down the sides of his face. Lost, confused, tired, hungry and aching all over the boy laid there not knowing what to do. The boy longed for his father like never before. He wished his father was with him. His father always knew what to do.

All of a sudden he began to hear the rustling leaves again in the faint distance. The boy stopped breathing, fear crept over every inch of his body. His heart began to pound so hard it felt like it was not going to be able to stay inside of his chest. All of his senses were on high alert and it felt like every single hair on his body was standing straight up. The wrestling got louder and louder as it seem to get closer and closer to him. Suddenly something grabbed his left shoulder from behind and jerked him hard. The boy began to flail about, but there was a steel grip on his shoulder and he could not get away. 

"Thank goodness!",  his father explained, "I finally found you!"

Realizing that his father had finally found him, the boy leapt up and grabbed his father as tight as he possibly could. Seeing that his son was hurt the father picked up his son in his arms and began to walk down the trail.

"It's all right. It's all right son. It's OK now, you can relax", the father said he could feel his young son trembling in his arms. Slowly the reality of his safety was realized by the young boy. His body stopped shaking and relaxed in his father's strong arms. 

The boy finally began to speak, "I'm so sorry Dad. I'm so sorry. I love you. I should have never left you. I should have never stopped. I should have paid attention and left when you said it was time to go. I didn't realize it was going to get so dark so quickly."

The boy trying to continue but the father interrupted, "Hey, hey there, please calm down. It is OK I have you now. You know you were really never that far away from me. I knew you would be OK, but when I heard you call for me I came for you immediately." 

The father finally came around the last bend in the trail, and there sat their vehicle. It seems as though the boy was actually only about two minutes away from the car. The boy was quite astonished. It felt as if he was miles away from where he needed to be. Setting his boy down in the passenger seat of the car the boy refused to let go. The father knelt beside the car and allowed his son to just sit there and hold him. Finally the boy's grip relaxed for he had fallen asleep. The father laid the boy back into the seat, buckled him up, got in the car and they were off heading home with another adventure completed. 

As children we all think we know what's best. We don't want the good times to end. Many times we only see five minutes in front of our face, and how quickly it is that we can get ourselves into trouble, but God is always there with us. We only have to call. 

Am 3:1-8; 4:11-12

Hear this word, O children of Israel, that the LORD pronounces over you,
over the whole family that I brought up from the land of Egypt:

You alone have I favored,
more than all the families of the earth;
Therefore I will punish you
for all your crimes.

Do two walk together
unless they have agreed?
Does a lion roar in the forest
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from its den
unless it has seized something?
Is a bird brought to earth by a snare
when there is no lure for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground
without catching anything?
If the trumpet sounds in a city,
will the people not be frightened?
If evil befalls a city,
has not the LORD caused it?
Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing
without revealing his plan
to his servants, the prophets.

The lion roars—
who will not be afraid!
The Lord GOD speaks—
who will not prophesy!

I brought upon you such upheaval
as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah:
you were like a brand plucked from the fire;
Yet you returned not to me,
says the LORD.

So now I will deal with you in my own way, O Israel!
and since I will deal thus with you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel.

Mt 8:23-27

As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?”

Can You See What's Wrong and How Will You Fix It?

Being a man I have learned one thing about myself, and that is that I am a very stubborn person.  I can't tell you how many times I've gone to try and fix something, and tried to do it the wrong way. There'll be times where it seems like my life freeze frames. I'll be in the store looking at something in deep down and in my gut I just know that the part I have in my hand will not fix what I need to fix. But do I listen to my gut? No I buy the piece anyway, take it home, I unwrap it and try to put it to use and with no surprise it doesn't work. Then I get the great opportunity to exercise my patience and not get upset, use a bunch of cursewords because I am very frustrated. In reflection I could only imagine how much smoother my life would be if I would just listen to my gut more often. Here in America we live in a culture where everything is instant access. It's my belief anymore that we are so wrapped up in our instant access culture that we by and large lost our ability to exercise patience. Consequently we put ourselves in situations that are rather challenging to say the least. 

That "gut" that I have is a gift from God. Not only that but God doesn't like rushing, in fact truth be told, God really likes you to take your time. There are very few things in the Bible that happen in an instant. Sure there were those people that Jesus healed in what seemed like a snap of the finger, but so much happened over a long period of time. When things completely got out of whack, and he decided to start over, God had it rain for 40 days and 40 nights. When God decided to free the Israelites he had them journey for 40 years on a trip that really only had to take a couple of weeks. When Jesus raised his best friend Lazarus from the dead, he didn't go immediately when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he waited till the guy had been dead for four days. Fact is God wants you to move slowly and purposefully through this life. Quick and hasty is the way of the sinful person. As I move through my days anymore I am constantly trying to slow myself down. I work very hard to examine everything that's going on around me. I pause and reflect and I ask for God's guidance often. If you take your time the good things in this world are very apparent. Sure the wrong way might look cool and flashy but beneath the sheen of excitement is a rotten core and can be seen if you examine it closely. 

MT 7:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.”

Let's face it though we're all human, we all make mistakes. Sometimes we get off course, whether it happens slowly overtime, or just because we've never been taught the right way from the beginning. Fact is God loves you and he wants to help you be the best you can be. He's not that old hippie dude hanging out on the sidelines saying, "Yeah man do whatever you want it's cool." He's that coach yelling from the sidelines encouraging you on when you want to give up. God wants to be the guy in the locker room at halftime building you up so that you can go out and conquer your adversities. God wants to train with you every day, holding the towel for when you need to wipe your brow, holding the bottle of water for when you need to rehydrate and to be the person to say "when" so you don't push yourself to hard. 

Why? Because God loves you.

If you don't have a strong relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit I invite you to pause this moment. Pause and pray to him. You don't have to use fancy words just speak from your heart. Tell him that you want a relationship with him. Tell him what you need help with. Just open up, speak from the heart and let go. God loves you he's waiting for you right now. 

Next I would highly recommend spending time with his word. The Bible can be a little daunting, my recommendation would be to start in the New Testament. Start with the Gospels the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These books are easy to digest and are very straightforward. 

Thirdly I would recommend that you find a spiritual mentor. You need to find someone that you can speak to face-to-face. I would highly recommend finding a church and start attending services or mass. I know this can be intimidating, but the fact of the matter is is if you want to really develop a closer relationship with God, not only do you need to pray and read your Bible but you also need the community to help you as well. When you start on this journey you're going to be faced with a lot of temptation. You are going to be tempted to quit hard-core. Satan's gonna throw everything he's got at you. Satan will show you the inconveniences of praying, reading the Bible and going to church. The more determined you are the bigger the temptations he'll throw at you. This is where being a member of a church and having a group of new friends who are also Christian come in handy. Your won't necessarily have to get rid of your old friends, but you may choose to because they may try to talk you out of your new lifestyle. For me, all my old friends fell away rather quickly when I adjusted my life and focused on God. I wasn't really given a choice. 

Basically what this all comes down to is realizing that God's way is the true way. It's about realizing that God's way is not just a bunch of rules and regulations, but is actually about living a life of love, feeling loved and spreading love through the world. 

But you have to make the choice, otherwise your life will just be more of the same old, same old. 

2 KGS 22:8-13; 23:1-3

The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan,
“I have found the book of the law in the temple of the LORD.”
Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.
Then the scribe Shaphan went to the king and reported,
“Your servants have smelted down the metals available in the temple
and have consigned them to the master workmen
in the temple of the LORD.”
The scribe Shaphan also informed the king
that the priest Hilkiah had given him a book,
and then read it aloud to the king.
When the king heard the contents of the book of the law,
he tore his garments and issued this command to Hilkiah the priest,
Ahikam, son of Shaphan,
Achbor, son of Micaiah, the scribe Shaphan,
and the king’s servant Asaiah:
“Go, consult the LORD for me, for the people, for all Judah,
about the stipulations of this book that has been found,
for the anger of the LORD has been set furiously ablaze against us,
because our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book,
nor fulfill our written obligations.”

The king then had all the elders of Judah
and of Jerusalem summoned together before him.
The king went up to the temple of the LORD with all the men of Judah
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
priests, prophets, and all the people, small and great.
He had the entire contents of the book of the covenant
that had been found in the temple of the LORD, read out to them.
Standing by the column, the king made a covenant before the LORD
that they would follow him
and observe his ordinances, statutes and decrees
with their whole hearts and souls,
thus reviving the terms of the covenant
which were written in this book.
And all the people stood as participants in the covenant.

Are You Throwing Good Money Away?

You know there are a few things in life that you will never forget. One thing that I will never forget is the first car that I bought with my own money. It was a Chevy, don't ask me why but for some reason I was in enamored with that car. I liked the grip the steering wheel, the seats were totally comfortable and most of all it was in my price range. I remember when I first got that car I took care of it, it was my most prized possession. Overtime though being young I did work hard to push it to it's limits.  Not wanting to part with my prized possession, I started dumping money into it. Needless to say it was a lost cause, and before long I had to part with that dear beauty. At the end it had gotten to the point where it seems like no matter how much money I invested in the car, it was never enough to keep it going.

Life it seems is very similar. 

One of the beautiful things about this life is all the different people we get to meet. Some people I have met have been very true to me. Others I have met, not so dependable. As a young adult one of the first things you need to learn is how to notice who your true friends are. Building a relationship is not an inexpensive matter. Sure you may spend some money spending time with someone, but what is more costly is your compassion, your love on those you hold dear. While I have always realized that money is important I have never put too much stock in currency. To me money comes and goes and is really irrelevant. For those that are wondering I do save for retirement and I do like nice things, but I hold relationships much more dear than any amount of money or coin that might be floating around in my pocket or bank account. 

Money can't buy happiness, we have all heard this, true money can buy you choices but it truly cannot buy you happiness. I have been dirt poor and I've had a lot of money. The only difference between those two life situations were the type people that surrounded me. If you have a lot of money and are surrounded by people who love and truly care about you life is great. If you have a lot of money and you're surrounded by people who are just trying to get things from you and are trying to steal from you it is horrible, empty and cold. If you are dirt poor and you were surrounded by people who do not care about you it is just as horrible, empty and cold. However if you are dirt poor and you were surrounded by people who truly care about you and you feel like a king.  

Thing is you have to realize who you are, what's going on and what's important.

People talk about money a lot. What I find is truly valuable now is time. Anymore I try to focus really hard on how I spend my time. I have given up, to some degree, spending my time chasing riches. I have given up spending time chasing empty pleasures. My number one priority at this point my life is spending my time with God. When I pray to God I find peace. I find that the more time I spend developing a deeper relationship with my God the happier I am. I find the more time I invest in reading the Gospels and the other books of the Bible the stronger my interpersonal relationships on this earth are. I find that the more I donate to worthy causes the happier I am. It's like its Christmas Day all over again and I get that same thrill watching those I love open the gifts I got them. I find that the more I pray and meditate the more peaceful and serene I become. 

No longer do I chase fast cars, fast women, easy money and cheap thrills. Chasing such empty pleasures leave me hollow and cold inside after the pleasure is gone. In contrast, when I get done praying, reading my Bible, spending time with my children or attending mass on Sunday I feel peace and serenity that not only lasts during the action but that continues on into my days to come. 

So how do you spend your time? Is it satisfying? Are you looking for something better?

Know this, God loves you and he wants to spend time with you. You are his child and he loves you like no other. He wants to share everything that he has with you. Does that mean that you'll never have a bad day? No, but with God in your life you'll find you can conquer anything. I encourage you this, stop wasting your time on worldly pleasures, they're empty. Your time on this earth is precious. Do not waste it. One day you will die and your soul will need a place to go. You can go to heaven or you can go to hell. I don't mean to be rude, but it is that simple. 

Anybody can chase the pleasures on this earth, and know this there's nothing wrong with pleasure. God made food to taste wonderful. God put beautiful things on this planet for you to enjoy. God put beautiful people on this planet so that you would not be alone and find pleasure in their company, but these are gifts that should be respected. These are gifts that should be treasured. These are not gifts that should be treated like cheap thrills which are thrown away as soon as they are consumed and you have no more use for them.

The resources on this planet should be treasured and respected.

Each person that you meet is a gift and should be treasured and respected. 

Imagine you gave your dear friend and amazing treasure or a large sum of money. If on the next day you saw them wasting that treasure or throwing that money away on empty thrills as is if it was nothing how would you feel? 

I would imagine you would be hurt. I would imagine that you would feel like your precious gift was not appreciated. That is how God feels when we waste the gifts he gives us each day. But know this, God is waiting for you right now. His son Jesus is waiting for you to. God Jesus and the Holy Spirit all have so much more to give and to share. They do not want to see you waste your life. They want to see you rise up, become strong and to be the person they know you can be. It all starts with you though by making that choice, by asking God to come into your life taking Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and asking the Holy Spirit for help each and every day. Trust me what you have waiting for you on this earth if you bring them into your life pales in comparison to any quick pleasure you could chase down on your own. In heaven you will find a sheer Utopia that cannot even be imagined. Anyone can live a life of sin, it's easy, but just like anything else in life if you want to be a champion and enter the gates of heaven you will have to live a life of discipline. The best part is you have the world's best life coach waiting for you. All you have to do is call. 

So how will you treat your relationship with God? Will you cherish him like your most prized possession, or will you let it rot and rust?

MT 7:6, 12-14

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.

“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.”

Song - "Set Me Free"

  

This is and original song that I found back in the archives. It is a song that describes my return to my faith, and stepping back into a church for the first time. I was ashamed but knew I had nowhere else to go. I knew at that point that if I continued to live a life of mere pleasure I would only die.

“Set Me Free”

Here I walk this lonely road
Looking for hope to shed this pain
All the anger and desperation
Make me a prisoner who's locked and chained
But I trod and I believe
That there is something that will set me free
I heard the call so I go
I wanted bad so much I will bleed

Set me free set me free
I want to love I want to see
Set me free set me free
This world’s too cold and I want to breathe

I heard them bills they were calling me
I began to shake would they let me in
Through the door so anxiously
I sat down I could only breathe
They are he was up on that cross
Full of pain just like me
So they spoke and then they sang
About his love and it could set me free

Set me free set me free
I want to love I want to see
Set me free set me free
This world’s too cold and I want to breathe

I don't deserve you
All the pain that I've put him through
Oh I weep as I kneel in pain
Forgive Ness it has set me free

Set me free set me free
I want to love I want to see
Set me free set me free
This world’s too cold and I want to breathe

So I stand walk out the door
With his fire deep inside
I'm still a man but now I'm free

He's by my side please don't leave me

Set me free set me free
I want to love I want to see
Set me free set me free
This world’s too cold and I want to breathe
Set me free

The Pleasure in Simplifying

This life is absolutely amazing. I thank each day that I am here. When I look out at the horizon and I see its beauty, I realize how much is possible. 

Problem is, sometimes I've taken in so much I over react. 

We live in a culture today where it seems like we're trying to cram as much as we possibly can into each and every second. Often times I chuckle and I think that America's slogan should be something along the lines of, "The most bang for your buck." Here in America we live in a culture where so much is possible and so much of it seems like it's available instantly. So much so that we get immensely annoyed when they ask us to pull up to the yellow line at the drive-through. It seems like our culture wants everything and it wants it right now.

A few years ago I decided I wanted to seriously pursue my musical career. I had dreams and aspirations of becoming a big-time songwriter. I made a demo some of my songs and I started sending them out. I realized that many of the people I would be contacting would have a lot more experience in the music industry than myself. So one of my requests was to ask for any feedback on the music that I created. One of the professionals that I contacted was kind enough to reply and ensued a dialogue with me. They had some very poignant feedback and asked what I was working on at the moment. I explained that I was working on three different albums at the same time. I was working on a pop type album, an alternative rock record and  a heavy metal album. Said professional asked me who I was working with and I explained that I was working alone. I stated that I had my own studio and that I would write, record, engineer, produce and play all the instruments myself. 

I can only imagine the facial expressions and the initial reaction on the other side of the email. The message I received in return was that I needed to simplify. The response was professionally written and with much compassion. Basically I was told that I was taking on too much at one time. I was told that it's a common theme that talented people often take on too much. Said talented person will become moderately successful in one area and will take on other projects, for their moderate success in one area leads to another and a talented person will become a jack of all trades's. Unfortunately they will become expert at none and mediocre in all. 

Let's just say that's not exactly what I wanted to hear, but after much thought realized the wisdom in those words.

As I've tried to become a better person a better Christian, a better Catholic, I have heard the same thing again and again and again. 

Simplify

We have about 7.4 billion people on this planet, no one needs to be a jack of all trades. There is plenty of talent to go around. Do I believe that means we shouldn't pursue the things we are passionate about? No, but I think we should be mindful that the more things we take on the less we become good at everything we do try to do. It is quite impossible for me to be the best father, the best husband I can possibly be all at the same time trying to be a Grammy award-winning song writer, a world renowned blogger and a expert level luthier. 

If I want to be successful I need to simplify.

Over the past few years I've decided to put all my focus on God.  I work each day trying to build the best relationship with Jesus Christ I possibly can. I make sure that I consult the Holy Spirit on a regular basis and try to listen to his guidance as I go through each day. I try to take everything in my wonderful beautiful life and point it towards God. That is how I try to simplify. I realized some time ago that Gods number one priority is for me to be happy. Just as I am with my children I realize that God is with his children he wants them to be happy.  There is enough craziness going on in this world. The last thing God wants is for you to over complicate your life. 

God's desire is simple. He wants 2 things, one for you to love him with all your mind body and soul, and two for you to love everyone you meet as you love yourself. Now that is a pretty tall order but it is simple. I find that life is always so much more peaceful when I leave the complex things up to God. When I love my children I try to love them as God wants me to. I love my wife as God wants me to. Whether I am at my day job, making music, fixing things around the house or merely relaxing I try to do all things as God wants me to. When I find that I am becoming stressed out many times it is because I am trying to put too many things in my life and those things are crowding God out. 

God wants you to simplify he wants you to bring everything to him. He wants to have a close relationship with you. He wants you to have a very close relationship with his son Jesus. God wants you to call on his Holy Spirit whenever you are in need. God desires nothing more than to be there for you at all times. 

He loves you that much. 

I realize now that when I spend time with God, when I pray to him, I don't have to try and sound grand and great. God already knows what's on my mind before I speak, but he wants to hear it from me. He desires your company just as he desires mine. So when I speak with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit I keep it simple. I don't try to use big pretty frilly words. I don't try to impress him with my vocabulary. I just lay it all out there on the line, plain and simple.

I'm going to warn you though simplicity isn't simple, especially when you live in a culture that encourages you to get the most bang out of your buck. I don't think that there has been a month that has gone by where I haven't had to press pause, examine what I'm doing, where I want to go and then simplify again. 

But it's OK God is always there waiting to help. 

He's waiting for you right now to talk to you, to spend time with you, to help you find the simple life that will make you happy.

MT 6:7-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This is how you are to pray:

‘Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’

“If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

Playing the "Being Board" Game

Summertime is always a fun time in my house. It can prove to be a true challenge. Being in the 21st-century it's a bit fun to watch my children have first world problems. Like any other youngster from a lower middle-class family my children love video games. Myself I never had video games. I know I'm dating myself here, but I believe the closest thing I had to a video game was when my parents bought a Commodore 64, and I got to play "Where in the World is Carmen Sanediego." Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't want my kids to have fun, however I find it important to balance their screen time versus non-screen time in a ratio of 1 to 10. Every summer there is always that moment where I tell them that, "Hey it's time to shut the screens off now." Inevitably one of my children will flop down on the couch with a disgusted look on their face, their arms crossed and staring as if they have no idea what dimension they are in. 

Of course I will ask them, "What's wrong?"
"I'm bored", they will reply.
"Really?" I reply, "That's great! I have plenty of chores that need done around the house if you're bored. You can help me."
"No!",  They will reply with such fervor I swear I can feel the walls in the house shaking.

I will sit down with them and then explain that they have a multitude of things to break their boredom that day. After rattling off a long list of things that they can do and reminding them that they have multiple brothers, a sister and friends that they can play with they usually come around and run off and have lots of fun. So often my children see what's right in front of their face, and they do not realize the beautiful world that surrounds them. Funny thing is I see many adults who have the same perception of life. As human beings we want to belong. We find a group of friends or coworkers and we stay in that tight knit group. Venturing out and meeting new people is not a common practice I see in this day and age. Belonging to a group is great. It gives you a sense of belonging and a home away from home. All too often though we become satisfied and our close knit network becomes a closed network. 

Recently here in America we have experienced a horrible tragedy. In Orlando Florida 50 people were killed and nearly 50 more were injured in a terrorist attack. Social media is fired up right now over arguments of gun control, terrorists, LGTB and other such issues. When such horrible, drastic things happen deep rooted beliefs rise, and instead of unifying in supporting each other we seem to tear ourselves apart. One could easily sit and examine the tragedy and come to a variety of conclusions why it occurred. For me I see a situation that displays a lack of love and misunderstanding. I know many will read my words and scoff. I will be called a hippie, pie in the sky idiot or worse. 

It's quite all right I'm used to it.

Fact is, I'm a Christian, and to me the situation seems simple. Jesus teaches me to love. Jesus teaches that I should love everyone that I meet. I am Catholic, and we get a lot of flack, but my Catholicism teaches me that I should also love everyone I meet and discriminate against no one. Jesus preaches something that is rather countercultural, especially in this day and age. Jesus teaches me that I should love my enemy and pray for them. The world today says that I should get even. The world today says that everything should be fair. The world today seems like it's very much in line with the Old Testament teaching, "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Problem is, that teaching is a bit misunderstood.

God told us, "an eye for an eye tooth for a tooth", so that we would know the maximum to which we could punish, not the minimum. God wants us to love. That's why he sent his son Jesus down to earth, to teach us to love. I am sure that someone out there at this point would remark that I am trying to tell you that no one should ever defend themselves.

That is not what I'm saying, and that is not what God teaches.

God wants us to defend ourselves against evil. God wants us to protect those that we love. Know this though, Jesus came to teach us to love our enemies. Some might be wondering how that's supposed to work in the world today. It starts by saying hello to strangers on the street, locking eyes with them smiling and saying hello. It starts with small gestures like helping  elderly women in the grocery store parking lot and helping her put her bags in her car. It involves helping those who are in need, whether that means giving money to the homeless man on the corner, donating time at the soup kitchen or helping people at the local food pantry. It means reaching out to that person whom you know very well or maybe very little who is gone through a major loss in their life. It means "pressing the pause button" when you hear someone say something you vehemently disagree with. It means holding your thoughts, listening to what the other has to say and then replying with compassion. I love America because we open the door to everyone. Even though some are scared and believe that we should alter our immigration policy right now we still allow immigrants from all over the world. That is a form of compassion. Do we need to be careful and make sure that we protect all who are here now? 

Yes, but I do not believe that that means we should just blindly close our borders to those in need with no regard for pain and suffering in the world. 

If we can put a man on the moon, create the Internet and solve worldwide medical problems, we can surely develop a system that will prevent evil from entering our country. 

Jesus asked us to love our neighbor. Why, because when you love someone it's harder for them to want to put a bullet in your head. You are no longer a faceless soulless creature which matters not if you are destroyed. If you love your neighbor and build relationships, you become a human being to your neighbor. You turn into a person that has a face, a soul, you become someone that matters. Does that mean that if you love everyone you meet and you pray for everyone you meet, that you will extinguish all evil in the world?

No it does not, but I think you will be surprised by how much evil would recede in the world. 

Think about someone you love very much. Picture them in your mind. Think about some of the beautiful times you've had with that person. Now, how would you react if you had a strong disagreement with them?

Would you treat them with utter disrespect?

Would you spit in their face?

Would you physically beat them?
Would you put a gun to their head and pull the trigger?
Would you chop off their head while they're still alive?

I believe the reason that Jesus wants us to love all and pray for all, especially our enemies, is that if we can learn to have a connection with our enemies, we can overcome our differences and if we can't we can at least disagree in a manner which is with compassion. There is so much you can do to a person if you have no compassion for them. 

If you do not have compassion for someone, they are no longer a human being to you, they are just another creature like a bug. How many times have you paused and thought twice about squishing a bug that was bothering you?

We have enough hate and contempt in this world. Really, how has anyone ever benefited from hate and contempt? How has anyone come to benefit from completely detaching themselves from society in general? Jesus wants us to breed love and compassion. He wants each of us to take the time to find value in every person we meet. Jesus wants us all to be interconnected. Why? Tell me the last time you felt unhappy when you were in a compassionate relationship with someone that was working well. At the end of the day God wants us to be happy. God knows that will be happy when we have loving compassionate relationships with everyone we meet. Loving someone is not hard. Loving someone you don't know isn't really that hard. What makes it hard is our ego. We want our way our idea to be right. We want to chuck the idea of pluralism aside and for everyone to believe and feel just like we do. 

The ideal that Jesus wanted us to achieve is not easy. We definitely have a lot of work to do. But God is not just hanging us out to dry, letting us figure it out for ourselves. Every day the Holy Spirit is waiting to enter your life. The Holy Spirit has gifts to share that can help you overcome anyone and anything. But like most things in life, you will never receive unless you ask. God doesn't hold anything back from you unless it is not good for you. 

I am sure that there are some at this point wondering why God would let horrible things happen. The answer is free will. God doesn't force us to do anything. God let's us choose. Just as a misguided young man chose to enter nightclub and kill at free will, God allows us to choose how we will react to it. Will we pause and decide to react with compassion, or will we let our hatred boil and respond in rage? Will we seek those who committed crimes and find justice, or will we carpet bomb cities looking for retribution?


When my children are "bored" because I won't let them play video games they have two choices, they can sit by themselves and stew and try and figure out how they will get even with me, or they can walk through the house, find one of their siblings, have fun and love. Ironically I never see them having any fun when they sit and stew, yet it only takes mere moments before giggles and laughing flow through the house when they decide to spend time with those they choose to love. 

Love is a choice not a feeling.
What will we choose?
Anyone can stick with what they know.
A brave person reaches out. 
Courageous are those who breakthrough barriers and spread love on this beautiful earth.

MT 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

What's Under the Wrapping Paper?

To be hated or disliked is hurtful thing. What hurts even worse though is when you know someone hates you or dislikes you, yet they put on a front that they absolutely love you. It's kind of like being five years old and coming downstairs Christmas morning to see presents beautifully wrapped with the most magnificent wrapping paper you've ever seen, only to find after you eagerly open them that they're merely boxes full of rotten trash. No doubt we don't want to be loved, but we all want to be loved truly. We want to honestly be loved. God is no different, if you show up Sunday morning and your tithing into the collection plate, but in the back of your mind you are despising the fact that you're giving money to God your gift means nothing. 

Know this, God can see into your heart always. Does God want you to help the poor? Yes, but he also wants you to do it with a loving heart. At the end of the day God wants you to love, and he wants you to give out of your love. It's really that simple. I remember reading the Old Testament and the story of Cain and Abel. Able would pick the best youngling from his flock, and sacrifice it to God full of love and thankful for all God provided. Cain on the other hand, he sacrificed from his field. He gave burnt offerings to God but he did so with anger in his heart. He despised God and didn't understand why he should have to give from his hard work. He saw burning his best crops a waste. 

You are a child of God, and on top of that God wants to be your best friend. Now I know many of us do not live a perfect life, or at least we think that our life is not perfect. For me I am a simple humble man. I am a sinner. I admit it freely. I am not perfect by any means. I am not someone to look up to. If you want to look up to somebody look to Jesus Christ. There many times I have held back from God and I am ashamed of that. I have so much. I have air in my lungs, vision in my eyes, sound in my ears, a heart beating in my chest. I have a beautiful talented wife that cares for me. I have wonderful children who teach me how awesome this life is each passing week. Do I want more? Yes, we all want more, but for what? I try very hard anymore when I find myself wanting really nice things, maybe a new car, a vacation and better house or whatever, I try to pause now and look at what I do actually have. When I examine myself what I have, what I can do, where I live, I am humbled. I am grateful to God for all that he has blessed me with. I find the more I open myself up to God, the more I realize how much I have, the more that I receive. The big secret that's really not a secret is that God doesn't really hold much back from you. Often times when we don't have the things that we want, not the things we need but the things that we want it, is because we are holding ourselves back not God. 

God is waiting for you every moment of every single day. God is waiting to spend time with you right now. Why, because he loves you, because he created you out of love. It took me a bit to swallow this, but I don't need to be here. God allowed me to be here. He created me because he loves. This idea only came clear to me after I've had a few of my own children. I've had people ask me before why I have children. Really, the only explanation that I can give that kind of makes sense is that I love my wife so much, and she loves me so much that we couldn't contain our love anymore inside ourselves. 

Yeah they're trying times being a parent. Sometimes you wonder if you know what you're doing. You wonder if you're good enough to be a parent. You worry till the end of time as to whether your child is going to be OK. However when I actually sit down and think about my children, my heart swells with love, pride and appreciation. I think about how I love each and everyone of them so very much, and how I can't imagine living without them.  I am so proud, not in a prideful way, but I am proud of who they are, sometimes because of my tutelage but many times in spite of my tutelage. I can't help but thinking God feels the same way. I am sure there are many times he looks down on me and the things that I do and merely shakes his head and plants his face into his palm wondering what I was thinking, but he knows. I wouldn't be surprised if sometimes he worries, though being God he knows all and sees all. Most of all though I can't help but think that he just loves. 

God gives so much, everything in life is a gift really. When I look at a beautiful sunset I see love. When I see flowers blooming in the spring, he made that picturesque moment out of love. In the winter when snowflakes fall like feathers from the heavens, and it's cold outside and you just want to huddle together and stay warm I see love. When I see how each of us are flawed I see love, because if we were all perfect we wouldn't need each other. If we didn't need each other we wouldn't have the opportunity to experience passion and love. We wouldn't have the opportunity to experience community. We wouldn't need community. We would be individual self-sustaining units that would be cold and compassionless like machinery. I truly believe that God made us imperfect so that we would have to rely on one another and through that we could learn to love.

As we all know love does not work in a vacuum. I know anytime that I've been in a relationship where I loved deeply and it wasn't reciprocated I felt empty and worthless. God loves you and he want you to love him back. But like any other great relationship, he doesn't force you to love him. He gives you free will, and lets you choose, because he wants to know you're choosing to love him rather than just loving him because you have to. 

God wants a pure loving relationship with you.

You can do whatever you want but I would highly recommend spending some hang time with God. I know this world is busy and fast. We live in a culture here in America where we've come to expect instant gratification for everything. Having a relationship with God is rather countercultural. God doesn't provide instant gratification. God likes to savor things, he likes to take his time. Just as you are not a creature that can be summed up in 30 seconds neither can God. God is infinite, so you can't expect to build a great relationship with him and truly understand him and little 30 second soundbites. 

By no means though should you feel obligated to sell all your possessions donate all the money to the poor move out into the wilderness and live as a hermit praying to God nonstop and studying God nonstop.  I mean if you wanted to and you feel God is calling you to do so go for it, you'll never have a more exciting life van doing what you're truly called to do. But for many of us God merely want to spend time with you because he loves you.  God realizes that for most of us living the life of a hermit is not what's best for us. God does want to talk to you every day though, that's why he wants us to pray to him every day. He wants to hear about the good, the bad and the ugly.  God wants to hear about your hopes and dreams. He wants to hear your joys and your sorrows. He wants to hear your thankfulness and your desires. 

Got realizes that this is a twisty turvy world. He knows how easily we can become misguided on our journey to heaven. That's why God sent Jesus his son to come and teach us personally. There were many, in the time that Jesus was on this planet, that were worshiping and loving the wrong way. Jesus came to teach us to not love and worship like that, but to also try and refocus those who had lost their way. Why, because God loves you that much he sent his only son and then did nothing when we tortured and killed his son. The day Jesus was crucified no one was killed by God. God did not command the earth to open up and swallow all the disrespecting, unbelieving people who tortured and crucified Jesus Christ. Jesus himself on the cross spoke to God and said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."

That is perfect love.

So God is waiting. Right now God is waiting to talk to you. It's your choice you can do whatever you want. I will tell you this though, that talking to God is kind of like working out. It's one of those things that we usually say, "yes I'm out of shape I know I need to work out but I'm really busy today and I'll try that tomorrow." Problem is, tomorrow something comes up as well and so we don't do it tomorrow or the day after or the next week or the next month or the next year, and then we find ourselves sitting in the doctors office being prescribed 10 tons of medication because we've refused to take care of our body all our years. Instead of living life to the fullest we walk around hooked up to oxygen masks or hobbling because were overweight or in a wheelchair because refused to take care this precious gift of a body that we've been given. 

Same thing goes with prayer and going to church and studying the Bible. We tell ourselves, "yeah that's really important and what Jesus did for me is really cool, but I'm busy today I'll pray tomorrow. I'll go to church next Sunday. I'll catch that next Bible study when it starts." The days turn into weeks, which turned into years, and then one day we die or we are on deaths door step. 

Do you really want to leave where you're spending it turn it he up to chance?

God has given you so much. Jesus Christ sacrificed so much. The Holy Spirit is waiting to help you every single day. There is so much love God has wrapped up for you, but you have to open the present, and then he wants to receive love from you. He is waiting to have a long loving relationship with you because you are one of his beautiful children. I encourage you start or renew your relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit today. Hang out with God, spend time with him. Go to church. Give back love with all your heart. Hold nothing back from God. Trust me, you have no idea how much peace, serenity and happiness are waiting for you when you build a dynamic relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

So it's time now, walk down the stairs turn the corner and see the beautiful Christmas tree. The presents are wrapped gorgeously around it. Those are all presents of love waiting for you sit down, grab and open. The best is waiting to come.

MT 5:20-26

Jesus said to his disciples: 
“I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother,
‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”