It is going to snow today.  For those in the St. Louis area, can you believe we are 7 inches below normal for snow fall so far this year?  Surprised me also.   Just remember, these gray and depressing days are eventually going to open up to a bright, blue sky with a big yellow ball hovering our head. 

Bibile Study

 Quote or Joke of the Day:

If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

Today’s Meditation:

For as Christ’s sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow.  If we are afflicted, it is for your encouragement and salvation; if we are encouraged, it is for your encouragement, which enables you to endure the same sufferings that we suffer.  (NAB 2 Cor 1:5-6)

The BIG question:  Why is there so much suffering, and why does God allow it?  Why did I lose my job?  Why is my child handicapped?  How can you allow child abuse, and child pornography?  I could go on about the misery we experience during our existence on this earth.

I am not sure I can answer this question for others.  I can only give the answer that has come to me, through prayer, meditation, and trust in God. 

For those that do not know, I have had my tribulations with pain and suffering.  I was let go from a job I truly treasured, due to medical reasons.  My asthma and COPD is at a stage that I need to be on oxygen at times,  I have degenerative disk disease, and arthritis so severe that I use a cane or walker.  I am in so much pain regularly that sometimes I don’t even realize I am in pain; but find myself sweating profusely, and grimacing – then realizing the amount of pain I am experiencing.  Pain meds do very little, and I refuse to take meds that will “gork” me out.

My medical conditions have humbled me.  I believe the shortness of breathing (SOB) and pain are my personal type of “stigmata” that reminds me of the pain Christ endured.  My tribulations are a form of prayer for me.  I ‘give up’ my pain for the souls in purgatory; which seems to help me get through the difficult times.

Suffering and encouragement brings us in union with Christ and His suffering on the cross for us “sinners.”  Suffering draws us apart from our worldly cares.  It’s ironic that our suffering in life here, brings to eternal salvation in paradise.  Jesus showed us, through His life on earth as man, that His spirit is whole and permanent, and His body was only temporary.

When in pain, discomfort, or other forms of suffering, don’t just stand there and moan, whine, or “bitch” about your situation.  Put your suffering in perspective and “PUSH”:

 Pax et Bonum

Dan Halley, SFO

*****

Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Rule #5:

Secular Franciscans, therefore, should seek to encounter the living and active person of Christ in their brothers and sisters, in Sacred Scripture, in the Church, and in liturgical activity. The faith of St. Francis, who often said, “I see nothing bodily of the Most High Son of God in this world except His most holy body and blood,” should be the inspiration and pattern of their Eucharistic life.

Chip Palmer of Stillwater adjusts his son Jackon’s hood as they walk home from the grocery store on Friday.

Day two of the snow storm.

Day two of searching for weather features.

My friend Kate Caudill told me a group of her friends were walking a few blocks to a local grocery store. Brilliant!

People have to eat. And while most of Stillwater had already stripped both Walmarts bare of essential foods, I knew there would still be those last-minute shoppers who would have to endure the storm.

That’s when I found the Palmers. They were very kind to me, letting me follow them as they walked home with their goods.

I love polls.  I did an informal verbal one a couple years ago that I’ll discuss soon.  And I put one together around Christmas to show here, but missed the last step (Send to editor), so it never showed up.  But today I discovered how to do a poll, so here’s my first, real, test poll.  There’ll be many, many more coming up!!

For today, I just wondered whether you ever have desires to aspire to something higher.  To go above the norm, higher than the natural reaction takes you, long for a better life?  I know you don’t always realize that there is a better way.  And sometimes you know there is a better way but you can’t figure out how to get there.  That’s OK.  I’m in the same boat.  That’s why we’re on this journey together.  We will find the high road, the path less taken, the higher law that brings greater blessings!  We’ll discover it together and enjoy the fruits that are only available from this odyssey!

Previously we looked at “Is Persecution Inevitable?” Now let’s consider how to deal with it.

1. Remember the reward for enduring persecution.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).

There's nothing like persecution to concentrate your prayers...

2. Pray for the persecutors.

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

3. Jesus Christ’s loving help will make us more than conquerors.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:35-37).

For more about dealing with persecution, see “Paul’s Example of Joy—Even in Persecution.”

What Bible tips would you add?

I heard Joyce Meyer recently mentioning a picture about driving a car. When you change the gear there is always a few seconds when it feels like the car is slowing down or even going backwards. It is just for a very short time, and then the car speeds up again to an even higher level. That is how it can be in our life’s sometimes.

We think that we are good Christians, living fully and wholeheartedly for God, we have reached our heights and there is just glory in our life’s. Suddenly we find ourselves doing something we thought we would never do, or we feel that our prayer life has just become very dry, and we think that we have lost the glory of God.

The fact is that these periods only last for a short period of time, just like the gear in the car, but we think it will last forever, therefore many people give up just before they get their miracle.

What is important to understand is that God is using those times for a purpose. You are in a shifting period in your life, and the little tiny step backwards that you are experiencing will only last for a very short time, and then you will begin to speed up again to an even higher level!

It is often in our hardest challenges and the driest desert that we get to know God the best. If we endure through it and exercise our spiritual muscles we will come out stronger on the other side.
It was not at all fun for me to go through the testing time which I had some time ago. It was horrible and I felt it was gonna last forever. But I thank God that I went through, survived and endured the challenges this early, and not later on in life.

I think that if we really hold on to God when He is the only thing we have, then we will see Him move in such a greater and mightier way when we are through it all! But if we don’t understand why we are going through the testing times we risk to fall or give up. Too many Christians have just given up before the breakthrough which was just around the corner…

Psalm 125:1

Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

1. Don’t bring suffering on yourself unnecessarily—for the wrong reasons.

“But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter” (1 Peter 4:15-16; see also 1 Peter 2:16-17).

2. But all who live like Jesus Christ will be persecuted.

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

3. Great persecution is prophesied for the end time.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another” (Matthew 24:9-10).

For more about persecution, see “The Message to Smyrna: Endure Persecution.”

What Bible tips would you add?

Outline:

II. Disunity in the Church (1:10-4:21)
B. The Need for Servanthood (4:1-21)

Section 1: Stewards of the Mysteries of God (vv. 1-5)

¹ Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. ² Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. ³ But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. (vv. 1-3)

There are three things that I would like to point out here:

1. Let us not esteem ministers too highly, for they are only God’s humble servants.
2. As servants of God, it is most important that we are faithful and obedient to Him.
3. It is not other people’s opinions about us, or even our own opinions that matter, but rather God’s opinion.  God is our judge, so we must please Him before ourselves and other people.

Section 2: Fools for Christ’s Sake (vv. 6-13)

We see through Paul’s sarcasm in some of these verses that the Corinthian believers had a problem with pride.  There is no room for pride in the Christian however.

For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? (v. 7)

Everything that we possess, whether it is something material or something like wisdom, comes from God, so we have no reason to boast.

I see verse 11 as crucial, especially in the time we are living in:

To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless.

So what exactly is significant about this?  Christians in the first century were hungry, thirsty, not well-clothed, beaten, and homeless.  People in the twenty-first century are being promised wealth, prosperity, and happiness if they come to Christ.  How does that work?  Christians back then suffered, but now God wants us to come to faith in Him in order to live abundant lives here on earth?  Not true.  That has never been the gospel message.  Does God bless us, and are some Christians blessed financially?  Yes.  However, as Christians we are subject to persecution and trials as well.

How do we deal with persecution and trials?

¹² …Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; ¹³ being defamed, we entreat… (vv. 12,13)

Section 3: Paul’s Paternal Care (vv. 14-21)

I would only like to point out one thing in this section.  Take a look at verse 16:

Therefore I urge you, imitate me.

Paul asks the Corinthians to imitate him.  Doesn’t that seem wrong?  Aren’t we supposed to imitate Christ?  Yes, we are.  However, if we live lives that imitate Christ, then others have an example of godly living that they can look at and imitate.  We might not be able to fully imitate Christ, but we have the ability and obligation to at least imitate Him as best we can.  Doing so, we set an example of Christlikeness that others can follow.

I’m waiting to hear from my boss if I’ll have my job past mid-February. I’ve been a “holiday” hire for two years in a row at Pottery Barn. I adore my job. I absolutely love it! I’m also gaga over the discount, but that’s not the only reason I love working there. My fellow employees are friendly and kind and helpful and genuine. I don’t know if I’ve ever enjoyed a job so much. Of course I don’t face the challenges of being full-time, and there is enough variety of tasks and continual change of scenery from week to week that I never get tired of it. Working in a beautiful space is wonderful. Working with nice people makes the experience over-the-top!

So, I’m waiting, just like I did last year this time. The economy, corporate decisions, percentages – these all play a part in determining if I’ll get to stay on. They were the reasons I wasn’t able to last year. It’s all fine, and I’m good either way, it’s just the waiting and wondering that get old. Just knowing the outcome would be so helpful. I could plan.

It’s kind of like waiting for the fog to lift and the sun to come out again. I can’t remember it not being frosty or foggy! After a week of gray, messy, misty, fog-filled days I’ve nearly begun to believe it’s always been this way and always will be.

This kind of waiting is nothing compared to waiting for a loved one to return from Iraq or Afghanistan. It’s cake compared to waiting for a diagnosis. And perhaps the most brutal of all experiences was waiting and wondering if my living nightmare would ever end.

I’ve endured enormous amounts of waiting in the last five years. Waiting for chemotherapy treatments to be over. Waiting for my body to heal after surgeries. Waiting to feel like myself again. Waiting for my sorrow to subside.

Romans 12:12 says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

The first and last phrases make sense – we can be joyful in hope because hope is a joy-filled thing. We can be faithful in prayer, because it’s do-able. But patient in affliction? Patience when we’re in pain? Patience when we are agonizing over something? Patience is not something that most people have an abundance of, especially in affliction.

When I was fighting the cancer battle, the only thing I had in abundance was time. It’s kind of ironic. Fighting cancer, the predator that could rob me of all my time on earth permanently, was the cause of me having so much time – not doing the things I wanted to be doing, but plenty of it just the same. I had ample time to ponder my predicament. Time to fear and fret. Time to weep. Time to wait in doctors’ offices. Time to rest and heal.

Waiting does not equal patience. We can wait impatiently. We can try to fight waiting but we can’t change the fact that we wait. Sometimes there is no way around a predicament. The only way through is the way of waiting. Waiting patiently in affliction is an art that many never learn. Being joyful in hope and faithful in prayer are the means of learning that art and attaining that goal.

Remember the saying, “If you can’t lick ‘em, join ‘em!”? That’s the concept I’m talking about. Fighting against waiting is second nature, it’s natural, but it’s also counter-productive. You expend too much energy fighting and fretting and worrying and being angry. That isn’t healthy physically or emotionally or spiritually!

If you have to wait, then work it. Make the most of it. Build anticipation (hope) by finding things to be joyful about. If you can’t pray, ask people to pray for you. I did. When I couldn’t be hopeful, or joyful, I had to depend on the hope of others. Eventually, I began to hope. I spent my time trying to be patient while others spent their time praying for me and hoping. Their faith and hope was contagious.

Impatience breeds anxiety and stress. Patience brings peace.

Fight those battles you can win, definitely. But why fight what you can’t win? You can only win a waiting war by surrendering – patiently.

The Christian race requires endurance.

1. Seek God’s strength to endure.

“Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore” (1 Chronicles 16:11).

2. The path to the Kingdom of God requires enduring much tribulation.

“Strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God’” (Acts 14:22).

3. If we endure hardship, we will help Christ rule.

“If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us” (2 Timothy 2:12).

For more about endurance, see “Will of Iron: Building Strength, Flexibility and Endurance.”

What Bible tips would you add?

Celebrating 26 weeks on the Port Gamble – Talkeetna Trail. Six of one. Half dozen others. Breakfast of oatmeal, or oatmeal. Houston we have breakfast. We have tea.

Service Dog No. 1 sleeps. Service Dog No. 2 sleeps. Everybody Else is waiting for the future. Everybody Else washes their hands of now. Wears dirty socks.

Port Gamble retrospective. Six months past Everybody Else planned my permanent retirement. No climbing stairs. Holding a book one sentence at a time. The state sent someone with a message. Keep complaining about public housing. Get locked up.

Now Here We Are. Striking sparks with flint and steel. Heaving suspiros for a small flame. Maybe get a big fur coat. For sure write 49 states attorneys general. Include Everybody Else. Like Denali. One step at a time. Scratch the fur coat.

I’ll get some sticks insteaad. Gather Everybody Else round the Talkeetna Trail fire. Warm our parts. Dry our shoes. Celebrate survival on the Port Gamble – Talkeetna Trail. Week 27. I’m Strong and Ready. Set. I’ll stand at the foot of the Great One. It’s a matter of time. Sixty seven weeks to go. I’m Alive.

In a world where there are so many changing, and at times confusing, things going on, it becomes very easy to feel insecure, unstable, and debilitated.  Again, it’s the natural reaction.  Are things stable?  Not too many.  Most are changing, some quite dramatically.  It can be disconcerting to our souls.

But, we are on a journey to Desire Higher, to find a better road, the higher path.  Where might that be?  It begins by………….calming down.  Stop “running to and fro” in our frenzy to try to fix things or second guess what’s coming next.  As we take a moment to calm down, to “be quiet” as it were, we can find ourselves reaching to a higher power, to our loving Heavenly Father, for answers.  As you look inside yourself to that still, small voice, the Spirit of God, you will be guided to know what to do, and when. 

I learned this recently when I was feeling unbalanced by changes outside my control that affected my life.  I started wondering what else would be changing, would I survive the changes, what would I do if certain things happened, how would my family survive, etc, etc, etc…..  Then I calmed down.  I prayed for guidance, and I talked things over with my husband.  I then took the first step toward getting a clearer picture of what my situation truly is.  And I discovered that it’s actually pretty good.  I saw some windows of opportunity present themselves that I was able to start approaching.  Had I still been in my “the sky is falling!” mode, I wouldn’t have seen them!  Now I feel much better about my immediate future and have great hope in what lies beyond that!

As you follow that inspiration, you will automatically start to bring stability back into your life, and back into your home.  As you press forward with purpose, no longer running from this to that and back again, stability will start to return to your community.  The race really does go to the slow and steady.  And how true the scripture, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

As you calm down and seek for God’s answers to your yearnings, where is He leading you?

Luke 2:21-39 (New King James Version)

Circumcision of Jesus

²¹ And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child,^[a] His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Presented in the Temple

²² Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to presentHim to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”),^{[b] 24}and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”^[c]

Simeon Sees God’s Salvation

²⁵ And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name wasSimeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, ²⁸ he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
²⁹ “ Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
³⁰ For my eyes have seen Your salvation
³¹ Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
³² A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

³³ And Joseph and His mother^[d] marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against ³⁵ (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Anna Bears Witness to the Redeemer

³⁶ Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; ³⁷ and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years,^[e] who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. ³⁸And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord,^[f] and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

The Family Returns to Nazareth

³⁹ So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.

There was one thing that stuck out to me. Something about the Virgin Mary. Simeon said this in parentheses, but I don’t think that means it’s not important. When he was speaking of Jesus and what would happen later on, he said to Mary, “yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also” (v. 35). She had to go through so much! She remained silent in everything. She had to endure mockery when she was pregnant with Jesus; she had to keep quiet when people mocked her own Son. She had to live Jesus’ entire life knowing what would happen to Him, having this thorn inside of her every day, and when Jesus was CRUCIFIED, she had to watch, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop it. She is the strongest woman I know of. She endured so much, saying so little. Nothing could stop her from her mission, no matter how much pain she had to endure. I wish I could have even a tiny fraction of her strength! I think what strengthened her more than anything was her love for God, her love for His desire and will. She knew all of this was going to happen, yet she saw the bigger picture, she saw that her suffering was for the better of the entire world! We need to keep our eyes on the things that are above, on the higher goal, and God will strengthen us and lift up our heads.

“Lift up your head” – Meredith Andrews:

God bless.

Pray for those who are spreading Christ’s word and love, and for those striving to find Him.

Marina

Please keep the following in your prayers:

Mike Ibrahim

Mark Ibrahim

Bella Ibrahim

Abouna Paul and Sherry Girguis

Demiana Nathan

My family

 “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me:  Thy mercy O Lord endureth forever:  forsake not the works of Thine own hands.”  Psalm 138:8

I find that at times life will present itself to me with issues that, if allowed, will try to usher in worry or fear.  It is in that moment I must decide rather quickly what I believe about the God I have come to know in a personal and intimate way.

Initially, I find myself having to be still and quiet as I process that which I have just heard.  In the past I would have reacted and responded immediately, however I have learned not to respond until I have taken the time to listen deep within determining what I am hearing.  His voice always encourages me saying,

“Do not be anxious about anything but pray about everything…”  Philippians 4:6

Sometimes the issues of life that weigh heavy on my heart will cause me to respond in silence as I contemplate the reality of its message.  One thing I have come to learn that gives me great comfort and assurance is that God is bigger than anything I am facing.  He also is bigger than any situation and He can bring about a supernatural outcome to any problem, situation, or circumstance as I place my hope in His eternal love, goodness, and faithfulness. 

ENCOURAGEMENT:  When you are first confronted with problems, identify that God is bigger than anything you are going through and you will see fear, worry, and torment leave your life as you trust in Him.

Because God is God, God is bigger than anything you will ever face in life!

“Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:11-12). 

As a follower of Christ I am so often weak and faithless. Do you know the feeling? Despite the indwelling power of God’s Spirit I am constantly reminded of my flesh, the tug of this world, and the temptation of the Adversary. I sometimes sense a cycle of rebellion (which apathy, complacency, and self-centeredness are), repentance, and then gracious restoration. Despite the war that is waged in my soul and the defeats that are all too common, He always calls me back home to Himself and His ways. And in doing so God reveals my unworthiness afresh and simultaneously deepens my understanding of how desperately I need Him as my Savior and Lord. 

Yet Paul’s warnings to Timothy are worth heeding. Endurance and the continued embrace of the Gospel to the end are marks of those that “have died with Christ”. There is no such thing as being “in Christ” and yet utterly falling away and rejecting the hope found in Christ alone. John speaks to this when he says, “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us” (1 John 2:19). So, this passage tells us that those who are in Him – we who have died to ourselves and surrendered to Him – have the assurance of eternal life (how can we call it eternal life if we can lose it?). Paul tells us that our salvation necessitates that we will endure to the end and will not disown Him. For those who have truly tasted the sweetness of Jesus never desire to return to the sinful ugliness that has been left behind. Nor do they finally disown Him because they understanding the consequences of their final rejection (they are disowned by God – v.12). But what reasons does this passage give us for this promise? 

First, we are His. He has called and claimed us. Hence the promise that we will live with Him in verse 11. Paul’s letter to the church at Rome puts it this way, “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Romans 8:30). And, secondly, because we, by grace through faith, are a part of Him (as in the body of Christ analogy) and he can not disown Himself. That’s why verse 12 says that even in our unfaithfulness He is faithful for us. He must be because He can’t reject a part of Himself. How comforting and glorious is that? He is always faithful to Himself and therefore to us.  Amazing!  Notice the similar context in Philippians 1:6: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”. In other words, Jesus initiates our redemption and guarantees the eternality of it. So we will live with Him, endure, reign and never disown Him in, by, and through His power to uphold us.

But our war for righteousness wages on. In the power of His Spirit we can have victory in our daily living for Him but, as fallen and not fully sanctified children, we will, against our strongest desires, stumble and fall. Paul understood this struggle and the experience of both defeat and victory that we encounter in our human bodies –  we yearn Christ’s righteousness and for His glory while still dealing with our maddening humanity. He also understood that our ultimate victory is to be found the never-ending faithfulness of God to Himself: 

“For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.  So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:19-25).

I am so thankful – actually overwhelmed – that in my weakest of moments He is faithful for me. He faithfully went to Calvary to purchase my forgiveness for all of eternity. He also faithfully intercedes for me in my failings so that I will not ultimately and utterly fall away. How then could I ever contemplate totally rejecting this Savior and not enduring to the end? How could I dare to turn His grace into license? How could I not love Him so much that I, like Paul, agonize over my inability to perfectly model my ever faithful Lord? 

“endure {remix} by georgia anne muldrow & dudley perkins feat. med, rapper big pooh (prod. by oddisee)“

I imagine you sometimes feel lost and confused, unsure who you are, why you’re here, or what you should be doing with your life.  Perhaps you get bored or discouraged.  I know sometimes I do.  I think these are natural feelings that come along now and then.  The important thing is, what do you do when they come?

You could, and probably do, let them run away with you every so often.  Hopefully though, not for long.  Because in our quest to Desire Higher, I want you to know that these feelings are not the “real” you!  What, or rather who, is the “real” you, you might ask? 

You are the child of the Highest!!  Wow!  How do you feel when you read that?  Do possibilities open up to you?  Are you skeptical?  Well, you can know it for sure.  Just look inside yourself.  When you ask yourself the question, “Am I really a child of the Highest? a child of God?”, how do you feel inside?  Say a prayer and ask your Father in Heaven if it is true.  He will confirm it to you.  Afterall, you are His child and He loves you very, very much!  He wants you to be happy and to succeed in life.  Not only is He there to help you every step of the way, but YOU have the capabilities and attributes you need to be able to do so!!

So, dream BIG.  Plan out what you’d like to see your life like, then march forward with confidence, knowing that it may not be easy, but if you persevere, you can get there.  You cannot give up.  Keep working at it, even a little step at a time, and you will move closer and closer to your dream.  What?  A problem has been thrown in your path?  Well, sit down for a minute to complain if you want, then sit up or stand up and contemplate how to get to the other side of that problem.  And you can continue on your way, having pocketed a new skill or ability that will help you in the future!

What do you picture when you think about being the child of the Highest?

The passage of time has not granted me anything. The peaks and chasms I have gone thru average to only a valley. Time has not given me a found treasure or a devastating loss. It has only been here reminding me that all I can and should take with me is the experiences. The experience to love, fight, and hold compassion. To learn, work, and grow. To take with me the lessons taught at each crucial time frame and apply them as needed. To share my stories with who will listen and give when it hurts. My time here will be marked and remembered only by who cares to continue on with it, but they too must endure their own passage of time and experiences. All the joy and sorrow, peaks, valleys, and chasms it will bring.