Quote of the day....

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

~Napoleon Hill

The hunger and thirst for justice

by FR. SHAY CULLEN

THERE is a true and very important saying that we all need to listen to and learn from: “There is no peace when there is no justice.” The truth of this is seen and felt by thousands of people around the world and people never forget the injustices that they have suffered. Hurt and pain are the realities that we humans carry with us through out our lives. Much of it happens in families and in school and children are scared for life. They suffer much more when they are victims of sexual and physical abuse and torture.

Rejection, exclusion, abuse and hurt feelings of childhood shape and mold the characters of every person. Some cope with it and survive and live with it. Others are crippled emotionally and psychologically and many suffer depression and some take their own lives. Other children are even murdered on live videos to please international pedophiles. Are we going to continue allowing this?

Abused children carry the memories into late adult life because as children they are unable to challenge and confront their abusers to demand justice. The culture of ignoring the individual personality and rights of children is part of this injustice. The children can grow up with a grudge, a desire for justice, anger at being denied it and turn to revenge seeking and even violence. When whole communities are degraded, oppressed and exploited they become angry and seek redress through demonstrations, riots and protest. This leads to inevitable confrontation and violence. Others seek justice in the courts but their complaints are frequently dismissed.

The individual child can become an angry violent person when abused and denied justice. Perhaps that’s why thousands of young people are flooding to Syria to become fighters and join the ISIS. Perhaps they see it as a way to take bloody revenge on the world they have come to hate.

Prior to the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991, there were few laws to fully protect the rights of children or treat them as individual persons in their own right. The high status given to a child in the Gospel values were generally ignored for 2000 years. Since the approval of Convention all member states had to draft their laws based on the convention document.

But are those laws really and wholeheartedly implemented and beneficial to children? In the Philippines, experience shows that mostly they are not. Police, prosecutors, judges are more favorable to the abusers than to the children. More accused child abusers and rapists are allowed to go free than are convicted.

The reasons are many: corruption, bribery, favoritism, and no belief in the law, the incompetence of police, prosecutors, and judges add to the failure.

For all this there are good honest hardworking judges for the most part that take pride in doing justice. The good judges restore people’s trust and respect in the judicial process but they are all too few.

Children cannot and should not be made to wait years for justice. Justice based on clear evidence is essential for healing. Children get witness fatigue, despair of getting justice, when there are many postponements and manipulations and cheating to contend with.

Lawyers working for the accused get paid per hearing plus a retainer fee. It’s in their interest to prolong the case, earn more money and hope to win by wearing down the will of the victim so she will give up and the rapist can get away with the crimes.

Then same impotent child protection laws are allegedly ignored. The telecommunications companies are allegedly not complying with the anti-child pornography law of 2009. They have made no statement of compliance with the law. This law, RA 9775, explicitly orders the Internet Server Providers (ISP’s) to install software to block the transmission of child porn images and cyber-sex where children are forced to do sexual acts live on camera sent through the Internet to paying customers in other cities or countries. Criminal pedophiles pay to watch the children being abused and raped. Some order that they be tortured and killed.

The National Telecommunication Commission officials are apparently looking the other way. Perhaps even looking at the child pornography, why else don’t they implement the law? The owners and shareholders of the biggest company PLDT can be found on the Internet. They are allegedly technically likewise violators of the law like most of the top 100 child pornographers who are Filipinos and US Nationals.

Victims of child pornography should file charges against the telecommunication companies and individual stockholders that violate the law. If it is being obeyed the victims and their families would not be suffering.

Now we see the likely result of this connivance and collusion between big business and government officials. Horrific crimes against children are being done and continue daily over the Internet. The filters have not been deployed or installed as the law requires. The Internet Watch Foundation can prove that. Child and adult pornography is available to children daily on their pads and cell phones.

The dirty work of Australian Peter Scully and his local helpers was possible because of uncontrolled Internet access. They made videos of a screaming 18 month old child being tortured and murdered. You need to be of strong heart if you watch this.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rir03PwsrU4>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rir03PwsrU4

The horrific videos were sold in the USA and EU countries. Is this a civilized country? Is Christianity dead? Is the Philippines a morally failed state? Why can this happen openly and uncontrolled? The answer is insatiable greed and the lust for money, pleasure and power. The authorities have vital questions to answer and all of us must challenge politicians and corporations everywhere and act to end such crimes and do justice for the children.

shaycullen@gmail.com
shaycullen@preda.org

The love that can change the world

by FR. SHAY CULLEN

Holy Week 2015. What brought about the shameful torture, humiliation and excruciating execution, as a criminal on a Roman cross is what we need to ask and answer everyday not just during Holy Week.

Hundreds of thousands of true Christians around the world suffer persecution, torture and death these days because they are disciples of Jesus of Nazareth and put into practice his spiritual values that give meaning to life itself.

Why is there such opposition to a message, a way of life that espouses love of the outcast, freedom, human rights and dignity, equality and the defense of children and a better life for the poor and the oppressed people of this world?

The Man who was called by some a great prophet who had come back to life, a wonder worker, a spiritual teacher, a man of compassion, a peace-maker, a defender of children and women and a social revolutionary brought these values into the world by his simplicity of life and his living out of these values.

He was welcomed into the capital Jerusalem one sunny April morning two thousand years ago by adoring crowds waving palm branches who were inspired by his teaching, healing and prophetic voice for the poor and the downtrodden. He stood with the marginalized outcasts and victims of social injustice. He was a hero and inspirational spiritual leader that day and everyday since.

The man from Nazareth was far ahead of his time, in fact ahead of all time. He said simply that he was a Son of Man. One who was just like everyone else, but ready to serve and help anyone in need. He was a man without power and influence, had no servants or slaves and one who even washed the feet of his students and followers as an example for us all. The people said he was a Son of God and a descendent of the great king David.

Perhaps the combination of these titles, their political overtones and the widespread belief that he would take political power in Jerusalem fueled the fears of the ruling powers that there would be a popular uprising to declare Jesus King of the Jews. That title was mockingly nailed to his cross, the instrument of execution.

When his disciples aired these sentiments and asked for big jobs in his supposed new Kingdom of God he rejected their suppositions and told them that he was amazed that he was with them a long time and still they didn’t understand his mission. It was not a political movement he wanted but a moral revolution of the heart whereby goodness and love for everyone and by everyone would dominate.

In the new social relationship universal goodness, equality and justice would pervade the community and there would be an end to violence, rejection and exclusion.

A most profound vision and an ideal world that may never be, yet one that is worth striving for in our own faith communities. The ideals are for everyone, disciples or not, Christian or not.

We all need to love and be loved as Jesus taught and practiced. His words to his friends at his farewell meal echo today when he says the greatest love we can have is to sacrifice ourselves for others. That’s is today giving and not taking from a community, a family, a friendship. It means the well off are challenged to give back and share their wealth. It means bringing goodness to the needy and the vulnerable. Of course his message was challenging and many left him.

It was his fiery challenging message to the hypocritical corrupt authorities, the cheating traders and unjust judges of his day that aroused hatred, anger and fear among these rich elite. They ruled with gross indifference to the plight of the poor. Jesus called them stinking sepulchers, painted white outside but full of dead bones inside. That was strong language indeed.

His words are as true today as they were then. A similar social and economic situation prevails today in many developing countries. Particularly in the Catholic Philippines where the powerful 140 or so super rich families and their cronies in Congress and the military and police rule the 100 million people with a benign smile and a machine gun in gift wrapping.

They control the many by the tactics of the few. Immediate assassination, imprisonment and execution of the modern day prophets, the human right workers, media practitioners, the social activists, oppositionists, priests and pastors.

Just like the man from Nazareth they are risking all, their good reputation, their name, their family, even life itself. They are working and calling for true justice and respect for human rights and the ouster of the corrupt politicians and judges and prosecutors. They get charged with wrongful accusations, baseless allegations and legal cases to destroy their credibility and smother their cry for justice. They want the kingdom of Jesus to be real and present in order to end the human trafficking, jailing of children, sex tourism, and the disgusting coddling of criminals, child abusers and rapists.

So after the first exciting public arrival of the messenger of God to the city where he was a marked man and his every word and act was noted, they used these against him in false accusations, to trip him and block his mission and bring him down in disgrace. They shamefully succeeded only too well, but only for a while. His words and presence lived on, his life lit up the world and set it on fire with idealism for the kingdom and today it is still there for us. We only have to reach out and embrace that same mission and do our share to change the world and ourselves.

shaycullen@preda.org

What is true success?

BUSINESS MATTERS (BEYOND THE BOTTOM LINE) By Francis J. Kong (The Philippine Star)

Parents want their kids to be successful. This is the reason why parents make sacrifices. They work hard, save money and send their kids to schools with astronomical tuition fees, hoping for the best.

You and I want to be successful. Just take a look at the number of books with the word “success” written on their covers. I consulted my reliable researcher named Google and in just 0.35 seconds, it gave me some 1,110,000,000 articles and references with the word “success”.

But before anything else, what is success?

Some people equate success with being happy and fulfilled. This makes them feel “successful”. Others acquired the dreams they dreamt in their younger years. This makes them feel “successful” as well. For others, success is an award of distinction, a title, a position of influence. Some people define success based on themselves, some let the society define success for them. 

Are there general principles that could accurately measure whether a person is truly successful or not?

Let’s take a look at money.

Motivational speaker and writer Zig Ziglar’s line on money is my favorite. He says, “Money isn’t everything... but it ranks right up there with oxygen.” All throughout the history of mankind, the pursuit of money is high on the list of those who want to be successful. And so success in this aspect may be objectively measured by the amount of money one has.

“The more money you have, the better you can be.” This is taught in the privacy of the home, and children are being trained to pursue it.

But the funny and amazing thing about this is that those who achieved this have written books, wrote articles and warned the rest of us that this never delivered the kind of “success” they longed for.

Accumulated money comes with a cost.

Please don’t get me wrong. Money is moral neutral. It is a tool. It is an instrument. The more you have, the more secure you feel.

Most people misquote the Scriptures when they say that “Money is the root of all evil.” This does not even make sense. If you look closely, the Bible teaches that it is the “love of money” that is the root of all evil. I am sure you know some people who are head over heels in love with it. On the funny side, Mark Twain said, “The lack of money is the root of all evil.” And maybe he is right. The pursuit of money is not a bad thing. How you pursue it is the issue.

Now let’s take a look at power.

There are people I know who think power is the most important “success ingredient” to achieve because money comes hand in hand with it.

Again, money is moral neutral as you can use it for good or for personal gain. Power can come either in a political form or simple influence. It is fine as long as you use it for the good and it delivers happiness. This can already make you feel “successful”.

And then some people equate success with happiness and their concept of happiness is closely associated with pleasure. Happiness is so elusive. Happiness could not be pursued because it is simply a byproduct of living a godly life.

How about relationships?

We are not designed to live in isolation. We are constantly involved in relationships, whether superficial or intimate. Unhealthy relationships zap our energy as these relationships really make our emotions go haywire.

What about health? What about our relationship with God? A vibrant relationship with God is something that every happy person I know has.

Is this success? Which one is it? Just like the answer to a student’s favorite type of quiz, the answer is “all of the above.” Success should be holistic.

The thing with success is that you don’t really arrive at success. You wrestle with it, you spar with it. Sometimes, you get it. Many times, you don’t so you continue.

Rather than thinking about success, think about progress.

Personal growth should be intentional.

We continue to achieve growth in every area: finance, health, influence, accomplishments and relationships. Here is the key, be a channel of blessings to others, serve and help others succeed. This is when happiness comes and a sense of meaning permeates the entire being.

True success deals with all areas of your life and the life that goes beyond this one in this planet. The Scriptures say, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” Nothing, DUH!

Read more: http://www.philstar.com/business/2015/03/14/1433296/what-true-success#ixzz3UM36f4AJ

Thought of the day....

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world… as in being able to remake ourselves.


~Mahatma Gandhi

A little prayer...

Help me to keep Your commandments, Lord. Grant me the grace to persevere in following Your will so that I may reach heaven at the end of my life.

Quote of the day...

Inside of you is a smart, powerful, dynamic, capable, self-confident, alive, alert, fabulous woman. Let her come out and play. The world is waiting for you. ~Louise Hay

Quote of the day....

Fear does not have any special power unless you empower it by submitting to it.


~Les Brown

A little prayer...

I am truly grateful, Father God, for Your unconditional love and forgiveness.

A little prayer...

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the realities of my life and the grace to move on, knowing that You are in control of everything.

You are not an accident!

Quote of the day....

Out of clutter, find Simplicity. From discord, find Harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies Opportunity.


~Albert Einstein

A little prayer...

I have sinned against You and my brothers and sisters. Grant me, Lord, Your compassion and forgiveness.

FAITH AND LOSS

By Kristie Phillips

I lost my innocence on April 25, 2006, two days after my 34th birthday.

I woke up that morning with hope and more faith than I had ever had in my life. With a quiet confidence that I had prayed with my whole heart and God had heard me, and He would help my family and me in our time of need. But what did God actually do? Nothing. My Mom died that morning. She was 60 years old. I went to bed that night numb with shock, but withmy eyes wide open.

Mom’s loss was sudden, complications from a surgery that had seemed to go well. She was released from the hospital four days after the surgery and was recovering on schedule. Then she started having pain, and before anyone, my dad, the surgeon, or even she herself realized how bad her condition was, she collapsed and never woke up again.

The surgeon told us he didn’t know what happened. Usually if a patient has pain or complications, there is time to diagnose the problem and treat it, but my mom deteriorated so fast, there was no time. We finally concluded that God just took her. There was no other explanation.

The day I lost my Mom, I lost my faith as well. I never thought I would have an easy life with no problems, but I had firmly believed my entire life that God would hear my prayers and answer them. Growing up I heard so many stories about God miraculously making illnesses disappear, healing people against all odds, and answering impossible prayers, that I couldn’t understand why He wouldn’t do that for my family. I was terribly disappointed and angry with God. I refused to pray any more at all.

I never told anybody how much I hated God. I was afraid myChristian friends would argue with me and quote scriptures about how all things work together for good and how God will never fail us nor forsake us, and that’s not what I needed to hear since I felt that God had failed me.

A few weeks before Mom’s death, in early April before we even knew about her surgery, I had noticed an 8-week continuing education class on Grief and Loss, offered by the local community college. It was a new class and stood out among the computer, hobby, and self-improvement offerings. Although I felt drawn to the class, I did not register because I felt strange going when I had not experienced a loss myself. Little did I know that a few weeks later I would have plenty of experience.

I returned to work a week after Mom’s funeral and signed up for the Grief and Loss class, still unsure of whether I should go. Somehow I showed up. I had nothing else to do. And in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was God providing for me after all. The instructor, Nancy Murphy, was patient’s advocate who worked with the elderly in nursing homes and who had a desire to help people understand death and grief. She had lost two of her brothers as children, a third brother when she was sixteen, and her father a year-and-a-half before.

The three other students in the class included a large black man who had recently become a pastor; his wife, who had lost her grandmother, her mother, and her sister all to breast cancer; and a small 20-something former heroin addict, whose teenage sister had committed suicide when she was thirteen. They were not the kind of people I would normally associate with, but they understood the loss I was going through and I found the class to be very comforting.

Nancy was so kind to me and stayed late after every class to talk to me and see how I was doing. We would stand in the parking lot for half an hour after class talking. Nancy told me the class might be too early for me, too soon after my loss. Many adult children who lose their parents don’t fully feel the impact of the loss for months, and they tend to join support groups months later instead of right away.

But, I think the class was exactly what I needed at the time. The class gave me direction, gave me people who understood what I was going through, and led me to some books to read that gave me a greater understanding of grief. Without the class, I would have been lost and unprepared to deal with what I was feeling.

The funny part is that a continuing education class would normally be canceled if it had less than six students. This had happened to me several times in the past. But somehow, this Grief and Loss class was allowed to run with just four students. I think it was because Nancy was so enthusiastic to teach it that the coordinator at the community college made an exception.

A year later, in August 2007, I saw Nancy Murphy again in a restaurant at lunchtime. She was as sweet and kind as she had been the year before. She told me that she had not taught the class again; she had gotten busy with work and in the future would try to target the class to healthcare workers. I tried to explain to her that the class was perfect timing for me and exactly what I needed. She said the class helped her as much as it had helped us.

How can you tell the difference between coincidence and God providing for you? I like to think that God provided that Grief and Loss class just for me. I would have been very apprehensive about going to a grief support group and probably would never have gotten the help I needed. But classes I’m not afraid of. I have a Ph.D. I’ve gone to lots of classes. Nancy Murphy said that she has to believe there is a purpose in loss. She has to. That’s the only way she can make sense of it and have some peace. And I think she’s right.

My faith is coming back slowly, little by little, but I know it will never be the same. I will never believe like I once did. I will never be as faithful, innocent, and naive as I was before. I will always remember how God disappointed me. I can only hope that God has a plan and a purpose for my life after all and mymom’s death was a part of it. And when I doubt, I think about Nancy Murphy, her kindness, and her Grief and Loss class that only ran at the exact time I really needed it, and I wonder.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristie has been inspired by the stories on MyDailyInsights and wanted to share her story in the hope of inspiring others. She is 35 years old and lives and works in Cary, NC as a Textile Chemist. She has been writing ever since high school and college, but has gotten distracted by the twists and turns of life, and only recently has been taking her writing more seriously. She can be reached at kristie225@gmail.com

A little prayer....

Father, You are prodigal in Your love for us. I praise and thank You for that. Amen.

REWRITING YOUR STORY

By: Bobby Quitain

I read a story once about a man named Alfred.

He was a Swedish chemist who made quite a fortune from his work of licensing weapons of mass destruction. One day, his brother died. A newspaper editor thought that the one who died was Alfred. The next day, Alfred sat at breakfast stunned while reading his own obituary. It indicated his name and a short description of him --- "a man who licensed weapons of mass destruction". Alfred thought to himself, "If I die today, this is how I will be remembered..."

On that day, Alfred came to a decision. He resigned from his job, and used his fortune to put up a foundation which worked for global peace. Today, this foundation awards people who work for peace. This foundation is known today as the Nobel Peace Prize. Such was the lasting legacy of Alfred Nobel.

Alfred Nobel decided to rewrite his story in order to determine how his story would end. The good news is this: Just like Alfred, we all have the power to rewrite our stories in order to determine how it would end.

And the Lenten Season is one of the best times to do just that.

Just because you were born in a broken family doesn't mean you should live a broken life. Rewrite your story now.

Just because you failed that board exam doesn't mean you're a failure. Rewrite your story now.

Just because you committed that big sin doesn't mean your soul is forever damned. There is still time. Rewrite your story now.

Just because you made some fatal mistakes doesn't mean you are sentenced to a lifetime of regrets. Rewrite your story now.

Jeremiah 29:11 says: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm and to give you a future full of hope'..."

Claim this promise in this season of new beginnings.

Rewrite your story now!

A little prayer....

Make me Your constant steward, Lord. May I dispose all of me to glorify Your name. Amen.

Quote for the day....

Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant. There is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks.


~ Johann Gottfried Von Herder

The journey into the desert

by FR. BENIGNO P. BELTRAN, SVD

The desert experience

The Spirit drove Jesus into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him, recounts the Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent (Mk.1:12-15).

Lent is the time for the desert experience. We all must create a desert space in our overcrowded lives. Everyone occasionally needs some time for inner rejuvenation. In the interior desert of silence and solitude, we come face to face with the mysterious depth of everything that exists. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of daily living, we must preserve a core of interior silence where we alone experience God’s presence.

In this desert, the awareness of the divine takes place at the very center of ourselves, behind and beyond everything of which we are conscious. Going into the desert can be a time of conscious, spiritual opening, of making an effort to rise to an entirely new state of awareness of one’s spiritual condition.

In the desert, Jesus encountered beasts and angels. There are also wild beasts and angels in everyone of us. Sometimes, owing to our superficial self-knowledge, we fail to recognize the wild beasts in us and we give in to vainglory, or we fail to recognize the angel in us and give in to self-hatred. In the desert, we come to know ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, and discern our divine calling.

In this desert, we can get to the root of the problems plaguing the world today, not by structural analysis but by simplicity, since the problems of our time are fundamentally spiritual. These problems cannot be solved by science and technology but only through the discovery of who we are and who God is.

In the silence and recollection of the desert, we come to terms with ourselves as we really are. We are reconciled with the beasts and the angels in our lives and then we begin to experience peace again for the first time.

The God experience
In the journey into the desert in silence and in prayer, in faith and in hope, we make room in our hearts for Christ, and the otherness of God becomes Emmanuel.

The journey into the desert is the return to the heart, finding one’s deepest center, awakening the profound depths of our being in the presence of God “in whom we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

The journey into the desert is the way that leads us deeper into the mystery of the triune God, Father, Son and Spirit. We journey inwards in order to disappear into God and be lost in the mystery of his love.

The vision quest in the desert is an inward pilgrimage – arduous, magical, fascinating, fulfilling, and at the same time most personal and most universal. It is about becoming, recognizing your original self, making a pilgrimage to your own core, your own reality, your own sense of self. We plunge more deeply into our experience, and the journey into the desert allows us to experience the depth dimension of our inwardness.

The journey into the desert is the calling of every Christian. Christians are by nature pilgrims, wayfarers, sojourners on the way to the heavenly city, always on the go, ever moving forward, always unhappy about where they are because they want to reach where they are not, always trying for the goal, according to St. Augustine of Hippo, with restless hearts.

We forget that we are given enlightenment only in proportion as we give of ourselves more and more completely to God by humble submission and love. One who wishes to eliminate doubt, confusion and disorder, one who is afraid to make the journey into the desert cannot risk getting mixed up with Jesus of Nazareth.

If you find God with great ease, wrote Thomas Merton, perhaps it is not God that you have found. You have created a God according to your own image and likeness.

Escape from the real self
Many of us try to escape the journey into the desert. We turn away from the struggle to really find out who we are, even if we know that it is only in the journey into the desert that we will discover our own deepest reality. We chose to travel in the darkness, even as we know that it is only in searching for God that we will find our true self.

We live in a time in which most people believe there is not much inside them, only what others and the mass media have put there. Many of us have been beaten, battered starved, neglected, discounted and disowned. The wound is most deeply felt, but the remedy most deeply resisted.

Our false self is often unwilling to travel to the depths of our innermost being, this false self which is the collection of lies and illusions that spring from our turning away from God in whom alone we can find the truth about ourselves and our ultimate identity.

The journey into the desert is the quest for spiritual identity, the long and arduous task of slowly becoming detached from our false, illusory self – a self that is a little more than the collective evaluation and affirmation of people around us – and the opening ourselves up to receive a new self that is participation in the very life of God. It is to skirt the edge of the abyss that is at once our own nothingness and the fullness of God.

We waste our energies in playing various arbitrary roles and society abets us in this charade through the diversions it offers. This insight prompted Iris Murdoch to write in one of her novels that “human beings are essentially finders of substitutes.” And we become rigid, callous, inhuman and fanatical, condemned for life to be imprisoned in the narrow confines of an ego that seeks to build its own security entirely around itself and in objects that will ultimately fade away.

In the presence of the divine, we are confronted by our inescapable finitude, by the ordained transitoriness and mortal frailty of human existence. God’s silence when we talk to him is really filled with infinite promise, unimaginably more meaningful than any word we can hear. In the desert, we listen to God’s call.

You do not hear God’s reply in the silence of the desert? Karl Rahner explains the silence of God this way – God is listening to us our whole life long, until we have told him everything, until we have spoken our entire selves to him. When we are finished, God will speak his Word to us, the Word of His eternity in which He will express His very self in the depths of our hearts.

And so, we must set aside a place and time to be alone daily with God, spend time in the desert to distance ourselves from the many noises and voices that bombard our lives every day, a time to listen to God’s word, a time to discover who we are before God.

Today I will make a difference

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

By Max Lucado

A little prayer...

Surround me always, O Lord, with the shield of Your Word. Amen.

Thought of the day

It's time to get back to some old fashioned values like commitment and sacrifice and responsibility and purity and love and the straight life.

- Dr James Dobson

A little prayer....

Give us, O Lord, the courage to embrace the truth that will set us free. Amen.

A little prayer....

For You are not pleased with sacrifices, should I offer a holocaust; a humble contrite heart, O God, You will not spurn. Amen.

GRIEF AND GRATITUDE

By Sandra Abell

I'm usually an upbeat, happy person, so I've been perplexed these past few days by a feeling of free-floating depression. Everything in my life is great, so why am I feeling physically lethargic, mentally fuzzy and sad?

As I pondered this situation, I realized that this is the time of year when my mother died. Eight years ago, on Sept. 27, the loving, wonderful woman who had always been my rock, let go and moved on. She was 91 years old, had lived a good life and was ready. But I wasn't, and still am not. I've gone on with my life, but not a day passes when I don't think of something I forgot to ask her, wish we could laugh together or I could receive her wise counsel on a troubling matter.

Even though I miss her every day, I'm usually able to enjoymy life and function just fine. However, each year around this time my subconscious reminds my body that it's a time of grief, and I feel "down" for a week or so. Once I identify what's going on, I can relax, be gentle with myself, and get on with things. Still, it's disconcerting until I remember that I'm reliving my grief over having an empty space where mymother should be.

What always amazes me is that my subconscious and body remember, even when my conscious mind is focused elsewhere. So this month I'm reflecting on my mother, and all the people who were physically in my life and are now in myheart. I'm also reflecting on how incredible the human mind/body connection is, and how grateful I am that they help remind me of the important stuff.

How about you?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sandra Abell, MS, LPC, ACC Sandy is a business and life coach, and owner of Inside Jobs Coaching Company. She specializes in working with executives, business owners, professionals, entrepreneurs and people in transition. Sandy publishes a free monthly newsletter entitled Focusing On Your Success, and has written several books, including Leadership and Management Skills for New Supervisors, and Self-Esteem: An Inside Job. She can be reached www.insidejobscoach.com

Quote for the day....

The power of imagination makes us infinite.


~John Muir

A little prayer....

Grant, O Lord, that I may love You above all else. Amen.

Quote for the day....

There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning and yearning.


~Christopher Morley 

A little prayer...

“Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord your God.” Amen.

Quote for today....

We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.


~Jim Rohn

A little prayer....

We deserve Your just punishments, O Lord. Open my mind that I may spare myself from the unjust punishment I willingly inflict on my. Amen.

Quote for today....

Over every mountain is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.


~Theodore Roethke

A little prayer....

Lord Jesus, may I know You more clearly, love You more dearly, and follow You more closely. Amen.

A little prayer....

Give me, Lord, the freedom of a child of God. Arouse in me the power that I can, with Your grace, chart my destiny. Amen.

A little prayer...

“Lord, what is man that You care for him, mortal man that You keep him in mind?” Amen.

SCALING LIFE’S MOUNTAINS

By Michelle C. Ustaszeski

It is the simple things in life that please me. But it hasn’t always been that way. There was a time in my life when everything seemed dark. It was a time when my children were the only source of light in my life. I was disappointed in myself for descending so deeply into such an obscure frame of mind and that increasing self-resentment only made each day all the more dismal. I took refuge in the stories that I wrote, escaping my own reality by creating new ones and falling to sleep as a character with a life far better than my own. I was trapped between the boundaries that I created for myself, allowing no other feelings but self-pity and disappointment to reside and freely cultivate.

It may sound quite dramatic to those who are fortunate enough to have never experienced such inner despair. Unfortunately, most people can relate to how difficult it can be to climb over the peak of depression, especially if they have been dwelling at the foot of the mountain for some time now. But with each minute, each hour and each day that we remain still, we have a greater tendency to get comfortable within those boundaries. The mountain becomes a part of the scenery that we soon fail to see and the journey we were meant to travel in order to reach our destiny becomes postponed, or worse yet, never conquered.

Life began to change for me after I realized that it was not myenvironment that controlled me, but it was I who controlledmy environment. It was I who dimmed the lights in my own world and it was I who needed to slowly turn them back on. It was during that journey when I took a second look at my life, realizing that my children needed me. They deserved a mother who would provide light in their own times of darkness, guiding them into a better life than I had allowed for myself during those times of hopelessness. They deserved a mother who would conquer and move mountains in order to share with them the wisdom that I would obtain for the day when they would have to set out on their own journeys. They would learn that happiness is a gift that we give to ourselves and that regardless of how lost we feel at times, continuous movement in faith will eventually brink us to our peak.

It was at this time when I began finding the good in all things that I had subconsciously ignored. I began to notice everything that I overlooked outside of myself due to myprevious self-indulgence with inner wretchedness. I found that it was the simple negatives in life that would control me and that the simple positives would, in fact, set me free. Just as I would have probed for and willingly allowed any negative to govern me, I began my search for each and every positive that would eventually set me free. I began taking one step at a time, falling on occasion, but getting right back up with mygoal in mind as it became more visible with each step. Usingmy own internal compass and by creating my very own paths, I conquered feat after feat until I eventually mastered the art of scaling.

We deal with disappointing and depressing experiences each day of our lives. Rest assured that these difficult times are your opportunity to grow and to learn more advanced strategies in order scale your next mountain more quickly. 

These difficult times provide you with experience and knowledge that you can pass on to your children and to the world. They bestow upon you wisdom that, when looking back, will cause you to proudly stand in awe at how far you have traveled. Only through difficulty can you rest at the peak, look out over the horizon that surrounds you, and rejoice beyond today’s imagination at how beautiful life really is and how lucky we truly are.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle C. Ustaszeski is a writer and photographer of inspirational and motivational art. She believes that if you can prematurely feel the emotions of your desired outcome, your reservations have been made and reaching your destination is simply a matter of time. 

A little prayer...

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8).

Getting to know money - and yourself

 (philstar.com)

MANILA, Philippines – Have you ever dared to ask yourself this question: If money were a person, who would it be? What will he or she look like? Is he or she going to be a friend, a special someone, a parent or an enemy?

Reality TV show star and Canadian entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary said, “Here's how I think of my money: As soldiers. I send them out to war everyday. I want them to take prisoners and come home, so there's more of them.”

The way you think about money directly impacts your financial behavior and decisions. If you think you need to change the way you view money and get to know yourself a little bit more in this area of your life, you will need to consider these following principles:

1. Get rid of guilt.

If you must start anew with your financial life, you should forget the past and the guilt from your mistakes. Focus on the future instead. Shun those thoughts that keep reminding you of what you should have done before with your finances so you could have been this and that today. Those thoughts will never help.

Consider investing in the market. There are many ways to do so. Begin by exploring your options. You can also open a small business or a savings account (if you haven’t done so before) to start getting your finances in order.

2. Be friends with money.

Some people say that money is your friend only if you know how to manage it. But that might not be the case all the time. You can start friendship with money by knowing what it should and should not be. Learn how to manage it. Practice wise financial habits. Make the most out of the online resources, books and seminars that talk about these things. 

3. Remember that you are in control.

To help ourselves out, we can pretend for a while that money is a person. But the hard truth is it is an object which you can have control over. You can do whatever you want with it. While this is the case though, don’t forget that you should also be a good steward of money. Keep some for emergencies. Avoid overspending. Pay your bills on time. Make money work for you.

4. Share what you have.

Are you afraid to give? Someone once said that wealth is measured not by what you have but by how much you give. Giving plays a significant role in our financial lives. In many cases, giving yields the maximum ROI. You can share your money for a good cause like getting involved in a charitable activity.

So, who is money to you? Remember: If you change the way you think about money for the better, your financial attitude and decisions will never be the same. 

Quote of the day...

When something bad happens you have three choices. You can let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.

~Unknown

Quote of the day....

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things only hoped for.


~Epicurious

The Words Of Mother Teresa

Compiled by George Wachirah

The common theme of Mother Teresa words reflect her work with the lonely, the sick, the dying and the destitute. Her unending love came through in her work and in her words.

She was forever compassionate towards the loneliness felt by "wealthy" people, who on the surface had it all. She was also very concerned about the breakdown of families.

Here is a collection of her words which say it all:

Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.

If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.

Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.

Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents, parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins the disruption of peace of the world.

It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action.

Peace begins with a smile.

Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.

The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.

The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved.

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.

The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done.

There is more hunger in the world for love and appreciation in this world than for bread. We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.

Good works are links that form a chain of love.

In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.

Mother Teresa's message of love and hope lives on - it is now up to all of us to continue her work and make the world a better place.

Quote of the day....

It isn’t life that weights us down – it’s the way we carry it.


~Elizabeth Potier

A little prayer....

Banish unhealthy terror in my heart, O Lord, and keep me in awe of Your love and mercy. Amen.

Quote of the day....

If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.

~Martin Luther King Jr.