I have written several religious formation books for use in the classroom, I have tackled Mosses and the flight from slavery, I have looked at the Book of Acts and even delved into the Catechism of the Catholic Church, but the one book I have always wanted to take on was the Book of Job. This book, Jobs story, has always fascinated me, and I feel there are so many hidden gems with in the text. The fabric of Job is rich and textured that I know lessons lay between the words of the book. Yet I have never followed that vision, that dream to write a formation book based on Job. Maybe I will, one day, or maybe I will use Job in other ways. This I know, it is one of my favorite books in the Bible, the story of poor Job just seems to touch me.
I would like to think it’s because I connect with Job, but I know this is not true, Job was a righteous man, pleasing to the eye of God, he was a rich man, with many blessings. I am no righteous man nor am I rich. Job had a family, wife and children, I am single, and Job had oxen and ass, and well, I’m just an ass with no oxen. So no, it’s not that I connect with Job on any physical level.
Job had faith, a trust in God that I can only strive for, we was steadfast in his convictions, even as he lost all he had, he was still faithful.
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Job 1: 20-22
No, Job was one of a kind, he had faith that most of us only dream of. Yet Job seems so real, so accessible to me, he does not seem out of reach, but rather he seems humble and down to earth. Just the man next store type of guy. There is something likeable and pleasant about Job, and about his story. You feel his sufferings and trials. Yet you know his faith will pull him through. You know Job lives by the old saying “For the Grace of God go I”. A saying that I often us in my daily speech, a saying that I try to live by, a saying the Job exemplifies.
Job is the perfect picture of acceptance, of letting go and letting God. Yes Job was man, so there for he was also fallen and sin was in his nature. He was not a god, nor was he God. He was not born sinless, and he, I am sure, did not die sinless. But he was contrite and humble, he was steadfast and prayerful and most of all he was obedient to the Lord.
Maybe this is why I am drawn to Job, not because he and I are so much alike, but because he and I are so different, because I want to be like Job, I want to emulate his trust and faith, I want to experience his deep conviction and to feel God within me as Job did. Maybe I am drawn to him because I lack so much of him within.
This Lent read the book of Job, meditate on his plight, on his trust and his faith, and read of his family and friends and others who lacked trust in the Lord, I think we, well I know I, will find ourselves more in them than in Job.
His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish[b] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Job 2: 9-10
Are most of us more like his wife than like him? When things seem not to go our way, we tend to blame God, to curse him, and if anyone in the bible seemed to have the right to curse God, it was Job. This man did nothing to deserve the trials he was enduring, he was a good and faithful man, yet God allowed the Devil to tempt him, and Job never wavered, he just endured.
And we complain about 40 days of Lent! The sacrifice we make, giving up meet on Friday compared to Job, who lost all he had. How sad we truly are, how unworthy we truly are. Yet God does not give up on us, just as he had faith in Job, he has the same faith in us. If only we could have the same faith as Job.
Lent offer us the time to reflect, to reflect upon the Cross, the Empty Tomb and the Risen Lord, use the 40 days of Lent to read Job, to understand Job and to see the Cross, Tomb and Risen Lord in all the Job endures. Journal about how Job and his trials can become your trials, how Job’s faith can become your faith, how The Book of Job can become a book of you.
Were is your focus this Lent? On you or on Jesus. Lent is not about us, it is not about self-improvement, it is about Jesus, it’s about New Birth, it’s about New Life, it’s about New Perseverance and New Death.
New Birth
[ Praise to God for a Living Hope ] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:2-4
As a Christian we are a new creation, but more importantly as a Christian we believe that God became man and was born of woman into our humanity. His birth is the source of our New Birth. Because of a Childs Birth, we now have the opportunity to experience our Birth, our New Birth into Christ’s Church, into His Mystical Body.
Lent is a time for us to reflect upon the New Birth, a time to renew our own vigor and a time to dig deeper into our Birthright. With out the Birth of Christ, we would have no Resurrection, and without our New Birth into the Mystical Body, we would have no hope or joy, no resurrection of our own.
Now I’m not saying that we, like Christ, will rise from the dead, but we will, with Gods grace upon us, experience a sort of resurrection, one of a New life being born within us.
New Life
Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us newlife to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem. Ezra 9:8-10
We are slaves, slaves of our flesh, slaves of our world and slaves of our sin. Yet we have been promised a New Life, a Life of Milk and Honey, a life of Love and Understanding. Yet we still suffer as Christians, we suffer because we are Christians, because we proclaim our Christianity to all. We suffer more for our convictions than we would if we would denounce or hide them. Or, so we think. Our suffering for the sake of Jesus is our joy, our suffering is our cross.
The Cross of Jesus is the symbol of His suffering and death for our sins, but it is so much more. The Cross is not a sign of defeat, of the end of Death, but a sign of Victory, of the New Life, the Resurrection, the Empty Tomb.The surging’s He suffered, the humiliation and abandonment he endured was not for his sake, but for ours. The Cross is the peace sign of the Christian movement, it is the battle cry of our army and the symbol of our nation. The Cross of Christ is our model, our example our map to the New Life.
Lent offers us the time to examine the Cross of Christ, to feel the wood grain and to touch the blood that drips and runs down its hued sided. Lent offers us the Cross not as a symbol but as a reality.
New Perseverance
Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 2 Thessalonians 1:3-5
We understand perseverance, most of us live it. The Church understands perseverance, she is live proof of it. But we only know of earthly perseverance, Jesus knew of Heavenly perseverance. A perseverance the He taught us on the night He was betrayed. He endured for us and triumphed over for us Death. His perseverance was paramount and divine in nature.
Lent offers us a time to experience perseverance of the Heavenly sort. All we need to do is ask our Heavenly Father for the Grace to preserver and to come through this Lenten session a New Creation. TO allow us to shun temptations and linger in the shadow of the Cross. Heavenly Perseverance is attainable for the asking.
New Death
Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death— they are like the new grass of the morning: Psalm 90:4-6
Death, for Christians, is not the end, in-fact, for Christians it is only the beginning. Yet our human nature, our fallen understandings define death as an end. Death, of the flesh is such a death, but death of the spirit, there is no such death, to a Christian. For Christ secured for us, upon that Cross, a New Death, a Death in to New Life. A glorious Death, a welcomed Death a Death of everlasting Life.
Look upon the Cross, see with in it the doorway to eternity. Look into the Cross and see beyond it into the glory of Heaven. The Master calling to his own, the Shepard retrieving His sheep. The Cross is our Doorway and the empty tomb is our passage way, Christ as laid out the plan, the road to eternity has been carved out of Calvary and He awaits our arrival.
Lent is a time to explore that road a little bit closer, a time to enter into the Death of our Lord a little deeper and a time to experience a New Death, a Death of the old ways, the way of Sin, a time to be born again, into Christ.
Focus
So, what is your focus for Lent, is it to stop eating candy or to start walking the road to Calvary?
I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 2 Corinthians 11:26-28
We all have wants and needs, statements like this are throughout the bible, someone is always complaining, from the beginning of time until now. Adam, our first parent, complained that he had no one, than he turned around and disobeyed God. The Israelites complained for 40 years and every time they did, God responded, gave them what they asked for and on and on it went….
In the New Testament we see more of the same, I want this, I need that, I desire this…. And so it goes… But the question is, Is that really a bad thing? Is it really a bad thing to want, to desire, to need? Some will say yes, in fact most will say yes.
Sure we never hear him say I want this or that, but He wanted. He wanted to know who people said he was,
[ Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah ] Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “WhodopeoplesayIam?” Mark 8:26-28
He wanted people to follow him
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, followme.” Luke 18:21-23
He wanted friendship
Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch withme.” Matthew 26:37-39
We all have wants and needs, wanting and needing, in-of-it-self is not a bad thing, it how we want or need that makes the difference. Jesus, from the cross, teaches us the way to want, they way to need, when he utters the words “I am thirsty.
[ The Death of Jesus ] Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “Iamthirsty.” John 19:27-29
Jesus was asking for his thirst to be satisfied, but not the thirst of humanity, but the thirst for humanity. A subtle difference, but a major one. In the first, OF HUMANITY, this is a biological thirst, a thirst for water the second FOR HUMANITY is a spiritual thirst, a thirst for the souls of man. Jesus is thirsting for us, for our souls, he has offered his life upon the cross, so he can consume us, drink us in and quench not his thirst but ours.
This is the difference, Jesus wants, not for His sake, but always for yours. His need for friendship was not for Him, but for us. He understands our needs, and wants to fulfill them, if we allow Him to. By asking his friends to stay with Him on the night He was betrayed was not to comfort Him, but for Jesus to teach us comfort. His needs and wants only reflect ours. Jesus does not need humanity, but humanity needs Him.
This Lent, ask yourself why you are giving this or that up, why are you giving up smoking or candy or TV? Is it just to satisfy the Lenten obligation? Why are you not eating meat on Fridays, just to be in good standing with the Church? Lent offers us an opportunity to truly discern our needs and wants, to truly offer up to God our prayers and desires. But ask yourself, do you have the Thirst OF or a Thirst FOR, are you observing Lent because its expected of you or because its pleasing to God?
Lent is a time of reflection, a time to clean the spiritual house, use the forty days to cleanse your temple and to learn the true meaning of want and need. The true meaning of Lent, learn from the Christ, who hung upon the cross, not for His wants or needs, but for ours.
Samuel McChord Crothers once wrote ” try as hard as we may for perfection, the net result of our labors is an amazing variety of imperfectness. We are surprised at our own versatility in being able to fail in so many different ways.” Do you feel like what you accomplish is never quite good enough? Do you often put things off, waiting for ideal conditions? Do you feel you must give more than 100 percent on everything you do or else ? If so, rather than simply working toward success, you may in fact be …
I could not have said it any better. Well truth be told, it is much better than what I would have said. But I agree 100%
I, like many, was sadden to hear about Whitney Houston’sdeath. Death, of anyone, is always a tragic and sad moment, Life that has ended always leaves someone sad, even the murder has loved ones. Yes, I am a child of the 80’s, I graduated in ‘84, so the soundtrack to my teenage years was the 80’s. I remember seeing Whitney in “The Body Guard” and hearing “I will always love you” and thinking, what a great and powerful song. That is my favorite song of hers. The power and depth touched me, and it still does. I remember thinking what a mistake it was when she married Bobby Brown and thinking how sad it was when she admitted she was a crack user. What a tragic waste of life, and in the end, it was. So yes, I was saddened, but I was not shocked.
Second Point
I knew, once I heard the news reports, that the eulogies would start, the road to sainthood would be paved and Whitney, by some, would become a symbol of perfection. I listened to people, fans or just happen to be standing their, state there professed love for her, I listened to them talk of her as if she was perfection. I listen to then shaking my head in wonderment and asking myself “How can they sit there and talk about her as if she had nothing to do with her own death.” Whitney had a problem, she was a drug user, she use to be a crack addict, as far as we know she was not using it anymore. But years of abuse has its residual effects on the body. We do know she was found with prescription drugs and alcohol in her system. But as of this posting, we do not know if that was the cause of her death. And I will not even venture to guess, to me that is as wrong as all who make her out to be a saint. Whitney is dead, this much we know, Whitney was, and possible was at the time of her death, a drug user and Whitney was a talent that we only see every so often on this earth.
Third Point
As the news unfolded, and more stars had the opportunity to make sure there voice and face was seen and heard on TV over Whitney’s death, I heard more than once, “Whitney is in heaven now”… This statement, as well-meaning as it is, has always bothered me. As a Catholic, I do not believe we know the fait of anyone, not even ourselves. As a Catholic I do not believe that we know the heart of anyone, so I do not know what was in Whitney’s heart at the time of her death, so I do not know if she was in the good Graces of God or not. Only Whitney and God know that. So for me, a humble, fallen, Human to state that anyone is in heaven is very presumptions. As a Catholic, I do not believe in the once saved always saved theology. to me that just opens the door to , I can do as I please, because I am saved. As a Catholic, if I had to venture a guess as to Whitney’s current state, it would have to be that she, if God wills it, is in Purgatory, not heaven. Where she can purify herself and make ready for the glory that is heaven. Do I know this, absolutely not, do I pray for this for he, absolutely.
Fourth Point
Whitney was a mother, a sister and a daughter, she was loved as such. But she was also a talented singer and entertainer who has millions of fans. But like all of us, she was lost and searching, she was a fallen creation, searching for Gods love and compassion. And sadly she turned to drugs to find it. We all have faults, none of us are perfect. I do not know if Whitney is in Heaven or Hell, but this I do know. To deny the existence of Hell is dangerous, and to deny. The Evil One exist and he greatest lie is this, “Hell does not exist”. I do not know what has become of Whitney’s soul, nor would I venture to guess. But this I do know, only God and Whitney know if she is at peace or not.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am anti-union, that I see no reason for the union to exist. Where they needed at one point in history, most likely, are they needed now, in 2012, nope, not at all. They are a socialistic organization that only has itself in mind, they care nothing for their membership or the company their members work for nor the community they living and serve. Unions, by there very definition are anti-capitalism, the driving force behind our nations economy. Left up to the unions, we would have no manufacturing in this nation; they would have killed all possibility of production anything at a price the average American can afford.
Think about it, the American manufacturing industry has dwindled in size, we have lost complete industries, why, because unions priced us out of the market. And the argument that we should tax imports more, to create a more level playing field, we that is just plan stupid, its called protectionism. We have tried that before, and it don’t work, the free and open market and trade agreements are the best way to prop up America, the more we can purchase from other countries, the more we help their economy, they more we help their economy, the more they want to purchase our products, and in doing so, helping our economy. But this is a little off topic, what I want to talk about is how Unions are killing America, how unions are a cancer upon America, a cancer that is growing and killing of good industries, killing off education and opportunity. Do not believe me, watch this:
Unions at their best…
Yep, you hear right, “Sometimes life is not fair”, but wait, I thought teachers unions were all about the student, the learning… OH, wait that is just the nice line they feed us, the truth is much to ugly to tell, so they hide it. What is the truth, the truth is teacher unions are looking out for themselves, protecting bad teachers, rewarding mediocre and punishing students and parents with poor performing schools. Fighting any action that would give parents a choice an option to improve their child’s chances at succeeding in life, all in the name of Utopia.
The brotherhood (and sisterhood, I don’t want to piss anyone off by being sexist) of the unions has created a workforce that no longer believes in merit pay, of right to work, rather they have drank the kool-aid of socialism. A job is no longer a privilege, but a right. No longer do we need to prove our ability’s, just buy or time, wait long enough and you are in like flynn. No longer do you have to work hard and prove your worth, rather it has become a God-given right for a pay increase. I do not know about anyone else, but I look at pay increases as a way for my boss and the company to thank me and reward me for doing a good job, above the expected. I am always very humbled when I get a bonus or pay increase, but then again, I’m not in a union, so I know I have to work hard to keep my job, and I have to do what is expected and more to merit a bonus or raise. But if I was in a union, it would be expected, regardless of my personal input. I find that rather disturbing. I know, from my own personal life, that when a co-worker received a pay increase and bonus, larger than mine, yet I knew, as did everyone else, that they did not deserve it, based in work outcomes, I felt like the pay increases and bonuses had no real value. The value of the extra $55.00 per month is not the money, but the satisfaction knowing you were recognized and rewarded for your efforts. Yet, if everyone got that same $55 pay increase, regardless of their value to the company, than that $55 becomes meaningless. This same person who received the bonus and raise was also the first to complain about not receiving a bonus or raise during the hard times, go figure. He was a perfect candidate for a union job.
I have traveled the world teaching union and non-union people, I have negotiated with the State of Michigan to open a Charter School, and had to deal with the local Teachers Union, and I can tell you from experience, there is a major difference in attitude and perception. Unions see things is what can I get and how does it benefit me were as non-unions see things as what is the best over all, how does it benefit all parties involved. Now I know that not every union person feels this way and not every non-union person feels this way, but on average, this has been my experience.
When I have to teach union students, I always have to remind myself that the traditional classroom rules are tossed out the door. The idea of respect, gone, they show up when they want, leave when they feel like it and do as they please, all with no regard to me or the job I must do. True story, I was teaching a 2-day class to a group of union members. One student sat at her computer the first half of the first day doing nothing but checking her Facebook. How do I know, because she was not shy about sharing facts and tid-bits about her grandchildren to the whole class during my lectures. Yep, right in the middle of a lecture she would blurt out a funny little fact. No concern for me, or the other students. Most of whom were more than happy for the interruption. At lunch time she came up to me and said she would not be returning after lunch, I asked hey why, her response, “Because I don’t want to”, when I informed her that I would have to mark her as not completing the course and she would not be able to get her user ID, she responded with “Ya I will, they have to give it to me” and walked out. Did she get her ID, I do not know, but my guess is yep, she was union. Ah, what a joy…
I take my job and my performance seriously, and when something like that happens, I find it hard to not take it personally. Teaching is what I do, I love it and I always try to give my very best, yet when you are faced with the union mentality, well it all sort of goes out the window, I find myself teaching not my best, but just enough to get through the day. And I hate that feeling, I feel like I have failed. But I find that it is just easer that way, I find that I am not fighting the union mentality as much, they don’t care, so why should I. What a horrible way to go through life. I take no pride in it, but there is no other way to deal with it, I am stuck teaching them, regardless of whether they want it or not, so I might as well make it as painless for them and myself. The odd thing is, my evaluations are better when I put no effort into it, when I expect nothing from them. They reward me for mediocrity. Amazing!
Yep, Unions, the down fall of America and innovation. They need to be busted up and never return. Plain and simple!
Hate him or love him, this is a great discussion… This is a conversation we, as a community, as a nation, as adults, need to have more often. This should be our number 1 concern. Want to know what tomorrow will be like, look at our youth…
I hope you enjoy…
BeckAsks Panel: How Do You Teach People Values When They Are Raised in a Secular World?
It is a question that many of us have likely asked: How do you instill values in people — especially young people — when they are raised in an ever-increasingly secular world?
David Horowitz, Pastor Geronimo Aguilar and other faith-leaders joined Glenn Beck on Wednesday evening to discuss this very topic.
Citing the “domino effect” that has arisen since faith has come under fire, the panel delved into issues such as single-parent homes, the contributions of faith-keepers versus secularists, and the somewhat recent creation of the “underclass.”
Horowitz explained that “accountability” and “responsibility” — as core tenets of faith — gives one the power to change their lives for the better, thus reversing self-destructive behaviors. He also explained that the underclass is only a recent development dating back to the 1960′s and the Great Society, reminding that before those days there was the “working poor” who were able to advance themselves gradually throughout life.
“Now people are addicted to dependency,” Horowitz said.
Glenn led the engaging panel through a discussion of statistics, with one panelist adding that a few short decades ago, “75 percent of black children were born to two parents” and that one study suggested “90 percent” of all violent crimes were perpetrated by adults or teens who came from a one-parent home. Glenn reminded that splitting up families is a common tactic of those who seek to oppress.
Watch this fascinating discussion and weigh in below with your thoughts:
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.
~William James (1842 – 1910)
Attitude…. What a powerful word.
manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind: a negative attitude; group attitudes. (Source)
Notice the one little section that states “Especially of the mind” our attitude is just that, ours. We control it, it does not (or at least should not) control us. Yet all too often, we allow it to just that, our attitude all too often becomes a commentary on outside forces. We allow forces that we cannot control, friends, work, and weather, to control us. Attitude is not beyond our control, it is within our control, if we would only take control.
I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.
Martha Washington, the wife of George Washington lived a hard life. A life of service to her country, a life of war and peace a life that called upon her many times to sacrifice. You will not read it in the history books, but she did. She had to be a woman of great courage and one of positive attitude. She had to be selfless in all she did, for she allowed her husband to go off to war and lead a revolution that, by all accounts, could not be won. She left to take care of the farm. She again offered her husband to our new and struggling nation to attend the constitutional conventions, a thankless and long task, leaving Martha to tend to the family farm, once again. Still more was asked of her, as she and George we honored with the task of becoming the first leader of this Great Nation, no simple task. No, hers was not a life of leisure and pleasure; hers was a life of service and attitude. Yep, Attitude… Martha, based on what I have read of her, was a remarkable woman, one of strong opinions and full of positive attitude. We all can learn a lot from not only George Washington, but his wife Martha as well.
Jesus has something to say about our attitudes as well, He provides us with the Beatitudes as a guide to follow.
Reading the Beatitudes can be a hard task, if you do not understand how to read them. If you do not understand the meaning behind them. However, put simply, Jesus is telling us, we are in control or our outlook, our attitudes towards life and self. To the poor He promises the Kingdom, to those that mourn, comfort and so on. But what is He saying? Is Jesus saying that the poor are the only ones to see the Kingdom and the mournful the only ones to receive comfort? Nope, not at all. The poor is not referring to the lack of money, but rather the lack of faith, yet in this lack I should not despair, for Jesus states I will see the Kingdom. So rejoice and be glad, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.
It is our attitude we control, we have the power to see the glass as half full or half-empty, and the Beatitudes are lessons in seeing the glass as half full. What a valuable lesson. A lesson that has been taught over the centuries by many a great teacher, none greater than Jesus, but still many a great teachers. Yet it is a lesson we still need to learn. Knowing that I am poor in Spirit, yet will still see the Kingdom of God does not mean I stop trying to deepen my faith, sit back and just wait, rather it means I double down and study, learn and grow in my spirit, knowing that it will always fall short, but also knowing that Jesus understands, and the Kingdom will still be at hand. That is the power…
Dr. Wayne Dyer states, “Change the way you look at things, and the things you are looking at will change”, so true and so powerful, yet most of us refuse to do so. Changing our outlook, our attitude, is not easy, we have been programmed to accept that this is the way it is, outside forces determine our attitude, and we have no control over it. Such a false understanding, yet it is the understanding the majority of people have. How often I have heard “They can’t help it, that just how they are, that’s who they are”… To state it directly and simply, that’s just bull crap, a cop-out, we all have control of our lives, we all can change out attitudes, our outlook, and determine for ourselves what our future will be. We just have to work at it…
The task is hard, the journey long and the pitfalls will be many, your drive will wane and your ego will protest, but it can be done, you can change your attitude, you can see the glass as half full, if you only work at it. Yes, sometimes I do see that 1/2 empty glass, but in moments like this I know it is my ego driving my attitude and not my soul, not my being. At times like this I step back and breathe deeply, re-focus my thoughts and realign my attitude, and re-image the glass as 1/2 full yet again. It is a mammoth task at times, but the pay-off is always worth the effort. The feeling of control over the ego, the knowledge that I am in control on myself are well worth the effort.
Attitude, you got one. I am sure you do, but the bigger question is, Attitude, you like the one you got? Is it a healthy attitude? Does it contribute to your overall happiness or is it a source of depression and discontentment? Try this, try taking an attitude assessment, simple write down your attitude towards things, family, work, life, politics, religion, faith, money and so on, rate them based on a 1 to 10 scale, 1 being extremely bad attitude and 10 being extremely positive attitude. Once you have completed this, look at your list, anything with a 6 or more score, consider good for now. Everything with a five or below score consider as areas that need improvement. Start with the 5’s, pick one, let us say its Job, and create an action plan to help you change your attitude. What can you do to create a new and better attitude concerning your current job? To help with this, write down all the aspects of your job that seems to be the source of your bad attitude. Look at each one and determine what action you can take to rectify this. It may be as simple as having a conversation with your boss or as complex as having to try and be transfers to a new department. Nevertheless, whatever the solution, whatever the problem, remembers you are in control of your attitude, no one else is!
Once you have fixed the first on your list continue through the rest of the list, and before you know it, your attitude will be better. However, your work is not done yet, nope… Because you know that, your coworker or whatever the source off your discontentment was will not just roll over and play dead. So now, you need to learn tools to help you cope with issues that will pop up. Best advice, find a saying or prayer that you like, one that reminds of your ultimate goal, a more positive and productive attitude, make a copies of it, place on all your office wall, put one in your purse or wallet, tape one to your bathroom mirror and one on your car visor. Frame one to hang in your hall, in other words place this reminder all over the place, so when the need arrives, just look at, read it and take a step back to contemplate it. Refocus your thoughts and realign your attitude. It takes practice, but it can be done.
This Open letter it to all Catholics, be they liberal or conservative, laps or practicing, fallen away or on their way back home to Rome. In-fact this open letter should be shared with non-Catholics, non-Christians and anyone who is concerned about their personal liberty and freedom. This letter is intended to excite you, motivate you and call you to action. This letter is a letter of protest and a letter of compassion; it is written from my heart and shared with the world. It will, undoubtably contain miss-spellings, bad punctuation and grammatical errors. However, what it will not contain is false emotions and lack of integrity. It will be heartfelt and passionate, it will be my personal views and my faith presented for you and for all.
Revelation 3:16
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
The above quote is the foundation upon I build my letter. The words of St. John in the book of Revelation needs to be in our hearts and on our minds as we read this letter and internalized. It is the basis of all that I have to say concerning the current state of anti-Catholic, anti-liberty rhetoric coming from Washington DC.
The Obama administration continues their attack on Liberty and Freedom; they continue to erode our rights to religious freedom. The latest being their insistence that Catholic Institutions abandon their core beliefs and offer healthcare benefits that cover birth control, sterilization and abortion causing drugs. This is a direct act against our religious freedom and anti-American. (Source)
We, as Americans, as Catholics as a freedom loving people must stand up, speak out and protest this act of religious bigotry. We, as Catholics, are called to do so, by our very baptism, we have been given the responsibility to stand up for and defend our faith and our Church. Yet, all too often, we fail to do so. If we remain still and quiet the Obama Administration will win, not just the healthcare debate, but even more importantly they will the war he and his administration has waged against religious freedoms.
Our right as Americans and our obligations as Catholics are being challenged and we must respond, and we must respond loudly and boldly. This administration is forcing Catholic Charities, Hospitals and Schools to support and pay for treatments that are counter to our faith, counter to our faith structure. This should shock all Americans, not just Catholics. This is an attack on all Freedoms, not just Religious Freedoms. The Founding Fathers would be shocked to their core and the call for Revolution would once again be heard over this great land. The Founding Fathers fought for Freedom and Liberty, the ability for people to choose their Faith and practices it as seen fit by the faith. They fought for less government and more personal responsibility, not for Big Brother and Government intervention into our daily lives. Healthcare is a personal responsibility and one that the government should not be involved in, but that will be saved for another time. Back to this open letter and the attack on our religious freedoms.
These past days have seen a grave error on the part of the federal government, as well as a blessed response from Catholics all across this great state and nation.
By now, all men and women of faith know that the United States Department of Health and Human Services has declared that health benefit plans must include coverage for sterilization, contraception, and abortion-inducing drugs. This unconstitutional and unconscionable mandate is to take effect in stages during 2012 and 2013.
The Catholic Church in the United States will never comply with this mandate. Told that the federal government has allowed a one-year grace period during which the Church can adjust itself to this mandate, Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York responded that the Church does not need a year to determine whether it would comply. He is right. In offering this supposed mandate, the federal government misreads the Constitution of the United States. It equally misreads the determination of Catholics.
This nation is built upon the three-legged stool of the First Amendment. Our precious freedoms of religion, speech, and assembly underlie everything this nation is, and everything this nation has ever accomplished. Religious liberty gives the freedom to preach the Truth. And the truth is that pregnancy is not a disease. Nor is the natural fertility of a woman a disease.
Through the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Michigan Catholic Conference, we are exploring a number of options, including litigation and Congressional reform. As these efforts move forward, Catholics should make clear to their elected officials the crucial importance of religious liberty, and they should pray daily for those who have the responsibility for making these decisions.(Source)
God Bless Bishop Boyea for his strong stance, he truly is a Sheppard of his flock, and I for one am proud to know he is in Michigan and at one time was part of the Archdiocese of Detroit. He speaks boldly and strongly, and his statement should be ours, we, as Catholics, will never comply with this mandate. We need to refuse, to protest and to vote with our Catholic heart and sensibility. We need to let Obama and his administration that he cannot, that no politician can dictate the pillars of our faith, that no mortal man can overturn the laws of God! We will not stand for this and we will, we must, fight back!
It is not only Conservatives or Republicans that should be upset, but Liberals and Democrats, this is not going to stop, the power grab will continue if it is not revered. We will see more laws; more directives infringing upon our Liberates and Freedoms enter into the cause of fairness and equality. The forced secularization of Catholic institutions is neither fair nor equal; it is tyranny in its infancy. It is socialism at its birth and will continue to grow unless we, as Americans, stand and fight! It is time that we rejuvenate our revolutionary hearts and stand for what is right.
Please do not miss understand me here, I am not talking about bloodshed, but I am talking about revolution, a change in the current regime and a return to Liberty and the Constitution. This Administration has trampled this document more than any other has; they have no respect for the Founders and see the Constitution as outdated and in-need of an update, The Constitution 2.0, if you will. Obama himself has stated this:
The President said,”…our Founders designed a system that makes it more difficult to bring about change than I would like sometimes.” (Source)
Really, the system Obama is referring to is outlined and detailed in the Constitution… Hmm, How dare the Founders limit King Obama’s power to force his radical and leftist views upon Americans. That is exactly what he is doing with the contraceptive healthcare law being enforced upon Catholics. I know some Liberals and pro-abortionist are hailing this as a victory. However, they should be careful not to celebrate too much, because soon the heavy hand of tyranny will crush your freedoms and liberties, as it is ours. Hold your convictions tight, as Americans; we have the right to do so, and an obligation to defend them. However, be careful and de diligent, the road to socialism is paved with many tempting things. Such as forcing all to accept, for the betterment of all, abortion, birth control and serialization. It promises a nation with “free” healthcare and equality that is not only protected by the government but also guaranteed. The temptations of Utopia are many and they shine and glimmer of in the distance, just like fools gold below the waters of injustice. We all want Equality and Liberty, we all strive for Freedom and Fairness, but as we quest for and search for this Utopia, this perfection of Government and men, we often times forget the men to whom we are governing. Our Nation was designed with one concept in mind, that it is man who gives government its power, not government who gives man its Freedoms. We, as a Nation allow the Federal Government the power to withhold Liberties and Freedoms as a payment for protection of our Liberties and Freedoms. We give them the power, not the other way around. Yet they seem to see it differently, The Obama administration seems to see it as they grant us our Freedoms and Liberties, and in doing so, they rightly feel they have the power to remove, to hold ransom, our Liberties and Freedoms. As long as we allow them to feel this way, as long as we do not stand and fight for our Freedoms and Liberties, they will continue to act as if they have the power over us, and not as our Founding Fathers intended, we have the power of them. It is our Government, we created it and we can destroy it or we can restore it! What will it be? This is a defining moment in our history; this is a turning point for our Great Nation. How will we react?
Revelation 3:16
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Our ability to succeed is truly all up to us. We are the masters of our own destiny, and we decide if we fail or not. All to often we allow others to decide for us, we listen to the negative inputs from others, allowing that cancer of negativity to eat away at our resolve. As Abraham Lincoln stated:
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.
Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865)
It is our own resolution that will determine our own outcome. We must work hard and over come what ever obstacles are put in our way. Sure, it make be hard work, it may take time, sometimes it takes a life time, or even longer. Think Mount Rushmore
So what is your Mount Rushmore, what project do you have that is monumental in nature that will leave a lasting impression on all? We all have our own Mount Rushmore’s, we all have something inside of us that is striving to get out, to breath and to become a life unto itself. But are we, are you and I, willing and able to be resolved to complete the project. Can we bear the hard work, can we blast away the old rock and carve out a new face?
If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother and hope your guardian genius.Joseph Addison (1672 – 1719)
All to often we do not, all to often we give in, so what can you and I do to change this destructive pattern? Glad you asked:
Know the goal: Before you can even start to work on the goal, you have to know the goal. I don’t mean just a basic idea of what you want, like “I want to sell stuff on eBay” No that’s not knowing your goal, that’s naming it, but to achieve it, you have to know it intimately. Research it, live with it, understand it, both good and bad points. Know it like you know yourself.
The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.
Count every step: Everything you do towards your goal is an accomplishment, count them, plot your progress, celebrate your success.
“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that?s where you will find success.” - Thomas J. Watson
Look at setbacks as resets: Setbacks are an opportunity to start over, in building Mount Rushmore they planned on building in a completely different location, but due to the quality of the poor stone, they reset, reevaluated and relocated.
People who make money often make mistakes, and even have major setbacks, but they believe they will eventually prosper, and they see every setback as a lesson to be applied in their move towards success. Jerry Gillies
Learn and keep on learning: Learning can never be a onetime thing, no matter the goal, there is always something new, some new research, new considerations or new insights. Keep a journal of your learning, tack it and reread it often.
What is important is to keep learning, to enjoy challenge, and to tolerate ambiguity. In the end there are no certain answers.Martina Horner, President of Radcliffe College
Accept: Accept that sometimes the goal we want is not the goal we achieve. Think Post it Notes:
Everyone knows what Post-it® notes are: They are those great little self-stick notepapers. Most people have Post-it® Notes. Most people use them. Most people love them. But Post-it® Notes were not a planned product.
No one got the idea and then stayed up nights to invent it. A man named Spencer Silver was working in the 3M research laboratories in 1970 trying to find a strong adhesive. Silver developed a new adhesive, but it was even weaker than what 3M already manufactured. It stuck to objects, but could easily be lifted off. It was super weak instead of super strong.
No one knew what to do with the stuff, but Silver didn’t discard it. Then one Sunday four years later, another 3M scientist named Arthur Fry was singing in the church’s choir. He used markers to keep his place in the hymnal, but they kept falling out of the book. Remembering Silver’s adhesive, Fry used some to coat his markers. Success! With the weak adhesive, the markers stayed in place, yet lifted off without damaging the pages. 3M began distributing Post-it ® Notes nationwide in 1980 — ten years after Silver developed the super weak adhesive. Today they are one of the most popular office products available. (source)
One last thought:
Before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead. If you could see them clearly, naturally you could do a great deal to get rid of them but you can’t. You can only see one thing clearly and that is your goal. Form a mental vision of that and cling to it through thick and thin.Kathleen Norris
So what ever your goal, what ever your dream, be diligent and know that only you can stop yourself from creating your own Mount Rushmore.
I have written several religious formation books for use in the classroom, I have tackled Mosses and the flight from slavery, I have looked at the Book of Acts and even delved into the Catechism of the Catholic Church, but the one book I have always wanted to take on was the Book of Job. This book, Jobs story, has always fascinated me, and I feel there are so many hidden gems with in the text. The fabric of Job is rich and textured that I know lessons lay between the words of the book. Yet I have never followed that vision, that dream to write a formation book based on Job. Maybe I will, one day, or maybe I will use Job in other ways. This I know, it is one of my favorite books in the Bible, the story of poor Job just seems to touch me.
Attitude, you got one?
Paul Sposite
Guided Insight Life Coach
(Something to read, and help you with your attitude)
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Posted by Paul Sposite on February 8, 2012 in Change, Control, Faith, History, Improvement, Life, Self, Education, Ego, selfhelp, Religon
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