Ben Franklin and Leadership

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Leadership is something we hear about all the time, we can attend seminars, read books and articles and even blog post. Everyone seems have the solution to being a leader. To me it seems that the title of the book or workshop seems to be more important that the content of the book or workshop. The key to a multi-million dollar book is the title, not so much the content. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some great books out there on leadership, but really, is there anything we have not already hear, read or seen, is there a new holy grail of leadership quality that we just happen to stumble upon?

Can there really be something we missed? I find it hard to believe, sure there are new challenges to being a leader in the 21st century, we have a world that is connected like never before, we tweet or thoughts the moment we have them and Facebook our likes for all the world to see. We have smart phones and tablets that keep us connected to the grid at all times, allowing us to “lead” at any given moment. We can bark our orders to all with one simple posting and we can “keep tabs” on our team with a few clicks of the mouse.

So sure there are new challenges, but has leadership really changes? New tools for a new world, but is being a leader harder today than 10, 20, 50, 100 or 1000 years ago? I think not, if anything, it should be easier. Think about it… Before the advent of cellphones and the internet leaders had to communicate face to face or through well written letters that would take days, weeks or months to arrive at its destination.

Case and point:

Ben Franklin the American Statesmen who helped define this nation, a founding father and great leader. He could not tweet the French monarchy and ask for help in the American cause, he could not pick up his cell phone and give them a little ring nor text them a question. He had only two options, write a letter and send  it off, on a boat to France or pack up his bags and head there himself. Franklin did both. The letter first, stating his purpose and announcing his arrival and than he himself heading off. This was no 8 hour flight, it was a long and treacherous trip on a ship. Not a modern-day cruse liner, but a wooden vessel with very few comforts we would consider must haves.

The trip is only part of it, a lot could change in the time it took Franklin to travel from America to France, and he had no real way of knowing so. There was not onboard communication device to receive updates on the revolution back home. Franklin was flying blind, or should I say, sailing blind. By the time Franklin arrives in France the fight could have been over, the British could have defeated the rebels and his trip could have been in vane.

Sure, we may have times were we are flying blind, times we may feel as if we are on a ship sailing off to ports unknown, but we are never truly out of the loop, not in todays connected society. We few postings to our Linked In account, a few Google searches and before we know it, we have the latest rumors or tid-bits of information. Franklin had none of this, in fact, by the time he arrives in France, the French would know more about the revolution latest happenings than him.

Franklin would have to update himself once in France, based on old news, for even the “breaking news” in France would have been weeks if not months old. No instant updates or news feeds for Mr. Franklin, he had to use his intuition to read between the lines of the old news and speculate on the news yet to come. No fact checking or quick call to the home office to verify his information, nope, Franklin had to just wait for updates.

Franklin spent months in France, waiting for the perfect moment to ask the King for help, he used his time to learn and plan. His face, his words and actions represented the Face of America to the French.

Leaders today have lost the art of statesmanship, most have lost the art of communication, be it a political leader, corporate or community leader, we expect instant results with instant feedback. Look around you, how many people are attached to there smart phones and tablets. How many are afraid to make any decision on there own, how many do not like to wait, feel lost without being connected to the outside world. Leadership is the ability to think on your own, the ability to think of others, Ben Franklin had to do this on a daily bases, he had to consider the nation with out the latest polls to help him form a decision.

Sure he wrote letters home and waited for the reply, the lattes news on how the fight for independence was going, knowing that the news, at best, was weeks old. His decisions were based on facts that could not be easily verified and checked. Life was different, some would say less complex, less hectic, but was it really?

Leadership is not always being in the know, but sometimes its intuition, the gut feeling or reaction. Great leaders learn to trust themselves and others. The Founding Fathers had to have faith in Franklin, they had to trust that he would represent them well, but also trust that his intuition would serve them and the nation, a nation that was at war, fighting for its very existence.  They had to do it based on blind trust, they had no ability to contact him via phone or text, the written word was all the had, and even that was delayed, old news, by the time it reached him. Our very existence depended on a mans intuition and his ability to be a statesman.

Leadership is not new nor has it really changed, the challenges are timeless and the values are eternal. The tools may have changes, but the underlining principals of leadership are universal and forever-in-a-day. This is why we so often look back in history to find examples of true leadership, Washington, Gandhi, Martian Luther King Jr. and many others. Books have been written and seminars given on the leadership styles od Jesus, the Art of War is still considered on of the best books on leadership, yet we still feel the need to try to separate ourselves, to pretend that our day and age is different, that our circumstances calls for new approaches, yet leadership qualities have not changes, they have remained constant and universal throughout history.

We may label them differently, give them updated descriptions but if you spend the time, look for the root of leadership, you will find that all leadership styles breakdown to the same basics:

-Trust

- In self

-In others

-Intuition, gut feelings

-Commutation

-Listening

-Verbal

-Non-Verbal

-Written

-Faith

-In a greater power

-In Self

-In Humanity

-Action

-When to take action

-When not to take action

Leadership in not new and improved because we have new tools, email, twitter, Facebook and Linked In are tools to allow us to lead, but the basics never change. Leadership is still about others, about placing yourself not at the front, but at the rear, not lifting yourself above others, but lifting others above yourself. A true leader is not elected to power, does not take or steal power, a true leader is elevated, raises naturally and humbled by the power granted to them by the ones they lead. The Founding Fathers understood this, and they lived it.

God Bless

Paul Sposite

Guided Insight Life Coach

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Road to Redemption: How to Overcome Feeling Sorry for Yourself

Feeling sorry for yourself, and you present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have.

-Dale Carnegie

What can we do about this, how can we change our own outlook on our own life? How do we stop feeling sorry for ourselves, stopping the self-pity and self loathing?  What can we do to save ourselves from ourselves?

Some points to consider:

• Only you can make you feel bad
• Only you are in control of you
• Only you can fix you
• Only you can do it

We are in control of our own lives, this is a basic and true fact, nothing can change this basic fact. However, being human, being of a fallen nature, we are prone to failure, we are prone to self-doubt we are prone to self-destruction. So how do we change this, how do we get past our fallen human nature? What can we do to become a better person, a person of confidence a person of integrity and person of character?

We can teach ourselves to over come our fallen nature, we can grow above and beyond that, it is achievable, it is with-in our grasps, all we need to do is trust, trust in God, trust that He will provides the graces we need to archive our perfection.

Trust in God does not mean we sit back and do nothing, quit the contrary, trust in God means we buckle down, place our nose to the grind stone, work our fingers to the bones, what ever cleaver little saying you choose. Trust is God is not the easy road, but it is the road less traveled. It is the road to perfection and happiness, it is the road to freedom and salvation, it is the only road to our own personal redemption.

God is our ticket to liberation, liberation from self-doubt, liberation from self-hatred, the two self-defeating attitudes that create the conditions necessary for self-loathing and just plain old feeling sorry for yourself. God and His graces, His love for you and all your imperfections, our ability to accept His love, to use His graces, that’s the way to freedom, the road to liberation.

Sounds easy, who would not want Gods love, who does not want the graces God bestows upon us? Ask almost anyone, and they would tell you, Yep, I want Gods love, I want His grace, not many would out-and-out refuse it. Some do, but most would be more than happy to accept the freely given gifts. So why that do we have so much pain and suffering, why do we have so many people who are full of self-pity and self-hatred?

Because the gifts and love are given freely, but we must be open to and willing to accept them, and simply saying yes, simply using words, dead words, is not enough. Action is required, God wants us to fully participate in His divine plan for ourselves, He wants us to be active, not just a vessel to poor His love and graces into, but an active participant in His love and grace.

What good are gifts, given freely, if we do not use them, what good is love, given unconditionally, if we do not accept it? A gift is only as useful as it is used, otherwise the gift is of no value. We can receive Gods love all daylong, but if we do not open ourselves to this love, if we do not partake in this love, the love is of no value to us. Yes God continues to love us, regardless of our acceptance or not, but the love goes unused, it is not returned nor is it give to others. The love of God is not meant to be buried like a secret love, but to be received and displayed for all to see, and to be given to others as freely as it was given to us.

The act of receiving is not a passive act, it is an act that requires us to participate fully. Consider this, have you ever given a gift to a friend or loved one, a gift that you gave out of no obligation, no requirement, no special occasion. You gave the gift just out of love, given freely, expecting nothing in return. But the recipient was not receptive to your gift, they may have accepted it, they may have even opened it, but they were not receptive. They showed no sign of joy in the act of love, they showed no sign of rejection, they just accepted it. We, the gift bearer, leave feeling rejected, feel that our love was neither accepted nor outright rejected. We think to ourselves, I would rather have them say I reject your gift, I do not want it, than to just accept it with no emotion at all. The act of receiving is active, it requires work on the part of the receiver. It is the same with Gods gifts to us, He freely offers His gifts, He will not force them upon us, we must freely accept them, and just saying yes is like the friend that opened the gift you offered with no emotion, no reaction, just nothingness. The gift, although given was not truly accepted, it was discarded, not with words, but the lack of action.

So what actions, what is required of us, nothing, we are not required to accept Gods graces nor Gods love, just like we are not required to accept gifts on our birthday or at Christmas. We can choose freely to participate in Gods love, just as we choose freely to accept Christmas gifts and attend birthday parties. But once we choose to attend, action is required, input and output are part of the interaction of any social gathering, so is the case with God, He provides the input, and we provide the output. He gives us, freely, His love, the input, and we actively, through our works, provide the output. Notice, God gives freely, and we work actively, it is through the active works we perfect the graces and love of God is fully realized.

So how can God help us get over our self-hate, our feeling sorry for ourselves. What must we do to actively participate in Gods graces and love given freely. How do we perform the work to  fully realize the gifts God has given. For each of us God has given the gifts that we need, the gifts that are unique to us, so for each of us the works are also unique, but here is a list of a few things all of us can do to help us realize the full potential of our gifts.

• Pray daily, offer up 30 to 60 minuets per day to God, talk to Him, but more importantly, listen, be still, be quiet, and listen to the loving voice of God. And do not worry if you don’t hear Him  the first time or every time you pray, like everything else in our lives, it take practice. So just pray, daily and know and accept that some days will be better than others.
• Read daily, anyone who has read my blog before knew that this would be one of the point, it almost always is. But reading is important, reading opens our minds to new possibilities. Read the bible, read a good solid spiritual book or read a novel, just read and let your mind go, let your mind enter into the story or passage. Let the author take you along for the ride. Read at least 15 minutes per day. God often times speaks to me through the books I choose to read that day, the passage I decide to look up or the magazine I choose out of the stack on my coffee table. God uses the everyday items about us to communicate to us, God comes to the place we are, He does not wait for us to arrive at the place He desires us to be.
• Journal daily, write about your day, write about what you see about you, write about your prayer life, write about what ever you choose to write about. This blog is my journal, it allows me the opportunity to clear my mind, to put down on paper (well in this case, electronic paper) what is on my mind, allows me the opportunity to clear it, to visualize it. God uses these opportunities to speak to us, often times I just sit to write, no idea what I want to write about, just feel the need to clear my mind. It is in these moments that I feel God guiding me more that any other. So journal daily, allow the Holy Spirit to guide your hand across the paper, or in my case the keyboard. Use your time journaling as a time of communion with God.
• Learn daily, learn about your faith, learn about your life, learn about your country learn about wine or basket weaving, just learn, never stop learning. God created our minds to grow, to learn to expand. In the process of learning, we are using one of Gods greatest gifts to us, the gift of knowledge. So learn something new daily, try something new daily. I try to make it a point to learn something new daily, be it a simple fact or a complex idea. Learning about this world, our self, our nation or about basket weaving is learning about God, for through the ordinary we find God.
• Think one positive thought daily, when you are in the mist of a bad day, stop yourself, and think about one positive event that took place that day. There is always one, no day is completely bad. Even Good Friday, the day our Lord was killed upon a cross had a positive moment, the moment He offered His life for our sins. So stop and think, seek out the shinning spot among the darkness of your day. It is in the moment, that spot that God will be found.
• Thank someone daily, always give thanks to all around you, but find someone who needs your thanks more than any other, we find God in our fellow-man, and they find God in us, give freely of your Gift of love from God, by returning to others.

Our works do not purchase Gods love nor are the required, God gives it freely, but our works bring the fullness of Gods love to light. Through Gods love we will learn to love the self, and only through our works will we fully realize that self-love.

 

God Bless

 

Paul W Sposite

Guided Insight Life Coach

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You Smoke….. Your Fired!

The other day I was listening to WJR 760, the local Detroit talk radio, the show was the Mitch Album show and the topic was companies that fire smokes. The interview itself was very calm, but the post call in, at times got very heated. The question that caused all the heat, “Do companies have a right to fire smokers?” My simple answer, yes they do…. But…

The but in this answer is very big, in fact its huge… As a person who believes in free enterprise and the ability of people and companies to control their destiny. Companies should have the right to decide who should represent them, be it smokers or nonsmoker. But this rule should also hold true for other attributes, such as size, faith, or any other attribute. If, for example I owned a Catholic company or school or hospital, I should have the right to only hire Catholics in good standing. Or if I run an airline, I should have the right to hire only stewards the represent what I want to present my company as. If that is thin beautiful woman, than that’s what I should be allowed to hire.

The fact that several companies will not hire smokers (Source) is a corporate decision, one made to help lower health insurance coast, increase profits and promote a healthy life style. Fine, I’m good with that… As a smoker (well currently a nonsmoker) I good with that, they have the right to decide whom they want working and representing them. So if Delta Airlines decides they no longer want to hire anyone whose weight is over a certain level, to save fuel, promote a healthy life style, than they should have the same right as the companies that fire smokers. If a Catholic hospital wants to hire only Catholics in good standing, to promote the catholic faith, and wants to lower health insurance coast by not covering birth control and abortion, than they should have the same rights as the companies that fire smokers.

The right of privet companies should be respected across the board. The right of a restaurant to bad age groups (Source) should also be respected. We should not allow some rules but not others, fair is fair, to use a liberal phrase. If a company make a bad decision, and offends to many people, they will do one of two things, they will either change or they will close down, it’s that simple. The free market will correct the system, as long as the system is allowed to work.

The problem is, the rules are not fair, and the liberals are picking and choosing what is good for you and what is good for corporations. The problem is, we are not allowing the free market to be free. We are regulating the market, holding it back and creating a false market. A market that is pushed and prodded to follow along a path of socialism. A system of the government telling you what is best for you. Yes I know the government is not forcing companies to fire smokers, but they are forcing Catholic institutions to hire non-Catholics and Delta to hire heavy-set stewards. And give the government time, and they will require companies to hire only non-smokers. Trust me on this, with Obamcare coming, to save money, drive down health care, they will force Americans to quit smoking. Is that a bad thing? Health wise, no, we all know smoking is bad for you, but liberty wise, Hell ya its bad…. What would be next? Drinking? Read Meat? Sugar? Salt? Think not… (Source) Or how about the size of your TV (Source). The government has not right to interfere in your personal life. They tried it with prohibition (Source), it didn’t work to well.

So, does a company have the right to fire smokers…. Sure it does, as long as a company has the right to fire fat people or to fire non-Catholics or anyone else that does  not represent that company’s views. Fair is fair.

God Bless

Paul Sposite

Related articles

• Companies Charging Smokers Up to $2,340 More For Insurance. What About Obese Workers Too? (blisstree.com)

 

Declutter for the New You

Image via Wikipedia

Here is a challenge, declutter your life starting now… Where ever you are reading this, stop reading and look around, find 5 things you can toss out or donate… And do it, toss it or donate it… Only 5 things…

The act of cleansing or decluttering is a hard thing for us to do, we seem to collect things in our lives. If I look around my office I can see 5 things I need to toss, but can I do it? will I do it? That is the real question. I know I should, I know that I have way to much “stuff” but can I part with any of it? Does it have any value or meaning to me?

Decluttering our office,home,cars our lives is a positive thing to do, but all to often we don’t. We may organize it, put it away, because maybe, just maybe we will need it again, sometime in the future… But we never do and it just sits there taking up space.

This is true with our desks as much as with our souls and minds. How much “stuff” do we have in our souls that we just don’t need?

• Resentment
• Jealousy
• Envy
• Hatred

All of that takes up valuable space in our souls, the more we hold on to it, the more dust covers it, the harder it is to part with it. We begin to feel that it is a part of us, bad as it maybe, but still apart of us. The envy turns into a constant coveting of others, we began to expect things to be given to us, in the name of fairness. No longer thinking that we must work for what we want, just expecting what others have. The resentment turns into a feeling of disdain towards all, not just who hurt us, but all. The dust keeps us from seeing the hatred that is filling our hearts, replacing the kindness and love we once had for mankind. Turning our lives into death.

The act of decluttering will make room for:

• Forgiveness
• Love
• Charity
• Trust

Growth cannot happen if there is no room to grow, if we keep all that is old and harmful, we allow no room for what is new and beneficial. So look around you, did you find 5 things to toss? Now look inside you, did you find 5 things to toss? Keep looking, I know you will find something… We all have our things to toss, I know I do, and I know how are it can be. But I will keep looking, and I will keep trying… That is the only way I will ever succeed at change and growth.

God Bless

Paul

Guided Insight Life Coach

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To tell the truth… Can we expect that of our politicians?

Image by Anu Ranasinghe via Flickr

President Obama’s much-told story about his mother’s fight to get cancer coverage was untrue, according to a recently published book. And the White House isn’t disputing the author’s account.

The New York Times reports that Janny Scott, in her biography, “A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother,” writes that Stanley Ann Dunham‘s health insurance provider did, in fact, cover most of the medical expenses related to her uterine and ovarian cancer.

New York Times, July 13: In her book, published in May by Riverhead Books, Ms. Scott writes that Mr. Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, had an employer-provided health insurance policy that paid her hospital bills directly, leaving her "to pay only the deductible and any uncovered expenses, which, she said, came to several hundred dollars a month."

Do we have a right to expect the President of  the United States to tell us the truth? Or are we to expect that the President can spin stories and tell lies? Are we living in a day and age where this is the norm?

President Obama does not corner the market on spinning webs and stretching the truth, but to use his own mother to gain political headway is, well a little to much for me.  (read here)

 

Here’s a fact that may surprise you: Candidates have a legal right to lie to voters just about as much as they want (read this). Well that’s good news to know that when they lie to us, they are not breaking any laws… Our right to freedom of speech is paramount and should apply to everyone. But one would hope that our elected officials would be help to a higher standard. But it seems that we, the voters, do not, that we expect to be lied to, and when we are not, when the politician tells the truth, we react as if they did something wrong. Take the new Governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, he is doing what he promised to do, and now there is a recall effort. If Governor Snyder would have been like other elected officials, he would have gotten into office and served his own self-interest. Yet he did not, he got into office and did what he said he would.

I may not agree with him on everything he is doing, but he is doing what I voted for him to do. He is doing something most politician don’t, he is doing what he said he would, how refreshing that is….

I find it somewhat disheartening that so many people just take the lies and deceptions as part of life. We should expect more for our elected officials and from ourselves. But we must expect more from ourselves before we can even ask that of others. As Jesus tells us,

“You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” _{Matthew 7:5}

We, as individuals, as family and as community must set higher standards, we must create an environment that expects the truth and requires that we hold ourselves and our communities to higher standards.

There was a time when a lie was considered to be a sign of disrespect, but now it seems to be a excepted part of our communications. At one time we knew we could tune into the nightly TV news and expect to hear the truth, but it seems this is no-longer the case. We have accepted the fact the new casters will spin and twist, even lie to get there  own political point of view across. (Read this)

 

(See this)

 

Trust, is it a thing of the past, can we only expect twist and 1/2 truth from our politicians and others we are to trust.

 

God Bless

Paul

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If Today

We all know the story of the Israelites and there journey in the desert for forty years but what most of us probably don’t know is the reason why. The common reason given by most woman is that Mosses was a man and would not ask for directions, to that men respond that they were not lost in the desert, they just took the scenic path. But both reasons are wrong. Funny, but wrong.

The issue with the Israelites was simple, they didn’t listen. That’s it, they just didn’t listen. For their lack of listening skills they spent forty years walking around.

⁷So, as the Holy Spirit says:

   "Today, if you hear his voice,

⁸do not harden your hearts

   as you did in the rebellion,

      during the time of testing in the desert,

⁹where your fathers tested and tried me

      and for forty years saw what I did.

¹⁰That is why I was angry with that generation,

      and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,

      and they have not known my ways.’

¹¹So I declared on oath in my anger,

      ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ "

Hebrews 3:7-19 (NIV)

The years spent in the desert were years used to teach listening skills. Back in the day they didn’t have Dale Carnegie classes or online courses on listening and besides God knows better how to teach us than we do.

As the above passage stated, they failed to hear his voice and they harden their hearts. In modern terms, they thought they new better, the only looked at the moment  and not at were they came from (slavery) to were they are going (the Promised Land). They acted like, well humans, always knowing better.

the story of the exodus is one of my favorites, in-fact the first book I wrote for my company (STATIC Solutions, LLC) Becoming: Free the story of The Exodus. The book is used for our middle school youth education program and is recommended for the sixth grade. The book centers on the years in the desert, the forty years of testing God or better yet God testing them.  But the lessons learned in this story are timeless and ageless.

1. Forgiveness (The Israelites had to forgive Mosses and Mosses himself)
2. Trust (They had to trust Mosses and Aaron)
3. Faith (faith in God to lead them to safety)
4. Humility (humility in our own limitations)
5. Honor (honor of or history)
6. Respect (respect of our nation)

The lessons go on and on, this one story teaches us lessons that we could not learn elsewhere. God created a life lesson for the generations and it only takes forty years to complete.

We have much in common with the Israelites, we too need to spend time in Gods class room learning all the skill sets above. And we also, like the Israelites, need to learn to listen. God has been teaching us these lessons from the beginning of time. Adam and Eve failed the exam the Israelites failed as have we.

Lent offers us our own time to enter in to the desert, a time to review the lessons God has taught us and to maybe even learn a new lesson or two. Lent is the Churches way of giving us an excuse to enter into Gods class room and to hear his voice.

As a Lenten activity I would recommend that you read the story of the Exodus, but don’t watch a movie, read the bible and allow God to speak to you through His words. To allow God to speak, we have to listen, we have to open our hearts, or as the above passage states, “If today I hear your voice, harden not my heart”.

God Bless

Paul

The New American Commentary – Volume 2 – Exodus

Acts 4:10,12“then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

 

Ha Ha very funny

Today I had to practice keeping my anger under control, in fact that’s how I started my day. A part of my life currently is dealing with a bankruptcy, due to the failing of our store and helping other people out and getting taken advantage of. But that’s for a different blog. 

What happened this morning to start my day so well… My Jeep was repoed, now if it was expected I would be fine with it, but as part of my bankruptcy is the protection of the Jeep. So my anger quickly came to the forefront. Trust me it took all I have to hold it in check. I am currently working to get my Jeep back and continue on my way to repay all my debt. Yes, I am repaying it all, not all bankruptcy’s are the same, I will be paying off all my debt, the bankruptcy is just to protect me in situations like this. But it failed me, so far. With any luck I will have my Jeep back soon, if not I will be getting a new vehicle.

God finds ways to test us, or is it better to say, we find ways to test ourselves. It is up to me to keep my anger in check, God did not create the situation I am in, I did, God did not make me open up a Catholic/Christian book store, I did, God did not make me help out a family member nor did God make that family member abuse my kindness. God didn’t do any of that, but what God did was to be with me at all times, he offered His comfort and graces to me. And this morning I took them and held my anger at bay. It was hard, and to tell you the truth, I really wanted to let it all out, to use words that are not very nice, but I didn’t.

God has a funny way about Him, he finds the oddest moments to show His love. In the mist of a bankruptcy He chooses to show His grace to me, He chooses to send HIs calming love to me.  God seems to like to use situations like this to show his saving grace.

It seems God has a sense of humor, because I am sure someone finds this all funny, and others will find it justice, thinking I am trying to get out of paying my debt, but as I have stated, I will be repaying my debt 100%, I just need the help in restructuring it, allowing my time to pay it. In three years it will all be paid off, and I will continue along my way. So Ha Ha very funny does not apply here, it’s more like, well here we go again, yet another bump in the road.

I know that God is with me, and that is love and grace is always with me. And with His love I will make it, I will survive. I just hope with a little less bumps and a little less drama. I just want to get on with it, move on and enjoy life.

Now truth be told, I am enjoying life, and I am getting on with it, but I really would like to be done with all this, the stress is sometimes unbearable, and it makes it hard to keep an upbeat personality going. I am, by nature, an upbeat person, so to add this stress to my life is like adding an anchor to me, keeping me down, and this weight last for three years… As Charlie Brown would say UGGH! It is at times like this that I do feel like good old Charlie Brown, I feel like a BLOCK HEAD!

But I know that it will all be over one day, that soon I will be debt free and out of bankruptcy, but I am sure something will replace that, there seems to always be something going on in my life, death of a parent, taking in a youth and now bankruptcy, So what will it be next? I guess I will just have to wait…

Sometimes the excitement is just to much for me… NOT! Truth be told, I could use a little non-excitement in my life, it would be nice to know that noting is happening, that nothing is going wrong. But I am convinced that my life is not meant to be boring, that in to my life strife must come.

But in the end, I was proud of myself for keeping my cool this morning, I was pleased to know that all the bad words stayed in my head, and in the end this little life experience has taught me a life lesson, and for that I am thankful, but its still not funny!

Paul

 

Salvation is a hard road to walk

Have faith the size of a mustard seed and you can move a mountain. Everyone knows that line from the bible and we are often times told that. We are told to “Just have a little faith” and things will work out. Just trust in God and all will be good, we that is true, but faith alone is not all it takes. We are required to have works along with faith, like the old saying goes “God helps those whom help there selves”.

Like any good parent God knows that if we work for it, if we are asked to step out of our comfort zone to achieve it we are more likely to appreciate it. Sure God offers his love and saving grace freely, but we must open ourselves up to receive it, we must work for it. Now before all you liberals start yelling at me, hear me out…

We must open ourselves up to God’s graces, everyone would agree with that, correct? Well is it as simple as saying “I accept Jesus as my personal Lord and savior”? I think not, because if it was, why didn’t God just tell us that, why go through all the trouble of sending Jesus down to earth, having him suffer and die for us. Why have all the talk about sin and repentance in the bible, why talk about hell at all. If it is as simple as saying that you accept Jesus, than it’s a done deal, you have nothing more to do.

Well, it’s not that simple that’s why Jesus came down, suffered and died for us, that’s why Jesus talks about sin, and the price we will pay for sinning, that’s why hell is mentioned and why we must “work” at our salvation.

Notice I said work at and not work for there is a big difference between the two. One requires our openness to accept and our intellect to understand, the other requires our brute force to win over or take. We cannot win over Gods salvation nor can we just take it, we must accept the gift that is given freely, and we must work at becoming worthy of the gift. God will not take the gift from us, but we can walk away from it.  

Salvation is not for the weak at heart or the lazy, salvation is hard labor, Jesus uses many stories about working in the fields, and the yoke of our burdens. We are told to take up our cross and to walk with Jesus. Read his life, Jesus did not live an easy life, Jesus worked for our salvation, he preached and cured he ministered and loved, each task is a work, a work towards our salvation. If we are to follow Jesus, to become like Jesus than it only makes since that we too must work at salvation.

True Jesus already won our salvation, and true the He did all the real work for us, but the bible never states, any were that salvation is a given, in fact it states that we must work at it.

1 Corinthians 15:58 

 ⁵⁸Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

 

So starting today, make an effort to work at your salvation, thank God for the gift of salvation at the same time you are working at it. Understand that your salvation is given freely, but you must be open to it, and the act of opening up to salvation is a work in-of-itself, salvation is a hard road to walk, but worth the effort.

Paul

By the way, if your still not convinced that salvation takes work, read or reread about Moses and the 40 years of work it took to reach the promise land…

 

Trust

Trust, a simple work really, only 5 letters and the meaning is not to complex.  You trust in something or someone, you have faith that it will work or they will do as they say. Trust…

trust

/Ponunciation [truhst] ,

–noun

1.	reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.

 

2.	confident expectation of something; hope.

 

Synonyms:

·         belief

·         dependence

·         faith

·         reliance

 

On the surface it looks like a very basic thing, trust… But in truth we all know that it is a very complex thing and a very hard thing to do and to gain. Trust is a gift we give to each other and a gift we can take back very easily.

We go through life gaining and creating trust in others and things. We learn to trust our parents our schools and society. We are told to trust teachers, police officers and our Church. We are taught that trust is earned by our own actions. And we are taught we can break the trust others have in us the same way.  

Trust… Five letters that can control our actions and motives, some care about trust and others do not, some worry about gaining your trust and others are only concerned with breaking it.

Trust can build nations or tear them down, create families or tear them apart. Trust can start wars and bring peace. Trust is a word that has the power to lift you up, or hold you down. Trust is one mighty powerful word.

Trust is one of the most missed used and understood words in the English language, right behind Love. We state our trust in others and things with no value behind it, we give our trust to others who have done nothing to earn it, and we are appalled when that trust is miss used and abused.

Trust…

Think about it, do you really understand the word…

Whom can you trust what can you trust in and do you really trust yourself?

Just something to think about…

Paul

 

Faith Discovery

How many of you would ever consider going to a Doctor that did not keep up on their studies? Did not read the latest journals or attend the latest seminars on the most up to date procedures? Most of us probable would not be very excited to know that our doctor graduated in 1945 and never took another class, never updated themselves.

It is one thing to get that education to earn the degree, but it is also expected that you keep yourself up to speed on what has changed in the world. We expect our Doctors and Tax accountants to do, we expect our educators to do it, but do we expect our priest and lay ministers to do so? Do we ever ask our priest if they are still learning? Do we inquire about our Catechists who are teaching our youth, or our parish music director?

I would have to say no, that most of us do not even consider that as an issue. Most of us assume that the person teaching us about our faith, helping us deepen our faith is someone who is educated, learned and continuing to explore their faith. If you ask me, that is placing a lot of trust in people, who may or may not deserve your trust.

Now I am not suggesting that all lay ministers or even parish staff have degrees in Theology, I for one do not, and I know many great educators who do not. But I am saying that all educators need a foundation to start with and one to build on. I personally am certified as a Catechist in the Archdiocese of Detroit and attend Sacred Heart Major Seminary (when my work schedule permits it). I read books and listen to CD’s and when I hear of a talk coming up, and all the stars are in-line (meaning work and other commitments allow and the topic is of interest) I attend. We have a responsibility to continue our discovery path, to grow and learn all we can. As paid or volunteer staff for our local parish we should expect nothing less than that.

But what about all the pew sitters (and I mean that in a very loving way, without pew sitters there would be no reason for my job within the church), what is required of them. Are they just to show up on Sunday, drop their child of on class night and call it a good week? I think not!

Going back to my example of a Doctor, do you blindly take the Doctors advice, or do you ask questions? I would say most of us ask some questions, maybe not as many as we should, but we ask some. One of the largest web sites out there is WebMD, a sight dedicated to teaching the lay person more about health and wellness. We, for the most part, do not just pop pills in us without knowing the side effects or interactions with other drugs. But we are willing to just except what we are taught in Church or for some, just to reject it. Without as much as a second thought, no research, no clarification of the issue, just taking it on face value.

How sad is that, we as Catholics need to engage our faith on all levels. Attending Sunday Mass is not all that is required of us, we must also be burning with the desire to know more, to learn more, to get closer to God. Once again I am not suggesting that we all attend school for degrees in theology, but we all can attend a bible study or prayer group. Or find a retreat weekend to attend or a lecture series or even listen to CD’s in the car. All are wonderful ways to help us grow in our faith. Just be careful to make sure you are getting true authentic teachings of the Church. Go to a local Catholic book store, or listen to Catholic Radio to find out what is out there. If you choose to surf the web, I would start off with www.catholic.org  or www.catholic.com. Both sites are filled with good solid teachings, for a good set of free CD’s go to www.biblechristiansociety.com, they are free, but you will need to pay $1.00 per CD for shipping, but it is well worth it.

We all have a responsibility to keep growing in our faith, and we all have different needs and ways to do this. Try a few things, see what speaks to your heart and soul and then run with it.

Paul

p.s. And this Blog site is also a good start, if I do say so myself, even if it makes you just want to prove me wrong, who knows, maybe you will and then we both will learn something new….