Tag: Jesus

Never Allow People to Suck the Joy out of Your Day

Never Allow People to Suck the Joy out of Your Day [BLOG] « Positively Positive.

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Finally, brothers and sisters…

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

via Philippians 4:8 NIV – Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever – Bible Gateway.

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The basic elements of creativity

swissmiss | The Basic Elements of Creativity

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV – What has been will be again, what has – Bible Gateway

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He who knows best…

Happy birthday, Thomas Jefferson!

“The wise know their weakness too well to assume infallibility; and he who knows most, knows best how little he knows.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

via He who knows best… (Quotation) « Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.

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“Forgiveness”

I don’t care if you don’t like rap music! Listen and read along — this is good stuff…

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He is not here…

Resurrection of Christ

http://bible.us/Matt28.5.NIV The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

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The Easter Song

Rare live footage of my favorite Christian group singing the ultimate Easter song…

Here’s the same song from Keith Green…

Crank it up! Happy Easter…

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E-cards for your Easter inbox

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Funny Easter Ecard: Happy Easter from one lapsed Catholic to another.

E-cards for your Easter inbox – Holy Kaw!

Go to the source if you’d like more! Or, go directly to someecards.com to send your own…

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Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion

Here’s another of my favorite Easter pieces — all three hours are contained in these two videos! Amazing performances — especially tenor Peter Schreier; he’s the dude with the glasses that appears around 11:58…

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The kind of supper you would remember…

Last Supper

One of my favorite Christian writers Jon Swanson has an excellent reflection on the Last Supper today…

“I am leaving soon. Just as I’ve been telling you for months. You will keep seeing each other, but I’ll be gone, taking care of our business. This bread? Every time you eat it, remember this time. Remember my hands. This wine? Every time you drink it, remember that what’s about to happen is for you.”

If you heard that, you’d remember. Your whole life would remember.

Source: The kind of supper you would remember. | 300 words a day

Go to the source if you’d like to read the entire post. Follow his blog while you’re there…

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Empty-handed, full-hearted

A closeup of a hug.
Leo Babauta shared this back in March…

We often load ourselves up when we travel, because we want to be prepared for various situations. This burden of being prepared leaves us with our arms full, unable to receive whatever is there when we arrive.

It leaves us tired from carrying, so that we are not happy when we meet someone new on our travels.

What if we traveled with empty hands, ready to embrace new experiences, receive new foods, touch new people?

We might feel less prepared when we leave, but the preparedness is an illusion. Stuff doesn’t make us prepared. Having empty hands but a heart that is full of love leaves us prepared for anything. Continue reading “Empty-handed, full-hearted” →

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Pilate’s Dream…

I have a theory; the music that you loved when you first ‘discovered’ music is the music that indelibly shapes your taste forever. Me? I discovered music in 1972. Carole King’s Tapestry, George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh and Jesus Christ Superstar were the ‘must own’ albums in my middle school class…

40 years later I still listen to Jesus Christ Superstar every Holy Week; not because its accurate from a biblical standpoint — it’s just an Easter ritual that makes me think. I love to put in my headphones and jack it up. The parts I appreciate most come from the work of guitarist Henry McCullough who later played with Paul McCartney and Wings amongst other bands. Listen to his work on this song…

Stunningly good. Amazing skill! Here he is on the banned in the UK hit Give Ireland Back to the Irish

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Why do I do this?

Cover of "God of All Comfort (Pure Gold C...

The short answer is because I can. The long answer is because I feel it’s my duty…

I have been blogging for over 7 years and over the course of time I have developed a fast and efficient workflow for blogging. I can share ‘better and faster’ than anyone I know. In my business, I teach thinkers how to become thought leaders on the internet and how to use content management and marketing for thought leadership. I have a business blog, but this site is where I share personal thoughts — it’s kind of a personal lifestream or a personal scrapbook of the good stuff I find in my travels around the internet. The tools I use allow me to share things in seconds so why not?

I also share because I care. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says…

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. Source: 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV – Praise to the God of All Comfort – Bible Gateway

I see it as a duty to share the comfort I myself have received. It is written in the Book of James

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. Source: James 4 NIV – Submit Yourselves to God – What causes – Bible Gateway

I share because I must…

I’m not much of an original thinker so most of my posts are simply curated content. My hope is that I’m doing my small role in the Universe to amplify good thoughts and perhaps help people find something they need when they need it. Does it work? You’re reading this aren’t you?

:-D

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Solitude: the benefits it brings

Solitude

Are you lonely or alone? Consider this…

“In a study of fifth through ninth graders, Reed Larson found that over time, the older children choose to spend more time alone. What’s more, their emotional experience was improved after they had spent some time on their own. Those adolescents who spent an intermediate amount of time alone – not too much, not too little – seemed to be doing the best psychologically.

The psychologists who really do get it about the sweetness of solitude are the ones I mentioned in my last post – Christopher Long and James Averill. The title of their key theoretical article is “Solitude: An exploration of the benefits of being alone.” No apology. No befuddlement that humans might actually benefit from their time alone.

Here’s how they characterize solitude:

“The paradigm experience of solitude is a state characterized by disengagement from the immediate demands of other people – a state of reduced social inhibition and increased freedom to select one’s mental and physical activities.”

Many readers made similar observations in the comments they posted to Part 1. Although there can be benefits to spending time with others, there can also be rewards to “disengagement from the immediate demands of other people.””

Source: The Benefits It Brings | Psychology Today.

Go to the source if you’d like to read the rest of the article. Me? This reminds me of the old adage about snow. If it comes to me, it’s work. If I go to it, it’s play. Same with being by yourself. If I choose it, it’s solitude. If I feel I have no choice, I’m lonely. What do you think?

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Behold…

“Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.”

– Jesus Christ,  Luke 17: 20-21.

via Today’s Quotes: IT’s NEVER TO LATE!.

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So much easier

English: Jesus Christ - detail from Deesis mos...

I think Jon Swanson is on to something here…

It would be so much easier to follow Jesus if he called us.

If I were at work one day and he walked by and said, “come on, follow me.”

If I were doing what I’ve spent my life preparing to do and he said, “I’ll show you how to use those skills for something meaningful.”

If I were in the middle of daily life and I looked up and could actually hear his voice with my ears and see his face with my eyes and smell whatever he smelled like.

If his invitation to do something worthwhile with my life were real and tangible.

It would be so much easier if Jesus literally said my name and said “Follow me.”

I mean, if that happened, I would never have any questions at all about what he was saying. It would always be clear.

If that happened, I would always be happy just to be close to him.

If that happened, I would be ready to tell all the people I saw at the grocery store when I was buying supplies

Hey! This food? Jesus is going to eat it. Yep. That Jesus. I know him. I’ve watched him do the most amazing stuff! I mean, paralyzed people walking. People with demons? Poof. Gone. People who are sick? Fever, gone, like that. You name it, he gets rid of it.

Hey, that cough? Come on. Let’s talk to Jesus about that. I mean, I know him. He was walking by one day and called out my name. We’re like this. In fact, we couldn’t be any closer if he lived in me. Yeah, I know. Sounds weird. But it’s like that.

If one day I really believed that Jesus actually wants me? Cared about me?

That would be so amazing.

Source: So much easier. « 300 words a day

I must not believe or I wouldn’t act this way. I wouldn’t struggle like I do. What do you think?

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How Safe We Are

This set of images was gathered by User:Dcoetz...
Charles Spurgeon

John Piper shares some good thoughts on the Desiring God blog…

Matthew 10:30:

But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

Charles Spurgeon:

You all take care of yourselves to some extent, but which of you ever took so much care of himself as to count the hairs of his head? But God will not only protect our limbs, but even the growth of hair is to be seen after. And how much this excels all the care of our tenderest friends!

Look at the mother, how careful she is. If her child has a little cough, she notices it: the slightest weakness is sure to be observed. She has watched all its motions anxiously, to see whether it walked right, whether all its limbs were bound, and whether it had the use of all its powers in perfection; but she has never thought of numbering the hairs of her child’s head, and the absence of one or two of them would give her no great concern. But our God is more careful of us, even than a mother with her child — so careful that he numbers the hairs of our head. How safe are we, then, beneath the hand of God!

Charles Spurgeon, sermon #187: “Providence.”

Source: How Safe We Are – Desiring God

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Job 11:13-19 NIV

Job 11:13-19

New International Version (NIV)

13 “Yet if you devote your heart to him
and stretch out your hands to him,
14 if you put away the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
15 then, free of fault, you will lift up your face;
you will stand firm and without fear.
16 You will surely forget your trouble,
recalling it only as waters gone by.
17 Life will be brighter than noonday,
and darkness will become like morning.
18 You will be secure, because there is hope;
you will look about you and take your rest in safety.
19 You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,
and many will court your favor.

Source: Job 11:13-19 NIV – “Yet if you devote your heart to him – Bible Gateway

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Valentine’s Day

Valentine postcard, circa 1900–1910
Image via Wikipedia

For children, Valentine’s Day means candy hearts, silly cards, and excitement in the air. How different Valentine’s Day can be for us as adults. The Love Day can be a symbol that we have not yet gotten love to work for us as we would like. Or it can be a symbol of something different, something better. We are in recovery now. We have begun the healing process. Our most painful relationships, we have learned, have assisted us on the journey to healing, even if they did little more than point out our own issues or show us what we don’t want in our life. We have started the journey of learning to love ourselves. We have started the process of opening our heart to love, real love that flows from us, to others, and back again. Do something loving for yourself. Do something loving and fun for your friends, for your children, or for anyone you choose. It is the Love Day. Wherever we are in our healing process, we can have as much fun with it as we choose. Whatever our circumstances, we can be grateful that our heart is opening to love. I will open myself to the love available to me from people, the Universe, and my Higher Power today. I will allow myself to give and receive the love I want today. I am grateful that my heart is healing, that I am learning to love.

Beattie, Melody (2009-12-15). The Language of Letting Go (Hazelden Meditation Series) (pp. 43-44). Hazelden. Kindle Edition.

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Be grateful for where you are now

Faith Happens
Image via Wikipedia

“It doesn’t take as much faith to believe that everything happens for a reason as it does to embrace the belief that I am who and where I am now, today, for a reason—even if I don’t know what that reason is and even if I don’t particularly like who or where I am today,” a friend said to me. “When I can take that in, my dissatisfaction and negativity disappear, and I can proceed calmly and gratefully with my life. To me,” he said, “that’s what spirituality is all about.”

Faith and hope aren’t just for the future. Try using them on today.

Could it be that you’re who you are and where you are now for a reason? Thank God for your life, exactly as it is, right now.

God, give me enough faith to believe in today.

via January 28: be Grateful for Where You are Now | Language of Letting Go.

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It’s all a Gift

C. S. Lewis
Image via Wikipedia

Men are not angered by mere misfortune but by misfortune conceived as injury. And the sense of injury depends on the feeling that a legitimate claim has been denied.

— C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Oh, the grousing about we do, especially when we feel denied of one thing or another—some reward, or achieve­ment, or position that we felt belonged to us.

How enraged we may become when a wish, a hope, a dream, or a want is blatantly denied.

How easy it is to be jealous of the success or happiness of another, even convincing ourselves that the person has laid claim to something that rightfully belonged, instead, to us.

The lesson here is simple.

Remember to be grateful. God doesn’t owe us anything. All of it is a gift.

God, thanks for everything, just as it is.

Source: January 24: It’s all a Gift | Language of Letting Go

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