"Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted- and you yourself a sword will pierce- so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." - Luke 2:34-35
I have this deep conviction in my heart that we were made for perfection and greatness. I believe that the way to perfection is found in love- an emptying of oneself and giving completely to other- and I find this love in Jesus Christ. As we celebrate His Nativity, His coming into the world, and His consecration to the Lord (biblical reference in the beginning), let us ask ourselves a couple questions- Will I rise with Christ this day? Will I be a contradiction to the world? Will I pierce myself with His sword and reveal my heart to the world?
Friday, December 30, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
God's Faithfulness-What do you want to gain?
This post is dedicated to my thankfulness for God and his faithfulness towards me and towards all of us. There are a lot of things we can be thankful for because we get some sort of gain out of it. Whether it is money, a compliment, promotion or recognition of some kind, a friend or someone who likes us, etc.; but sometimes we seem to neglect thanksgiving when we are called to leave those gains behind, or some of those things are stripped away from us. Sometimes it is hard to be thankful in those moments, but that is just the opportunity to be open to God's faithfulness. Let me transition into another way of looking at this. What do we have to rise above, or give up, in order to experience complete peace and happiness? Because if you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat, right?
In Matthew 15:22-33, we hear the story of Jesus walking on water, and He is calling out to us. In verse 27, He says, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid". Peter replies, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." Peter takes courage, does not let the stormy sea and the boat distract him from reaching for Christ. Before Christ has to rescue him from the raging waters, Peter chooses at his own will to get out of the boat. Why would he do that? If you even want a chance to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat! If we want to experience peace which can only come from Christ, we have to rise out of the boat. What is blocking you from getting out of the boat? A lot of things we gain can prevent us from getting out of the boat; however, fear is probably our biggest hindrance. We can not be afraid to gain Christ, and who knows where He will take you; you could be walking out to Him, and He might point to someone/something else in the water or in the boat to bring along with you. As long as we rise out of the boat and run toward Christ, He will rescue us which means: He will be faithful, He will not disappoint, He will fulfill our hearts desires.
10 months ago I had to rise out of the boat. I gave up a promotion, career, financial stability, friends and relationships. A lot of my life was stripped, but now I have peace, I am able to love better, and I have more purpose in my life. I did indeed gain more and I can only give credit to God's faithfulness, for it is by giving up, that I gained.
Are there things you need to give up in order to gain something better?
In Matthew 15:22-33, we hear the story of Jesus walking on water, and He is calling out to us. In verse 27, He says, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid". Peter replies, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." Peter takes courage, does not let the stormy sea and the boat distract him from reaching for Christ. Before Christ has to rescue him from the raging waters, Peter chooses at his own will to get out of the boat. Why would he do that? If you even want a chance to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat! If we want to experience peace which can only come from Christ, we have to rise out of the boat. What is blocking you from getting out of the boat? A lot of things we gain can prevent us from getting out of the boat; however, fear is probably our biggest hindrance. We can not be afraid to gain Christ, and who knows where He will take you; you could be walking out to Him, and He might point to someone/something else in the water or in the boat to bring along with you. As long as we rise out of the boat and run toward Christ, He will rescue us which means: He will be faithful, He will not disappoint, He will fulfill our hearts desires.
10 months ago I had to rise out of the boat. I gave up a promotion, career, financial stability, friends and relationships. A lot of my life was stripped, but now I have peace, I am able to love better, and I have more purpose in my life. I did indeed gain more and I can only give credit to God's faithfulness, for it is by giving up, that I gained.
Are there things you need to give up in order to gain something better?
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Zippin Pippin!
Yesterday I had the priviledge of attending Bay Beach for the first time in my life! Basically, I rode amusement park rides all day with little kids and it was a great time. There is one ride in particular that I want to reflect on and the name of the ride is Zippin Pippin. Zippin Pippin is owned by the mayor of Green Bay and probably one of the highlights of Bay Beach. At first, it looks like an old school rickity roller coaster that should not compare to the high tech coasters of today, but looks can be deceiving. It was actually quite thrilling and I found myself wanting to go on it again. The reason I want to write about the Zippin Pippin is to try to connect it to life in some way. We will see how this goes.
As I was approaching the coaster initially I already had preconceived assumptions about it. I had judged my experience with it without even riding it. Even when people told me it was a fun ride, I really did not believe them until I had to experience it. My expectations were changed, however, and like I said before, I enjoyed the ride very much. As I reflect on my daily experience sometimes, I feel that I label my day as being 'this or that' kind of a day before it starts, and I doubt its vast unexpectedness. I dont know if that makes sense so let me put it more simply: if you ask for your life to be an adventure, you better be ready for it cause its coming! Because when you are in the middle of it- strapped into the seat, enduring the up and down momentum, twist and turns, nerves and joys, laughs and potential cries turned into laughs- you will come out with a different perspective about the coaster or about life. At one point one of the girls said there was one part in the ride that 'hurt', and my anticipation for this was high. I was waiting for this moment and waiting for it to happen, and all of a sudden it came like a flash of lightning, very unexpected. It hurt (just a quick jerk up and then down) for a split second, but then the coaster kept going and I didnt look back. I was even laughing about it with the girls afterward. I believe in life we can see that hurt coming, we wait for it, and if we treat it like the coaster, it will just come and go, and we can move on. We can forget about it.
This basic gist of this was to say that we must lock ourselves into the adventure of life and allow things to happen in order for that great experience to shine through. A lot of times we judge our day, then plan accordingly, so precise and detailed and thought out, and when unexpected things happen we are not ready for them. I'm not trying to be loosey goosey with choices and right/wrong, or being lazy about our day. Because its not like the coaster doesnt have boundaries and rules to obey, but it is within those parameters that I feel free. I think if we were more relaxed in what we did in our day, things would be more natural and free as opposed to strained and forced. We were loved by God into existence and we should feel relaxed by that because ultimately many things are not under our control. We would become better people because we would not resent and regret, and would just enjoy the unexpected things God brings into our life. The unexpected roller coaster is what actually controls us, not our perceived expected control of our day. So let go and let Him live in you!
I dont know if this connected at all, but oh well, that is probably the point of the coaster, to let things flow how they may. The challenge then is to see how you are trying to live the adventure of life, how you perceive it, and then how you embrace it.
How are you living an adventurous life?
As I was approaching the coaster initially I already had preconceived assumptions about it. I had judged my experience with it without even riding it. Even when people told me it was a fun ride, I really did not believe them until I had to experience it. My expectations were changed, however, and like I said before, I enjoyed the ride very much. As I reflect on my daily experience sometimes, I feel that I label my day as being 'this or that' kind of a day before it starts, and I doubt its vast unexpectedness. I dont know if that makes sense so let me put it more simply: if you ask for your life to be an adventure, you better be ready for it cause its coming! Because when you are in the middle of it- strapped into the seat, enduring the up and down momentum, twist and turns, nerves and joys, laughs and potential cries turned into laughs- you will come out with a different perspective about the coaster or about life. At one point one of the girls said there was one part in the ride that 'hurt', and my anticipation for this was high. I was waiting for this moment and waiting for it to happen, and all of a sudden it came like a flash of lightning, very unexpected. It hurt (just a quick jerk up and then down) for a split second, but then the coaster kept going and I didnt look back. I was even laughing about it with the girls afterward. I believe in life we can see that hurt coming, we wait for it, and if we treat it like the coaster, it will just come and go, and we can move on. We can forget about it.
This basic gist of this was to say that we must lock ourselves into the adventure of life and allow things to happen in order for that great experience to shine through. A lot of times we judge our day, then plan accordingly, so precise and detailed and thought out, and when unexpected things happen we are not ready for them. I'm not trying to be loosey goosey with choices and right/wrong, or being lazy about our day. Because its not like the coaster doesnt have boundaries and rules to obey, but it is within those parameters that I feel free. I think if we were more relaxed in what we did in our day, things would be more natural and free as opposed to strained and forced. We were loved by God into existence and we should feel relaxed by that because ultimately many things are not under our control. We would become better people because we would not resent and regret, and would just enjoy the unexpected things God brings into our life. The unexpected roller coaster is what actually controls us, not our perceived expected control of our day. So let go and let Him live in you!
I dont know if this connected at all, but oh well, that is probably the point of the coaster, to let things flow how they may. The challenge then is to see how you are trying to live the adventure of life, how you perceive it, and then how you embrace it.
How are you living an adventurous life?
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Who needs Goals?
I do! You know, after almost calling it a night writing my last blog (which took me 2 times and several hours to write phew!), I realized I forgot to do this and do that and do this and do that...I came to the conclusion that: I need to write down goals and lots of them, so I can be PROGRESSING! Let me give you a quiz- Mark did what in the month of June: a) did not meet all my goals for the month of June, or b) did not have proper goals for the month of June, or c) I did not have enough guts to execute the goals of June, or d) combo of all of the above. I think it is probably d. But I think one that is overlooked the most is the answer B. Why is that? I think the reason that I did not meet all my goals and did not have enough guts to execute them is due to the fact that I did not have "proper goals". Before I get into what "proper goals" are, I think it is safe to say that we get caught up in trying to do too much, and feel we have to dump on more to make up for what we did not do. We need to look at the simple cliche when we look at goals: "Quality over Quanity". I will give a helpful hint that I was taught to give an idea of how to come up with a 'proper' goal, whether it is for a week, a month, or a year, etc. We can turn to an acronym: S.M.A.R.T. We need SMART goals!
S- Specific (Get to the point- what do you want to achieve)
M-Measurable (It has a number or an end result in mind)
A-Attainable (Is this realistic or am I just setting myself up?)
R-Relevant ( Can I feasibly do this with what I have? Will it help where I am at in life? )
T-Trackable ( Write it down!)
I think these are pretty self explanatory, but I believe the biggest key to success is making sure they are ATTAINABLE haha! Goals consists in two ways, but work hand in hand: Activity and Results Goals. Results goals are the destination, where you are going; activity goals are the how-to get there. So make sure you use both when you want to get better at something. But in the end, even after coming up with a SMART goal, you do need to train your 'will power' and get the guts to execute it!
Goals are important because they give us a "yardstick" to measure how we are doing, and where we want to go, but most importantly motivate us to be better versions of ourselves.
What are some goals you want to accomplish this month? Try to use SMART and guts!
S- Specific (Get to the point- what do you want to achieve)
M-Measurable (It has a number or an end result in mind)
A-Attainable (Is this realistic or am I just setting myself up?)
R-Relevant ( Can I feasibly do this with what I have? Will it help where I am at in life? )
T-Trackable ( Write it down!)
I think these are pretty self explanatory, but I believe the biggest key to success is making sure they are ATTAINABLE haha! Goals consists in two ways, but work hand in hand: Activity and Results Goals. Results goals are the destination, where you are going; activity goals are the how-to get there. So make sure you use both when you want to get better at something. But in the end, even after coming up with a SMART goal, you do need to train your 'will power' and get the guts to execute it!
Goals are important because they give us a "yardstick" to measure how we are doing, and where we want to go, but most importantly motivate us to be better versions of ourselves.
What are some goals you want to accomplish this month? Try to use SMART and guts!
Spidey Sense
It did not take me long to write again because of the inspiration from the movie "Spiderman 3". You know that this movie has some serious theme to it when the cover reads, "Every hero has a choice". Spiderman has a choice: either struggle through trials in defending what is right, or fall into the temptation of selfish pursuit and revenge. We can see this clearly in Spidey’s internal processing which manifests through his relationships around him and the things that “tick” him. Due to increased popularity and the attitude of “having it all”, Spidey/Peter creeps into a deep case of egotism. This is shown in the relationship with his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson. During struggles on Broadway, she deals with sadness and low esteem. All Peter can come up with are comparative analogies about himself, a lack of comfort for her, and scandalizing interaction with other females. This selfish outlook coupled with an un-open and unforgiving perception of his Uncle’s death expose Peter to the “black goo”. The black goo latches onto Peter turning him into a stronger, confident, yet dark and evil, “black” Spiderman. Peter lavishes in the power of this enhanced Spiderman, yet recognizes the evil and selfishness it contains. Even his professor comments on the substance by saying, “Peter, you should never let this touch you.” Unfortunately, through the turn of events- temporarily losing Mary Jane and threats from his best friend- Peter conforms to the dark Spiderman in complete surrender and submission . Peter’s appearance, attitude, interaction with people, and his heart change completely around. Now, his calling revolves around wrath and selfish desires, not for the common good of the people. Finally, he is confronted by Aunt May ,which makes him reflect on his ‘calling‘ and the gifts he is given to serve the city of New York. He decides to rip the suit that binds him through a solution which helps tear it completely away. Now, he realizes what is truly good and right, and how the darkness draws him away from who he really is: a hero.
Let me write a quick note on how this might relate to our own lives in some way. I believe we are all created in the image and likeness of God, namely through our ability to know what is good, and to love Him and neighbor. I also believe that we, through original sin, have a tendency to turn this goodness and love toward ourselves in selfishness. What are we going to choose? In our joys, happiness, and successes we can either compliment and affirm ourselves only or we can express daily gratitude and thanksgiving; and in our struggles, trials, and failures we can blame someone else for our misfortunes or we can suffer in vision and growth. We must recognize the ‘black goo’ in our life and desire to rip it away through sanctification. Spidey finds a solution through the bells in the Church. If the black goo represents sin and selfishness in our life, then the bells represent Jesus, His Church and the victory over sin. Like Spiderman, we all deal with things that frustrate us and attract the eye which pull us from who we really are; but we can also be confident that we have a source of life that brings us freedom and to who we are meant to be. Let us be JOYFUL in the fact that we can be a HERO… if we allow Jesus to rip away what is bad and to infuse what is GOOD!
What is the black goo that pulls me away from goodness and love? What am I doing to rip away the black goo and to become who I am meant to be?
Let me write a quick note on how this might relate to our own lives in some way. I believe we are all created in the image and likeness of God, namely through our ability to know what is good, and to love Him and neighbor. I also believe that we, through original sin, have a tendency to turn this goodness and love toward ourselves in selfishness. What are we going to choose? In our joys, happiness, and successes we can either compliment and affirm ourselves only or we can express daily gratitude and thanksgiving; and in our struggles, trials, and failures we can blame someone else for our misfortunes or we can suffer in vision and growth. We must recognize the ‘black goo’ in our life and desire to rip it away through sanctification. Spidey finds a solution through the bells in the Church. If the black goo represents sin and selfishness in our life, then the bells represent Jesus, His Church and the victory over sin. Like Spiderman, we all deal with things that frustrate us and attract the eye which pull us from who we really are; but we can also be confident that we have a source of life that brings us freedom and to who we are meant to be. Let us be JOYFUL in the fact that we can be a HERO… if we allow Jesus to rip away what is bad and to infuse what is GOOD!
What is the black goo that pulls me away from goodness and love? What am I doing to rip away the black goo and to become who I am meant to be?
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Boasting in weak ankles
As I sit here with an ice pack on my right ankle, I reflect on the history of my ankles, the weakness of them, and how they parallel all other weaknesses we could boast in and strengthen. Boast? Why would someone boast about their weaknesses?!? I will get to this later, but allow me to say how my ankles inspired me to write to you.
Ever since a summer league basketball game in High School, I have twisted, sprained, tweaked BOTH of my ankles countless times. During those injuries, trainers and doctors gave me numerous opportunities to rehabilitate and strengthen my ankles, and hope in future prevention. And at first, I would follow through with protocol by doing certain exercises and wearing ankle braces for activity. But, for whatever reason, I did not follow through entirely and without compromise in these measures. I told myself I could do without these practices because they were somewhat of a hindrance- doing exercises took time, and ankle braces were slightly restrictive-and I wanted to be free of these "burdens". It never failed, however, that I would seem to twist or tweak one of my ankles after ignorance of concern. One of these times was Saturday, June 18th, 2011.
I was playing a pick-up basketball game with some old roommates in Madison. It was a hot, humid day, and we were just having a great time, reuniting and goofing around like good ol' times. I was not wearing "basketball shoes", and honestly, I could feel a foreshadowing of an ankle turn because they already felt kind of 'wobbly'. During the game, our team was making a comeback so I started to play a little harder. I made more moves and cuts to the basket to allow easier scores and give us a better advantage. At one point, my teammate had the ball, and I made a move to the basket to allow him an easy pass and potential point. As soon as I made the move down the middle, my friend stepped in to kind of cut me off and stop me (which is what he is supposed to do and not allow me an easy basket), and I stepped on his foot. My ankle cracked at the collision of my foot with his, and I came tumbling down. After laying their in pain, I knew that after 5 minutes I would be fine because my ankles are so stretched out at this point from past sprains. But I sit here, ankle elevated on the couch, and I can barely walk. Ignorance of taking care of my body has cost me comfort, convenience, and ability to enjoy the simple act of walking. At the same time, and for whatever reason, I had this determination and attitude of "this is enough, I have had it". And this takes me to reflect on boasting in my twisted, weak ankles.
St. Paul writes in Corinthians, "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness"(1 Cor. 11:30). Now, my twisted ankles have no comparison to the beatings St. Paul endured for the sake of spreading the good news, and this is no attempt to merit any of my thoughts alongside St. Paul. Setting that aside, I felt through the continual hardship of spraining my ankle and ignoring prevention, I came to know that I must be resilient and strong in pursuit of experiencing a life with healthy ankles. So, it is like St. Paul says again to the Corinthians, "For when I am weak, then I am strong." (Cor. 12:10), that through natural occurances and all our choices, we will experience weakness, but it is through that weakness we can also learn, grow, and act with heart and will. This is meant to give us life and inspiration during life's struggles! The ankle is a symbol of our spiritual heart. How many times do we experience weakness in our pursuit for love of God and neighbor? There are things that naturally pull us from God's love, then we ignore the signs and continue to fall; or we will experience trial and persecution for things we confidently believe in. But alas, there is hope! St. Paul, in his boasting, says that the power of Christ is what gives him strength. It is in that weakness, that we realize we are totally dependent on him; the power of His resurrection gives us hope that we don't have to dwell on our weakness, that we can overcome it, and become strong, and love God and neighbor even more! This is why I boast in my broken ankles! What am I going to do about this?
I started to think of exercises, preventive measures, and attitudes that would start the process of building my ankles back up. This also allows me to think of the things interiorly that I am weak in, and how I can strengthen them. I even asked someone to keep me accountable for this! I am reminded day in and day out that God gives us opportunity to grow strong through our weakness.
What are you doing to go strong in your weaknesses?
Ever since a summer league basketball game in High School, I have twisted, sprained, tweaked BOTH of my ankles countless times. During those injuries, trainers and doctors gave me numerous opportunities to rehabilitate and strengthen my ankles, and hope in future prevention. And at first, I would follow through with protocol by doing certain exercises and wearing ankle braces for activity. But, for whatever reason, I did not follow through entirely and without compromise in these measures. I told myself I could do without these practices because they were somewhat of a hindrance- doing exercises took time, and ankle braces were slightly restrictive-and I wanted to be free of these "burdens". It never failed, however, that I would seem to twist or tweak one of my ankles after ignorance of concern. One of these times was Saturday, June 18th, 2011.
I was playing a pick-up basketball game with some old roommates in Madison. It was a hot, humid day, and we were just having a great time, reuniting and goofing around like good ol' times. I was not wearing "basketball shoes", and honestly, I could feel a foreshadowing of an ankle turn because they already felt kind of 'wobbly'. During the game, our team was making a comeback so I started to play a little harder. I made more moves and cuts to the basket to allow easier scores and give us a better advantage. At one point, my teammate had the ball, and I made a move to the basket to allow him an easy pass and potential point. As soon as I made the move down the middle, my friend stepped in to kind of cut me off and stop me (which is what he is supposed to do and not allow me an easy basket), and I stepped on his foot. My ankle cracked at the collision of my foot with his, and I came tumbling down. After laying their in pain, I knew that after 5 minutes I would be fine because my ankles are so stretched out at this point from past sprains. But I sit here, ankle elevated on the couch, and I can barely walk. Ignorance of taking care of my body has cost me comfort, convenience, and ability to enjoy the simple act of walking. At the same time, and for whatever reason, I had this determination and attitude of "this is enough, I have had it". And this takes me to reflect on boasting in my twisted, weak ankles.
St. Paul writes in Corinthians, "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness"(1 Cor. 11:30). Now, my twisted ankles have no comparison to the beatings St. Paul endured for the sake of spreading the good news, and this is no attempt to merit any of my thoughts alongside St. Paul. Setting that aside, I felt through the continual hardship of spraining my ankle and ignoring prevention, I came to know that I must be resilient and strong in pursuit of experiencing a life with healthy ankles. So, it is like St. Paul says again to the Corinthians, "For when I am weak, then I am strong." (Cor. 12:10), that through natural occurances and all our choices, we will experience weakness, but it is through that weakness we can also learn, grow, and act with heart and will. This is meant to give us life and inspiration during life's struggles! The ankle is a symbol of our spiritual heart. How many times do we experience weakness in our pursuit for love of God and neighbor? There are things that naturally pull us from God's love, then we ignore the signs and continue to fall; or we will experience trial and persecution for things we confidently believe in. But alas, there is hope! St. Paul, in his boasting, says that the power of Christ is what gives him strength. It is in that weakness, that we realize we are totally dependent on him; the power of His resurrection gives us hope that we don't have to dwell on our weakness, that we can overcome it, and become strong, and love God and neighbor even more! This is why I boast in my broken ankles! What am I going to do about this?
I started to think of exercises, preventive measures, and attitudes that would start the process of building my ankles back up. This also allows me to think of the things interiorly that I am weak in, and how I can strengthen them. I even asked someone to keep me accountable for this! I am reminded day in and day out that God gives us opportunity to grow strong through our weakness.
What are you doing to go strong in your weaknesses?
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