Author Archives

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Thanks!

I am very blessed to get to do ministry with some very amazing people.  Almost everyday of my life I have men, women, boys and girls who I get to work and walk with to reach outside of self and into the world for God’s glory.

I often get distracted by the challenges and frustrations of every day living.  Today, I was taking a little time to just step away from all of the activity to listen for the voice of my Creator and He helped me to realize how fortunate and blessed I am to have so many around and beside me that I get to do life and ministry with.

I just wanted to take a moment to say to each of you – I love you and am so thankful that I get to do what I do with you.  May God continue to bless and use you for His glory!

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Appreciation!

Don't Hate - Appreciate!

Someone said:  ”You can’t see clearly until you appreciate fully.”  I hate to admit it, but for a small part of my life, I got distracted by people’s flaws and was unable to see and appreciate their potential.  If we focus on people’s flaws and miss their potential, then eventually the relationship/friendship will break down.

I am not perfect.  In fact, the older I get, the more I realize how just how many mistakes I have made and am still making.  Hopefully, I am at least beginning to learn from some of them.  None of us are flawless, but all of us have accomplishments and potential.  Many times our accomplishments and potential go unnoticed, because most of the people in our world are looking for what is wrong, instead of what is right.

When I was growing up, I used to hear the older folks talking a lot about appreciation.  I think appreciation may be one of the great lost art forms of our time.  To appreciate means that we make an intentional effort to look past and beyond the flaws, mistakes and mess-ups and instead focus in on a person’s value.  Every person in this life has value and contribution that makes life better.

Appreciation isn’t so much about saying “thank you”, as it is actually taking the time to recognize and understand the other person’s value and contribution that they can make.

I need to get better at appreciation.  In fact, I want to pull out this old art form from the past and put it into practice, but I can’t do it by myself.  I need your help.  If enough of us get it and practice it, then it will become a part of our nature.

Here are a few things that I am trying to do to practice appreciation for others:

1.) Accept people as they are!  I don’t have to agree with everything and I don’t have to like everything about a person to find something of value to appreciate in them.  Sure I want to see people grow, improve and live up to their potential, but I am learning that before I can help anyone do anything, I first have to accept. appreciate and love them.

2.) Be willing to learn new things!  I am a human being, but I don’t know all there is about human beings and what it means to live and succeed as one.  Since I have room in my life to grow, then I need to be open to differences of opinion, realizing that while, I don’t have to agree, that I also don’t have to let it tear apart what could be a meaningful relationship of relationships.  Sometimes we burn our bridges with no idea of who else could walk across them.

3.) Consider The Quickies:  There are a few things that I need to do and keep doing to really appreciate others.  I need to PAY ATTENTION.  I am sometime so focused on myself that I miss everything else around me – must continually work on this one!  I need to ASK MEANINGFUL QUESTIONS.  Questions help me to get below the surface, so that I can know more.  The more I know about you, the more opportunity, I have to find something to appreciate.  I need to REALLY CARE.  I care.  I have always cared, but I am learning that I can care more deeply and more real.  I am also discovering that I want to.

Appreciation is a choice.  We want others to make the choice to appreciate us, but maybe we need to make the choice first, and then take whatever might come our way.  Just a little something we all need to think about.  Here’s a question for you:  Who do you or who can you appreciate today?  Take the time to appreciate them and you will be glad you did!

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The Miracle Of Life!

Life Is A Miracle!

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein  

You have a choice – will you enjoy the miracle of life that life is or not?  That’s it!  You have your life that you are living today.  Everyday that you live your life here on this earth is a miracle.  We do not realize or appreciate it, because most of the time, we don’t feel that we are in any danger of losing this life we are living.

Visit the hospital and walk into some of the rooms I have walked into and you will understand what a miracle life is.  When someone is gasping for their next breath, they know what a miracle life is.  When someone forgets what normal feels like, because they have been living with chronic pain and they finally get a moments relief – they know what a miracle life is.  When someone gets the news from the doctor that there is nothing else that can be done, you can bet that person thinks about and knows what a miracle life is.

You have been given this moment.  It is a miracle.  You are not promised the next moment, so take the time right now to make the most of the miracle of the moment that you are living and live up to your full potential!

You are a special creation.  You have an amazing purpose.  You are a miracle.  Yes – you – the person who is reading this.  You may not realize it, you may not believe it, but you and the life that you are living is a miracle, don’t take any part of it for granted.

Breathe in, hold it! = Miracle!  Breathe out, hold it! = Miracle!  Breathe in and out =  Miracle!  Look around, what do you see? = Miracle!  Listen, what do you hear? = Miracle!  Rub your belly with one hand and pat your head with the other, and even if you can’t do it? = Still a miracle!

Your life is a miracle.  You are a miracle.  Say:  ”Thank You!”  He heard you and smiled! = Another Miracle!

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Life Worth The Living!

Live Your Life!

Some people endure life and some people live life.  I hope that you are living life, but more important than living life is making sure you are living the right life.  A lot of people live life, but not the life they were created and gifted to live.  The problem with not living the life you were created to live, is you miss some amazing things and other people miss some amazing things that could and should flow to and through you.

What life are you living?  The reality for each and every human being is this:  There is room for improvement and growth in your life!  You and I need to be honest with ourselves and with one another about this reality.  In what areas of your life do you need to improve and how do you need to grow?  It is different for everybody.

Take some time to get into some still quietness and really think about this.  Think about your life and how you can live it better.  Think about what you were uniquely created for.  Think about what you need to do that only you can do.  Think about some of the issues that you need to take on and take out.  Make this personal and stop dragging everything and everybody else into it.

You are alive and you are alive to live.  You are alive to live the life that only you can live.  Live this life for Your Creator’s glory and for man’s blessing and you will discover that life is worth the living!

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Easy To Say – Hard To Do!

Easy To Say - Hard To Do!

Matthew 22:37 says:  ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’  It then goes on to say that we are to love one another as we love ourselves.  I know what I am supposed to do and I have moments where I really get it right.  I also have moments where I really get it wrong.  I could continue to play the game that most everyone else in our world loves to play and pretend, but what good would that do me and where would that get me in my spiritual journey?

Lord, I want to love You, the way You deserve to be loved, the way You want to be loved.  When I stop and think about everything you’ve done for me, for us, I just can’t help but to be amazed at Your goodness, grace, forgiveness and restoration.  We are so undeserving.  On our best day, we could not even come half-way close to earning anything good from You.  Yet, out of the great love and amazing grace that You have for us, comes this incredible opportunity to love You back.

I don’t want to love You back with just any love.  I want to love you back with all of my heart.  Please help me to stop guarding and holding back parts of my heart.  You have more than proven that I can trust you.  I want to love you with all of my soul.  The reality that You have saved and protect my soul, does not escape me.  Help the soul that You have saved, protected and loved to love You back.  I want to love you with all of my mind and this seems to be the place of greatest challenge, because my mind can become divided and segmented before I even realize what is going on.  Help me Lord, to let You control my thoughts and organize my mind.

I see so many play the game and then realize that I am often one of the so many.  Lord, I don’t want to be.  Please help me to make my heart the pure home for You that it needs to be.  Help my soul to know Who it belongs to, has been saved by and show it by impacting all the areas of my life and living.  And help me to fight and win the battle of the mind by not thinking as the world would have me to think, but by thinking the thoughts of my Most High God.

Lord, I love You, and I know I can love You more and better, please help me.  Lord, I love others, but I know I can love others more and better, please help me to make progress in this area of my life, not just so that I might progress, but so that I might really love You…  G3!

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I’m Not God!

I'm Not God!

None of us would ever admit to thinking that we are God, but a lot of us like to put ourselves in the position to play God!  The problem with this is – in order for us to get in the position to play God, we have to remove Him from the throne of our lives and put self in that place.  The really big problem with this, is that it can happen and we almost not even realize it!

God is the only One that deserves to be on the throne!  When we take Him off of the throne, it is always with the purpose of replacing Him and the usual replacement is self!  When we put self on the throne, our worship has moved off of the Creator and onto the creation and we know that this is nothing but trouble!

I have noticed and I hate to admit it, but this is almost a daily battle for me!  Just when I think that I have this battle won, something comes along to prove to me that I am not even close!  While I hate to admit it, I am glad that I can admit it, because admitting it – is the first step to heading life in the right direction!

Admission is a good place to start, but it is only the beginning!  May God help me with this journey!  I guess the best way to start is to say:  ”Hi, I’m Michael Joe and I’m not God!”

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What’s Your 5%?

Pastor Wayne Coderio

Wayne Coderio, Pastor of New Hope Church in Hawaii ask a very interesting question in one of his messages called “Increasing Your Time!”  The question:  ”What is the 5% that only you can do?”  There are a lot of things that we do on a daily basis that anyone can do.  There are some things we do, that a lot of other people with the skills and training could do.  But there are some things that only we can do and these are the things that we need to be giving the bulk of our energy and effort to!

Your spiritual growth is your responsibility!  No one else can grow spiritually for you!  What do you need to do to grow spiritually?

You have to figure out how to stay inspired with a right attitude!  What do you need to make a part of your “Inspiration Package?”

You are the only one that can love your family the way they need to be loved by you!  How do you need to love your family?

You are the one that God created to serve Him in the unique and special way that only you can!  What will you do to better serve God and serve others?

You are responsible for your 5%!  You are the one that has to figure out what you 5% is!  This 5% is what you are going to be accountable for when you stand before your Creator!  What is your 5%?

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So You Made A Mistake?

Mistakes Can Be Education!

So you made a mistake?  Stop fretting over it!  Don’t let a mistake wreck you, instead learn from it and move forward!  Too many times in life, we let our mistakes get us off track.  And if we don’t let it get us off track, there is usually someone close by, who is  more than willing to throw it up in our face to try to help us get off track!

The truth is:  We all mistakes!  If you are a human being, then you have made and are going to make mistakes.  It does not matter how talented and gifted you are.  As human beings, we are created with free choice and choice means every now and then you are going to make a bad or wrong choice.

Don’t let mistakes get you off track, hold you back or get you down.  Just make sure that you invest a little time to learn from the mistake.  In fact, if you learn from the mistake, then you get to move it from the mistake category to the education category!

What did you learn today???

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Attitude Is Something!

It's A Choice!

I listen to a fair amount of speaking and preaching to help encourage and grow me to try to keep my mind focused in the right direction.  One of the things that almost every speaker that I have heard talks about is ATTITUDE!

I have heard, read and even said many times that “Attitude Is Everything!”  I don’t really believe that!  I don’t believe it is everything, but I do believe that it is a very big something!  A wrong attitude will mess everything up, while the right attitude will help everything to be better.

One of the biggest battles I have faced and continue to face in my life is keeping my attitude right!  John Maxwell says:  ”Attitude isn’t everything, but it is the one thing that can make a difference in your life.”  We need to think about our attitude.  We need to work on our attitude.  We need to make our attitude better.

You have a choice and you have the power to decide and make a difference for you!  You can have a good attitude or a bad attitude.  You can have a positive attitude or a negative attitude.  You get to decide for you!  It does not matter what anyone else does to you or says about you.  You and you alone control your attitude.

Attitude can make or break you.  Living with a positive and right attitude can make all of the difference in your life, while living with a bad attitude can keep you from experiencing amazing blessing.  Take a moment today to do an “attitude check”!  How is your attitude and what can you do to make it better?  Really take some time to think about this.  Be honest with yourself and do what you need to do to get a better and more positive attitude – you will be glad you did!