Category Archives: present

affirmation, Blogroll, life, Ministry, personal growth, positive, present, Uncategorized, vision

The Ministry Of Presence!

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” -Galatians 5:13

Some times the greatest gift that we have to give to someone else is simply the gift our our presence with nothing added and nothing taken away. I’m not sure if you are like me or not, but I am one of those people that often thinks “I’ve got to fix it!”, but the Spirit is teaching me that I don’t have to fix it and there are going to be times that I can’t fix it, but I can almost always be present and my presence is more than enough.

My wife used to come home from school and she would start telling me about her day and the challenges that she faced and I would immediately start telling her what she should and should not have done. One day while we were having this very traditional back and forth, she just put her hand up and said: “I don’t need you to be my preacher, pastor or friend, I just need you to listen and let me get it out.” And from that day on, I learned the value of a sore tongue, because I have almost bitten a hole in my tongue while biting it to try and keep my mouth shut.

One of my teachers in middle school used to say: “God gave you two ears and one mouth, so you should do twice as much listening as you do talking.” There are times when we worry ourselves ragged trying to figure out what to say or what to do to help someone else, when honestly all they need is our presence. Just to know that someone cares is often more than enough to get a person through what they are doing their best to get through.

I ran into the above little poem about ministry and it reminded me that each and every one of us have the opportunity to minister to others.

We can minister to others by taking the time to listen. We can minister to others by looking for and accentuating the joy. We can minister to others by helping someone else, even when we feel like we are the ones that needs the help. We can minister to others by asking God to use us to share His love and blessing with others. We can minister to others by putting our arm around someone’s shoulders, giving them a hug around the neck or maybe a pat on the back. We can minister to others by encouraging them by finding the positive that has to be in there somewhere. We can minister to others by praying for them and with them. We can minister to others by serving them and meeting whatever need we can. We can minister others by comforting them with our words and actions.

Ministry at it’s best is about our presence. Some time, most of the time, just being there is more than enough…

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Blogroll, forgiveness, Gratitude, Growing, love, mindfulness, present, Uncategorized

A Fresh Start!

Everyday is a fresh start, an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of yesterday and live for a brighter and more rewarding future. So many times, we tend to get distracted by our past sins, failures and mistakes or disoriented by becoming overly anxious about our future and who we are going to be, what we are going to have and where we are going to go. We need to realize and accept that yesterday was an education, tomorrow is not promised and today, this moment is our opportunity.

Today is our fresh start, our new opportunity to begin again fresh, new and ready for blessing. No need to waste time thinking about “some day”, because today is the day. Our tomorrow is created by what we do today. George Bernard Shaw said: “Life is not about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.” And this is exactly what life offers you, an opportunity to re-create yourself.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. -2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Our thoughts are powerful and the way we think and the things we think are vital to our living the life we were created for. We need to learn to allow our spirit to empower our thoughts, so that our thoughts drive our body. Most people living in today’s world allow their body to drive their mind, which limits their spirit. Your spirit, mind and body will respond to your new way of thinking and assist your growing and living in the most positive of ways.

Open yourself to your infinite spiritual nature. When you open yourself to your infinite spiritual nature, you will almost immediately begin to experience satisfaction, joy and peace as you learn to live in the present by letting go of past tension and future worry. With every thought we think, we have the ability to re-create our lives by saying yes to new beginnings and the opportunities for blessing, growth and love they bring…

Blogroll, Excuses, Family, Friendship, Gratitude, Growing, mindfulness, present, purpose, responsibility, Uncategorized

The Last Day Of Your Life!

The media would have us think everyone is freaking out over the coronavirus, which I simply don’t believe is true. I believe a handful of people have bought into the hysteria, but for the most part, the people I know, just continue to live their everyday lives and maybe wash their hands a little bit more. All this media negativity and the knee jerk reaction of professional organizations has got me to thinking…

There used to be a popular phrase plastered on buildings, stickers and used in quotes by motivational speakers. It said: ”Today is the first day of the rest of your life!” This is a pretty good thought to think and be challenged and encouraged by, but maybe a better way to think about it is: ”Today may be the last day of your life.” Everyday is a precious gift, which most of us tend to take for granted.

The scriptures are full of reminders that we have a limited amount of time in this human experience. James 4:14 says: ”Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

I don’t have any idea how serious this coronavirus deal is, but I do know that we are not guaranteed tomorrow and we never have been, so really nothing has changed. My advice is to live today as of it may be your last day. If you love someone tell them, pull close and hug and kiss those who are dear to you. Forgive and let go of negativity. Do the things that matter, while there is still time to do those things. LIVE your life, that’s why you are here and that is what you were given this day to do.

The past is over, learn from it, let it go and move on. The future here on earth is not promised to any of us, so accept today as the present, open it up and enjoy it for all its worth and you will have nothing to fear.