Tag Archives: love

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Do You See What I See?

Working with students, faculty and staff on a daily basis, trying to provide spiritual leadership to a congregation and serving to meet the needs of others, means that I have a lot of opportunties to look into a lot of different sets of eyes. I get to look into eyes of all ages, races and backgrounds.

I have seen all kinds of “looks” looking back at me. Sometimes there is a look of love and appreciation for something I’ve done or said. At other times there is a look of pain, despair, frustration that comes from the individual not knowing what in this world they are going to do? There are almost as many different looks, as there are eyes to look at and be looked at by.

I love the eyes. I think they are one of God’s most amazing creations. I mean just the science of how it all works is more than my limited mind can grasp, but also the magnificence of the beauty and communication that flows from a set of eyes can literally take your breath away.

One of the reasons that I do not like texting conversations is because I cannot see the other person’s face. When I have a face in front of me, I can see the curve of their lips, the personality of their brow ad hear the silent communication of reality that flows from their eyes… Someone called the eyes – “Windows to the soul”, which I agree with and I think they are so much more.

Eyes are facinating, they speak a thousand languages, tell the deepest stories and reveal the most meanigul truth without speaking a word out loud. Charlotte Bronte put it this way in her classic “Jane Eyre” – “The would fortunately has an interpreter – often unconscious, but still a truthful interpreter in the eye.”

Pay attention to other’s eyes. Look and listen to what they are saying or maybe not saying??? Every now and then take a look into the mirror and allow yourself time to appreciate the very special gift of your own set of eyes and see if you can understand what they are communicating to you about you, your thoughts, ideas and feelings.

Thank you God for eyes to see and to communicate with and I pray that I might use mine to share your love and grace, as I take time to appreciate the opportunity to look into the eyes of others and know them in deeper and more meaningful ways. Wow – what a wonderful world…

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Positive Social Media!

“If You Can’t Say Something Nice…”

Social Media is a place for me to share my life with family and friends. I enjoy letting folks know about my everyday human challenges and what they are teaching me.

I am grateful for my blessings, especially getting to cook, feed and share fellowship with those that I love. I love our great big crazy family that is all over the place, but always right at home whenever we are together.

I do my best to stay out of politics, although I can assure you that I most definitely have an opinion, but I learned a long time ago that it’s not worth arguing over.

I don’t air my dirty laundry, frustrations or disappointments in others, because let’s face it – there is already enough negativity in the world and if I’ve got a problem with you, that’s worth my time, then it’s worth a face to face conversation and it really isn’t anyone else’s business.

I love taking pictures and letting others get a glimpse of some of the things that intrigue, excite and challenge me. My new wrinkles, an adventure with one of our dogs, another nature discovery, what I am getting ready to eat or just something that caught my eye are all fair game to be captured in a photograph.

I’m not anything special, just a middle aged guy, who is learning that I still have so much to learn and my best learning, seems to have occurred through my shared experiences with others. I decided a number of years ago that if I can’t keep it positive on social media, then it would be time to get off, which is why through the years, there has been a break here or there, but I usually find my way back and have managed for the most part to keep it fun, encouraging and hopefully challenging.

Thank you to each of you that are a part of my social media tribe. I love seeing your life and learning from your posts. I hope that 2020 will be an amazing year of blessing and growth for all of us and that social media will do her part to help us along the way…

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Be Happy!

Be Happy! It’s easier said than done, right? The truth is: Happiness is not really all that far off for most folks, if you just know where to look and what steps to take. I have seen people that the world would say: “They have everything going for them!”, and yet in spite of all their good fortune, they were miserable. And I’ve seen others that the world would ask: “How in the world can they keep going on?”, and yet despite their cataclysmic struggles, they seem to be some of the happiest people in the world. While it’s true that circumstances do have the ability to make happiness easier or more difficult to obtain, they are not the determining factor.

Scientist have invested a lot of money and spent a lot of time investigating how to obtain happiness and while they have made a lot of amazing discoveries, there still is no magic pill that can make it your reality. I too, have spent a great deal of my life chasing after happiness. There were times that I thought this or that relationship with just the right person would do the trick, but it doesn’t take you too long to realize that most everyone else is on the same journey as you. I have often fell into the trap that certain possessions, a bigger house, newer car, trendier clothes might be the fix, but they all just ended up leaving me hungry for more. I even thought that degrees, titles and prestige might do the trick, only to find that papers stack up, trophies and plaques get old, memories fade and still leave you empty and searching.

We spend most of our lives having our ego fed by the lie of all lies: The lie that says I am what I possess, what I do or what I think other people think of me. This lie causes us to chase after an elusive foe that will never be caught, but that will often get us caught up in messes that take us away from, rather than closer to the happiness we are searching for.

Now, let me state for the record that I am not an authority on happiness. I am simply one individual on a journey that has discovered a lot of what will not work and a handful of things that seem to be taking me in a more positive direction. I want to share just a few of those thoughts as we get ready to dive into 2020:

1.) To Find Happiness, Stop Looking Outside And Start Looking Inside! Most of us fill our schedules with so much activity that we have very little time for solitude, stillness and quiet time, which allows us to go within and do the “thought” work necessary to truly figure out what happiness is for us. If we don’t fill our schedules, then many of us, simply don’t take the time to pray, meditate and contemplate what is really important in life. This inability to make time for “INWARD WORK” robs us of the opportunity to take on and take out the negative thoughts that this world is continually bombarding us with. If we are not intentional about taking time to think, pray, journal and do inward work, then we will most likely never experience the happiness that we were created for and that was created for us.

2.) Take Time To Take A Breath! This may sound a little crazy, but breath is a very important part of life. The fact that we breathe in and breathe out without even thinking about it, is an amazing reality of our lives. Breath matters. Take time to think about your breathing. Acknowledge the miracle of breath coming into and out of your body. This reminds you that there is more to this life than just you. You have a Creator, Who created you as an amazing spiritual being that gets to experience this human life. When this thought really begins to take root in your life and thinking, you can’t help but to live life at a higher level and this contributes to helping you get into just the right place to experience the happiness you were created for.

3.) Practice Gratitude All Day, Everyday In Anyway You Can! I have found that an attitude of gratitude is the single quickest way to get myself adjusted and headed in the right direction. While there are many things that are not working the way I want them to, there are many things that are working better than I could dream or imagine. Often in my life I have focused on what I didn’t like, giving it all the power to call the shots in my life and missed out on all that I had to like, love and appreciate that I should have been empowering to take me in the positive direction I so desperately needed. To help me stay on the right track here are a couple of disciplines I practice on a daily basis: First thing in the morning, I say: “Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!” as my way of acknowledging I am not alone in this universe, that I have been created on purpose for a purpose and that I am grateful to my Maker for blessing me with another day. At some point during the day, I also take time to write down in my journal at least three things I am grateful for. I encouergage you to find ways to meaningfully express your gratitude, it really is a life changer.

Happiness is really not that far off and it is obtainable in your life, just start on the inside and work your way out and you will find happiness, if it doesn’t find you first!