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THURSDAY THOUGHT 7/31/08

The Hope Factor
 
As a young, bold dragonslayer, arrogant in faith, I used to look down on those who prayed in fear.  (That was also when I thought life was a big bowl of cherries, sans the pits.)  Christians had to be joyful, I believed, or they were lacking in faith. 
 
Well, as always (and still), I had much to learn.  Today, often standing hip deep in a swamp filled  with injustices and setbacks and illnesses and other unpleasant surprises, I have come to realize that being a Christian is also about hope, about believing — and sometimes desperately hoping — when it looks as if God has abandoned us or, worse, that the whole follow-Jesus party has been nothing but a fraud.
 
My point:  We’re often clay-footed; we’re not always one hundred percent sure; and more often than not, we don’t understand what God has slated for us or why.  That is when we need to offer up a quivering-lipped smile of hope — yes, amid all the fears and doubts — and just hang on tight to the hope of God’s promise.  God bless. — jri
 
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in
this way, you will fulfill the law of God.”
        –    St. Paul
               (Galatians 6:2)
 

TUESDAY THOUGHT 7/29/08

The Blessings Jackpot

Man, I hate to admit it, but it’s not all about me.  I know, I pray for the sale of my house; I pray for that next financial windfall; I pray for relief from the aches and pains of middle age (can’t wait to see how old age feels!); I pray that those who have betrayed/hurt/snubbed/annoyed me get a good swift kick in the donkey.  But, really, if I’m over the age of six, maybe it’s not all about me.  I know, what a stunning revelation!

Maybe, just maybe, I’m not here to hit the blessings jackpot (He who dies with the most blessings wins!?) or to expect favors from God, and then (and this is the fun, oh-so-sorry-for-myself part) to get furious — “God, you let  me down!”  — when I don’t get everything my way.  

My point:  Well, guess what?  I know I’m over the age of six.  I’m (allegedly, at least) a responsible adult.  So, maybe, just maybe, it’s about helping others, serving the Lord and helping some other unfortunate soul get a break.  I know that when we do that, that’s when we hit the blessings jackpot.  Funny how things work.  Enjoy the blessings of this day. — jri

“For such is the will of God, that by doing
good you should put to silence the ignorance
of foolish men.  Live as freemen, yet not using
your freedom as a cloak for malice but as
servants of God.  Honor all men; love the
brotherhood; fear God; honor the king.”
        –    St. Peter
               (1 Peter 2:15-17)

MONDAY THOUGHT 7/28/08

Success is Easy
 
I learned a long time ago that the “secret” to success is to keep your mind, heart and efforts focused solely on what you want and then to just keep at it.  No room for doubts or second guessing.
 
Step One:  Decide what you really want.  Step two: Map out the major steps how to achieve your goal.  Step three:  plan the daily actions that will bring you closer to your goal a little each day.  Step four:  Focus all your efforts on achieving your goal.  Take the desired action and keep taking it until you succeed.  No whining; no changing the rules half way into the game; no giving up or playing victim when you hit a setback.
 
The point:  We choose success or failure by the daily choices we make.  Choose success today.  — jri
 
“Man can create anything which he can
imagine.”
        –    Napoleon Hill

THURSDAY THOUGHT 7/24/08

God Knows We’ll Screw Up!
 
I predict I’ll screw up somewhere, somehow in the next few days (maybe even the next few minutes).  That’s sort of like predicting that the sun will rise in the east.  God knows it, too.  We’re just clay-footed humans.
 
That’s why it’s not surprising that Peter blew it by denying that he was a follower and close friend of Jesus when times got tough.  But Christ predicted it.  Christ knew Peter would screw up by the next morning, when the rooster began to crow.  God knows we also are going to screw up.  Still, that shouldn’t stop us from trying to be the best we can be.  For, as with Peter, He is always willing to forgive us.  And, yes, screw-ups that we may be, as with Peter, He has big plans for us. 
 
My point:  God knows we’re not perfect. We will fall.  We will fail.  Get up.  Get over it.  As imperfect as we are, we have things to do.  God is counting on us.  Have a  joyful day in the service of the Lord. — jri
 
“Then he began to call down curses on
himself and he swore to them, ‘I do not
know the man!’
 
“Immediately a rooster crowed.  Then Peter
remembered the word Jesus had spoke:
‘Before the rooster crows, you will disown
me three times.’  And he went outside and
wept bitterly.”
        –    Matthew 26:74-75 

WEDNESDAY THOUGHT 7/23/08

How Much Is Enough?
 
There have been times in my life when I’ve been borderline wealthy and times when I’ve been down to the last 17 cents in my checking account.  I’ve listened to some of my smarmy friends earning $200,000 a year complain that Bill Gates is sinfully rich, but who hooted in protest when I recommended (just to get their goat) that no one should earn more than $100,000 a year.
 
I think we all know that money does not buy happiness and that poverty can be soul crushing.  So, what is that happy medium?  Maybe it’s that vague place called “enough,” a place of balance.
 
My point:  I think it is “enough” to enjoy, appreciate and give thanks for the gifts of each day, whether they be a hotdog and beans on a paper plate or that $10,000 contract.  Enjoy. — jri
 
“Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.”
            –    Proverbs 30:8-9
 

TUESDAY THOUGHT 7/22/08

How Much Do We Really Trust God?
 
I recall how, years ago, I was puzzled and almost angry at the look of terror in the eyes of my uncle, a priest, who was dying.  I judged him harshly as a fraud and hypocrite, a man who had lived his whole life devoted to a belief that, in the end, he wasn’t sure about. 
 
Well, these days, I try to judge people a bit less harshly, perhaps because, even though I am prone (or is that inclined?) to stand proud and proclaim myself a man of faith, I too have many doubts and fears.  I guess we all do. 
 
My point:  If I could have my greatest wish, it would be to believe — in darkness and light, gain and loss, at all times, without exception — the simple verse below, shared recently by a friend.  If I can do that, and if you can do that, wow!  Talk about a life filled with giddy joy and endless, blissful celebration.  I’ll give it a shot today if you will.  So, enjoy the love of God and celebrate His many gifts to us each day. — jri
 
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares
the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to
harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
        –    Jeremiah 29:11

FRIDAY THOUGHT 7/18/08

Christ’s Traffic Cops
 
Call it commitment.  In poker, it’s either “fold ‘em” or “all in,” that moment when you make a decisive, game-changing decision.  In life, there are times when we are at a crossroads, a place where we cannot just keep loping along down the road.  We have to make a choice.  It’s nice to have a little guidance.
 
After a real tough and unexpected setback in my life — during which I actually cussed a blue streak at God and ripped the cross off my neck in anger — I realized I had to make a decision.  Either God was my God, the God I trusted, no excuses … or He wasn’t.  I was either in all the way, or I was out all the way.  Well, I found that I could not turn my back.  I could not deny what I knew.  So, I fearfully asked God for forgiveness (in a less frightening time, I’d say I’d invoked the “77 Times” rule: Matthew 18:22).  Confident in my “forgiven-ness,” I turned sharply onto the “all in” fork at the crossroads, and only occasionally look back now and then.
 
My real point:  I had a lot of  help from people who supported me and offered me guidance and direction — Christ’s traffic cops.  To all of you who helped me, perhaps even unknowingly for some of you, I thank you.  I don’t know if I could have done it without you.   
 
My other real point:  When you hit those crossroads (and I suspect there are more ahead, just waiting) don’t deny what you know to be true.  Just as important, I urge you to sign on as one of Christ’s traffic cops, so that when a friend, family member or  total stranger approaches that sometimes confusing “all in” or “fold ‘em” intersection, you can offer guidance to one more traveler stumbling along the broken road of faith.  God bless. — jri
 
 ”You are my God.”
        –    Psalm 31:14

THURSDAY THOUGHT 7/17/08

What Do You Say When…
 
This one is dark.  I apologize, for it seems to have no good answer for me.  What do you say when today’s reading  (see below) seems more like a curse than a blessing?  For the parent who gets that middle-of-the-night phone call?  For the husband who is given the worst possible medical report?  For the wife who hears out of the blue, “I’m leaving you”? 
 
For the person whose setbacks just keep coming and it feels like God enjoys holding him by the neck with his face in the  mud, that can be a tough time for faith.  How do you respond?  The “There there!  There there!” or “Trust in God” consolation sounds like pretty thin gruel.  Almost makes a person understand why there are atheists and people who are furious at God.
 
My point?  I don’t know what to think — let alone say — to these people who seem to run out of hope.  Enjoy?  Celebrate?  Blessings?  I guess all I can say is  — Please keep all the suffering in the world in your prayers today.  Pray for relief for those whose pain is beyond consolation. — jri  

“Take delight in the Lord,
    and he shall give you your heart’s desire.
Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him,
    and he will bring it to pass.”
            –    Psalm 36:4-5

WEDNESDAY 7/16/08

Christian Ground Zero
 
Being a Christian means (fill in the blank). 

• Putting in pew time on Sunday (NEVER the front row, though)
• Serving on the Vestry or Parish Council (looks good on the resume)
• Reading the Bible for 17 minutes every morning (full 20 on oh-God-what-did-I-do-last-night mornings)
• Not cussing like a sailor (no offense intended to sailors) 
• Being a political activist (i.e. telling everybody else how they need to spend their time and money)
• Giving a bag of money to the church (especially if it gets us out of missed pew time)
• Loving one another (this one may have some potential)
• Not gossiping (like that old biddy, what’s-her-name, does all the time)
• Saying “God bless you” after someone sneezes
• Looking good on Sunday morning
• Wearing a stylish cross, humming the hymns and reciting the prayers in Church

All kidding aside, it seems to me that Christ made it pretty simple:  Be kind.  Be nice.  Love one another.  That is what I think of as Christian Ground Zero.  I think that’s the best way to celebrate this day and to spread the joy of God’s blessings every day.  — jri
 
“[W]hatever you did for one of the least
of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
        –    Jesus Christ
               (Matthew 25:40)

TUESDAY THOUGHT 7/15/08

So, Lord, what have you done for me lately?

I give up.  I just sold my house — a miracle sale in a terrible market — BUT the buyers want to take possession  in three weeks.  So, I got what I asked for, and what I very much needed, but NOW … well, God, how am I going to find a new place, get moved, and, and and!!!!!  

I guess if I were God, I’d shoot me and be done with it.  See, I, for one (and I’m probably far from alone), have a habit of turning to God and asking Him to pull my fat out of the fire, and I’ve been known to do it with a chip on my shoulder, an attitude that implies, “You promised, remember, so here’s where you can prove you’re as good as you say.  Well?”  And then, lo and behold, the fat’s out of the fire, and I either (A) don’t realize it because it “just happened” or (B) I’m worried about how to pull all those fish into the boat without my net breaking (“Thanks, Lord, for ruining my net.  Oh, and just how am I going to get those stinking fish to market before they all spoil?  Well?”) 

My point:  Speaking only for myself, I can be hopeless.  But today, if only for today, I am going to try, just try, to be grateful for all that God has done for me lately.  I may even try to enjoy those wild blessings and give thanks for them.  God bless.  — jri

“A very large proportion of the unhappiness
of the average individual is self-manufactured.”
        –    Norman Vincent Peale

MONDAY 7/14/08

The Company of Men
 
As a man, I recognize that most men lean toward the solitary.  We define ourselves more by what we do for a living than by any other yardstick.  Our toughest years tend to be that decade and a half between 30 and 45, when we devote ourselves almost exclusively to the demanding task of putting in long hours building careers, trying to be good fathers and husbands, and facing, with stoic expressions, the financial challenges of it all. Our greatest strength is our ability to conceal those moments of sheer terror that sometimes overwhelm us.
 
That’s one reason I was delighted to be part of a men’s group that formed last year at our church.  We meet one Saturday each month, always over a great breakfast all or one of us prepares.  We talk about everything and anything from sailing, to our dogs, to our challenges, to our kids and grandkids, to church plans and even, now and then, by the way, about what it means to be a Christian man in today’s world and church.  The camaraderie is pretty good, and many of us discover that we are not all that alone in the pains and joys of our lives.  
 
My point:  We all need some good and clean and strong human connections, something that I believe is called friendship.  Women have no problem picking up the phone and “doing” lunch with a friend.  Men should do more of that, too.  Pick up the phone.  Call a friend.  No agenda.  No kumbaya hugs or stuff like that.  Just a little time with a friend.  Enjoy. — jri
 
“As iron sharpens iron, so man
sharpens his fellow man.”
        –    Proverbs 27:17

FRIDAY THOUGHT 7/11/08

Is That All There is?

This Christian stuff seems sooooo simple. Christ laid it out with two words:  “love” and “believe.”  That’s it.   

So, why do we (A) complicate the life out of it with what I call “Christian Calisthenics,” whereby we work up a pretty good spiritual sweat trying to make sure we have the genuine number of genuflections and good works in our Book of Life (“I have 99 points, while Tommy Fitzgibbon  has only 97, so Jesus loves me more!  Ha ha!”) and (B) walk around this earth worrying ourselves sick most of the time, as if all the Good News we hear on Sunday morning about faith, hope and salvation looks good on paper, but we’d have to be nuts to actually believe it?   

My point:  From my experience on this broken road of life and faith, it seems to me that there are no tricks or gimmicks.  It is that simple.  God knows what He is doing.  God cares.  That’s the gift.  All we have to do is accept and embrace it.  Simple.  Cool.  Enjoy.  — jri

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus

is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God

raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

        –    St. Paul

               (Romans 10:9)

WEDNESDAY THOUGHT 7/9/08

Forgiveableness
 
I know very few people — none, actually — who are satisfied with themselves.  Oh, most put on a good front.  However, everyone I know feels a bit or a lot inadequate in some area, if not many.  And that really cuts down on the joy factor. 
 
I think most of us spend way too much time fretting about the same flaw for years — whether it’s something as small as the same 10 pounds we would like to lose, some habit we cannot break, or some goal we can never seem to reach.  It’s okay.  God didn’t make us perfect.  Our greatest gift is “forgiveableness.”  We’re not supposed to be perfect, but we are supposed to be loving, caring, hopeful, faithful … and forgiving.
 
My point:  Let go and let God (not an original phrase from me).  We will never be perfect.  But we can always be loved and forgiven just as we are, imperfections and all.  So, be gentle with yourself and, while you’re at it, be gentle with others.  Most of all. enjoy who you are because that really is good enough. — jri
 
“Love is the gift of God’s mercy to human
sorrow, not the reward of human self-
sufficiency.”
            –    Thomas Merton

TUESDAY THOUGHT 7/8/08

Love & Money
 
I hate to confess it but when I went through a divorce 13 years ago, I woke up one morning not just alone, but truly ALONE.  Over the course of the last decade or so, I had focused almost maniacally on building a kick-butt business and not just providing for my family, but securing them against all perils.  Not bad goals in moderation, but I got a bit excessive, just a bit too driven.  I neglected friendships and, ironically, the very family I had convinced myself I was doing all this for.  If I had died, only my children, brother a few bill collectors would have showed up at my funeral.   
 
I know I am not alone.  It’s a common problem, especially for men, who too often define themselves by what they do, not how much they care.  Fortunately, these days, thank God, I have balance in my life.  Yes, I work hard, but family and friends come first, always first.  So, I may not die rich, but I suspect at least a few folks will mourn my passing and sniffle a bit at my funeral … which I hope, by the way, is a few long decades down the road.
 
My Point:  Money, fame and fortune are totally meaningless without love, friendship and caring relationships.  So, slow it down a bit and take the time today to give some time to the people you love, and to enjoy their company as well.  — jri
 
“There is something very wrong with the
single-minded pursuit of wealth and power
in a way which shuts us off from other
people.”
        –    Harold Kushner

MONDAY THOUGHT 7/7/08

Don’t Try So Hard
 
Monday morning reminder:  We don’t have to get it right!  We don’t have to have all the answers!  We don’t have to pass a special test with 70% or higher, work up a sweat or get ourselves into a dither. 
 
Faith and God’s love are not about effort, exertion or saying and doing all the right stuff.  And they’re certainly not about trying to manipulate God to get Him to give us everything we want.  God’s love is about just letting go and letting it happen, about raising our expectations, lowering our defenses, opening our hearts and accepting this incredible gift of love and joy that is waiting for us.  Just as important, it is about realizing that everything that happens — yes, even that tough to take stuff — is for the best. 
 
My point:  Don’t try so hard.  Instead, enjoy the blessings of this beautiful day and never forget that all things — got that?  ALL things — are possible through faith.  God bless.  — jri
 
“And we know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love
him.”
        –    St. Paul
               (Romans 8:28)

FRIDAY THOUGHT 7/4/08

Wrestling the Wheel from God’s Hands

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a control freak.  I have to be in the driver’s seat.  I have to hold the pen when doing the crossword or a Sudoku with a friend.  I have to have a plan for my life, MapQuest the route to my destination, review daily my six goals for the next five months.  Ironically, it’s not like I really know where I am going or, worse, that the destinations, once I arrive, are usually all that worth the trip.  

I know, it’s pathetic, especially when I realize I tend to do the same thing with my faith life.  (Is there a MapQuest route to heaven?)  If I had any brains (and more than a mere modicum of faith) I’d know that God knows the best destination and the best route to where I need to go. 

So, I try, with a modicum of success (guess which word is my word of the day?), to hand Him the wheel, give Him the pen, let Him fold the map, sit back and enjoy the amazingly wonderful trip.  In other words, as some of my friends would say, “Let go and let God.”  — jri

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a

place he would later receive as his 

inheritance, obeyed and went, even though

he did not know where he was going.”

        –    St. Paul

               Hebrews 11:8

God bless on this Independence Day.  Be safe.  Be well.  Be grateful for the many hard-fought freedoms earned and protected by our men and women in the armed services, who have made it possible for all of us to enjoy the many blessings of this great country. — John R. Ingrisano

THURSDAY THOUGHT 7/3/08

 I met a woman this spring at a diocesan Cursillo gathering (kind of like a religious retreat).  I spoke perhaps a dozen words to her the whole weekend, but something struck me powerfully about her.  She has a slight speech impediment; I guess you’d call it a stutter.  Either way, it was obvious.However, that was not what struck me.  What caught my attention and my admiration was that she was not the least bit shy or embarrassed by it.  A stranger to most of us, she never hesitated when it came time to stand up in front of the group and share something.  It may have taken her a bit longer than some of us to express them, but she made her points well and with confidence, and she was a joy to listen to.  She made me think twice and thrice about how many others (including myself) might be self-silenced into oblivion with such a characteristic (I will not call it an impediment, because she certainly didn’t seem to see it as one) or another, such as a bad hair day, or being too fat, too short, too inexperienced, too much of something, too little of something else. 

My point:  We are all imperfect in some way (some of us in many), but we are also unique and in fact beautifully perfect in how the Good Lord made us.  Celebrate the unique, special, wondrous self that God created.  God bless.  — jri

“Your Father knows your gifts,

your hindrances, and the condition

you’re in at every moment.”

        –    Bruce Wilkinson

               (The Prayer of Jabez)