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Let’s face it, if we’re seekers of faith, truth and God, we hope — either openly or deep down inside — that there will be a day when we will achieve what the Buddhists call Enlightenment, a day when we will permanently dwell peacefully in the joyful zone, where no trouble will disrupt our equanimity and no doubts will ripple the waters.

 

Yeah, right.  Dream on.  Not in this lifetime.  I pass (briefly, flickeringly, screechingly) across that road from time to time, usually while careening over the landscape on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.  Besides, I may not know much, but I seriously doubt that that’s the big plan God has for us — to sit around like happy fools with sloppy, beatific smiles slapped across our faces.  In fact, if that’s God’s plan for me, I want out. 

 

My point:  Though I’m only about 99 percent sure what God’s plan is for us, I suspect it is to strive and grow and fall and get up again and to do the darndest best we can.  So, enjoy the trip.  It is a challenging, blessed, worthwhile journey … or at least I believe it to be so.  — jri

 

“The development of faith is a lifetime adventure

another region of uncertainty, mistrust, or fear.”

        –    Barbara Shlemon Ryan

               Living Each Day by the Power of Faith

           

 

I confess that I puzzle over the idea of perpetual petitions, about knocking so hard and so long at God’s door for that new puppy.  Part of me says it’s like hitting the button on the errant computer — how we tend to punch  it  longer … harder … more often … more rapidly!  I know I for one sometimes get awfully frustrated at what seems to me as God’s pokey pace. 

 

Still, in my heart of hearts, I also believe (faith and hope) that we pray and knock sometimes more for enlightenment and understanding about why we may not be ready for the new puppy — at least yet – than for the puppy itself, knowing eventually that we will get exactly what we need … even if it’s not that darn puppy. 

 

My point:  No, it’s not about puppies, but about persistence and prayer.  Other than that, sorry, but no brilliant answers or parting of the clouds with bright, revelatory lights from me today.  I just know that we need to keep knocking, even if our knuckles get raw.  Strange, but that’s the way it goes.  And while knocking, be joyful, knowing that God does hear us.  He really does. – jri

 

“I waited patiently for the Lord;

        –     King David

                Psalm 40: 1-2   

  

 

Lost a love?  Lost your job?  Struggling (name your own personal grief)?  It will end.  Honest.

 

Spring follows winter.  Morning follows the night.  Hang tough.  God knows who we are and where we are.

 

My point:  Nothing brilliant.  In a word:  faith.  Cherish and enjoy the day.  Challenges are a part of life.  Rejoice in the day; don’t fret about the challenges. — jri

 

    “In the Bible, David never suggested we

            –    SQuire Rushnell

                   (When God Winks at You)

 

I was looking for God the other day, when I darn near tripped over Him. 

 

The experience reminded me of the Seinfeld character’s Kramer writing a coffee table book about coffee tables.  I was reading a book about “Godwinks” — moments beyond coincidence that can remind us that God is near and watching over us — when I bumped into two actual Godwinks of my own.  (The book is When God Winks at You, by Squire Rushnell, and I recommend it.) 

 

In the course of about 10 pages, I encountered two Bible verses in box rules that are neither all that common, nor were they totally relevant to the text itself, but which have become very much a part of my soul over the last year.  (One is  Proverbs 3:6: “In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your path.”  The other is Jeremiah 29:11: “‘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.”‘)

 

When I encountered the first verse, I smiled, as if meeting an old friend.  When I read the second, my soul smiled, then soared, and then began to settle into a deep, warm joyous silence, wrapped in the knowledge that God was close … and always is.

 

My point:  Partially, just sharing of a wondrous moment when God took the time to remind me how much He truly cares (dare I add “about me personally”?).  But also that seekers of truth are finders of God.  And it’s well worth the time and effort.  God bless. – jri

 

“Then you will call upon me and come

you seek me with all your heart.”

        –    God

               (Jeremiah 29:12)

 

 

I feel sorry for Bernie Madoff and Tiger Woods.  When is enough … enough?  Madoff made off with billions of dollars, lived a life of plush affluence, screwed a lot of folks … and probably could never have said when he would have been truly satisfied.  Tiger Woods, the best golfer who ever played the game, made a lot of money, was adored by everyone, screwed a lot of folks, and kept looking for something “more” in all the wrong places. 

 

What is enough?  What is abundance?  Is it $100,000 in the bank?  One more sexy lover?  Marathoners try to break their last record.  Writers try to write one more everybody-loves-it book.  Dieters try to lose just ten more pounds.  But still, all too often, that empty hole remains, that sense that something is missing. 

 

My point:  It seems to me, at least what I’ve found, is that, once we’ve rattled every conceivable doorknob and checked out every other option, the only source of abundance and peace and satisfaction — the only time when enough is truly enough — is when we turn to God.  That’s it.  Period.  So, enjoy your abundance today with a little chat and a thank you to the Lord.  Then just let the rest of the day unfold in joyful abundance and a whole lot of enough.  — jri

 

“You have planted much, but have

holes in it.”

        –    Haggai 1:6   

 

 

Several men were talking over breakfast last Saturday when the subject of loving God came up.  I admitted that I do not understand my more fundamentalist Christian friends, who often refer to a having “personal relationship with Christ” and about how Jesus loves us personally.  I do not deny it.  I just do not get it … and I do not feel it.

 

I know I am not alone.  Some of the other guys agreed that they believe in a “higher power,” who is in fact God.  And we have no problem acknowledging that God loves us as a group (as in God loving us and sending His Son to redeem us).  But I just do not know if I actually love Jesus in a personal relationship way. (I know, I know, I’m gonna hear about this one.)  I know it has much to do with helping our neighbors, but I suspect I am missing something.      

 

So, my prayer today (and once again, I suspect I’m not alone) is this:  Lord, I invite you into my heart.  I admit that I do not understand how to love you in other than an intellectual way.  So, I ask you to show me how.  Amen. — jri

 

“Love the Lord your God with all

        –    Jesus Christ

               (Matthew 22:37)

 

John Ingrisano
DailyConnections
204 Lakeview Drive
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722
December 8, 2009

 

I have a fondness for lost causes and lost souls.  There was a fellow I met down in the islands years ago.  I refer to him as Chicago Mike.  He lost a multi-million dollar business, divorced his wife and his life, ended up living with a fat and mean woman I referred to as Patty the Beast, and is now doing time in a federal prison for tax fraud. 

 

Though I always kept one eye on my wallet and another on my female dog when around him, I admit/confess that I enjoyed his company and still rather like the guy.  He reminds me, when I consider God’s rules, of what I think of as the two ways to get into heaven: The Justice Clause versus The Mercy Clause.

 

My point:  As is often the case, not totally sure.  However, I think it’s that what I like about The Mercy Clause is that it offers hope for all of us, along with a reminder that being good little “Do-Be’s” isn’t the only way to acquire a ticket to eternal bliss.  Enjoy the day and thank God for The Mercy Clause.  Oh, and by the way, one of the last times Mike and I talked before he was sent to prison, he grudgingly asked me to pray for him, adding, ”Not that it’ll do any good, but….” – jri

 

“Truly I tell you, the tax collectors

the kingdom of God ahead of you.”

    –    Jesus Christ

           (Matthew 21:31)