DailyConnections.net

 

Those who know me know that I can be a tad surly at times.  That having been said, I pulled into a gas station last Sunday afternoon.  After pushing the buttons and waiting about a minute, nothing was happening.  I stomped into the station and snarled at the woman behind the counter, who immediately reset the pump. 

 

So, I stomped out again and began filling my tank.  Then I realized, wow, it was no big deal.  Besides, here was this woman working on a Sunday.  So, when I went back in to pay for my gas, I smiled, wished her a good day and as I turned to go, said, “God bless you.”  She gave an ever-so-slight, startled flinch, and then a big smile came across her face.  “God bless you, too,” she said and we both paused and smiled at each other — forgiveness, acceptance, understanding. Turning a hostile encounter around, I may have helped her day, while she most certainly helped mine.  Nice.    

 

My point:  It’s so obvious that my efforts to summarize it sound awfully banal.  But here goes:  We may not always feel like glowing, loving Christians, but we can still make a difference in ways we never really imagine each and every day.  I guess that means we should just do the best we can and leave the rest of it in God’s hands.  — jri

 

“Here is a test whether your mission

alive, it isn’t.”

        –    Richard Bach

 

John Ingrisano
DailyConnections
Family Finances Conference Center
Custom Communications
204 Lakeview Drive
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722

 

I awoke this morning from the sleep of the innocent, with a deep sense of forgiveness, love and acceptance by a caring God in an orderly world.  It’s nice to have one’s life and one’s faith values in sync.   

 

Even better, as I was letting out the dogs, a song from long ago and out of nowhere – a song my mother used to belt out in her loud, joyous, and woefully off-key voice – filled my heart and then filled my house, causing the dogs to dance and the windows to rattle. 

 

My point:  I think sometimes God just wants to remind us that He cares, and the recognition of that caring is pure delight (maybe even bordering on joy).  So, I invite you to celebrate that love — which is free for the asking for all of us.  Bonus:  I guarantee that you will not be able to keep from smiling if you open your lungs and let loose with one of my Mother’s favorite songs, below.  (Yes, a potentially sad song, but Mom made it joyful, as was her nature.)  God bless and may your weekend be filled with pure delight. — jri

 

“In the morning, O Lord, you hear

        –    King David

               (Psalm 5:3)

 

“You are my Sunshine,

Please don’t take my sunshine away.“

        –    You Are My Sunshine

                Jimmy Davis & Charlie Mitchell

 

John Ingrisano
DailyConnections
Family Finances Conference Center
204 Lakeview Drive
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722

 

[I know.  I know.  I'm quoting Dolly Parton.  No deep philosopher, perhaps, but one sharp cookie, nonetheless.  So, here goes.] 

 

Only simpletons think that life is a cake walk, and I get awfully nervous about the sweet smiling souls who love God (which is good), but then profess to feel nothing but pure joy (which I think means they’re faking it and desperately so). 

 

The fact is that life’s a bear, and Christianity is a tough way to go, at least if you’re doing it right.  Nowhere (and I’ve checked the Bible) did anyone promise that if you play it safe and sweet and walk the straight and narrow, will your life be easy.  Christ didn’t get out of it alive.  Plus, pretty much all the serious disciples (except maybe John, the beloved) ended up murdered, martyred.  Very tough way to go.

 

So, why?  Why do so many millions of us believe?  There’s gotta be something in it, some reason believers hang tough, in spite of what very often feels like promises unkept.  That’s the  mystery, the sweet, beautiful mystery about faith.  We know beyond knowing.  We may start with reason (since, ultimately, nothing else makes sense but God), but then go beyond reason to hope and, inevitably, faith. – jri

 

    –    Dolly Parton

 

 

This is for Haitian relief.  Time is the enemy.  Check out my article about “How to ‘Find’ $1,000 for Haitian Relief,”

 and  make a difference … a big difference.  Skip just one latte a day and you are almost there in terms of finding money for relief for the people of that poor island. 

 

I’m no freaking do-gooder, but these folks are in need.  Prayers & Money! And they need help now!   

 

God bless.  If you have money, donate it.  If not, prayers are powerful, too.  And, yes, I do workshops on finding money for relief and other causes.   

John Ingrisano
DailyConnections
Family Finances Conference Center
Custom Communications
204 Lakeview Drive
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722

 

Sorry, but this is a rant:  This is to a handful of non-believing friends, the ones who smirk and hiss when I talk about God and love and act like I’m a mindless idiot.  First of all, no, we’re not stupid.  We know that life is full of pain and horror, and believing in Christ as our Savior and Redeemer and friend and brother does not take away the pain of living.  Duh!  So, don’t tell us we’re stupid not to complain about our God or worse, to expect Him to give us a free pass to Easy Street.  He never promised us an easy life. 

 

Second, we’re not roll-over-and-get-kicked wimps.  You’ve made a mistake in assuming that we are benign, sweet souls.  I’m about as sweet as a super-ripe onion.  (Ask my cousin, who knew me as “Johnny the Terror” as a child!)  Duh again.  And then there’s  my brother (he has two black belts in karate, runs marathons, drinks way too much tequila), who professes massive doubts, but who is perhaps the most Christian fellow I’ve ever met, as he travels the world, looking for the worst hellholes on earth (he admits, it’s a death wish) to help the most needy people.

 

Third, we are fallible as hell.  Being believers doesn’t mean we don’t screw up.  It means we try NOT to screw up … and we fail a lot.  Triple duh!   

 

My point:  Go ahead and call us hypocrites for loving God and kicking butt.  (Oh, no, what kind of a Christian is he!  Look at the way he behaves!”)  I see no contradiction.  Do your homework … and then why not join us?  We’re not a bunch of mindless, pious idiots, but flesh and blood folks who learned a thing or two along the way.  Ever wonder why intelligent folks like us are believers?  There’s plenty of serious work to be done!  When you’re done smirking, let me know – jri

 

“Go back to John and report what you have

account of me.”

        –    Jesus Christ

               Luke 7:  22-23

 

 

My Mother would go over “The Rules” every now and then, usually with a finger pointed at my nose.  The only two I can remember (besides, “Remember, I’m your Mother,” which I never doubted, but understood as some kind of somber threat) were:  “Before you marry a girl, look at her mother because that’s what she’ll look like in 40 years!” and “Just because it feels good doesn’t make it right.”

 

It was the latter one that I ignored a lot in my (very long) youthful days.  However, I’ve come to recognize that there are rules.  Example:  No matter how many times I hit myself on the thumb with an emotional/spiritual/real hammer, though I have every right and freedom to do so, it will not ever feel good in the end.  (Similarly, no matter how many times the addict gets high, he or she will always wake up in a deep funk the next morning.)  But what I really learned over the years is that the real rules are not restrictive and confining, as I once believed (and like a dog chafing to break loose from his collar, I resisted with a vengeance), but liberating and freeing.  I dare say, they’re borderline joyful.

 

My rambling point:  There are good and right ways to live our lives.  I’ve tried many self-destructive options, but the only self-constructive one I’ve found — that makes any sense and that leads to a genuine sense of joy and peace — is the option to welcome The Lord into my life.  Simplistic?  You bet.  On the money?  Absolutely!  — jri

 

“Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,

        –    Psalm 119:1-3

 

 

I love a good book and tend to recommend my favorites.  Here’s one you might enjoy:

 

The Bible is an old book, though still a best-seller.  Unfortunately, as a lad growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, I was never encouraged to read the Bible.  These days, however, I devote a small amount of time each day — perhaps 10 minutes on average — to Bible study.  (That adds up to just over 60 hours a year.)  I keep a copy beside my bed to peruse during those 3:00 AM awakenings.  I also have a special place in my sunroom where, wrapped in a prayer stole that was a gift from a friend, I read my morning prayers.  And when I travel, I admit that I get a kick out of finding a Gideon Bible in hotel rooms, which leads me to a quick-flash thought of Rocky Raccoon (as in the Beatles song … but never mind) and makes me wonder if some future traveler will come upon and be inspired by the passages I (invariably; I cannot help myself) underline while reading. 

 

Though certainly no Bible scholar, I can turn to favorite Psalm passages in a flash in my marked-up, dog-eared,  underlined and annotated copy; understand why the two books of Samuel come before the two books of Kings; question the author and authenticity of some texts; puzzle over the inclusion of the downright nasty God contained in Ezekiel (my least favorite book); and even understand (sometimes) why, when and by whom the four Gospels were written. 

 

My point:  The Bible has become a favorite, special friend: a companion, a guide, a comfort, an inspiration, and a teacher.  So, if you’re not already doing so, I recommend that you give it some time each day.  I think you’ll find it a darn good book.   

 

“Blessed is the man

        –    Psalm 1:1-3

 

 

Just for the record — no, not a year in review — 2009 was one of the most challenging and rewarding years of my life.  Funny about that! 

 

At one point, facing a number of financial setbacks I marched around my house challenging God to either pony up or ride off.  I’d had enough.  And yet — God having ponied up, though never in the way I would have imagined — I celebrated the year end in joyful celebration of all my blessings: faith, forgiveness, family, love, friendship, health, a home community and a faith home, and lots of guidance.  Yes, I still have my share of troubles, but God helped me see and appreciate my many blessings.  In other words, I’m seeing the acres of blooming flowers in my life, rather than focusing obsessively on that darn single weed way down at the south-end fence post. 

 

My point, in a word:  Gratitude.  When God hands you a fish, don’t whine because He didn’t also send along a lemon to flavor it on the grill.  And when he sends you a stone, well, maybe it’s time to start building a new wall.  Cherish and be grateful for your blessings, no matter what form they may come in. — jri

 

“Just because he doesn’t answer, doesn’t

greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”

        –    Garth Brooks