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FRIDAY THOUGHT 4/30/10

When God Says We’re Ready….

Some time ago, during a tumultuous and challenging time for my family, my son and I had a falling out and we did not speak (or at least affectionately) for several years.  Trying to be philosophical, I told an acquaintance, “When he’s ready, he’ll return to me.”  The fellow looked at me and suggested, “And maybe when you’re ready, too.”

I think I can apply that same thinking to my own laundry list of other God requests.  Too often, I’m in a big hurry for a big deliverance.  (It sort of reminds me of a potential commercial for pizza delivery:  Get it hot, fast and now!)  Well, not that I know much about what God has in mind day by day, but I have come to believe (often, if not always) that God gives us what we need … but not until when we need it or, more importantly, when we’re ready.

My point:  Maybe we should stop trying to second guess God or predict what He will do and when He will do it.  If we believe, we believe, so just leave it in God’s hands and let it go.  And when we’re ready…. — jri  

TUESDAY THOUGHT 4/27/10

Feeling Inspired Yet?

I’m a slogger, not prone to feeling all that inspired some days.  Happens.  No big woof. 

Rumor has it that Mother Theresa lacked inspiration for decades … but carried on nonetheless with her inspiring work.  I tend to think believers (including myself) put way too much stock in inspiration, in working for that tingly emotional feeling – that happy place — that feels so good.  You can get the same sense of all’s-right-with-the-world from a good shot of Irish whiskey.    

My point:  Beats me.  I’m not feeling all that inspired, remember?  However, for my money, I have found that inspiration is a nice, every-now-and-then, warm-and-fuzzy perk, but it certainly isn’t the purpose of our lives.  Instead, faith is about knowing and believing and very often just slogging along – in a very uninspired way —  through the challenges of each day, but with the knowledge, that incredible knowledge, that what we believe in is the truth.  – jri 

MONDAY THOUGHT 4/19/10

I Gotta Be Me!

 I used to buy into that line of hooey – “I gotta be me” — from the song by Sammy Davis, Jr., as I rode hell-bent for leather across the wide open spaces of my youth.   I admired Davis; he was a great man.  But that song, looking back on it, reflected the maturity of a 17-year-old, of people who see themselves as a unique lump (ah, an oxymoron) dumped on earth and destined to live life out by some secret, self-code of conduct;  or better yet, excused from any responsibility to change and grow and learn.  “Well, that’s just the way I am!” is a proud statement of willful ignorance and petty arrogance.

Contrast that with believers, who know that they are much, much more than self-contained, self-serving, self-absorbed piles of traits, tendencies and self-created beliefs.  They are – we are —  open to knowledge, to personal growth and understanding … to a pretty exciting destiny, though we do not necessarily know exactly how it will play out. 

My point:  Somewhere hidden in my rambling (and I know I can be obtuse), it is supposed to be that we can live our lives either in a dark vacuum of self-absorbed ignorance, or we can recognize that we are connected – gloriously, wondrously connected – to a God who has plans for us and to people who count on us, and that it is through that connectedness that we grow, struggle (yes, struggle, sometimes painfully) and become every day more of the fully fulfilled person God would love for us to be.  In that respect, I’m looking forward to being me! – jri

WEDNESDAY THOUGHT 4/14/10

Grumble!  Grumble 

Whenever my mother would do something to/for me that I was wont to run from – as in scrubbing out a knee nick with witch hazel or hunting me down at a party where I shouldn’t have been – she’d always throw in the phrase, “If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t be doing this.”  And, yes, she adored me.  (Yes, she loved Lou more, but that’s a different story.)  Still, I often grumbled long and loud in protest.    

It seems to me that God is the same way.  More often, though, I’ve found that He seems to get a kick out of challenging me with blessings, by giving me everything I need and everything that’s right for me.  Man, I hate that, because that puts the ball in my court and means I need to shut up and stop grumbling.  

My point:  A bit fuzzy, I know, but here goes: There are days when we are most challenged not by our gripe-and-groan pain and suffering, but by our pure and wondrous blessings.  That can be the real test of our faith –  learning how to say “thank you” rather than “why me?”  – jri

Tuesday Thought 4/13/10

In the Driver’s Seat

Hi, Lord, John the control freak here.  I know, I know, I spend way too much time trying to tell You the best route, reminding You when I think it’s time to turn, to stop or to take a break. 

Unfortunately, I am also well aware (at least sometimes) that when I do that, when I insist on being in charge, on being in the driver’s seat – or at least mapping out the route I want to take — that I not only miss the whole point and joy of the trip, but I really have no idea where I am going or what lies ahead.      

My promise for today:  Lord, You take the wheel; oh, and here’s the map.  You’re much better at this than I’ll ever be.  So, at least for today (maybe tomorrow, too; let’s see how today works out), I’m going to sit back and just trust … enjoy the scenery … maybe doze a bit … leave it all in Your hands.  Amen.  Oh, but watch your speed on this curve coming up. – jri

FRET-FREE FRIDAY THOUGHT 4/9/10

It’s Fret-Free Friday

I have a confession.  I’m a fretter.  Beneath, my boyish charm and bluff manner, I tend to worry.    

I fret when life is troubling.  I fret when life is good … wondering when it will flip back to the troubled side again.  I also fret that this fretting is a sign of lack of faith, a lack of trust. 

So, today – if only for today – I declare it Fret-free Friday.  I will refuse to worry, refuse to get anxious.  I will put my whole trust (remember, it’s only one day) in God and put it all in His hands. Ahhhhhh!  Care to join me?  — jri

THURSDAY THOUGHT 4/8/10

Why Jesus Picked Peter

The clay-footed, unreliable, explosive Peter is my favorite saint, kind of a hero for me.  It’s partially because I can relate to him so well.  But mostly it’s that never-give-up relationship between him and God. 

Jesus never quit on Peter … and Peter never quit on Jesus.  (Or at least he always came back.)  On Holy Thursday, Peter screwed up royally by turning his back on the Lord and abandoning him.  (“I do not know the man!”)  But several weeks later, we see Peter in the temple boldly proclaiming Jesus as Lord … views that eventually got him killed, too.

My point:  We are never so much of a screw-up that God cannot – and will not – transform us, redeem us, take us back.  So, if God does not give up on us, maybe we should not give up on Him, or on ourselves. – jri

Have screw-ups in your life?  Be patient with them.  We all go through stupid times.  Just love them and pray for them. God bless. 

John Ingrisano
DailyConnections
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April 8, 2010

WEDNESDAY THOUGHT 4/7/10

The Merry Adventures of God and the Gang!

I spent some joyful time over the last decade doing a bit of travel writing, covering St. Maarten and other Caribbean playgrounds for Fodor’s Caribbean Guide and some regional in-flight airline magazines.  My purpose was to amuse, inform and allure.  It was a hoot and a half. 

Well, think of St. Luke as God’s travel writer, which is also why (this week, at least) the Acts of the Apostles is my favorite Bible book.  In fact, if you’re trying to lure someone into the Land of God, tell him or her to start with the Acts. 

What I like best about the Acts (aka, my point, I guess) is that (A) these adventures aren’t buffed and polished into an everything-is-beautiful-now-that-Jesus-has-risen love story.  There’s a lot of tough stuff these folks go through.  (Think of it as adventure travel.)  And (B) I love how these once-ambivalent, clay-footed followers are now one hundred percent sure of what they are doing.  No ambivalence or doubts.  They’re just out there doing what they know they should be doing, and they are doing it confidently.  So, go check out the adventures of God and the Gang.  It’s a best seller. – jri 

HOLY THURSDAY THOUGHT 4/1/10

 Honestly Seek; Blindly Follow! 

Just for the record on this Holy Thursday:  I’m not some blind, mindless, brain-dead follower.  Raised in the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, I walked away in doubt when I was about 17.  However, I kept my well-educated mind open to what seemed like one fact:  There either IS or IS NOT a God. 

I read, studied (no, not to find an answer I wanted to hear, but to find the TRUTH, wherever it might be) and refused to compromise.  Finally, eventually, over decades, I came to recognize that there IS and MUST be a God.  No, I didn’t have one single, burning-bush moment, thank you, but a gentle, persistent unfolding of irrefutable truth over time.  

My point:  If you’re a doubter, less hooting, more seeking, please.  Read.  Study.  Doubt.  Question.  Most of all, find out what happened this week in the life of Christ and ask yourself: What made all these millions and millions of men and women from that moment onward not just buy into this story of a carpenter’s son who was killed and restored to life, but WHY it happened and WHY it is such an important, life-changing event.  Not sure?  Well, get back to me in about ten years with your answer. – jri