DailyConnections.net

MONDAY THOUGHT 11/29/10

WALKING THE WALK 

I have a friend, a former neighbor, called Maynard.  He is a devout Catholic, a staunch member of the Knights of Columbus, a decent, steady man.  He’s no
Bible thumper and can curse a blue streak when called for; however, he is also soft and gentle, with a giving nature, always the first one at your door when you need a helping hand. 

Though he’d never preach a word, Maynard walks the walk and lives the life of Christian love.  He’s quite an example.  

My point:  If you want to spread the word and help others understand what we see in this fellow Jesus Christ, then it is not always necessary to say a word:  Just live a life so good and Christ-like that people ask, “What’s with that person?”  — jri

WEDNESDAY THOUGHT 11/24/10

GOD’S GREATEST GIFT

I rather like the Bible story about Zacchaeus, the short tax collector.  Despised throughout conquered Israel, tax collectors could be compared today to someone in the KKK, a cold-blooded murderer, or a porn publisher like Larry Flynt. 

True scum, tax collectors extorted money from the citizens and enriched themselves.  Even so, it was this head tax collector, Zacchaeus, who Jesus decided to dine with in Jericho.  He didn’t go to the self-proclaimed good people of Jericho, but to a truly despicable bottom feeder.  Oh, and it transformed Zacchaeus on the spot.            

My point: Jesus seems to have a wondrous soft spot in His heart for the dregs of society, those who have so lost their way that they don’t even know how to ask for His love, His forgiveness, His help.  Gives hope for all of … thank God.  – jri 

I have come to learn and believe that the greatest gift Christ gave us (yes, even the scum of the earth) was forgiveness – undeserved, unearned forgiveness.  Can’t buy it.  Can’t beg for it.  Can’t do a thousand genuflections or ten thousand good deeds for it.  All we have to do is ask for it … and sometimes not even that.  In truth, all we have to do is accept it, let it in, and let it transform us.  Have a blessed, wondrous, joyful, thankful Thanksgiving.      

John Ingrisano

DailyConnections
209 Church Street
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722
November 24, 2010

TUESDAY THOUGHT 11/23/10

SEEING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BELIEVING

There are times when a conclusion wells up in me and I dig in my heels, believing what I know to be true.  Perhaps I am tired, under pressure, just stubborn, under the influence of the full moon.  Still, I argue – long, loud and logically — against all comers and send most challengers scurrying from the field of battle. 

Only one problem:  I’m wrong.  Give me a good night’s sleep and I’ll recognize the argument as bogus, the clear facts as just whimsy, the path of logic a bit overgrown with weeds.  That’s what amazes and puzzles me – how I can be so sure of what I know one moment, only to find that I am totally wrong, that what I saw, what I believed, what I knew for a fact … proven to be totally erroneous under different light.

My point:  It’s about faith, about how two people (or the same person on different days or even different moments) can see the same world, the same miracles, the same blessings … only to arrive at two totally different conclusions: one seeing a world graced with a cornucopia of God’s blessings and love and beauty; the other seeing a world of random suffering, disease, greed and hatred. 

Which view is right?  I know, for me, no matter how often I “decide” otherwise – when the dust settles, in the peace of the midnight quiet – I am always pulled back to the simple, clear truth that this is no random world, but a beautifully created work representing God’s love and caring.  To see it, just quiet your soul, open your heart and then your eyes, and let its beauty and splendor unfold.  – jri

THURSDAY THOUGHT 11/18/10

HOW TO BE HAPPY 

I knew a doctor about 20 years ago who was lamenting the introduction of the then-new and first anti-depressant drug.  He said patients were asking for it, explaining that “they just weren’t feeling happy.”   That probably describes many of us these days:  restless, uneasy, dissatisfied, knowing something is missing.  So, we devote our lives to searching for the secret to happiness.  (And under one name or another, that book — How to be happy! – has been published tens of thousands of times in the last decades.)   

We take up new hobbies.  We change partners.  We move from the mountains to the shore, and then back again.  We want the secret; we want the formula to take away the feeling of being lost, the malaise. 

My point:  Maybe we’re barking up the wrong tree.  My grandparents (or so I’ve been led to believe)  never thought about  happiness.  They believed in duty, in honor, in living a life of value.  Happiness, it seems to me, is a sad goal unto itself.  Instead, live a life of value and let the joy find you. – jri 

TUESDAY THOUGHT 11/16/10

GOD, I THOUGHT WE HAD A DEAL

It seems to me that there are three kinds of people who do not include God in their lives.  One is just indifferent, lacking the desire to look beyond his/her daily food bowl, as in:  “I eat, I sleep, I work, I play.”  The second is intellectually and spiritually lazy, having quit the quest and concluded, “I don’t believe in God.”  The third is the one who feels cheated and disappointed by God, as in, “God, I thought we had a deal that I’d do it your way and in return you’d take away my pain, give me prosperity, not take away my loved one, etc.”  

This person trusted and was disappointed.  I know, I’ve been there.  I’ve had expectations that I assumed/presumed God would fulfill if I only trusted, believed, paid my dues.  Well, I now understand (sort of) that we don’t do favors for God with the expectation that He will then do things our way.  Instead, we do it His way and, though He may not give us what we ask for, He certainly will give us what we need and what is best for us.  We simply trust in the outcome.  No, not easy, I admit. 

My point:  Poorly expressed as it may be, I believe we need to stop making one-sided deals with God, trying to manipulate Him.  Instead, just trust and do what we know is right, seeking God and His will, and then leaving the outcomes in His hands.  – jri

Reading over the above, I know it sounds awfully hard and harsh.  But the bottom line is that we may know what we want, while God does know what is best for us, and His blessings are far, far better, in ways we cannot imagine, than we would ever seek for ourselves.  So, as Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid.  Just believe.”  Sure, easier said than done, but so be it.  God bless.     

DailyConnections
209 Church Street
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722
November 16, 2010

DAILY THOUGHT 11/11/10

“I’M FINE!” 

We all have cares and woes.  Especially when I hear (or say, for that matter) the words, “I’m fine!” usually spoken with determination, if not conviction, I know that person is not fine, but attempting to tough it out. 

I repeat:  We all have cares and woes.  But it seems to me that we’re not supposed to tough it out, that we’re supposed to (A) let it flow over  and through us and, in so doing, let it strengthen us, and (B) just hand it over to God to make something good of what may seem all bad.  No, it’s not always easy, but nobody said life was supposed to be easy.  However, it seems to me that the God who allows or plans such things has a purpose beyond our limited understanding.  Gotta trust.  

My point:  Nothing brilliant.  Just that we live with trials, challenges, tribulations.  It’s the nature of life.  We struggle to enter it and we tend to leave it with a groan.  Rather than curse our fate or mask it with an “I’m fine!” declaration, just let it go and let God have it.  He really does know what He is doing.  Honest.  And that’s pretty fine, indeed! – jri 

 What I like best about the letter of James is that he was in fact the brother of Jesus and became the leader of the church in Jerusalem.  Now, there is always room for skepticism (and, yes, he may have been a step-brother, if you need to split hairs), but imagine that this is accurate.  Imagine growing up with Jesus, fighting for the covers in bed, flicking His ear when Mary wasn’t looking, but also recognizing His amazing strengths, gifts and calling, and then becoming a devoted following of this sibling who is the son of God.  Beautiful!  Have a joyful, wondrous day, one spent trusting in the Lord.  God bless.   

John Ingrisano   

DailyConnections
209 Church Street
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722
November 11, 2010

WEDNESDAY THOUGHT 11/10/10

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

For me, my ramblings are like a very minor ministry.  The idea is to use my small talent as a writer (I have no other skills) to try to do the work I believe God has called me to do. 

I also get a personal hoot out of it, especially when I hear that what I have written has made a difference to someone.  

I got such one of those hoots the other day when a friend who had just bought a copy of my newest booklet, “The Day My Father Died Was One of the Best Days of My Life,” told me he gave it to his wife.  

She read it (it’s a fairly painless 50-pager) and then later called her father.    Apparently, they had never had a very close relationship; in fact, I guess it was tenuous at best.  Right before she hung up, she told her Dad she loved him.  My friend, who overheard the close of the conversation, commented on it to her, because this was not a typical thing she would say to her father. 

She told my friend she was motivated by my book to call and, at the end of the phone visit, to tell him, “I love you.”

Made my day!  Made my week!  Might just make my month!

My point:  What we do matters.  It does make a difference.  When we take time for someone, when we bite our tongues rather than snap at an offense, when we smile a bit of encouragement, when we say, “I love you,” the impact may seem slight, but it can ripple.  It can change a situation or even a life.  Have a joyful, wondrous day, and know that every second and every encounter can make a difference.  — jri

John Ingrisano   

DailyConnections
209 Church Street
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722
November 10, 2010

MONDAY THOUGHT 11/8/10

DOES GOD ACTUALLY LIKE US?

I’m not about to offer up my first-born son (breathe easier, Jonathan) to please an angry, unfair god.  But that’s how a lot of primitives see their god:  pay him off, keep him happy and he won’t smite us; maybe he’ll even drop a load of goodies in our back yard. 

My view of God is a bit different.  The foundation of my long-sought belief is that He didn’t create us for sport to stick pins in us, although I know at times it can feel that way.  My view is based on a God of love and caring, a God who wants to see us succeed in finding the path that leads to peace and joy.  That is also why Christ made it pretty clear (correction: crystal clear) that He is The Way. 

My point:  God is a loving father (I almost wrote “LIKE a loving father,” but He’s not like; He is a loving Father) who nurtures us, disciplines us, guides us if we let Him, occasionally puts us through tough times we do not understand, and who, most of all, delights in us and wants the best for us.  All we have to do is accept His grace.  Pretty cool, eh? – jri

BTW, I’ve always liked C.S. Lewis as both an intellectual and an insightful Twentieth Century Christian writer.  Especially if you’re the intellectual sort who appreciates an honest well-crafted discussion of faith without the emotion, check out pretty much any of his books, but I mostly recommend “Mere Christianity,” one of his most powerful pieces of writing.  May your day be filled with peace and joy. God bless. 

John Ingrisano   

DailyConnections
209 Church Street
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722
November 8, 2010

FRIDAY THOUGHT 11/5/10

WHILE WAITING FOR GOD…

(I fear that this one’s a bit more garbled than most.  Sorry.)  I am walking a dangerous path these days.  On the one hand, I have come to recognize that nothing of value or purpose (I repeat: NOTHING) is truly in my control.  (Ask my friend who recently had a massive heart attack about his altered view of life.)   On the other, that puts a great strain and pressure on my belief in God, especially since I’m not one to sit around on my hands and just wait for those great and wondrous blessings to fall out of the sky and hit me on the head.  (And, yes, my friend’s heart attack turned out to be a very odd but powerful blessing.)

So, when I get into the fallacy of expectations (“Okay, God, here’s what I want from you, Big Guy!”), I find that He never enters the door I am watching or sends the blessing in the exact color and model I am demanding.  So, while waiting for God (Or why wait? He’s already here, thank you!), gee, I just might as well see what needs doing around the community and truly leave the rest of it in God’s hands.  I know what He wants of me and I really don’t need all that much supervision.     

My point:  Good Lord, this one is tangled with unfinished thoughts and loose ends, eh?  Told you it was a rambler.  However, I think my point is that, as the  inscription on the cross in my car says: “Christ is counting on you.”  Go and love your neighbor, forgive your enemy, help those in pain or need. – jri

DailyConnections
209 Church Street
Algoma, WI 54201
(920) 559-3722
November 5, 2010

TUESDAY THOUGHT 11/2/10

THE CLICK

I have friends who think it’s cute that I’m a believer.  Some try to regale me with their exploits (perhaps forgetting or not knowing that I’ve seen and done much more than they can imagine), presuming that, as a man of faith, I have some dumb obligation to listen to their tiresome tales.  Others think it’s funny to say, “Pray for me in church on Sunday” and giggle (though I think they’re more serious than they realize).

Well, I’ve had it.  I’ve never been good at “suffering fools gladly,” and those who know me well know it’s best to run when that little click goes off in my head and I decide enough’s enough.  In the future, here are my responses:  (1)  “I’m sorry, but I’ve given serious thought to what I believe, and I expect you to respect it,” and (2) “You seem like a person of intelligence.  I’d like to speak further with you, but first you need to do your homework.  I’ve read and searched  for answers for more than 40 years.  I’ve traveled a long and winding path.  It’s not for the indifferent or the armchair intellectuals.  I suggest you start with anything written by C..S. Lewis.  Then get back to me and we can talk.”

My point:  Yes, live your life of example, but don’t waste your time debating with (or putting up with) those too ignorant or lazy to seek honest answers.  This faith journey is tough.  Invite others along on the quest, but not if their purpose is to look for every opportunity to shove you over the side of the cliff. – jri