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WEDNESDAY THOUGHT 9/28/11

In my travels, I did not see God today, but I saw His footprint.  I am traveling a lot these days, doing writing and business seminars across the country, sometimes “seeing” four cities in four days.  It can get lonely at times. 

Last night I checked into a hotel in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  It was an everyday, decent, mid-range motel.  And then I saw God’s footprint:  In the info rack on the desk was a card titled, “A Prayer for Today.”  Ah, I was in a house of believers … no longer alone.  On the other side of the card was another message, shared in part below. 

My point:  As people and believers, we can sometimes feel alone.  When others reach out in even the smallest way, it feels great.  We should do the same.  (My favorite, of course, is a simple “God bless you” after a brief retail transaction.)  Let others know that they are not alone, that someone (that someone would be you) cares.  It can make a big difference in another’s day, week … life. – jri

I also have a confession to make.  I travel without my Bible, but always find the Gideon Bible in my room.  (If it is not there, I ask the front desk to send up a copy.)  When I read it, I have a tendency to mark it up with notes and underlinings.  I also — thinking that someday, another person may pick   up this same book – scribble a little note of hope on the inside back cover, along with my initials and the date.  (Let me know if you ever come across one I’ve written in.)  I guess that’s my way of leaving my footprint.  We don’t always need to shout the Word.  Sometimes we can whisper it quietly.  God bless.

TUESDAY THOUGHT 9/27/11

ACCEPTING THE GIFT

 Years ago, I knew of a man who went off to fight in World War II, and he became very good at it.  However, when he came home, he could not handle the peace.  He died a sad, miserable alcoholic. 

 Well, I know how he must have felt … kind of.  Over the years, I have struggled through many challenges.  Every day I arose to do battle with dragons; that was much of my life.  So, you can imagine that most of my prayers have been calls for support, relief from pain, or just complaints that the reinforcements had not arrived on my time schedule. 

 Well, here’s the scary part:  My prayers have been answered (well, except the one about the pony and the Mercedes).  No, my life is nothing like I had imagined or prayed for — it’s better, much better.  The dragons are either all slain or fleeing for their lives.  I have faith, forgiveness, healthy children and grandchildren (all of whom seem to think I’m pretty okay), love of a steady woman, good friends and a welcoming faith home.

 But here’s the punch line:  What do I do now?  How do I live in a valley filled with peace and balance?  I have no idea what to do with these gifts.  Scary.  Dare I lay down my sword?  Almost makes me want to run out and start a war, pick a fight, run away.  But I will not. 

 My point/my challenge (ah, a challenge; thank God!):  I pray for the strength – with grace and gratitude – to learn how to accept, cherish, and just enjoy these  soothing and wondrous blessings … without guilt or a need to go out and look for some struggle to embrace.  I suspect I am not alone in this.  If you fear peace and acceptance, are more comfortable in conflict and pain than in gentle balance, I encourage you to offer it up to God, who, I believe, actually want us to be peace-filled and joyful.  – jri

Oh, and maybe, just maybe, I can now devote my time and my limited talents to helping others rather than studying my own self-absorbed and lint-filled navel!  I think that’s the best part of all, recognizing that there is a world of need out there … and maybe it’s time to do something about it.  God bless you.

SATURDAY THOUGHT 9/24/11

LETTING GOD BE GOD 

I know of a family (good people, by the way, by all accounts) whose one son was injured in a swimming accident several summers ago and is now a quadriplegic.  Last week I learned that another of their sons was injured in an ATV accident and is now a paraplegic. 

I know some people who think God is a ferocious warrior who commanded the Jews to wipe out the tribes that were unfortunate enough to be living in the land God promised them after their 40-year desert wanderings.  I know other people who think God is weepy-eyed and sweet, full of gorgeous sunrises and butterfly blessings. 

My point:  We do not have a true clue about who God really is.  We get only bits and pieces of the picture from the Bible; then (I suspect, because we cannot comprehend the immensity of the message) we cherry pick what we want to believe.  Instead, in the words of Martin Luther, maybe we just need to “let God be God.”  Believe in the apparent contradictions.  Believe that it will all make sense someday.  Most of all, believe in the words and instructions we received from Christ.  Nothing else matters.  It’s not our business to comprehend that which is truly beyond our comprehension.  – jri

The above was not meant to be harsh.  It’s just that, as humans, one of our driving forces is to make sense of events, to create order out of apparent chaos.  I have spent years seeking truth; one thing I’ve learned is that truth is different from understanding.  Just because I do not understand something does not make it untrue or wrong.  It just means I do not understand it.  Yes, I can reject what is obviously untrue or false.  However, I keep my mind and heart open to that which is apparently true or possibly true.  Whew!  Didn’t mean to get so heavy on a Saturday morning.  Just trying to make sense of the events of this life, especially the seemingly harsh and random ones.  God bless you.

MONDAY THOUGHT 9/19/11

PEACE-FILLED EXPECTANCIES

I was somewhat saddened this weekend because I was unable to enjoy two special events due to timing and schedule conflicts.  One was the wedding of my dear cousin, Karen, several states away; she and I had been through much together and had held each other’s hearts through old sorrows.  The other was to see my daughter, Nicky, visiting from Seattle; she and I had rooted for each other and stood by each other in past times when few others would.  In neither situation, however, did we let our expectations (being together) darken our expectancies (love and trust and ongoing appreciation).  We all accepted the unavoidable disappointments without complaint. 

I was reminded of this by the contrasting, very arrogant expectations of the Aramite commander, Naaman, who nearly rejected a cure for his leprosy from the Prophet Elisha because “I thought” and “I expected” it to be a big, primetime event, rather than the simple cure by dipping himself seven times in the Jordan River. 

My point:  Very often, we know what we would like to see happen.  It doesn’t always work out that way.  God has other plans … pretty much always.  That’s why I tend to say these days that “I believe God” (His words are true) rather than “I believe in God” (which is sort of like believing in Santa Claus or unicorns).  Have an expectancy that He will keep His word, not an expectation that He will meet your demands on your terms and on your schedule.  Live this day trusting in God.  – jri

Though my cousin’s wedding was hundreds of miles away, I bid my guardian angel to watch over the nuptials and bless her and Gene.  This is something we have often done in the past, sharing each other’s guardian angels, if only symbolically and for comfort.  Of late, however, I believe our angels sit together, visiting and giggling over the joy in both our lives.  As for my daughter, we both felt funky and odd that she is so close and yet we will not be able to visit.  However, we talked last night, shared our common frustration, and reassured and blessed each other.  I will see her in a month or so.  All is well.  God’s way works just fine.  

TUESDAY THOUGHT 9/13/11

THE GRAVEL IN MY SHOE

I have few talents.  Give me a hammer, board and nail, and I will struggle over what to do with them.  My only talent – and it is a small one – is words.  I can write a fairly decent letter and I can, on occasion, bring an audience to its feet (in enthusiasm, not protest) through my public speaking. 

However, and this is the irony of my life, I can never find the words in face-to-face conversation to bring nonbelievers to belief.  My atheist friends (fine people, by the way, though simply blind to what the faithful see) smile at me, shake their heads, and offer rebuttal or pity if ever I bring up the subject … even though I know beyond doubt that, as I told one of my nonbelieving friends once, “you are way too smart to be an atheist.”  (Oh, and that went over really well!)

My point:  I think it’s something about being humble, though I accept that point reluctantly.  Or maybe it is that when God is ready to open their hearts to the foolishness of what we believe, He will at that time also give me the words.  In the meantime … sigh.  – jri

SUNDAY THOUGHT 9/11/11

IN THE LAND OF LIGHT: A GIFT TO AMERICA ON 9/11/11

Years ago, I used to send “Island Notes” about life on St. Maarten in the Caribbean.  I am reminded of those notes on my visit to Taylor University in Upland, Indiana.

On this, the tenth anniversary of what has become known simply as “Nine-Eleven,” I know that many people have lost hope in America;  while we stand and talk tough, we have become a demoralized, uncertain, frightened nation, a nation on the decline.  I am writing today to say that I, for one, no longer believe that.  I have found a place of hope, of light, of life right in the  heart of America.  I feel I will express it poorly, but here goes:

I have the honor of being invited by a friend, Dr. Dennis Hensley, to do a series of weekend writing workshops at Taylor University, a Christian school with about 2,500 students.  This first week was a great experience, my class filled with a handful of sharp, motivated, talented students. 

After a full day of teaching, I went to the Commons to eat.  I sat by myself and watched hundreds of students as they had their Saturday evening meals.  I saw a slice of America I thought was long gone.  The huge dining room was charged with more positive, honest, joyful energy and noise than I had experienced since attending a Rascal Flatts concert several years ago. 

What I did not see was a single tattoo or “angry” T-shirt, though some did have crosses on them.  I heard lots of playful laughing and saw students, quietly and individually, bow their heads in silent prayer before eating.  What I did not hear was a single curse word, even after I saw students at one table prank a friend by heavily salting his food while he went to get his drink, or a table of male athletes engage in a mild food fight.

So, lose the idea of a Christian college being filled with a bunch of repressed, weak-kneed Bible scholars.  As I said, they are athletes (Taylor has football, baseball, softball, basketball, and other sports), as well as serious, ambitious scholars, focused and purposeful.  (Taylor offers a broad range of majors, from Accounting to Economics to Theater and more.  It also has one of the first and best Professional Writers programs in the country.) 

Earlier, over lunch with some of the students, as well as in class, I found that they are not afraid to speak of their faith as a simple fact of life.

My point:  On this, the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I am pleased to report a wondrous message of light and hope.  This is not the lost generation, and I strongly suspect Taylor University is not a lone colony, but the ever-present renewed and renewing seed of America.  – jri 

 John Ingrisano

209 Church Street

Algoma, WI 54201

(920) 559-3722

www.dailyconnections.net

September 11, 2011

THURSDAY THOUGHT 9/8/11

STEADY

Joseph, husband of Mary and earthly protector and father of Jesus, is one of my favorites.  He had steadiness, and that, to me, is the highest compliment.  He wasn’t brash or rash, but quiet.  We hear and know little about him, except that three times an angel of the Lord spoke to him, told him to pack up the family and move great distances … and he obeyed without hesitation.  He never walked on water or did miracles, but he was steady.  My kind of hero.

I know a few men like Joseph.  They work hard, take care of their families, are kind, strong, gentle … steady.  At the same time, they are no one’s fools; they can bare their teeth and snarl when the need arises.  Most of all, they strive to do what is right; they serve and protect their loved ones, take their commitments seriously, serve the Lord, and live by a quiet faith.  Because they are not wont to crow or blow their own horns, we often overlook them or underestimate them.  However, they are all around us, providing for their families, sitting toward the back of the church on Sunday – every Sunday – and quietly and steadily doing what they believe.  They are the strength of our communities and our families.     

My point:  Nothing all that profound, really; just a thank you to these often unacknowledged good men who give much and ask little.  — jri 

More on these steady men:  I grew up surrounded by them, many of them veterans of WWII.  Their values were duty, honor, service, sacrifice.  Back on Long Island, where I grew up, I saw these “Dashing Dans” take the early morning trains into The City, returning home late in the evening, making great sacrifices to provide good homes for their families.  God bless you, gentlemen.   

TUESDAY THOUGHT 9/6/11

I’ve never met a saint.  I’ve never met a man or woman so overwhelmingly in tune with God that I was left awe-struck.  All the spiritually striving folks I know are flawed and imperfect, and that’s fine.  They (and I include myself here at the top of the list) stumble, fall and disappoint God pretty much every day. 

But, guess what?  God cares anyway.  That’s why, in spite of Peter’s cowardly retreat from Jesus Christ on Holy Thursday (“I tell you, I don’t know the man!”), he wasn’t banned or condemned.  Instead, he went on to become the head of the Church and to spread the Good News.  In fact, at the Resurrection, the angel made a point of singling out Peter, as if to say, “Jesus wants Peter to know that He still loves him … a lot.”

My point:  We don’t have to be perfect, if only because we never will be.  Still, as clay-footed and imperfect as we are, that’s really good enough.  Maybe we should just do our best and leave the rest in God’s hands.  — jri

“He isn’t here!  He is risen from the dead!

 Look, this is where they laid his body.  Now

go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that

Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee.”

                     — The angel in the tomb (Mark 16:6-7)

Enjoy this day.  It is a pure gift, a blessing.  There is no cost, no charge, no price.  Even not being good enough is good enough.  Nothing can change the love that God has for us.  Smile.  Be joyful.  Have a glorious and wondrous day! 

John Ingrisano

209 Church Street

Algoma, WI 54201

(920) 559-3722

www.dailyconnections.net

September 6, 2011