Shame

I found myself in an awkward position this week.

Don’t feel sorry for me. Trust me. In the end I don’t feel all that sorry for myself since I am the one who stuck his hand in the proverbial hornet’s nest.

It seemed so innocent at the time. I just wanted to point out that so many of us these days like to rewrite the rules to fit our own perception of how things ought to work.

You know. They should always work in our favor right?

Right?

No?

Let me just explain and maybe you’ll either feel sorry for me or you’ll side with my worst critic at the time. I don’t know.

Our daughter just started High School in the last few weeks. Her school does not offer bussing, so the children either make their own way home, or a parent has to come pick them up. Unfortunately, the way the world is nowadays, there is no way we’re letting our 14 year old daughter walk the mile or so home all alone. Not happening.

So depending on which one of us, my wife or I, is available, we drive over to the school around dismissal and wait for her. It so happens that the place I wait for her has an area of the street in front of a residential neighborhood that is painted in very large words, “KEEP CLEAR.”

Well after a few trips over I began noticing that this one particular gentleman would come basically every day and park in that painted area to await his child’s arrival.

Two things, 1) In most respects I couldn’t care less about this person’s behavior individually. I mean, he, like everyone else has the right to make whatever decisions he wants to so long as he is not physically hurting someone. 2) It was not my goal to get this person in trouble and I deliberately avoided providing any personal details when I did what I did.

Probably on the say fourth time this guy parked in front of me, I made the decision to discreetly take a photo with my camera phone that captured a small corner of the driver side rear of the car and the words “KEEP CLEAR” painted on the street clearly shown. I then posted the picture on a Facebook crime watch page for our city and basically pointed out that so many of us these days only obey the rules when it suits us. We often turn a blind eye to rules when they cause inconvenience or seem silly to our own way of seeing things. I didn’t even call it a crime, I just pointed out that many of us just don’t feel any compelling reason to obey the rules much anymore.

Again, I made an effort to not show the car’s license plate, the person’s face, or even any street signs. I just called on those who are part of our community to maybe think about more than just themselves. To respect the law and how what they do affects the other people around them.

So.

So.

So, for a little while, the responses on Facebook were in agreement, sarcastically humorous or curious as to whether this person’s behavior was really all that egregious.

Then.

Then a couple of people came on. Trolls I assume.

And, it got ugly. Way ugly.

They told me that I ought to get a life, punctuated with a few really choice 4 letter words. They schooled me on my being a dirtbag for Facebook shaming this person. And… it went on… and on… and on.

Until.

Until I decided to take down my post. I took it down after it had only been up for maybe 30 – 40 minutes. I took it down because I realized that pointing out other’s thumbing their noses at the rules wouldn’t really change anything. I realized that when people say, “If you see something, say something,” it did not refer to a minor traffic violation.

But I mainly took it down because these other Facebook users had shamed me to the point that it really stung.

It stung no matter what my intentions were.

It stung even though I was very aware of the irony of someone severely Facebook shaming me in front of my whole community.

This is what we’ve become, a society of anarchists. We write our own rules and laws and stuff our little personal constitution into the back pocket of our mind to be whipped out viciously at the slightest provocation. We won’t let anyone or anything cause us to place into question our personal beliefs or our actions. It jeopardizes our core beliefs not only about ourselves, but about our own worldview.

“Don’t you judge me!!”

We’ve truly lost our way.

Folks, this is what anarchy looks like.

All of us thinking that nobody has any right whatsoever to call us out for anything.

We make the rules or at least decide when it’s ok to cross a boundary.

And many of us wonder why our politicians feel so empowered, especially here in California to ignore us. To enact laws and taxes without providing us with our right to vote on their decisions.

It’s why they no longer truly punish those who commit crimes in California, at least if the monetary value is under $1,000. It’s why those who run our state keep creating new laws that protect the “rights” of criminals and not the victims.

Our country and our state are increasingly divided because those who rule over us do not enact justice on those who should have incurred it. We have one side who worships their false god of the “honorable thief.” A person who does not exist.

Victim’s blood cries out from the ground and these days only God hears them. Our rulers do not. And, our rulers don’t have any courage or desire to stand up to the criminals in this country and truly bring justice by executing harsh punishments that would truly bring back deterrents to future crime.

It’s as if they were not afraid that a civil war could come again. I know many in this state and in this country who would not be afraid to enter into a civil war if that’s what it took to bring back a respect for the rule of law and a respect for our country’s constitution.

As for me, I stand in the middle of that great divide.

I believe that we need to be willing to have dialog between all parties. I believe that we need to be unafraid to compromise where something could be given up that is less important. However, I also believe that we cannot live under delusions that freedom comes without cost. We equally cannot delude ourselves that big government and unsustainable programs that ride on enslaving us to unreasonable taxation in order to feed the machine are good either.

Free is a myth.

So, I learned a small but valuable lesson earlier this week. Don’t sweat the small stuff, but be ready to defend myself when a real threat occurs because there are apparently many around me who don’t believe that there are solid lines defining right and wrong anymore, nor are there many who believe that the rules should apply to them.

So for now, I’ll keep watching my back. Doing what God says is right and letting Him deal with those doing wrong around me.

Have a blessed week.

Mike <><

Judgment. Is There Anything Worse?

There’s something I’ve been pondering recently.

In a modern Western world such as ours, we tout our ability to have near instant news and communication, but we are finding that in that space there is a serious flaw.

We are often shouting into a hurricane… into a vacuum… into our own ears.

We are being ignored.

Social media and the internet with all of their greatness have ultimately betrayed us and left us empty, lonely and unheard.

It is possible to speak our thoughts and opinions and make them available to hundreds if not thousands of people in an instant, but we are faced with a painful truth that no one is listening. Or maybe no one cares or worse yet… both.

Some say that we have all become armchair quarterbacks or judges.

That’s a huge turnoff right?

To be judged.

It’s strange though. The judging.

It would seem that from listening to most everyone, that all judgment is wrong.

Is it though?

I have to ask this. If you don’t practice judgment, how can you move through your day? Your life?

The scriptures would seem to indicate that if we do not exercise judgment, good judgment, then we are foolish. Fools.

If you were a father like me. And, maybe you are. Or a mother. Would you let your child date just anyone?

If you said yes, then I have no doubt you’re lying.

You would do many things to ensure this other person was an acceptable companion for your child. You would in fact judge them.

If you hired someone to come into your home and clean it, you would want a background check to have been performed on them as well as obtaining good references regarding their current and past clients. You’d exercise good judgment.

And, if you became aware that these people were not who you thought they were. Criminals, delinquents, liars or rebels, you would let them go from employment or stop the relationship with your child.

You would. If you were a good parent, or a good consumer or business owner, you would send a person like this on their way.

It’s just good common sense. It’s just exercising good judgment.

I understand fully why we often rebel at the thought of someone judging us, judging our actions or judging the things we say. But, in many cases, whether it’s painful or not, if it’s done in love or with good intentions, having our failings or shortcomings pointed out or brought into the light is what sets us back on the path to becoming a better version of ourselves.

If it’s done in love…

You see, this is where we fall into error… if our good intentions aren’t tempered with love.

I’m not going to lie to you though. No matter how good your intentions may be and no matter how you try to soften the blows of leading someone to understand that they have strayed off the straight and narrow path to a life rightly lived, many of us having been corrected will not respond well.

To be corrected is painful. It’s potentially humiliating. It can provoke us to anger or violent outbursts where our ever so sharp tongues can wreak great destruction on anyone within hearing distance.

Judgment and the correction of those who have strayed in life will never be easy or pain free, so there begs a question.

Do we avoid making judgment and living in silence just to avoid the potential pain of rejection and anger directed at us?

Or…,

Do we in careful consideration and prayer, seek God’s guidance and wisdom to risk rejection as we seek to lead another human being into examining their own behavior, their actions, in light of God’s commands about right living?

It has become cliché to cop out by saying something like, “don’t judge me!”

If we truly love each other, we cannot afford to let one another stumble through life without taking the risks involved to help guide each other back onto God’s narrow road.

And, the only way to do this my friends…

Is judgment…

Good judgment.

Judge well my friends.

Seize the day!

Mike <><

Remade

To become something we’re not…

To be molded into the man of woman of God that He imagined us as.

To leave an indelible mark on this world for good is that not what many of us dream of in the quietness of our souls?

So many of us dream. We dream of leaving a legacy that lives on far beyond our earthly lives.

But.

Do we count the cost?

To have an impact that lasts beyond our earthly years is such a fine aspiration to have. But, have we really understood what that will demand of us?

Like many of you, I assume, I have at least occasionally dwelt on the reason for my own existence. I firmly believe that God has purpose for us. I also believe… No! I know… that God has equipped us or is continuing to equip us to accomplish what He has in mind for our journey through life and the impacts that He intends for us.

Do I believe that we can fail at what God has in mind for us?

Yes. Yes, unfortunately I do.

If we spend our lives on fear, on apprehension, on cowardice, on procrastination or hesitance, yes, we could really fail at what God wants for us.

But…

You see, God is far above and beyond us. He is not limited by our perceived limitations and He has said in scripture that through our weaknesses His strength shines through.

Can we fail? Yes. But for those that love Him… our failures are not the end. He will accomplish His goodness despite our failings.

We are told to fear not because He has overcome the world.

The real question is this. Are we willing to let go of our fears?!

God has great things for us to accomplish. But, we can never become all He has intended until we cast off our fears and adopt the confidence and the equipping that He has for us.

I believe that our good future is there for the taking. But, it has a price.

We must leave behind all that hinders us. We must truly accept and believe that God has all that we will ever need to live the dreams He has for us. And we must take up those gifts.

If it’s armor that we need… take it up.

It it’s the right words or actions… take them up.

If it’s a powerful unshakeable faith and love… take them up.

God does not want bad things for you.

He has a future and a hope for you. He wants to prosper you and not harm you!

Do you believe that?!

Do you?!

Then fear not! Go out into the World and conquer it with an indomitable and unfathomable love that only a child of God, the son or daughter of the King can give to everyone we meet!

Seize the day!

Mike <><

Musing on the Twin Towers

Sometimes I feel that we torture ourselves by what we allow into our heads.

But, there are times that even though whatever we are reading, watching, or otherwise contemplating is a valuable exercise in coming to terms with the difficult so that we can refine our thinking, our opinions or our reactions to events or circumstances in the future.

Let me explain by an example from tonight.

Julie and I watched a documentary type show on Amazon video. I believe that it was called, “The Falling Man.”

The program focused on the events of 9/11 and more specifically, the poor souls that chose to jump from the Twin Towers over burning to death instead.

The show centered itself around the pictures of one man who’s jump was captured by a photo journalist and subsequently published worldwide in many newspapers.

One interview was with a woman who was contacted via phone just after one of the towers was hit by a plane. The call came from her husband who was trapped along with several other people in a conference room.

I found it unbearable at one moment as this woman described the changing emotions she went through as she talked with her husband and suddenly realized that he was essentially calling to say goodbye.

When she lost it and began sobbing, I too was brought to tears.

This is a scar for her that will ultimately never fully heal here on Earth.

And, isn’t that the way of things?

Try as we might, in our human frailty, though we may find the pain softened somewhat over the years, it never fully disappears from our memory. And, often there are triggers that will bring that old pain boiling right back to the surface of our hearts and we live that pain again.

We can forgive, but often not forget. We can develop scars, but they can be reopened. We can choose to remember the good times, but sometimes the bad memories flood back in to temporarily overwhelm us.

But the point I am trying to make is this: Sometimes we must remember the bad, so that we can better appreciate the good.

Sometimes we must face the ugliness in history, both personal and corporate, so that we can rekindle the fire to somehow avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

To take the lessons of our history and view them at all angles is to avoid the insanity of doing the same things over and over again, expecting in all ridiculousness that they will turn out differently.

Isn’t this in all fairness why we should never revise history and its written record?!

This is why I love the Bible and the scriptures. God did not revise the history of the Jewish people as He gave it to those who wrote it down for us. All the good, bad and ugly is still there. The family tree of Jesus reveals that He had some pretty colorful characters in the lineup of His ancestors.

And yet, God used people, warts and all to further His purposes to save us from ourselves.

He loved us (loves us) right where we were (where we are) and saved us while we were still wallowing in our sin.

Had God revised history and swept the truth under history’s rug, then we would have no reason or understanding that God could take our broken lives and make something good out of them despite us and our failings.

So, in the end, I am thankful for God for not candy coating our spiritual legacy and past.

But the lesson I take in the here and now with our current human history, away from the Bible, is this:

We must preserve the truth of our past no matter how distasteful and ugly it may appear, so that we can understand the depths of our failures as well as the heroism of those who rose above their challenges at the time.

Just something to ponder.

Sincerely,

Mike Meehan

<>< 

Censored

Sometimes I just have to shake my head…

SMH…

You see, well, I’m a writer…

Or I aspire to be that is.

And, as an aspiring writer, I probably do more than my fair share of contemplating.

Also, I suffer from a malady that I can’t quite figure if anyone else has?

An over developed sense of justice and fair play.

Trust me, this is not a very good malady to have. Especially if you live in the real world where even our courts don’t really pursue justice…

No, really… I had a lawyer actually explain to me that it’s not about justice… It’s about winning!!

I didn’t need to have him explain this to me after watching the trial I was a part of once. From the juror’s box, I was disheartened to watch as a victim was further victimized and where the witnesses’ credibility was systematically destroyed.

We live in perilous times…

I have had more than one person say to me over the last few years that I should watch what I say. That I should just step away from controversy and from opining.

But, well… I just can’t… It’s just not me.

And, I think it’s disingenuous… false.

Yes, as I’ve gotten older, I have sometimes seen the wisdom in being silent.

After all, God gave us two eyes, two ears and only one mouth. So, well… we should listen and observe twice as much as we speak. I get it.

But, if the truth is not spoken and we sit in silence as many around us buy into myths, buy into lies and imitation logic, what is one to do.

The scriptures tell us not to throw pearls to swine and I believe we must sometimes cut our losses for sure, but when we feel the tug to put the truth out there, should we really keep silent?!

Even if the truth is put out there in love and genuine concern for others to at least ponder the truth for themselves?

I strongly believe that  silence in the face of untruth and evil in all of it’s guises and manifestations, that is one of the deepest forms of evil…

Silence kills…

If you see something, well, cliché or not, you should say something!

If the emperor has no clothes, somebody needs to point it out.

So, for those who would rather have me be silent…

I take responsibility for what leaves my lips… or my keyboard. I’m Ok with that.

And I’m Ok if someone schools me and I have to admit I’m wrong on occasion. It takes real courage to admit one is wrong and if someone points out an error in my thinking or beliefs, I’m alright with that once I’ve digested the evidence of my own errors.

We cannot progress together as a human race if we’re not open to admitting when we’re wrong, right?

So, as for me… I’ll keep writing and occasionally share my own thoughts and opinions. Outlawed or not.

I’ve said it before.

If the truth becomes illegal… well then, slap me in irons. I’d rather speak the truth and be imprisoned for it then to live in a prison of lies, illogic and ignorance…

It would seem to me that today, many people would rather live in their comfortable prisons… 

Heavy

Dear Lord Jesus

My heart is weighed down

Can’t look away

For there is no “safe” town

Headlines scream for attention

Outcry rises above the spin

Same song, different verse

But still we fall to sin

We rant, and we rave

Make laws and pass bills

But hearts we can’t legislate

So still we swallow bitter pills

No solution comes to mind

And no relief is in sight

Some hide in their despair

No hope comes without light

Triggers and ammo

Carbon and steel

Inanimate objects

Just can’t feel

Who is really at fault?

Always blame to anoint

But it’s never that easy

Always another viewpoint

Try as we might

With longing we may strive

The solutions are elusive

Never seem to arrive

When our hope is in ruins

Each answer becomes a question mark

And each win turns to failure

How did the World become so dark?

Can the answers ever be found?

Or is destruction all that’s left?

Families divided and fighting

Of our civility we’re bereft

So hard to see the sun sometimes

But, out of the weeping comes a song

And out of the silence comes a whisper

Prayers seeking for the peace we all long

And, if we pray, there is someone listening

To repentant hearts His ear turns

So my prayers have changed

Raised up to our maker as the World burns

No longer praying for leaders alone

My heart cry is for a changed nation

For the lost and longing

For despair reborn to elation

So Dear Lord Jesus

May the heartbroken find peace

May their joy one day return

And may their tears one day cease

A Blue Blood Moon

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Of Integrity and What We Do When “Nobody” is Watching

I’ve been doing a whole lot of pondering lately… (a truly dangerous affair)

I’ve also been doing a whole lot of observing and people watching lately. And, yes this has included not a little of observing of my own behavior.

I won’t spend a lot of time beating around the bush like I sometimes do. Not this time.

What I’ve been paying especial attention to lately is this:

Rule following or rule breaking. Obedience to laws or disobedience to laws. Observance of good social behavior or ignoring good social behavior.

What I’ve come down to is this. And, this is a general observation of where I see our culture (at least here in the Western U.S.) going right now.

I feel from my observations that we simply don’t have the capacity almost at all to avoid rule breaking. We operate in a very self-serving way that says the rules don’t apply to me. They only apply to everyone else.

Let me explain what I mean. Hopefully in a simple manner

Please let me preface this by saying too, that I am speaking primarily to those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ.

Let’s look at a scenario.

You’re driving down a neighborhood street and a sign tells you that the speed limit is 25 miles per hour.

You pull out of your driveway and turn into the lane outside your cul-de-sac. As you head up the street, you catch up to a guy that in your opinion is driving way too slow. (He’s following the neighborhood limit of 25 mph.) You grip the wheel tighter and feel your impatience rising in your reddening face. You blurt out a few choice names for the guy.

You hit the main road outside your tract and whip by the sign stating 45 mph with a grin, thinking that speed is surely too slow for this road and especially under these perfect driving conditions. You chuckle at the “losers” that you pass for being such pansies and wonder how they could drive like such grannies.

Feeling familiar in the least?

How about this scenario.

You are at a local store and you’ve “happily” parted with your hard-earned cash in exchange for a precious few groceries and supplies for the week. You go through the checkout line and wish the person at the register a great evening. As you unload your haul into your car, you pull out from the bottom rack of your cart a few things that you now realize that the clerk absentmindedly neglected to ring you up for when you were in the checkout line.

You tell yourself: “Oh well, they always seem to mark the items I buy up regularly. I’m a good customer and I spend a lot of my paychecks at this place. They owe me. They won’t miss it. It’s like a bonus.”

Let’s face it. Even if my scenarios don’t seem completely familiar, I’m sure you can think of moments where you’ve been in similar circumstances.

My question is this:

As Christians. As followers of Christ. Is it important that we live lives of integrity and righteousness at every moment? In every circumstance? When nobody seems to be watching?

Are there times where bending the rules is Ok? Are there times where because of Christ’s once and for all sacrifice for our sins, we can let our behavior slide?

Now these questions may seem really easy and pedestrian for you and I to answer. I get it.

But, I have to ask you (and I). If the answer is: “Of course.” We must always be on our guard and we must always seek to be the best version of the person that God has commanded us to be.

If the previous statement is true, then why is it that we so often excuse ourselves to disobey even the simplest of rules… i.e. – following traffic laws… being honest and trustworthy… etc.?

You see, the Bible tells us that God allows certain people (rulers, law enforcement officers, bosses) to rule over us. They are His agents (willing or unwilling) in providing us with some sort of order and laws that are supposed to govern and direct our behaviors.

So here is one of many questions that I have been pondering recently. I hope that you may ponder it too.

If we are given a law or a rule that in our following it, we are not sinning against God by obeying it, then why is it that we justify our not obeying it?

You see, I believe that many of us have bought into the World’s philosophy that “rules are meant to be broken” “rules…, well they’re actually more of guidelines” “rules are for the rest of them, not me”

We have taken on this rebelliousness as if it is some badge of honor.

I have to ask you (and I). How do we justify this when we consider that when Jesus would heal someone, He is often heard telling them, “Go and sin no more.”

Are we not called to personal holiness? Are we not supposed to take up our crosses daily and follow Him into the World?

How can others see Christ in us when they cannot see past what is often our obvious reflection of the World’s values and ways?

What is the difference between us and the World when we often act just like everyone else?

What transformations in our lives can we point to that separate us from the World and its temptations and pitfalls?

Listen, I have not written this to toot my own horn about my own holiness. I often find myself at war with the sinful man that still dwells in this body. I understand the temptations and pitfalls that this World places in our way daily to stumble us and prevent us from shining a light into a dark World.

I believe that we must demonstrate through how we live our lives both publicly and privately how Christ can transform our lives from lost and selfish     to people with direction and selflessness. Serving others so that they can clearly see God’s love and transformative power.

Some of this at least, can show others what it means to be in the World, but not of it.

I hope this encourages you to just do a little introspection and self-examination. I believe that in order for us to grow into the people that Christ has us in mind to be, we must be willing to admit our faults and let God guide us into empowerment through meaningful change.

Have a blessed week!

Mike <><     

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America, Are these Your Last Days?

I stepped out of our home today.

Out into a gorgeous sunny Southern California Fall day. And, as I often do, I stood in the shade and let the ocean breeze that floats up the Santa Ana River valley caress my face.

I noted a neighbor as he strolled out to his mailbox and I let out a friendly, “Hello!”

We chatted for a bit and as always I enjoyed our conversation.

However, as often happens in these last few years, the conversation went on and the pleasantries faded.

The conversation began to take on the same dark tones that seem to overwhelm social media and the so called “news organizations” websites and channels.

This wonderful man. A fellow American. A teacher of our local children was/is struggling.

Like so many of us he struggles with an America that he virtually does not recognize anymore.

We live in a dark day where truth is no longer the most important thing to many people. We live in a day where those who seek to teach our children seem bent on “revising our history” to fit whatever their current agenda is.

This revising of history is what my focus here in this piece is really about, and as always too, my focus is on the right (at least in this country currently) to free speech.

First, let’s unpack revisionist history.

That in and of itself is absolutely an oxymoron. There is no such thing as revisionist history. History is a closed book. The facts are the facts. The events happened.

As we have seen in fantasy stories about altering the past events in time, we can see the danger if we look carefully enough in revising our own real history now.

Something with great value will be and is being lost.

History just as failure is one of life’s greatest teachers.

If you look at the microcosm of American History since just it’s European colonization, there have been many wonderful things that occurred as well as many tragedies, atrocities, and painful periods too.

What I’m getting at is this. You cannot just sweep history away. The good and the bad must be viewed together in order to make a correct assessment or judgement to form opinions.

We do an incredible disservice to our children, grand-children, and future generations by avoiding real talk about the things that happened here.

The things that happened in our country have left indelible marks on all of us and they have long term consequences and effects that ripple into the future to create change.

In order for a society to grow and get better, it must be able to factually look back on its past and make correct judgements only if the facts are all on the table. When we remove a few of the facts it risks a total misread on what really happened and how future generations will make decisions when placed into similar circumstances.

America stands in one of the most impactful and dangerous places that it has ever been.

By remaining divided, as has been shown over and over again in human history, we will surely fall. And when we fall, so will the American dream. So will fall the dreams of millions who have flocked here over the generations looking for hope and opportunity.

So I ask those who read this just this one thing.

Please. Never allow anyone to alter your opinions without providing you solid evidence for you to take on their worldview. You must research things for yourself. And research them thoroughly. You owe it to yourself. You owe it to your children and generations to come.

If we do not correctly view the lessons of history, then once again, Rome will burn!

I am deadly serious as I write this.

Now, on to my second topic.

Free Speech.

It is dying in this country. And, quickly. Soon many of us who espouse free speech will be more than just vilified and bad mouthed.

Soon, we will be sued. Soon we will be silenced by those who seek through the “laws” that they put in place, to have us thrown behind lock and key. Soon, we will be portrayed as those who need to be killed in order to rid our society of the poison that we try and pour into those who will listen.

You may scoff.

But, it’s already happening. Just watch carefully what occurs on any college campus that attempts to have a conservative speaker come to monologue before any that are willing to listen.

We must bring back tolerance to America. We must destroy the edifice that has become what we know as “political correctness.”

Political correctness is a terrible lie. It is the epitome of intellectual dishonesty!

Our constitution has guaranteed us the right to free speech. Over and over I have said this.

It doesn’t matter how hateful it is. It doesn’t matter how much you disagree with it. If we attempt to regulate people’s ability to freely share what’s on their mind, where will it all stop?!

A growing and strengthening society must allow open and honest dialog to occur in order for real, well thought out, solutions to be forged.

Our poor nation has been through a lot over the years. None of us if honest, can ever say we have always done things right. To do so is to overlook the lessons of history.

History has its lessons to teach us. We must be willing to bear witness to the good and the bad. We must be willing to talk through the ugliness and reach the other side of the badlands that we are travelling in right now. We must be willing to celebrate the beautiful things we have accomplished and brought to the world too. History forgotten brings a nation great peril.

Compassion and understanding need to be where we live now. Only brotherly love can help us to forgive the misunderstandings and set us on the paths of healing for our great nation.

I truly believe that America can be great again, but it must come under the umbrella of unity, peace, and regained national pride.

I for one am going to be praying that we can cross the lines that divide us and seek God’s wisdom for guidance to move into a brighter future.

If we are not willing to do this as a nation, then I believe we are living in the last days of America.

Are You Afraid to Walk into the Storm?

I won’t bore you with all the intimate details of the challenges of the last two weeks in my immediate family.

However, I will tell you that like so many who may be reading this blog piece, we all face tough times at some point. In the short length of the average human lifespan, we will each face our share of life’s troubles.

No one is ever truly immune.

Even if you feel that you have lived some form of charmed or blessed life with very few bumps in the road, you will face at least this one huge elephant in the room…

Your own mortality.

I use this phrase a lot in my life, at least as an adult.

“Life is terminal.”

We cannot avoid this one pure and absolute fact. We will one day face our own death.

Time marches on and as much as we want to preserve our own lives or the lives of our loved ones, there is no scientific breakthrough at this point in human history that will preserve your life forever.

It simply does not exist.

No matter how much you rage against the machine, you… and I… will one day breathe our last breath.

All of that said, I ask you this:

With our lives being so fragile. With them being relatively short when viewed across history. Are you living your life to the fullest? Are you facing your fears? Are you loving those you care about like they won’t be here tomorrow? Like you might not wake up tomorrow morning?

I can honestly say that for me, I would have to answer the previous questions with an overwhelming, “No.”

What would you say? In regard to your own thoughts on this?

Life is so very short.

Don’t take any of it… or the people you care about, for granted.

I know that there are sometimes huge storms in your life. If not now, they may be just over life’s horizon.

Trust me. They will appear.

They may not last forever, but they are inevitable.

Prepare yourself.

Open your heart and be ready to love. Sometimes that has to be way more than just what you say, it must be in what you do.

In the Bible, it is said that “faith without works is dead.”

It also says that we, show our faith by the things that we do. Our actions.

So, this little post goes out to you early on this Wednesday morning. It goes out filled with hope for you.

Live out your love and faith today. Do it by demonstrating it. Even the smallest seed can grow into a tree (so the Bible says again).

Our world is filled with storms these days. Both literally and figuratively.

They’re unavoidable but we don’t have to be afraid. Our leaps of faith and demonstrations of love, can be like small stones cast into a pond where the ripples go out to touch every inch of the shores that surround it.

Life’s storms will rage, but our love can conquer and heal the damage that is left in the storm’s aftermath.

If you long for healing. If you long to be an agent of change, you must come at some point to a realization that it will never come for you until you make the decision to bravely step out into life’s storms and face into the wind and rain.

If you feel you lack the strength to overcome your fears, I know someone who can help you.

His name is Jesus Christ. Ask him to give you the faith, the strength, the words and the bravery to face your storms and He will not fail you.

Seize the day!

In Christ,

Mike <><