A Joke as a Weapon

I wandered over to my Instagram feed this evening.

Mostly to review any new and fabulous photos that may have been posted by the many photographers that I follow throughout the day today.

And…

My eyes and heart were confronted by what someone in my growing group of people that I follow and some who follow me…

…by…

A picture.

From my perspective, a picture that I thought was rather innocent and quaintly honoring to mothers. Mothers who in relationship with their God, spend time on their knees in prayer for their families, their friends and the world at large.

I would not have even thought to make an ugly, perverse or otherwise dishonoring joke about it.

But, this person certainly did.

Most of the time. Especially nowadays, I usually just would have made a comment to myself about people being… idiots, jerks, perverts, over-indulged and irresponsible brats… and then let it go.

But, this time I didn’t. This time I waded in and said what was on my heart.

I am not close to this person and I cannot claim any particular friendship, but because of family connections, I would call them… extended family.

And, for that reason, as well as the fact that this person is young enough to be my own child, I chose to call them out.

You see, we live in a world that is becoming increasingly hostile to people of faith… people who claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

And, no, I don’t expect everyone to believe as I do, or to accept what I say at face value. I know very well that I am imperfect. I know very well that my tongue and my pen and my computer can and have gotten me into trouble.

I’ll say it again… I’m not perfect… but God is perfecting me. I’m a person who is not without sin and I need God’s help every single day to live as I ought to. And, I don’t always get it right. This side of eternity, I don’t expect I will.

All that rabbit trail being said, I forgive this person for their rudeness and thoughtless use of an off color joke to make fun of those of us who put our faith into action through prayer… and yes, sometimes physically on our knees in reverence and humility before the God who created us.

We are fighting battles you see. Battles for our world that many others don’t ever witness. Battles for our loved ones that go unnoticed and unappreciated by those that may even be the subject of those very prayers.

They don’t understand. Maybe they never will. But God does. And He notices. And He hears.

I chose not to call this person out here. And I won’t. I did call them out on Instagram. And though it may temporarily earn me some grief from them or the others who joined in the “ugliness” in mocking those of faith. I won’t take back what I said. I said it in a certain sense of humility, and I told the truth.

We’re not expected to crawl in a hole when the truth needs to be said.

And, we don’t have to pretend that we approve of someone else’s bad behavior. Sometimes it needs to be called out, even at the risk of our becoming a target of further bad behavior.

Nobody who’s called out for doing wrong will react very well, at least not initially.

But, we cannot, must not, live our lives in fear and act like it’s ok for those who do not believe the way we do to mistreat us and pretend that it’s ok.

What will happen tomorrow when this other person sees what I wrote? I don’t know.

But I do care.

Because ugliness. Whether it’s disguised as a thin attempt at humor or not… is just ugliness.

I encourage you today and every day to honor those who go before you. Those who have fought battles on their knees in prayer for you and others.

Honor your Mom today and every day. After all, it’s Mother’s Day isn’t it?

As always… Seize the day!

Sincerely,

Mike <><

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.…  Ephesians 6:11-13

Living with Our Weakness

I know…

You read the title of this piece and you’re going… wait… wait just a minute Mike!

Mike are you suggesting that we just curl up into a fetal position and accept our frailty and inadequacy to the point where we don’t even try?!

Well, … ye… No! Of course not!

But I am going to say that in being human, there is an inherent frailty and weakness that is just reality.

We are finite. We are flesh and blood. We are susceptible to illness, disease, accidents, old age, violence and the collateral damage of war.

Argue with the facts all you want but life is in fact a terminal condition.

Until God fulfills the events of the book of Revelation, we are all subject to death.

Now you’re saying to yourself that I must be losing my mind. I mean, why would Mike travel this road? Why would I write about something this depressing or morbid?

Because it’s just reality. And at some point, you will be confronted with the realities that surround the final moments of this fragile, precious thing called life.

Unless we live long enough to experience the Rapture of the ones who love Jesus and we are carried away in an instant to be with Christ, we will all experience what it is to breath our last breath here on Earth. We will experience the surrender of the bonds that bind our souls to our bodies.

I have only really experienced this twice in my lifetime personally.

And, I can tell you that this process of our dying will never be easy. It can seem peaceful depending on how we physically leave, but it can also be very traumatic and even violent.

Do you understand though, that death was brought about because of the curse that is original sin?

The sin of Adam and Eve has passed on to all of us that are their distant relatives.

But of course, there is hope for us. And this hope has a name… His name is Jesus. We cannot save ourselves from death. We cannot do much more than sometimes prolong our inevitable end through medicine, through surgery, through radiation or dietary treatments. Prolong life yes, but prevent our eventual demise, absolutely not.

So, the question then becomes, how will you or I confront our mortality? Our date with destiny?

Will we do all we can to run from the reality of our passing? Or, will we confront the inevitability of our coming date with destiny and instead savor the precious time we have left here and invest our moments wisely in the others around us, especially our loved ones?

It’s your choice you know.

You see, God gave us our free will, and we can always choose how we react to a situation. Yes, we can definitely make a choice in regard to how we approach death.

However, please understand this. I’m not remotely suggesting that death is easy, or that you are somehow messed up because you haven’t handled it the way that thought you would.

Death is actually pretty hard. It’s painful and it’s traumatic. It’s an experience from the perspective of those left behind that will rock your world and leave you changed. Because it in fact leaves scars for those left behind.

Even Jesus carry’s scars from death.

But His scars are different than ours.

Our scars are the scars of separation and sadness. His scars are ones that speak of victory and hope!

You see, whether you accept this or not, Jesus’ scars speak of the conquering of death. For Jesus did not remain dead. He rose from His grave and stepped from death and it’s supposed victory over Him (and us) into new life. Eternal life!

Most of us will experience death here on Earth. Whether it is our own or that of another, we will go through the valley of the shadow.

But the question remains. Will you experience death as the passage from this life into a beautiful new existence through Christ and eternity with Him, or will you experience the painful passage from this great struggle of life into the darkness and separation that is judgement and hell?

You see, our weakness and frailty is just a given. It is a part of our human condition and existence. In accepting this weakness and turning it over to God, we are promised that our weakness will be made a strength. And I believe that the strength we can experience is that of our Lord Jesus living in us and enabling us to walk through whatever trials that life may throw at us. Even the greatest trial which is our journey from death into eternal life.

May each of us find on that coming day, the strength that can only come to us through our Savior Jesus Christ!

Go boldly into the new day my friends!

Seize the day!

Mike <><

“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.…” – 2 Cor 12:9-10

It’s Never Easy, but it Will Eventually Get Easier

So, it’s the eve of Easter, 2019.

And here I am finding it once again a little hard to fall asleep on this night.

My thoughts are swimming and I find myself dwelling on the very recent loss of a new friend.

No death is every really easy. No death is leaves us completely at peace. There is always going to be grief.

And so it is with the passing of this recently acquainted friend of mine.

I spoke with him and had some really great conversation on a Tuesday evening and looked forward to a group get together later that week.

Less than 48 hours later I received a text that he’d gone home to be with Jesus late the night before.

This was one of those passings that was just so unexpected and tragic that it left me. Yes me…

Truly speechless…

When I told Julie the news, she actually cried out… a raw moment of anguish… we just couldn’t believe the news.

I remember immediately going to God in prayer and both of us struggling just to produce any words.

Sometimes the passing of a friend or loved one will hit you that way. There are just no easy answers. There’s just not any cliché that would ever bring real comfort.

For those who loved this man, I can speak of God’s love for him. I could speak of God’s peace and comfort for those who mourn.

And, don’t hear me wrong or misunderstand me when I say that I fully believe that God can bring His peace that passes all understanding during these moments in our lives. Because He does…

I have personally experienced His peace at times of great personal pain and anguish…

But, despite my previous personal experience, I cannot write off or diminish the very real pain that this man’s long-term friends, his loved ones and his co-workers are now feeling…

There’s no easy nor cliché answer to those who have prayed prayers over someone for deliverance, or healing or some kind of rescue when it does not come.

I’m going to say something here. I’m not sure if it will offend anyone or make you think any less of me, but here goes…

There are times and there are circumstances where we simply may not be given an answer or explanation by God for why something plays out the way that it does. We may never know this side of eternity why something happened here in this life the way that it has.

I’m not even sure that God owes us any explanation for what He allows to happen in this world.

And no, none of that brings any easing of the pain and loss right now.

Despite the pain that I feel right now in the passing of my friend, I am placing my confusion, my momentary feelings of anger (I’ll explain that in a minute), my frequent moments of grief, at the foot of our Savior’s cross.

I have no answer for why this happened. I am comforted that God is walking with us (with me) through this time. I am comforted by that fact that He has promised to never leave nor forsake us. I am comforted by knowing that when grief is just too much, that He will carry us while we don’t have the strength to face our sadness and loss.

Now, I mentioned anger… yes, anger regarding this loss.

And, this is not the first time I’ve experienced anger in my grief. Anger is a natural part of grieving. We (I) feel the sting of our lost relationship with the passing of our loved ones. We feel robbed of all the potential of what the future could have been had they stayed.

All that to say, that God is not afraid of our anger and our questions. He understands our grief and how we experience life better than we do ourselves.

So I say to you. When you are feeling all the many aspects of grief and sorrow, go ahead and share those with God. Pray through your thoughts and feelings and you may start to find that God will bring the peace and comfort you seek whether we receive answers to our lingering questions or not.

I’m not going to lie… the tears have flown today. A couple of times and somewhat unexpectedly too. Grief seems to be that way. It comes and goes in waves.

It’s Easter time. And our pastor reminded us tonight that the cross, though it is certainly a symbol for what Jesus was willing to do to free us from the bondage of sin, it may not be the most important symbol regarding our faith and hope.

Our pastor argued that really the most important symbol regarding our faith is this:

That our Jesus did not stay dead… He rose on the third day and the tomb was left empty!! Hallelujah!!

So the biggest symbol of our faith is just that… the empty tomb and a risen Savior!!

With that, I leave you with this…

Grief will never be easy… I’m pretty sure that it shouldn’t be easy either.

Could it be that grief is yet another experience by which God ensures that when we weather the storm of grief, that we are refined and become stronger and better people, better reflections of His love to the World around us?

After all, we like diamonds cannot hope to become what God intends us to be without fire and pressure.

So, my prayer is this, that as we go through the many griefs that will assuredly come into our lives, that we go to our God in prayer daily and ask Him to carry us, especially when we are filled with confusion, anger and the roots of bitterness. Jesus was and is well acquainted with grief and can come alongside us to provide all that we need so long as we are prepared to receive it.

If you are going through a time of grief right now, I pray that you can come to a place of comfort and the peace that passes all understanding despite that knowing that right now there are no easy answers as to why your loved one was called home so soon.

It’s my prayer now that God will bring you an extra measure of peace as you read and reflect on what I’ve written here.

In Christ’s love,

Mike <><

Isaiah 53:2-4  “He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows..”

Why I’m Not Ok with Being White

Ok, so…

My title is

Provocative…

Inflammatory…

Maybe. Or maybe it’s just hiding the truth out in the open.

Let me explain.

Out of the blue, I received a phone call. And, it showed on my phone as being from New York.

The voice was definitely Filipino, and she was actually rather disarming.

A good thing too, because I was of course assuming that this was yet another one of the dozens of cold calls that I (like many of you too, I’m sure) receive every week now.

I’m never all that happy to get them but sadly I’m getting used to them and I often play a game and turn them around on the caller… Often now I try to prospect them as a client or recruit into my own business…

But I digress…

You see, it was a CBS News poll, calling of all things to ask me many detailed questions on my opinions over the now complete Mueller probe regarding President Trump and his alleged collusion with the Russians and the last presidential election.

I won’t bore you with any of the details or my rather obvious conservatism or right wing Evangelical Christian world view…

Oh no, some of you might actually be offended.

Please don’t be.

I’m just a man. And, I follow Jesus Christ. I’m not perfect. I’m not infallible. And, I actually do love people. I don’t always agree with them. But I do love them. I’m called to love them.

Again, I digress.

At the end of the poll, I was actually asked about whether my views could be construed as Evangelical and Christian. Asked whether these views affected the way that I vote?

That was interesting for sure.

I wondered afterward, if they ever asked if a person was an atheist, or a luddite, or a socialist etc…?

Why was I targeted and how did they even know to ask those particular demographic questions?

But, here is the real kicker. And, for some of you, maybe you would have let it go or brushed it aside as if it didn’t even phase you.

Needless to say, it phased me. And, I had to call out the elephant in the room. I wasn’t going to just ignore it. Not any longer.

The interviewer asked me, “Do you identify as any of the following races: Blah, Blah, Blah… “White?””

I blew out a little breath and chuckled.

I said, “You know, I really don’t like that.” … awkward silence…

She says, “You don’t like what?”

“I don’t like being thrown into the, let’s face it, category of just being white. I mean, if it’s not good to do that to anyone else, then why is it ok for me?”

Understand, that I was chuckling as I said this. I was not attempting to be inflammatory or disrespectful.

She got it.

I said, “Hey, is it ok if you write something in for me?”

She says, “Yes, of course sir.”

I say, “Can you write in for me, “Irish American?””

“Of course sir. She says”

Needless to say, I’m always happy to register my opinions or provide my thoughts when the interviewer is respectful and not mechanical in their responses to me.

She seemed amused and refreshed by my attitude and she indicated that she was actually taking note of my request and in fact wrote in “Irish American.”

You see, I absolutely respect the idea that many of us want to be identified as the race that God made us. I respect that maybe you and your family. You and your community. That, you and these others want to remain segregated into an identifiable people group. That is a space of belonging that sadly many of us have gradually lost here. A sense of heritage and history. A story of our past and how we came to arrive in this place and time.

I get that.

But, how is it that these selfsame people would have me be shoved into a mold and homogenized into nothing more than a color, not a distinct people group? They would be and are frequently incensed and even enraged when they are forced into a corner and given a color label.

Two wrongs don’t ever make a right.

Let’s agree to disagree on a lot of things. I’m ok with that. Hopefully you are too.

But, let’s agree here and now that it’s not ok to place labels on each other that disrespect our diversity and heritage, even if it’s what we often hear from the mainstream. Just because a majority says or does something often, does not inherently make it correct or right.

So, I’m actually not white as a race. That’s just my skin color…

I am a proud Irish American.

Let’s decide today to respect each other and to at least attempt to understand where the other is coming from…

Small inroads like that just might get us headed in the right direction again. As a people, and as a nation.

As a P.S., the lady I spoke with this evening asked if I was ok with an actual reporter possibly calling me back in the next 48 hours to interview me further…

I guess I was a little more interesting to interview than their average cold call…

Have a blessed week,

Mike

<>< 

A Still Small Voice

Some of you are not going to like this…

Heck, I don’t even like the idea of talking about it. But, silence = apathy and I can’t stomach the idea of being quiet. Not now. Not over this.

I’m going to get right to the point.

Let’s talk about what happened in New York last week. Ok?

We’re talking about abortion, so if this offends you,… well, sorry, but it ought to offend you.

Sorry, not sorry.

Let’s look at this from my perspective… not the typical news hype perspective, or the radical, rabid response from some erstwhile “activists.”

You see, I am an adoptive parent. And yes, that gives me just a little right to be angry, heartbroken and even sickened by those who defend the “right” to abortion.

I am not here to discuss those rare cases where many of us would come up with what seems to some at least, a potentially reasonable cause to abort a pregnancy.

Do you understand the sheer magnitude of how many lives have been snuffed out since just 1980 alone worldwide? The number should stagger you! It should make your knees go weak…

1.5 Billion plus!!! – more than 3,000 just in the time that I wrote this

Just today alone, there have been more than 108,000 babies killed and discarded for not much more than the inconvenience that they posed to the ones who might have taken care of them.

I am not here to make a judgment on any individual; however I have to ask…

When did human life become so cheap to us?!

You see, from my perspective, an adoptive parent… these poor little souls may not have been wanted by their would be families… but I can guarantee you that they were wanted by someone.

There are many, many families that would love to open their homes and their hearts to what for some was an unwanted child.

God says in scripture that He knows us from the time we are being “knitted together in secret.”

God and heaven weeps over our calloused choices here on Earth. These children cry out before the throne of God for justice.

There is mercy available from God for those of us who have made the choice to abort a little one, however it is my firm belief that God’s patience with us is wearing out. The actions recently in New York and the completely horrific ways that these decisions were made and openly celebrated I believe will be punished by God.

And, the coming judgment will be unfortunately deserved.

If abortion was not bad enough before, it has been made that much worse by the murderous choice to allow an abortion literally up until hours before the baby’s birth.

Why oh why can the population of this country, maybe even the World call it a double murder when a pregnant woman is killed in a homicide, and yet we now make it legal to kill that same child in the womb when the child is completely able to survive outside the womb.

That my friend is still murder.

We were all once children, were we not?

God has a purpose in creating all of us and now we are in the business of deciding on our own to snuff out the potential, the gifts and the future of a little child.

All scientific definitions of life are met in a child, all throughout their development.

Abortion and the defenses that surround the massive majority of all abortions are all based on abject hypocrisy by those arguing for them.

There is blood on the hands of all of us…

For those who wrote and voted for the legislation that approves of these acts. For those that have used these acts as a way to deny the future of the unborn and for those of us who have sat silently by and by our apathy let these acts continue for many decades.

Thank God for the few that have had the courage to carry their babies to term and take responsibility for the choices that they made leading up to the pregnancy and then sought help in either raising them or making an adoption plan for them.

For those who became pregnant against their will (sorry, these are statistically very few – just 744 from rape and incest this year), you have my utmost sympathy, but I will never believe that God cannot redeem these precious little lives no matter how they came to be here. God has a purpose and a plan for all of us.

As a nation and as a world, we must take responsibility for our behavior that leads us down these paths.

They are not tissue, they are not choices, they are babies and I believe we are going to (again) see tremendous judgment by God over this, because the deaths of all of these children were not only preventable, but absolutely unnecessary.

May God have mercy on us in the coming days and may those who wake up to the vile evil that we have (many of us that is) let overtake our land.

You may have your own opinions. And, I respect that, so please be respectful of mine to. If you want to discuss those opinions (civilly that is), please DM/PM me rather than attacking me. If you choose to be rude, I will remove your comments from my pages.

“For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139: 13-16)

Please understand that I wrote this out of the deep ache in my soul that I feel for the loss of children that will never know the precious embrace of love from either their own birth mother or an adoptive one.

Sincerely,

Mike <><

Toxic

The world has lost its mind.

You may still be living in a fantasy… or maybe your head is in the proverbial sand.

But,

The world has definitely lost its mind.

I could monologue about a whole lot of trivia… or a whole lot of tragedies… or a whole lot of the good that goes unreported by a media machine that largely gorges itself on everything that is wrong in the world and then pretends that they do it for our good… instead of the ratings that keep them swimming in loot.

But, as always, I’ll just focus for this short while on one topic that seems to be getting an inordinate amount of attention lately.

So, I’ll out with it now:

Toxic Masculinity… oooohh! (cue dark clouds, lightning, thunder and the gasps of the victimized masses)

Now, please don’t get your chonies all in a wad… at least not yet.

I want to go on before you tune me out.

There is a segment of our society that just can’t seem to deal with reality anymore. They can’t stomach dialog, nor discussion, nor argument (productive argument), nor negotiation or compromise. It would seem that the days of agreeing to disagree and living in peace are no more.

I cannot speak for any one of you and I would not condescend to do so anyway. I am only speaking for myself. You can hate me or call me names or categorize me or write me off, but ultimately I don’t care. I’ve made up my mind that there are some in this world who simply don’t want peace. Some people simply want to rule the rest of us and would attempt to force us into a space where tolerance doesn’t exist.

Instead, these people want us to accept whatever their momentary, relativistic views are. They want us to say that lies are the truth and that the truth is a pack of lies.

One lie that is now being told to the males of this world… yes, in fact there are still males out there. And yes we’re males because God made us that way. We in fact have the… ahem! (cough!) … plumbing that proves it. (Contrary to those who falsely claim that gender is in the mind, not the body)

This new lie is that we males and the behaviors and idiosyncrasies that define us as males are somehow messed up and that ultimately we need to be a whole lot more like females in order to fit.

I would refer to that as emasculation now, wouldn’t you?

Now, before you blow a gasket because this monologue is making you mad, please read on…

There is something in this fallen world that some of us know as sin. Yes, sin. According to Jesus, we have all fallen short of God’s expectations of us (Sin by the way is an ancient archery term that refers to the archer having missed his/her mark (target)) If you don’t believe in sin, then I hate to be the bearer of bad news for you but there’s not much hope for you then, because that leaves you having to define all the evil that people do based on a completely fluctuating and indefinable behavioral target. If you won’t acknowledge evil, or sin, then you also cannot identify or accept hope.

Relativism ultimately leads you to anarchy and a world with no hope.

There is only one true lasting and overriding hope that sin may be overcome and His name is Jesus.

Jesus knew that the heart of humankind could not be trusted. That is one of the core reasons that he had to die on the cross and take on all of humankinds sin. The sacrifice for sin had to be made by one who had lived a sinless life.

All that said, I, like all men am not perfect. I have sinned many times in my life. And, I have had to go before God and confess those sins and repent of them. Remember what Jesus said though, that we have all fallen short.

I will not defend the actions of men that have taken advantage of women. I will not sit here and say that “boys will be boys” and act as if we should not work to make the world a better, safer place for the women and girls.

However, I will also not be categorized once again and shoved into a corner where we men either kowtow to the me too movement as if we are all guilty, or be forced to sit down and shut up.

Simply put, there have been, are now and will be many great men in this world. We come in all shapes and sizes. Some of us are average and ordinary. Some of us join the military and go off to defend those who need defending or destroy those who are committing all sorts of evil against the weak. Some of us are first responders, running towards danger or disaster to stand in the gap for those who need help. Some of us lead honorably from wherever that position of leadership takes us.

Many, many men are honorable, trustworthy and reliable people that contribute greatly to our world day after day. And, we men, we men of honor when confronted with the evils that other men do will (as always) come to the defense and aid of the females around us when the need arises.

We will not trivialize nor defend the actions of the victimizers that we have seen very much in the public eye lately in areas such as the entertainment industry, sports, politics, our places of worship or in our schools. Many of us already take an active role in ensuring that the other men around us are called out or corrected when they are behaving badly or defending those that do.   

In conclusion, if the powerful women in this world want to take an active role in ensuring that the men who behave badly are held accountable, then I and many other men do support that. However, once again we seem to have a movement that wants to hold an entire group of individuals somehow responsible for the actions of a select few. I won’t buy into that and a great many men that I’ve spoken with do in fact take offense at that. If you alienate those that you want to help further your cause by insulting them, berating them (unfairly) and lumping them in with the actual offenders as if all men and all male behavior was inherently bad, then you have contributed once again to yet another societal divide in both our country and the world.

God does not categorize sin. He says that it is all worthy of death. Our only hope is in his ability to transform hearts. If women want the men who behave badly to change then that change has to occur in the hearts and minds of those men through a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. If the women who want this transformation in men to occur would just realize that they need to enlist the help of the good men around them, then those of us who are being led by God, would be more apt to listen and more apt to get involved with being active participants in helping guide the misbehaving men around us into cleaning up their acts.

Blessed are the peacemakers…

Seize the day and go do your part in transforming the world into a better place!

Mike <><

I Miss You

Momma, I miss you.

It’s just that simple.

You never realize just how much someone means to you until you’re separated.

But there are differences in separation. Aren’t there?

Separation can be across the room. It can be around the block. It can be across the country. It can be across an ocean.

But, then there is separation across the greatest divide. When our loved ones pass across the barrier between life and death, that barrier is insurmountable from our human perspective.

Some have said that after Christ beat death at its own game that, “Death, where is thy sting?” But Despite death having been defeated on the cross of Christ, there is still the reality of grief and separation. That is real… and, that is where my family is right now… My Dad first and foremost, and then for all of my Mom’s children second, and then lastly, her friends.

We are hurting. It’s just reality. It’s just where grief takes you.

Where the lie of grief comes in is this: Nobody else is feeling this pain. Nobody else can relate to this pain.

Our Savior Jesus knows exactly the pain of our grief. The scripture explains how.

Jesus wept.

Many of us have read this verse. Many of us have seen it and not put ourselves in that moment. We haven’t let the circumstances of that moment connect with our hearts.

Jesus wept.

God understands our pain. He understands it and His promises are a part of our healing should we choose to accept them and believe that they are so very true.

I have chosen to believe in Christ as God’s only son and my (our) Savior. His death and His payment of the price for our sins gives us the grace and mercy that it takes for us to arrive at eternal life.

And, in that eternal life there are promises that He has gone before us to make us a place in which to live out eternity with Him.

Eternity is a place that scripture says will not be a place of suffering, tears or pain. We will dwell with our creator in restored eternal new bodies and we will praise Him for all He has done for us.

We will be reunited with those that we love that have also given their hearts over to Him as their Lord & Savior.

Our hope is not in medicine. Our hope is not in government. Our hope is not in mortal men or women that have claimed some false godhood or immortality. Our hope is in the only person who lived a sinless life. Our hope is in the only one who has defeated death and been raised back to life and that as life eternal!

Praise God for His son, Jesus Christ!

So, yes, I grieve the passing from this Earth, my dear mother. Even today, I am still shedding tears.

I will miss my Mom until the day when I too will let go of this mortal tent that I live in.

Until then, I will honor the life she has lived and the legacy that she has left us. I am confident that when she entered into God’s presence that she heard that which we all long to hear… “Well done my good and faithful one.”

And I know that she was embraced by the Savior that she loves.

And I know that she was surrounded and embraced by many loved ones that have gone on before her.

And she was also surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses that cheered her entry into eternal life.

May we all run this life’s race as well as she did.

That is my prayer.

Give your heart fully to God and go out to seize this day!

Sincerely, Mike <><

May We Be Found Ready

Dear Lord I know you’re near

You promised you would be

Near to the broken hearted

And you’ve never failed me

Though I would pass this cup

I know Earthly life has an end

It’s just a fact that I can’t deny

Life is a gift that you only lend

I’m afraid that like so many

I’m prone to take for granted

This precious gift you’ve given

Each of us a seed you’ve planted

All of us loved and valued

Each endowed with gifts

A lifetime to unwrap them

Living our purpose our soul lifts

And so I ask dear Lord

For an extra portion of grace

Pressed down and overflowing

So that we can finish this race

For our lives are so fragile

And good health does leave

We fight and struggle

But one day we all grieve

So when that day comes

And you call out our name

I pray we’ll be found ready

Hearts afire with Jesus’ flame

When our final breath we breathe

Whispering our last farewell

May an escort of angels carry us

To heaven where You dwell

I’m Not Burying My Head in the Sand… However…

So, here is how the story goes…

A factual account…

News Flash!! … I have political opinions… oooh! Big deal right?

Everyone does. Don’t they?

Well, I’ve made a decision for the time being…

I’m done with political talk on my social media platforms.

I know, I know… It’s about time I shut up right?!

I mean I’m so darn ignorant and never cross examine the issues, or look into fact checking sources… etc.

I am a human being as are you and yes, I am subject to failings such as bias, prejudice and stubbornness.

But, to be fair, aren’t most of us like that at least some of the time.

All that to be said, I still have opinions and if prompted I still don’t mind debating an issue (face to face) so long as the other party in the debate agrees that it is ok to have our minds changed through discussion, presenting of evidence as to the contrary points of our opinions and just realizing that we overlooked some facts.

I will keep said opinions still, but I pledge to keep them to myself.

However, don’t expect me to bury my head in the sand. Don’t expect me to just accept a lie. Don’t expect me to kowtow to “expert” opinions without solid fact to back them up. And probably more importantly to the current environment, don’t expect me to accept anyone rewriting history (ugly or not) and in that atrocity to forget the lessons that factual treatment of said history can teach us.

There are those in this current moment in history (mid-terms, 2018) that would like me to believe certain things that I know to be nothing more than propaganda by the current power wielders in our once great state. I know that their stated facts are just repeated (cut & pasted) dialog taken straight out of messages put forth by the current political powerbase.

I don’t respect borrowed opinions.

The last word I have for you has been repeatedly spoken by me over many years.

Just go vote ok?

Read up on the propositions. Read up on the politicians. Weed through the diatribe and cliché to find what facts are available and make your best educated picks on the ballots.

If you do that then, whether we agree on the issues or not, you’ll at least have the kind of respect that is given to someone who I observe has made an attempt at educating themselves before deciding.

True tolerance can only exist where we can agree to disagree and still treat each other civilly and maybe even remain as friends.

I foster no illusions that we live in probably the most divided and divisive times that I have ever observed in my lifetime. And with that happening I don’t foster much hope for recovery without God’s intervention in the hearts and minds of those on each side of the divide.

But it is in the hope in the one true God, a God of reconciliation that I do not give up hope because I know that He has overcome the World and He has already conquered death and hell. So, I still retain hope that He will make all things right in their time.

So, consider this my last hurrah on social media at large.

I want to be a catalyst for positivity, hope, love, forgiveness, peace and compassion. I don’t think that there is a law against any of those.

Peace!

Seize the day!

Mike <><