Teachable Moments

This is the new phrase that seems to be circulating throughout the media. Primarily, it’s used for mistakes committed by celebrities that somehow can be redeemable. For us common folk, we just screwed up. Can we learn from these mistakes? It depends on how much you lost. I guess the bigger the name and celebrity, you are granted leniency and discretion. Some examples are the Secret Service snafu at the President’s First State Dinner with the “party crashers”, the Salahis, Oprah’s not having Chris Brown on her show because he abused Rihanna but allowed BeBe Winans who did the same with his wife, and Tiger Woods single car crash that is swirling with rumors. Our President will have a “teachable moment” in Afghanistan, too. By the way, we can learn from other people mistakes! There are others I have not named that are allowed “teachable moments” but screwed up. Our state governor, for instance learned a lot from his saga, but it affected so many people in this state. Most of all in this situation, it just about destroyed his family. He lost so much. This is not to say that indiscretions from anyone cannot cause irreparable harm, it is to say that we will never be able to measure the amount of harm done. Screw ups are happening all the time whether you’re well known or not. Some “teachable moments” are not for everyone. Your mistake is yours only and the people you involved. I don’t think that your problem should be mine unless it involves me directly or indirectly. It’s none of my business. Everybody has problems, but we tend to capitalize on somebody else's and ignore our own. I guess we welcome the distraction. We don't want to face up to our own and speculate on others. Bad news spread fast and it makes lots of money! The important thing to remember is every moment is teachable, good or bad. There is always something that we can learn.

Joyful Expectations

I saw a mother at mass with her newborn this morning. She had a large scarf that somehow wrapped the baby in such a way that the baby was in front of her facing forward. Sort of like a halter that’s made for babies. I thought it was pretty cool that such a long piece of cloth could be used that way. I’m not good at guessing any baby’s age but I think he could have been 5-6 months old. He had his pacifier and some type of cloth toy he played with. He was such a bright eyed cute little boy! He pointed downwards towards his baby bag and mom handed him his light-blue cloth rabbit. It wasn’t the rabbit that he seemed interested in. He was into holding his mom’s finger and bringing it to his face. She let him guide her towards his face and playfully rubbed his little nose. His little hand was holding onto his mother’s finger tightly. I thought that was so cool. It was an example of a mother’s love and a child’s dependence on the love that only a mother can give. Innocence, trust, curiosity and dependence are just few of the traits that we all had when we were babies but lost as adults. Well, the Christmas holidays are coming up and we all have joyful expectations bubbling inside of us. Whether its gifts, someone visiting or coming home or whatever, we are looking forward to joyful hopes. Now if we don’t get what we want let’s not get disappointed. Our Father in heaven knows what is best for us. We should accept our dependency on Him, just as a baby’s for their guardians. Holidays are different each year regardless of the circumstances. We get older and our priorities change. Let’s never lose the real meaning of Christmas. Christ was born to die and save mankind. When he comes again, let’s not be fearful but stand with our arms and our heads up with joyful expectations. Keep in mind we don’t have to wait for the holidays to have joyful expectations. We can do this all year round!

Happy Thanksgiving!

To all of my spiritual brothers and sisters, I wish you a blessed and wonderful day of thanks. It's not what we don't have, it's what we already have that should make us more appreciative. At least we're here to see and share another day with the people that are important in our lives. And if we're alone, we still can be kind and courteous to others. It can be hard because these are some very stressful times for us all. It's also tough not being able to share this time with our loved ones who may be away from home working in hospitals, on the roadways, and on the battlefields or preparing to go to the battlefield. These people are making sacrifices that some of us take for granted. Then there are some that must work today to make ends meet. Regardless of the situation, let's appreciate what we do have and pass it on. Let's really try to keep the drama and conflict out of our lives during this season. Try to be understanding and tolerant with each other. Also, share a moment of silence for those that passed on because they will surely be missed. Again, I pray for you all to have a safe and great holiday!

Love

This is an excerpt from Romans 12:9-21.

Love must be honest and true. Hate what is evil. Hold on to what is good. Love each other deeply. Honor others more than yourselves. Never let the fire in your heart go out. Keep it alive. Serve the Lord.
When you hope, be joyful. When you suffer, be patient. When you pray, be faithful. Share with God's people who are in need. Welcome others into your homes.
Bless those who hurt you. Bless them, and do not call down curses on them. Be joyful with those who are joyful. Be sad with those who are sad. Agree with each other. Don't be proud. Be willing to be a friend of people who aren't considered important. Don't think that you are better than others.
Don't pay back evil with evil. Be careful to do what everyone thinks is right. If possible, live in peace with everyone. Do that as much as you can.
My friends, don't try to get even. Leave room for God to show his anger. It is written, "I am the One who judges people. I will pay them back," says the Lord. Do just the opposite. Scripture says, "If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. By doing those things, you will pile up burning coals on their heads."
Don't let evil overcome you. Overcome evil by doing good.

Rest In Peace, Mr. C. E. Cumming, Sr.

What If?

No matter how strong you think you are and want to be, you still have to fight sadness when past hurts come up. There is always something or someone to remind you. We try to focus on the positives and fight the negatives. It can be a constant battle for some. We might even wonder “What would it be like if……….? Accept the fact that there is a reason for everything. Those lies and deceits happened for a reason. Don’t blame yourself unless you know that you were responsible for the failure. We have to move on. We live and we learn. Yes, our experiences will have an impact on our future. But what do we want our future to be like? If we were betrayed or rejected, do we expect the same in future relationships? Do we put up thick walls as defense mechanisms? Can we continue the drama and stress that we just don’t have control over? My brothers and sisters in Christ, we all fall down. We all get hurt at one time or another. What we do with these disappointments is up to us. Grace and mercy stand us up! To me happiness is being at peace with myself. It isn’t what you have or don’t have. Ttry to find inner peace. People tend to push their unhappiness on you and you don’t have to take it. If you think it is for the sake of being in a relationship just to say you have somebody, well, you’re lying to yourself. Are you telling me that you would rather be unhappy in a failing relationship than being happy but alone? That is a problem. Face up. You can be in a great relationship if you both are at peace within. But, please be honest about it. Respect for each other and being secure about yourself and partner can truly go a long way. This philosophy doesn’t just work with relationships, it works with living! We are faced with various situations in life, it depends on our attitude how we deal with it. We are each dealt a different hand in life, it depends on how we play the cards. Wewill lose some and win some but we can only bluff for so long. Regardless, we must make the best out of whatever we have!

Enjoy Your Blessings!

Thanksgiving Day is coming up, but the focus from the media is on the day after, Black Friday! This is one of the most important days in retail to settle the year in the black. So, let’s be prepared to get up early Friday morning for the some of the best sales that stores can offer! It’s the best time to get some inexpensive Christmas presents, if you are willing to sacrifice your sleep time and deal with hundreds of other people over the same item. If you have a family and some love ones, it wouldn’t hurt to take an extra minute to be thankful for sharing a moment with them. Material things are wonderful to show our accomplishments and successes. But I can guarantee you that they mean nothing when the people you want around you to share them with you are not there. Thanksgiving can put your priorities in order. Those things that you thought were more important to you physical are nothing compared to the things that mean so much emotionally. Even if it’s just the two of you, enjoy life’s best! The more, the merrier, just as long as it is not a drama-filled day! If it’s just you, get out of the house, go walking, go to church, but celebrate life for yourself and joy for your past loved ones. I am asking that you do not give up and lose the meaning. We already have a problem for losing the true meaning of Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Veterans Day! I wish you all a happy and blessed day of thankfulness. Offer it to God first and appreciate the loved ones that He gave you! Do something special for someone, share your joy, and most importantly enjoy God’s blessings! If you can even read this, you are so much blessed than some. If you have access to the web, another blessing you might take for granted. All that we have are blessings, large and small, they are all gifts from God! Remember, when praises go up, blessings come down!