What's Your Vocation? Or Does It Matter?

Do you know your vocation? Do you think that what you’re doing is your calling? Do you think you missed an opportunity? Why? Some of us aren’t sure what we are destined to do. Some of us drift through life surviving the trials and tribulations of life and dealing with the consequences as best as we can. We don’t realize that we are where God wants us to be. We all want more than what we have. We work day and night, struggling, sacrificing, scrimping and saving and still it never seems to be enough. We see others hardly making an effort and question how can they be so successful. We shouldn’t be jealous of them but we are. As for our calling, we all can’t be preachers, teachers, CEOs, or have white collar jobs. There is nothing wrong with blue collar jobs, these folks have skills that are not always recognized. We can still do our part as true servants of God. We can treat each other like we want to be treated. We can smile at people. We never know who might just need it. Little acts of kindness can go a long way. We can be patient and tolerant of people that we don’t like for no reason at all. More important is treating our elders with respect and honor. They deserve it! We can look at each other equally and thank God that what we have is enough. We have so much more than what others don’t have and we still aren’t grateful.

Give Him Praise All Of The Time!

Too many times, I hear people pleading to God for help when they are facing distress. When everything was flowing smoothly, I didn’t even hear God’s name being mentioned. But I have learned that it’s not the way prayer works. God is a loving, merciful, and forgiving Lord. He cares very deeply about us but He also wants to see how much do we care about Him. We don’t take the time to appreciate the many blessings He gives us because we don’t take the time to serve Him, visit Him, or thank Him. When everything is fine we think that we’re doing all of this by ourselves. Oh, but when the dirt hits the fan, who do we call for help? Now we remember! Even when we do call on Him, we are still doing it half-heartedly. That’s right, why change now? Well, it doesn’t work that way. Do you deal with fakes, phonies, or wannabes? One thing about God is His consistency. He is always the same any day, any time. We’re the ones that need to change. Old habits are hard to break, so let us all try to form better habits. Let’s go to His House and praise Him. Let’s treat our brothers and sisters like we want to be treated. Let’s tell Him thanks for the many blessings we have. We might not be millionaires but we still have our breath, senses, and limbs. Everything else is gravy. Let’s pray more and complain less. It’s worth a try, you have to try. God bless you!

He Has The Power

In the midst of our troubles and hardships, some of us find solace that our faith in God will get us through. It’s a peace that I can’t describe. It can also be something that comes with old age and experience. Whatever it is, this feeling doesn’t come over night. It takes time to grow and believe. It’s tough to cast your worries to the Lord, because turmoil is all around us and keep us distracted. But there’s a time in our lives where we just can’t do it by ourselves. We need serious help from somebody in the helping business. All we have to do is call on Him! He can handle all of our problems if we just let Him!

The Hand of God

Just a couple of days ago, my home was broken into. The suspect broke the door frame near the deadbolt to get in. What was so odd about this was I saw the suspect walking in front of the place at 5:50 early morning in 25 degrees weather. I will be brief about the details but when I left I kept looking at this person in my review mirror that was still walking. My spirit was telling me something was wrong but I continued on to work. About 8:40AM I received a call to come home that my place had been broken into. When I arrived I saw several law enforcement cars and a crime unit all over the place. When I saw the door I pictured the worse. However, the guys were smiling. They caught him and the suspect was already in jail! Without the quick response of my neighbors who had a good idea of my work habits they called it in and the “boys in blue” were able to apprehend the guy. Great neighbors! Believe me there are a lot more details and events that took place that morning but they aren’t what I’m writing about! On the way home, I had plenty of time to think about what would be missing and the mess I’ll need to clean up. But I started thinking that whatever God has in store for me, it was His Will. The fact is, I started praising God for His goodness! Don’t ask why, I just did. I thanked Him for taking control of my life, since I had already given it over to Him. So when I did arrive, I found that the most damage was to the door frame and an upstairs blind that the suspect broke jumping out of to avoid the police! All I can say is that the Hand of God was in all of this! I realize a lot of people don’t believe or have the faith to want to, but there is a power beyond any of our control that exists. I feel so grateful that I barely can only express myself. I fall, too! God knows I have my faults. But, He is a merciful God, a kind-hearted God that forgives constantly.
I write about early responders a lot and how they risk their lives everyday to protect and serve. They have a thankless job and not many are appreciated even when they save lives or get another slug off the streets. But, I will always appreciate what they do because I know what it takes to serve the public. Many people get angry when it seems that no one is available to help them when needed. Others are ungrateful when they do. Such is the life of a public servant. When they give their lives, they leave families and loved ones behind, too! They cry, they hurt, and they love just like everyone else. Whether you will ever need our first responders or not, whenever you see them, smile or wave at them. By now you know that I am talking about law enforcement, EMS, and our military. There are many others that I did not name, but I'll remind you that you, too, are a first responder! Let’s pray that the Hand of God is always with you and them!

Have a Blessed & Wonderful New Year!

2010, not only is this the beginning of a New Year, it’s the beginning of a New Decade! Many of us are glad 2009 is over and look for high expectations in 2010. But as we get older reality sinks in and we notice that some things are not always what they seem! That no matter how positive we are and want to be, disappointments and frustrations still affect us! Our bodies feel pain, that don’t react the way we want them to and definitely don’t recover as fast as they used to. The fact of the matter is living has taught us to be wary of good things. We have seen more than our share of trials and tribulations and now know that nothing is guaranteed except death. Some people are already not paying taxes. I’m not taking anybody on a downward spiral of negativity this New Year! Don’t dwell on past regrets, disappointments, and failures. In fact, I want us to be more positive and tolerant in this New Year and New Decade. Remember Y2K? A year later 2001? Each of us has major and minor unforgettable moments that the past year and 10 years impressed on us. Take a moment and think about what happened in your life. Now take a moment to think about what you’d like to see happen in your life this New Year and decade. I bet you a donut that everything you thought for the future is positive! We are all positive people and enjoy being happy, we have just seen too many things that took our energy. As long as we live, we will be faced with challenges, but it depends on how we deal with them. What has been working for me is I bring God with me in everything I do. He’s there with me all of the time but when I’m working, He’s right next to me! This is a good day to start over again! Don’t stop at resolutions, continue with commitments. What would we like to see change within us, around us? Can we do something about it? Will we? Hope wasn’t just a platform that our President ran on, it was around long before him. Jesse Jackson would say “Keep hope alive!” But hope can be a heavyweight word, it’s pushing for change in all of our lives. Your looks will change in time even your spirit. But develop that relationship with God and the real you will change for the better! So, why not change for the better? Work it out! Lean on the Lord!! He has gotten us out of situations that we didn’t think was possible. But, remember, don’t bring it on yourself! I wish you a blessed & wonderful life!

Don’t Be An Idiot Forever!

Idiot; a foolish person, subnormal intelligence.

Jerk; a dull, stupid person.

This has been an interesting weekend, a weekend that was meant for observing and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with your family and love ones! It was also a time to spread the joy and peace to all during these rough economic times. Hopefully, some of us will continue to be better through out the year. On Christmas Day & Eve, I didn’t return any phone calls or left any messages except one, to my 86 year old godmother. Even then, I waited late that evening to do it. I didn't call my other godmother because she lived up the street from my mom's home. I guess if there was any bad news about the house, I didn't want to hear it. Using my mother’s passing would be the weakest excuse I could use. In fact, I don’t have any excuses. I prefer keeping a wall a wall around me to block out the possibilities of becoming too close to anyone and them getting too close to me. One would question whether I’m an idiot or a jerk. Those that were already in my life while mom was here, I hope would understand. Those I met post mom’s transition might have a hard time. They might lean toward thinking of me as a jerk. Oh, well. I needed that time to meditate and be alone. I wasn’t courting depression, I just needed that time. It rained all day Christmas and I love the rain! It’s like looking at black & white pictures vs color ones. B & W pictures force you to view the picture from the photographer’s viewpoint. A portrait makes you look at the internal aspect and a landscape at a possible hidden meaning. Color pictures are beautiful and many times people get hung-up on the pretty colors whether than the true significance, if any, of the photo. Don’t misunderstand me. Color pictures can possess some details that will make you look deeper. I’m biased toward black & white. I take pride in giving some profound advice and listening to others’ problems. I read the Bible daily looking for ways to be better. I admit I fail at times, but The Word has a strong foundation in my life. I do believe that I did give some bad guidance to someone. I mentioned that they should retaliate after being betrayed and broken hearted by posting throughout the home copies of very disrespectful and disruptive emails between a third party. “Vengeance is mine saith the Lord.” Romans 12:19. How wrong and guilty am I? Forgiveness should have been mentioned but because I am a good friend, I took the betrayal personal. You can’t practice what you preach when you’re a jerk! Or a hypocrite! Love can cause pain, it opens you up and makes you weak. I’ve discussed this many times that there are different levels of love. Don’t confuse it with lust, either. You must achieve a higher level of love to avoid the hurts. Can you reach it? It’s worth a try. Love doesn’t just have relationships it has a certain je ne sais quoi. French, for “I don’t know what.” You can’t put your finger on it. But it can be awfully great! I’m getting older and even more sensitive. My compassion level is rising and I’m guessing it’s because I have accepted my mortality. It does seem true to form that the elderly finally has the “aha” moment in their later years. We finally realize what is really important to us. We wonder if we wasted our younger years on frivolity and materialism. Maybe not, maybe it’s the process that we all go through to learn and experience. We can be idiots, jerks, or both if we think nothing is different or won’t change. But the elderly figured it out. Don’t waste your time on hate and contention, we don’t know what the next life will bring but we didn’t know about this one either. God bless you in this coming New Year! May what we do be pleasing and appreciative in His Sight.

Merry Christmas!!!