Where are your thoughts?

God has been at work in my life, and I am SO thankful! Whether or not we realize it, God is always faithfully there by our side. I cannot imagine what might have happened to me when I was younger had God not sent his angels to care for me. What a blessing it is to be a child of God!

Do you think on these things? Where are your thoughts? Are you thankful for what you have, or are you wallowing in the "have-nots"? What is in the forefront of your mind when you wake in the morning? Are your thoughts on good things? Do you thank God for what you have each morning, or do cry about what you think is missing?

Our thoughts are so powerful! What do you do with the power God has given you? It has become very evident to me that being positive is likely the best thing we can do for our self and for God. What is God to do with a "Gloomy Gus"?

Maybe things are bad. Maybe you are dealing with something that is difficult or frustrating. What is the more fruitful action to take? Should you sit around, mope, and complain? Rather, would it be better to rejoice in what you have, and be hopeful?

There was a time when I wallowed in misery. I'll tell you. It got me nothing but more misery. Once I learned to change my thought pattern I was so blessed. Perspective is powerful, and we do possess the power to re-frame our thinking.

Today, think on things that are good. Combat negative thinking with positive thinking. Better yet, combat negative thoughts with scripture. God has given us HIS WORD so that we may learn and grow and face struggles with His power.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).

Happy Father's Day!

Today's sermon at church was about Joseph the earthly father of Jesus. We hear a lot about Mary, but not much is said about Joseph. There is a lot we can learn from his willingness to follow God, accept a pregnant wife, and father a child not of his own seed.

Did God have a purpose in choosing Joseph as the earthly father of Jesus? All of God's actions are with purpose. Joseph was a loving man. He made Mary his priority. Joseph protected Jesus despite the fact that he was not his biological son. He was a man of faith.

What do we learn about faith from our parents? Whether or not we realize it we are constantly influenced by the actions of those around us. Who better to determine our character than our parents.

What kind of role model are you to your children and the youth of your community?

How do you live your life?

What ethics are you teaching?

What do you teach the next generation?

You may not have a lot of time. What are you doing with yours?

Joseph was a man of character and strong morals. Maybe it is time we thought about Joseph and the example he set before us. Our society has been systematically destroying the integrity of our families. We need our fathers. Fathers are protectors, teachers of the proper use of power, instillers of work ethic, demonstrators of respect, and examples of morality.

What kind of father are you?

The Silence Before The Heroism

Posted on June 3rd, 2008

by Nancy Reyes in All News, Breaking News, Iraq War, Pennsylvania News, Society and Culture, The War on Terror, US News

Today, President Bush presented the Medal of Honor to the parents of Pfc Ross McGiness.

When a grenade was thrown into the hatch of his Humvee, McGiness, who was the gunner, chose not to jump out and save his own life, but to jump down and protect his buddies with his body to save them. He died, but the other four lives were saved by his actions.

NYTimes photo at right.

In a day when anti heroes are the norm, and any war news is twisted to make soldiers either sadists or victims, previous medal of honor winners barely made the headlines, so I was glad that both the NYTimes and the LATimes included the story in their papers.

Yet those who don’t go past the headlines will say: Great guy, and then go on, figuring his life has no lesson for anyone else. Alas, there are probably a few people out there who will ridicule his actions, being brought up in a world of cynicism and nihilism where risking one’s life for others is considered dumb.

So I was happy thatJames Hohman of the LATimes actually went past the hard facts and data to find the motives of Pfc McGuiness:

A month before, a similar situation had occurred with another convoy. When a grenade landed inside a Humvee, the gunner jumped out, as he had been trained to do. That grenade turned out to be a dud. “In the days that followed, McGinnis said he didn’t know what he would do,” Buehler said. “I felt the same way. It’s hard to say what you’d do.”

Yes, it is hard to say what any of us would do. But those of us who have lived in danger know that the choice is made before the action, and the choice is made in the dark night when the demons of fear and confusion gnaw at the soul. What if….what if…One is faced with the worse things that can happen, and one never knows if when the time comes if courage or fear will rule one’s actions. But it is in the darkness of the night that the rehersals for the “What if’s” are done, and the real choice is made.

So in a world where kids are taught to live for oneself, a young man rehearsed in his mind what he should do.

Like Navy SEAL Michael Monsoor, who died when he too shielded his friends from a grenade blast, or like my classmate, Michael Crescenz, who attacked the snipers nest so that the wounded could be rescued, or like the firemen and police who risk their lives every day so that others can live,we have heroism all around us. And once in awhile, we need to pause and spend a moment to recognize that heroes still exist, and to say a prayer for the ones who give their lives so others may live

Off to Boot Camp

Our oldest son, Andrew, left for Boot Camp today. He is 16 and in the Navy Sea Cadets. He will be in Chicago at the Navy base for a week. Next Sunday we will get to watch him graduate in a formal military ceremony. We are really looking forward to seeing his accomplishments.

Andrew has wanted to be career military ever since he was five years old. When he was little I always thought he would grow out of it; just a little boy's fantasy. Well, here we are 11 years later, and he is still focused on being career military. I never thought I would encourage any of my children to go into the service. Now, how can I not?

My aunt put it this way, "God needs people everywhere." That one sentence really got my attention. It is sound logic. It seems that is what he was born to do. God gives us all gifts, and it is up to us to pursue them. We are very proud of Andrew.

He has solid goals. Andrew is in marital arts and plans to achieve his black belt before entering the service. He also plans to achieve rank in Sea Cadets and earn his associates degree before he enlists. It is impossible to do anything but help him figure out how to make his dreams come true.

Click here to learn more about the Navy Sea Cadets.

Poverty Free World?

Is it possible for the world to be without poverty? Can people be empowered to rise above financial constraints? One man believes it is surely possible, and his name is Muhammad Yunus. I watched an interview with him on the Canadian show, The Hour, last night. It was compelling.

It is the vision of Muhammad Yunus to totally eradicate poverty from the world. He started the Grameen Bank Project in 1976 with a mere $27 from his own pocket. Owned by the poor borrowers of the project became an actual bank in 1983 under a new law created especially for its creation in Bangladesh. Now the Grameen Bank serves more than 7 million families in over 81,000 villages.

Muhammad Yunus recently won the Nobel Peace Prize for his unique concept of micro credit. Micro credit has been used in Bangladesh, India to dramatically change the lives of many families. The concept is to empower families with small loans to get out of debt and become entrepreneurs. Women make up 97% of the loan holders through Grameen Bank.

The difference is changing our thinking from consumer business to social business. Consumer business benefits the company and it's share holders. Social business benefits the community at large. The commitment of a social business entrepreneur is to make a difference in the world as opposed to the consumer business entrepreneur whose sole purpose is to maximize profits. Which kind of entrepreneur would you like to be?

For further study read, Creating a World Without Poverty byMuhammad Yunus.