Category Archives: Spirituality

Spirituality

The Spirit of Christmas

I have a friend, Bert Simon, who goes all out for Christmas. He puts up a ton of lights and has two Christmas trees. There’s nothing unusual about this except that Bert is Jewish. In his words, “Christmas is a positive holiday, and I’ll celebrate anything positive.”

Bert gets it. During the holidays, people are nicer. They come together in a spirit of unity and togetherness. It’s a beautiful thing to witness. I’m curious why it isn’t this way all year long. It can be.

Many of us are extremely fortunate. It’s important to remember those who have not experienced the blessings we have received. The homeless, inmates in prison, and those who have experienced loss aren’t feeling the same sense of joy as the rest of us. Everyone is equally important in the eyes of the Creator. God cares about the poor, the marginalized and those in prison.

I’m grateful for a lot of things, and I’m thankful to have Bert as a friend. I have never seen him without a big smile on his face. By his actions, he is bringing light into the world every day. We can, too…

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Spirituality

Are You Talking to Me?

Great communication is one of the foundations of relationships. You build trust when the words of people align with their actions.

How are you talking to yourself? We spend a lot of time inside our heads. Too much, sometimes. We must be honest with ourselves while, at the same time, forgive ourselves for the things we wish we hadn’t said or done. All of us make mistakes. That’s how we learn. These are useful lessons but we don’t need to drag ourselves through the mud and mire repeatedly.

Focus on the good you have done. Keep those moments in the forefront of your mind. Mistakes from the past are always stored in the subconscious. Acknowledge them but don’t dwell on them.

Remember that the road less traveled is not the easy road. There are potholes and curves along the way. Find it in yourself to keep going when everything inside of you wants to turn back. Just keep going no matter what happens…

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Spirituality

I’m Trying

Did you have any bad habits you need to break? It is my belief that all of us have room for improvement. Perhaps we need to drop a few pounds, stop being judgmental of others, or something else. Let’s take a look.

A habit is only bad if it causes harm to you or others. Abusing alcohol has ill effects on all the organs of the body. In addition to the physical damage, it’s awful to be around a drunk. But rational thought goes away if someone wants to get drunk. Let’s hope they don’t get in a car, have an accident and cause irreparable harm.

If there is something you want to change, you can if you really want to. It takes more than willpower alone. Ask God for help. He cares about every detail of our lives. He will show up. Every single time.

The New Year is going to be here soon. Make a decision to change one thing in your life. Think about what you are gaining, not the bad habit you are eliminating. Break it down to one day at a time.

Finally, write your goals down. Physically write them. Review them daily. If you experience a setback, get right back up and try again.

You can do anything you set your mind to. Anything…

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Spirituality

Works

Do you enjoy your life’s work? I believe it’s important that we have a fulfilling career, the kind you would do for free if you could.

God has given us work to do on this side of eternity. In many cases this is different from our career. This is where service and action meet. It’s an intersection you can avoid if you want to. Or you can dig in, get your hands dirty and serve others. The choice is always yours.

People are important. All people. In Austin where I live, there are panhandlers on every street corner. It’s impossible to know who has a legitimate need and who is conning people. I’ve had experience with both. I don’t give out money, but I will buy people a sandwich. You can, too, if you feel compelled. Only give if you feel moved to from the heart. Never give out of guilt.

We are in the season of giving. There are endless opportunities to help. In The Book of James we are reminded that “faith without works is dead.” God uses people to accomplish his will on earth.

Always stay in gratitude. If you have a few dollars in your pocket you are better off than 90% of the world. Focus on what you have, not what you lack…

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Spirituality

Echoes of the Past

Creating wonderful experiences with your friends and family turns into beautiful memories. They not only give us something to remember fondly, but we feel encouraged to create more of them.

Have you ever heard of triggers? Triggers are stimuli that cause a sudden, intense emotional reaction. The mind stores everything. Triggers are oftentimes a warning signal. The mind is trying to protect us from something even when we don’t understand what is going on.

The holidays can trigger me. From my observation there are many like me. Don’t misunderstand, I love the holidays but they evoke memories of disappointment. Perhaps the Christmas movies set a false expectation. On the other hand, those perfect holiday films give us something to strive for. We must keep believing.

I snap out of my funk by doing for others. Selecting thoughtful gifts for my children brings me great joy. I believe that when we are giving of ourselves we reflect the light of our Creator. Thinking of others removes our selfish nature.

Unresolved traumas can bring ugly echoes of the past. I encourage you to work through them. It’s not easy, but anything worthwhile never is. Keep putting one foot in front of the other, and you’ll get there…

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Spirituality

Curves

Farm-to-Market Road 1431 connects north Austin to a small town called Marble Falls. The drive is beautiful, filled with hills, curves and a lot of greenery. It’s hard to keep your eyes on the road because it’s so pretty.

Life itself has its own share of curves. Much of life can be routine, boring even, Then you have a curveball thrown at you. Something out of the ordinary disrupts your flow, sometimes causing great stress. We must be able to hit the curveballs, too.

My encouragement to you is to expect the unexpected. Don’t fear or dread the disruptions. Welcome them. See difficulties as opportunities to grow and learn.

Life on this side of eternity is going to have challenges. When you are going through a dark time, always remember that resilience is built in the hard times, not when things are easy. Just keep going no matter what happens…

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Spirituality

Tenacity

This world we live in will knock you down sometimes. Life was never promised to be easy. You just have to pick yourself up and move forward, even when your next step is into the unknown.

All of us possess a tenacious spirit. Consider the time when a child decides he wants to walk. They pull themselves up, teeter around and fall down. Sometimes they fall hard. No problem! They get right back up and try again.

You might not remember it, but you learned to walk in the same way. No one was going to stop you. What happened to that? It’s still inside of you. You just have to bring it back to the surface from where it’s buried.

The mediocre never push themselves. They settle for a life that is less than what God designed them for. But you aren’t mediocre. Far from it. The dreams that were planted in your heart from the beginning are still there. You gotta bring them to the surface, too.

A powerful dream combined with relentless determination and tenacity is unstoppable. Bring it…

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Spirituality

Success Through Service

I’ll spend a moment talking about success. Many people define success as acquiring fame and fortune. Those things may happen, but they cannot be your goal. Otherwise you will be chasing all your life because you will never have enough.

Achieving success is about living a fulfilling life. We must be willing to give more than we are paid for. Do more than is required or expected. Replace the word success with service. Leaders have a servants heart.

The mediocre never go the extra mile. They believe they are cheating themselves if they work longer than they are paid for. They are cheating themselves out of missed opportunities because of their shortsightedness.

Arrive early. Stay late. Write “thank you” notes. These qualities set you apart from the rest of the world. Go about your work quietly without feeling the need to be in the spotlight. The right people will notice…

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Spirituality

Deception

Deception is evil. Think about it. It’s a willful act to defraud someone or withhold information, causing great harm. Entire court cases have been overturned because the prosecution withheld key evidence.

The biggest deceiver of all time is Satan. His schemes have a predictable pattern. Tempt, confuse and then convict. Let’s face it, temptation is exciting. You feel like you’re living on the edge, in the danger zone. You are in danger. Giving in to what we know is wrong damages us. Fortunately, God has given us a path to redemption. We can be forgiven and restored. But the evil one will keep trying.

The most heinous thing someone can do is mislead a child. Children rely on adults to lead them and teach them. Some of today’s woke adults are influencing our most innocent citizens with ideology meant for harm. Solid, consistent parenting is necessary and it’s not an option.

All of us have been guilty of deceiving others. Forgive yourself. Beating yourself up is pointless, especially if you don’t intend to do it again.

Be honest with yourself. Take inventory and update it regularly. Holding ourselves accountable helps keep deception out of our lives. And remember to talk to God when you’re feeling tempted. He will help us every time…

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Spirituality

What’s Your Vision?

In the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the character Mr. Hand was described as “thinking everyone was on dope.” I have an acquaintance in real life who believes everyone is racist and bigoted. They aren’t, but this is the limited lens he sees the world through.

I’m not denying that racism and bigotry exist. They do and always will. Our world is broken on this side of eternity. But the evidence doesn’t support that racism and bigotry dominate our society. Most people are good. We cannot allow a minority of the population to distort our vision of others.

When you allow gratitude to dominate your thinking, the lens you see the world through expands. You look for the art and beauty in others and in your surroundings. It’s always been there, but now you notice.

We, as human beings, cannot change the heart of man. That job belongs to God. He is always working on us, and that includes the racist and bigoted. Let’s get out of God’s way. He doesn’t need my help!

Create the vision you want for your life. Believe in your vision and believe in yourself. Ask God to come along for the ride. Visualize something outrageous and audacious. Pray about it. Then get to work on making it happen…

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