Choose love instead…

May 10, 2021

In his blog, Jack’s Winning Words, today, Pastor Freed used this quote – “Love is the big booming beat which covers up the noise of hate.”  (Margaret Cho)  Cho is an Asian-American comedian, who may joke about the current anti-Asian hate campaign, but who knows that it is no laughing matter.

Posted on my side lawn is a sign with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. – “I chose love because hate is too big a burden to bear.”

Jesus said that we should love one another as he loved us and he didn’t specify race, ethnicity or any other criteria for sharing that love.

Ignorance and gullibility provide the fertile ground in which hate grows. No intelligent person could listen to the messages of hate and accept them as reasonable.

There was a show on TV recently that delved into the rise of Hitler in Germany. One of the points made during the telecast was that in any other setting Hitler would have been recognized as the crazy maniac that he was and would have been put into an asylum. Instead, the show pointed out, the German people of that day were hungry for any message of hope, even one based upon hate and discrimination against the Jews; so, instead, they allowed Hitler to turn Germany into an asylum that he ruled.

One might question if America is today allowing social media to influence our decisions and actions in divisive and hateful ways. That is a question that was explored on the TV show 60-Minutes on Sunday. The show set up two of its producers with fake Facebook accounts, one with an obvious liberal bent and one characterized as having an obviously conservative tone. The two were allowed to start following 1-2 other conservative Facebook influencers as a “seed” to see what might happen. Within days the posts in both Facebook accounts had diverged to the right and left extremes and hate was being spewed forth from posts made by both sides. The point that they were trying to prove (and did) was the overbearing influence that social media can have on us all through the biases and hate that it promotes.

 You don’t have to be on Facebook or Twitter for very long to see the hate coming from both sides of the political spectrum. You might even be intelligent enough to recognize it for what it is and unfriend or stop following those who promote hate and conspiracy theories. However, many are not able to discern what they see and read as false and hateful, so they repost or reinforce those posts out of ignorance and their own hate.

What are we to do? We are to love one another as Jesus loved us. One of the things I have learned in life is not to rise to the bait of hate. Hate needs others to hate along with it. Hate encourages others to follow and reinforce it; otherwise, it dies the ignominious death that it deserves. Nothing turns hate away faster that to return love instead of more hate. Countering hate with love allows an opening for reason to creep back into the conversation and nothing dissolves hate faster than reason.

So, take Martin Luther King Jr’s advice and chose love instead of hate. A position taken on matters out of love is a much easier place from which to defend one’s words and actions – it is the high ground. It’s not so much that love covers up hate. It is much more like love is the Tums or Zantac of life that neutralizes hate. Do let hate become the cause of heartburn in your life. Chose love instead and be heartburn free.

Have a great, loving week ahead.

1 Comment | faith, Inspiration | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Norm Werner

Slay your dragons…

May 8, 2021

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”― Neil Gaiman

Fairy tales exist alongside hopes and dreams in our minds. Like parables in the Bible, many fairy tales are stories that make a point, sometimes about good defeating evil, but also about innocence and honesty winning out over guile and cheating.

As we grow older the wonder that we found in fairy tales might be replaced by our hopes and dreams. For some, the fairy tales just dim and become memories, replaced by cynicism. That cynicism becomes their new dragon, and they might find it hard to defeat.

Perhaps that is because they are reading the wrong book now. The fairy tales that were read to us or that we read as children from books fade once those books are put away. Instead of books of fairy tales, we may watch the news or read the newspapers. Perhaps we still read books, but they are now lengthy and complex stories, either true or made up. In either case they are usually set in the real world and many times have unhappy endings.

There is a book that one can read that still carries a message of hope and a happy ending – the Bible. The Bible tells the story of the biggest defeat of a dragon of all time – the defeat of death. One can argue about the historical accuracy of events that are chronicled in the Bible, but that is not the point of it. The Bible tells us stories meant to help us understand and accept God and the gift of eternal life that He had given us.

The dragon of death will never go away, but it also will not defeat us. Death is but one dragon that we might face in our lives. There are dragons of hopelessness or maybe dependency and feeling helpless. Sometimes the dragon tries to imprison us in a dungeon of despair.  Whatever your dragon, just imagine yourself standing there in a full suit of armor ready to do battle.  Where will you get the armor? The Bible tells us  in Ephesians 6 –

“Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Just ask God for his help and then imagine suiting up in God’s armor – nothing can touch you, not even death.

So, suit up and go out and slay your dragons. Put on God’s armor and nothing can defeat you.

1 Comment | faith, Inspiration | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Norm Werner

Ask and you shall receive…

May 7, 2021

Paster Freed used this quote from an Indian philosopher today in his blog, Jack’s Winning Words – “Reach high, for stars lie hidden from you.  Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.”   (Rabindranath Tagore) 

Tagore might have added, “Pray fervently, for through prayer the hidden path to your dream is revealed.”

Prayer makes you stop and think, it also makes you formulate what it is that you want God to help you with. You don’t just ask God to make your dream come true. That’s not how it works.

Perhaps the path to your dream requires only the courage to try. You can find that courage through prayer.

Maybe the path is long and arduous. God will give you the patience, perseverance, and endurance to stay the course, if you but ask.

It could be that your dream is not realistically achievable. It that case, asking God for help letting go of that dream and finding another, more realistic, dream to pursue may be the best course of action. So, maybe God’s role is similar to that of Dr Phil on TV and he’s telling you to get real. Pray about it.

Ask God for the right help and then listen in your heart for His answers. Whatever you approach it is that last part that matters the most – listen to his answer in your heart and do the right thing. Sometimes you are not going to like the answer, but you must accept it and move on. Ask for God’s help in dealing with the disappointment. You might be surprised how fast a new dream, one that you can accomplish, pops into your life.

Indeed,  “God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to  perform” (from a poem by William Cowper)

So pray for God’s guidance and help with your dreams and the path will not be hidden from you.

1 Comment | faith, Inspiration | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Norm Werner

Who is watching you?

May 5, 2021

Two quotes that I’ve been saving to write about just seem to go together.

“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, love like you’ll never be hurt, sing like there’s nobody listening, and live like it’s heaven on earth.” ― William W. Purkey

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.”― Eleanor Roosevelt

Purkey’s quote is the better known and one that is often referenced, especially the first few words. Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote though not as well known is none the less quite true and good advice.  At the core of both is the need to just be you and live your life without letting to many concerns about what others may think of you dictate how you act. That is not to say that it is OK to do anything illegal or harmful just because you fell like doing it. There are norms within any society that dictate a few limits to our behavior.

Most of us do stop to think about what others may think before we act on an impulse to sing out loud or dance in public; but sometimes the impulse is just too strong and we do it anyway, not caring, in those cases, what anyone else may think. The hesitancy to express love for someone else out of fear of rejection is probably something that many have experienced. Maybe it was a crush on someone in school (maybe even a crush on a teacher) or perhaps some fantasy about a popular entertainment figure that played out in your mind. Most get over this unrequited love, but some went on to become stalkers and get into trouble over it.

So, within reason, whether it’s dancing or singing or loving, it is important to do what is in your heart and not let the criticism that may follow dictate your actions. Implicit in Roosevelt’s quote and at the end of Purkey’s quote is the real key message of both – live life like it is heaven on earth. If you start each day with a positive, upbeat attitude and with a sense of gratitude to God that you have been given another day in Paradise, the whole day will go better for you.

Instead of looking ahead at the day and asking yourself, “How can I get through this day?”, ask instead, “How can I make this day even better for me and for someone else?” Why? Not because someone is watching you; but because God is watching you. God gave you another day and is watching to see what you will do with it. We are told in the Bible –

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

You know in your heart that doing things that are harmful to others or illegal are not “good, acceptable and perfect”. God did not put those things in your mind, or your heart and you can feel that they are not right. Through prayer, search your heart for the things that God put there and do them, instead. Then you will be living like it is heaven on earth. If you do that, maybe others will sing along with you when you thought that no one was watching.

Have a great day doing the right things. God is watching you and others are waiting to sign along with you. Live like it’s heaven on earth.

1 Comment | faith, Inspiration | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Norm Werner

See the wind…hear God

May 3, 2021

The quote that Pastor Freed used today in his blog, Jack’s Winning Words, is from poet Christina Rossetti.

“Who has seen the wind?  Neither I nor you: 

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through. 

Who has seen the wind?  Neither you nor I: 

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.” 

I was inspired to wax poetic, too –

Who has seen God? Neither I nor you:

But when things happen in our lives,

It was God passing through.

Who has seen God? Neither you nor I:

But when we bow of heads in prayer,

We know God is nearby.

Who has seen God? Maybe none can say:

But those who believe without seeing,

Will walk with God today.

Even though we cannot “see” the wind, we can see the results of it being there. We cannot see God either, but those who believe in God will see the results of Him being there.

While one cannot see the wind, we can feel it on our faces and know that it is there. We cannot see God, but we can feel Him in our hearts and know that He is there.

When the wind blows, we hear a rustling in the trees. When God speaks to us, we hear a whisper in the back of our minds. That brings to mind another quote that I’ve used here before that reminds us to make time for prayer –

“Make time for the quiet moments, as God whispers and the world is loud.”  (Greg Olson)

Will you hear the whispers of God? Make time in your life for those quite moments of prayer when you can hear the voice of God. Maybe that rustling sound you hear in the trees as the wind passes through is the whisper of God trying to talk to you.

Shhhhhh….God is talking to you. See the wind and hear God

1 Comment | faith, Inspiration | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Norm Werner

Getting there from here…

April 29, 2021

“All you need is the plan, the roadmap, and the courage to press on to your destination.”  (Earl Nightengale)

I’ve had that little quote hanging around for some time and thought it deserved to be commented upon.

Many people have hopes or dreams, most of which never get beyond that stage, because they remain in that vague, unorganized state in their minds. Hopes and dreams at least made it further than “passing thoughts” that pop in and out of our heads and are gone forever. Hopes and dreams that are not acted upon eventually turn into regrets and that’s not a good thing.

What keeps those hopes and dreams from becoming reality is the lack of a plan of action to make them come true. It is those plans and the road maps to success that results from them that Nightengale is referencing in his quote. Once you turn a hope or a dream into a goal, you can begin breaking down the steps that are necessary to achieving that goal (that dream) and making plans on how to approach and achieve those steps.

Hopes and dreams are a little like problems. Sometimes they can loom so big that they seem impossible to solve. But, just like big problems, one can break hopes and dreams down into smaller incremental steps. You begin to think in terms of, “I’ve got to do this, before I can do that.” Each this and that along the way to achieving your goal (your dream), becomes a stop along the roadmap. Reaching each stop on the roadmap by accomplishing that task represents a little victory. Take time to celebrate each victory to keep yourself motivated, but make sure that it is only a pause to celebrate and not a reason to stop.

Breaking down your hopes and dreams into small steps and mapping out a road to success also makes getting up the courage to press on easier. After all you aren’t trying to do it all at once, just this one little thing today. Rather than asking God for the courage and strength to take on the whole dream at once, you can ask for His help on achieving the little step that is front of you. And at the end of the day, when you have achieved that little step, you can thank God for his help and line up support for the next step. You might also acknowledge the need to ask God for the patience to take on the journey in the small steps that you have mapped out. Patience is one of God’s strong suits.

So, what are your hopes and dreams? Have you really thought about them enough to start mapping out a roadmap to achieve them? If so, have you started down the path that you have defined? If not, why not? After all, you have a plan.

Perhaps it’s time for your to ask God for the courage to begin or continue that journey. Your hopes and dreams await. Just take that first step or that next step. You can do this, and God can help.

Have a great day and good luck with today’s small step in your journey. Maybe we’ll bump into each other along the way to our hopes and dreams.

Leave a Comment » | faith, Inspiration | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Norm Werner

The pursuit of happiness…

April 27, 2021

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” ― Dalai Lama XIV

Happiness is not something that just happens to us. In fact, the Declaration of Independence even states – “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

So, we must pursue happiness and work for it. But, is happiness to be found in amassing money or possessions?

It is sad that even as young children we learn, or become conditioned, to want things that we don’t have, many times things that we see that other do have.

“It’s almost impossible to be satisfied in your own life if you’re constantly looking at what someone else has.” Rachael Cruze

The pursuit of things (possessions) begins to drive our pursuit of happiness, yet we see others around us who are happy with less. What is their secret?

“You are only a poor person if you are not happy with what you have.” Debasish Mridha

So, maybe, the secret is to refocus your pursuit of happiness away from things and onto something much more fulfilling. For we have been told in the Bible –

“Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

AND

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

We will not find happiness in the pursuit of possessions within the context of our short lives here on earth. Instead, we must believe in Jesus and accept the gift of eternal life that comes next. The happiness that comes next is a gift from God which comes from faith.  

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

So, keep the faith and in your beliefs find contentment and joy in accomplishing the things that your heart tells you to do to help others and sharing the good news.

Perhaps the best advice for us in this life comes from this anonymous quote –

“Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”

Maybe the words of that great philosopher, Groucho Marx, will help –

“Each morning when I open my eyes, I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.”

If you are reading this, that means that you woke up this morning. You got one more day. Be happy in it!

Leave a Comment » | faith, Inspiration | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Norm Werner

What difference will you be…

April 26, 2021

I saw a little slogan line in an on-line ad recently that struck a chord – “Be the difference…”

As I thought about it I wondered how one can be the difference and I was surprised that a flood of possible examples came to mind.

Just imagine that by wearing your mask in public, maintaining social distance, getting your vaccine shot and doing the other things that are recommended by the health experts, you were the reason that someone else didn’t get the COVID virus and die. You were the difference in their life.

There are so many other examples that come to mind. Maybe you are the one who stops to render assistance to someone in need. You are the difference in their life.

Maybe you are the one who provides a shoulder to cry on and words of comfort and support to someone who is grieving or perhaps has just been harmed. You are the difference in their life.

Perhaps without even realizing it, the way that you are living your life has become the role model for someone else and is helping them do the right things in their life. You are the difference in their life.

Maybe you have taken up a good cause and volunteered at a local organization, perhaps packaging and delivering food to shut-ins. For them you may be the only person that they get to talk to all day. You are the difference in their life.

I thought how much better it is if you are aware of the difference that you make and that doing so gives you a rewarding sense of fulfilling your purpose in life.

We are told in the Bible – “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” – Colossians 3:23-24

So, as you start a new day and a new week, perhaps you can add to your prayers a request that God make known to your what you purpose is in life and then give you the strength and perseverance to carry out that purpose and be the difference in someone’s life.

Remember what Jesus said to his disciples about helping others – “‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” – Matthew 25:40

Add this single thought to your prayers –“Lord let me be the difference today”.  You might just be surprised what a big difference you can make.

Be the difference…

2 Comments | faith, Inspiration | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Norm Werner

Look at life in a different way…

April 25, 2021

“When you look in a different way…you find different things.” – Kris Stanek. Stanek is co-author of a study by scientists at Ohio State University who recently discovered a small black hole that they dubbed “The Unicorn”, which is the closest black hole to Earth yet discovered. The Ohio State scientists looked at the distortion of a red gas giant star only 1500 light years from earth differently than previous observers had and proved the existence of the black hole that is paired with it is causing the distortion.

You don’t have to be a scientist to look at things and life differently. Rather than accept what at the time was the conventional wisdom about the distortion of the star, the Ohio State scientists postulated a different explanation, a different way of looking at it and set out to prove their theory.  

I was for a while on the board of our local Community Coalition group, a group whose mission is to try to keep kids off drugs and alcohol. We would occasionally participate in various health fairs in the area with a booth. One of the most popular things that we did in the booth involved a simulation of the effect of alcohol on vision. We used a special set of goggles with lenses that distort one’s vision the way being drunk can distort it. We asked the participants to place simple shaped pieces into the proper place in a board with cut outs for those pieces. They couldn’t do it, because the goggles distorted their view of the board and the pieces.

We all “see” life through various lenses that can distort how we see things. The lenses that we look at life thorough might be called our attitude towards life.  Some see life through the lenses of prejudices and hate. For them, life is a dark and angry place to be railed against. Some see life through the lenses of fear, uncertainly and doubt. For them life is a scary place, indeed. Many just see things with some form of “conventional wisdom” in mind, never stopping to challenge the source or accuracy of that wisdom.

It is not my intent here to go into depth about attitude and how it effects one’s view of life; but, rather, to raise the flag that it can have an impact and that one needs to stop and question why they are reacting to something or someone in a certain way. We all need to ask ourselves if we are looking at things through lenses that ae distorting our view – fear, hate, prejudice or some other lens. Then ask yourself if there is a different way to “see” the situation, maybe even from the perspective of the other person. Just stopping to question your own reaction or thoughts will force you to think about it before reacting. – and that is a good thing.

If you need a new way of looking at things, try this from the Bible –

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

Maybe having a little reminder close at hand would help. Many find those little bracelets with the letters WWJD embossed on them help. It is hard to come up with a hateful answer to the question, “What Would Jesus Do?”

If you look at life through the Jesus lens it will look a lot brighter to you and will become a happier place to be.

 What lenses will you look at life through today?

Leave a Comment » | faith, Inspiration | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Norm Werner

Be a different person today…

April 24, 2021

A quote that I’ve kept around in my collection of quotes to write about seemed very appropriate today – “It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” ― Lewis Carroll

Carroll was not thinking about the impact that the CORONA Virus pandemic would have on us all and certainly could not have foreseen the changes in us all caused by the George Floyd verdict; however, he puts in words a truth that many try to avoid accepting – there is no going back to the way it was, because we are all not the way that we were.

We hear a lot about “getting back to normal” when the virus pandemic is discussed, and it usually involves returning to the way things were before this all started. Yet, we know in our hearts that we can’t go back to the way things were. Just in the U.S. alone, we are missing almost 700,000 people that were there before all of this started, and over 3 million worldwide. That means there are over 3 million holes in “the way things were”; over 3 million opinions, actions and reactions missing from the way things were. We are all different people today because we are missing those people and our interactions with them.

You are a lot different if one of those missing people was a husband or wife, a parent or child, a relative or a close friend. Those holes loom larger as voids in the lives of those left behind. For those left behind, life is different today and they are different people today. There is no going back to the way it was for them.

We must all accept that there is no going back to the way is used to be and instead focus our energy on making the future look more like we would like it to be. We cannot change yesterday, but we still have time to influence tomorrow.

For a while, we must still observe the guidelines about wearing masks, washing our hands and social distancing. The pandemic isn’t over, yet; and, we must all get vaccinations. And, we can take steps to better control gun violence and we can do things to slow or reverse global warming. Those things have huge impacts on our lives, too. We can support police reforms and help in the fight against systemic racism and prejudice and hate of all types. In short, we can become different (better) people and not who we were yesterday or even today.

If you need a touchstone, something unchanging that you can cling to that is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow; look no further than to God and Jesus. We are told in the Bible

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)

AND

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Yes, we are all different today that we were yesterday; however, our faith can remain unchanged and that is a reassuring thing. Lean on your faith for the strength to get through this pandemic and to give you the resolve to move forward. We know that change is inevitable and that death is inevitable; however, we also know that death is not final and that gives us the hope and courage to face even that change.

From the shifting sands of uncertain change, climb on the solid rock of your faith and be safe. Be a different and better person today than you were yesterday.

1 Comment | faith, Inspiration | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Norm Werner

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »