Nick’s Walk

For the first time in many years I cut my grass yesterday. Earlier in the week my yard guy retired and I decided to take up the task myself. It was hot and dusty and great. There was great satisfaction in seeing an unruly lawn transform into something neat. Besides, the smell of cut grass is great. I suspect it won’t be as rewarding in late August, but we’ll see. My usual job is pretty much like most jobs these days. There isn’t much chance to see something produced. I mostly push paper, not even so much paper these days as emails and pdf files. It’s rare that I can see something I did and can be proud of. This year in addition to our usual spring flower planting, we planted a small vegetable garden. It has been fascinating to see the plants produce. We were intended to maintain the earth and to produce. Modern life has stolen some of that from us. I didn’t cut the grass alone. My grandson helped. He finished up what I started and I sat in a rocker on the porch and watch the great young man he is becoming. It’s a different […]

Matthew 5:10: “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” If we aren’t being persecuted, we are doing something wrong. More likely, we are not doing something that we should: sharing. Are we yielding ourselves to God to be used by bringing  this Good News (the Gospel) to others, both by our examples and our words. Remember that we all have wonderful gifts from God whether we perceive ourselves as weak, strong or in between. Always remember that God never wastes a hurt! And, He will not waste yours. The Bible shows us that God often does His Best Work through weak people. WHY DOES GOD ALLOW PAIN: Here are the Big Four Reasons. GOD HAS GIVEN US FREE WILL: We are created in His Own Image. This gives us the freedom to choose. We can choose right or wrong, good or bad, life or death. We can accept God or reject Him. Our free will is a blessing and a burden. We often choose what we perceive as pleasure over pain; however, that pleasure can cause immense pain to us and others, and our relationship with God. But, it is our choice! Our choices can […]

Blessed are those who Hunger & Thirst for Righteousness Keeping our hunger and thirst for righteousness means maintaining momentum. Why do we need to Maintain Momentum? Growth is never smooth. If we don’t keep our guard up, we can easily fall back into our old self-defeating patterns. Remember what the cartoon character “Pogo” said when he saw himself in the mirror, “We have seen the enemy, and it is US!” Failing to keep up momentum is setting ourselves up for RELAPSE. COMPLACENCY- our pain level has been reduced [not eliminated], and we think we can live with it. CONFUSION – start lying to ourselves with rationalization, justification, minimization and defending. “Maybe my problem really wasn’t that bad.” COMPROMISE – start going back to the places of temptation. Returning to the risky situation that got us into trouble. When we put ourselves in risky situations, we make poor choices. CATASTROPHE – When we actually give in to the old hurt, habit or hang-up. Hate, resentments and old patterns of behavior. Acting out again THE 4 CAUSES OF RELAPSE: WE REVERT TO OUT OWN WILLPOWER -Taking control of the helm of our ship. WE IGNORE ONE OF THE CHOICES – maybe we think we can’t forgive, or that […]

Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are those who are merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” And, Matthew 5:9, ” Blessed are those who are peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” We’ve just completed Father’s Day, a wonderful day for most, but a tough day for many. All father/child relationships aren’t great. Maybe it’s time to do something about that and any other relationships that are painfully broken. We can only do our part, but we can at least do that. REPAIRING RELATIONSHIPS BY FORGIVING THOSE WHO’VE HURT YOU There are at least three reasons, and they all benefit YOU! Because God Has Forgiven You. People that feel forgiven have an easier time forgiving. Because Resentment Doesn’t Work! Holding on to resentment is unreasonable, unhelpful and unhealthy. You are hurting yourself with your anger. You are drinking the poison and expecting someone else to die. It is unhealthy to have a bitter heart. It takes the joy out of life, adds stress and lets you sit in misery. It’s an emotional poison with physical consequences. Bitterness and Resentment drains you physically and emotionally leading to depression, stress and fatigue. Because You’ll Need Forgiveness In The Future! Resentment blocks you from God’s Forgiveness. When we say the […]

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.’1” Matt 5:6. Breaking Bad was one of the most popular television series of recent years. It’s the story of a mild mannered high school chemistry teacher whose decision to start cooking meth was the first of many bad decisions that lead him down a very very bad road. We all have things about us, character defects, that we need to change. Isn’t it time to start Breaking Good by changing our decisions and by making better choices?   WHERE DO OUR CHARACTER DEFECTS COME FROM? Our Chromosomes: From your mother and father you received about 2,000 chromosomes from each. Positive and negative traits or characteristics. However, this doesn’t excuse you from acting act in self-defeating conduct. You are ultimately responsible for YOUR CONDUCT! Our genetics can contribute to our character defects, but they do not give us excuses. They do provide us with some understanding. If you are born with a defect in your brain that allows you to become an alcoholic, you can understand the physiology of the disease; however, you can no longer drink alcoholic beverages. Our Circumstances: Much of our childhood history and life’s circumstances have contributed to our […]

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God Matt. 5:4 Confession is go for the soul. I remember as a good Catholic kid getting ready to go to confession and polishing up my “sins.” Sometimes I really had to stretch to come up with some. I wouldn’t have to do that today. I have plenty to confess. There is much I feel guilty about. Getting rid of guilt isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. Guilt Destroys Our Confidence!   The two cannot exists in the same person. Guilt is a dark cloud hanging over our head wherein we are worried that someone will find the skeleton in our closet that deep, dark secret that only we know about. It literally robs us of our confidence. Guilt Damages Our Relationships!   It sabotages them by causing us to respond in harmful ways. Overreaction because of anger or impatience, or rage out of some buried guilt.   It causes us to indulge people unwisely. Parents that feel guilty over poor choices over indulge their children. It causes us to avoid commitments. Guilt Keeps Us Stuck in The Past!   It’s like driving a car, and we are always looking in the rear view mirror. We never see the present or look forward to […]

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5. Remember the “God is my Co-Pilot” bumper stickers?   After we realize that we are not God and that there is a good God who loves us and has our best interest at hearts, we can tend to treat Him like our co-pilot. We call on Him when we get lost or crash our plane. Like a loving parents, He will often bail us out. Sometimes, like a good parent, He will let us suffer the consequences of our mistakes. Eventually, He hopes we will choose to make Him pilot, not just co-pilot. This is the COMMITMENT CHOICE. We must  consciously choose to commit all of our life and will to Jesus Christ’s care and control, or in some cases, we make a renewed commitment to let go of our lives and give them over to Christ’s care and control. If we don’t, we will catch ourselves in a Cycle of Despair where we start feeling GUILTY about our behavior and the mess we have created; then we get ANGRY at ourselves for not being able to change; then the anger turns to the FEAR that things are never going to change; […]

“Blessed are those that morn, for they shall be comforted.” Matt 5:4.  Once we realize that we are not God, we mourn that loss of control.We need to learn about the one who is God, that He is in control, loves us, cares for us, and has the power to change us. God is so much better at being God than we ever were. It’s a process, a journey from mourning to joy.  Isaiah 61:3 “To all who mourn in Israel, he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the LORD has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.” It’s a painful process. Pain lets us know something is seriously wrong and needs our attention. Pain is literally God’s Fire Alarm. However, when our internal fire alarm goes off, we tend to cover up the sound. We try to mute it with people, work, food, alcohol, sex and many things. If you ignore your home’s fire alarm, your house may burn down. It’s the same with your Spiritual, Mental, Emotional and Physical needs. At this point, remember that just because God allows pain into your life, doesn’t mean God causes it. Pain is often the consequence […]