Breaking Through The Clouds

"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." - Carl Jung

I was flying into a city recently on a business trip and for a good bit of time near the end of the flight we were flying within the clouds. We knew rain was evident at our landing site and that a runway would appear beneath the wings eventually. As we got closer and closer, the noises associated with a landing started to occur.

Yet there was no sign of a safe runway coming into view.

All of the right things were happening. The flight attendants were checking the safety of our seat belts. Our seat backs were pulled forward and tray tables properly locked. There were laptop devices turned off and each carefully stowed away.

But still no runway in sight.

We had everything right and now all we could do was trust that our designated place to land would soon appear. There was no panic and no cause for concern as we each had faith in the planned nature and training of our pilot.

As we broke through the bottom of the clouds, the runway suddenly appeared. It happened rather quickly and closely I might add. A normal landing had occurred and our plane braked to slow our speed.

Life can throw at us a moment of wondering.

- Will the clouds ever part?
- Will I ever get through this issue?
- Will the goal ever be achieved?

The answer is yes to all of them. You will get through the clouded view you find yourself in. Trust your ability to keep moving towards your destination.

- The journey will not always be clear skies.
- The journey will not be without bumps along the way.

Trust that as you enter the cloud bank, success resides on the other side. And stay inspired my friends.

No Matter the Rain

"Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe. It is not enough that a thing be possible for it to be believed." - Voltaire

You are driving down the road on a late summer afternoon.

The days have been filled with hot and humid conditions.

This day you hope that those gathering clouds create a cool rain to break the heat.

A sharp jagged lightening bolt and loud thunder shuddering the peaceful day.

A few droplets of rain and then it happens, a seemingly impenetrable wall of rain.

You drive into it, car wipers swooshing like mad.

And you drive on knowing and having faith the road continues out in front of you. You maintain belief in the road being there and your ability to maneuver through even a heavy down pour of rain.

Our journey in life is like this at times.

We encounter a wall of rain that obscures the view of our path ahead. But we keep moving forward, trusting your instincts; trusting your knowledge that you can get through to the other side.

With trust and faith in your ability, nothing is impossible.

I didn't say easy, but all things are possible with a firm faith in self. So keep moving forward, keep looking through the rain which gets in the way. The rain will end, the clouds will part and a blue sky will appear.

Just keep moving, step by step, faith upon faith.

Stay inspired my friends!

Pressing Through

"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength." - Author Unknown

There are days in which we battle a seemingly endless fight against circumstances. The constant struggle to overcome and achieve goodness in our life can seem lonely. Other people may provide sympathy or recommend that you quit trying, while there are others whom offer encouragement.

The struggle still remains your own.

But are you truly alone in your fight to 'keep it together'? My belief has always been that a higher power exists and is there, giving me strength and support to work through all of it. For me, my faith allows me to press through when the 'chips are down'. For others, belief and faith may come from something else.

It is this spirit of support that exists to help and give you strength when it seems no one else is. You can draw from the encouragement of others to persevere. Which is a good reason to seek out encouragement and advice from both the spirit you believe in and other people.

I am not trying to go off into some 'new age' healing speech here. What I am saying is that you can draw strength from many sources even when it seems none exist. When you push through, the results will astound you. The success and wisdom gained will serve you well when circumstance befalls you again.

And circumstance will befall you again most likely, that is just 'life' happening.

I have faith in all that you can do and chances are pretty good that I don't even know you. That is how much belief I have in the ability of the human spirit to succeed. Be encouraged and comforted in knowing that many others also believe in you. Draw strength from it and you will find your path to the other side of circumstance.

Stay inspired my friends.

Faith Through the Rain

"Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe. It is not enough that a thing be possible for it to be believed." ~ Voltaire

You are driving down the road on a late summer afternoon. The days have been filled with hot and humid conditions. This day you hope that those clouds gathering create a cool rain to break the heat.

A jagged lightning bolt and loud thunder shudders the peaceful day.

A few droplets of rain and then it happens, a seemingly impenetrable wall of rain. You drive into it, the wipers swooshing like mad. But you drive on knowing and with faith that the road continues. You believe in the road being there and your ability to maneuver even in this heavy down pour.

Your journey in life is like this at times.

You encounter a wall of rain that obscures your view of the path ahead. But you keep moving forward, trusting your instincts; trusting your knowledge that you can get through to the other side.

When you trust and have faith in your ability, nothing is impossible.

I didn't say easy, but all things are possible with a firm faith in self. Keep moving forward, keep looking through the rain that gets in the way. The rain will end, the clouds will part and a blue sky will appear. Just keep moving, step by step, faith by faith.

Stay inspired my friends.

Ride the River

Carolyn Derstine

“Life is like the river, sometimes it sweeps you gently along and sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere.” ― Emma Smith

Life feels very melancholy these days as a good friend battles most bravely against illness. The strength of his faith is an inspiration to me and is an example for many to learn from.

With no promise and no guarantee of what your outcome will be, faith is very powerful.

Faith helps ease the many transitions we go through in life. It gets us through the harsh river rapids of circumstance we each go through. Some might call faith a way for the heart to trick our intellect into submission.

I believe it is our heart and intellect coming into agreement, allowing us to float more peacefully down the river.

Floatin' down that old river boy, leaves me feelin' good inside,
Floatin' down that old river boy, tryin' to get to the other side.
"Ride The River" - JJ Cale

Stay inspired my friends.

Stepping Into Darkness

"When you get to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly." - Edward Teller

There are moments we are confronted with a challenge in life. It could be a job loss, an issue with children or health. It is a moment that challenges us with a decision.

Will you step into that darkness to confront the challenge?

Will you have faith to make that next step into the unknown? Or will you stop cold in your footsteps hold onto the light, never to get past your fear?

To overcome, there will be these moments of decision.

Trust in your self and walk boldly beyond the light into the unknown. Confront the challenge in order to overcome it. With boldness, trust and faith, you will be taken to a new place beyond the darkness.

Have faith in what you can do. Move forward through the darkness to find daylight in your life. And stay inspired my friends.

What Is His Name

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” ― Charles Dickens

I wish for you to allow me to indulge my faith this time of year. For you see it is my belief his name is Jesus. And as common as I am in this world, so it is that he came to us.



Stay inspired my friends.

My Faith In You

"Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof." -Khalil Gibran

Just having one of those weeks and if not for my wonderful wife Laura...just not sure what I would do. Stay inspired my friends.

Expressing Faith

"Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand." -Thomas Aquinas

There we were in west central Portugal, visiting one of the sites at which a Marian apparition had occurred. This place, recognized by the Catholic Church, was built after three children reported seeing several times the Virgin Mary (reference your Bible) in a field called Cova da Iria. The place I refer to is called the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.

The town of Fatima is located about 90 miles north of Lisbon, Portugal. A small village of no other real historical significance is host to this wonderful religious shrine visited by millions each year. The complex is quite large and very inspirational to visit.

What was intriguing about our own visit was the way in which people displayed their spiritual faith. I learned that people will pilgrimage to this place when they have dire needs in their life. Situations such as disease, or problems regarding birth and some even regarding academic tests coming up. As they make their way, they do so to make promises to the Virgin Mary or God.

The making of the promise normally includes walking by foot hundreds of miles by foot. But many will also cross the sanctuary grounds to the sanctuary, and across its marble floors upon their knees. Yes, walking upon their knees, across the pebble-laced dirt paths, ashpalt courtyard, stone steps and floors. You can see the pain upon their face, in some cases the bleeding knees, all for the sake of their faith.

It had me wondering about the sanity of these people. What could possibly be going through their minds to believe in such a way? I than began to wonder how other people expressed their faith and how I myself express my own faith. Displays of faith are truly in the eyes of the beholder one could suppose. In the Bible it is written (Matthew 5:16) in which Jesus said "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

To take that literally tells me that there are many different ways in which to show that faith. Various practices, that I won't go into detail here are;

• Jewish Kaparot
• Exorcism
• Shamanism
• Mormon Baptism of the Dead
• Islamic Niqab
• Jehovah’s Witnesses Refusal of Blood Transfusions

To those that express these customs or beliefs, the act of faith is quite normal. Is it any more strange that Catholics believe the communion sacrament (eating of the body of Christ and drinking of His blood, represented by small bread wafers and grape juice) is any less odd than the speaking of tongues in many Charismatic churches? Every religion has developed their own methods and means of expressing faith and belief in God.

Again, as written in Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." So whether we are singing loudly in praise, laying on of hands, reciting scriptural passages over and over, or even walking on our knees; the way in which we practice our faith is a personal one. It is our learned way, right or wrong to the rest of the world, in which we connect with God.

We could certainly take this discussion off into some very deep theological paths. We could certainly discuss what we believe is non-scriptural or harmful. What I am really interested in discussing is that we are different in how we express our beliefs. In the finality of our own lives, our death becomes very personal with our God. The way in which we expressed our faith and belief in God will be accounted for at that time.

So express faith in your most honest and learned way possible. My hope is that by doing so we can each connect with God in such a way that makes life in the natural a deep and rewarding experience.

What Me Worry

"It makes no sense to worry about things you have no control over because there's nothing you can do about them, and why worry about things you do control? The activity of worrying keeps you immobilized." -Wayne Dyer

Recently a college graduation occurred in my family. A son earned his degree from the University of Georgia. It was a great time having most of our family together to celebrate this achievement. Another flight from the nest to greater destinations has begun.

It brings to mind as a parent the worry we continue to have through out our children's lives. We worry that they are healthy, getting enough to eat, shelter, clothing and the basic needs of life. We would love to care for them continually but letting them struggle and learn on their own teaches them even more. But we continue to worry none-the-less about such things.

My older children in their own way are working through their lives much like we did when younger and still do. It would be nice to take Alfred E. Neuman's worry-free view of life. The reality is that we will always worry on various levels. Its a human character to care not only for oneself but for others. The care we have for our children will always have worry.

But this worry is out weighed by our happiness for what they are doing with their lives. The joy of seeing first flight into the blue sky swells our hearts with pride. While we know that tumbles will occur, life will do them just fine.

As parents, we will worry and be there to share in the accomplishments, in the sorrows and in the glory of the life they live. I can not say don't worry. Heck, I worry about the lives of my children. But I get more joy out of each little thing they do.

I would much rather live the "what me worry" but that part will always be there. Worry, worry, worry...but do more then worry. Be proud of them more then worry. Respect their decisions more then worry. Be happy for them more then worry for them. Love them and don't worry so much.

Firsts

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

I really want to apologize to my regular readers for my lack of updates this past week. My wife and I have had a great pleasure being with one of our daughters and her husband during the birth of their first child. Truly a miraculous event for anyone but always individually special.

Our new grand-daughter is not our first grand-child, but each one feels like the first. It is something I never cease to be amazed by how wonderfully beautiful and inspiring a birth brings to everyone involved. Each birth is of course the gazillionth birth, but each is a first as well.

I was brought to mind by my daughter of her child's first of firsts. We were visiting her husbands parents and as we got on the elevator, she commented that this was her daughter's 'first' elevator ride. There will also be the first foot steps, first words and first skinned knee.

After arriving back at our hotel, I looked out the window at the I-405 freeway near our hotel. It was a stream of red lights and white lights traveling south and north along this ribbon of pavement. I could only think that one day this darling little girl will have her first drive down this busy stretch of road.

The thought of it shook me a little bit. But I also know that faith in life's firsts means some level of unknown must be accepted. I can try to look way down the road of time and worry about it. Or I can take faith in my first step of just allowing her to be a new born. I can have faith that with the wonderful guidance of her parents, grand-parents and good people around her will clear her path in life.

There will be those moments that each of us encounter. There will be those "skinned knees" each of us get. But we will never get a skinned knee, we will never get any where in life unless we step out in faith.

Unknown events will lay in wait for each of us in our life. But you will never experience life without those firsts that each of us have to encounter. My grand-daughter will get to experience many firsts in her life. You will continue to experience firsts in your life. Simply go forth and experience them with faith.

Faith and Fact

“Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.” -Richard Dawkins

Well here it goes, I'm venturing off into an area in which I will likely disgruntle a few people. The quote I'm using today is meant to spur a conversation and Richard Dawkins, a biological theorist and well publicized atheist, may just start one.

My use of the quote came to mind after spending some time with a friend whom is in the hospital. An accident at home left him with a bum shoulder that was not getting better with physical therapy. The medical specialist made a decision that based upon the continued symptoms, shoulder arthroscopic surgery would fix the issue. It seemed to me that the doctor was going based on faith in his experience only.

No MRI, no further tests, just go in and see what we can find. I call that exploratory as opposed to having a fact-based plan. It was simple faith in his ability to explore and discover which drove his surgical plan.

Once in the shoulder, more invasive steps were needed to open up the shoulder to try and repair. As the surgery proceeded, it became clear that no repair could occur and shoulder reconstruction would be required. So my friend will wait for this most current surgery to heal and have faith that a future surgery will resolve the injury.

His faith or belief will sustain him and push him towards having that reconstructive surgery. Only then will fact come into reality with either success or failure of the surgical repairs. Both faith and fact enter into the decisions made. This is where I believe the connection exists between faith and fact.

People take many different paths to resolving the story of their life. Some take a route of faith for all answers and resolution. When those answers do not come to realization, then they either flounder or question their belief.

Others will take a pure fact based approach to everything. They depend only upon the science of the question to provide an answer. When fact can not explain something, there is nothing for them to lean on for a decision.

To me, life is a mixture of both faith and fact. While depending solely upon faith could be considered a 'cop-out', depending upon fact only can result in never having the urge to try anything new. There has to be a certain level of faith in the unknown. Some may call it "exploratory surgery" or a "search for facts". Faith gives you the drive to keep moving forward while you investigate the facts.

Religion or science, we are all searching for a truth. It is our human nature to reach for understanding in everything we are. Faith drives my willingness to continue that pursuit. It satisfies for now my wonderment of the unknown, the reason for our existence, how we developed to the point we are. Fact gives me pieces to that puzzle that I'm assembling for my life.

Together, fact and faith will guide me through my natural existence. Together they will help me live a life that I want to live.

Trust By Faith

"We're never so vulnerable than when we trust someone - but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy" -Walter Anderson

Yesterday I was listening to a local radio station and thought I had heard incorrectly. It was a advertisement for a security firm that effectively proposed that to trust someone, you need to spy on them. The wife was suspicious of her husband. As the commercial has it, she buys their equipment and finds out her husband was being truthful all along. She can now trust him, all is well.

Isn't the definition of trust; "a charge or duty imposed in faith or confidence or as a condition of some relationship." The whole concept of the commercial kind of amazed me. I assume this 'couple' would now have a long and wonderful relationship. As you may not notice, but I state that with full sarcasm. Additionally this is not meant to call out or criticize a radio station or it advertisers.

The mind set behind coming up with such a commercial does exist in people. There are those that have an inability to trust. It is likely that they have been hurt in the past or had people dishonor their trust. But how does one build trust without having faith?

Religion gets accused of promoting a blind faith in a God that can not be verified. It could be that some would like to have spy equipment to prove or disprove God's existence. Yet faith is what those believers, one I call myself, have in that existence and trust in that relationship. Again, I'm not here to debate God's existence.

What I do wish to state is that 'today' you build a relationship based upon faith in the other. You are opening yourself to the possibility of pain most certainly. But a deeper and more lasting relationship exists when trust is built on faith in the other person. Not by spying and tearing down that faith. Once you begin that process of verifying trust, the relationship is in big trouble.

The song you are listening to has a lyric which says, "I'm trusting You with all that I am." Do you trust your loved one based on faith or on some spy gadget? As I've said, the risk of getting hurt exists when the other person abuses that trust. But life is full of risk and when you get hurt, you get back up and keep moving. I know from experience about losing trust in someone, losing a love.

After dealing with the pain and working on my own issues, I opened up my heart again to trust another. Life did get better. Your life will get better.

Allow faith in another to be your guiding hand when it comes to trust. There will be signs when trust is broken, but lead with faith.

Faith As 'Proof Of Existence'

Those that regularly read my blog posts, I normally stay away from what some may call 'religious' speak. The following was on my heart and wanted to share with others. I am not trying to convert or preach to you in this piece, just sharing and allowing you to take what you might from it. So please allow me this little bit of leeway for today and as always, your comments are always welcome.

~~~~~

As our great pastors at C3 - Atlanta always do, they always preach on those things most relevant in my life. I guess that I should feel sorry for other members of the congregation as those sermons are always written for what is going on in my life. For that I apologize to each and every one of you.

This past Sunday (May 3, 2009) was no different in Pastor Dean Sweetman's return to the pulpit, speaking on faith as a tangible and real thing. All of my life I have had faith in a 'believing' sense of what I can not see, hear, touch, taste or smell. Those are most of the physical senses that we have and are those which give us 'proof of existence' in life. Yet I never thought of faith as having a substance to itself. It has always been just something I was supposed to have.

At this point, you may wonder about a man nearing the age of 50 and still questioning faith. It happens to all of us and we continually learn through out our lives. For me, I've always questioned and tried to learn more about my belief. Faith has never been in question, but the example of it being a bridge between the natural and the spiritual shines a new light for me.

Now why in the world would I need a new perspective on faith in my life? Well, my wife Laura and I have eight kids, three grand kids; both of us come from large families with aging parents. This doesn't make our circumstances any harder or more intriguing then anyone else. It simply makes us human and like you, we have our opportunities in life to get our faith tested.

With those tests of faith that we are working through, I have been searching for new inspiration on how to let faith work for us. It isn't enough to just say, "I believe and all will be well." God has expectations for us and so many times we will simply go to the natural. It is those things that I previously mentioned, the physical 'proof of existence' that we run to many times.

Yet the bridge of faith from physical to spiritual is just as real as anything we could touch or see. So it is this bridge that I am envisioning to help us achieve what God has called for us. If we step out in faith, knowing that the bridge will be there, even though we can not see it, keep walking and the bridge will appear. With each step I take, the stronger the connection of my faith to what God has planned for me becomes.

It will be the bridge of faith that gives me proof of God's love for me, for you and for all the world.

_

All For A Pair Of Pants

The story of a couple that were sued for $65 million dollars over a pair of pants - just unbelievable what can happen. Two pair of pants brought in for alteration, one pair completed on time and the other not quite ready. When the owner of the pants came back, he claimed they were not his.

When this customer wanted more than $1000 for the cost of a brand-new suit, the couple said no. The alteration was only $10.50...but the lawsuit was on. This couple won out in court through support of donations for lawyer fees which dragged on for more than two years.

Alas, the business was sold as the strain both financially and mentally wore them down. A couple put out of business, our society moves on all we can say is that issues get "overlawyered".

It is life throwing stuff at us that we just wouldn't expect. My hope is that the Chungs will recover both financially and personally. It is an enduring positive belief in themselves and in the goodness of others that will pull them to better times. When you find yourself in a tough spot, remember you're not alone. There are others that are suffering just as much if not more. You will get through the situation and move on.

Have faith and belief in others even with the oddity of a small number of people such as the Chungs encountered.

Hope For Tomorrow

The Entombment of Christ by Carravagio.

For Christians around the world, today is Good Friday. The day that remembers the crucifixion and death of Jesus at Calvary. This is a holy day observed by most Christian religions.
Mainstream Christian churches view Christ's crucifixion as a voluntary and vicarious act, and one by which, along with resurrection on the third day, death itself was conquered.

Others religions have their holy days as well, each of us with some central faith in purpose and meaning of our lives. Even non-religious people have their beliefs in some type of reasoning. We must have and hold onto the realities of life but we also have to create faith within ourselves. One that will allow us to look into the unknown, the future or to even set a goal for our life.

I normally do not bring my religious beliefs into full view within my writings. My wish is to have something to say to everyone of every dimension. To offer words of encouragement and hope to anyone that happens upon my site. Today though, I proudly display my religion and faith. For me, this weekend is about hope and faith in a greater tomorrow.

"It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away... and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple... Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together. Simon went right into the tomb. Then the other disciple also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture that he must rise from the dead." (John 20)

Faith Begins With One Step

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." This faith is one that you have to define. Mine is in a God and the fullness of what I believe he has to offer. Your faith may be defined in other ways, but to succeed in life, you do need to have something that will sustain and motivate you.

A friend of mine just recently found a new job after being out of work for many months. There were many things that life threw at his family over the course of this time. Health, money and home all were attacked by the troubles that plagued him. Many job interviews and coming so close yet being informed by the potential employer they had chosen a different direction.

Yet my friend maintained faith, perseverance, honor and his sense of humor. I'm sure during the quiet hours of night that depression would attempt to take hold. Yet he has weathered the deep canyon of life. When its walls seemed much too high to scale, he kept on and kept that faith. Today life is beginning to become more clear and the climb out of this deep area is becoming easier.

I'm sure he still feels that he has a long way to go. But from my viewpoint, he has come a very long distance already. I have great respect and admiration for this man as an example of carrying his faith the entire distance. To paraphrase from the quote above, "...the end doesn't have to be in site, just the beginning of the path." Begin your journey and if needed, pave your own path.

Have Faith

"When you get to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly." - Edward Teller



You must have faith in yourself and in your beliefs that all will work out. If not, you will never begin your first step down any path. Start your journey now and learn to believe and trust. Step out into the unknown and achieve.

-the artist is Kevin A. Williams