‘Tis the season to spend

Christmas has traditional been the time of year to spend
With family, loved ones or friend
Their excess some would give or probably lend
This year, your time, how will you spend?

Others may spend time being grateful
For all the blessings, the many times God has been faithful
Perhaps bringing a little love to the hateful
A time relished by the peaceful


We all are spenders at one thing or another
What will you consume, fritter or squander?
How will you be spending it, I wonder?
Don’t make a blunder

For I have come to learn
There is so much to the meaning of the word ‘spend’
We could spend money to purchase gifts for ourselves or for others
For whom will you spend?

We could spend time doing specific activities
Embodied in the word ‘spend’ are exhaustion, discharging and completing
How will you be spending, what will you be discharging?

At the end of it all
Dog-tired, in their beds some will fall
Some bankrupt, will file
While others will be with child

Soon after the wine and dine
And you have spent your time
Be sure yourself you can find
An experience sublime

Whether you gave your money, time or kind
Spend time
Precious it is to the heart
And valuable to the mind

Say a word…Bring a little hope

I am amazed at just how many people these days could really use some encouragement.
It is only human nature that our spirits grow weary and faith faint, that is why the Prophet Isaiah said, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

I want you to know that regardless of your temporary state or your current ‘weather’ conditions. The sun is going to shine again. Be encouraged and be strong, God has not taken you this far to leave you. He is a friend to the friendless, father to the fatherless, a mother to the motherless and He cares about every one of us just the same.

I met a guy on the street a few years ago that felt like he was at the end of his rope. I shared a word of hope with him for just a few seconds. Four years later he stands to tell of his victory since that day. His story is one worthy of spreading to bring hope and purpose to other young men and women.

Today, someone might come to you for you to share a word and bring a little hope and a little light to their dark situation. Let us not become weary in well doing. The words you utter today could be just what someone needed to make it. Be encouraging and bring a little hope.

More than most - Be Inspired!

Christening Day

Sunday, December 14, 2008 on this ordinary day, in an ordinary church service our extra ordinary son was dedicated. Baby christening is a christian tradition we have always upheld in our family and community. In fact for most of Jamaica this is something parents do regardless of whether they are committed christians or not.

It is a special service where the child is offered up to God. In a similar way Jesus took the children and blessed them in the temple.

This day, for the first time our son was officially blessed by our minister, Rev. Albert Mais.

What looked like tear drops and crying, were merely him making it known that he was alive and well. Dressed in his white silk suit and boots to match, Joshua was ready to receive his blessings.

I wondered though just how much of what was happening he understood.

All in all, it was a blessed day and it was Joshua's day.

CONGRATULATIONS!

I know there were times when you certainly thought you couldn’t, you wouldn’t and perhaps shouldn’t.

Throughout the worrying moments; perhaps the pain, the tears, the sleepless nights and the battles you have had to fight. With all the skeptic voices shouting you can’t and you won’t, well you have done it.

You managed to swim against the tide, your success now can not be denied.

Whatever you didn’t know then, now you know, you surely can and you surely did it.

Congratulations!

No Sooner than - Revised

No sooner than I REALIZED that I was standing in the way of my own success
No sooner I succeeded

No sooner than I CHANGED my attitude towards my job
No sooner I found greater job satisfaction

No sooner than I LEARNT that the people who are impatient needs
My patience the most
No sooner I also became more patient with others

No sooner than I OBSERVED that whatever it is that we need we are going to find it difficult to give it
No sooner I tapped into a higher dimension of blessing by giving away what I needed

No sooner than I STOPPED making excuses for why some things just don’t work
No sooner I started resolving problems once considered ‘impossible’

No sooner than I STARTED a crusade to bring about a change
No sooner the change happened

No sooner than I ACCEPTED that the best leaders are indeed the best servants
No sooner I found great pleasure in helping others to discover the bigger purpose and meaning of their lives

No sooner than I PERFORMED my role with excellence
No sooner the world seemed a better place

No sooner than I BELIEVED it could work
No sooner did it happened

No sooner than I RECEIVED my Heavenly Father’s promise that He will provide my needs
No sooner I laid my worries down at His feet while on my knees

No sooner I REFUSED to judge and condemn others
No sooner I began seeing them through the eyes of God and without a tainted perception

No sooner than I LOVED others
No sooner love was returned to me multiplied

I realized it so I changed it, I learnt so I observed. I stopped to start afresh.
I accepted the terms so I needed to perform, I believed and so I received.
I refuse to yield power to the wrong forces because I love that which is righteous.
I now see sooner than later the power within my hands. Yes I can!

Love v Commitment

LOVE

has no boundaries

but

COMMITMENT

comes with limitations

Why are you being someone else?

I was reacting to how badly I was treated by a friend recently, but I soon realized that this wasn’t me at all. I was not being myself.
I wanted her to know how disappointed and hurt I was so I was reacting accordingly. My reactions were supposed to make her feel bad, ah! Or something like that.
The problem with that though is all that wasn’t me. That’s just not the way I behave or treat others.

Furthermore, I had a bigger, better role to play but because someone had done something to me which I didn’t like, I was now playing a minor role, a role totally different from the one God had ‘auditioned’ me for.

I then recognized that I was being distracted. In the wink of an eye I had made the wrongs right and moved on. The sooner I did, the sooner I started living again. My ill feelings, my hurt and my depression were all gone. It was an amazing change of attitude.

Whenever others do bad things to us, sometimes we behave the way we think we should respond and not necessarily the way we would want to. This has the tendency of creating greater conflict on the inside. So a small thing even appears much bigger than it really is. This internal struggle is a battle between the real you and the distracted you.

‘You are your worst enemy’, they say and this really embodies the struggle we face against ourselves.
These distractions come at us every now and again from all angles and in varying shapes and forms. Contended I am, having quit that other role, I am happier, free and I am enjoying the real me.

QUIET PLEASE! Healing Taking Place

Over the past few days I have been displaying this sign on my desk at work above my computer. Quite often we get a little cut and we seek to have the wound covered so it can go through the process of healing. Our aim is to protect it from festering into something else. But how often do we take steps to protect our emotional wounds from festering? It is possible that we feel hurt by things people say and do to us each day of our lives. However, if we are too easily offended, that is a matter all by itself for another time.

People will harm you today because of something you did or said to them 10 years ago. That is the power that unresolved, festered hurts will have over people’s lives. It controls your actions and your reactions. But I have been sieving my life and getting rid of both things and people who are toxic. It is a hard decision in some respects but a very important exercise. No one should go through life without doing this exercise every now and again.

As suspected it will take a little time to get the ‘toxic waste’ and residue out. This is similar to another emotional evaluation tool I created earlier this year called, “Emotional Inventory”.

I am not where I want to be and so I must make changes to my life in going looking forward to a new year. I am not perfect, on the contrary I am far from it. But God is faithful and He has promised to perfect that which concerns me. So as I am going through my healing, it is very important that I let others understand that.

The emotional scars we carry can do far more damage than a little cut on the finger or a cut on the forehead. So if you happen to pass by me, do not be alarmed, just remember to be quiet! - healing taking place

More than enough vs not enough

I thought I was sufficiently and adequately qualified to earn enough but it was just not enough, no never enough.

I figured with all my knowledge and experience I would be able to run my finances, but that was just not enough either.

I felt like I had a good handle on relating to others and had very good ingredients for creating and maintaining healthy and long lasting relationships, but again I was wrong, I just did not have enough.

I thought if I was nice, polite and kind to everyone then they in return would be nice, polite and kind to me. Well, that was the case most of the time, but still not enough.

I felt I had it within me to tackle my inadequacies, my fears and worries, YES! What I had was good enough to a point, after that it was just not good enough.

I knew my dreams and aspirations were many but in comparison to God’s perfect plan for me, my wishes were so small, less than enough.

I knew that the only way to please God was through faith, without which it is impossible to please Him. So I was able to believe and trust Him for the smaller things and surely he provided those but I thought God couldn’t handle the bigger stuff. I soon realized that once the problems grew bigger my faith and belief was not enough not even a mustard seed size.

So as I came to know Jesus more and more and trusted Him as my Lord and Saviour, I now turn over my finances to Him, my relations, my dreams and plans, my fears, worries and shortcomings for He is more than enough. My faith believes in the impossible and today I know there is absolutely nothing faith in an all powerful, all knowing God cannot achieve.

I am glad I have learnt that he is truly more than enough. In a world hard pressed for more of everything, I know a God who is everything and He is more than enough.

In Christ Alone

The Way Home

When you have lost your way and have become weary of life do you know your way home?
If you allow the struggles and challenges to overburden you, eventually you also will become stressed and despondent. Does this sound like you?

Depressed?

Perhaps so as well

Well you are not alone...There are so many institutions, societies, churches, families, government and individuals who have totally lost their way. Issues which once were dear to our hearts have become far less significant. Moral standards have decayed and many have strayed. We defend the wrong as though our inheritance depended on it. The original purpose for which some things were created has been abhorrently compromised and we continue to make silly excuses.

How many things around you are actually working the way they ought to? Most certainly it is not a perfect world, we are not even close. I am not for one minute purporting that all is lost. But when we have lost our way and need to find our way home, then it cannot be business as usual. Some things must change.

The Prodigal son is one such story of hope, forgiveness and love. He left all the convenience and comfort of his father's house to champion life on his own. He was careless in his spending and immature in accepting certain responsibilities. He lost his way. He soon became poor and wanting. His ‘friends’ with whom he squandered his money turned their backs on him. He had become destitute, disgraceful and overcome by shame. Nonetheless, He never allowed that to stop him. He never gave up.

Instead he got up and decided it was time to journey home. Not surprising, he knew the way home. He knew he could raise his current standard; perhaps also return to his rightful place. His father was waiting, hoping for his safe return. Upon his return, he wanted to negotiate the terms, bargaining to be a servant as he thought that he was no longer worthy to be called a son. But his forgiving and loving father opened his arms and his heart and received his son which was lost. He was restored to his rightful place, a son.

When we have lost our way home, it puts us in a place where we can experience the power of love and forgiveness. It gives us an opportunity to make a new story of hope. Don’t give up even if it seems like all around is shattering. There is a way home; regardless of the facts facing you. There is hope. There is a way, you too can find your way home.

The story is really about the forgiving father. In a similar way our Heavenly Father loves and forgives us once we are willing to come home. You too should love and forgive others so God's best can be done in their lives and also in yours.

Have a good walk today.

You shouldn’t get upset today

Today someone is going to say or do something to make you upset.
My advice is that you plan ahead how you will respond. As difficult though it may seem, if we dwell on a thought long enough and hard enough it will eventually dictate how we act. These actions will over time become habits and these habits will become our way of life.

I am now more than ever convinced that there are some folks who derive pleasure from being miserable and causing misery for others. How is that? I really don’t understand. There is however a saying that misery loves misery.

If you are like me, then you like to be happy and you like it when others are happy. Let us therefore dwell on the good. Deal firmly with the negatives, but do not dwell on them. Whatever you dwell on you also magnify and that way it always appear bigger than it really is.

Thinking About You

There are some people that we think about every once in a while, some occasionally and others some times. But there are those we think about all the time, they are just always on our mind. You are one such person.

Living Your Dreams

We all aim to finally live our dreams. We all had our dreams as children; Things that we held dear to our hearts. Is it that with the passing of time our dreams are less important or is that with the reality of life our dreams seem less practical?

Healing in a mother’s kiss

I recall how many times as a little boy I fell on the ground and bruised my knees or my hands. The screams of pain would then summon the attention of both my parents and siblings. My mother would then pick me up and after offering words of comfort such as, “hush my baby”
“What happened to my baby?”
“Never mind”

She would take me in her arms and carefully examined the injury, then without offering any other form of relief she would ask where was hurting and much to my pleasure then kiss the spot with her lips.

Wow! This action had the tremendous power of soothing what ails me. The pain was still there and the bruise was quite evident, but just to know my mother took the time to offer her love and care in time of pain made a world of difference.

Today I often wonder just how badly children are affected when they are bred without this type of love, care and nurturing. Is it that they will become callous and cold? I wonder?

I can speak of a mother’s healing touch and kiss, but above all I pray for those who badly need it.

10 Things that make me smile

Seeing my little two-month old son smiling

Hearing the pattering of the raindrops on the top of the roof just when I am about ready to go to bed

Whenever my eyes make four with a friend who is close by in the same room

When I walk through the door at home and my wife offers me a cold beverage

Meeting people

Remember a joke from last week or even yesterday

The sound of little children at play

A beautiful sunset or sunrise

Witnessing someone doing a kind gesture to another, such as helping an elderly lady to cross the street.

Just to think that God really loves me

Can you think of ten things which make you smile?

Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor

If you have ever felt sad because you believed you should have been a little more appreciated for your hard work and efforts, then this is for you. Today I sat down at my desk feeling rather hurt over the fact that I was being taken for granted in all sphere of my life. I didn’t cry, but I was almost there.

I have finally found out what is my ghost, the feeling of being used and unappreciated.

I use to be giving without grudging, helping without complaining and loving without wanting. I recall several years ago I would hear comments such as, “You are too willing and giving”. “You are fattening the chicken for the mongoose,” and so forth.
My thinking and Christian ideals were being infiltrated by others who were either abused or hurt in the past while they gave themselves to others or a cause and so they believe I should put up a wall too; suggesting again and again that I should restrain my giving and put more of self in my living.

The truth is though; we all like to feel rewarded for our efforts and accomplishments. This may be part of the reason why I take time out to celebrate once I have achieved a milestone in my life. I know there are several other reasons why we should pause and celebrate our accomplishments. But by doing it myself I relinquish the desire of having others shower me with appreciation.

Furthermore, I am deeply encouraged by the passage of scripture in the bible which says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” – Ecclesiastes. 9:10

Part of the greed and selfishness that have taken over the world is that we no longer hold some of these essential life style practices close to our hearts. When I was growing up, regardless of whether you were a Christian or not, the fear of God was evident. We gave with no strings attached and our neighbor’s joy was our own.

So I felt bad for a good portion of the time until I saw the title verse in an email a friend had sent me earlier this week. “Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor”. – 1 Corinthians 10: 24

There are some of us who require the appreciation of others to go on. It is our engine to keep us going. Then there are those who are very unkind and would use you at every opportunity without ever expressing a heart of gratitude. They too must adhere to these wise words of guidance from Paul.

Finally here is something that I have held dear to my heart and I guess it is time to renew its purpose in my life:

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Charting a Different Path

Sometimes getting lost is the only way some of us will ever try a new path.
Copy right (c) 2008. J.D. Gordon. All rights reserved

The Birth of a New Dawn

Today births the dawn of a new day, filled with mystery and wide ranging bandwidths of endless possibilities. Today gives us a chance to change the returns we reap from tomorrow. These twenty-four hours give us whatever we are willing to take from it. It is a new day, having traveled a long way; we still can hope for yet a better day.

Yes we can.

Copy right (c) 2008 J.D. Gordon. All rights reserved