Face to Face

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Timothy S.

ImageDeep protruding eyes strongly fixed on me and beaming a presence of saying I am here with you. At first glance I think nothing of it and close my eyes again for I am enjoying a good night’s sleep. Not sure of what I just saw but knowing I saw something I open my bright eyes again as wide as they can get and the translucent face is over my bed staring at me. Brilliant, very pronounced dark eyes are piercing and hovering over my head as the rest of me lie snuggled under the covers. I am wide alert, holding back partially in fear/awe trying to discern what I am seeing. I am thrown into a state of disbelief. The image disappears as quickly as it showed up out of nowhere.

Wow!!! I am taken back in great awe. I am breathless for a moment. Did I just see Jesus?

The bodiless face appeared to be Jesus as He simply made eye contact with me. I say to myself, “I must be imagining things, maybe it was a dream, but I was awake. I am no visionary. This is not possible.”

Today, a month later, my Church has a guest speaker named Geoffrey Cohen. Mr. Cohen is talking about a Face to Face encounter with Christ. Cohen attended Hebrew school as a younger man and was brought up as an Orthodox Jew. He vehemently denied Christ as the Messiah. When a fellow soldier in the Army showed him a scripture in Psalm 22 (the Old Testament) that talked about “someone” having their hands and feet pierced as their garments are divided among them, the guy suggested the “someone” is Jesus Christ. Cohen, being an attorney likes to argue and believing Christ was just a man set out to prove this guy wrong.

Cohen’s research led him to Israel and to his surprise he had a “Face to Face’ encounter with Jesus himself while traveling the countryside of the Promised Land. He saw three separate visions of Christ walking towards him and the third time Christ stopped, turned His head and laid His eyes on Geoffrey. Cohen’s testimony reminds me of the recent vision I had of Christ looking at me. In my conversation and curious tone I often have with God, I asked God what He is saying to me. He instantly led me to check the verse of the day on my Iphone. An excerpt from Numbers 6:22-27 read the following:

“The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace” Numbers 6:22-27

I know God answered me as I looked at my phone in the sanctuary and saw the above scripture. Wanting confirmation it is God’s voice, when I get to my car I pull a scripture from my box of God’s promises. The scripture says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up (James 4:10). Bingo! How cool is it when God speaks clearly through both Testaments? With Him looking directly over me in my bed making eye-contact with me, I believe I am in Hissight. I am in the sight of the Lord! Amen!

The message is clear; God shined His face upon me

Thanks for reading and allowing me to share this delightful experience of a “Face to Face” encounter of Jesus I had on my journey. Be encouraged, be of good cheer. Draw close to God and He will draw close to you. I am no visionary but when God wants to show you something, I believe He will. Do you believe?

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Darkness on the Edge of Town.

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Timothy S.

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“Darkness on the Edge of Town”

Have you ever had a dark cloud over your head? It’s about to pour, pour unstoppable pellets of heaviness, disdain, disgust, loneliness, apathy, and an indescribable darkness. That darkness that Springsteen writes about on his famed 1978 album is not only on the edge of town, it is everywhere and you cannot escape it. Scientist gave it a name; it is called “Depression.”

Been there, I have that Tee-shirt in every size. It started back when I was a 2XL. My friends tell me I have a way with words yet I will not even attempt to capture with a pen the most painful moments of the living hell that depression casts upon a tortured soul. Even the most diabolical of words cannot describe such an awful event where one drowns in a dormant lake of never-ending pitiful sorrow and relentless grief.

So my friends, if you had the unfortunate displeasure to experience this sinister dark side or if you are experiencing it now, know that you are not alone and I understand you. Someone actually understanding me when it struck me was the only thing that gave me comfort during that horrific period. To protect the innocent, the person that gave me a moment of relief soothing the emotional pain although temporally, she shall remain unnamed. Maybe one day she will find this writing on the internet and know that she was an angel.

Me, as an eternal opTIMist and a fan of Norman Vincent Pearl’s book The Power of Positive Thinking, I ignorantly at one time thought depression was a sham and just an excuse for someone that was not filled with joy. How can anybody be depressed? I was always happy so I could not relate to such a notion called “depression”. I credited much of that happiness to my positive attitude and as a regular customer in the self-improvement section of Barnes and Noble. We can make up our own mind whether we choose to be happy or choose sadness. Right? Sure. That’s how I saw it too. So break out the Partridge Family Cd and “Come on get happy.”

Then one day it happened. OMG! It struck like a bat out of hell. I felt …… (I can’t put it into words). Wanting to know what the hell was wrong with me, Google led me to a self-diagnostic test on the all-knowing internet where I buried the needle on a 20 question idiot test confirming I am depressed. What a success I am, I scored off the charts! I quickly learned it is depression. I just stared at the computer screen as nothing happened. I expected it to say congratulations or something. No bells. No whistles. Nothing from the computer as it delivers bad news… just mutual blank stares between that large piece of plastic on my desk and me. A stupid computer monitor showed me my essence through a black and white window that I wanted to smash with a 9 Iron. I couldn’t even conjure up the thought to say, “Now what?” Disbelief, despair, misery…all wrapped into one. At least it made sense to me why I withdrew from everything and everybody. Zoloft became a new word for me in my vocabulary. That little yellow pill became as important to me as a fresh pile of coal to a steam-driven locomotive.

The real “Darkness on the edge of town” is not only on the edge of town somewhere, it is inside of you if you suffer from depression. It cuts deep into your soul, your inner psyche, your- everything… It resides in you like an edgy dull knife that remains plunged in your gut with a one way ticket into your torso and your only wish is that the knife was sharper and did its job.

Fast forward to today. Depression is history. One day I will write about it and how dehabiliating it can be. The reason I share this with you is:

  1. Let you know you are NOT alone. Other people feel this darkness and it is real.
  2. Let you know you WILL come out of it. It gets better I promise.
  3. Remind you, if you CRY out to God, He will rescue you sooner rather than later.

Good tidings I bring. You are not stuck and if you are, it is only temporary. You may feel like a Mack truck ran you over, and then slams on it breaks, as the heartless trucker quickly shifts all 18 wheels in reverse running you over a second time to make sure you feel like death warmed over with your spirit squashed, spilled out and left on a cold rainy deserted highway only to be blown away by the wind you do not even know is there. Reality becomes a hazy fog. You cannot see through it. The good news is, fog always dissipates and the sun comes out so hang onto your hat. I am living proof that people come out of it. You too can come out of it.

Hang tight. This is one place where clinging to Sir Winston Churchill’s speech is more than appropriate and necessary. In his short classic 1941 speech, he said over and over…never give in, never give up, never never give up. For someone with depression, those are the most prudent words one can hang onto.

I encourage you to never give up. It goes away, it is just a phase. A painful phase, yet just a phase. If I gave up, my three beautiful children would be fatherless and you would not be reading this article I am sharing with you. I share this true-story for no other purpose than to hopefully encourage you if you are stricken with this horrible condition or if you have a loved one that experiences this constant darkness. I am not a fan of clichés, but there is “Light at the end of the tunnel.” There really is.

On my journey, I learn depression is no sham. It is no joke. It is real. It downright sucks but I learned through the grace of God it goes away. I hated the experience of depression but as Romans 8:28 says, God will take these bad things and turn them for good to those that serve Him. For me, the good is, now I can hopefully help other people through a horrible season of torment by reminding them they it will be ok.

Sometimes that is all someone needs. Understanding. Reassurance. That person that came over to my house and held my hand and then told me she had depression, wow….I will always remember that feeling of true empathy. It did not heal me but momentarily it made me feel better that someone “got it”. They knew what I was going through.

There is light ahead. Look up, have faith. Never give up. Trust the Lord that it will be OK. I know what you are going through. There is no reason to feel ashamed. I get it. I am with you. I understand you. You have my empathy. I am on your side and God can heal you. Feel free to email me if you need reassurance. I promise you it will be ok, as long as you don’t give up. I am no Churchill. I am Just a Guy on A Journey but I plead for you to Never give up! You WILL be ok. You are NOT alone. Jesus loves you and so do I. Ok?

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A Bottle Cap and a Ram

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Timothy S.

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Scuttling down the street in my neighborhood I see in the parking lot the most colorful of all bottle caps gaining my attention. Quickly I am drawn in and pick up what once adorned an amber piece of glass drawn from a local Texas brewery and place it on display in my Bachelor-pad where I can easily view my new-found attraction.

Bashed, gnashed and smashed, the bright colors on this soft metal cap reflect an artist rendering of a ram’s head. Is it a message? Listening for God’s voice I hear nothing right away yet I believe there is a message here. Awareness of God’s omnipresence is the first step in hearing.

A few days later I learn a Ram is not only a Dodge pick-up truck battering along the Dallas/Fort Worth roads carrying loyal American-car-buying cowboys, it is also a male sheep. I guess I would have known that if the rabbit-eared television set presented a clearer picture while I watched the TV show “Wild Kingdom” back in the early 70’s as a young boy.

Currently preparing my move to a new city and also applying for a Master’s Degree in a totally new field, I am always seeking God’s guidance. I think of the Biblical message of Jesus as The Shepard and how He directs our paths and His sheep hear His voice.

I soon get led to the Book of John Chapter 10 through prayer. Opening without fail to the exact page where Jesus speaks about being The Good Shepard. I continue in expectant prayer requesting, “Lord let me hear only your voice and shut out any voices that are not of You.”

A short two hours later my friend Jeff (actual name used to protect the righteous) out of the blue yet with no irony text me this exact Bible verse. “My sheep know my voice, I know them and they follow me.” John 10:27

Knowing Whose Word this really is, my heart smiles wide.

I am like ok, that is super cool since there are approximately 30,000 different Bible verses my buddy Jeff could have sent me in an unsolicited text. I know with confidence Who had him send this one. Coincidence right? Yeah, right.

I love the one in a point 00003 chance when it delivers on time and the winning ticket is in my hand. Thirty thousand -to-one odds. The casinos will gladly pay $30,000 on a one dollar bet with those odds.

Later that evening I tell this story to some friends and I said God may just say it a third time today, the day is not over. I bring this thought to Jesus Himself, “It would be so cool if a third message comes to me today about hearing Your voice. I love hearing from You.”

Well, by golly, to my pleasant surprise I randomly pull an old book off the shelf for my evening night-cap. Tucked inside the pages are a shaded green bulletin from a church (ccob.org) I attended when I lived in New Jersey.

Guess what is on the front cover of this informational brochure?
Yes! You are right. Sheep. A picture of sheep on an unknown journey. They are being led. In fourteen point bold lettering are Words from John 10:3-4. “… He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out…He goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”

He did it. God never wants me to doubt what voice is His so sometimes He clobbers me over the head with His message. Can this message be any clearer? He said the sheep hear my voice.

I used to believe once, twice, three times a lady. Three times the same message from three different delivery methods yet all three are trackable to the same consistent source of God’s truthful Word. This is not a Lionel Ritchie song. This is clearly God speaking.

This is real important to me because I am not a believer in many coincidences and I need to discern what is of God or some other spirit.
“Spirit in the Night” is a great Springsteen tune but not one I am willing to take direction from.

God promises He will guide our paths and when we seek Him, we will find Him.

I found Him and I am more than thrilled He found me, loves me and leads me. I may not be only “just a guy on a journey” but just a sheep on a journey and with God as my Shepard I am more than ok with that.

What’s on your bottle cap?

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Meet the Day

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Timothy S.

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Meet the Day.

Paul McCartney woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across his head. Well…at least I woke up. The best part of waking up is not only sipping caffeine extracted from coffee-beans in my cup and the delightful aroma it dispels, it is a start to a brand-new day. Praise God!

Did your week start off wrong on Monday? Did you screw up yesterday? I did. I always do but I am given a new day each day for an unknown amount of time so I am grabbing each day like a cowboy grabs a bull by the horns squeezing every ounce of strength from each day.

Who cares about yesterday? Yesterday is over. Today is a new slate, clean and ready for your fill. A fresh-beginning. The birds are chirping, the air is still and is freshly loaded with tasteful oxygen.
Enough oxygen to feed this beating heart that pumps constantly looking to grow each day in relationship with my loving Lord Jesus Christ and expel constant joy, love, and peace amongst my brothers and sisters of this breath-filled world.

I remember my Statistics teacher and often his qoute comes to mind from twenty-five years ago, when he said, “Consistency is the mark of an interesting mind.” If Professor Dr.Loeb is correct, my mind is interesting because I consistently fail at getting the most out of each day but TODAY IS A NEW DAY!

Failure stimulates greatness. When you look at yesterday and say I am not going to do that again and you give your new day a fresh shot in the arm and spring out of bed, greatness abounds!

What’s on the other side of failure and bad habits? Of course the answer is success and good habits. Part of success is living each day to the fullest, meeting responsibilities , enjoying life, starting over, and spreading love and kindness.

Get up! Jump out of bed. Face the day with great optimism. It’s a new day. Start over. Even if the morning was bad, you can make the afternoon good and the evening shine with a glow of freshness on your face radiating an attitude of “I did it. I made it a great day.” I can do it and you can do it too.

Don’t let anything keep you down. Ask God for strength and courage and as the Company Commander says in boot camp long before the sun even comes up…”POP TALL!!!!”

Jump up on the line, stand proudly. Stand with your back straight up and erect. Stand tall in the walk of life.
Do what the “Man in Black” Johnny Cash did. Walk the line with great confidence, optimism and the knowledge you are a child of the “King of Kings” and that alone my love is a reason enough to meet the day joyously shouting, “Bring it on, I am ready!” It’s a new day. Meet the day, meet today. This guy on a journey is ready, are you?

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CaliFIRMation

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Timothy S.

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Standing confidently before my God in expectant prayer at a cheesy Southern motel, I ask Him for yet another confirmation about my recent decision to move west again.
I had just given my written notice to my landlord that I will not be renewing my lease although I completely love my life and friends in Texas.

As I said, expectant prayer. Moving another 1500 miles again, I just wanted extra confirmation from God that I am doing the right thing. The Lord placed on my heart to move to California after my one year stay in Dallas, so I trust I am doing the right thing and hearing Him correctly.

California is huge and a certain area pulls me the same way the moon directs the tide, on course and on purpose. I just do not know the purpose yet. The needle on my internal compass strongly points due west with a slight touch of North.

During my prayer, the television in the background broadcasts a “Visit California”commercial and the sound waves emanate “California, come here now.” I love when God orders certain events and messages for me to receive when I am in His presence.

I am like…ok God. My ears are wide open. I hear you, I know you want me out West but what city?

The next day in Huntsville, Alabama my buddy Randy wants to take a ride to the church he was saved in 20 years ago and take a picture. The other guys stayed back at the motel. I opted to take the eventful five minute ride. “Something” told me to go.

We pull into the empty parking lot and there it is. A clear message for me at God’s house. Graffiti usually comes in neon spray paint draping brick walls with it’s colorful artwork, not this time.

This graffiti has no vibrant colors and most people would not even see it. I wasn’t looking for it yet it jumped out at me, carved with precision into the aluminum air-conditioning coils of the central-air cooling system, bent in perfect formation, the fins spell out two words…”West Coast”.

I immediately thank God for yet another confirmation, I am almost in disbelief that the inner parts of a cooling unit reflect “West Coast” in the afternoon sun at an Alabama Church, but then I say, why not… it’s God. He can talk to me anyway He chooses.

OMG! As I write this at 3:55 AM, a song currently just came on the radio about California waiting, and it says let it rain on me.
I am shocked once again, God has another message for me. I quickly write the lyrics I hear…California is waiting, rain down on me…

So as I write about about God speaking to me, He rains another message down on me and it nearly blows my mind just like the tv commercial. God is beyond super cool. He always amazes me.

Now, back to my story about the metal West Coast carving. Upon a closer look, there are also two prominent letters etched into the ac unit. Embedded are the letters L and A, the inscription dangles in the same shape of the threads sewn on a Los Angeles baseball cap.

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Unless God throws a curve ball at me, it looks like L.A. is the city where this guy on a journey is heading next.

Do you need direction in your life??God says in Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go, I will guide you with My eye.” This is so true!! Praise the Lord!!!

Road signs are generic and are for everybody. Your sign may not be in the crest of an old clunky piece of metal like mine is, but it will be specific to you and you will know it’s yours and who it is from.

Happy trails my friends. Just ask.

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No Extra Time

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Timothy S.

TimIndestinFloridaThe waves are pounding against the white sand. It is Destin Florida therefore I am mistakenly thinking it is Eastern Standard Time.  I quickly learn it is Central Time in the Panhandle section of the Sunshine State.  Yay, it is an hour earlier than I expected.  I gained an hour!!  Did I really gain an hour?

Extra time?  Have you ever had any?  Does such a notion of extra time even exist?  Extra, extra! Read all about it. That reminds me of when I used to smoke cigarettes back in the day and I would ask my friend Gary if he has an extra cigarette and he would say no, this pack only came with 20.

Retaining a Texas time zone while on the East Coast quickly brings to mind Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in unison singing  “Time, time, time is on my side, oh Yes it is.”

Is time really on my side? Do you have any extra time? Of course not, it just makes for a good song.  What is time anyway?  Is it just a measure of life segmented into individual units? The fact is we all have 86,400 seconds in a day.  When I look at I that way it seems like a lot of time, doesn’t it?  The problem is we may not get another 86,400 fragments of time tomorrow.  None of us are guaranteed this allotment of what we call time.

With the unknown of how many seconds will be given to me, it matters me little what time zone I am in.  We all get the same amount of time in a given day until our clock runs out.  I am going to make the most of every sixty second journey and see all I can see while admiring God’s creations and beauty at every venue of life.

Extra time is an oxymoron. There is no extra time. Make the use of every magic moment. Take some time out.  Get out on the beach, sift through some moist sand and let the tiny granules act as an exfoliating agent after you pop your shoes off and walk in ice-cold froth delivered so predictably from the Great Atlantic.  Replenish your Vitamin D with a few rays from that powerful fire in the sky and take a few seconds and be thankful. Just breathe in the moment. Enjoy that segmented fraction of 1/86,400 and observe what is going on right now.  Forget the past, put the future on hold and take in right now.  Listen to the wind blow.

There is no extra time.  There is just now. Right now.  Be grateful for the moment.  Breathe in slowly, exhale even slower.  Now is awesome, isn’t it?  Even without extra time. Just pure awesomeness.  Enjoy!

And BTW, you took the time to read this and you have no extra time, thank you for reading.  Let’s learn all we can and let’s grow together.

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Do You Feel Naked?

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Timothy S.

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Do you feel “Naked”?

Bon Jovi’s song Lost Highway squelches, “I don’t know where I’m going but I know where I’ve been and I’m afraid of going back again.”

I don’t. I don’t know where I’m going….
This is the first time in my life where I don’t know where I’m going.  My kids are older now and I am free to travel and set now a new life wherever I go.

Right now, I don’t have a major goal driving me towards a specific outcome which contradicts that red-hot internal flame that burns deep inside me with a heated passion towards accomplishment.
I achieved many of my goals throughout life. I started writing my goals down at the young wide-eyed age of 18.  Today at 46 years old,  this wandering guy on a journey finds himself not sure what his goals are and it makes me feel “naked”.

Have you ever felt this way before? If so, it’s okay.  You are not alone.  I am not thrilled about not having a super-sonic goal but I know it is not without a reason. It is not like me not to have a big and audacious goal that gets me all juiced up.  I do however, have faith The Lord is preparing me for my next venture.  I know He always puts us in the right place.

While it can keep me on the edge of my chair not knowing where it is or what it is I will be doing, I do know He has a great plan for me. Jeremiah 29:11 states” For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”  This promise jumps off my wall every day. It hangs prominently in my kitchen etched in a stone plaque delivering me a fresh new smile every day. When God points me to a particular scripture I cling to it. I am thankful for His overwhelmingly indescribable grace that can only be experienced when you invite Him into your heart and get filled with the Holy Spirit.

I am trusting God to point me in the right direction and take me where I will be most productive and helpful to others. This requires me relinquishing control of my destiny which is foreign to me.  As a student of Tony Robbins, I believe we control our own destiny so I struggle reconciling that belief with just surrendering complete control to God for what is next for me in my life.  In the end, Jesus wins.  I know He has a much better plan for me than my quart sized container of brain cells can conjure up.  I need to submit only to that plan, pray for guidance, and wait patiently as He points me in the right direction.

Determined and fist clenched I always knew where I was going. I am hardly a nomad, yet today I am a wanderer.  A gainfully employed wanderer with a decent roof over my head although these well watered roots I am planting in Dallas may be transplanted as early as an expiration of a one year apartment lease.

So while I don’t know where I am going, I do know it is going to be good wherever/whatever  it is. I am so excited!  Enjoying the journey while waiting for my marching orders even in moments of temporary frustration from the unknown, makes for a fun and memorable ride. I am open, I am vulnerable, yet I am not lost. God is always faithful and I know He will guide me on my journey.  He has provided for my every need as He promised He would and He will do the same for you when you trust Him.

Do you know where you are going?  Are you in a holding pattern?  Are you waiting on firm plans?  It’s ok not to know what is next.  Hopefully, it’s just for a season and your future will be made known through the seeds of wisdom God plants in us.  Be sure to discern His direction.   I challenge you to submit to His plan and see where He takes you. I also encourage you to keep the faith and have no shortage of fun along the way.  Go ahead; give yourself permission to feel naked.  It is nothing to be ashamed of.  I feel naked.

So I will allow the song to play out in my head,  “I don’t know where I’m going but I know where I’ve been and I’m afraid of going back again.”  Besides, feeling naked is better than going back to your past mistakes.  “Naked” is all right with me.

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Across the Universe

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Timothy S.

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Across the universe

Nothing gonna change my worrrrrled.
Nothing gonna change my world.
Nothing gonna change my world….

Hear that sentiment in John Lennon’s voice.  My ears absorb the sincere and heartfelt undaunted words radiating through the P.A. System at DFW airport this morning as I down my much welcomed tall black coffee from Starbucks.  God bless Seattle.

Jockeying for position at the gate for an aluminum silver bullet to fly me to Baltimore, I quickly fall into a time lapse.  “All Across the Universe” by the Beatles,  emits familiar sound waves throughout the airport’s intercom system instantly throwing me back in time 30 years.

This 46 year young guy traveling on a journey mentally flashes back to his 16 year old narrow mind for the remainder of this Lennon & McCartney sonnet.  As a young whipper snapper, “Nothing’s gonna change my world, nothing’s going to change my world,” rolled off my teenage lips on more than one occasion.  Back then, I sang those words from my heart. I didn’t want anything to change my world. I dug my heels into the ground and had no desire to change anything about me because in my young uninformed mind I knew everything.  The poster child for being a “Legend in my own mind” would rightfully bear my image if such a poster existed.

Imagine if your world remained stagnant for 30 years. I don’t care how popular you were in high school, how many footballs you tossed impressing the energetic cheerleaders or how fast your heart pounded during that first romance during those high school years. The fact is we are happy where we are today.

Thank God,  so many positive things change our world for the better.  Every day is a learning process filled with abundant life and great hope of serving others. Sharing kindness, sharing love, making new friends, learning from others and experiencing growth as a child of God produces an unexplainable joy in one’s heart.

God wants us to grow.  He wants to be in relationship with us.  He wants us to hear His voice. He wants us to have faith with a childlike trust.  He wants to change our world for us and no one does it better than He when we give Him complete control.

Maybe at the age of 33 years old when Lennon sweetly professed those words in lyrical fashion, he was standing staunchly in his view of life and saw no need for personal change.  After all, two years earlier in 1966, he claimed his band as being more popular than Jesus Christ.  Wow!!  I thought my ego was oversized.

I am excited to share in my mid 40’s that surrendering to Christ’s compassionate love completely changed my world.  The dynamic changes He made in me just in the last 8 months of me living in the buckle of the Bible Belt more than justified me moving 1,500 long miles from my New Jersey home.

Jersey is an awesome place to live and I loved living there.  I never expect to lose the Jersey pride my undersized State instilled in me with the help  of Old Blue Eyes, The Boss, Southside Johnny, and other blue-collar home boys such as Bon Jovi.  Yes, the list goes on but this writing is not about how great the Garden State is.

As wonderful as NJ rightfully boasts of itself, living in a new land out on the range produces learning, new interests, growth and making new friends.  I cannot put into words how friendly the Native Texans are and I am glad I was brought across my tiny universe.

Change your world. No matter how good it is, always seek change.  Always improve. Always change for the better.  We are all in the army, the army of life and I ENCOURAGE you to be “All you can be.”

Put off the old ways of selfishness, greed, arrogance, gossip, and other unrighteous behaviors. Regardless of where you live, learn all you can. Ask God for His goodness, ask Him for the truth.  Ask Him for His love.  Ask, trust, listen and grow and you will travel with love, hope, and venture, “All across the Universe” where you may enrich yourself all across the universe.

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Goatee, Beauty, & a Scowl

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Timothy S.

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Goatee, Beauty and a Scowl.

Politely holding the door open for a person is always on my agenda without fail. In a gentleman-like manner, I hold the church door open for a woman in the whipping wind when last minute she goes out of her way and abruptly changes direction. She opens the furthest door away from both her and I and safely enters God’s House.

Once inside the church, I gently smile and in friendly fashion, I ask jokingly “What’s wrong, you dont like my door?”

Her shocking response…”No I didn’t. You looked kind of freaky.”

I laugh out loud. I think to myself how bizarre. Never in 46 years have I heard such an off-color remark.

Full of confidence, I laugh off
her unexpected comment. If I had my dog with me, Texie, he would have heard me say, “I get the feeling we are not in Texas anymore.”

Is it my new goatee and maybe she found it sinister looking? Was it my well-worn black leather jacket that logged in a numerous amount of motorcycle miles and appeared intimidating?

The fact is I don’t care. I quickly brush it off. I am thankful for the bizarre exchange for it inspired this writing.

The reason I share the story is:
1. I found it funny and I hope you get a laugh from it.
2. To document my growth.
3. To share the importance of self-esteem.
4. Remind you who you are through God’s eyes.

There was a time when my response would spew out sharp and biting insults in return with an aggressive and defensive posture. Those snapping,witty, and rude remarks I could have casted out did not even surface in my serene mind. Is that because it is wise to ignore ignorant remarks that I know are not true?

I believe my response or lack of response defines my growth and confirms who I am. I am a child of The King of all Kings, Christ Jesus.

In the past I had no shortage of couped up false-pride. Today, I am true to myself and I know who I am, not without imperfection or flaws, but truly a loving and beautiful person loved by God the Father and my Lord Jesus Christ.

Beautiful person I am? No, not in that way that GQ Magazine is beating down my door and I do not look even remotely close to the full haired chiseled guy on my latest Men’s Health Magazine. I am beautiful because God made me.

God made me who I am, loving, kind and a plethora of other good things. Ok, ok. This is not where I need to write about my positive attributes. There is not enough bandwidth on my computer for that. Just kidding of course. 🙂

The truth is God made us all beautiful.
Even this woman with the sour scowl on her face that obviously has issues with 6 feet plus tall guys that are gentlemen. My prayer is church served her well yesterday and God spoke calmness to her. There is real joy in praying for people that try to offend you even if their attempt is futile.

Do you know who you really are? Do you get your self-esteem from the opinions of others?
I used to thrive from positive opinions of me from others and get upset over any negative opinion someone may have of me. Praise the Good Lord, today, neither approval nor disapproval affect me. It is more important what we think, know, and believe about ourselves.

Bob Dylan mumbled out some words in a song that he wrote, “You can please some of the people some of the time but you can’t please all the people all the time,” and then he references Abraham Lincoln as saying that.

They are both right. You can not please everybody so don’t even try. Just be yourself. The golden-key that fits into the steel-lock pertaining to confidence is to know who you are. Know that you are a child of God. Know that you are created to be uniquely YOU and YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL.

If you ever question your own beauty for whatever reason, please read my short article on “There will never be a more beautiful you.”

To all my readers, I love you and thanks for reading about the things I learn and people I meet on my journey.

Allow me to encourage you, always be yourself. Always walk tall regardless of what strangers think of you. Always hold doors open for people whether they appreciate it or not. Laugh more, Love more, and Live more! There will never be a more beautiful you, with or without a goatee.

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40, Patience & a Song

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Timothy S.

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The question on a recent Facebook status posted by Liquid Church Liquid Church in Morristown, NJ asks, what does the number “40” mean to you? I immediately type in my one word response, “patience.”

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U2 sings a song called “40”. Many people do not know that the song is written directly from Psalm 40 of the Bible.

Psalm 40 reads “I waited patiently for the Lord and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and made my footsteps firm. I will sing, sing a new song….”

Bono confidently declares in his unique Irish voice all of those words that show us where patience leads us. All the lyrics from this early U2 song are word for for word out of the Old Testament.

Psalm 40 is a song clearly about patience, waiting and restoration.

At several U2 concerts I eagerly attended back in the 80’s, Bono closed out the show by yelping, “I waited patiently for the Lord and I will sing, sing a new song,” as the lights went out, and Bono disappears off stage. For me, I’ve seen hundreds of encores and this one is the most memorable.

Bono sings about waiting patiently. Even Axl Rose penned a song called “Patience”, where he whispers in a soft gentle tone “all we need now is a little patience.” What is patience anyway?

Is patience the same as waiting? Is it a type of waiting? Or is patience a good natured response to a delay?

Patience is how we respond to something while we are waiting for it. Are our voices elevating in an impatient tone, complaining while we wait? Are we giving up our peace while we wait, or even worse, are we losing hope in our impatience?

Patience requires faith. Faith in knowing that whatever the delay is, that delay is for our benefit. There are no shortcuts to anything worth having or doing. It takes faith while we are waiting while knowing in our heart, everything is going to turn-out ok.

Patience is not just a virtue, it is a choice. Doesn’t it make sense to receive and give patience rather than the knot in the stomach impatience breeds? Why wait impatiently, stressfully frustrated with our teeth clenched so hard together they grind our pearly-whites?

The unsettled feeling the lack of patience gives us is not going to speed anything up correctly so let’s choose wisely and choose patience.

Let’s do what Bono did when it came to waiting and wait “patiently” for the Lord. Bono’s song (40) explains the benefits of patience and is a direct message from God. The words are lifted right out of God’s Word, the Living Bible and into U2’s classic song -book.

As I went painfully through a major-trial in my life, Psalm 40 delivered me hope. I clung to what God did for the real-life character David in the Bible. I waited for God’s hand.

I am blessed today to serendipitiously report first-hand that waiting patiently for the Lord lifted me out of a miry-pit.

God heard my cry when I fell head first into a dark-pit. He offered me His loving -hand and graciously pulled me out of it. I dusted myself off and He set my footsteps firm.

Today I stand taller and stronger than I ever have. I know our faithful God has a great plan for me. All I need is a little patience (and a little faith). I now know beyond the shadow of a doubt that when I fall He picks me up.

God taught me patience amongst a whole bunch of other wonderful things and I will exclaim what Bono exclaims minus his gifted vocal chords and in my own voice, I will “Sing,sing a new song!”

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