How We Connect

January 6, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

People and relationships, these are two important elements in seeking and finding peace and joy in life. The world says that money and comfort/convenience is what you need to be happy. Focusing on others feeds our spiritual life and focusing on the self only feeds the self. As with everything in life it is our choice. God is pretty clear about the value of free will. He is not interested in having a people that just do things at His command. We are responsible for our behavior and the way we treat each other. The best place to start is with our relationship with Jesus Christ…begin, continue or renew your relationship with our Lord and Savior and will find peace. Amen.

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“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Colossians 3:12-13

(This photo was taken in December of 2018 on Paradise Island, Bahamas)

A New Self

December 4, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

There are many factors that play into how we think and behave in our everyday life. Past experiences, our personal expectations and our routines all have a significant impact on us. It is so easy to slip into a way of thinking, believing and living until we realize we aren’t really living we are just existing and going through the motions. If we want to see things differently then we must be willing to change something in ourselves. Change is difficult and uncomfortable, yet we must remember we are not alone. God is with us and He will guide us through our efforts to change. May we seek the will for God for our lives and be open changing our attitudes and perspective in developing a new self. Amen.

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“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self…”

Ephesians 4:22-24

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Glacier National Park in Montana)

Attitude And Perspective

November 14, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

These are two key elements that drive our thoughts, our actions and our behaviors. The amazing thing is we are in charge of our attitudes and our perspectives. Which also means we are accountable for the attitude we choose or the perspective we believe about everything. We try to blame the things we can’t control for why we choose the attitude or perspective we have, yet our responsibility is in how we choose to respond to events and actions or the behaviors of others. At this time I would like to share an item written by Charles Swindoll that states a similar perspective about Attitude…

Attitude

by Charles Swindoll

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change that people will act a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

I pray we look to the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us to choose our attitude according to God’s will. Amen.

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“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:21

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 in White Sands National Monument in New Mexico)

Living In The Light

November 4, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Choose to be optimistic…choose to have gratitude…be thankful…appreciate all that you have been blessed with each day. Some days you may feel like there is not much to be thankful for, yet I encourage you to seek something to have gratitude about receiving or having available. The more you practice gratitude and thankfulness the easier it gets. The world is full of good things and good people…we have to want to see them. This is about changing our perspective and our attitude, not about the world and others changing things to fit our wants and desires. May we be filled with the light of Christ in our everyday interactions. Amen.

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“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Ephesians 4:29

(This photo was taken in June of 2018 near the border of South Dakota and Minnesota)

Give Thanks

August 23, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Grateful…to show appreciation…gratitude…content with what you have…to recognize others. It is important to pause and to give thanks for what is good, for what we have been given or for what someone else has done for our benefit. It is a choice of attitude to be thankful instead of feeling you deserve somethings or demand and expect things. Choosing an attitude of gratitude focuses our thoughts the positive, the good and helps to drive a feeling of greater appreciation for something or someone. Take a moment to look around you and around your life…who needs to know you appreciate them, who are you thankful for in your life. Tell them, and remember Jesus Christ and what He did for you so that you could be reconciled with God…and tell Him how thankful you are for what He did and is doing. May the Word of the Lord be planted in you.

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“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100:4-5

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 in southern New Mexico)

Walk In Love

July 18, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

The commandments that Jesus himself recognized as the greatest commandments are about love. Jesus said…“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40) One the most popular parts of the Bible 1 Corinthians 13 is all about Love. So what does it mean to walk in love? It is about attitude and behaviors towards God, yourself and towards others. It does not mean all behavior is permissible…sin is still sin. However, we are all guilty, we are all broken and we all do not deserve His forgiveness. No one sin is greater than another, that is worldly talk. When you want a reminder of what it means to walk in love go back and read 1 Corinthians 13, it speaks specifically to us about what behaviors constitute love. May God’s love be in you and flow through you.

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“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”

2 John 6

(This photo was taken in July of 2012 on a walk in northwestern Wisconsin)

Trials And Trouble

July 16, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Have you ever thought…’why does this have to be so difficult?’ or ‘it seems like every direction I turn things go wrong!’ When dealing with such thoughts I am trying to learn how to step back, to stop doing the repeat cycle that builds up frustration. As we review situations we should try to asses, ‘am I trying to control too many things?’, ‘am I trying to get things to line up for the outcome I prefer?’ and the most difficult thought, ‘where is God in this situation?’ We may be struggling because we have had an opportunity to learn from the past and as slow learner we need to see the lesson again in a different way to get it through our heads. Unexpected things are going to happen to us, things will not go as we have planned, the key to growth and development is how you choose to respond to situations and learning along the way. There is no place in the bible that it says, “have no fear life will be easy.” We will face difficult times and situations and how we choose to respond will have a lasting impact on us and others. May God’s peace and joy be with you.

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“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Give Good Fruit

July 8, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Our lives are filled with choices and decisions. We are the ones responsible for the attitudes and behaviors we present to the world. We are blessed with the redeeming blood of Christ. We have been forgiven for our sins. Let’s go out and give good fruit. No matter what your circumstances or your place in life today you can give the good fruit we receive from the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t take money and it doesn’t take a certain level of influence in society. The Fruit of the Spirit is all about making the choice to behave as we have been instructed to. We should not expect the world to always be kind and generous to us as it is broken, however, we know that no matter what, God is with us and He is holding us. May we share the blessings the Lord has given to us with others.

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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 while traveling through southern New Mexico)

Highs And Lows

June 27, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Our journey is filled with these…moments where things are good, we are strong, confident, faithful and filled with hope and joy – Highs. We also have moments of fear, concern, sadness that are filled with despair – Lows. Every life has both whether you see it in others or not, they both exist for everyone. The key to living with all of this is how are you reacting to your highs and your lows? Reading and learning from God’s Word with the Holy Spirit as your guide is a great place to start. After that, the way to give and receive celebration for highs and support for lows is with Friends. Personal relationships, that is the key to living, learning and growing through out your life journey. Reflect on your personal relationships, with God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as well as with your friends. Pray about them and find ways you can enrich those relationships. Faith is not a destination, it is a way of living through the Highs and Lows that come to all of us no matter who we are or what we are doing. May God’s peace and joy be with you.

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“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

Romans 12:12-13

(These photo’s were taken in July of 2016 at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

The Needs Of Others

June 21, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

We all have been given gifts and talents to use in the world. While we are all unique the gifts we have are to be used to not only support ourselves, they are also the way we can help others in need. It is important to learn and accept the gifts and talents God has given us and to seek out ways to use them to honor God. Selfishness is running rampant all over the world and therefore the needs of people are many. Can we help everyone? No. Does that mean we should only worry about ourselves? No. We should strive to do whatever we can, for whomever we can, whenever we can, wherever we are…even if it only helps one person in that moment in time, it is helping someone in need. May God’s grace and peace be with you.

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