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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“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Philippians 2:4

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 at a rest area in South Dakota)

Attitude

June 14, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Here it is…the one thing you have the most control over in your entire life…your attitude. You choose what it is, about everything and everyday. As I have shared in the past Charles Swindoll who is a pastor, author, teacher, etc has written the best description for us to reflect on when thinking about our attitude. Here is what he wrote…

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.”

To learn more about Charles Swindoll you can go to his website http://www.insight.org/

In the words of Forrest Gump…”That’s all I have to say about that”

May God’s peace, love and joy be with you.

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“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Romans 8:31

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

His Love Endures Forever

June 7, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Just when we think, ‘I am sure God is upset with me’ or ‘why do I feel so distant from God’ or any other self pity thoughts about our relationship with God…He shows us again that His love is all around us. Either through nature or through another person God shows up and reminds everyone He will never leave you or abandon you. When we make an effort to start with gratitude for what blessings we have been given, we learn to better understand how God is working in our life. God is love and His love is never-ending for us. He gave His one and only Son to be a sacrifice for us, out of love, and He continues to know you and to bless you because His love endures forever. May you see God’s love and peace present in your life.

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“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

(This photo was taken in May of 2014 at a lake place in central Minnesota)

Forgiveness

June 2, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

This is something we all want and need and yet it is so hard to give to others. The part to work on is remembering this is not saying what someone did or said is Ok…forgiveness is making a commitment to not hold on to bitterness and hardness in your heart over something that happened in the past and can’t be changed. We all make mistakes and we all will be making more mistakes in life, forgiveness is about the courage to move forward and to find joy, it is about letting go of the things in the past. The best place to start to forgive is to turn to God in prayer, as He has forgiven you already. Look up the serenity prayer and use it to speak to God about the forgiveness needed in your life. May God’s grace and mercy be with you.

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“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

Psalm 51:10-12

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

Grace And Mercy

May 29, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

God provides us both His grace and His mercy, even though we do not earn them. His love for us is so strong that even though we were still sinners He sent His one and only Son to save us. When we reflect on our daily lives there is so much we should be thankful for that gets taken for granted. We would be wise to take time to praise God and give thanks for all He has done for us. It is so easy to get distracted by a variety of things in the world and yet God is right here with us, waiting for us to turn to Him in faith. We are most encouraged when we spend time in relationship with the Lord. May God’s peace and joy be with you.

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“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10

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

Gratitude

May 26, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

One of the difficult challenges in life is adjusting your perspective. We receive so many messages through our senses from our daily life. Things we see, things we hear, things we read, etc. We get to choose what things get our time and attention. Whatever we focus on becomes embedded in our perspective. When we spend too much time on negativity, sadness, anger, selfishness and hatred we adopt that point of view to everything else. This is the way of living focused on self. We will always end up disappointed. We need to find ways to build in positive things, goodness, kindness, joy and love. These things will help us live with a balanced perspective. One easy way to start is to practice gratitude. What are you thankful for? It may not come easy at first if you haven’t done this very often. Think about the very basics in life like food, shelter and clothing…don’t take such things for granted as these are not in abundance for everyone in the world. Once you start practicing gratitude and you want to build on it, the next thing is giving…the joy, peace and contentment will continue to build in your life from there. Find your gratitude things and give thanks to God for all of it. May God’s joy and peace be with you.

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“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, sheep of his pasture.

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

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

Be Strong And Courageous

May 23, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Don’t give up, don’t stop trying…whatever it is the next attempt can be the one that gets the results you are hoping to see. Be persistent and be creative. When you have exhausted your approach to an issue or situation, be open and willing to change how you think about it and try again. Pray about it as well, lift your worries and concerns up to Jesus in prayer. Surrender your plans only to God and see what He has in store for you. No matter what the circumstances God is with you and He can guide you. May God’s peace and joy be with you.

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“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

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

Do Good Things

May 21, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

It is easy to look around and think, what difference does it make if I do this or I don’t? This type thinking can lead to a downward spiral of negative thoughts and low self-worth. This is the way of evil and darkness. When we act and do good things it will make a difference, to someone someday. Even if we never get to see the difference in our life or in person it is important to continue to do good things. We are made out of the love of God and we have the hope of eternal life with Him. This world is not our home but while we are here we should do whatever we can, wherever we are to help those in need. May God’s peace be with you.

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