What Can I Give?

March 15, 2014 / mcalcagno / 2 Comments

Often when we think of giving, because we live in a material world our thoughts lead us to the monetary value of things we can give. Or we believe the more costly the gift the more the person or people will know how important they are to me. We easily fall into this trap because we see it happening around us and we see it advertised on TV and in events everywhere.

My personal favorite line from a jewelry store commercial…”Let her know how much you care by buying this diamond crusted, gold covered….” Non-essential material things do not show a person how much you care for them. You want to know the best gift you can give to someone you truly care about? The one thing in every relationship that only you can give to any other person and typically it is worth way more than you give it credit for…what is that greatest gift?

Time.

God knows how special Time is…every day you get up is the gift of Time from him.

Your time is the one gift only you can give to others…stop and think for a moment who you have been giving your Time to in the last few days and weeks. Maybe it is exactly the people you should be spending Time with or maybe you are now thinking of somebody that you have been missing and know you need to spend some time with…no matter which it is, don’t forget that the One who provided you this ability to give time to others also would like some time with you. When I woke this morning I could hear the following hymn from my childhood playing in my mind as a message from me to God…

Here I Am Lord — Music & Lyrics by Dan Schutte

I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard My people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin,
My hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear My light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have born my peoples pain.
I have wept for love of them, They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone,
Give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak My word to them,
Whom shall I send?

Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame.
I will set a feast for them,
My hand will save
Finest bread I will provide,
Till their hearts be satisfied.
I will give My life to them,
Whom shall I send?

Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.

With whom will you spend your greatest gift today?

Peace.

Nature, Faith and Life

March 1, 2014 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

From time to time I come across an image or a scene of nature and it automatically can be associated to life…not sure why this happens or how my train of thought gets there sometimes but wanted to share a recent one.

In the picture above, that is a picnic table under several feet of snow on a deck. This amount of snow can come over many days from several different storms or as it has happened this winter it can fall all in one or two consecutive days! It will be several weeks or a few months before this table will once again be free of piles of snow. With the gradual warming in temperature (we hope) and the longer days of spring not far off it will eventually melt away…if we go out and give a hand it will happen much faster. Either way the snow will be gone at some point and we will be able to sit out at that table in our swimsuits eating ice cream in the warm afternoon air…hard to imagine looking at the picture but nonetheless true.

In our lives we can get buried under problems, worries and fears. They can come down on us over many days or very quickly. Depending on our attitude, these problems, worries and fears can take several weeks or months or even years to melt away…if we chose to be bitter and angry and “cold-hearted” that definitely will make the melting take longer. If we try to be positive and we are willing to accept help from those qualified to help us in our lives the problems will melt away sooner and we will once again be able to enjoy the blessings in life.

No matter how you look at them both situations need a center piece…

One needs the sun and the other needs The Son!

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

Colossians 3:15

Peace to you.

He Is With You

February 12, 2014February 12, 2014 / mcalcagno / 2 Comments

No matter where you are, what you are doing or how you are feeling right now God is with you…

The cross in the photo above shows that all areas of our life are connected to our faith even if we don’t think about them that way. Every act and interaction is on a string somewhere on the cross. The hardest part of faith sometimes is courage…courage can be rare in this world. You can come across many people and sense only fear, anger and bitterness. I am learning that courage…real courage is truly an act of faith. Believe God is on your side and no matter what you face each day trust him to hold you in the palm of his hand.

There is a song by a group called “Love & The Outcome” that is entitled He Is With Us and the message in their lyrics state this truth very well. As usual, I also have a bible verse to share regarding how God is with us…

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10

As the song states He is with Us, Always…Always.

Peace be with you.

What is your Spiritual Gift?

February 1, 2014 / mcalcagno / 1 Comment

We all get into routines in life and several days begin to look the same. Depending on what you choose to focus on in life, this repetition can become mundane and begin to feel like a rut you have created for yourself. God has created each of us with a purpose in mind and that purpose also came with a spiritual gift. This gift is something that comes naturally to us and sometimes it gets overlooked because it comes to us so easily. This doesn’t have to be something complicated to figure out…we typically make things much more complicated in the world than necessary (I speak from personal experience).

In the Bible, the gifts of the spirit are as follows…

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a person’s gift is prophesying, let them use it in proportion to their faith. If it is serving, let them serve; if it is teaching, let them teach; if it is encouraging, let them encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let them give generously; if it is leadership, let them govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let them do it cheerfully.”

Romans 12:6-8

Think about moments in your life where it was easy for you to provide for another…not financially, there are far greater needs in the world than money. The gifts described above are all related to our interactions with others…what have we been given that we can share with other people? Many of us go about the business of “our” lives first and wonder why we get discouraged so easily? One of the best ways to cure your discouragement or disappointment is change your perspective…

Begin by approaching your situation by thinking what can I do that helps others…don’t be so quick to think “nothing” it simply is not true. You are a valuable part of God’s world…you are his creation…and I have heard it said often “God don’t make no junk!”

Look at the list of Gifts…one of these does apply to you…you just need to spend time praying that God will guide you to opportunities to use it and then be very aware of invitations or things you may read or just hear about that are happening in your community…there is a place for you…do you believe it?

The Gifts given according to grace:

Prophecy – calling for action based of God’s truth
Service or ministry – serve and meet the needs of others
Teaching – explain truth so others can understand it and apply it
Encouraging – to strengthen and inspire others to be their best
Giving – to generously share what you have been given by God
Leadership – to govern by steady and earnest effort
Mercy – to show compassion for others and to do it cheerfully

I pray we all spend time in prayer asking for God to guide us to our gifts and we begin to use them to make this world a better place for others.

Peace.

What Path Are You On?

January 18, 2014 / mcalcagno / 4 Comments

Life is full of choices and decisions. We all have been given the gift of free will. The hardest part of this isn’t necessarily making a decision, rather it is holding yourself accountable for what happens after your decision and being open to changing things as you move forward in life.

Look around you…take inventory. How are things going in your life? If it is not good from your perspective…look in a mirror…that is the best place to start to make a change in your life, start with you. On the other hand, if things look ok or pretty good from your perspective, give thanks and praise and begin to think about how you can share and support others.

No matter what your result, good or bad, we all have made decisions in our past that have led to where we are today…right now. I encourage you to think about what those decisions have been so you can identify what has put you on this path. If it has been bad look for ways to improve on your current situation…I caution you here, do not believe you can go back to change a decision that occurred in the past to make things better now…instead, live in the present, learn from the poor decision and make new decisions to improve things going forward. If you can identify decisions in the past that have been good and led to great things learn what you can and share to help others.

This reflection can be helpful because sometimes when we look back things have changed and what we thought was a good or bad decision at the time it was made might be different now and we can learn things for life going forward. None of this is easy…we were never promised easy…we have always been promised Hope…and you can have Hope every day, if you choose to believe and follow Jesus. As always the bible provides instructions in this matter…

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Matthew 7:13-14

I pray we all ask for wisdom so we can make decisions that will lead to Life.

Peace.

A New Creation

December 31, 2013 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

2 Corinthians 5:17

“For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”

2 Corinthians 6:2

Peace to you and Happy New Year!

Let Your Light Shine

December 30, 2013 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Now is naturally a time to reflect on the past year of things that happened in your life and in the world…it may be a time to be thankful for your blessings of the past and hopeful for the coming New Year. For some it will be a time to say “I’m glad that year is over, I hope the next one is better!” What I have learned when I am reflecting on the past or looking towards what lies ahead is my feelings or perspective say quite a bit about my attitude.

If I am ‘I’ focused and only thinking about what happened to ‘Me’ during the year it is easy to get discouraged. As an example, if someone only thinks about ‘I didn’t get that job I really thought would be great for me’ then sure they will not feel good about that…if they think about things that happened in the days and weeks after not getting that job maybe that would be memories of how a friend or family member said or did something great and unexpected to lift them up. Or while discussing the rejection with someone a new opportunity presented itself for a job. It is all about perspective. If we choose to focus our thoughts on what was wrong, bad or frustrating then we are sure to feel that negative energy in everything. If we make an effort to find what was right, good or hopeful about a situation then that renewing energy will go with us.

This is true for any situation…I grant you it is not always easy to do and I battle with it myself. However, we are not meant to do this alone. Every single person has been blessed with gifts and talents and when they choose to use those blessings the way God intended them to be used they will see and feel the good that surrounds their life. I recently read the following analogy…

Every individual is a flashlight…if we try to show our light but do not have batteries inside, if we are empty, then we will not work…if we have our batteries inside but they are not being used correctly we will not work, our light will not shine…only when we are filled with good stuff and we use it correctly will our light shine…we need the love from Jesus in our hearts and when we use that gift to make the world better for even one person then our light will shine as God intended it to.

I pray that we all choose to “Let Our Light Shine” today and all throughout the New Year!

Peace and Happy New Year!

Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and Christ

December 24, 2013 / mcalcagno / 1 Comment

Reflecting on the season and all that goes on in our lives…I have always been a Christmas guy. As a kid I enjoyed the lights, the music and family gatherings and of course the presents. As I and my faith have grown I realize that Christmas was the starting point for me to really deepen my faith. As an adult in mind and a kid at heart I still enjoy the lights, the music and the family gatherings…I now enjoy the giving far more than any receiving of presents. Where we live I enjoy the snow and even the cold. The change of season is natural to me it is God showing us his love using nature. All that was alive in summer has passed on but it will all be reborn in springtime. With the shorten daylight we set up lights to add color to the white world. But most of all it seems to be the one time of year that the most people in the world actually recognizes Jesus Christ and his coming into the world.

At Christmas time I pray you see and feel a sense of…

Hope – God made a promise to you and everyone to love you and to never leave you…believe him and trust him with every area of your life.

Peace – Be content when your basic needs are fulfilled and share with others if you have been blessed with abundance…practice patience.

Joy – Wear a smile more often and make an effort to help others find their smile…focus on the positive in any situation.

Love – Life is more about how you treat others than how they treat you…you can’t control what others will think, say or do so don’t waste time worrying about it…do all that you do with love.

At Christmas time put Christ in the center of your life…with Christ you will know Hope, you will know Peace, you will know Joy and you will know that the Love of Christ in your heart will help you overcome anything this world can throw at you.

May you see and know God’s blessings in your life this Christmas and carry them with you all through the New Year!

Merry Christmas!

By Faith

December 7, 2013 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

When speaking to someone who has experienced a terrible tragedy or is going through a difficult time of trial some will ask, “How are you getting through this?” and from certain people the answer is “by faith” or “by the grace of God” and when this is the response I am sure some askers may be thinking ‘what does that mean?’

Well for me to understand it better I would go to the Guide Book for Life…the Bible.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Hebrews 11:1

Faith is based on hope and belief…these my friends are both choices in our life. This is why so many of us struggle with faith while living in this world. We live with in a world expecting immediate satisfaction, convenience and me first…not to mention the constant presence of evil and temptations.

As I have reflected this week on the passing of Nelson Mandela all I can think is ‘Wow now that is truly a man of faith.’ The world treated him horribly for so long but he never gave up his hope or his beliefs that the world could be a better place and he could contribute to that with God’s help. Many organizations are printing quotes from Nelson Mandela in the last few days as we all want to know more about a person who worked for justice in the world…here are a few.

“I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”

-Nelson Mandela

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”

-Nelson Mandela

There are many people who will write judgments both positive and negative about Nelson Mandela because of things he did during his life. I believe by faith that he tried to do what he believed God wanted him to do and he didn’t just wake up one day and decide to do it. It happened as a part of his journey…his life journey and his faith journey. He wasn’t perfect, he had his sins just like the rest of us but he also made choices to help others, to be a positive influence and to try and bring justice to other human beings in God’s world.

God has promised many things and it is up to each of us to choose to have hope and to believe in the things we do not see. We will often fail and fall down but we should never quit. If we base our faith on how we feel instead of what Christ did for us we will have a difficult time sustaining a faith that is stable and growing. Faith and life are a journey and we can only live one day at a time on that journey…so I encourage you to embrace each day, thank God for the gift of life and seek what you hope for and what you choose to believe…by faith.

Peace and joy to you this day.

An Attitude of Gratitude

November 28, 2013 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Today is considered the day of giving Thanks. Everyone has some sort of tradition for this holiday. Whether it is the place you gather with family and friends, the food you eat or things you do on this day…or all of the above. Some people will just have “another” day they will go to work…no matter how this day or your weekend is planned try to start a new tradition or continue with this if you already do it…give thanks to God…

Too often we spend hours focusing time and energy on what we don’t have or can’t do and don’t like…make a commitment today…be thankful to God for all he has done for you and your family or friends every day. Have an attitude of gratitude today and continue it tomorrow and the next day and the next day…too make it easier think of 2-3 things you are thankful for every morning, write it down to help you remember, maybe even pray a prayer of thankfulness and praise. God loves you and to show you his love he sent his Son into this world…he forgives you for all the sins you have done and he wants an opportunity to show you a new way to live…you just have to choose to believe in him…a great way to start is to look around you in your world where you are and find those things you are thankful for and tell him.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Colossians 3:17

Peace to you and Happy Thanksgiving.