Heart

Have Faith…Pass It On

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

There is nothing greater in this world then a belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Your relationship with Him is the foundation of your Faith.  It does not mean life will be easy and it does not mean you will get everything you have ever wanted in life.  The world and evil continues to send us messages that if what we are pursuing doesn’t end with convenience or an easy life it is not worth pursuit.  Not true!  True joy, peace and contentment does not come from chasing after things to satisfy the self.  It comes from knowing that you are loved and you are saved from your sins no matter how much you mess up.  True faith is built by spending time on your relationship with God everyday and by sharing the Good News with others, especially those in the next generation.  May the peace and understanding of God in faith be with you.

DSC07425 publish

“How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!”

Proverbs 16:16

“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalms 100:5

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 while traveling through northern Colorado)

God’s Presence

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

A relationship with God is like no other.  He can provide the greatest comfort in times of trouble, the greatest joy out of the worst of tragedy and He never will leave you or abandon you.  God wants you to engage in a covenant with Him.  An agreement that you will honor only Him as God and you will pursue to keep His commandments in your everyday life.  You will accept His Son, Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, believing that He died and has risen to save you from your sins.  If you strive to honor this covenant you will get a better sense of God’s presence in your life.  God does not play favorites like humans, His covenant is not a quid pro quo situation where you scratch His back and He will scratch yours.  God loves everyone and His forgiveness, His mercy and grace is available the same to anyone.  The only the difference is how we choose to engage in our relationship with Him.  May God’s peace and joy be with you.

DSC_0993 publish

“All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.”

Psalm 25:10

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

Hope Everyday

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

We are blessed with the love God has for us and because of His love we have hope that is never-ending.  We will experience trials and suffering, it is expected because we live in a world filled with selfishness and brokenness.  Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him is where our hope can be found.  Even when things are at the darkest hour, hope is the glimmer of light Christ provides.  He has overcome anything this world can throw at us and He is waiting to guide you through everything you have going on in your life.  May God’s hope and love be with you.

DSC01214 publish

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 14:8

(This photo was taken in April of 2016 at a lake place in central Minnesota)

The Love Of God

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

It may be hard to believe sometimes…it seems unfathomable, an error in judgement or even misguided from our perspective.  However, it is true…God loves you, unconditionally.  There is nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God.  It has all been tried over and over again throughout the Old Testament, so God took things up a notch and sent His one and only Son to triumph over all, forever.  He had it written about before it occurred in the Old Testament and then again after it occurred in the New Testament.  God loves you and He is right there with you, He knows the struggles and the victory you experience in your life every day.  Talk with God, thank Him for His never-ending love and seek His will as you go forward in your faith and life journey.  May God’s peace and joy be with you.

DSC_0452 publish

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:37-39

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 while driving through North Dakota)

Memorial Day – Thank You

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

This day I offer gratitude to all military personnel and their families, to those that have died fighting for our freedom in the world and those that are serving now…Thank You!  The sacrifice these individuals and their families have made deserve nothing less than our respect, honor and gratitude.  May God’s peace, love and joy be with you.

IMG_20130609_publish

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

John 15:13

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota)

Gratitude

/ 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.

DSC_0226 publish

“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)

Choose How You Will Respond

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

With every situation in life we are given free will by God which means we choose how to respond to what other people do or say.  This freedom also means we are accountable and responsible for our response even if the response is to do nothing.  If we are focused on self more than anything else we will often choose a poor response as self is only responding to the impact on me without regard for others.  God created us out of His love and we were made to choose the fruits of the Spirit in how we live our daily lives.  Be aware not only of ‘what’ you do and say, but also ‘how’ you do and say things when you respond to others.  Free will is a gift from God, how we respond with this gift makes all the difference in how we feel in our life.  May God’s joy and peace be with you.

DSC_1601 publish

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Proverbs 15:1

(This photo was taken in September of 2016 at a lake in central Minnesota)

Be Strong And Courageous

/ 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.

DSC_0975 publish

“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)

Patience

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

When we believe and we trust in God we will be required to develop patience in this world.  Circumstances will often look hopeless and many people will despair and be engulfed in sadness and fear, that is the way of evil.  We must never give up hope, we must trust in God to continue working for the good for us and for everyone.  God does not make bad things happen, He is not tempting you with things that are not good…that is sin in the world and we humans invited that sin into this world.  God is at work in all the bad we have created to bring out goodness, kindness and love.  Believe in Him who created us, believe in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ and see the good things that can happen in your life in this world.  May God’s peace and joy be with you.

DSC_0734 publish

“I am still confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Psalm 27:13-14

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

Persevere

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Continue to try, keep going, don’t believe you are a failure.  Mistakes and failure are steps to success.  These hold true in so many aspects of life.  Even in our daily faith life.  If you are working on establishing a daily routine of devotions and bible reading time or just thinking about it, keep trying different times and places.  If you miss a day or more than one get back to it the next day or as soon as you can.  Do your best to make it a priority that sticks and pray about it.  Ask God to guide you to the time and place everyday.  As they say, if it was easy everyone would do it, it takes commitment and it takes perseverance to continue to seek Him and His Word.  May God’s peace be with you.

DSC_0155 publish

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

James 1:12

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