Contentment

August 16, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

1 Timothy 6:6-10 NIV

If we keep living in the race to gain money and put it first in our lives

We will be constantly chasing the wind in this world

We may miss out on the blessings God is putting right in front of us today

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“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”^[a]

Hebrews 13:5 NIV

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

Encourage One Another

August 15, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴Then you will win favor and a good name
    in the sight of God and man.”

Proverbs 3:3-4 NIV

Receive encouragement from the Holy Spirit and be renewed by spending time with God and reading God’s Word

God’s love is for all of us and we are created to love God and to love others

Let His love flow through you and be encouraging for others with your words and your actions

Encourage one another

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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.”^[a]

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

(This photo was taken in Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming)

Attitude

August 14, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

⁵You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”

Philippians 2:3-5 NLT

A way of thinking…a point of view…outlook…perspective…belief

How would you define your attitude toward God?

What is His role? How much time during a typical week are we thinking about God?

The Bible has many of examples of different people and their attitude towards God, it describes their beliefs and actions

How would you define your attitude toward others?

The Bible has many of examples of different people and their attitude towards others, it describes their beliefs and actions

There is a lot for us to learn from those people

From Genesis to Revelation, we read about those who put God at the center of their lives and treated others with compassion and those who did not

The best example of an appropriate attitude towards God and others is that of Jesus Christ…He took time daily to walk with God, He treated everyone with kindness, compassion and kept the Father at the center of everything

This is what He seeks from us as well

Spend time with Jesus every day and pray about your attitude towards God and others

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“He has showed you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Micah 6:8 NIV

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

Plans…Purpose

August 13, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“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 NIV

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans.”

Proverbs 16:3 NIV

If we try to do things our own way for our own purposes all the time we will only find discouragement and frustration

Our purpose comes from God, our Creator

His purpose is based on who He is and His love

If we are willing to seek Him and follow Him we will find His way is better for us

His plan is for our good and His glory

We can put our hope in the Lord and trust His plan and purpose for our life

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“Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

Proverbs 19:21 NIV

(This photo was taken along the North Shore of Lake Superior)

Love In Action

August 10, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV

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“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV

(This photo was taken at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

I Surrender All

August 9, 2025 / mcalcagno / 2 Comments

“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”

Luke 9:23-24 NIV

Father God, I surrender my life to You

You can have it all. All my doubts, all my fears, all my worries…every insecurity, every selfish desire and past mistake…I give it all to You

Every area of my life that does not honor You…take it

Take it all and use me, change me, transform me, love me and love others through me

Take all that I am, and use it for Your glory

In Jesus name, Amen

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“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20 NIV

(This photo was taken at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

A New Way

August 8, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“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; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.“

Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:^[a] The old has gone, the new is here!“

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

Every day brings new possibilities

Trust the promises of God to find a New Way

Our hope is in God and His love

The Wonderful Cross by Michael W Smith

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“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.“

Philippians 4:8-9 NIV

(This photo was taken at sunrise at a lake in central Minnesota)

Give Thanks and Praise

August 7, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:6-8 NIV

It is wild how quickly we can become distracted

Today’s world is filled with so much information and so much misinformation that it is easy to get derailed or side tracked

We need to be able to be centered on something or someone to keep us level headed and not chasing every feeling and emotion

God knows everything about us

Try this brief exercise today…think about your last 24 hours

God knows about every single thing and every single thought you have experienced

Yes even that one thought

Now step back and think about the fact that this is true about every single thing and thought in your life

God knows and when we take a moment to realize that right now, knowing all those things that God knows…remember this

God forgives you and God loves you the same today as He did the day you were born

To show you how much He loves and cares for you He sent His Son to take the punishment that we all deserve so that we can still have a relationship with Him

Give thanks and praise to God our Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, our Savior and Lord

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“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:4-7 NIV

(This photo was taken in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)

He Did It All For You

August 6, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in^[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 6:23 NIV

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:5 NIV

We didn’t earn it

We do not deserve it

Yet Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself for us

This is how much He loves us

This is how much He loves you

Remember what He did to show His love for you

Remember…He did it all for you!

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“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV

(This photo was taken while traveling in northern Colorado)