Doing Good

November 21, 2018 / mcalcagno / 2 Comments

Patience…Persistence…Perseverance…Consistent…Helpful…Supportive…Kind. It can be difficult to sustain an attitude that focuses on good things. There is darkness and evil lurking everywhere in the world. When we state our belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and profess our faith that He is our Lord and Savior we will receive the Holy Spirit within us. The Holy Spirit along with the Word of God can be our foundation to stand on for doing good things and serving the needs of others. God is love and He has poured out His love to us through His One and Only Son. Let’s be grateful for His love, His mercy, His grace and His forgiveness and keep our courage up to do good things. Amen.

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“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 while traveling through Utah)

Questions

November 20, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

So many questions in our hearts and minds every day. We must be careful not to let them overcome us. We should bring our questions to the Lord in prayer and listen for Him to guide us. He is the light for our path. Whatever is troubling you this day, take it to the Cross and live. May we seek the will of the Lord everywhere we go. Amen.

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“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

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 along Beartooth Pass in Montana)

Humble And Gentle

November 19, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Be respectful…good listener…have compassion…acknowledge others needs. These are ways we can be one with the Spirit that is within us. These behaviors are neither common or natural to many people. Striving for these ways is learning to live differently than the world tells you how to live. When we put Christ in the center of our lives we are a new creation and our old ways are left behind, life should be different, our attitude should be different and the joy and peace of the Lord will be much more common in our every day. May the grace and mercy of God the Father wash over us and make us new. Amen.

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“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

Ephesians 4:1-2

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 along Beartooth Pass in Montana)

Commitment

November 17, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

This is hard when things are difficult, when it feels like at every turn we try and failure is right there to greet us. When we commit to something we naturally put some level of our own expectations of how things should go or what we believe should be the outcome. Here is the issue with this approach…we are setting “our expectations” on the result with little regard for God’s will and God’s plan. Following our faith and trust in the Lord means we can be free from the limited results our own minds can generate and be open to new possibilities. For me this is hard to grasp and at times very difficult to embrace…even Jesus struggled in the last moments of His commitment to save us right before He was arrested and He prayed to His Father…“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” – Luke 22:42 Bring your commitments to the Lord in prayer and seek His will. Listen for Him and for the Holy Spirit to guide you…find your quiet place and quiet time and rest in Him. May the peace and joy of the Lord be with you. Amen.

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“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

Psalm 143:8

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 near Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado)

Wait For The Lord

November 16, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

The ways of the Lord are exemplified by the Fruits of the Spirit…love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It is so easy to get derailed and off track with these ways because the world is pushing for self-centered behaviors of hate, anger, dissension, me first, greed, faster, get out of my way and other similar attitudes. God keeps His promises and He will encourage you, hold you up and strengthen you for every and any battle…it is up to you to be engaged in your relationship with Jesus Christ and for you to read the Word of God to gain the wisdom and understanding God provides. If we are unsure of where God is in our life then we should continue in prayer and wait for Him…He always shows up, always. I pray we seek to live the Fruits of the Spirit in our relationship with the Lord and with others. Amen.

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“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Psalm 27:14

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota)

God’s Love

November 15, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Everlasting…forgiving…strengthens us…deeper than any love on earth…reconciled…compassionate…is the light of life. God chose us, God chose you. He chose you out of love and He poured out His love for you by sending His one and only Son into the world. God’s love gave us our Savior, Jesus Christ and through His Sacrifice, we are Saved. Turn towards God today and thank Him for His love and for Jesus, ask Him to guide you to how you can show His love to others. Amen.

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“This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

1 John 4:10

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

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)

There Is Hope…

November 13, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Where can you apply this phrase in your life? We get tired, we get frustrated and we get discouraged…and when this occurs it is important to remember with God all things are possible, even if and especially if we can’t see the way ahead or we can’t figure out how this is going to change or get better. Because there is hope we can keep going, keep trying, keep giving our best to that situation in our life…we persevere because there is hope. With God the most desperate time in human history when Jesus Christ was crucified, died and was buried became the greatest event of Good News. He was this baby born on Christmas morning who brought peace, healing and joy…He became a man performing miracles everywhere He went and then…He was gone…I can’t imagine what it must have been like for those days between His death and His resurrection. But because Jesus Christ has risen and He lives there is always Hope! May we all be strengthened and encouraged by the hope God has poured out for us through Jesus Christ. Amen.

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“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love in to our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

Romans 5:5

(This photo was taken in December of 2013 on a walk in northwestern Wisconsin)

Character

November 8, 2018 / mcalcagno / 1 Comment

Personality…nature…disposition…temperament…mentality…essence…identity…spirit. Our character is defined by who we are, how we relate and interact with others. This is at the core of who we are as a person. For some, their true character is only revealed to a few other people as they have fear and a lack of trust in others due to previous wounds and painful past experiences. The other reason fear exists in revealing our true character is our concern regarding acceptance. With the proliferation of social media sites, judgement or what is know as ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’ has inappropriately become the measuring stick of defining who someone is…talk about judging a book by its cover! We can begin to get knowledge and a better understanding of our character by spending time with Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord and by accepting who we are according to God. Additionally, we can encourage and help build up others by taking time to listen and discuss the things that make us different. I pray we all examine who we are more than what we do and we lay our fears and worries at the foot of the cross. Amen.

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“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.”

2 Peter 1:5-7

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

Follow Jesus

November 7, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Commitment…dedication…devotion…faithfulness. Our spiritual growth will show signs of all these things over time. The faith journey is more than a one time decision to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and life…don’t misunderstand me, that is absolutely the right first step. The journey continues from there with a daily giving of ourselves to the will of God for our lives. It is prayer about everything, it is learning to let go of those things we cannot control nor should we try to control. It is about learning to accept the love and forgiveness of God in your heart and mind and then turning outward toward others to share that truth in service and kindness. My prayer is for us all to give of ourselves to Jesus each day. After all, He gave all He had of His life in this world to save us. Amen.

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