A Place Where You See God

September 22, 2013 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

If you stop and think about it, where is that place in your life? Is it a physical location or something different? Is it in an act of kindness you have experienced or seen happening to another person or in a story you have heard about other people?

Sometimes it can be hard to find him…when I think about it and realize I haven’t seen him or been aware of him…I have learned not to ask God to show himself in some way but rather give me eyes and ears to see your work in the world. For me, the key is where are we focusing our attention…if we are self-focused we will miss just about every opportunity to see God’s work in the world. As we learn to focus on a relationship with God and others first we begin to acquire a new perspective. This type of change in focus requires a commitment to change your routines and habits in life. If we just try to work it all in to our current schedule and life we will fail…I speak from experience.

For many years I was consumed with my work and the company I worked for and my “position” in the social stratosphere. I would work in “my time” with God on the weekend before getting down to business. This life created several false idols for me, because deep in my heart I had not surrendered and committed myself to Jesus. When I finally stopped pursuing my plans, my ideas for how things should be and truly dedicated daily time in devotion and worship…I finally started to see opportunities to connect with the world through God. Some would argue that I have given up on living my life…my response is…you are correct in that I have given up trying to live my life my way and instead I am trying to live my life the way God has intended for me. Of course, I am human and still make plenty of mistakes and have trouble with temptations but my life has never had more joy, more peace and contentment.

So where is it? Where is the one place in your life right now that you see God? Where is it that God has cracked a door or a window in your life and you just need to open it and step through trusting that no matter what happens God will be at your side and if you commit to meeting with him daily you will begin to experience life in a whole new way?

May God’s peace be with you

A Hymn and a Prayer

September 15, 2013 / mcalcagno / 4 Comments

When I awoke this morning a hymn and a prayer began playing in my mind. This is not the first time this has happened. It comes from my childhood and is another clear indicator to me that even when I was not paying attention to God he was working on and paying attention to me. What an awesome God! I share this particular hymn and prayer with you today:

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me bring your love.
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord
And where there’s doubt, true faith in you.

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there’s sadness, ever joy.

Make me a channel of your peace
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
In giving to all men that we receive
And in dying that we’re born to eternal life.

Amen

When You Don’t Know What To Do…

September 8, 2013 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Pray. When things aren’t going your way…Pray. When you are feeling great and everything seems to be falling into place…Pray. When you are exhausted and worn out…Pray. When you are energized and you feel like you can take on anything…Pray.

I have learned over time that prayer can be so much more than a list of thanks for this or that and please bless him and her…this is not to say that these types of prayers are not important, they are. However, they should not be the only prayers we say. One of the greatest joys of being a believer is the relationship you can develop with God. Like any relationship in life it takes time and effort on our part. Think about your best relationships in life…typically those relationships are with people you see often or people you speak with daily. The same can be true with God. If you make it a priority to spend some amount of time reading the bible and speaking with God every day I promise you will begin to feel a difference in every aspect of your life and when you are unsure about something or someone…talk to God about it he will help you see your way through. As one of my favorite bible verses states…

“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 everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard you hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:4-7

So when life has you questioning “What do I do now?”…Pray

Peace.

Mission Trip Day 8 – The Challenge Is To Take It With You

July 27, 2013 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

This is our last night together. Our group has bonded very well this week. We have laughed together, sang songs of worship, served the homeless in shelters and out on the street directly. We have cried together, shared stories of our encounters with people in need. We have been silly together and have genuinely been shown kindness from several people along the way.

When you make a commitment to step away from your daily grind and focus only on where you are and what you can do to help others it gives you an opportunity to learn so much about yourself and what gifts God has given to you. This Mission trip experience is unique and wonderful and the best way to honor what we have done together is to make the next commitment to use what we have learned in our home community.

This is one of the biggest challenges of faith and one of the many reasons I started this blog in the first place.

The youth in our church are so amazing. They are so much better than me and my friends were at that age. They are kind, generous, enthusiastic and totally filled with the Holy Spirit. I am so impressed with their ability to step up to challenges of faith. I hope we all take this time together and truly change the way we live our lives when we return. It is too easy to slip back into our old habits and fill our schedules with busy time and forget we need to leave time for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.

Heavenly Father, I pray that you lift up this week we have had together as a reminder to us that we need to continue what you have shown us. I ask that you give us the courage to make a change in how we live our lives. Lord, thank you for the blessings you have placed in us and around us, please guide us to the next challenge of our faith and strengthen us to do your will…I pray all of this in Jesus name, Amen.

Friends and Friendships

July 10, 2013 / mcalcagno / 2 Comments

I read a quote on a P.S I Love You poster hanging on the wall, it states:

“Friends are like a beautiful garden. They require regular care.”

How true that is. Friends are very much like a garden.

You could also add that you only get out of it what you put in to it! A garden can be a beautiful thing to look at and bring joy to you and others. If you spend time working on them every day. You start by making sure they have a good foundation or growing environment. You provide soil that is full of good nutrients and holds the moisture. When you put in the flowers you need to give them space to grow. Then there is the routine of watering and most importantly pulling out those stubborn weeds. With regular care your garden can grow and prosper.

When I consider my friends and my friendships I would say that the ones I give the most “care” or time too are definitely the relationships that are doing the best and have grown the most. In my best friendships I am aware that they have a good growing environment and are given space to change and grow. I often attend to them with phone calls, emails or a text message. Most importantly, I try to always be available when the “weeds” of life are becoming too difficult to deal with by themselves.

I have also learned that sometimes God brings friends into your life at just the right time to be messengers. Some friends are only in your life briefly; they serve a purpose in God’s plan and move on while others are with you much longer. God himself also wants to be one of your lifelong friends…all you would need to do for that to happen is give your friendship/relationship with God some regular care.

Meet with him every day in a quiet and peaceful place or room…there are no rules regarding how long to do it and no right ways or wrong ways to meet with him…just find a place that feels right to you and talk to him…as I stated at the beginning…you will only get out of it what you put into it! Talk to him, he is waiting to hear from you.

Peace be with you.

Prayer and Speaking to God

July 2, 2013 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

My next experience of faith was in college. One of my best friends lost his brother in a plane crash. I didn’t know what to do or where to go…something told me to go to the Catholic Church some of us had started attending occasionally in our third year of college. It was at night and the door was locked…I went over to the living quarters and knocked and asked if I could get into the church to pray because I figured that is where I needed to be. The pastor looked me up and down, probably thinking a college kid asking to get into the church at night in a college town…he declined my request. Well now what. Feeling rejected I walked over to my car in the parking lot and looked back towards the church. The moon was shining with some clouds passing by right behind the steeple…I looked with wonder and then I started to speak…

God, I don’t know what to do or what to say but please help my friend and his family during this sad time and this tragic event…help them anyway you can. I don’t know what I can do but I know you can help them.

It’s my opinion that this was my first real prayer because it had an attitude of belief behind it that wasn’t there when I would “recite” a prayer during church when I was younger.

What was it like the first time you truly spoke to God?