The Best Day of my Life !

Today, when I awoke, I suddenly realized that this is the best day of my life, ever !

There were times when I wondered if I would make it to totday, but I did ! And because I did I´m going to celebrate.

Today I´m going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I´ve had so far; the accomplishments, the many blessings, and yes, even the hardships because they had served to make me stronger.

I will go through this day with my head held high, and a happy heart. I will marvel at God´s seemingly simple gifts; the morning dew, the sun, the clouds, the trees, the flowers, and the birds. Today, none of these miraculous creations will escape my notice.

Today, I will share my excitement for life with other people. I´ll make someone smile. I´ll go out of my way to perform an unexpected act of kindness for someone. Today, I´ll give a sincere compliment to someone who seems down. I´ll tell a child how special they are, and I´ll tell someone I love just how deeply I care for them and how much they mean to me.

Today is the day I quit worrying about what I don´t have and start being grateful for all the wonderful things God has already given me. I´ll remember that to worry is just a waste of time because
my faith in God an his Divine Plan ensures every thing will be fine.

And tonight, before I go to bed I´ll go outside and raise my eyes to the heavens. I will stand in awe at the beauty of the stars and the moon, and I will praise God for these magnificent treasures.

As the day ends and I lay my head down on my pillow, I will thank the Almighty for the best day of my life. And I will sleep the sleep of a contented child, excited with expectation because I know tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life, ever !

God´s home !

"The beautiful things in this world are hints of the beauty of God´s home.

I do not think there is a heaven. I know there is a heaven, just as truly as you know there is a world all around you.

God´s creative power is not limited to the crass material things of earth. God has created things you would never dream of. One day you will see.

For those who believe, death is not a pitiful end. It is the beginning of a new and wonderful life."

- Joshua (Joshua in the holy land, J.Girzone)

Are you listening ?

Someone is whispering:
Have no fear.

Someone is whispering:
I love you.

Someone is whispering:
Trust me.

Someone is whispering:
Follow me.


....are you listening ?!?

The smile of a child

The smile of a child,
lightens up our hearts.

The smile of a child,
makes us forget our hardships.

The smile of a child,
is one moment in time.

The smile of a child,
is God´s way of saying:

What a beautiful life !

- M. Stern

Closing cycles / Paulo Coelho

One always has to know when a stage comes to an end. If we insist on staying longer than the necessary time, we lose the happiness and the meaning of the other stages we have to go through. Closing cycles, shutting doors, ending chapters - whatever name we give it, what matters is to leave in the past the moments of life that have finished.

Did you lose your job? Has a loving relationship come to an end? Did you leave your parents’ house? Gone to live abroad? Has a long lasting friendship ended all of a sudden? You can spend a long time wondering why this has happened. You can tell yourself you won’t take another step until you find out why certain things that were so important and so solid in your life have turned into dust, just like that. But such an attitude will be awfully stressing for everyone involved: your parents, your husband or wife, your friends, your children, your sister, everyone will be finishing chapters, turning over new leaves, getting on with life, and they will all feel bad seeing you at a standstill.

None of us can be in the present and the past at the same time, not even when we try to understand the things that happen to us. What has passed will not return: we cannot for ever be children, late adolescents, sons that feel guilt or rancor towards our parents, lovers who day and night relive an affair with someone who has gone away and has not the least intention of coming back. Things pass, and the best we can do is to let them really go away.

Nobody plays this life with marked cards, so sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Do not expect anything in return, do not expect your efforts to be appreciated, your genius to be discovered, your love to be understood. Stop turning on your emotional television to watch the same program over and over again, the one that shows how much you suffered from a certain loss: that is only poisoning you, nothing else.

Nothing is more dangerous than not accepting love relationships that are broken off, work that is promised but there is no starting date, decisions that are always put off waiting for the “ideal moment.” Before a new chapter is begun, the old one has to be finished: tell yourself that what has passed will never come back. Remember that there was a time when you could live without that thing or that person - nothing is irreplaceable, a habit is not a need. This may sound so obvious, it may even be difficult, but it is very important.

Closing cycles. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because that no longer fits your life.

Shut the door, change the record, clean the house, shake off the dust.

Stop being who you were, and change into who you are.

(With Thanks to T. Sanders)

Every time !

Every time I look in the mirror,
Every time I fall asleep,
Every time I wake up,
Every time I listen to my favorite song,

Every time I laugh with someone,
Every time I score a basket,
Every time I win a hand,
Every time I drive into sunset,

Every time I embrace a loved one,
Every time I talk to God,

...I try to remind myself:
>>Pay attention and don´t take this for granted !<<

A Winning Attitude

When we play a basketball game, we win it or we lose it. And the outside world defines us based on that win or loss. We´re eihter good or we´re bad on that day. Basically that´s how most people look at it. But that´s not how I look at it.

Sometimes a loss can be a win.
I believe that any team that does its best is a winner.

If we are constantly looking at a win-loss record to determine whether we are doing well, we´re not looking at the right barometer.

A real winning attitude is about standards of excellence - which are variable from year to year, from team to team. Being the best you can be - and doing the best you can - are the constants.

When you view winning the way I do, it becomes clear that leaders are ultimately responsible for how their teams perform - and whether they are the best they can be. But that´s not really pressure, it´s reality - and it is also a wonderful challenge. I really believe that if a leader is a stickler on high performance, on excellence, then winning games will be a natural by-product.

- Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski, Coach of the 2008 Redeem-team and of the Duke University)

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

Chapter I
I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost...I am helpless. It isn´t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter II
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don´t see it. I fall in again. I can´t believe I am in this same place. But it isn´t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter III
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in..it´s a habit...but, my eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

Chapter IV
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

Chapter V
I walk down another street.

Dedication to Jesus

I dedicate this book to my friend who is always by my side and in my heart, who is never far when I am lonely and confused, who always gives me peace to my soul when I am troubled and frightened, and fearful of the future.

I share with Him my deepest secrets, my joy, my sorrow, my accomplishments, my shame. He always understands. He never accuses or criticizes, but often suggests a different way of doing things. When He does He inevitably prepares the way so it is not as impossible as I thought it might be.

Over the years I have learned to trust Him. It was not easy. I thought that in following Him I would have to give up all the fun in my life, but I found that He is the source of all joy and adventure, and, indeed, He turned my life into a great adventure at a time when I thought it was about to come to an end.

I would like to suggest that He could become your friend, too, if you would like Him to be. Do not be afraid !
He will respect your freedom and your independence more than anyone you have ever met, because He created you to be free.

He just wants more than anything that you will accept Him as your Friend. If you do, I can promise you, you will never be alone !

- Joseph F. Girzone, "Never alone"

Imitation of Christ - Part VI

On bearing with the defects of others

There will always be defects in ourselves or others that we cannot correct. These we must simply tolerate until God in His goodness sees fit to change things.

Learn how to be patient in enduring the faults of others, remembering that you yourself have many that offend others. We wish to see perfection in others, but do not correct our own faults.

God wills us to learn to bear one another´s burdens.No one is without faults or without a cross.

Embrace your sexuality !

Hungers and appetites - for sexual release, for food, for life - are as natural to you as clouds are to the sky or waves to the sea. If you suppress or exploit the surging power of your drives, you create obsessions, compulsions, and guilty secrets.
Life is not a matter of indulging or denying the energies of life, but observing, accepting, and wisely channeling them.
Embracing your sexuality celebrates your humanity.

Only when you fully accept your sexuality can you fully accept your humanity and finally feel whole. Clearly, embracing your sexuality does not imply license to sexually exploit yourself or others, but rather to express who you are and to fully aknowledge that you are worthy of love.

Some of our shame or guilt over sexuality stem from religious traditions. Religious dogma is not wrong. The purpose of it is to awaken our highest ideals and possibilities, make demands, stretch our souls, draw forth the highest and best within us. It calls us to our human maturity. Ultimately it may well be best to practice abstinence and direct our sexual energies into other creative pursuits until married.

But this is not what most imperfect humans actually do. Nowadays this dogma doesn´t seem to be realistic. Even many priests and nuns have problems living up to the ideals of the church. We need to realize that sexuality has no inherent morality or immorality. No absolute, sexual guidelines exist.

- Dan Millman

Imitation of Christ - Part V

On the familiar friendship of Jesus

When our Lord is present, all goes well and nothing seems hard to do for His love; but when he is absent, everything is difficult. When Jesus doesn´t speak to our soul, no other consolation suffices; but if He speaks only one word, we feel great inner joy.

To be without Jesus is the torment of hell, but to be with Him is the joy of paradise. He is the pearl of great price, the highest good.

It is a great art to know how to talk with Jesus, and to know how to keep Him with you is great wisdom. Be humble and peaceful and Jesus will be with you. How foolish to put your trust or happiness in any other. It would be better to have the world against you than to hurt Jesus.Of all who are dear to you, let Jesus be your best beloved.

All others must be loved for Jesus´s sake, but Jesus for Himself alone. For Him, in Him, you must love friends and foes alike, praying to Him for them, that all may come to know and love Him.

But you can only attain this if you are led by His grace; so that setting aside all else; you may become one with Him alone.

Pilatus - Vom Henker zum Verkündiger

Pilatus war der Statthalter des römischen Kaisers in der eroberten Provinz Syrien. Er war der Chef der Besatzungstruppe und ein Machtmensch von der übelsten Sorte.

In den biblischen Berichten kommt er noch relativ gut weg. Andere Zeitgenossen wussten Schlimmes über Pilatus zu berichten. Der Geschichtsschreiber Philo von Alexandrien z.B. erzählt, die Amtsführung des Pilatus habe nur bestanden aus "Bestechlichkeit, Gewalttätigkeit, Räubereien,Misshandlungen, Hinrichtungen, fortwährender und unerträglicher Grausamkeit". Pilatus war so berüchtigt, dass ihn schließlich der Kaiser persönlich nach Rom beorderte, damit er sich dort für sein grausames Verhalten rechtfertigen sollte.

Von diesem Gewaltmenschen Pilatus also erzählt das Johannesevangelium nun etwas Überraschendes. Hier wird erzählt, wie ausgerechnet dieser brutale Pilatus, ganz und gar unfreiwillig, zum Verkündiger der christlichen Botschaft wird:

Pilatus lässt nämlich am Kreuz eine Tafel anbringen. Auf der steht geschrieben: "Jesus von Nazareth, König der Juden". Abgekürzt, wenn man nur die lateinischen Anfangsbuchstaben benutzt, ergibt das "INRI". Das lässt Pilatus da hinschreiben, und zwar auf Hebräisch, Lateinisch und Griechisch. In allen wichtigen Sprachen der damaligen Welt. Jeder kann es lesen und verstehen. Bis ans Ende der Erde. Die Hohepriester protestieren. Sie wollen eine genauere Formulierung.
"Schreibe, dass er nur behauptet hat, er sei der König der Juden.", fordern sie. Aber Pilatus lehnt ab: "Was ich geschrieben habe, habe ich geschrieben."

Durch das Anbringen dieser Tafel wird Pilatus, ohne es zu wissen, vom Henker zum Verkündiger. Er wird zum Zeugen für Jesus Christus. Ohne es zu wollen, verbreitet er die Wahrheit über Jesus. Die Tafel am Kreuz sagt es allen, die es sehen und verstehen wollen: Da am Kreuz stirbt nicht irgendwer. Irgendein Gescheiterter, ein Verbrecher, ein Hochstapler oder Aufrührer. Nein, hier stirbt tatsächlich der König der Juden. Der Messias. Gottes Auserwählter. Gottes Sohn. Und die drei Weltsprachen machen es allen klar: Das geht die ganze Welt was an. Das hier ist keine Privatsache. Dieser Tod geht allen Menschen auf der ganzen Erde etwas an. Auch uns heute.

Das verkündigt Pilatus, wenn auch nicht mit Absicht.

(Ein Beitrag von Renate M., vielen Dank !)

Other side - David Grey

There surely is an "other side" !

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

- Romans 8:18

Face your fears !

Fear is a wonderful servant,
but a terrible master.

Like pain, it can alert and advise you,
but may also cloud or limit your life.

Fear appears in many disguises, such as
"I´m not really interested in doing that"
or "Why bother ?" or "I can´t".

You face your fear every day -
fear of failure, of rejection,
even the fear of being yourself.

Your fears are not walls, but hurdles.
Courage is not the absence of fear,
but the conquering of it.

- Dan Millman

Joshua - A religious person ?

An excerpt from the book "Joshua and the children" , by Joseph F. Girzone:

You know, Joshua, you don´t come across as a particular religious person, and yet your attitudes and insights betray a depth of spirituality that could come only from unusual intimacy with God.


Joshua smiled and said:

I do not attempt to be religious. That has no meaning. To be perfectly human, as God made us, sould be our goal. If we appear to be religious or pious, we´ve missed the point and our piety becomes a caricature and unauthentic. Real holiness is the natural growth of the human personality to its full maturity as an individual, and in the process, becoming a beautiful person. That is all that God wants of us.


And since each individual is unique, and has a different task to accomplish in God´s plan, each one has to grow differently, so holiness for each individual is different and has nothing to do with predetermined religious patterns and practices that mimic real holiness.

Jesus lived in Nazareth for thirty years, and the kids he grew up with were shocked when he began to preach. They never looked upon him as particularly holy, and yet he was the holy one of God.

A true story !

Over a hundred years ago in France, a butler attached to a wealthy family knew where the family kept all their wealth, hidden in a vault underneath the château. He methodically plotted to kill everyone in the family and steal the treasure.

One night, when everyone was asleep, he murdered first the father and mother, and then, one by one, the children. Only the youngest escaped because he had heard noises and couldn´t sleep. When he realized what was happening he quietly slipped out of his room and hid in a closet under a pile of clothes.

For years he wandered the streets as an orphan, and later entered the seminary and became a priest. Eventually he was assigned to Devil´s Island as a chaplain.

One afternoon a convict came running in from the fields, frantically calling for the chaplain: "There is a man dying out on the field, Father, come quickly."

The priest ran out with him and reached the dying man. Kneeling down beside him, he lifted his head onto his lap and asked if he would like to confess his sins. The dying man refused.

"Why, my son ?" the priest asked. "Because God will never forgive me for what I have done"

"But what have you done so bad ?" the priest continued. And the man went on to tell the story of how he had killed this whole family so he could have their money, and only the little boy escaped because he couldn´t find him.

Then the priest said to him, "If I can forgive you, certainly God can forgive you. And I forgive you from my heart. It was my family you killed, and I am that little boy."

The convict cried and told the priest how he had been haunted all his life over what he had done, though no one else knew about it. Even the authorities never found out.

The two men cried together. And, as the priest was giving the dying man absolution, the man died with his head resting on the priest´s lap.

That story is a true story and serves as an inspiration whenever people hurt you. It shows how beautiful and godly is the kind of forgiveness that Jesus taught.

Trying to forgive like that can bring a lot of peace into your life.

Imitation of Christ - Part IV

On following Christ our model

"No follower of Mine will ever walk in darkness." (John 8:12)

These words of our Lord counsel all to walk in His footsteps. Make it your aim to meditate on the life of Jesus Christ.

Christ´s teching surpasses that of all the Saints. But to find this spiritual nourishment you must seek to have the Spirit of Christ.

Be determined to detach your heart from the love of visible things, allowing it to center on those unseen.

Imitation of Christ - Part III

Our final home

Christ

My child, let not the labors which you have undertaken for My sake crush you, nor cause you to lose heart.

Whatever happens, have confidence that My promise will be your strength and consolation. I will reward you beyond all limits and measure.

Labor perseveringly in My vineyard, and I Myself will be your reward. Eternal life is worth all these combats and more. Peace shall come at a time known only to the Lord. It will not last a day or a night as we calculate time; there will be light everlasting, infinite glory, unbroken peace and undisturbed rest.

If we could only see the saints in heaven and in what great glory they now rejoice, how we would humble ourselves to the dust.

If you are really eager to get to heaven , you will relish with joy the struggles and conflicts of this world. Where I am with all My Saints, here in the kingdom of My Father, is where you will remain safe and at rest after your tribulations in this world are at an end.

Disciple

O blessed mansion of the heavenly city ! How bright is the day of eternity ! There no darkness ever obscures, for God, the high Truth , illumines and makes all clear.

I think of heavenly things. Blessed are those who abandon all created things for love of You, O Lord. Then with a serene conscience they may offer pure prayer to You.

The gift of life as an instrument for service

Imagine for a moment that, through a strange twist of fate, you wake up one morning and find yourself imprisoned in a nameless country and for political reasons scheduled for execution at midnight. You gaze out through prison bars and see the first rays of your last sunrise

You feel greedy for every sight, every sound, taste and aroma. You eat your last meal as the shadows grow long outside. And as the sun sets, you say your final farewell to the light of day, for you will never again see the sunrise. Each passing minute draws you closer to your final good-bye, your last prayer, and, finally, your last breath.

A final day awaits us all.

We may know in advance when our end is near, through declining health, a terminal illness, old age. Or we may have only a few seconds´ notice, or none at all.

When the executioner raises his scythe, how many of us may want to say, "Wait ! Just another moment, please ! Let me take one more sweet breath ! Give me one more sight, sound, touch of my beloved ! Just one more moment !"

Now is the time to see, to listen, to touch - bring our best to life while we have the life for it. How much we have, no one can say. Life itself is a near-death experience.

Consider how we appear from nowhere, as microscopic specks on a minuscule, blue-green moving dot through the infinity of space and time. Our lives are ephemeral and brief, and yet we strive to love, to serve, to find meaning and fulfillment while we live. Life itself is a hero´s journey.

But counting our blessings leads to a desire to give something back. Thus begins the path of service.

- Dan Millman

Imitation of Christ - Part II

Dialogue on suffering

Christ

Stop complaining and consider My Passion and the sufferings of My Saints. You ought to remind yourself to the intense sufferings that others endured for Me, that you may bear your own little miseries more easily.

The better disposed you are to suffer, the more wisely you will act and the more merit you will have, because you have prepared yourself for it and are well disposed to accept it.

Persons who are really patient do not mind who causes their suffering. They accept all gratefully as from the hand of God and consider it a great benefit.

Without a conflict you can not obtain the crown of patience. There is no rest without labor, or victory without battle.

Disciple

O Lord Jesus, make possible to me by grace what is impossible by nature. I beseech You, that any trouble or adversity may be loved by me for Your Name, for it is very profitable to my soul to suffer and be afflicted for You.

Imitation of Christ - Part I

This will be a series that contains excerpts from the book "Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A Kempis.

Dialogue on the topic of prayer

Christ

My Child, in every circumstance this is how you should pray:

"Lord, if it be Your will, so let it be, and if it be to Your honor, let it be fulfilled in Your Name. Lord, if this be for my good, give me the grace to use it for Your honor; but if you know that it will be harmful to me and not profitable to my soul, then take away from me such a desire."

It is with fear of God and a humble heart that you should desire and ask for whatever comes to your mind as desirable. With entire abandonment of yourself to God, commit all things to Me,saying:
"Do with me what You know to be best, as pleases You best and as will best promote Your glory."

Disciple

O most merciful Jesus, grant me always to will and desire what is most pleasing and acceptable to You.

Grant, above all things to be desired, that in Your heart alone may be my peace.

Apart from you, all is difficult and never still. In that peace, in You who are the one, I will sleep and take my rest. Amen.

Die Kunst des Scheiterns

Freitagabend, 24. August 2007 in der NDR-Talkshow: Das ist mutig, wenn einer nicht hinterm Berg hält mit seiner Abhängigkeit von Kokain und Crack, seinem finanziellen Zusammenbruch und seiner Verzweiflung am Leben. Liedermacher Konstantin Wecker erzählt von seinem Scheitern, von der Zeit, als vom einstigen Glamour nichts mehr übrig war - und er macht Mut, zu sich selbst zu stehen, auch zu dem, was daneben gegangen ist.

Im Juni ist er 60 geworden. 60 Jahre - und ein bisschen weise. In seinem Buch Die Kunst des Scheiterns - Tausend unmögliche Wege das Glück zu finden spielt die Lebensweisheit eine große Rolle. Wecker, der sich selbst einen typischen Herdplattenanfasser nennt (alles selbst ausprobieren muss), sagt: Das, was man in dieser Gesellschaft als Erfolglosigkeit versteht, muss nicht wirklich eine Erfolgslosigkeit sein für die innere Entwicklung.

Scheitern gehört zum Menschsein dazu. Scheitern im Kreis der Weight Watchers. Scheitern in Beziehungen, an Idealen. Es einfach nicht schaffen, was wir so gut vorhaben. Die Prüfung nicht bestehen. Mit der Firma in roten Zahlen landen.

Willkommen im Club. Wie viele Flugversuche sind gescheitert, bevor es dann endlich geklappt hat mit dem großen Traum vom Fliegen.

Wenn wir in die Bibel schauen: Lauter Biographien, wo das Scheitern eine große Rolle spielt:
Der Apostel Paulus hat sehr darunter gelitten - und welche Antwort hat er bekommen? Lass dir an meiner Gnade genügen, denn meine Kraft ist in den Schwachen mächtig!

Wenn Gott mit Menschen etwas vorhat, dann sucht er nicht die makellosen Siegertypen aus, sondern die, die was vom Scheitern verstehn.

C.G. Jung hat mal gesagt: Ein kräftiges Leid erspart oft 10 Jahre Meditation.

Es fällt mir nicht leicht, mit dem Scheitern umzugehen, wie Rita Süssmuth zu sagen: Hinfallen ist nicht schlimm. Wichtig ist, dass wir immer einmal mehr aufstehen als hinfallen.

Es fällt mir nicht leicht, wie Alexis Sorbas nach dem Zusammensturz einer Brücke zu lachen und zu sagen: Hast du jemals etwas so schön zusammenkrachen gesehen? - und danach Sirtaki zu tanzen.

Aber das, was der Konstantin Wecker erzählt hat, das hat mir Mut gemacht, mich mit dem Scheitern zu versöhnen. Das ist menschlich.

Lach mal drüber. Nimms nicht so tragisch. Nimm dich selbst nicht so ernst. Nobody is perfect. Versuch doch auch mal, Sirtaki zu tanzen! - Und schau, es hat dich verändert, es hat dich weiter gebracht!

(Quelle: Heidrun Kuhlmann = www.seelenfutter.de)

A Sermon in action

Example No.1:

One afternoon years ago, reporters and officials gathered at a Chicago train station, awaiting the arrival of a Nobel Prize winner. He stepped off the train - a giant of man, with bushy hair and a large mustache. As the cameras flashed, the officials extended their hands and began telling him how honored they were to meet him. The doctor thanked them and then, looking over their heads, asked if he might be excused for a moment.

Walking through the crowd with quick steps, he soon reached the side of an elderly woman who was having trouble trying to carry two large suitcases. He picked up the bags in his large hands and, with a kind of smile, escorted the woman to a bus. As the doctor helped her aboard, he wished her a safe journey. Then, since the crowd had tagged along behind him, he turned and apologized to them for keeping them waiting.

The man was Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the famous missionary-physician who had spent his life helping the poorest of the poor in Africa. Said a member of the reception committee to one of the reporters:

"That´s the first time I ever saw a sermon walking."

- Sandra from New York

Example No.2:

I met a man at a wedding party one day. He was in a wheelchair and cornered me for the better part of an hour. He was badly deformed and had been that way from birth. We had a very pleasant conversation and when I learned he had a job I asked what kind of work he did. He told me he was an engineer and worked for the state. I was impressed. I guess he could see that I was impressed and went on to say,

"I suppose some people would think that I should have been aborted, but I have had a terrific life, and I really love my work."

This man´s life is a living sermon. He doesn´t have to say a word.

- J. Girzone

Basketball: More than just a game !

"Basketball teaches:

- It teaches us that even when there is no chance to win, there is still an opportunity to be a hero.

- It takes effort. You have to practice. Practice real hard.

- You have to practice Dedication, Teamwork, Sportsmanship, Patience, Unity and Love.

And if we can practice all those things to make our game better, can´t we practice those things to make "OUR World" better !?"

Magnificent approach to a game that sometimes is more than just a game.

Barack Obama´s way to Christ !

"In the day-to-day work of the men and women I met in church each day, in their ability to "make a way out of no way" and maintain hope and dignity in the direst of circumstances, I could see the word manifest.

And perhaps it was out of this intimate knowledge of hardship, the grounding faith in struggle, that the historically black church offered me a second insight: that faith doesn´t mean that you don´t have doubts, or that you relinquish your hold on this world.

In the black community the lines between sinner and saved were more fluid; the sins of those who came to church were not so different from the sins of those who didn´t, and so were as likely to be talked about with humor as with condemnation.

You needed to come to church precisely because you were of this world, not apart from it; rich,poor,sinner,saved, you needed to embrace Christ precisely because you had sins to wash away - because you were human and needed an ally in your difficult journey to make the peaks and valleys smooth and render all those crooket places straight.

It was because of this newfound understandings - that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved - that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized.

It came about as a choice not an epiphany; the questions I had did not magically disappear. But kneeling beneath that cross on South Side of Chicago, I felt God´s spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth."

- From the book "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama

The Touch of the Master´s Hand

`Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste mudh time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.
"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who´ll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar," then, "Two! Only two ?
Two dollars and who´ll make it three ?
Three dollars once, three dollars, twice;
Going for three - " But no,
From the room far back, a grey-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quite and low,
Said, "What am I bid for the old violin ?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars, and who will make it two ?
Two thousand ! And who`ll make it three ?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
And going and gone,"said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried.
"We do not quite understand
What changed its worth." Swift came the reply:
"The touch of a master´s hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A "mess of pottage", a glass of wine.
A game - and he travels on.
He is "going" once, and "going" twice.
He´s "going" and almost "gone".
But the master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and a change that´s wrought
By the touch of the Master´s hand.

12 reasons why following Christ is the coolest thing !

Here are a dozen reasons why I think it´s the coolest thing to be a follower of Jesus Christ:

1. You are in touch with the "Most High".

2. You are never alone. In Jesus you have a best friend. A friend that wants to know you, who always understands and never criticizes or accuses you. He promised it: "I´ll never leave you alone."

3. God has a perfect plan for your life. With Him on your side you never have to worry about your future. If you trust in Him, everything that happens serves for your highest good.

4. You are given the book of books - the Bible. God talks so wonderfully through this book. A guideline for your life and God´s love letter.

5. In following Christ you join into one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide world. We are family !

6. Your view on things and people change. Jesus shows you that true wealth is coming from within and that love is the way !

7. You can be yourself, without the fear of getting rejected. As a child of God you are meant to be free and destined to develop your unique personality.

8. Living with God doesn´t mean that everything will be going fine in your life. But He has the power to give you the inner peace that is needed to withstand the struggles of life. And the rest that God gives, passes all understanding.

9. His grace enriches your life. God always forgives. Like the paraple of the prodigal son: He will never turn away from you and He will always welcome you with open arms, no matter what happened ! Like a loving father.

10. God in your life means that the door of eternity opens !

11. There are so many great role models and saints who showed that Jesus is real. In finding such a role model you can add another good guideline to your life.

12. Go out and be confident:

- I am a child of God and perfectly free.
- My best friend is Jesus Christ who always understands and who will never leave me alone.
- His Spirit lives in me.

And please don´t you ever be ashamed of that connection.Instead, go out into the world, live and proclaim:

"It is the coolest thing to follow Jesus Christ. Period !"

Be blessed !
Yours,
Martin

The Cross, the Diamond and the Joy that is found in Jesus !

The integral part of our spirituality is carrying the cross with Christ. The Cross or sacrifice will always be part of our life with Jesus.

Most pain, is not caused by our relationship with God. Frequently, our troubles are of our own making, or are just part of ordinary living: The pain of loss, the pain of illness, the pain of depression, the emotional pain that comes from so many unfullfilled needs. These kinds of pains are not due to commitment to God, but are just part of life.

The comforting phenomenon, however, is the fact that they can all be incorporated into our life with God and can facilitate an even greater intimacy with Jesus, because it allows us to share with Him all these hurts and anxieties, and find in His friendship the comfort and guidance we need.

Nothing that happens in our lives is wasted energy. God in some way will find a way to put things to good use sometime, somewhere.

When you read the lives of the saints, there is hardly one who did not suffer intensely in his or her life.

I like to think of a piece of coal and a diamond in this regard. Both are made of carbon. One is worthless, the other is priceless, even though they are both made of the same material. The difference is that a diamond is a piece of coal that has been subjected to the intense heat and pressures of the earth until all the impurities have been driven out of it. It then becomes a diamond, and priceless. You might say that a diamond is a piece of coal that has suffered.

Even though the cross is essential to the development of true spirituality, it does not hang over the life of Jesus and should never cast a pall over the life of His followers. Joy will always be the predominant spirit of Jesus´approach to our life with God. Jesus was above all else a happy person, and a person remarkably free, free from the grip of material things, free from unhealthy attachments to people, free from obsessive hang-ups and neurotic needs.

It is a pleasure to watch Jesus move so easily through life, even with His knowing the troubles were always impending. He never allowed Himself to be obsessed with worry or with a sense of doom. Problems He handed over to His Father, as if that was His business. He just did what He knew He had to do each day. In living this way He was able to manifest a remarkable detachment and continually radiate a spirit of joy.

- Joseph Girzone, "Never alone - A personal way to God"

Michael Jordan - Remain positive !

Michael Jordan´s view on life is an imprint on optimism. Earlier in the video "To the max" he stated:

"If I can ever pass anything on to my kids it would be to be optimistic about everything in life !"



Here are his words of wisdom:

"When my father died, I had him for 32 years. I was very lucky ! I looked at it as being lucky and not as bein´disappointed that he wasn´t around any more. I was lucky that he was there when I needed him. Some kids never had that."

"People are put on this earth for a reason. And you should utilize the time when they are here. And you never now when that is gonna taken away from you. That is one thing he taught me. But why they are here is that they make an impact on someone´s life. And he made impact on my life !"

The Message for us ?

Honor your parents and appreciate the time you have with them !!!

The importance of imitating Jesus !

When I was in a country where Buddhism was popular I picked up a book on Buddha. After giving a synopsis of Buddha´s life, the book went on to describe his way of life and principles. The rest of the book contained a detailed description of how Buddha arrived at his vision of life and how his followers, in imitating him, could find their way to inner peace.

We don´t do that with Jesus:
We have endless books about whether He existed, or whether the Jesus we have learned about is really accurate and historical or mystical.We have endless complicated tracts on fine technical issues,

but we don´t explore Jesus´ way to happiness and peace, or try to understand this feelings about God and Creation or how we view relationships with God, or His attitude toward human weakness.

And when we are close to Jesus and we begin to see through His eyes, we also begin to absorb something of His understanding of His Father. We begin to see God much bigger than someone human. He once said: "Do you not realize that when you see me, you see the Father ?"

So let´s imitate Jesus and take a closer look at His attitude:

1. About our Father:

Jesus projects an image of His Father as always with Him, as the source of His strength, as the intimate partner in everything He does. He tells us that what His Father is to Him, He will be all these things to us as well if we open our hearts to Him.

2. About the Father´s love:

Jesus tries relentlessly to show us that His Father is a loving, forgiving God. God´s perfection is not about the keeping of the commandments, it is about the expression of His ineffable love. Love is the definition of God. It is His essence.
It is what makes Him God. So, in enjoying us to be perfect like His Father, Jesus is challenging us to love as completely and as unselfishly as His Father.

3. Jesus on materialism and what He has to offer:

Jesus Himself was poor, by choice. His poverty was logical for Him. Jesus was detached from material things. He simply enjoyed what He saw in nature, in His Father´s creation. What Jesus had to offer was infinitely more valuable. Freedom of spirit and the joy that flows from that freedom were essential to Jesus.
It is this spirit He passed on to those who follow Him.

4. Forgiveness

Scanning Jesus` own life for examples of forgiveness, I could not help but be amazed at all insults and daily slights that Jesus encountered. And you never see Him taking offense: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do" seems to be the overriding attitude in Jesus´mind.

5. How Jesus viewed people:

And Jesus embraced a leper just as naturally as He embraced an official from Herod´s palace. The ability flows from His profound realization that each of us is a child in His Father´s family, and each has a equal dignity. We preach it but Jesus believed it and we see in this the form such belief takes in real life. It is stunning. It is magic in its effect on people. This grace must prompt our charity to reach out to everyone, so that no one will ever be to us a stranger.

6. To do the Father´s will:

There is another aspect of Jesus´life which is an essential facet of His spirituality. That is the realization He is here to do His Father´s will. That should not be unique to Him. It should be the hallmark of each of us. We should all be here to do our Father´s will. We belong to God and our prayer should be:

"God, I finished my job for you today. I may not have done a perfect job, Lord, but I tried. My life is to do your work. I am yours. Keep me in your love. Keep my soul at peace."

Once Jesus establishes this place in our souls, the first gift He shares is peace. Keeping ourselves that we are partners with God, and with Jesus, has an important effect on us. We know we belong to God, and He has to take care of us because we are doing His work. That gives us a feeling of security and a trust that no matter what may come up, God will resolve the problem and bring about a happy end.

It can give us tremendous stability and a remarkable feeling of confidence knowing that we are doing God´s work, and that He is also our partner, and no matter how complicated the route, we will ultimately be succesful.

7. Spirituality:

Jesus didn´t depend on showy external practices. He somehow had a hidden spirituality. Therefore He said:
"When you pray, go to your room and lock your door and pray to your Father in secret and your Father who knows what is secret will hear you."

or

"Do not your good deeds to be seen by others. Those who do such things already have their reward."

In imitating Jesus, He will give us rest. And the rest that He gives passeth all understanding.

- Excerpts from "Never alone" by J. Girzone

The need to read and a way to pray !

Reading opens our minds to the endless possibilities for spiritual growth, depending on where God is leading us and in what direction our energies drive us.

In the past spiritually minded people read the lives of the saints. There was a great benefit in that as well as enjoyment. In getting rid of saints, many modern christians deprived themselves of an army of inspiring whitnesses to faith and heroic spirituality.

Besides reading, prayer is essential. Our relationship with God grows from our constant awareness of His presence in our lives. At first it is difficult to think of Him. But as His presence becomes more real, our sense of His nearness blossoms into an intimate communing with Him in a beautiful kind of prayer. It may be a monologue, but in prayer God works on our attitudes:

- He alters our vision, our understanding of life. Over a period of time spent communing with God, we will notice our attitudes changing toward everything. We think differently about God. We think differently about material things but foremost we think differently about ourselves and others.

- We see God´s creation and everything in it as sacred. Given the time God will eventually transform our whole life. He does this so subtly we do not even know it.

This is what St. Paul meant when he wrote, "I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me."

- From the book "Never alone" by Joseph F. Girzone

Never alone - a personal way to God !

The one thing that is absolutely necessary if we are to develop a spirituality based on Jesus´ life is that we open our hearts to the Person of Jesus Himself, and allow Him to come into our lives to befriend us and guide us. He promised, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you... He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."

This is the essence of Jesus in our souls. He is there, not as a dummy, neither hearing or speaking, but as an active partner in our lives, guiding and comforting us when we need Him. It is the this mystical friendship with Jesus that is the core of Christian spirituality, and makes Christian Spirituality a unique costum-designed journey fashioned after uniqueness of each individual person.

Once we open ourselves to God and show a willingness to follow His grace in our lives, we want to see immediate results. Many people feel they have to shed their old selves when they enter the spiritual life, and become saintly over night. It doesn´t work that way.

We don´t grow physically overnight. Neither do we grow emotionally or mentally over night. Growth consists of long involved processes. It is the same with the spiritual life. We grow gradually, over a lifetime.

He does, however, need our cooperation, and when we give Him our goodwill and open our hearts to Him, He sets in motion all the machinery that we need to fulfill the task He has planned for us. That is always exciting and rewarding, because the gifts and talents He has given us are perfectly adapted to the work He has designed for us. That is the perfect blueprint for success, happiness, and fulfillment.

What is important is that we leave ourselves open to God each day so He can use us as He sees fit. To be at his disposal is our responsibility. Humility has to be a fundamental condition of our relationship with God. But we can be sure that He will use us and His using us will always be exciting and always an adventure.

My own life became a whirlwind when I made up my mind that I was not going to forge my own way through life but instead would let God guide me. And it makes good sense. God didn´t create us haphazardly. He made each of us for a purpose and He is determined that we accomplish that purpose.

- From the book "Never alone!" by Joseph F. Girzone

How to develop a healthy self-worth

Discover your worth !

Self worth is not a thing, it is a perception.
Just as a gymnast begins a routine with ten points and receives deductions for each mistake, so you began your life with a natural, complete sense of self-worth. Have you ever met an infant with self-worth issues ? This should be another reason to follow Jesus´command of becoming like children.

But as you grow up, you serve your own judge, deducting points when you misunderstand the nature of living and learning. When you forget that you are a human in training and that making mistakes and having slips of integrity and mediocre moments are a part of life and not unforgiveable sins.

We may have a difficulty with this, because all of us are only too conscious of our many failings and feel we do not have a right to God´s kindness toward us. But that is precisely what makes God´s love so beautiful. It does not spring from the goodness he sees in us, but from the overflowing goodness of His own love and the compassion.

In order to develop a healthy self-worth we have to recognize the need for God in our lives, and placing ourselves in His hands with complete trust, confident of the tenderness of our Father´s love for us.

And the next time you feel that something good can´t last, remind yourself that evolution moves in an upward spiral and that life can, and usually does get better over time. You live and learn, stumble and fall, rise and fall. If you pay attention and develop a good relationship with God you become stronger, clearer, wiser and move up.

Life is a process of rediscovering your worth and the worth of all of God´s children.

The key is to remember that even though we don´t feel very kind, or brave, or even deserving, the roof over our head continues to shelter us from storms, the sun shines upon us even when it´s cloudy, our chairs keep supporting us, and so does God. That is in essence the Grace of God which is found in Jesus Christ.

The following poem is an excerpt from a sermon from Martin Luther King Jr. and expresses the worth of everything in God´s creation:

If you can´t be the highway,
just be the trail.
If you can´t be the sun,
be a star.

´Cause it isn´t by size that you win or fail,
just be the best in whatever you are.

Barack Obama

One of the greatest speeches I´ve ever heard. Take the time and listen to this great man, his values and profound knowledge.

One thing comes to my mind when I listen to it:
The thing that impresses me the most is that he recognized that we can only reach our goal of a peaceful world by trusting in each other, working together as allies and standing as one. Unity is not only a christian principle.

Take a glance at this great speech. And if you happen to have no time at all, I picked some quotes and wrote ´em down below.




- Tonight I don´t speak to you as a candidate for president. I come to you as a proud citizen of the United States and as a proud citizen of the world.

- Berlin, the city of all cities knows the dream of freedom. The people of Berlin refused to give up.

- People of the world, look at Berlin: Where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than 3 years after facing each other on the field of battle.

- Look at Berlin where a wall came down and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.

- The greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us frome each other. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, christians, muslims and jews can not stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.

- Partnership among nations is not a choice. It´s the only way, the one way to protect our common security and advance our common humanity.

- This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons !

- Let us resolve that we will not leave our children to a world where oceans rise and the famines spread and terrible storms devastate our lands.

- Our (the U.S.) allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom. Indeed every language is spoken in our country, every culture has left its imprint on ours.

Heavenly Rap !

Excerpts:
A place where death doesn't reside, just thugs who collide
Not to start beef but spark trees, no cops rollin by
No policemen, no homicide, no chalk on the streets
No reason, for nobody's momma to cry

Cause one day we'll all be together, sippin heavnly champagne
where angels soar, with golden wings in thug's mansion

Picture a place that they exist, together
There has to be a place better than this, in heaven
So right before I sleep, dear God, what I'm askin
Remember this face, save me a place, in thug's mansion

Joshua - by Joseph F. Girzone

Excerpts from the book "Joshua - A parable for today" by Joseph F. Girzone:


1. God´s presents:

Joshua watched them, smiling, with obvious satisfaction at the simplicity of the children´s delight. Then, at once, they turned to Joshua, hugged him, and told him how much they loved him.

He bent down, put his arms around them, and told them that he loved them too.
"Your Father in heaven has given you many presents, just like these little birds, but all alive and free singing for you all day long, and even at night, like the nightingale. You should notice these beautiful creatures and let them remind you how much your Father loves you."

"Do you know God, Joshua ?" the blond-haired girl asked him.
"Yes, I do know him. We are good friends !"

2. Church and religion:

"Josh", Herm asked, "what do you think of church and religion ?"

"Real religion is in people´s hearts, not in buildings. Jesus tried to teach this lesson once before when he told the woman at the well that the time was coming when men would woship neither on Mount Garizim nor in Jerusalem, but would worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

Unfortunately, that lesson never caught on. Religious leaders always felt they had to organize people and structure the practice of religion in such a way that they would become highly respected mediaries with God, and religion then became the practice of what religious leaders told one to do and deteriorated into the measurable observance of manmade laws.

Religion doesn´t have to be like that. Jesus taught that people are free, free to enjoy being God´s children, free to grow and become the beautiful people God intended !"

3. Vision

Each person looks at life through a different vision. Three men can look at a tree. One man will see many board feet of valuable lumber worth so much money. The second man will see it as so much firewood to be burned, to keep his family warm in the winter. The third man will see it as a masterpiece of God´s creative art, given to man as an expression of God´s love and enduring strength, with a value far beyond its worth in money or firewood.
What we live for determines what we see in life and gives clear focus to our inner vision.

4. Solitude

"Joy comes to those who do not fear solitude."

I like being by myself. And I´m never really alone. People stop in all during the day. And besides, God is with us all the time, and He´s real, though we don´t think of that very much.

5. God´s Love

God´s love is like the warmth of the sun, which touches every object in creation at the same moment.

I think that you can best find God if you look within yourself. The most powerful revelation of God´s presence and his love lies within you. If you take the time and talk to God, you will find Him, and in finding Him you will find the greatest joy of your life. He will reveal himself, and in possessing Him you will understand all else.

6. Daily Life

Look in the mirror when you go to your room tonight and you will see an evolution of wonders far more exciting than a miracle. The whole course of each day is filled with endless wonder, which we take for granted because it all flows so smoothly as the ordinary cause of life. But each tiny event, and each moment of time, is a miracle of creation.

Service - Anne Sullivan & Helen Keller

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There is no higher purpose than service to others."
- Socrates (Peaceful warrior)


Note: Listen to this song and start reading ;)


"Helen Keller is one of the most remarkable persons born in the nineteenth century. She managed to overcome the double handicap of blindness and deafness, and to take an active part in the life of the world.

Of course, she could never have accomplished this alone. Just as remarkable as Miss Keller was her teacher, Anne Sullivan, the young woman who undertook to lead her out of the darkness and enable her to have a normal life.

The dark and silent world in which her brilliant mind was imprisoned became increasingly unbearable. It is no wonder that she later called the day Miss Sullivan came to be her teacher "the most important day in my life".

Nine months after learning her first word, Helen was able to write complete sentences in her letters. Seldom had a devoted teacher been so splendidly rewarded. It is true Helen Keller was an unusually gifted, eager pupil. But the accomplishment of releasing this child´s mind was Anne Sullivan´s.

As a result of the devotion of Anne Sullivan, Helen actually copied the unselfish service of her teacher and spent her busy life in the service of other handicapped people."

As I read the beautiful story of Helen Keller, I was pretty impressed about how she managed to develop a life-loving attitude although she lived in an imprisoned world, without being able to see and hear. In her biography Helen describes the beauty of simply touching flowers or feeling the warmth of the rays of the sun on her skin. Further on it is inspiring for us, who have the ability to see and hear, to appreciate our senses to the full extent.

The reason why Helen achieved all her educational goals and reached the highest academic heights was because of the great woman, her life long teacher and companion:
Anne Sullivan.

She simply dedicated her life to make the life of Helen better. She really understood, that by simply showing love, patience and compassion one can set free unknown territories in others. Even for a deaf-blind child like Helen !

The following excerpt from Helen Keller´s autobiography simply shows how beautiful and loving the service of Anne Sullivan was:

Miss Sullivan put her arm gently around me and spelled into my hand: I love Helen.
"What is love ?" I asked. She drew me closer to her and said, "It is here," pointing to my heart.

Her words puzzled me very much, because I did not understand anything at that time unless I touched it. I smelled the flowers in her hand and asked half in words and half in signs a question which meant, "Is love the sweet smells of flowers ?" "No," said my teacher.

I thought again. The warm sun was shining on us, and pointing in the direction from which the warmth came, I asked again, "Is this love ?".

I thought it was very strange that my teacher could not show me the meaning of love.
One day she came up with an answer:

"Love is something like the clouds that were in the sky before the sun came out. You can´t touch the clouds, you know, but you feel the rain and you know how glad the flowers and the thirsty earth are to have it after a hot day. You can not touch love either, but you know the sweet feeling that it pours into everything. Without love you would not be happy or want to play."


This whole story shows me once again that love is the greatest power on this planet.

And at the end of her biography Helen mentions all the people that had an influence on her life. One of ´em was Bishop Brooks. She describes what she learned from him:

"Once when I was puzzled to know why there are so many religions, he said:

There is only one religion, Helen - the religion of love. Love God with your whole heart and soul, love the people in the world as much as you can, and remember that the possibilities of good are greater than the possibilities of evil.

There you have the key to heaven !"


Yours,
Martin

True success

------------------------------------------------

Success

To laugh often and love much;

To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;

This is to have succeeded.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love this Faith !

-------------------------------------------------------------

Faith and Basketball

In my opinion the game of Basketball has a lot in common with our Christian Faith. The cornerstones of a good Basketball team are teamwork, selflessness and compassion. Championship teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls or the Boston Celtics are role models for those three great principles.

Teamwork, selflessness and compassion are found many times in the Holy Bible as well. The most popular simile might be Jesus and His 12 disciples. This group of men showed us that Faith is definetly something that needs to be shared with each other. Through Christian Fellowship we are also able to develop a deeper relationship with God and Jesus.

And although Jesus was, speaking in terms of Basketball, the superstar of the team, he always cared for his companions and in the end even died for them and eventually, which is far more important, for you and me also:

That is love (compassion) and selflessness at its highest level.

Coming back to Basketball, the motto of the Boston Celtics championship team of last years season was "Ubuntu": An african symbol for togetherness. As a result, superstars like Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce layed down their pride and really cared about making their teammates better. They achieved their goal of finally winning a championship by sacrificing their personal needs for the sake of the team. To me this is compassionate and selfless Basketball.

As a fan of Jesus and also as a fan of the game of Basketball, I´m gettin´ always filled with great joy when I watch the videoclips of the "NBA Cares" - campaign. A national wide initiative in which NBA Stars like Kobe Bryant or Dirk Nowitzki demonstrate their love for the community and really care about not so fortunate people. They send out the message: Basketball is far more than just a game.



Long story short, Faith and Basketball stand for:

- Teamwork,
- Selflessness, and
- Compassion.

"I love this game !" is an official slogan of the NBA and it is an often used phrase by Basketballfans all over the globe.

So let´s add a new slogan to our treasury of words:

"I LOVE THIS FAITH !"

Be blessed !

Faith in action - News Release Basketball

In this post I want to share an amazing story that I´ve experienced during this years´ News Release Basketball Tour in Lörrach.

It is a story about the impact of prayer:

When I first met with the team at the end of July in Loerrach I felt an immediate connection to my future fellow players on the team. Normally it is usual that basketballplayers have a special bond. But the fact that all of these guys are walkin´ where the Good Lord leads added an even deeper connection. It was truely a blessing.

Our first game was against an election team from Switzerland. Their best player happened to be their coach as well. Until half-time it was an intense game and we were up with only 4 points. During the game their best player (and coach) started some really dirty talk. Fortunately he was cursing at our players mostly in german, so his trash talk didn´t have that kind of an impact on us. But we all could feel the hostility that the guy threw verbally in our direction.

Unfortunately we simply couldn´t ignore his provocations and kind of gestured back at him. And although we won with over 20 points in the end, this trash talk was definetly the negative note of our first game together.

As fate would have it, we were goin´ to play this guy again four days later, since he was the coach of the local YMCA Lörrach. That game kind of presented us the opportunity to get things straight: After Game 1, in our team meeting, we talked things over. And we agreed to pray for this guy in particular before our next game against him.

On gameday, right before the game, still in the locker room, we got together in order to pray for the game. It was our pregame ritual to ask God for His presence and guidance during our matches. And we prayed especially for the players that were to give their testimony during half time. The difference on this day was that we included the others´ team coach and player into our prayers. Tim Jones, one of our coaches, prayed for patience, love and understanding goodwill for that person.

After the prayer was over and as we stepped on the court, I felt an immediate transformation. I didn´t see the guy as a bad or hostile person any more. In this moment I really understood the truth that God loves him as much as he loved anybody else in that gym ! My main focus simply wasn´t any more on his inappropriate behaviour or bad attitude.

My thoughts were:
" Man, we prayed for this guy. And although he is our opponent on the court, God loves him as well as anybody else ! And didn´t Jesus give us the command to pray for our enemies and love ´em ? This is a fine lesson !"

I don´t know it for sure but I think we all felt that way. One example was Tim Jones. There was an ingame scene in which Tim Jones happened to foul him pretty hard. He was upset of course but Tim simply directed some nice words towards him and finally gave him a clap on the back: Understanding goodwill !!!
All in all we simply didn´t buy into his lil´games. We had the patience and the love.

We won the game that night again with over 20 points. But from the spiritual point of view, we really won that game to a 100 %, because we bridged the gulf, through the help and impact of prayer, to walk the walk instead of just talkin´ the talk.

For me, this was faith in action. And Jesus is right: It is something special to be able to love our enemies. This game was a perfect lesson on how a simple prayer can shift our attention to a higher level (spiritual realm) and finally enables us to love our enemies, ´cause God loves our enemies as well !

Thank you, News Release Basketball !

The essence of prayer

Sometimes, when we wish or pray for something and it doesn´t happen, we may believe that God didn´t answer our prayers.

But God always answers our prayers; it´s just that sometimes the answer is no. Perhaps what we are asking for came from kind of fear based desires and attachments rather than from a commitment to growth and learning, which often entails letting go.

True prayer is done with faith, without attachments to outcomes, with the sense, "Thy will be done !".

Sometimes we ask for things without considering whether they serve our highest good:

Some years ago, I met Arthur, who used to be a professional taxi driver. He prayed one day for having one million dollars. He kept working hard. And one day finally he did get his million....A truck collided with his taxi, and he won a 1.6 million-dollar settlement in compension for permanently losing the use of his arms and legs.

When we ask for something, we do well to add, "If it serves my highest good and learning" !

- From the book "No ordinary moments!" by Dan Millman

Our body - A gift from God !

When in balance, our body is one of the finely tuned instruments in creation. The moment we appreciate our human body as a miracoulus gift from God we feel naturally moved to take better care of it.

And however our body may look, whether it pleases us or not, we get only one, and it lasts a lifetime. To put this another way, our lifetime only lasts as long as our body. And the quality of that lifetime will parallel the quality of our body. During life, with all its cycles, we will say good-bye to friends and loved ones; we will lose a lot of things, but our body, loyal to the end, will stick with us for life - guaranteed. When this truth penetrates fully, we begin to take good care of our "best friend": Our body !

So what are the precise benefits of physical exercise ? And how can I get into it ?

Exercise strengthen muscles, including the heart; it expands our lung volume, increasing oxygen supply to our brain, other organs and all our cells; and it stimulates our nervous system.

In addition to these well-known physiological benefits, exercise clears blocked emotional energies and also raises our metabolic fire, developing an artificial fever that helps purify the body of toxins, making it less hospitable to invading bacteria and viruses.

Those of us who do move regularly know the secret: Physical activity can expand our energy field and can often invigorate us far more than a nap or a rest. Phyisical exercise also stimulates endorphins, the body´s natural painkillers and relaxants.

Not everyone has to compete in athletics or even pursue intense fitness activities to enjoy the benefits of physical training. Appropriate kinds of training exist for every body, every age, and every level of condition.

Fitness and vitality used to refer to brute power, size or muscularity. That´s not the case any more. For instance, lifting weights can build strength, but if we lose our sense of proportion, we end up building more muscles than we need. Muscles weigh more than fat, so we end up carrying around extra weight that serves no useful function.

An excerpt from the book "No ordinary moments" - Dan Millman

Geduld

Die Geduld besteht im Erinnern der Tatsache, dass die Dinge sich zur gegebenen Zeit entfalten, ohne dass es dazu eines besonderen Anstoßes bedarf. Wenn man nicht versucht in diesem Augenblick irgendwo anders zu sein, entwickelt sich die Geduld von selbst.

Man kann die Jahreszeiten auch nicht zur Eile herantreiben. Der Frühling kommt. Das Gras wächst von allein. Eile führt gewöhnlich zu nichts und kann viel Leid verursachen - manchmal für uns Selbst und manchmal für unseren Nächsten.

Geduld ist eine stets mögliche Alternative zu notorischer Ruhelosigkeit und Ungeduld des Geistes. Aus der Perspektive der Geduld geschehen Dinge, weil andere Dinge entstehen. Nichts existiert unabhängig oder isoliert voneinander.

Und es wird uns gelingen, den Augenblick auszubalancieren, wenn wir verstehen, dass die Weisheit in der Geduld liegt, wenn wir uns bewusst sind, dass das, was als nächstes geschieht, dadurch bestimmt wird, wie wir jetzt sind: ...geduldig !

- Jon Kabat

Woody Allen interviews Billy Graham

"Serafim" - A wise christian monk !

Serafim is a christian monk from russia.
In the book "The journeys of Socrates" he discusses faith with his student. But let´s take a look at his words of wisdom:

"In truth, you have no opponents but yourself. Make peace within, and there will be no one who can overcome you. And no one you will wish to overcome.

God remains a mystery even to me. There was once a wise man named Hillel, one of the Hebrew fathers, who said: There are three mysteries in this world...air to the birds, water to the fish and humanity to itself...

I for myself have found God to be the greatest mystery of all, yet as intimate as our heartbeat, as close as our next breath...surrounding us like air, like water...always present. But the mind cannot fathom God, only the heart.That is where you will find the faith.

Abide in the mystery. Trust it. Let go of knowing what should and shouldn´t be, and you will find your faith once again.

The intellect is a great ladder into the sky, but it stops short of the heavens. Only the hearts wisdom can light the way.

Put one foot in front of the other ! You are only a player in a drama greater than anyone but God can conceive.
We can only play the role we are given. Those who appear in your life - whether to help or to harm - are all given by God. Meet all of them with a peaceful heart, but with a warrior´s spirit. You will fail many times, but in failing you will learn, and in learning you will find your way.

In the meantime surrender to God´s will, to the life you were given, moment by moment !

Faith does not rely on knowing anything with certainty. It requires only the courage to accept that whatever happens, whether it brings pleasure or pain, is for the highest good !

Memories themselves are faded paintings. Some we cherish, others are painful. There is no reason to throw them away. Just tuck those you want to keep in a safe place, to review as you wish. The past is not meant to intrude on the present.

In any case, I remind you again that there is nowhere to go. Now is all you have. Wherever you walk, you will always be here.

I don´t even know if the sun will rise or whether I´ll wake up in the morning. I don´t even know if God will grant me my next breath. So I chose to live on faith rather than knowledge - and accept whatever comes, welcome or not, bitter or sweet - all of it, a gift from God.

Each day is a new life and each moment you are born anew. This is one meaning of grace.

How to know God´s will ?
I only know that God speaks through your heart, and that your heart will show the way...to becoming a true man...and a peaceful warrior.
You´ve learned the warrior´s way, so fight:

- Make war on hatred.
- Battle against ignorance.
- Fight for justice.

Only light can banish the shadows from this world."