jeff noel.org

Our Final Night With Carter, February 13

Tomorrow Carter would have turned 11, but 25 days ago on Valentine’s Day morning, we laid Carter to a peaceful rest.

Cheryl has already begun the process of rebuilding our Family.

And the same day (yesterday) she shows me Carter’s breeder’s website, was the same day these ten tips on getting a puppy found their way to my inbox.

Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.

The tips are common sense but not common practice. Reading them reminded me how you get out of your Pet what you put into your Pet.

We put in a ton.

And still, Carter taught us more than we taught him.

Click It

Many people I know, and read about, deny themselves the divine providence of God’s Love simply because they see some Christians who appear to be hypocrites.

To this I have a gut reaction.

Do you stop driving your car because some drivers are reckless?

Everybody's In Sales

Ever heard the phrase, “Everybody is in sales”?

Disagree if you’d like, but ignoring this fact does not change it – everybody is in sales.  Period.

Sales is the transfer of enthusiasm.

If you want to “sell” others (aka evangelization), you should be filled with enthusiasm yourself.

Your personal enthusiasm is your greatest “sales tool” for Christian life, and the biggest reason people don’t want to buy.

Hey Mister, Got A Minute?

“I would gladly stand at a street corner, hat in hand, begging passers-by to drop their wasted hours into it.” — Bernard Berenson

Sometimes the hours it costs to volunteer, as a Lector, Children’s Liturgy of the Word, and Catechism teacher, seem too expensive.

And then I’m reminded that volunteering time, to help children and adults become closer to Jesus Christ, is worth ever penny hour.

There will come a time when rest will be eternal.  Until then, donate your time as best you can. It’s the ultimate currency.

And these five daily blogs, they are also a donation. But you already knew that.

Funny how someone can come along and destroy the paradigm of what is possible?

Do you ever dream of doing that yourself?

“Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be swamped with it yourself.” — Winston Churchhill

And I’ll add, When you look in the mirror each morning for motivation, do you see a mountain or a molehill?

Stairway To Heaven?

“The Christian life is like moving up the ladder toward God, one rung at a time. But the rung of a ladder was never designed for rest.” — unknown

Can We Forgive Unconditionally?

Revenge in not the answer, but it is often our first emotional response to tragedy and grief.

This article will challenge us to rethink where we stand. It will also provide helpful insight for the next time we face temptation to retaliate.  And we most certainly will.

I’ll forgive you if you don’t read it.  I won’t want to, but I will.

Walking In His Shadow

It only takes a moment to become a Christian.

It takes a lifetime to become like Christ.

In God We Trust

“One of the most dangerous things about the Christian faith is how easily it can be faked.” — Steve Brown

While listening to the radio last night on “the Z”, Z88.3, I heard Steve Brown say those words.

In our hearts, we intend to be a great Christians.

But in our busy lives, our behavior makes it is easy to appear fake.

Bottom line: we must figure this out.

Simplicity

Life is a treadmill. You get up, go to work, come home and then do it again the next day. And the next. And the next.

What makes your life meaningful?

Do you volunteer your time?

And, assuming that you do volunteer, what filters do you use to decide where to volunteer and how much to volunteer?

Once per month, my wife and I volunteer to conduct Children’s Liturgy of the Word at our Church.  This activity may only seem like an hour of our time.

But the reality, and the thing many people get hung up on, is that quantity does not trump quality.

Eventually, the trick is to do both.