Joy!

I think I could take my lesson each day from a book that was written many years ago by a man named Oswald Chambers.  His book, "My Utmost For His Highest,"is a guide book as to how each of us can honor God.  Each time I read it, I learn something!  A feeling, by the way, that never gets old.

Today's lesson was on joy.  As Mr. Chambers put it, "joy is not to be confused with happiness, the joy of Jesus refers to the total and absolute self-sacrifice and surrender to the will of His Father."  "...who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross..." Hebrews 12:2

Joy is a gift from God!  My joy seems to come in several ways these days.  The first is from watching my children grow and learn.  Another is from using the gifts that God has given me to bring joy to others through my singing and acting abilities.  I am also getting great joy from sharing my life experiences here with you.  The real trick, however, is not to let life's circumstances choke out the joy.

Have a great day!

Mark


"The lives that have been the greatest blessing to you are the lives of those people who themselves were unaware of having been a blessing." Oswald Chambers

What a day!

Last Friday I loaded my family in the car and drove to Washington, DC.  I have a brother who lives in the area and last week I called to say hello and see what he was doing on Saturday 8/28/10.  He said he was thinking about going to the Restoring Honor Rally as his son Eugene was a Glen Beck Fan.  I said, "well, that's what I am calling about, I am going to bring my family down to that rally".  Ya see, I'm a Glen Beck Fan as well!  I attended the historic rally on Saturday 8/28/10.  It was magical!

It was a beautiful day!  The sun shone bright with not a cloud in the sky.  I'm guessing, but, I would say there were 500K people there.  Everyone was there for one reason.  We all wanted to show support for the principles expressed in our constitution, "Firm reliance on Divine Providence."  We must all know what we believe in and stand firm for that belief.  We were all given our rights by God!  We must all stand up for our rights!

God Bless you!

Mark

Good, helpful and loving communication...

Talking about family communication today.  My wife and kids were away last week.  They had a nice visit with the Grand mama and Zayde.  I was unable to go.  So, the only way to get the play by play was from the daily phone conversations.  That way I could feel like I was there. 

Daily communication among family members, when you are together, is just as important and probably even more so due to the hectic schedules we all keep.  Mom's, dad's and kids tend to run off to their respective events and often don't have/take time to explain until each are running out the door.  It's only then, that you find that the individual schedules don't gibe, or, have changed ever so slightly making it necessary for someones schedule to adjust and make it all work.  Then of course depending on the importance of the events scheduled someone has to deal with the adjustment and absorb the feelings connected with the changes. 

Here is where constant communication with God is crucial.  We need to be able to go directly to that place where we ask Gods help in dealing with the possible feelings connected with the changes.  A constant connection to and a good relationship with God allows us to remain calm and focused on the necessary steps to achieve and maintain good, helpful and loving communication. As a Christian our walk must be a moment by moment connection with Christ until it becomes our nature.

God Bless You!

Mark

I'm tired of...

I'm tired of _________.  One could almost fill in the blank with anything.  Each of us could have a slightly different choice depending on our mood each day.  The object then becomes how long am I going to let whatever is bothering me, at this moment, effect my mood?  The answer, of course, is as little time as possible.  One of my mentors Kurt Mortensen says that "mind set" is the key to almost everything.  That is true in this instance as well.  We need to be in control of what we are thinking at all times.  Otherwise we tend to waste time thinking about things that we can't do anything about.  So, we need to take our thoughts captive and learn to change our thoughts very quickly.

In Matthew 11:28, says, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest."  In other words we as Christians are not supposed to let ourselves be burdened.  We are to let go and let Christ take on our burdens so that we can walk in his light and be in constant contact with Him.

I do not think, however, that this means that we should ignore what is going on around us.  For instance, if someone, or, some group is trying to take away our rights as children of God we need to stand against that force.  In light of what is happening in our country these days we need to go to Christ in prayer and ask how we can best alleviate the attacks on our nations freedoms.  This current administration is taking our country in the wrong direction.  We must stand up as a people and peacefully obstruct and turn around the course of this nation before it is too late.

What are our options?  Well, it is our responsibility to get involved in the political process.  We need to vote!  We need to research and get behind people that have our values and the best interest of our nation and ALL it's people and put them in places of power to make the changes necessary to get back on track.  We need to turn to GOD and pray that He will guide our leaders in the way that He knows is best for this nation.

I've been listening to one voice of reason in this arena of late.  The voice is that of Glen Beck.  I urge you to, at least, take a listen and see for yourselves.  We don't have much time left to make a difference.  We need to present a united front in the November election to take back the control of our nation.  In my opinion, and I've said this before, we need to clean house!  All across this nation we need to elect representative who will do the will of the people.  Not the will of the special interest groups!

God Bless You All!

Mark

Progress

I had a great time last night with a new friend and amateur promoter Joe Silva.  Joe, being led by God to use his gifts as a communicator, has taken it upon himself to help me get my gifts as a singer out in front of more people in the sacred realm of entertainment.  It all started when I was asked by Joe to come and do a concert of Broadway & Inspirational songs at his church.  Knowing this type of concert is not going to provide a steady source of income for anyone involved at this point we went out to meet a like minded musician, Tim Mercaldo, in Staten Island, NY.

We had a wonderful evening of fellowship. We met at Tim's Church, Gateway Cathedral, a 24 acre campus on the southern tip of the island.  A great facility, the vibrant and growing organization that Tim's father started some 50 years ago has a true heart for the Lord.  We ended up at the Mercaldo home where we ate a bite and sang and entertained each other for a couple of hours.  The time was memorable to say the least!

All this to say, on Saturday September 25th, I will be giving a concert at 8 PM at the Cornerstone Chapel on Rt 23 in Pompton Plains, NJ.  I will be accompanied by Reverend Tim Mercaldo.  I hope to see you there!

God Bless you!

Mark

Missing others....

Missing those closest to you always causes the heart to feel a bit sad.  At least it does for me.  Most of the time, when I go away, my family is not with me.  And when I return home I get the happy greeting, feeling the love and comfort, I need after being gone.  This trip was different.  I returned to an empty house.

I like my alone time, but, I am a person who also needs attention from those I love.   I think we humans need alone time to clear our minds and get in touch with our feelings set our goals, so we are better prepared to do our jobs and tend to the needs of our family.  However, for me, the most important element of that alone time is the the relationship with my creator!  I personally try to tend to this relationship every day.

I know that when I am away from my family I am sad.  I also know that spending time in prayer with my creator is the only way I can rid myself of the sadness.  All of a sudden I am not alone!  He is with me and I am safe in the warmth of His embrace.

We need to strengthen our relationships with our creator.  He is there waiting for us to open up a dialog with Him.  Give it a try.  It might make a difference in the way you feel and the way you see the world around you.  Oh, and you don't have to have been away to give this a try.  You can you can spend time with God anytime you need.  

God Bless You!

Mark

Hey everyone!

I have had such a busy week!  Yeah, it's been a week since my last post.  I have a lot to tell you over the next few days, but, for now I will just say that, Though I went to church yesterday, Sunday, was my Saturday and today, Monday, is my Sunday.  I don't generally do much on Sundays except spend time with family and friends.  Thankfully this day is much the same.

I had a fabulous time in Huntington, TN on Saturday.  I was the headline entertainment for a Gala event for the Dixie Carter PAC.  What a great facility!  The acoustics are very special and the staff are a true joy to work with.  Huntington  and the Dixie supporters are the epitome of southern hospitality!  I will return every time I'm asked!

God Bless!

Mark

What a joy...

What a joy to watch children grow!  They are like little sponges.  They absorb more than anyone can imagine.  I think we as adults sometimes think to much about what children will be able to comprehend and therefore stifle the growth of children based on what we have read or more importantly what we have experienced.  I believe it is important to teach by example as well as by instruction.  However, in order to teach by example, we ourselves need to know what behaviors are best suited to achieve the outcomes we desire for ourselves and for our children. 

As this blogging of mine progresses I will touch on several behaviors that have been successful for me and my family.   I will try to give good advise as to how one might achieve similar outcomes as I, or, others that have mastered things that I have not mastered. 

I want to mention another JOY!  What a joy to serve my King!  Jesus Christ.  Most of you know I am a Christian.  I don't say this to put anyone off, or, to boast of my belief.  I respect each and every individuals rights to choose what they believe.  I say this because I am proud of who's I am.  Most people in the world believe that there is a God.  So, let's work from there.  God is good every day!  This is a statement of fact!  We have a choice every day to accept that fact, or, not.  I choose to accept that fact! 

As a Christian that's only the beginning.  From there I must determine what I will do with that fact.  Will I accept it and go about my everyday life based on what society suggests is the way to get ahead.  Or, will I look to the example that is given in the bible as the perfect life and strive to pattern my self and my decisions based on what I already know to be the truth?  I choose the later.

God bless you!

Mark

The Lord works in mysterious ways

Nothing new in that statement, however, I am constantly amazed how God uses others to reach us.  I have a second home in Orlando FL that is so upside down there are foot prints on the ceiling.  I heard about this financial company the other day that was offering exactly what I needed.  So, I gave them a call.  As it turns out the program has very strict qualification regulations and is not going to work at this point, but, the gentleman I spoke to was very interested in not just my situation, but, in me. 

I find it a very rare thing indeed to find someone who is willing to ask the right questions and to go to the extra trouble to listen to the answers.  Then I found out that he had more to share then just a financial tool.  He was sharing God!  Christ, specifically, so we got along just fine.  It is refreshing to meet a salesman who is actually selling something worth while.  I will buy the word of God all day long!  Thanks Michael!

God will bless you for your gifts!

Mark

Often we don't realize....

Often we don't realize the impact we make on the lives of those around us.  I went to a funeral of a friend yesterday.  My wife Christy and I actually offered to sing at the service to express our gratitude for a nine year friendship with Mr. Dick Scott.  Dick was one of those, "glass half full," kinda guys.  I never heard him say a cross word.  As I listened to the myriad of comments about Dick it was evident that his focus was not on himself but on those around him.  Judging by the attendance, Dick's dedication to family, friends and community was exemplary.  He will be missed.

In past blogs I'm sure I've mentioned this, but, the greatest commandment is to, "Love the lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind," and the next is to "love your neighbor as yourself."(Matthew 22:37-39)  In this world of entitlement and self expression, I believe we could all take a page from the book of the life of Dick Scott.  Focus your time and energy on others, your friends, family and your community.  Make those relationships strong and meaningful.  It's by making others happy that you will find happiness!

Have a great day!

Mark





  

Thoughts

Sometimes I just wake up in a negative place.  Sometimes something happens and I find myself in a bad mood.  If I don't do something to change those feelings I end up staying in that bad mood and I waste the day away feeling sorry for myself or worse angry with the world.  Today was one of those days. 

One thing I have tried to teach my children is that God gives us a great day, everyday, that is a given, a fact!  It is up to each of us to accept that fact!  Then we do what we have to do to make sure that we have a great day the way that God intended.

Luckily, I have a mentor his name is Robert Allen. Today he read a bunch of quotes and as I listened I began to feel better.  Here is one of the concepts that I gathered from the quotes given.  When you change your present, "your now", you change your past and your future as well!  Because when you change your present thinking you change the perception of where your past has brought you.  You also change the perception of what the future looks like. 

Don't let yourself spend any time in a negative place.  Period.  It's easier said than done, but, negativity is detrimental to your soul.  It keeps you from building your relationship with your higher power, God, the creator of this universe!

God Bless You!

Mark

Technologically inept

I never thought of myself as a not being able to "understand" concepts.  In fact I pride myself on being able to do lots of things well.  If I am given the information, most times, I can pick up the idea.  However, when it comes to the "PC" computer, there are things I just don't get.  Like why, when you have the program on your computer, does a message pop up that says it can't do something because it can't find the files.  And even worse than that the computer then asks you if you want to locate the files.  Like your going to know where the computer put the files originally?  I know which buttons to push to save something, however, it is very rare that I write down the location of each file that I download from an email.  It is very frustrating and at times paralyzing when things like this happen.

The only thing I can really do is deal with the frustration.  I have to chalk it up as "one of those things" that I can't do anything about.  I have to let it go and let God find a way to focus my attention on the other things on my plate that need accomplished. 

Hopefully some day I will be able to find an answer to these perplexing matters, but, until then I''ll try to stick to the things that I can understand.

Have a great day!

Mark