I recently took the above pic of St Kitts from a Lido Deck of the Carnival Sunshine. It reminded me of how President Ronald Reagan used to refer to our beloved United States as ‘a shinning city on a hill.’ The Gipper borrowed that thought from an old puritan preacher by the name of John Winthrop. John and his companions were heading to America on a ship called Arbella in 1630 to establish a new community that would be a positive example to everyone who saw them.  

John had borrowed the words from another preacher, the BEST ONE EVER… Jesus Christ. In a sermon known as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus compared our lives to a city on a hill. Check it out, 

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:14-16 NLT

The Lord was saying that a life well lived for God is like a lightsaber that beams out brightly to others with a message of peace and hope!

I don’t know know how you view the society you live in but if God’s standards are the true measurement – and they are – then, we live in a dark world! BUT WAIT… before you accuse me of being all gloom and doom, you need to know that I am not. I am one of the most optimistic guys you’ll ever meet. The reality of our present times, though, is that the news are bad, disasters happen, there’s hunger and poverty and diseases threatening humanity, people fight and lie to each other, nations threaten, neighbors disrespect each other, life is not considered sacred anymore, there is no absolute truth and good is in the eye of the beholder (even when you become the victim), we have to deal with broken relationships, broken promises, broken dreams and aspirations…basically we are broken people longing for hope, for something better to come along.

The difference between those of us who have chosen to follow God in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ and those who choose not to is that the Lord has lit us up from the inside. We are like energizer bunnies and God’s Holy Spirit is providing the charge! TA-DAAA!!!

Have you ever found yourself in a very dark place with no light? 

My mind races back to a time when I was a teenager in Puerto Rico. Late one night a group of us ventured deep into an old, big abandoned, dilapidated building of another time. We had heard scary stories of paranormal activity happening in there and went in to investigate…but we were going to do it all in the dark. As we felt our way around we kept moving through doors and passageways until someone said he heard a weird noise. Another person lit up a match and that little flame of light revealed that we were in what seemed like open jail cells. Needless to say, everyone turned on whatever light we had and ran out of there.

The Lord Jesus said that the light we Christians have within can encourage and help someone caught in the scary darkness that this world offers. He sets you and me up wherever we find ourselves everyday – office, among friends and family, in a college campus, etc – so that the light of hope God’s turned on inside us can shine and help someone who needs it.

Take a look again at the pic I took from the Lido Deck, 

Did you notice the moon hanging there in the dark of night? If there was a power outage at St Kitts and all the ground lights went out, the moon would still be shinning. Are you letting some of God’s light in you out?

You say, “Man, I feel like I am as dim as a flashlight with weak batteries.” Ok, then, I challenge you to do something unselfish and Jesus-like for someone today. It will bless his/her life and, like Jesus said, give praise to your Father in heaven. That in turn will motivate you and bless you and refresh you.

Let’s dream a little…can you imagine doing something that results in a thunderous applause from heaven? It’s worth a shot and it makes your life meaningful. That, in a sense, is the way to have fun with your bright light. 

One more thought, did you notice that Jesus didn’t not compare our words to light but our deeds. It’s easy to say this or that but hard to do that or this. People can claim to be all they want but do their actions follow?

Be light! You are that shinning city on a hill others need to see.

Thanks for reading. I’ve stopped writing blogs for a time in order to give writing a second book a chance but I am hopefully back to blogging for a while. Please leave me a note! 

My darling wife took this shot of a rainbow yesterday. It was one of those ‘WOW’ moments for us. Most people usually think in 1 of 3 ways the moment they see the stunning beauty of a rainbow in the sky:

The that’s really pretty, thought – the reflection, refraction, and dispersion of light in the moisture of the atmosphere will turn this bunch to mush for a few moments. But that’s as far as it goes for them.

The God judged the earth with the flood once and He will do it again someday, thought – these people remember that God wiped out mankind through a flood thousands of years ago. The Bible says that God saw how wicked and evil people of that time were and decided to finish them up with a huge deluge. The story is found in Genesis chapter 6.

The that’s a beautiful picture of God’s grace, thought – these folk remember that the Lord rescued Noah, his wife, their 3 boys, their wives, and a bunch of animals from imminent destruction coming on earth.

Continue reading →

I went by the Atlantic Ocean yesterday. As I took a quiet walk by the seashore in that relatively lonely beach, the water was calm but extremely cold. The wind was blowing, the dark clouds of a cold front were rolling in, and there was a lonely bird standing on the sand.

I don’t know how you feel about dark clouds, cool wind, unending wave sounds, cold water, and a lonely bird on a lonely beach, but it can make one sort of gloomy. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t turning to salty mush in that scene but stuff like that can suck the joy out of anyone. If nothing else, in moments like those the mind has a way of going the wrong way to places and memories that trigger sad emotions and feelings. It is then that you wonder about life, meaning, where you’ve been, and where you’re heading.

Isn’t it something how those mental trips we take usually end up with a memory of defeat in our past or a tough time we went through or a series of worries we have about what the future holds? We try to convince ourselves that we’re an ‘immovable rock’ but when despair hits, it can squeeze out the best in us.

As I continued to walk I noticed the rising tide creeping up the sand and wondered how far would it reach. Then, a crazy thought: What if it didn’t stop gaining ground and went over the sand dune, pass the hotels and onto the road and took over the homes near by? I know, I know… sounds like a ridiculous theme for a horror sci-fi movie.

But think about this, the only reason the tide doesn’t keep going and sweeps over the dry land swallowing everything in its path is because God doesn’t allow it.

The following Scripture is a question God posed to His man Job when Job was questioning God’s treatment of his life,

“Who decreed the boundaries of the seas when they gushed from the depths? Who clothed them with clouds and thick darkness and barred them by limiting their shores, and said, ‘Thus far and no farther shall you come, and here shall your proud waves stop’?” Job 38:8-11 TLB

In other words, God restricted the waters. Had God not done that, the little island in the Caribbean Sea that I grew up in would have disappeared! And, had the Lord not continued managing that up to this day, all life as we know it would cease to exist. Aren’t you glad God is Sovereign and merciful?

You may be wondering, Ok, soooo…where are you going with this, bro? Was there a purpose for your stroll at the beach? Yes, there was!

You may feel overwhelmed by your current situation and difficulty. But remember that God is watching and managing life. And just like the ocean tides, He will not let you or me be taken over anything that will wreck our lives for good.

You may wonder sometimes about how much more of a difficult thing you can take or whether God has forgotten you and left you to be utterly devastated by an unstopping wave of awful, lousy stuff. But take courage, God is by the side of those who love Him to help them overcome!

Please allow me to unload a few encouraging Bible verses on you:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Psalm 34:18 NLT

“The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?” Psalm 27:1 NASB

“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:1-3 MSG

“Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 TLB

“My kindness is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” 2Corinthians 12:9 CEV

Aren’t those great comforting words? There’s hope for life by the sea shore and in suburbia, not because there’s anything special about those places, but because there’s something special about God and the hope found in Him!

Thanks for reading. Please leave me a message if you’d like.

I went for a walk among the tombstones yesterday. Your may think, Morbid? Weird? But it wasn’t my first time doing that sort of thing.

I quietly strolled around the small, real old cemetery near where I am writing this. I saw tombstones dating back to the early 1800’s! Some burial places have been reclaimed by nature with dates and names no longer recognizable. A handful of other crypts are recent.

One of the burial places looked kind of eerie… Continue reading →

We were told that the big cruise liner we were traveling on was encountering strong contrary winds. But the skilled captain was making our ride as smooth and comfortable as possible. The boat stabilizers – whichever those are underneath the surface of the water – were working! But I quickly went back to our 6th floor balcony room and tried to capture some shots of the churning sea with my hand-dandi android. It had all became an adrenalin pumping ride!

Even the Lido Deck pool had mad waves!

Then, the rough accented Italian captain spoke through the loud speakers. Let me be honest, I have a hard time understanding people with heavy accents. It’s a little ironic because I am told that I sound like Ricky Ricardo from the old I Love Lucy Show… “Honey, ‘an’ home!”

Anyways… I did understand the captain say that we were encountering twelve foot swells. Continue reading →

In this partial picture of the sea of undergraduate students pouring into the arena to get their diploma was one of my daughters. My excitement was hard to describe and my tears hard to contain. And when my daughter’s name was finally called out and she walked across the stage to receive her diploma, we yelled, screamed, and celebrated.

So, what does it take to make it? What’s it take to reach dreams?

Maybe your dream has nothing to do with graduation. Not everyone is made for school. Your dream may involve a career or owning your own house. Your dream may have to do with being debt free or for some of you reading this, you just want to make it through the last week of this year so you can start 2018 afresh and anew. Whichever… there are some principles at play in reaching dreams that we must pay attention to in order to get there, wherever ‘there’ may be to you.

But first, a refreshingly good and invigorating Bible verse penned down by the apostle Paul,

“I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”  Philippians 4:13

You know what the word ‘everything’ involves? Anything! God sets no boundaries here and He is a ‘CAN DO’ God!!

So, go ahead, have fun and dream big.

Our third president and one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson once said, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”

Then, have a goal in mind. Seth Godin said,

“The thing about goals is that living without them is a lot more fun, in the short run. It seems to me, though, that the people who get things done, who lead, who grow and who make an impact… those people have goals.” Lydia Sweatt (https://www.success.com/article/18-motivational-quotes-about-successful-goal-setting)

Goals give our lives something to aim at. Direction. Motivation. They are the kind of thing that helps us get up and get going in the morning.

Then there’s the issue of perseverance. It took me six years to go through college. Some whizz through it in less than four while others take ten to complete it. Regardless, have a stick-to-it mentality that refuses to give up.

Glue yourself…

…to the ‘whatever it takes’ mentality.

Also, keep in mind that nothing worthwhile ever comes easy.

I heard of the side of a guy’s barn that had a perfectly aimed arrow hitting the bulls eye square in the middle, a display of incredible accuracy. Someone asked him about his amazing aim. But the man answered that he had shot the arrow first and then drew the bulls eye around it. What?? Some of us are looking for short cuts to success… there aren’t any!

Work at reaching your dreams and work at it some more. Whether is doing lots of reps in the field or research in the lab or trying and failing and learning from that so you can try some more and fail some more until you finally make it.

Newt Gingrich writes, “The Wright Brothers failed five hundred times over five years before they flew.” Newt Gingrich, Understanding Trump (New York, NY: Hachette Book Group, 2017), 44.

Always remember that this journey we’re all in, is a process, a marathon run, not a hundred yard sprint. Do what you do well and finish strong!

Another element to reaching dreams involves community.

I heard someone say many years ago that teamwork makes the dream work.

There will be people in your life right now that may be with you but are not for you. I wrote about them in my book, Hecklers In Your Crowd: Silencing The Voices That Hold You Back (it’s worth reading, btw). You’ve got to watch your back about them.

But, there will be a bunch others that believe in you and want to see you succeed and do well. Walk along with them and gain what you can from their experience, ability, knowledge, and willingness to work with you and you.

Graduation was an amazing time for our family but my daughter’s journey is just getting off the ground. Much more is ahead. And she will be successful! God has loaded both of my daughters with sharp minds, abilities, and a people caring personality. Their journeys are just beginning, and it may not be easy, but life is fun and the payoff in the end is worth it!

Thanks for reading! I hope you leave me a comment.

Many years ago I decided to help around the house by cleaning the inside of our old oven. I grabbed a pair of gloves, a steel wool Brillo pad, a bowl with water, turned the light on inside the oven so I could see but then took the bulb out so it would not explode if any of the water hit the hot glass, and went to task. Scrubbing hard and without thinking I stuck the steel wool Brillo pad in the hole where the bulb used to be and… you know what’s coming… I got the shock of a lifetime, tingles and everything! I jumped back a few feet and sat there numb. My hair was standing like a porcupine and it never returned to its original form.

I hope that true story made you grin. Smiling, that upward turn of the mouth and eyebrows, along with the natural relaxation of the earlobes in lighthearted moments, is critically important if we want to survive Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. The wise king wrote,

“Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time.” Proverbs 17:22, GNT

The hectic pace of the holidays make it essential for us to be on the lookout for those precious moments that make life more than just bearable. SNAP OUT OF IT and celebrate life this Thanksgiving and Christmas! Continue reading →