How do you feel...On Great Difficulty...

As I am writing this post, I myself can't really give a concrete answer on the above title.. This is one of those times when you say, "When it rains, it pours."

I just know that I feel better somehow just by reading these 2 messages from Ralph Marston. I wish I can say that I am one of the "Others" who choose to feel energized and inspired even in a challenging situation or in great difficulty. After all, these things are blessings in disguise, right? Whatever I feel, whatever difficulty that I am experiencing right now, I know that I have my family and I have God to help me get through all these..

Hope you get inspired and motivated also by reading these 2 messages:

How do you feel?

It may seem that the way you feel depends on how much things are going in your life and in the world in general. Yet the exact opposite is true.

The way things are going in your life depends on how much you choose to feel. Your feelings are your most sincere expectations. Every part of your life picks up on those expectations. Your thoughts, your actions, your words, and the results that come from them all take their cue from the way you feel.

Some people see a challenging situation and feel dismayed. Others will see the same exact situation and know that they can choose to feel energized and inspired.

Life does not arbitrarily impose itself on you. Rather, through your feelings, you select which of life's many offerings you wish to accept.

How do you choose to feel about things? Whatever it is, that is the way your life will play out.

On Great Difficulty

Are you encountering difficult challenges? That means you're ready for great things.

Are the problems becoming more critical, complicated and demanding? That puts you in a position to make an enormous positive difference.

Take a step back, take a deep breath, and consider it an opportunity. For that's exactly what it is.

The challenges that come your way are precisely the ones you are now able to handle. If they're becoming tougher, that means you have become stronger.

You've grown so much that you're ready to move to a higher level now. Take the opportunity to do so.

For in great difficulty is great value, right in front of your eyes, begging to be created. Choose now to be the one who creates it.

Sunday Reflections | February 11, 2007

More than just saying something about my life here, I'd like to share God's Word to all the readers of my blog. Today is His special day of the week after all!
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The Beatitudes

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false
prophets in this way.”
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Reflections from Proclaiming Faith:

Does Jesus mean that we should all be poor, hungry, sad, and rejected? What Jesus is saying is: these people have nothing and no one but God. Of course God cares about them! That is why they are blest! And we are most like God when we care, too!

Jesus is telling us (who are not poor, hungry, sad, or rejected) that we must be careful. Our riches, our full stomachs, our pleasant lives, and our efforts to be popular with others may well keep us from trusting in God. We must make great efforts to understand that the good things in our lives come from God and are meant to be shared.

Do we hoard our riches and not share our things? Do we eat or drink more than we need, or waste food, or not share food with people who are hungry? What is our church and charity budget vs. our budget for fun, vacations, entertainment, and the latest toys, cars, shoes, or clothes? Do we learn about the sadness and evil of the world and try to help, or do we do our best to ignore the problems in our world? "It's not my responsibility. That's somebody else's problem." How do we treat the most rejected in our society‹the mentally ill, the homeless, the addicted? Again, do we ignore them, or do we try to help them?

Jesus has taken his stand with the poor, the hungry, the sad, and the rejected. He has called them blest. Where do we stand?