Tag Archives: Opposing Views

June 19, 2014 · 9:28 am

Keep Your Face to the Light

Don’t you love to be around cheerful people? You know – the kind of person who walks into a room and fills it with a certain light of gladness. The kind of person whose bright disposition chases away the dreariness of the day and lends an infusion of happiness to the room. The kind of person that inevitably makes you stop what you are doing and smile. There is nothing artificial about this person. The pure joy of his soul just bubbles to the surface and infects everyone around him. Cheerfulness is a natural for him!

I recently saw a TV interview with a man who had been cruelly blinded by a random act of violence. Pure delight with life made his face glow. His statement was this: “When I was blinded, I had a choice to make. I could be bitter, feel cheated, and bring misery into the lives of others; or I could be cheerful, glad to be alive, and bring encouragement into the lives of others. I chose to be cheerful.”

A close friend was struck down over a year ago with a massive stroke that left him without speech or any movement on his right side. When he awoke form the coma, Luke made a decision, too. He chose to be cheerful. The contentment of his soul makes its way to his face. You can see it there in his radiant smile and bright eyes. If you visit Luke, he makes sure you feel better because you came.

Cheerfulness is a state of mind and heart. It is the result of a mind of peace and heart of contentment. It has nothing to do with outward circumstances and is not contingent on any of life’s situations. Cheerfulness is a willingness to choose joy.

People who bring cheer into this world have chosen to look at the light, not at the darkness. Their lives are not free from trouble or pain, they have just decided that darkness will not overcome them.

Today, choose to be cheerful. Dispel the darkness, and set out to bring joy and laughter to all around you. Have a peaceful mind and a truly contented heart, and allow your face to mirror that. Decide that other people and outward circumstances can not take your joy away. Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble, but be of good cheer! I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33)

Make sure that seeing you makes the day brighter for others. Leave them better than you found them. Let your smiles be contagious and your happiness be genuine. KEEP YOUR FACE TO THE LIGHT!

“I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!” – Jesus

PRAYER: Father – Let me be a source of gladness and light to all around me.

Monica Boudreaux

God of the Impossible (denacyd.wordpress.com)
Be of Good Cheer (samuelatgilgal.wordpress.com)

3 Comments

Filed under Choice, Christian Journey

Tagged as Be of Good Cheer, Cheerfulness, Christianity, God, Jesus, John, Luke, Opposing Views, Religion and Spirituality

September 15, 2013 · 5:33 am

C. S. Lewis on Atheism

C S Lewis

“Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when the atoms inside my skull happen, for physical or chemical reasons, to arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-product, the sensation I call thought. But, if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true? It’s like upsetting a milk jug and hoping that the way it splashes itself will give you a map of London. But if I can’t trust my own thinking, of course I can’t trust the arguments leading to Atheism, and therefore have no reason to be an Atheist, or anything else. Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God.”

—— C S Lewis

No Atheists in a Foxhole (maryscatholicgarden.com)

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Filed under Atheism, C. S. Lewis, Devotional Quotes, Uncategorized

Tagged as Atheism, Christian Views, Christianity, CS Lewis, Existence of God, God, Lewis, London, Mere Christianity, Opposing Views, Religion and Spirituality

December 29, 2012 · 10:23 am

A Love for All Times

First page of the Gospel of Mark, by Sargis Pitsak, a Medieval Armenian scribe and miniaturist (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One day Jesus was confronted by some of his detractors. They ask him what was the greatest command of the law. He told them to love God with all their beings. Then he added, ”Love others as much as you love yourself.”. That word love is just all over the place. Yet we live in a world that thrives on power and the ability to control. If we need to use force, we will. The message of Jesus is one of love and grace.

Our great challenge is to. learn to live with that love in our lives. Lives that are filled with love can easily be spotted. They stand out in the crowd. Their demeanor can calm a tense room. Their gentle spirits can soften a hostile crowd. Their openness can bring acceptance to all they touch. If we can discover the secret of love of Jesus we can conquer the world.

Jesus does give us a few hints that can help us climb the mountain of self-absorption that we find ourselves facing. His love is a giving love. He gave his all for you and me. His love comes without price to us. We all too often demand a price for our love; it is a conditional love. When Jesus opens his arms his love reaches out to everyone not just to those who respond.

Maybe you and me can try to practice the love that is giving and free. It might be a big challenge but with God’s help we can do it.

“Keep open house; be generous with your lives.” ~~Jesus (mww1954.wordpress.com)

Self Importance

In a very crowded hospital waiting one rather self-important individual was getting impatient. Unwilling to wait any longer, he barged in and demanded to be seen by the doctor. “Don’t you know who I am?” Shouted the man. The secretary calmly pressed the button on the microphone of her loudspeaker system and asked the waiting patients. “I have a gentleman here who doesn’t know who he is. Can someone please assist him in finding out? Thank you.

That story may have a little touch of humor to it, but it serves as an example of the type of person we strive not to be. All to often in our busy, pushy, self-important we find ourselves feeling the way in the role of the man in the story. We are taught to be so productive and self-center that we really believe that if people just knew who we were they would listen to everything we say.

Jesus gives us a a completely different perspective. He says,”the first will be last… to turn the other cheek..to carry the burden for the second mile”do we strive to follow His teachings? Do we think it is even possible?

Take some time to ponder those questions.