Audio Devotionals - Free Audio Devotions and Much More

A Poem

2012-01-26T16:57:00.000-08:00

Mike Writes a Poem of Repentance, Recovery, Triumph and Redemption.

“I fled Him down the nights and down the days,
I fled Him down the arches of the years,
I fled Him down the labyrinthine ways,
Of my own mind, and in the midst of tears,
I hid from him, and under running laughter.”
― Francis G. Thompson, The Hound of Heaven.

I had a little work related stress,
And my apartment was a mess.
My partner left town,
And my Internet was down.

I had a little anxiety
But no one could really help me,
As you will see.

I'll spare you the details
Of what I went through,
I just hope it never happens to you.

Don't get me wrong,
I'm sure they all meant well,
But my life became a living hell.

Despite all my troubles,
I want you to know
There is a very happy ending though.
But first I had to humble my pride
And give up all the anger
That I held inside.

Let's begin at the start,
When I used to think
That I was really smart.
So here goes --

"Sir, I've got a little work related stress,
And my apartment is a mess.
My partner left town,
and I'm feeling a little down."

"Let's try this and see
If it works for you.
Just to take the edge off
And relax you too."

I'm not trying to complain.
At least he gave what I had a name.
But why was I still in pain?

I wondered: Am I just
A chemical imbalance?
Don't I have a soul
And heart and talents?
Am I just a body to process,
Prod and measure,
To be used for other's
profit or pleasure?

I read where Freud and Adler
Would ponder and analyze,
And ask about people's family ties.
But I guess things have changed
Over the years.

When I told him of
My doubts and fears,
My hopes and dreams
And unused talents,
He talked of genes
And a chemical imbalance.

"Let's try this
And see if it works for you,
To take the edge off
And relax you too."

I went to the chaplain
And she was nice.
She prayed with me,
Stayed with me
And called me twice.

But why did she just
Want to comfort me?
Why couldn't anyone help me
Move forward and be free?

Everyone appeared
So helpful and kind,
But they couldn't help me
Leave my issues behind.

I found an Eastern philosophy
That spoke of peace,
Love and tranquility.

But when I accidentally
Made reference to Christ
I noticed a flash of hostility.

Something isn’t right
If just His name brings animosity.

I went back to the university.
It was a relief to talk about cultural diversity,
Instead of suffering and eternity.

Endless reading and study
Kept me occupied.
So I could continue to hide
From the pain and emptiness
I felt inside.

The rebellion and free
Lifestyles were inviting.
Football games and drinking
Were exciting.

But soon I saw the parties
At the frat house and sorority
Were just a juvenile rebellion
Against authority.

I heard talk that religion
Could set me free,
So I decided to see
If it would work for me.

I joined a church and went twice a week
Hoping to find the answers I seek.
I studied, I sang and I prayed,
But became more uneasy
The longer I stayed.

After the initial excitement wore off,
When I was home all by myself,
I had to admit
What I could tell no one else:

Something was missing.
It is hard to describe.
I still felt somehow empty inside.

Don't get me wrong.
It's nice to sing a song,
And memorize a Scripture or two.
But the effects wear off
When they are no longer new.

I found a group that was into
Acceptance and hugs.
They had drums and a guitar
(But of course no drugs).
There was clapping and singing,
And everyone swaying,
Positive thinking and lots of praying.

I don't want to be rude
But I had to conclude:
They were trying their best,
But like so many others,
They failed the test.

They were decent and friendly
and very nice guys,
But I saw the shallowness
They couldn’t disguise.

And no matter how hard people tried,
They couldn't fill the emptiness inside.
I wanted the answer
That would set me free,
To move forward and be a new me.

I began to grow weary
Of palliative prayer.
There just wasn't anything
Of substance there.

So I threw in the towel,
It was all beginning to sour.
I tried going back to
My weed and speed.
But now I could see
Drugging just wasn't for me.

I began to resent them all
For not being there for me --
First my dad then every other authority.

I resented them for their
Shallow concern for me,
For advice given condescendingly,
And their endless attempts
To motivate me.

I could not let go
Of judgment and resentment
Toward those who robbed me
Of my contentment.

I was full of contempt
For their weakness,
And anger over their pretense.
I resented everyone
For not having love for me.

I was filled with anger and blame,
It was plain to see.
But at least I was on the verge of seeing
What was really wrong with me.

Each day at the park
I watched the little kids play.
Full of happiness and joy
And never a bad day.

I pondered the difference
Between them and me.
And slowly I began to see.

That I was once like them
I had forgot.
"There's only one difference
Between them and me,
I am resentful
And they are not."

Thinking back to earlier years,
I began to see what started my fall
From joy to tears.

I resented my mom and
My dad, you see.
I especially resented my dad
For not being there for me.

I hated my life too and
Everything about myself,
And then it spread over the years
To everyone else.

I resented my partner,
My kids and my luck too.
My job, my boss, and
My God! Even You.

For everyone I wore a smile
But was resentful all the while.
Being secretly hostile
Seemed harmless at the time.
A way to judge others,
But pretend everything was fine.

It gave my ego satisfaction
That no one knew.
It was a secret reaction.
On the surface I wore a happy face,
but inside, I was a disgrace.

Now I finally saw why
I had felt anxious and uneasy so long,
Full of judgment and resentment,
I was basically wrong.

Now I was saddened
About what I had discovered:
About the hate and hostility
I had uncovered.

Yet I could not change myself,
Though regretting what I see.
So I was in a quandary.

Wanting to change
But not knowing how,
My dilemma was finally solved,
And I'll show you how.

When something about yourself you see,
That you would rather not be,
But you've found that struggle and trying
Just make things worse--

The solution is easy.
It is found in the following verse.

Just regret what you see about yourself.
Don't try to change with any effort.
Quietly bear the brief pain.
Just do that and nothing else.

It is God's light, which we call conscience,
That is making it possible for you to see.
God is present, and your sadness
Is because of His Light
In which you see.

When you know the sadness
Is your seeing in God's light,
It will be for you a comfort sublime.
The change you want will happen
In God's due time.

I walked around and was sad
About what I discovered.
But my innocence and sweetness
I had recovered.
So I just bore the pain
Without trying to change.

Soon I began to shed a tear
Over what I saw about myself.
I was sad, then glad, then relieved,
I must confess
To just come clean and
Let God clean up my mess.

I experienced something profound,
Repentance I had found.
Not of myself but of He.
God's light was repenting me.

It was like a purging of my wrong.
What I couldn't do for myself---
Bring about a healing catharsis--
He could do with firmness and kindness
Because He is gentle but strong.

First there is pain, followed by sadness,
Then the soul bursts into song,
Because I knew the quiet joy that He has
Forgiven me of my wrong.

After I was purged I was free to see
One by one, what was wrong with me.
Each time the same process:
First pain, then sadness, then relief.
Afterwards, I found joy and peace.

Every day a little pain to bear,
Regret, forgiveness and then
Joy without compare.

Each day the pain is less
But the wrong more subtle,
Seeing all the wrong inside
Bursts the ego's bubble.

One day there will be
No more wrong to see,
Just peace of mind
And a life of discovery.

Repentance is God’s way.
That’s why other people’s sympathy
May just delay the soul’s recovery,
When they comfort away the good pain
Of what conscience is trying to say.

Let God have His way.
Soon He will wipe away the tears,
And take away the hurt
From all those years.

God’s inner gentle light
Will make everything right.
Don’t try to struggle with effort.
Just wait to be repented,
And you will see
Repentance is God's plan
For your recovery.

The lesson is clear
You can't repent yourself.
Just be willing to be humbled,
And wait for God to draw near.

When you are not right inside
Pious words and gestures
Only build pride.
That’s why religious study
Will just make you feel guilty
Because of your hypocrisy.

With our faithless ego's short sight,
We think we have to make
Everything right
With effort and with might.
That is how our ego blocks
God's redeeming light.

Our biggest error is resenting His light
Or suppressing what is wrong
To keep it out of sight,
When we should be
Exposing it to the light.

Instead, just regret your wrong
Without trying to make yourself right,
Wait for repentance and
Change in the Light.

Here is a secret
True and profound:
When resentment is gone,
Love is there to be found.

God's love warms the soul
And takes away the need.
Now you can forgive others
For their misdeeds.

You always craved love from them
And resented them when
They didn't have it.
Now you know why
Others didn't have love--
Because they hadn't found it.

You see, they were victims too.
That's why they didn't
Have love for you.

So now you can make it
All unimportant.
And move on with living.

You have found the answer
And it is this:
To be more forgiving.

And when you forgive others
By dropping resentment,
God forgives you,
And you find peace
And contentment.

Sufferers of Worry and Obsessive Thoughts - Read What the Christian Mystic Michael de Molinos Had to Say

2012-01-20T18:20:00.000-08:00

The prayer of faith is a sincere, sweet, and quiet
view of divine, eternal truth.
The soul rests quiet, perceiving and loving God;
sweetly rejecting all the imaginations
that present themselves,
calming the mind in the Divine presence,
and fixing it only on God.

Miguel De Molinos

Roland Trujillo MS, D. Pastoral Psychology and author of 12 books is one of the world's foremost authorities on Christian Mindfulness Meditation.

Mike's Story “How I overcame depression,
bipolar, OCD, anxiety and other
issues without drugs”

is now available in eBook to download to your computer, read online, or download to your mobile device right now!

Mike’s Story “How I overcame depression,
bipolar, OCD, anxiety and other
issues without drugs.” is the powerful personal testimony of someone
who overcame mental health and other issues and went on to
enjoy a successful, productive life.

Mike tells you about his childhood:

the traumas,
the obsessions
and compulsions,
his shyness and bipolar.
Mike tells you about his twenties: the
depression, the doubts and the fears.

You will hear him talk about how Zorro and Colombo helped him get through.

You’ll find out what the Zen Master said.

You’ll read about Mike’s close call with Dr. Rough Handling.

Mike loves to philosophize about life, love,

and he likes Frank Sinatra too.

For each stage of his life he reveals how he moved on and left the issues behind.

Mike saves the best for last:

How he found his
spiritual roots with the help of meditation,
a change of heart,
and a hug and a kick in the pants from God.

Preview now

Roland Trujillo, pastor, mentor and spiritual
director, is the author of 12 books. His popular self
help radio program has aired on both secular and
Christian radio stations around the country for 22
years.

“I love helping people improve their
relationships, overcome personal issues and find
their spiritual roots. People get stuck, and they need
someone who thinks outside the box to help
them look at life with fresh eyes.

People are resilient and can make progress in a very short amount of time.
Sometimes all it takes is an insight or two,
a little meditation to get centered, and knowing that there is someone
who has love, and who both understands
and can help. That’s all.

Read excerpts from Chapter One

Here is an letter written by someone who gets it. He overcame anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. In this letter, he comments on the verse from the Psalms and then tells of his recovery journey. He gave me permission to share his letter but asked that I only use his first name, Michael. I hope someone will be inspired to give our free spiritual meditation a try. All I can say is "Thanks, Mike." Roland

Hello, my name is Michael.

I love this verse from the Psalms.

He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112:7 (English Standard Version).

It sounds good, doesn't it? But the question is: how do you get to where you have such a firm heart and settled spirit?

It took me a long time to get to where I could understand and say something about having a firm heart and settled spirit. I was Mr. Jellyfish.

But here’s the good news: if I can do it, anyone can do it. It took me 40 years, but that was because it took 40 years for me to get to the point where I was ready. Once you’re ready, recovery can begin in a heartbeat.

And it doesn’t have to take 40 years to be ready. You can be ready in this instant regardless of your age, if your heart is pure and you are sincere.

Here's my story. Let's begin with a few thoughts about anxiety and some observations about life and how I started to recover. . . . .

Read more

Lord, I Know Not What to Ask of Thee

2012-01-16T18:16:00.000-08:00

Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of Thee;
Thou only knowest what I need; Thou lovest
me better than I know how to love myself.
O Father! give to Thy child that which he himself
knows not how to ask. I dare not ask either for
crosses or consolations; I simply present myself
before Thee; I open my heart to Thee.
Behold my needs which I know not myself;
see, and do according to Thy tender mercy.
Smite, or heal; depress me, or raise me up;
I adore all Thy purposes without knowing them;
I am silent; I offer myself in sacrifice;
I yield myself to Thee; I would have no other
desire than to accomplish Thy will.
Teach me to pray;
pray Thyself in me.

FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.

Your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things.

MATTHEW 6, verse 32.

All as God wills, who wisely heeds
To give or to withhold;
And knoweth more of all my needs
Than all my prayers have told.

J. G. WHITTIER.

How Can I Stop Worrying All the Time

2011-12-29T20:44:00.000-08:00

Pastor, I'm in a hurry
But I need your advice.
All I do is worry
And rethink everything twice.

I worry about this and I worry about that.
Whether I'm too thin or maybe too fat.

Did I remember to feed the cat?

Did I turn off the television?
Did I wait until the dryer stopped spinning?
Did I turn on the answering machine?
Was that scary thing real or was it a dream?

Will I ever meet someone?
With me, does anyone ever have fun?
Did I commit the unpardonable sin?
When I arrive will they let me in?

I dread having to give a speech tomorrow.
Why am I always behind a hard act to follow?
I'm worried about today,
I'm still worrying about yesterday.
Does my hair look okay?

Pastor, I need your help and suggestion.
But I'm worried you won't answer my question.
_____________

Don't worry or fear,
Pastor Roland is here.
He's the Poet Pastor
And he's got an answer.

Relax and get a good night's rest.
Pastor Roland's answers are the best.
He'll have an answer for you;
It will be ready tomorrow by noon.

read the answer

Two 2011 Christmas poems by Pastor Roland

2011-12-27T21:05:00.000-08:00

A Short Christmas Grace by Roland Trujillo

We come to You this Christmas day
And this is what we have to say:
We're grateful for Christmas,
We'll make sure no one misses
The meaning of today.

Jesus brought light to show us the way
To get to know His Dad up above,
Who sent us His Son to get the job done,
And who looks on His children with love.

His Dad says to us: "Just remember Me,
Then go and have fun.
Wipe away your tear
And enjoy the Christmas cheer.
I haven't forgotten you.
I'm looking out for you too.

So just remember Me as you pray,
Then go out and play.
I'm watching out for you
And your parents too."

__________________

Christmas Grace and a Story
by Roland Trujillo

We remember the designer of this food,
And Who it was who made it taste so good.
Who made the ground, the rain, and the sun in the sky
For the food we eat and then sit back and sigh.

We remember Who made the wheat for the bread
And the grapes for the wine,
Which gives us life, strength and the gift of time.

Who made us all
Then watched us grow
To have little gratitude to show,
Then go on our way
And forget about our Maker every day.

We erred and drifted and we got so lost
Soon on the stormy seas of life we were tossed.
We no longer knew just Who
Was our maker and protector.

So what did He do?
He sent people to remind us
Like Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah too.

But still we forgot
And remembered Him not.

"I know what I'll do!" Said He.
"I'll do something to improve their memory."

"I'll send my Son to make sure they know
Who is there for them now, then, and long ago."

"I'll make it easy for them to remember Me -
I'll make it fun and memorable as can be,
When I send my Son Who will tell them of Me."

"I'll make His coming a wonderful tale,
The greatest one of all!
In comparison all of the others will pale
When the story of Jesus is recalled."

"That's how everyone will remember
Myself and my Son every December."

"I'm proud of my Son,
He brought me honor and glory.
He never disappointed Me.
Just read the story.

Because He proved His worth
I put Him in charge of earth.
If you're confused, discouraged or lost,
Follow Him, He's a good boss.

I know you've messed up and done wrong,
But my memory is short and not long.
I see my Son not your wrong,
When to His team you belong.

I'll trust my Son to make you right
And fix what hurts you inside.
So listen to Him and what He has to say.
He'll save you from error and show you the way."

So every year when we start to forget,
He says: "I'm not done yet!"
He makes more good food and Christmas delight,
And inspires sweet songs like Silent Night.

He says: "I'll always be there for you.
I was there then long ago, and I'm here now too."

Pastor Roland is There for Thee

2011-12-23T16:18:00.000-08:00

Pastor's out spreading lots of holiday cheer
And he knows you're all glad that he is here.
But for Pastor Roland the cupboards are bare,
Because the money just isn't there.

Since he won't ask, I'll ask on his behalf.
So here goes - and don't laugh.
Pastor needs some money,
He's so broke it isn't funny.

Only a hundred dollars will pay his radio dues.
Even fifty dollars will take away his holiday blues.
Can you afford twenty five?
It would keep his internet alive.

Okay - how about ten or even seven?
It will make him exclaim "Thank Heavens!"
So now it's up to you to choose.
Be a hero or an Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Please don't make him wait.
Give a little today, just click on Donate.
Or put a check in the mail,
And Fluffy will wag his tail.

Any donation will do,
And there'll be a free eBook for you.

Merry Christmas,
Love and kisses!

Please don't hesitate,
Just click here to donate
,

or send a check or money order to:
Roland Trujillo
1698 Market Street, Box 282
Redding, CA 96001

Thank you

Get Rid of the Holiday Blues

2011-11-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

Help for the Holiday Blues (and all your other problems too).

Be forgiving to others,
Don't resent your mothers.
Forgive your old dad,
He wasn't that bad.

Watch out for irritation.
Meditate for inspiration.
Stand back - watch irritation from the distance.
Don't struggle with resentful resistance

Remember to be thankful
For good things that happen to you.
Don't forget to be grateful
For bad things that haven't happened too.

Life is really simple and not so complicated,
Let go of resentment, and your bp won't be elevated.

Don't' resent other's imperfections
Don't eat too many sweet confections,
Use your sleeve when you have to sneeze.
And don't indulge your fantasies.

Negative thoughts are not real, you see.
They've been bothering humankind since the Garden of Eden scene.
They're just trying to seduce you into some sort of doubt.
Patient observation is what I'm going to tell you about.

Watch them without struggle until they go away.
Live in the moment, not tomorrow or yesterday.

Thoughts of glory, lust and fame,
Thoughts of revenge and thoughts of blame,
They're about as credible as a bad 3 AM TV movie.
Just stand back from the thoughts and don't react,
It's the guy with the horns behind them, and that's a fact.

He is the author of the fantasy.
Fixation and fascination are his goal, you see.
He's the director of the bad movie.
If you indulge or struggle, it's enough to drive you looney.

So take my advice, it's really quite easy,
Patient observation is what to do,
When negative thoughts are bothering you.
Keep them in the distance and they will be gone soon,
Like a bad infomercial in the next room.

Thank the Heavens above,
For faith, hope and love too.
It's doubt and resentment that separate you.

You can't give yourself faith,
But you can learn to patiently resist the doubt.

You can't give yourself love,
But when you are patient and don't yell and shout -
Love appears within from the Good Lord above.

Warming your soul and dissolving what made you blue,
Giving you patience for others and for yourself too.

Copyright 2011 by Roland Trujillo

The Righeous Man - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2011-11-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

"The righteous man is the one who lives for the next generation."

from The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive. Don’t insist on your rights, don’t blame each other, don’t judge or condemn each other, don’t find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts…”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

Gift Ideas - an Inspiring Santa Book for Parents of All Ages

2011-11-18T08:08:00.000-08:00

Santa and Mrs. Claus are master mentors when it comes to parenting. Want a good read? Would you like to follow Santa and Mrs. Claus as they deal with parenting issues with love and wisdom?

It's better than attending a class and you don't even have to leave home or use any gas.

I know what you are going to say, because I have heard it before.

I even heard it from a nice lady who was a receptionist at an office I used to visit. I told her that I was writing a book about parenting.

"What are you writing about right now?" she asked.

I said: "Right now I'm writing about how awful it is to force a child to stay in her room just because she was a little slow in cleaning her room. "

She said: "That's what I do with my daughter. I make her stay in her room."

I shook my head. This nice lady has thick glasses on, and I could see a picture behind her desk of a little angelic looking girl with thick glasses on (I'm guessing this was her daughter).

I said, "Why don't you try patience?"

Do you know what she said?

She said, "I tried patience and it doesn't work!"

I assured her that patience does work.

You see--she, like so many other parents, doesn't think that patience will work.

It's because she never gave it a chance. No wonder she says it doesn't work.

You see, patience never fails.

Well, here's something I know for sure. Patience=love.

So now I am going to prove to you that patience does work.

I know that if I can convince you that patience works, both you and your child will be much happier.

All you have to do is preview the first 40 or 50 pages free and you will have discovered several strategies that are based in patience and that really work.

I will be happy if Santa helps improve your relationship with your child.

Written in the tradition of LePetit Prince and Jonathan Livingston Seagull, this magical little book is the best kept secret in parenting literature. It can be read as a heart warming story; but like Le Petit Prince, it also is filled with profound insights and meaning.

Santa's Take on Parenting can be read over and over. It has the amazing quality of sparking new insight each time it is read. It makes a great gift.

But don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself.

Preview online at Scribd in eBook format for a discount

Shadow Santa and Mrs. Claus as they demonstrate their skills in gently but firmly guiding two kids with issues who are visiting with them.

Find out the secrets to their success.

Discover what Santa's skills are and why they work.

Let Santa and Mrs. Claus be your mentors!

Incidentally, just as parenting is a year round job, so is learning and developing your parenting skills! Don't wait until the holidays.

"Dr. Roland Trujillo PhD and Senior Pastor has written the book (now at Amazon.com) on alternatives to spanking. It is called Santa's Take on Parenting: Secrets from the North Pole. It will actually mentor you in learning how to apply patience and wisdom in working with your kids. It is also one of the sweetest books ever written and is right up there with Miracle on 34th Street as an all time reminder of what love is all about. "

"Little kids don't need discipline, they need direction and redirection. They need watching with love, kindness, and patience. Older kids need the loving presence of an involved aware parent. They need mentoring, coaching, and a parent who sets a good example. I'm going to tell you the truth. Time outs or spanking are poor substitutes for patience and wisdom.
.

Written in the tradition of Le Petit Prince and Jonathan Livingston Seagull, this beautiful little book can be read as a heart warming story; but like Le Petit Prince, it also is filled with profound insights and meaning. Santa's Take on Parenting can be read over and over, and it makes a great gift.

Shadow Santa and Mrs. Claus as they demonstrate their skills in gently but firmly guiding two kids who are visiting with them.

Find out the secrets to their success.

Discover what Santa's skills are and why they work.

Let Santa and Mrs. Claus be your mentors!

Incidentally, just as parenting is a year round job, so is learning and developing your parenting skills! Don't wait until the holidays.

Click here to preview at Amazon.com in both quality paperback and in Kindle.

Now at Barnes and Noble Nookbook. In color!

I know that if I can convince you that patience works, both you and your child will be much happier.

All you have to do is preview the first 40 or 50 pages free and you will have discovered several strategies that are based in patience and that really work.

I will be happy if Santa helps improve your relationship with your child.

Shadow Santa and Mrs. Claus as they demonstrate their skills in gently but firmly guiding two kids with issues who are visiting with them.

Find out the secrets to their success.

Discover what Santa's skills are and why they work.

Let Santa and Mrs. Claus be your mentors!

Incidentally, just as parenting is a year round job, so is learning and developing your parenting skills! Don't wait until the holidays.

.

Santa's Take on Parenting: Secrets from the North Pole

.What does Santa have to say about homework, discipline, and chores?
.
Santa Claus has finally spoken on the subject of parenting. Who is better suited to give advice than the one who has brought joy and delight to children for as long as anyone can remember?
.
In this modern day Santa story for parents, the reader follows Santa and Mrs. Claus as they work with a couple of kids who come to stay with them. The results are positive and inspirational, as Santa teaches by example how patience and creativity can make parenting a lot more fun and easy.

"In this fun filled educational book, the author introduces innovative parenting strategies by using the power of story telling to take the reader on a fictional visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus. The reader learns how Santa and Mrs. Claus handle issues that arise with a pair of youngsters who spend a few months with the Clauses."
.
What are "time outs Santa Style?"
.
How does Santa solve discipline and communication issues?
.
What's on Santa's do's and don'ts list?
.

Click Here to Look Inside!

What is Santa's secret to making chores fun and easy?
.
What does Santa say to parents about getting off to a good start?
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You'll find the answers to these questions and more in this book, destined to become a classic. Roland's new book is a Santa story for grownups with many teachable moments.

Santa's Take on Parenting is a handbook for parents. It has many new, easy to use creative solutions to typical kids issues.

But it is also a fun read and a good story. For example, you will also find out

What does Mrs. Claus do?
What does Mrs. Claus feed Santa?
What is Santa's favorite snack
What does Santa look like?
Does Santa use a computer
What sitting in Santa's sleigh is like
And much more

What others are saying about Santa's Take

"Every parent should read this book."
--Suzy, real estate broker, San Francisco, CA

"Your book is great and should go over well."
Dee, principal, Anderson, CA

“Santa's Take on Parenting" is a real find. I was looking for a book that makes the case for positive and creative parenting without spanking or excessive reliance on punishment.
I plan to provide a copy to my moms and dads who are just getting started or soon to be parents. I also wish to make it "required reading" for parents who need some coaching in positive parenting. Santa's Take will make learning about parenting fun and easier for lots of busy parents.
— Mary, parent educator, Emeryville, CA.

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“Whimsical" After I read Santa's Take on Parenting, I gave a copy to my adoptive and foster parent agency to have in their lending library. — Alicia, mother of three, Northern California

Your kids will listen when you say "Santa says."
.
.Ideal for parents, grandparents, foster parents and anyone who loves kids.
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Order the beautiful quality paperback edition at Amazon.com as a gift for someone you love
.

10% of every dollar is donated directly to needy shelters for people (and pets too)!

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and now available for Kindle too!

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A Word to Parents, Foster Parents and Grandparents
The Issue:

You like giving books as gifts, but you want to give a book that is fun and useful. You need a book for a dad, a mom, a teenage mom, a friend, or someone who just works with kids.

The Solution:

Santa's Take on Parenting reads like a novel, is good for both moms and dads, has dozens of parenting tips, and is fun to read.

The Issue:

You know someone who could use some fresh ideas for dealing with their kids. But you don't want to be intrusive or raise resistance.

The Solution:

Santa's Take on Parenting is a fun read and it has lots of creative positive ideas without being heavy handed. It can be read as a good story or as a parenting book.

No Particular Issue, you're just interested in parenting and want to read a good book.

The Solution: Santa's Take on Parenting

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Use this special link, and 20% of every dollar will be donated directly to needy shelters for people (and pets too!)

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Look Well, Therefore, to this Day

2011-11-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday is but a dream,
tomorrow but a vision.
But today well lived
makes every yesterday
a dream of happiness,
and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day.
Such is the salutation to the dawn."

– Sanskrit Proverb

Dr. Trujillo's comment

If you think about it - the memories of traumatic moments in the past are but dreams - electrochemical currents and holograms dancing in the imagination. But we react to them as if they were happening all over again.

It is the reaction, the emotion, that powers the dreams of the imagination.

And the emotion that is most responsible for keeping the memory alive is resentment.

It is resentment that brings the memory into the present, where it affects your thinking, your body, your family and your life.

Now do you see the magic and healing of forgiving?

Do you now see what it is that is preventing you from forgiving and forgetting?
It is resentment.

If you need help getting out of your imagination and emotions, listen to the PTSD meditation and if you elect to - give it a try.

I'm a Back Slider and I Messed Up - Can I Start Over Again?

2011-10-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

How often we wish we could get a fresh start in life. We recognize that we've made some mistakes, and the past weighs heavily on our mind. We wish we could take back some cruel words, spend more time with someone, or be more forgiving this time.

I understand, and I also know what you need.

Listen to the beautiful words from Cardinal Fenelon, the French mystic:

Do not be discouraged at your faults; bear with yourself in correcting them, as you would with your neighbor. Lay aside this ardor of mind, which exhausts your body, and leads you to commit errors. Accustom yourself gradually to carry prayer into all your daily occupations. Speak, move, work, in peace, as if you were in prayer, as indeed you ought to be.
Do everything without excitement, by the spirit of grace. As soon as you perceive your natural impetuosity gliding in, retire quietly within, where is the kingdom of God. Listen to the leadings of grace, then say and do nothing but what the Holy Spirit shall put in your heart.
You will find that you will become more tranquil, that your words will be fewer and more effectual, and that, with less effort, you will accomplish more good.

FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.

These words were written 300 years ago. They are just as true today as the day they were written. He's obviously found something, and I know what it is. I would like to share the secret with you, but it is only for the sincere in heart.

To start again, you need two things: a way of living and moving and having your being that is calm and not willful. And more importantly a way of speaking and acting gracefully with wisdom and common sense. One where reason leads instead of emotion. One where intuition is your guide rather than pressures from the outside. One where you are a friend of God and comfortable with your conscience.

Perhaps now you see what else is needed: a way of dealing with the traumas, baggage, and memories of the past. And mostly those memories are of failure. Where we were hasty, impetuous, angry, excited, greedy, prideful or selfish. We moved without wisdom and were tempted away from reason. We became resentful and said or did the wrong thing. We doubted God and good. We became animated at the thought of personal gain, and we moved excitedly and blindly.

You cannot change the past. All you can do is live rightly from now on. The secret lies in a sincere willingness to know the truth and a willingness to admit wrong. This willingness leads to a wonderful thing: a softening of our heart and there being an opening for God's inner light to begin to shine in our life.

When we are willing to know the truth, we begin to see our own wrong--especially resentments and hatreds toward others. But this time, instead of fighting conscience, we permit it to overwhelm us and chasten us.

Our pride is dashed, we regret and mourn our wrong in the Light of Intuition.

This wordless inner light has always been there. We kind of knew we were being selfish or resentful, but we made something (like our pride) too important.

So we fought conscience and tried to deny it. We redoubled our efforts to make ourselves look good, smart, or right in the eyes of the world--as if to disprove God's inner light wrong. But all we did was heap more condemnation on our head.

Our next big mistake was trying to deal with the memories of our errors egotistically. We suppressed and repressed. We tried to rearrange the past, or we tried to plan and scheme our way out of the messes we made. All to save face.

For the sincere seeker, who really and truly wants to be a better person--not just to save face or to feel better--but to come clean before conscience and admit some things, there is no better way that to use the meditation we offer to learn how to be still before the inner light.

By not escaping into worries, daydreams, memories or thinking; and by not reaching for some outside distraction--the soul becomes still and faces Reality. And only the soul that is truly willing to admit wrong will be able to do so.

The beautiful part about this is that the Light from God will wordlessly make the soul aware that it can do nothing. It cannot make itself good. It cannot deal with guilt or make itself innocent. The soul, chastened and helpless, turns inwardly to God. It lets go of its struggle and "lets go and lets God.

Now the soul can live in the Presence in the present. And as memories of past failings rise (a few every day--only as much as the soul can bear), it does not try to deal with them in any way. It is the Light from God that does the work or repentance. One day, there are no more errors of the past to see--only a beautiful present to live in.

And now graced with the delicate presence of the inner Light in which the soul now moves, this light becomes a lamp unto thy feet, gently and wordlessly guiding you away from error and in the right path.

Find out more about the meditation

Talk to Pastor Roland in persons by chat, email or phone

There is a river, a sweet, still, flowing river, the streams whereof will make glad thy heart

2011-10-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

ISAIAH 41, verse 10.

Lord, be Thou near and cheer my lonely way; With Thy sweet peace my aching bosom fill; Scatter my cares and fears; my griefs allay, And be it mine each day To love and please Thee still.

P. CORNEILLE.

What if the wicked nature, which is as a sea
casting out mire and dirt, rage against thee?
There is a river, a sweet, still, flowing river,
the streams whereof will make glad thy heart.
And, learn but in quietness and stillness
to retire to the Lord,
and wait upon Him; in whom thou shall feel peace and joy,
in the midst of thy trouble from the cruel and vexatious spirit of this world.
So, wait to know thy work and service to the Lord every day,
in thy place and station; and the Lord make thee faithful therein,
and thou wilt want neither help, support, nor comfort.

ISAAC PENINGTON.

I enjoy Isaac Penington's writings. This beautiful passage is one of my favorites. He is talking about the meditative life. "And learn but in quiteness and stillness to retire to the Lord."

To learn about Isaac Penington, visit here

To learn more about the stillness meditation visit our self help center

meditation

Bringing into Captivity Every Thought to the Obedience of Christ

2011-10-03T17:36:00.001-07:00

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable
in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
Psalm 19, verse 14.

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ
2 Corinthians 10, verse 5.

The thoughts that in our hearts keep place,
Lord, make a holy, heavenly throng,
And steep in innocence and grace
The issue of each guarded tongue.

T. H. GILL.

There is another kind of silence to be cultivated, besides that of
the tongue as regards others. I mean silence as regards one's
self,--restraining the imagination, not permitting it to dwell overmuch
on what we have heard or said, not indulging in the phantasmagoria of
picture-thoughts, whether of the past or future.

Be sure that you have
made no small progress in the spiritual life, when you can control your
imagination, so as to fix it on the duty and occupation actually existing,
to the exclusion of the crowd of thoughts which are perpetually sweeping
across the mind.

No doubt, you cannot prevent those thoughts from arising,
but you can prevent yourself from dwelling on them; you can put them aside,
you can check the self-complacency, or irritation, or earthly longings
which feed them, and by the practice of such control of your thoughts you
will attain that spirit of inward silence which draws the soul into a close
intercourse with God.

JEAN N. GROU.

Pastor Roland's comments: Thank you, Jean Grou. You said it perfectly. It is not a sin to have a bad thought enter. Only to cohabit with it and use it for some ego value.

Who was the great general who said: "Never take counsel of your fears."

For the person who is ready, these few verses in this post and diligent application of my meditation exercise are all they would need to turn their life around in short order.

Whatever You Do, Do It Unto God

2011-10-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

And in every work that be began in the service of the house of God, and in
the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his
heart, and prospered 2 Chronicles 31, verse 21.

What, shall we do, that we might work the works of God? John 6, verse 28.

Give me within the work which calls to-day,
To see Thy finger gently beckoning on;
So struggle grows to freedom, work to play,
And toils begun from Thee to Thee are done.

J. F. CLARKE.

God is a kind Father. He sets us all in the places where He wishes us to be
employed; and that employment is truly "our Father's business." He chooses
work for every creature which will be delightful to them, if they do it
simply and humbly. He gives us always strength enough, and sense enough,
for what He wants us to do; if we either tire ourselves or puzzle
ourselves, it is our own fault. And we may always be sure, whatever we are
doing, that we cannot be pleasing Him, if we are not happy ourselves.

John Ruskin.

Visit Godcast1000 and Get Your Free eBook on Relationships from Online Pastor Roland

2011-10-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

New! Click on my listing at Godcast1000 or Top Christian1000 and look for the free eBook offer. Each week I will make one of my eBooks available to read free online. My books are for sale at Amazon, Scribd, and CafePress - but to show my appreciation for Christian Podcast visitors, I am making one free every week. Topics include marriage, family communication, and coping with stress.

In addition to pastoral counseling, Pastor Roland Trujillo PhD saw a need to answer Bible questions and quick questions for educational purposes. This is a free service. Now you can ask your questions via chat (texting) or email. Why talk to just anyone when you can talk to a Senior Pastor?

Did you know that Pastor Roland is now listed at Godcast1000? Check out his listing and while you are there subscribe free to his RSS feed. Never miss a special offer, an update, or Christian walk tip again.

Talk to a Pastor Online free is at Godcast1000 Click here to see his listing.

Subscribe to the RSS feed and catch all of Pastor Roland's latest blogs in your favorite podcatcher. Bible verses, Bible commentary, sermons, essays about society and hints for successfully walking the Christian walk, along with useful stress reducing tips. Don't miss anything. Check it out today

Find the Meditative Life

2011-09-15T18:41:00.000-07:00

Hidden in Christ

2011-09-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

Genesis 17, verse 1.

Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord.
Exodus 32, verse 29.

Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days;
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

F. R. Havergal.

I have noticed that wherever there has been a faithful following
of the Lord in a consecrated soul,
several things have inevitably followed,
sooner or later.

Meekness and quietness of spirit become
in time the characteristics of the daily life.

A submissive acceptance of the will of God as it comes in
the hourly events of each day; pliability in the hands of God
to do or to suffer all the good pleasure of His will;

sweetness under provocation;
calmness in the midst of turmoil and bustle;
yieldingness to the wishes of others,
and an insensibility to slights and affronts;
absence of worry or anxiety;
deliverance from care and fear;

all these, and many similar graces,
are invariably found to be the natural outward development
of that inward life which is hid with Christ in God.

H. W. Smith.

Pastor Roland's comments: If you need some help getting started, visit our meditation page

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Pastor Roland Recommends the Lord's Prayer Sung by Mario Lanza

2011-08-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Father, for giving us such a great talent. Here are some comments from YouTube :

Abba (Father) forgive us all of us, believers and non believers and rescue us from the politicians around this globe and their helpmates who are bent on destroying humanity. We pray for your coming, soon

Pax

simply great...................

I think there is no one on this earth singing The Lord's Prayer like him, so much sincere, so much love. his singing can bring me close to the Lord. A great talent, a great voice, a great singer from God all time !

If you don't get chill bumps from this..............check for a pulse...you may not have one.

Great Man, Great Voice, Great Talent!!!!!!!!

If you would like to see Mario Lanza sing this hymn in a movie, click here.

The God of All Comfort - One of the Most Beautiful Phrases in the Bible

2011-08-11T19:24:00.001-07:00

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthians 1:2-4

God, Give Us Men! by Josiah Holland

2011-08-08T19:58:00.001-07:00

GOD, give us men! A time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office can not buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking!
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty, and in private thinking;
For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds,
Their large professions and their little deeds,
Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps.

Josiah Gilbert Holland.
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Roland's Comments.

This poem contains one of my all time favorite lines:

Tall men, sun crowned, who live above the fog.

If you click on the listen to audio button just above the poem, you can hear it being read.

Last night at a choir performance, Kati Rosten, choir director, told us a little about Josiah Holland before we had the opportunity to actually sing a hymn he wrote: There's a Song In the Air. What a thrill it was!

This morning I learned the following from Wikipedia:
"Although his literary products are rarely read today, during the late nineteenth century they were enormously popular, and more than half a million volumes of Holland's writings were sold. He is also remembered today for his contributions as an editor. Holland and his wife were frequent correspondents and family friends of poet Emily Dickinson. "

Thank you Josiah Holland. Incidentally, I heard someone quote from the poem on the radio
so we know that his poetry is still being read (and his songs sung).

I will Sing you a Song of that Beautiful Land

2011-08-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

I will sing you a song of that beautiful land,
That far away home of the soul,
Where no storms ever beat on the glittering strand,
While the years of eternity roll.

O, that home of the soul! In my visions and dreams
Its bright jasper walls I can see,
Till I fancy but thinly the veil intervenes
Between the fair city and me.

That unchangeable home is for you and for me,
Where Jesus of Nazareth stands;
The King of all kingdoms forever is He,
And He holdeth our crowns in His hands.

O, how sweet it will be in that beautiful land,
So free from all sorrow and pain;
With songs on our lips and with harps in our hands,
To meet one another again!

Mrs. Ellen H. Gates

I Will Sing the Wondrous Story of the Christ Who Died for Me

2011-07-31T20:38:00.000-07:00

I will sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ Who died for me
How He left His home in glory
For the Cross on Calvary.

I was lost, but Jesus found me,
Found the sheep that went astray;
Threw His loving arms around me,
Drew me back into His way.

I was bruised, but Jesus healed me,
I was faint from many a fall,
Sight was gone, and fears possessed me,
But he freed me from them all.

Days of darkness still come o'er me,
Paths of sorrows still I tread,
But the Savior still is with me,
By His hand I'm safely led.

Yes, I'll sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ Who died for me,
Sing it with the saints in glory,
Gathered by the crystal sea.

Francis H. Rowley

Give Me that Old Time Religion on the Radio - Pastor Roland Recommends

2011-07-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

Pastor Roland has been on the air for 22 years and he tells it like it is. Listen to his programs free at Pastor Roland's audio archives.

Pastor Roland also enjoys listening to old fashioned preaching himself.

Here's something Pastor Roland wrote a few months ago.

"After a restless night, pondering the current state of the nation and the world, I felt a deep need for some kind of comfort.

I searched and searched the internet this morning for some old fashioned preaching: the kind you used to hear in America and the kind that used to be on the radio. Like the song says: "Give me that old time religion."

How I miss it. I yearn to hear someone with authority, a man with a booming voice, who tells it like it is, with no equivocation, no pandering, and no appeals for money.

A man with a message who is not out to win a popularity contest. A good man, a family man, who wants us to clean up our act, start acting like ladies and gentlemen, and help each other instead of hurting each other.

Incidentally, a lot of dads used to be that way. Some still are.

It is comforting to me to hear a strong authority tell it like it is.

If you would like to hear someone who speaks with power and clarity, may I recommend the late Dr. Adrian Rogers at Love Worth Finding Ministries.
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If you would like to hear someone who speaks with power and clarity, may I recommend the late Dr. Adrian Rogers at Love Worth Finding Ministries.

After searching the internet for awhile, I came upon a really great site, SermonIndex.net, which published many old fashioned preachers. As it happens, I have a book on my shelf by a man named Vance Havner.
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I checked and sure enough, SermonIndex has some of his old sermons!
If you have never heard or read Vance Havner, you are in for a special treat. You can find some of his sermons on SermonIndex.net.
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If you love old fashioned preaching like I do, then you will love to hear Vance Havner.

Thank you SermonIndex. If you can support SermonIndex in some way, please do so. They have done a wonderful thing, putting these sermons on line for people to listen to.
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Another gentleman you might listen to is Brother Ray Pringle. I used to listen to his 15 minute Word of Prophesy sermons every week night at 11:45 in the Bay Area when I was a young guy. His family has preserved all his programs to listen to.

While you are here, check out the old time radio widget in the right sidebar. Listen to a new program everyday.
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Hope for PTSD and Anxiety Found in Peace with God and the Peace of God, says Senior Pastor

2011-07-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
GENESIS 17, verse 1. Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord.
EXODUS 32, verse 29.

Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days;
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

F. R. HAVERGAL.

I have noticed that wherever there has been a faithful following
of the Lord in a consecrated soul,
several things have inevitably followed,
sooner or later.
Meekness and quietness of spirit become
in time the characteristics of the daily life.
A submissive acceptance of the will of God as it comes in
the hourly events of each day; pliability in the hands of God
to do or to suffer all the good pleasure of His will;
sweetness under provocation;
calmness in the midst of turmoil and bustle;
yieldingness to the wishes of others,
and an insensibility to slights and affronts;
absence of worry or anxiety;
deliverance from care and fear; --all these, and many similar graces,
are invariably found to be the natural outward development
of that inward life which is hid with Christ in God. H. W. SMITH.

Coping with Suffering - Online Pastor has Free Meditation for PTSD and Stress

2011-07-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

ROMANS 8. verses 38 and 39.

I know not what the future hath
Of marvel or surprise,
Assured alone that life and death
His mercy underlies.

J. G. WHITTIER.

Be of good faith, my dear Friends,
look not out at any thing; fear none of those
things ye may be exposed to suffer, either
outwardly or inwardly; but trust the Lord
over all, and your life will spring, and grow,
and refresh you, and ye will learn obedience
and faithfulness daily more and more, even
by your exercises and sufferings; yea, the Lord
will teach you the very mystery of faith and
obedience; the wisdom, power, love, and goodness
of the Lord ordering every thing for you, and
ordering your hearts in every thing.

ISAAC PENINGTON.

These beautiful words of Issac Penington are more than mere consolation. Find God and you will have found everything. I have just made a new meditation for PTSD, stress and suffering, and you may listen to it free .

The Peace of God and the Peace from God Are the Benefits of Peace with God

2011-07-18T18:56:00.001-07:00

Behold, we count them happy which endure.

JAMES 5, verse 11.

If ye endure chastening,
God dealeth with you as with sons.

HEBREWS 12, verse 7.

Trials must and will befall;
But with humble faith to see
Love inscribed upon them all,
This is happiness to me.

W. COWPER.

Be not afraid of those trials which God may see
fit to send upon thee. It is with the wind and
storm of tribulation that God separates the true
wheat from the chaff. Always remember, therefore,
that God comes to thee in thy sorrows, as really
as in thy joys. He lays low, and He builds up.
Thou wilt find thyself far from perfection, if thou
dost not find God in everything.

Michael DE MOLINOS.

God hath provided a sweet and quiet life for His
children, could they improve and use it; a calm and
firm conviction in all the storms and troubles
that are about them, however things go, to find
content, and be careful for nothing.

R. LEIGHTON.

Senior Pastor Online Offers Free Devotionals and Free Chat and Now Available 7 Days

2011-07-18T18:47:00.000-07:00

"Why talk to just anyone when you can talk to a Senior Pastor?" says Pastor Roland who has an earned MS and PhD in Pastoral Psychology.

And I make myself available to people on the internet. I've been helping people via my radio program, books, articles, and private counseling for 21 years.

I offer two tiers of service.

Top Flight: I offer professional pastoral counseling 7 days a week for personal issues and feedback via texting, Skype, phone, and email.

Second tier: free live chat Sundays and most days when I'm available for a general or a Bible question you'd like to ask. (you must be 18, no emergencies, no counseling. Just a question for a pastor). Click To Chat

We also offer an outstanding array of free audio sermons, articles, a meditation to calm down, and even some free books to read online.

"This is the finest personal pastoral service on the web today."

__________________________________

Need some advice or feedback from a pastor? Need help with a relationship issue? Do you want some help coping with stress, family/work balance issues, overcoming negative emotions, learning to forgive, dealing with doubts, or would you like an answer to a religious question?

The quickest way to get in touch with Roland right away and get some feedback now is to visit Roland's virtual office by clicking on the big LivePerson button.

Why wait, or spend gas driving across town? Talk to a someone from the convenience of your home or office. Get professional counseling that fits your budget and schedule.
Roland is the author of 11 books, with 21 years experience. Roland has an earned MS and a PhD in Pastoral Psychology. He is board certified as a professional counselor.

Incidentally, LivePerson is confidential and best yet, it is pay as you go.

Many people prefer pay as you go because it leaves you in complete control of how long the chat session is. The fee is pay as you go per minute. You are in charge of how long or short the visit is. Talk or chat as long or as little as you like. You are in control.

LivePerson also has phone consultation available

For live chat or telephone consultation, pay as you go per minute visit Roland's virtual office at LivePerson.

All you need is a credit card or Paypal. LivePerson makes it easy to get started. Within minutes you are talking or chatting to Roland on a per minute basis. The feedback has been great. People love it!

Live chat and telephone consultation is ultra confidential and anonymous.

LivePerson doe s not give your name or phone number to its professional counselors. Generally for the first consultation, half an hour to an hour is sufficient to receive feedback, explore some solutions, and how to access additional free resources to read or listen to.

* To chat (texting) pay as you go, visit Roland's virtual office at LivePerson. Follow LivePerson's simple user friendly direction and you'll be chatting within 5 minutes!

Roland is available 7 days a week for your convenience.
"I'm here to help. Whether you just need an outside opinion about a family or relationship issue, or whether you would like some feedback on a personal, private issue, I'm a good listener.

My service is fast, friendly and ultra confidential. Chat in confidence, anonymity, and speak freely. We all need another opinion and feedback sometimes. That's what I'm here for. Chat with me from the convenience of your home 7 days a week.

Many people prefer online counseling to prevent having a mental health record with insurance companies.

I have Masters Degree in Human Relations and have advanced doctoral studies in pastoral psychology. I am an ordained minister and I am a Board Certified Professional Counselor. I am the author of 11 books on solving relationship, emotional and stress issues.

I have been advising and providing confidential advice and feedback about life's problems for over 20 years.

I'm the only Senior Pastor with over 20 years experience who devotes himself full time 7 days a week to helping people on the internet

We all need help sometimes or could use a little professional feedback. Maybe you want to talk to someone but don't want them to know who you are.

Right now you just want a little guidance on some issue with no strings attached

Perhaps you would just like some feedback from the convenience of home.

Click on the big blue LivePerson button to find out more or talk to Roland now.

This Hour is Mine With Its Present Duty; the Next is God's

2011-07-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

So teach us to number our days, that
we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

PSALM 90, verse 12.

Seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye
shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

LUKE 12, verse 29.

Our days are numbered: let us spare
Our anxious hearts a needless care:
'T is Thine to number out our days;
'T is ours to give them to Thy praise.

MADAME GUYON.

Every day let us renew the consecration to God's
service; every day let us, in His strength,
pledge ourselves afresh to do His will, even in
the veriest trifle, and to turn aside from anything
that may displease Him.He does not bid us bear
the burdens of tomorrow, next week, or next year.
Every day we are to come to Him in simple
obedience and faith, asking help to keep us, and
aid us through that day's work; and to-morrow,
and to-morrow, and to-morrow, through years of
long to-morrows, it will be but the same thing to do;
leaving the future always in God's hands, sure that
He can care for it better than we. Blessed trust!
that can thus confidingly say,
"This hour is mine with its present duty;
the next is God's, and when it comes,
His presence will come with it."

William Reed HUNTINGTON.
___________________________

Christian Meditation to Help with Anxiety and Discouragement

2011-07-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

Sooner or later every thoughtful person questions the hurried and harried life they are living. We think back to when we were little children when we leapt from bed full of joy to begin a day of discovery. And when day was done, we slept the sweet sleep of the innocent.

We think back to our high school or college days when we remember reading about Henry David Thoreau's Walden Pond. He beckoned us to march to a different drummer.

Perhaps we remember reading Ann Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea, calling us to a more thoughtful life. We see the old pictures and the old movies and we see people, who although living busy lives, and though conditions were harsher, carried themselves in a more stately and graceful manner.

We sense we are hurried and impatient. We have somehow been degraded. We hear talk of balance, and someone may even come to one of our staff meetings to talk about balance. We learn time management. We de-clutter. We look for quality time.

Yes, these are all well and good, but something more is needed, and in our heart of hearts we know it.

I will give you a couple of hints. The prize of becoming a blithe free-spirited person living anxiety free in a happy present is reserved for those who love truth, and who are willing to heed what they wordlessly know in their heart and follow it. If you wordlessly know something in your heart, but doubt it and believe what others have to say, that doubt separates you from your ground of good from which you could flow. You become an extension of the challenges and pressures on the outside instead of an extension of inner love and wisdom.
One more little hint. I will never forget I heard of a man who sat watching his grand daughter playing. She was happy and spontaneous and care-free. He was ever getting lost in reliving the past and worrying about the future. He was angry, tense, and bitter about some things. He asked himself: what is the difference between her and me? He pondered for a long time, and finally he realized the answer to his question.

The difference was resentment. He was resentful, and she was not.

I have much to say on the subject, far more than I can say in one blog. I have a free meditation and some books. What we do here at the Center For Common Sense Counseling is help people work through relationship and stress issues by teaching them how to become centered and flow from intuition.

Most of us are suppressed and inhibited because we are reactive, and thus outer directed. We react to situations and people, and then say or do the wrong thing. We become afraid of expressing our pent-up hostility, and we dread another round of error and failure.

So we hide ourselves from others so as not to be embarrassed or make mistakes. We put on a phony facade to keep people at a distance. Our secret hostility and resentment make us feel empty and needy.

But instead of finding an inner rapport and wholeness, we reach out to the world.
(article continues below.)

Feeling unworthy and yet needy, we clumsily claw for love, often settling for the most lowly and loathsome love offerings. When we can't bear the pain of reaching for love anymore, we settle for the comfort and false love of drugs, alcohol, and pills, or we stuff ourselves with food. All because in our distant past someone upset us or pulled on our heart strings, tempting us to step away from our center of dignity and love.

Some of us continue to yearn for the good we have never known. But reaching out to worldly spiritual or religious organizations has brought us betrayal or led to cynicism. We love truth and goodness, but we haven't found the real thing. Those we trusted either betrayed us, used us, or revealed their own lack of understanding.

What we need is to re-find the inner intuitive way of living and moving and having our being. We need the original perspective, the one we had before we were upset and sidetracked by authorities who themselves had been tempted away from reason and inner love.

Fortunately we can find the love and understanding we have always been searching for by learning to become still.

We can re-find the original perspective, and then moving unemotionally from this clear perspective, we will see our way back to a sensible, calm, inner directed way of life. A special simple meditation or centering exercise teaches us how to stand back from thought and emotion.

It is not difficult or complicated. Perhaps the most difficult part of it is setting aside the intellectual analysis and second guessing, and just practicing the meditation in its sheer simplicity.

Calming down and beginning to see clearly, we begin to see things and people, including ourselves, as we really are. Going out into the world, we learn to be less reactive. We learn to be patient with people. We learn not to look to them for love, because once having found the inner light in which to see, wordless guidance by which to act, and inner warmth and rapport to seal us off from outer entanglements, we are free to express truth and be patient with others.

Family, relationship, work, and health issues begin to resolve themselves. When we have love instead of seeking love, and when we have patience instead of impatience, we develop a healthy disinterest concern for others, instead of needing something from them.

Spiritual and physical health is the natural state of the body and soul. By learning to give up the resentment, emotionality, and a misguided lifestyle that interferes with health, we recover in the Light.

The following quotation from Francois Fenelon is perfectly accurate. Years ago when I was young, I would have liked this passage in a hopeful idealistic sort of way. It would have sounded right and something I wished were true.

But now, after having made friends with conscience and learned to meditate to be still, I see that it is true. There is an inner silent testimony that quietly bears witness to the words. It is that silent witness, God's intuitive light within, that is the true comfort. Because it means that God is there and His inner Light is a guide, a comfort, and a present help in time of trouble.

Both of these quotes have to do with living in the present. The first shows how our fretting, goal seeking, planning and scheming lead to anxiety. The second quote is about living and moving and having our being calmly in the present.

The crosses of the present moment always bring their own special grace and consequent comfort with them; we see the hand of God in them when it is laid upon us.

But the crosses of anxious foreboding are seen out of the dispensation of God; we see them without grace to bear them; we see them indeed through a faithless spirit which banishes grace.
So, everything in them is bitter and
unendurable; all seems dark and helpless
Let us throw self aside; no more self-interest,
and then God's will, unfolding every moment
in everything, will console us also every moment
for all that He shall do around us,
or within us, for our discipline.

FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.

Do not be discouraged at your faults;
bear with yourself in correcting them, as you would with your neighbor. Lay aside this ardor of mind, which exhausts your body, and leads you to commit errors.

Accustom yourself gradually to carry prayer into all your daily occupations.
Speak, move, work, in peace, as if you were in prayer,
as indeed you ought to be.
Do everything without excitement,
by the spirit of grace.

As soon as you perceive your natural impetuosity
gliding in, retire quietly within,
where is the kingdom of God.

Listen to the leadings of grace,
then say and do nothing but what the
Holy Spirit shall put in your heart.

You will find that you will become more tranquil,
that your words will be fewer and more effectual, and that, with less effort,
you will accomplish more good.

FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.

These words were written 300 years ago. They are just as true today as the day they were written. He's obviously found something, and I know what it is. I would like to share the secret with you, but it is only for the sincere in heart.

Find out more about our free meditation.

Preview Conquering Stress and its Symptoms
online free.
Listen to the meditation.

Read more about dealing with anxiety and upset

Words of Success for Graduates

2011-06-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

Little by Little

One step and then another, and the longest walk is ended;
One stitch and then another, and the widest rent is mended;
One brick upon another, and the highest wall is made;
One flake upon another, and the deepest snow is laid.

Then do not frown or murmur at the work you have to do,
Or say that such a mighty talk you never can get through;
But just endeavor, day by day, another point to gain,
And soon the mountain that you feared will prove to be a plain.

Author Unknown

Success in Life

Poets may be born, but success is made; therefore let me beg of you, in the outset of your career, to dismiss from your minds all ideas of succeeding by luck.

There is no more common thought among young people than that foolish one that by and by something will turn up by which they will suddenly achieve fame or fortune. Luck is an ignis-fatuus. You may follow it to ruin, but not to success. The great Napoleon, who believed in his destiny, followed it until he saw his star go down in blackest night, when the Old Guard perished around him, and Waterloo was lost. A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck.

Young men talk of trusting to the spur of the occasion. that trust is vain. Occasion cannot make spurs. If you expect to wear spurs, you must win them. If you wish to use them, you must buckle them to your own heels before you go into the fight. Any success you may achieve is not worth the having unless you fight for it. Whatever you win in life you must conquer by your own efforts, and then it is yours--a part of yourself.

In giving you being, God locked up in your nature certain forces and capabilities. What wil you do with them? Look at the mechanism of a clock. Take off the pendulum and ratchet, and the wheels go rattling down, and all its force is expended in a moment; but properly balanced and regulated, it will go on, letting out its force tick by tick, measuring hours and days, and doing faithfully the service for which it was designed.

I implore you to cherish and guard and use well the forces that God has given you. You may let them run down in a year, if you will. Take off the strong curb of discipline and morality, and you will be an old man before your twenties are passed. Preserve these forces. Do not burn them out with brandy, or waste them in idleness and crime. Do not destroy them. Do not use them unworthily. Save and protect them, that they may save for you fortune and fame. Honestly resolve to do this, and you will be an honor to yourself and to your country.

by James A. Garfield

Pastor Publishes Relationships and Marriage Advice Book, Now 50% Discount in eBook

2011-06-16T16:31:00.000-07:00

Here it is. The book you have been waiting for.

Roland's new book The Myths and Mysteries of Marriage - making relationships work.

318 pages.

Written by Dr. Roland Trujillo PhD in Pastoral Psychology and based on 20 years of counseling and coaching couples

Here are just some of the topics discussed

The Dating and Mating Game Is Not a Game
“A Rose by Any Other Name is Still a Rose”
Why I Decided to Become a Pastor
Where to Find Real Solutions to your Relationship Woes
Why Couples Argue
Myths of Marriage
Sex in Marriage – The Shocking Truth
How to Forgive and Forget
How to Apologize and Clear the Air with Dignity
Just How Important is Dad?
Marriage Counseling for Men
Can I Reconcile with My Husband, Wife, or Child?

For all his loyal listeners and followers, Roland is making his new book available in eBook to download to your computer or mobile device for $4.95

a 50% discount.

Click here for more information about how to preview at Scribd and purchase to download to your computer or mobile device.

An Excess of Luxury Weakens our Hands in Spiritual development

2011-06-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him.
2 Chronicles 29, verse 11.

Bright be my prospect as I pass along;
An ardent service at the cost of all,
Love by untiring ministry made strong,
And ready for the first, the softest call.

A. L. WARING.

There are many things that appear trifles, which greatly tend
to enervate the soul, and hinder its progress
in the path to virtue and glory. The habit of indulging
in things which our judgment cannot thoroughly approve,
grows stronger and stronger by every act of self-gratification,
and we are led on by degrees to an excess of luxury which must
greatly weaken our hands in the spiritual warfare. If we do not
endeavor to do that which is right in every particular
circumstance, though trifling, we shall be in great danger
of letting the same negligence take place in matters more essential.

MARGARET WOODS.

The will can only be made submissive by frequent self-denials, which must keep in subjection its sallies and inclinations. Great weakness is often produced by indulgences which seem of no importance.

Michael De Molinos.

A Still, Small Voice - For He Will Speak Peace Unto His People

2011-05-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His
people.

Psalms 85, verse 8.

There is a voice, "a still, small voice" of love,
Heard from above;
But not amidst the din of earthly sounds,
Which here confounds;
By those withdrawn apart it best is heard,
And peace, sweet peace, breathes in each gentle word.
ANONYMOUS.

He speaketh, but it is with us to hearken or no. It is much, yea, it is
everything, not to turn away the ear, to be willing to hearken, not to
drown His voice.
"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him."
It is
a secret, hushed voice, a gentle intercourse of heart to heart, a still,
small voice, whispering to the inner ear. How should we hear it, if we fill
our ears and our hearts with the din of this world, its empty tumult, its
excitement, its fretting vanities, or cares, or passions, or anxieties, or
show, or rivalries, and its whirl of emptinesses?

E. B. PUSEY.

Overcoming Anxiety Disorder and Recovering Peace of Mind

2011-05-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

Sooner or later every thoughtful person questions the hurried and harried life they are living. We think back to when we were little children when we leapt from bed full of joy to begin a day of discovery. And when day was done, we slept the sweet sleep of the innocent.
We think back to our high school or college days when we remember reading about Henry David Thoreau's Walden Pond. He beckoned us to march to a different drummer.
Perhaps we remember reading Ann Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea, calling us to a more thoughtful life. We see the old pictures and the old movies and we see people, who although living busy lives, and though conditions were harsher, carried themselves in a more stately and graceful manner.
.
We sense we are hurried and impatient. We have somehow been degraded. We hear talk of balance, and someone may even come to one of our staff meetings to talk about balance. We learn time management. We de-clutter. We look for quality time.

Yes, these are all well and good, but something more is needed, and in our heart of hearts we know it.

I will give you a couple of hints. The prize of becoming a blithe free-spirited person living anxiety free in a happy present is reserved for those who love truth, and who are willing to heed what they wordlessly know in their heart and follow it. If you wordlessly know something in your heart, but doubt it and believe what others have to say, that doubt separates you from your ground of good from which you could flow. You become an extension of the challenges and pressures on the outside instead of an extension of inner love and wisdom.
One more little hint. I will never forget I heard of a man who sat watching his grand daughter playing. She was happy and spontaneous and care-free. He was ever getting lost in reliving the past and worrying about the future. He was angry, tense, and bitter about some things. He asked himself: what is the difference between her and me? He pondered for a long time, and finally he realized the answer to his question.

The difference was resentment. He was resentful, and she was not.

I have much to say on the subject, far more than I can say in one blog. I have a free meditation and some books. What we do here at the Center For Common Sense Counseling is help people work through relationship and stress issues by teaching them how to become centered and flow from intuition.

Most of us are suppressed and inhibited because we are reactive, and thus outer directed. We react to situations and people, and then say or do the wrong thing. We become afraid of expressing our pent-up hostility, and we dread another round of error and failure.

So we hide ourselves from others so as not to be embarrassed or make mistakes. We put on a phony facade to keep people at a distance. Our secret hostility and resentment make us feel empty and needy.

But instead of finding an inner rapport and wholeness, we reach out to the world.
(article continues below.)

Feeling unworthy and yet needy, we clumsily claw for love, often settling for the most lowly and loathsome love offerings. When we can't bear the pain of reaching for love anymore, we settle for the comfort and false love of drugs, alcohol, and pills, or we stuff ourselves with food. All because in our distant past someone upset us or pulled on our heart strings, tempting us to step away from our center of dignity and love.

Some of us continue to yearn for the good we have never known. But reaching out to worldly spiritual or religious organizations has brought us betrayal or led to cynicism. We love truth and goodness, but we haven't found the real thing. Those we trusted either betrayed us, used us, or revealed their own lack of understanding.

What we need is to re-find the inner intuitive way of living and moving and having our being. We need the original perspective, the one we had before we were upset and sidetracked by authorities who themselves had been tempted away from reason and inner love.

Fortunately we can find the love and understanding we have always been searching for by learning to become still.

We can re-find the original perspective, and then moving unemotionally from this clear perspective, we will see our way back to a sensible, calm, inner directed way of life. A special simple meditation or centering exercise teaches us how to stand back from thought and emotion.

It is not difficult or complicated. Perhaps the most difficult part of it is setting aside the intellectual analysis and second guessing, and just practicing the meditation in its sheer simplicity.

Calming down and beginning to see clearly, we begin to see things and people, including ourselves, as we really are. Going out into the world, we learn to be less reactive. We learn to be patient with people. We learn not to look to them for love, because once having found the inner light in which to see, wordless guidance by which to act, and inner warmth and rapport to seal us off from outer entanglements, we are free to express truth and be patient with others.

Family, relationship, work, and health issues begin to resolve themselves. When we have love instead of seeking love, and when we have patience instead of impatience, we develop a healthy disinterest concern for others, instead of needing something from them.

Spiritual and physical health is the natural state of the body and soul. By learning to give up the resentment, emotionality, and a misguided lifestyle that interferes with health, we recover in the Light.

The following quotation from Francois Fenelon is perfectly accurate. Years ago when I was young, I would have liked this passage in a hopeful idealistic sort of way. It would have sounded right and something I wished were true.

But now, after having made friends with conscience and learned to meditate to be still, I see that it is true. There is an inner silent testimony that quietly bears witness to the words. It is that silent witness, God's intuitive light within, that is the true comfort. Because it means that God is there and His inner Light is a guide, a comfort, and a present help in time of trouble.

Both of these quotes have to do with living in the present. The first shows how our fretting, goal seeking, planning and scheming lead to anxiety. The second quote is about living and moving and having our being calmly in the present.

The crosses of the present moment always bring their own special grace and consequent comfort with them; we see the hand of God in them when it is laid upon us.

But the crosses of anxious foreboding are seen out of the dispensation of God; we see them without grace to bear them; we see them indeed through a faithless spirit which banishes grace.
So, everything in them is bitter and
unendurable; all seems dark and helpless
Let us throw self aside; no more self-interest,
and then God's will, unfolding every moment
in everything, will console us also every moment
for all that He shall do around us,
or within us, for our discipline.

FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.

Do not be discouraged at your faults;
bear with yourself in correcting them, as you would with your neighbor. Lay aside this ardor of mind, which exhausts your body, and leads you to commit errors.

Accustom yourself gradually to carry prayer into all your daily occupations.
Speak, move, work, in peace, as if you were in prayer,
as indeed you ought to be.
Do everything without excitement,
by the spirit of grace.

As soon as you perceive your natural impetuosity
gliding in, retire quietly within,
where is the kingdom of God.

Listen to the leadings of grace,
then say and do nothing but what the
Holy Spirit shall put in your heart.

You will find that you will become more tranquil,
that your words will be fewer and more effectual, and that, with less effort,
you will accomplish more good.

FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.

These words were written 300 years ago. They are just as true today as the day they were written. He's obviously found something, and I know what it is. I would like to share the secret with you, but it is only for the sincere in heart.

Find out more about our free meditation.

Preview Conquering Stress and its Symptoms
online free.
Listen to the meditation.

Read more about dealing with anxiety and upset

2011-05-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

Many people do not know that Hitler and the Nazis had a program to take away and kill (euthanize) mentally and physically disabled people and also mentally ill people.
Not only that, but many people do not know that Hitler and the Nazis imprisoned and killed many Christian pastors, priests and nuns, especially if they spoke out about things.
It is good if we are reminded of this terrible fact so that we can not let it happen again. As George Santayana said "those who forget the lessons of history are destined to repeat them."
I cannot tell you how much respect I have for people who have the courage to speak the truth.

I am very grateful that there are such people. So I am including a copy of this short commentary by Chuck Colson about Cardinal Clemens August von Galen who spoke out from the pulpit about what the Nazis were doing to the disabled and to the Christians. Then I have a copy of one of his famous sermons, thanks to Wikipedia.

Please support Chuck Colson and his great Breakpoint radio program. Please support Wikipedia for their wonderful online encyclopedia.

Chuck Colson:

"Yesterday, I told you the story of Lothar Kreyssig, the Protestant German judge who defied the Third Reich’s program to rid Germany of what it called “lives unworthy of life.”

But while Kreyssig was exceptional, he wasn’t alone.

Clemens August Graf von Galen was the Bishop of Muenster. He became bishop in 1933, the same year Hitler came to power, and from the start he made life difficult for Nazi officials.

He opposed Reich policies in education and its attacks on religious freedom. When others were bending over backwards to avoid provoking the Nazis, von Galen went on the rhetorical offensive: He mocked Nazi ideology and defended the authority of the Old Testament against Nazi attacks.

But von Galen’s most important confrontation with the regime came over the Action T4 program—the Nazi effort to eliminate the physically and mentally disabled. By 1941, Nazi persecution of Catholics, which included sending thousands of priests to concentration camps, had caused leading German prelates, as historian Richard Evans put it, to “[keep] their heads down.”

But as more and more disabled patients were being murdered, keeping one’s head down became tantamount to complicity with evil. What’s more, as von Galen realized, it was futile — because the Nazis were going to persecute the Church, anyway.

So, in July and August of 1941, he delivered a series of sermons that denounced the Nazi regime. He told the German people that if the disabled could be killed with impunity, “then the way is open for the murder of all of us, when we become old and weak and thus unproductive.” If a regime could disregard the commandment against murder, it could do way with the other nine commandments as well.

The sermons caused an international sensation: Copies were sent to German soldiers at the front lines; the BBC read excerpts on the air. The local Nazi leader demanded that von Galen be executed. The bishop’s sister, a nun, was arrested and locked in the nunnery basement, from which she escaped by climbing out the window.

Von Galen himself expected to be martyred. But something extraordinary happened: The Nazis backed down. The bishop’s sermons had galvanized the public: nurses and orderlies began to obstruct the program. So Hitler issued an order suspending the gassing of disabled adults.

While the Nazis did continue to kill the disabled, especially children, they killed fewer and they took pains to hide it. As Evans has written, but for von Galen’s actions, the Nazis would have continued unhindered in their quest to rid German society of “those they continued to be a burden to it.”

Von Galen outlived the Third Reich but not by much: shortly after being made a Cardinal in 1946, he died from an appendix infection. But he wasn’t forgotten: in 2005, he was beatified by the Catholic Church. In Catholic terms, that makes him the “Blessed Clemens von Galen.” But it is we who are blessed by examples like his and that of Lothar Kreyssig. They stood up for life in circumstances we can’t imagine and forced a demonic dictatorship to back down.

Imagine what we could accomplish today with their kind of commitment and courage. Listen to Chuck Colson's commentary at Breakpoint
http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/16268

_____________________
Cardinal von Galen's sermon

Sermon of August 3, 1941

My Beloved Brethren,

In today's Gospel we read of an unusual event: Our Saviour weeps. Yes, the Son of God sheds tears. Whoever weeps must be either in physical or mental anguish. At that time Jesus was not yet in bodily pain and yet here were tears. What depth of torment He must have felt in His heart and Soul, if He, the bravest of men, was reduced to tears. Why is He weeping? He is lamenting over Jerusalem, the holy city He loved so tenderly, the capital of His race. He is weeping over her inhabitants, over His own compatriots because they cannot foresee the judgment that is to overtake them, the punishment which His divine prescience and justice have pronounced. ‘Ah, if thou too couldst understand, above all in this day that is granted thee, the ways that can bring thee peace!’ Why did the people of Jerusalem not know it? Jesus had given them the reason a short time before. ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often have I been ready to gather thy children together, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings; and thou didst refuse it! I your God and your King wished it, but you would have none of Me. . . .’ This is the reason for the tears of Jesus, for the tears of God. . . . Tears for the misrule, the injustice and man's willful refusal of Him and the resulting evils, which, in His divine omniscience, He foresees and which in His justice He must decree. . . . It is a fearful thing when man sets his will against the will of God, and it is because of this that Our Lord is lamenting over Jerusalem.

My faithful brethren! In the pastoral letter drawn up by the German Hierarchy on the 26th of June at Fulda and appointed to be read in all the churches of Germany on July 6th, it is expressly stated: ‘According to Catholic doctrine, there are doubtless commandments which are not binding when obedience to them requires too great a sacrifice, but there are sacred obligations of conscience from which no one can release us and which we must fulfil even at the price of death itself. At no time, and under no circumstances whatsoever, may a man, except in war and in lawful defence, take the life of an innocent person.’

When this pastoral was read on July 6th I took the opportunity of adding this exposition:

For the past several months it has been reported that, on instructions from Berlin, patients who have been suffering for a long time from apparently incurable diseases have been forcibly removed from homes and clinics. Their relatives are later informed that the patient has died, that the body has been cremated and that the ashes may be claimed. There is little doubt that these numerous cases of unexpected death in the case of the insane are not natural, but often deliberately caused, and result from the belief that it is lawful to take away life which is unworthy of being lived.

This ghastly doctrine tries to justify the murder of blameless men and would seek to give legal sanction to the forcible killing of invalids, cripples, the incurable and the incapacitated. I have discovered that the practice here in Westphalia is to compile lists of such patients who are to be removed elsewhere as ‘unproductive citizens,’ and after a period of time put to death. This very week, the first group of these patients has been sent from the clinic of Marienthal, near Münster.

Paragraph 21 of the Code of Penal Law is still valid. It states that anyone who deliberately kills a man by a premeditated act will be executed as a murderer. It is in order to protect the murderers of these poor invalids—members of our own families—against this legal punishment, that the patients who are to be killed are transferred from their domicile to some distant institution. Some sort of disease is then given as the cause of death, but as cremation immediately follows it is impossible for either their families or the regular police to ascertain whether death was from natural causes.

I am assured that at the Ministry of the Interior and at the Ministry of Health, no attempt is made to hide the fact that a great number of the insane have already been deliberately killed and that many more will follow.

Article 139 of the Penal Code expressly lays down that anyone who knows from a reliable source of any plot against the life of a man and who does not inform the proper authorities or the intended victim, will be punished. . . .

When I was informed of the intention to remove patients from Marienthal for the purpose of putting them to death I addressed the following registered letter on July 29th to the Public Prosecutor, the Tribunal of Münster, as well as to the Head of the Münster Police:

‘I have been informed this week that a considerable number of patients from the provincial clinic of Marienthal are to be transferred as citizens alleged to be "unproductive" to the institution of Richenberg, there to be executed immediately; and that according to general opinion, this has already been carried out in the case of other patients who have been removed in like manner. Since this sort of procedure is not only contrary to moral law, both divine and natural, but is also punishable by death, according to Article 211 of the Penal Code, it is my bounden obligation in accordance with Article 139 of the same Code to inform the authorities thereof. Therefore I demand at once protection for my fellow countrymen who are threatened in this way, and from those who purpose to transfer and kill them, and I further demand to be informed of your decision.’

I have received no news up till now of any steps taken by these authorities. On July 26th I had already written and dispatched a strongly worded protest to the Provincial Administration of Westphalia which is responsible for the clinics to which these patients have been entrusted for care and treatment. My efforts were of no avail. The first batch of innocent folk have left Marienthal under sentence of death, and I am informed that no less than eight hundred cases from the institution of Waestein have now gone. And so we must await the news that these wretched defenceless patients will sooner or later lose their lives. Why? Not because they have committed crimes worthy of death, not because they have attacked guardians or nurses as to cause the latter to defend themselves with violence which would be both legitimate and even in certain cases necessary, like killing an armed enemy soldier in a righteous war.

No, these are not the reasons why these unfortunate patients are to be put to death. It is simply because that according to some doctor, or because of the decision of some committee, they have no longer a right to live because they are ‘unproductive citizens’. The opinion is that since they can no longer make money, they are obsolete machines, comparable with some old cow that can no longer give milk or some horse that has gone lame. What is the lot of unproductive machines and cattle? They are destroyed. I have no intention of stretching this comparison further. The case here is not one of machines or cattle which exist to serve men and furnish them with plenty. They may be legitimately done away with when they can no longer fulfil their function. Here we are dealing with human beings, with our neighbours, brothers and sisters, the poor and invalids . . . unproductive—perhaps! But have they, therefore, lost the right to live? Have you or I the right to exist only because we are ‘productive’? If the principle is established that unproductive human beings may be killed, then God help all those invalids who, in order to produce wealth, have given their all and sacrificed their strength of body. If all unproductive people may thus be violently eliminated, then woe betide our brave soldiers who return home, wounded, maimed or sick.

Once admit the right to kill unproductive persons . . . then none of us can be sure of his life. We shall be at the mercy of any committee that can put a man on the list of unproductives. There will be no police protection, no court to avenge the murder and inflict punishment upon the murderer. Who can have confidence in any doctor? He has but to certify his patients as unproductive and he receives the command to kill. If this dreadful doctrine is permitted and practised it is impossible to conjure up the degradation to which it will lead. Suspicion and distrust will be sown within the family itself.A curse on men and on the German people if we break the holy commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ which was given us by God on Mount Sinai with thunder and lightning, and which God our Maker imprinted on the human conscience from the beginning of time! Woe to us German people if we not only licence this heinous offence but allow it to be committed with impunity!

I will now give you a concrete example of what is taking place here. A fifty-five-year-old peasant from a country parish near Münster—I could give you his name—has been cared for in the clinic of Marienthal for some years suffering from some mental derangement. He was not hopelessly mad, in fact he could receive visitors and was always pleased to see his family. About a fortnight ago he had a visit from his wife and a soldier son who was home on leave from the front. The latter was devoted to his sick father. Their parting was sad, for they might not see each other again as the lad might fall in battle. As it happens this son will never set eyes on his father again because he is on the list of the ‘unproductives’. A member of the family who was sent to see the father at Marienthal was refused admission and was informed that the patient had been taken away on the orders of the Council of Ministers of National Defence. His whereabouts was unknown. The family would receive official notification in due course. What will this notice contain? Will it be like all the others, namely that the man is dead and that the ashes of his body will be sent on the receipt of so much money to defray expenses? And so the son who is now risking his life at the front for his German compatriots will never again see his father. These are the true facts and the names of all those concerned are available.

‘Thou shalt not kill.’ God engraved this commandment on the souls of men long before any penal code laid down punishment for murder, long before any court prosecuted and avenged homicide. Cain, who killed his brother Abel, was a murderer long before courts or states came into existence, and plagued by his conscience he confessed, ‘Guilt like mine is too great to find forgiveness . . . and I shall wander over the earth, a fugitive; anyone I meet will slay me.’

Because of His love for us God has engraved these commandments in our hearts and has made them manifest to us. They express the need of our nature created by God. They are the unchangeable and fundamental truths of our social life grounded on reason, well pleasing to God, healthful and sacred. God, Our Father, wishes by these precepts to gather us, His children, about Him as a hen shelters her brood under her wings. If we are obedient to His commands, then we are protected and preserved against the destruction with which we are menaced, just as the chicks beneath the wings of the mother. ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often have I been ready to gather thy children together, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings; and thou didst refuse it!’

Does history again repeat itself here in Germany, in our land of Westphalia, in our city of Münster? Where in Germany and where, here, is obedience to the precepts of God? The eighth commandment requires ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour’. How often do we see this commandment publicly and shamelessly broken? In the seventh commandment we read, ‘Thou shalt not steal’. But who can say that property is safe when our brethren, monks and nuns, are forcibly and violently despoiled of their convents, and who now protects property if it is illegally sequestered and not given back?

The sixth commandment tells us, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’. Consider the instructions and assurances laid down on the question of free love and child-bearing outside the marital law in the notorious open letter of Rudolf Hess, who has since vanished, which appeared in the Press. In this respect look at the immorality and indecency everywhere in Münster today. Our young people have little respect for the propriety of dress today. Thus is modesty, the custodian of purity, destroyed, and the way for adultery lies open.

How do we observe the fourth commandment which enjoins obedience and respect to parents and superiors? Parental authority is at a low ebb and is constantly being enfeebled by the demands made upon youth against the wishes of the parents. How can real respect and conscientious obedience to the authority of the State be maintained, to say nothing of the Divine commandments, if one is fighting against the one and only true God and His Faith?

The first three commandments have long counted for nothing in the public life of Germany and here also in Münster . . .. The Sabbath is desecrated; Holy Days of Obligation are secularized and no longer observed in the service of God. His name is made fun of, dishonoured and all too frequently blasphemed. As for the first commandment, ‘Thou shalt not have strange gods before me’, instead of the One, True, Eternal God, men have created at the dictates of their whim, their own gods to adore Nature, the State, the Nation or the Race. In the words of St. Paul, for many their god is their belly, their ease, to which all is sacrificed down to conscience and honour for the gratification of the carnal senses, for wealth and ambition. Then we are not surprised that they should claim divine privileges and seek to make themselves overlords of life and death.

‘And as He drew near, and caught sight of the city, He wept over it, and said: "Ah, if thou too couldst understand, above all in this day that is granted thee, the ways that can bring thee peace! As it is, they are hidden from thy sight. The days will come upon thee when thy enemies will fence thee round about, and encircle thee, and press thee hard on every side, and bring down in ruin both thee and thy children that are in thee, not leaving one stone of thee upon another; and all because thou didst not recognize the time of My visiting thee."’

Jesus saw only the walls and towers of the city of Jerusalem with His human eye, but with His divine prescience He saw far beyond and into the inmost heart of the city and its inhabitants. He saw its wicked obstinacy, terrible, sinful and cruel. Man, a transitory creature, was opposing his mean will to the Will of God. That is the reason why Jesus wept for this fearful sin and its inevitable punishment. God is not mocked.

Christians of Münster! Did the Son of God in His omniscience see only Jerusalem and its people? Did He weep only on their behalf? Is God the protector and Father of the Jews only? Is Israel alone in rejecting His divine truth? Are they the only people to throw off the laws of God and plunge headlong to ruin? Did not Jesus, Who sees everything, behold also our German people, our land of Westphalia and the Lower Rhine, and our city of Münster? Has He not also wept for us? For a thousand years He has instructed us and our forbears in the Faith. He has led us by His law. He has nourished us with His grace and has gathered us to Him as the hen does her brood beneath its wings. Has the all-knowing Son of God seen that in our own time He would have to pronounce on us that same dread sentence? ‘Not leaving one stone of thee upon another; and all because thou didst not recognize the time of My visiting thee.’ That would indeed be a terrible sentence.

My dearly Beloved, I trust that it is not too late. It is time that we realized today what alone can bring us peace, what alone can save us and avert the divine wrath. We must openly, and without reserve, admit our Catholicism. We must show by our actions that we will live our lives by obeying God's commandments. Our motto must be: Death rather than sin. By pious prayer and penance we can bring down upon us all, our city and our beloved German land, His grace and forgiveness.

But those who persist in inciting the anger of God, who revile our Faith, who hate His commandments, who associate with those who alienate our young men from their religion, who rob and drive out our monks and nuns, who condemn to death our innocent brothers and sisters, our fellow human beings, we shun absolutely so as to remain undefiled by their blasphemous way of life, which would lay us open to that just punishment which God must and will inflict upon all those who, like the thankless Jerusalem, oppose their wishes to those of God.

O my God, grant to us all now on this very day, before it is too late, a true realization of the things that are for peace. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, oppressed even unto tears by the blindness and sins of men, help us by Thy grace to seek always what is pleasing to Thee and reject what is displeasing, so that we may dwell in Thy Love and find rest in our souls. Amen.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: The above is from the book, Cardinal von Galen, by Rev. Heinrich Portmann, translated by R.L. Sedgwick, 1957, pp. 239-246.

Repairing Anxiety: Learn How to Cast Your Cares Upon the Lord

2011-05-04T18:47:00.000-07:00

Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.

1 Peter 5, verses 6 and 7.

I would have you without carefulness.

1 CORINTHIANS 7, verse 32.

O Lord, how happy should we be
If we could cast our care on Thee,
If we from self could rest;
And feel at heart that One above,
In perfect wisdom, perfect love,
Is working for the best.

J. ANSTICE.

Cast all thy care on God. See that all thy cares be
such as thou canst cast on God, and then hold
none back. Never brood over thyself; never stop
short in thyself; but cast thy whole self, even this
very care which distresseth thee, upon God. Be
not anxious about little things, if thou wouldst
learn to trust God with thine all. Act upon faith
in little things; commit thy daily cares and anxieties
to Him; and He will strengthen thy faith for any
greater trials. Rather, give thy whole self into God's
hands, and so trust Him to take care of thee in all
lesser things, as being His, for His own sake,
whose thou art.

E. B. PUSEY.

Pastor Roland's comments

I love the verses from 1 Peter. They are loaded with wisdom and hope.

A long time ago I would have liked what they say, but now I also see that what they say really is true.

Many good people and good Christians would like to believe these verses and would like to cast their cares, anxieties, and worries upon the Lord, but they don't quite know how. If you will permit me to be so bold, I think I can help you with this. I have some wonderful free resources at http://www.commonsensecounseling.org/.

You can even listen to a little meditation that has helped people with obsessive thoughts and worries. It is free to listen to. My book Becoming a Friend of God is also on the meditation page to read for free.

The Secret to Happiness Faith Gratitude , and Humility

2011-04-30T21:02:00.001-07:00

Thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God
in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.

DEUTERONOMY 12, verse 18.

Be ye thankful.

COLOSSIANS 3, verse 15.

Thou that hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, a grateful heart.
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if thy blessings had spare days;
But such a heart, whose pulse may be
Thy praise.

G. HERBERT.

If any one would tell you the shortest, surest way
to all happiness and all perfection, he must
tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank
and praise God for everything that happens to you.
For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity
happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it,
you turn it into a blessing. Could you, therefore,
work miracles, you could not do more for yourself
than by this thankful spirit; for it heals with a word
speaking, and turns all that it touches into happiness.

WILLIAM LAW.

Talk To a Pastor Online: Don't Let Financial Troubles Harm Your Marriage or...

2011-04-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

Talk To a Pastor Online: Don't Let Financial Troubles Harm Your Marriage or...: "Financial crisis does not have to lead to family crisis. Economic troubles don't have to result in relationship or health problems. You ..."

Talk To a Pastor Online: Becoming a Friend of God - Finding Peace of Mind a...

2011-04-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

Talk To a Pastor Online: Read Free "Becoming a Friend of God - Finding Peace of Mind a...: "This Easter weekend celebrates the most beautiful and positive victory of all time. As my free gift to you, I just published Becoming a Frie..."

Let the Beauty of the Lord our God Be Upon Us

2011-04-23T17:55:00.000-07:00

He that abideth in me, and I in him,
bringeth forth much fruit.

JOHN 15, verse 5.

Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.

PSALM 90, verse 17.

As some rare perfume in a vase of clay
Pervades it with a fragrance not its own,
So, when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul,
All Heaven's own sweetness seems around it thrown.

H. B. STOWE.

Some glances of real beauty may be seen
in their faces, who dwell in true meekness.
There is a harmony in the sound of that voice
to which Divine love gives utterance, and some
appearance of right order in their temper and
conduct whose passions are regulated.

JOHN WOOLMAN.

I believe that no Divine truth can truly dwell
in any heart, without an external testimony in manner,
bearing, and appearance, that must reach the witness
within the heart of the beholder, and bear
an unmistakable, though silent, evidence to
the eternal principle from which it emanates.

M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.

Be Still From Thy Own Thoughts - A Voice from the Past Who Understands the Meditative Life

2011-04-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him. EZRA 8, verse 22.

Into Thy hand I commit my spirit.

PSALM 31, verse 5.

Thou layest Thy hand on the fluttering heart, And sayest, "Be still!"The silence and shadow are only a part Of Thy sweet will; Thy presence is with me, and where Thou art I fear no ill. F. R. HAVERGAL.

Be still and cool in thy own mind and spirit from thy own thoughts, and then thou wilt feel the principle of God, to turn thy mind to the Lord God, from whom life comes; whereby thou mayest receive His strength, and power to allay all blustering storms and tempests. That is it which works up into patience, into innocency, into soberness, into stillness, into stayedness, into quietness, up to God with His power. Therefore be still awhile from thy own thoughts, searching, seeking, desires, and imaginations, and be stayed in the principle of God in thee, that it may raise thy mind up to God, and stay it upon God; and thou wilt find strength from Him, and find Him to be a God at hand, a present help in the time of trouble and need. GEORGE FOX.

Pastor Roland's comments

It is always with great joy that I encounter someone in whose writings I can see that he or she understood the meditative life. In George Fox I have found a kindred spirit. Just as I have with Madame Guyon and Cardinal Fenelon.

It's amazing that I offer the meditation exercise, which is a little tech support, 2011 style, to help the sincere seeker find what these mystics found. Yet I can't even give it away. But if I were selling tickets to a rock concert or a ball game, people would be standing in line. Go and figure.

Walk with God and Find the Meditative Inner Life of Peace

2011-04-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

GENESIS 17, verse 1.

Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord.

EXODUS 32, verse 29.

Take my life, and let it be

Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days;

Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

F. R. HAVERGAL.

I have noticed that wherever there has been a faithful following of the Lord in a consecrated soul, several things have inevitably followed, sooner or later. Meekness and quietness of spirit become in time the characteristics of the daily life.

A submissive acceptance of the will of God as it comes in the hourly events of each day; pliability in the hands of God to do or to suffer all the good pleasure of His will; sweetness under provocation; calmness in the midst of turmoil and bustle; yieldingness to the wishes of others, and an insensibility to slights and affronts; absence of worry or anxiety; deliverance from care and fear; --all these, and many similar graces, are invariably found to be the natural outward development of that inward life which is hid with Christ in God.

H. W. SMITH.

Give Thanks Always for All Things unto God

2011-04-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

Giving thanks always for all things unto God.

Ephesians 5, verse 20.

For blessings of the fruitful season,

For work and rest, for friends and home,

For the great gifts of thought and reason,

To praise and bless Thee, Lord, we come.

Yes, and for weeping and for wailing,

For bitter hail and blighting frost,

For high hopes on the low earth trailing,

For sweet joys missed, for pure aims crossed.

E. SCUDDER.

Notwithstanding all that I have suffered, notwithstanding all the pain and weariness and anxiety and sorrow that necessarily enter into life, and the inward errings that are worse than all, I would end my record with a devout thanksgiving to the great Author of my being.

For more and more am I unwilling to make my gratitude to Him what is commonly called "a thanksgiving for mercies,"for any benefits or blessings that arepeculiar to myself, or my friends, or indeed to any man.

Instead of this, I would have it to be gratitude for all that belongs to my life and being,

for joy and sorrow, for health and sickness, for success and disappointment, for virtue and for temptation, for life and death; because I believe that all is meant for good.

ORVILLE DEWEY.

Roland's comments - I read a prayer recently that was giving thinks to God both for food and for His having given us the capacity to taste and enjoy the food. God is the Creator of our being, and He is also the Creator of all enjoyments, all pleasures, and all abilities.

It is good that we be reminded to be grateful.

The God of Love and Peace Shall be with You

2011-03-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind,
live in peace; and the God of love and peace
shall be with you.

2 CORINTHIANS 13, verse 11.

He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen,
how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

1 JOHN 4, verse 20.

Lord! subdue our selfish will;
Each to each our tempers suit,
By Thy modulating skill,
Heart to heart, as lute to lute.

C. WESLEY.

It requires far more of the constraining love
of Christ to love our cousins and neighbors
as members of the heavenly family, than to feel
the heart warm to our suffering brethren in
Tuscany or Madeira. To love the whole Church
is one thing; to love, that is, to delight in the graces
and veil the defects of the person who
misunderstood me and opposed my plans yesterday,
whose peculiar infirmities grate on my most
sensitive feelings, or whose natural faults are
precisely those from which my natural
character most revolts, is quite another.

ELIZABETH CHARLES.

Lord, I Know Not What I Ought to Ask of Thee

2011-03-25T16:33:00.000-07:00

Your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things.

MATTHEW 6, verse 32.

All as God wills, who wisely heeds
To give or to withhold;
And knoweth more of all my needs
Than all my prayers have told.

J. G. WHITTIER.

Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of Thee;
Thou only knowest what I need; Thou lovest
me better than I know how to love myself.
O Father! give to Thy child that which he himself
knows not how to ask. I dare not ask either for
crosses or consolations; I simply present myself
before Thee; I open my heart to Thee.
Behold my needs which I know not myself;
see, and do according to Thy tender mercy.
Smite, or heal; depress me, or raise me up;
I adore all Thy purposes without knowing them;
I am silent; I offer myself in sacrifice;
I yield myself to Thee; I would have no other
desire than to accomplish Thy will.
Teach me to pray;
pray Thyself in me.

FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.

Pray for Wisdom, for Forgiveness, for Grace, for Mercy, and for Revival

2011-03-18T15:10:00.001-07:00

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
James 5:16.

I lift up my eyes to the hills—

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121.

_________________

I lift up my eyes to you,

to you whose throne is in heaven.

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,

till he shows us his mercy.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us,

for we have endured much contempt.

We have endured much ridicule from the proud,

much contempt from the arrogant.

Psalm 123.

________________

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;

O Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

to my cry for mercy.

If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,

O Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness;

therefore you are feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in his word I put my hope.

My soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

for with the Lord is unfailing love

and with him is full redemption.

He himself will redeem Israel

from all their sins.

Psalm 130 (NIV).
_____________

Our Lord Jesus Christ on Prayer, from Matthew 6.

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

On Fasting.

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Treasures in Heaven.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Do Not Worry.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifeb?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6 NIV.

Conquer Frustration and Find Perfection By Doing Your Humble Duties

2011-03-05T17:35:00.000-08:00

....
......

Every duty, even the least duty, involves
the whole principle of obedience.

And little duties make the will dutiful,

that is, supple and prompt to obey.

Little obediences lead into great. The daily round of duty
is full of probation and of discipline; it trains the will,
heart, and conscience.

We need not to be prophets
or apostles.

The commonest life may be full of perfection.

The duties of home are a discipline
for the ministries of heaven.

H. E. MANNING.

Every morning compose your soul for a tranquil day,
and all through it be careful often to recall your resolution,
and bring yourself back to it, so to say. If something
discomposes you, do not be upset, or troubled; but
having discovered the fact, humble yourself gently
before God, and try to bring your mind into a quiet attitude.
Say to yourself, "Well, I have made a false step;
now I must go more carefully and watchfully."
Do this each time, however frequently you fall.
When you are at peace use it profitably, making
constant acts of meekness, and seeking to be calm
even in the most trifling things. Above all, do not be
discouraged; be patient; wait;
strive to attain a calm, gentle spirit.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

Am I acting in simplicity, from a germ of the Divine life within,
or am I shaping my path to obtain
some immediate result of expediency?
Am I endeavoring to compass effects, amidst a tangled web
of foreign influences I cannot calculate;
or am I seeking simply to do what is right,
and leavingthe consequences to the good providence of God?

M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.

The soul ceases to weary itself with planning and foreseeing,
giving itself up to God's Holy Spirit within, and to the teachings
of His providence without. He is not forever fretting as to
his progress, or looking back to see how far he is getting on;
rather he goes steadily and quietly on, and makes
all the more progress because it is unconscious.
So he never gets troubled and discouraged;
if he falls he humbles himself, but gets up at once,
and goes on with renewed earnestness.

JEAN NICOLAS GROU.

Possess yourself as much as you possibly can in peace;
not by any effort, but by letting all things fall to the ground
which trouble or excite you.This is no work, but is, as it were,
a setting down a fluid to settle that has become
turbid through agitation.

MADAME GUYON.

Bible Verses for Anxiety, Obsessions, and Worries and Comments by Roland Trujillo PhD Pastor Online

2011-03-02T14:01:00.000-08:00

Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.

1 Peter 5, verses 6 and 7.

I would have you without carefulness.

1 CORINTHIANS 7, verse 32.

O Lord, how happy should we be
If we could cast our care on Thee,
If we from self could rest;
And feel at heart that One above,
In perfect wisdom, perfect love,
Is working for the best.

J. ANSTICE.

Cast all thy care on God. See that all thy cares be
such as thou canst cast on God, and then hold
none back. Never brood over thyself; never stop
short in thyself; but cast thy whole self, even this
very care which distresseth thee, upon God. Be
not anxious about little things, if thou wouldst
learn to trust God with thine all. Act upon faith
in little things; commit thy daily cares and anxieties
to Him; and He will strengthen thy faith for any
greater trials. Rather, give thy whole self into God's
hands, and so trust Him to take care of thee in all
lesser things, as being His, for His own sake,
whose thou art.

E. B. PUSEY.

Pastor Roland's comments

I love the verses from 1 Peter. They are loaded with wisdom and hope.

A long time ago I would have liked what they say, but now I also see that what they say really is true.

Many good people and good Christians would like to believe these verses and would like to cast their cares, anxieties, and worries upon the Lord, but they don't quite know how. If you will permit me to be so bold, I think I can help you with this disconnect. I have some wonderful free resources at http://www.commonsensecounseling.org/.

You can even listen to a little meditation that has helped people with obsessive thoughts and worries. It is free to listen to. My book Becoming a Friend of God is also on the meditation page to read for free.

If Our Heart Condemn Us Not, Then We Have Confidence Toward God

2011-03-02T13:01:00.000-08:00

Beloved, if our heart condemn us not,
then have we confidence toward
God.

1 JOHN 3, verse 21.

O Lord, how happy is the time
When in Thy love I rest:
When from my weariness I climb
E'en to Thy tender breast.
The night of sorrow endeth there,
Thy rays outshine the sun;
And in Thy pardon and Thy care
The heaven of heavens is won.

W. C. DESSLER.

Nothing doth so much establish the mind amidst
the rollings and turbulency of present things,
as both a look above them, and a look beyond them;
above them to the good and steady Hand by which
they are ruled, and beyond them to the sweet and
beautiful end to which, by that Hand, they shall be
brought. Study pure and holy walking,
if you would have your confidence
firm, and have boldness and joy in God.
You will find that a little sin will shake your trust
and disturb your peace more than the greatest
sufferings: yea, in those sufferings, your assurance
and joy in God will grow and abound most if sin be
kept out. So much sin as gets in, so much
peace will go out.

R. LEIGHTON.

Keep Thy Sorrow to Thyself and Bear With a Good Courage

2011-02-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

Now therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself, and bear with a good courage
that which hath befallen thee.
2 ESDRAS 10, verse 15.

Go, bury thy sorrow,
The world hath its share;
Go, bury it deeply,
Go, hide it with care.
Go, bury thy sorrow,
Let others be blest;
Go, give them the sunshine,
And tell God the rest.

Anonymous.

Our veiled and terrible guest [Trouble] brings for us,
if we will accept it, the boon of fortitude,
patience, self-control, wisdom, sympathy, faith.
If we reject that, then we find in our hands
the other gift,--cowardice,weakness, isolation,
despair. If your trouble seems to have in it no other
possibility of good, at least set yourself
to bear it like a man. Let none of its weight
come on other shoulders.
Try to carry it so that no one shall
even see it. Though your heart be sad within,
let cheer go out from you to
others. Meet them with a kindly presence,
considerate words, helpful acts.

G. S. MERRIAM.

O Lord, Thou knowest what is best for us

2011-02-15T10:15:00.000-08:00

Let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him.

2 SAMUEL 15, verse 26.

To have, each day, the thing I wish,
Lord, that seems best to me;
But not to have the thing I wish,
Lord, that seems best to Thee.
Most truly, then, Thy will is done,
When mine, O Lord, is crossed;
It is good to see my plans o'erthrown,
My ways in Thine all lost.

H. BONAR.

O Lord, Thou knowest what is best for us; let this
or that be done, as Thou shalt please. Give what
Thou wilt, and how much Thou wilt, and when
Thou wilt. Deal with me as Thou thinkest good.
Set me where Thou wilt, and deal with me in all
things just as Thou wilt. Behold, I am Thy servant,
prepared for all things: for I desire not to live unto
myself, but unto Thee; and oh, that I could do it
worthily and perfectly!

THOMAS A KEMPIS.

Dare to look up to God, and say,
"Make use of me for the future as Thou wilt.
I am of the same mind; I am one with Thee.
I refuse nothing which seems good to Thee.
Lead me whither Thou wilt, clothe me in
whatever dress Thou wilt. Is it Thy will that
I should be in a public or a private condition,
dwell here, or be banished, be poor or rich?
Under all these circumstances,
I will testify unto Thee before men."

EPICTETUS.

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Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

2011-02-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

February 3.

Search me, O God, and know my heart:
try me, and know my thoughts: and see if
there be any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

PSALM 139, verses 23 and 24.

Save us from the evil tongue,
From the heart that thinketh wrong,
From the sins, whate'er they be,
That divide the soul from Thee.

Anonymous.

Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also
will be the character of thy mind; for the soul
is dyed by the thoughts. Dye it then with a
continuous series of such thoughts as these:
for instance, that where a man can live, there
he can also live well. But he must live in a palace:
well, then, he can also live well in a palace.

MARCUS ANTONIUS.

Who is there that sets himself to the task
of steadily watching his thoughts for the
space of one hour, with the view of
preserving his mind in a simple, humble,
healthful condition, but will speedily
discern in the multiform, self-reflecting,
self-admiring emotions, which, like locusts,
are ready to "eat up every green thing in his
land," a state as much opposed to simplicity
and humility as night is to day?

M. A. KELTY.

Do the Right Thing

2011-01-31T16:14:00.000-08:00

January 25.

If ye know these things,
happy are ye if ye do them.

JOHN 13, verse 17.

Therefore to him that knoweth
to do good, and doeth it not,
to him it is sin.

JAMES 4, verse 17.

We cannot kindle when we will
The fire that in the heart resides,
The spirit bloweth and is still,
In mystery our soul abides:
But tasks in hours of insight willed
Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.

MATTHEW ARNOLD.

Hurt not your conscience with any known sin.

S. RUTHERFORD.

Deep-rooted customs, though wrong,
are not easily altered; but it is the duty of all
to be firm in that which they certainly know is
right for them.

JOHN WOOLMAN.

He often acts unjustly who does not do
a certain thing; not only he who
does a certain thing.

MARCUS ANTONIUS.

Every duty we omit
obscures some truth
we should have known.

JOHN RUSKIN.

Roland's comment

What is it that we admire most in people that we look up to? Isn't it courage? More often than not, we respect them because they had the courage to do the right thing.

Why don't we do the right thing? Sometimes it's because we don't know what the right thing to do is. Sometimes we are confused or misled. Sometimes we are too small and powerless.

But all too often it is because there is a disconnect between knowing and doing. We know what is right, but we don't want to offend or we don't want to lose some perk. We don't want to lose comfort by rocking the boat. We fear loss of social approval. We are people pleasers.

We love selfish advantage more than what is right.

We often think that doing the right thing only pertains to some big thing on the stage of history. But I can tell you that for most of us, we fail to do the right thing in the little things. For example, let's say that someone tells an obscene joke. Most of us would laugh sheepishly, thus revealing our weakness. What should you do. Stand there and don't laugh. Let the offensive person have egg on their face.

If you need help knowing what the right thing to do is in any moment, check with your conscience--what you wordessly know in your heart. it's also called intuition.

If you have lost touch with your intuition, then I can help you find it. We have a meditation that helps you get back in touch with conscience and intuition.

Then when you know what is right, you must begin practicing speaking up in little things. Don't start with big ones. You will notice a lot of resentment rising--that you never knew you had.

Watch the resentment and let it go. Then speak up calmly and without resentment. Even though your knees may be knocking. In this way, you will learn to speak up out of reason and love of what is right, instead of out of resentment and hostility.

In the past, your hostility made you say nothing because you were afraid of what you would say in anger or that you would make a fool of yourself.

Another thing, our secret hostility made us guilty (for the hostility and resentment). Feeling guilty and wrong, we did not feel right about speaking up. But now, if you can let go of the hostility and resentment, you can speak up without feeling guilty.

My Favorite Morning Prayer

2011-01-30T18:52:00.001-08:00

Father, we thank Thee for the night

And for the pleasant morning light

For reset and food and loving care

And all that makes the day so fair.

Help us to do the things we should

To others to be kind and good

In all we do and all we say

To grow more living every day.

Amen

I read this somewhere, and it has become my prayer every morning. Please email me if you know who wrote it.

Christian Advice Online - Now Chat and Email 7 Days a Week

2011-01-13T19:28:00.000-08:00

Announcement- now Pastor Roland is available 7 days a week for online chat, email and telephone consultation. I have both free chat for quick questions and Bible questions, as well as professional pastoral counseling.

Why an online pastor?

When you want to talk to a pastor but don't want the pastor to know who you are

or you want some feedback from the convenience of home.

I'm an ordained pastor and can provide useful and friendly answers 7 days a week
without judgement or pressure.

Sometimes feedback from a professional can be helpful. We all could use a little feedback and help from time to time. "Pastor Roland has a PhD in Pastoral Psychology and 21 years experience helping people on his popular radio program. Maybe he can help you too."

Maybe you don't have a pastor, are between churches or you don't want to get involved with a church.
Maybe you are not a Christian or religious,
You just want some feed back from a pastor with no strings attached.
I provide nondenominational feedback without pressure or judgement.

To find out about talking or chatting with Pastor Roland, visit Talk to a Pastor Online

Finding the True Meaning of Christmas

2010-12-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

Thoughtful people are sometimes troubled by shallowness and consumerism during the holidays. Don't be troubled.

The engineer keeps searching for a solution, the scientist for a break-through, and the researcher for a cure. They do not quit just because others do not share in their pursuit of answers. In your quest for life's meaning and purpose, be as patiently persistent as they are. Enjoy the niceties and fellowship of the holidays, and also look for the deeper meaning of life. It is okay to have fun and be thoughtful at the same time.

Looking for real answers to life's meaning is like a treasure hunt. You have to seek for it. What is the old saying about not cursing the darkness, but lighting a candle instead? Likewise, instead of lamenting the materialism, look for real meaning (and then share it with others).

Maybe, just maybe the meaning could be right here amidst the busy-ness. So instead of being distracted by resenting the advertisers and harried shoppers, let's keep seeking. Why, we are even told to do so in the Book where the original Christmas story is told.

The wise men followed a star, seeking the Christ Child. The shepherds sought the baby Jesus after having been given a hint by the angels ("you will find Him wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger"). Even Jesus' mother had to seek for Him. We are told that Mary sought for Jesus, and found Him in the temple teaching.

Time and again, the process of seeking is said to be important. The centurion whose daughter was sick came to seek Jesus, and when he found Him, the daughter was healed. Jesus told parables involving seeking: where, for example, the master came back and sought the servant, where the prodigal son sought his father, where the bridesmaids sought the bride, or where the shepherd sought the lost sheep. When Jesus was killed, Mary and Martha came to seek Him, but He was risen. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: "seek and ye shall find."

Today we must also seek for Jesus and what He represents. The shallowness of consumerism at Christmas time should not trouble us. It simply means that He is not to be found there. When our religious, moral or political leaders are revealed to be opportunists or frauds, it should not trouble us. It only means He is not to be found there. When their words are shallow, it means He is not to be found there. Thus it is revealed where there is no use looking for Him.

But He is here. He even gave us some hints where to look. He said wherever two or more are "gathered in my name, there am I among them." Maybe He also wants us to figure out what "in my name" really means. He also hinted that the Kingdom of Heaven is all around us. He also said the Kingdom of Heaven is within. He said words to the effect that "if you love me and obey my commandments, then the Father and I will come and make our abode in you." Was that a clue about how to find?

But don't forget that He said: "Seek first the Kingdom of God." Was this another hint: this time about seeking to do what is right first, instead of self-seeking and expediency first?

He said that in the last days people would say, "He is here or He is there," but He would not be found there. He is not where most people expect Him to be.

Little children love Santa Claus or love their dolly. This love is beautiful and sweet, but it is an emotional thing. Alas, many of us have had feelings for Jesus in the same way. We adults must seek for something deeper.

In human terms, the meaning of Christmas may be about giving, about sharing or about family. This is fine as far as it goes. The presents, the friendship, the Christmas stockings, the Christmas story, the music and the candles are nice and they have their place. But the true seeker keeps seeking. Without rejecting the niceties of Christmas, the seeker keeps searching for the real Jesus, that's all.

Therefore, if you have a sense that the true meaning of Christmas is lacking, you are probably right. If you feel like something is still missing and you haven't really found Him--even though you may have said you have and want to have--then keep searching. That is what He told us to do. Back to Talk To a Pastor Online

What Does It Mean to Worship God in Spirit and in Truth

2010-11-11T17:57:00.000-08:00

This pearl of eternity is the church or temple
of God within thee, the consecrated place
of divine worship, where alone thou canst
worship God in spirit and in truth. When once
thou art well grounded in this inward worship,
thou wilt have learned to live unto God above
time and place. For every day will be Sunday
to thee, and, wherever thou goest, thou wilt
have a priest, a church, and an altar along with
thee. For when God has all that He should
have of thy heart, when thou art wholly given
up to the obedience of the light and spirit of God
within thee, to will only in His will, to love only
in His love, to be wise only in His wisdom, then
it is that everything thou dost is as a song of
praise, and the common business of thy life is
a conforming to God's will on earth as angels
do in heaven.

WILLIAM LAW.

Roland's comment:

This beautiful quote from William Law describes beautifully the inward relationship of the humble repentant soul with its Maker.

Many people wonder where to find God. He is within. And you draw nearer to Him to the extent that you get above thoughts and feelings.

This does not mean blanking thought. It is proper to think. Nor does it mean struggling with thoughts.

But the truth is that most of us spend most of our time submerged in thought and imagination. It is only when the soul rises above thought and becomes objective to thought, that it can observe thoughts in the Light of Truth.

You will not find God in an external building, in nice music, in nature, or in a book. Of course, the creation testifies and bears witness to the Creator, even as the Creator wordlessly bears witness to His creation. The words in a book are not the word of God, they are words from God. And when what is written is inspired and true, the Holy Spirit bears witness within, as it It were silently saying "this is true."

Therefore, if you will, go to our website, find the meditation page, and begin to practice it. Learn to go in your room and close the door and practice being still. This does not mean stilling thought. It means that the soul is still, and the still soul observes thought.

Anxiety: Some Comments by a Survivor on a Verse From Psalms

2010-09-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here is an letter written by someone who gets it. He comments on the verse from the Psalms and then tells of his recovery journey. He gave me permission to share his letter but asked that I only use his first name, Michael. I hope someone will be inspired to give our free spiritual meditation a try. All I can say is "Thanks, Mike." Roland

Hello, my name is Michael. I love this verse from the Psalms.

He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112:7 (English Standard Version).

It sounds good, doesn't it? But the question is: how do you get to where you have such a firm heart and settled spirit? Heres the story.

When you are in a tight golf match and it's the 18th hole and you have to make a knee knocking three foot putt, what do you do? You suck it up, get a bucket full of guts, and even though your knees are knocking, you make the putt.

What do you do when you're in a tough basketball game in the last minute of the game and you come to the free throw line? You throw up the free throws. You don't cut and run, take a drug or a pill.

You're a doctor on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean and a passenger has a major acute emergency that has to be dealt with now. Do you become upset or angry and call a time out and make the patient go to his room because you can't cope? No, you deal with the situation, even though your heart may be pounding and your knees knocking.

John Wayne put it this way when he was asked "what do you do when you have to get on your horse and ride to face great danger? He said: "You're scared to death, but you ride anyway."

The ideal is to have great faith. And with it love. Paul said: "Perfect love casts out fear." Most heroes (the types who arrive at the scene of something bad and save some one's life) later say they don't feel like a hero. "I just saw something that had to be done and I did it." He had no thought of self.

Few of us have faith or love. We don't even know what faith or love is. But there is still hope that we might develop them. Abraham became a man of faith. When he was younger, he hedged his bets and didn't trust completely in what God told him. But he grew in faith. Perhaps you can grow in faith and in love too.

Most of us are, frankly, rather selfish. This is not a condemnation or a put down; just the reality. We're born that way. All of us. Then, unfortunately, many of us did not have wise parents and other authorities. We were not provided character building activities, or even much real work. We were made to sit in school and basically do nothing for hours a day from age 5 through 18 or beyond.

Living in a hedonistic, secular, therapeutic culture, all the signals and messages we get are that the values in life are:
having a good time;
feeling good about ourselves;
being nice;
and having our needs met.

Most people around us--including our parents, grandparents, educators, church leaders, and most other authorities--seem to have the value of always seeking to feel good and never bad. At the first sign of a headache, they take a pill. At the first sign of the slightest ache or pain, they reach for a pill or some other medication.

They seek to have a good time, using music, beer, wine, marijuana, or partying, going to casinos, spas, or contrived music, sports, or even religious events for the purpose of having a good time and feeling good.

When the partying, drinking, and drugging result in a let down, hang over or discomfort, they look for a pill to take away the symptoms or the awareness of the discomfort so they can feel good.

In other words, it's definitely not your great grandfather's lifestyle or values.

So when life brings a little rain, and the young people are not having a good time or do not feel good about themselves, they tell their parent or counselor. Instead of getting the wisdom of the ages or the kind of understanding an uncle or grandma once had, they are referred to someone who prescribes a drug.

The focus is rarely on duty or on helping others. Moreover, as we said, most young people are deprived of useful work that would make them feel needed, valuable and other directed.

The focus is always on them: that they achieve, that they perform on tests, study more, get higher grades, be more compliant, and so on. Otherwise the focus is on being popular, having a good time, and feeling good about oneself.

With all this constant attention directed at them (not to mention all the advertising, peer group pressure, and pop culture which is even making them self conscious about looks, dress, habits and attitudes that have to be like their peers), it is no wonder that such a person would become overly self conscious and overly concerned about feelings.

The man or woman of faith and perfect love may face situations without any feelings at all. He or she will be fearless in the face of danger; without resentment in the face of torment; and without excitement in the face of temptation. Instead there is faith, love, dedication, obedience, patience, joy, and peace of mind.

But like I said, this type of spirituality is something we might grow into. It could take 40 years of just being a regular person, growing up, making some mistakes, getting married, raising a family, having some ups and downs until one begins to yearn for something more.

Those who are blessed to have salvation implemented in their life will gain objectivity and then it might take another 40 years of growth in this new life to become the man or woman of faith and true love. Remember it took 80 years for Moses to be made ready to lead his people out of Egypt.

So you might as well be prepared for a few decades of just being a regular person. But you can start to get ready for the touch of God which may come someday by living with some dignity, some honor, some self control, some discipline where you are right now. And by exercising virtue, it will grow, and you will increase in composure and self control. No, you won't walk on water--but by exercising virtue, you'll begin to face things with at least a modicum of poise, and it will grow.

Therefore do not mind it if you encounter some difficulty. Do not become resentful if you have some ups and downs, some rain on your parade, a boyfriend or girlfriend who quits you, a job you don't get, a day when you don't feel particularly good or some anxiety if you have to give a speech.

And while you are at it, expect betrayal, people saying mean things about you for no reason, and so on.

And don't expect to meet every little or big adversity well. You won't. At least not at first. Remember I said that most of us have been denied character building experiences? If you are like lots of us, you'll have to start at the ground floor with little things and a little at a time.

So you'll have to start now where you are at.

Have you heard the Zen master's question? He asked "when is the best time to plant a tree? Answer: 20 years ago.
Question: "When is the second best time?" Answer: today.

So start to face some things today. And like I said, don't expect to get it just right from the start. Take it easy. Rome wasn't built in a day. Don't look for perfection. Look for progress.

Remember how I said that we have been made self conscious in many ways? Okay. So don't hate yourself if you meet a moment badly. In my life, I've messed up, made a fool of myself, cut and run, let my team down, copped out, and many other small but shameful failings. I failed and then reacted badly to what I was forced to see about myself.

But as time went by (as years went by) I learned to fail less. And I also learned to react badly less to my failings. In other words, I began to grow up, and I'm still growing up.

I'm 60ish now. When I was 10, 15, 20, 30 years old, did I have anxiety? Of course. Did I get depressed? Of course.

When my parents got divorced, it bothered me. When my dad died, it made me sad. When my parakeet died, I felt bad. What was I supposed to do, be happy about these things? I grieved and felt hurt and then I got over it. Without drugs or meds.

When I was a little kid, did I go through a spell where I had to do a ritual of counting numbers or arrange my shoes perfectly at night or else "something really bad would happen?" Of course. Then I grew out of it. Without drugs.

When I was in college, was I high and hyper when something good happened and stayed up till dawn talking to my friends? Then did I crash when a bunch of things went wrong? Naturally.

When I was in my 20's did I wonder who I was and if there was a future for me? Did I mess up, and make mistakes; and then did something try to tell me I was "worthless" and that "the world would be better off without me?" Of course.

When I was 30 and sitting in a lonely apartment in the outskirts of Chicago, with the snow coming down and nowhere to go and wishing I were back in California, did I feel depressed? Of course.

But here I am. I got through. Without drugs.

My recovery was two part. First it was just growing out of issues. It seems like each stage of our life--little kid, big kid, teenager, college age, 20's, 30's--there are some typical issues to deal with. The old expression "time heals all wounds" definitely applies. Somehow I just grew out of things.

Like when I was a kid, teen, and in my 20's I was painfully shy. But then when I was in my 30's I was teaching college classes, and now I feel comfortable around everyone and talk about anything. And it's fun. Okay, so it took a few years to get over it. But I did get over it, and without drugs.

So we grow, we mature, we leave behind the things of childhood--including issues. We move on. It's a long process and it's life.

There is a term in psychotherapy call normalizing. It means helping a person see that some anxiety (or whatever that they are going through) is what a lot of people experience. Some people think that if they are anxious, hear voices, have obsessive thoughts, or have a compulsion, they are the only person in the whole world with this issue.

It's a relief to find out that lots of people have the same issues and lots of people get better.

I'm extending my hand in friendship to talk about some of the things I have been blessed to learn along the way in my spiritual walk.

Now I can truly say (having experienced it): "this too shall pass."

Now I understand what James meant when he said:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2 and 3 (English Standard version).

Let me just say right here that the spiritual meditation to calm down that Roland offers free was a big help to me.

This brings me to part two of my recovery program. I told you about part one, where I got through the various typical issues I faced at different stages. But then came the life changing, game changing discovery. I took me four decades to get to the point where I was ready. But when I was finally ready, it happened in a heartbeat and within a few days I was a new person.

I'll tell you about it in Part Two

Michael

Roland's comments

Thanks, Mike

Your letter is inspirational. I would like to mention something about awareness, one of my favorite subjects. You found the meditation helpful because it helped you become objective, so you could look at your issues, feelings and thoughts with objectivity. You wanted to be aware. But until a person is ready, he or she will try to avoid awareness (because of the pain it brings when we see our own wrong).

You see, once we fail and deal poorly with some situation, we don't want to see that we failed. So we tend to retreat into the imagination and make excuses. By doing so, we cut ourselves off from full open eyed awareness (which is what we need to face situations with intuition and understanding).

So, at the first sighting of stress we escape from awareness, and then we fail again. That's why we tend to keep doing the same error over and over with the same people or look alike people. For example, we may have resented our overbearing mom, become rebellious and angry, and as we go through life we keep meeting people like our mom, to whom we react the same old way (resentfully, rebelliously and angrily).

When awareness comes back and we are forced to see that we failed again, we reach for distractions to escape into like work or study, music, marijuana, alcohol, or pills to take away the one thing that would help us face the next moment well: awareness.

Now here is the beautiful part. The way you respond to an issue can change the very next time you encounter it. All you need is the missing ingredient. That missing ingredient is awareness.

The very next time you face the issue (or situation) but this time with awareness, it will be all different. Awareness gives you the power to stand back, see it objectively, and respond intuitively.

One man, who had a 20 year nicotine addiction, began to meditate in order to find the objective state of awareness. One day he picked up his cigarette and took a puff with awareness, and he never smoked again. His cigarettes gave him up because he was no longer compatible with them. Before he had used the sensations and the stress of the effects of nicotine to lower awareness and help him escape from what he wasn't ready to see. Now he was ready to face reality, and it just took one smoke with awareness for him to no longer have a need for smoking.

Remember, most of us spend our lives facing everything without awareness because of our habit of escaping awareness. So the obvious question becomes: how do we find and hold onto awareness? That is where the meditation (coupled with the attitude of wanting to be aware) comes in.

Watch for Part Two where Mike shares the second half of the journey, the spiritual part.

To learn more about the meditation click here

The Restoration of Hope is the Key to overcoming Depression

2010-07-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

The following is a brief quote about hope from an article by Dr. Peter Breggin.

Despite all the emphasis of giving drugs to depressed people, many recover from depression with time on their own, while others receive help from a variety of sources, including therapy, family, and religion. Depression is a loss of hope. Depressed people are unable to see any ethical or viable options that will bring them happiness. They feel stymied, even emotionally paralyzed, because every choice seems bleak or overwhelming. They have given up. That's why, in the extreme, they sometimes want to die. They feel utterly helpless and hopeless in regard to making good lives for themselves.

The restoration of hope is key to overcoming depression and hope can come from many sources. The alternative to antidepressants is all of life: romantic love, family, friends, community, nature, and religion all help people overcome depression. Scientific studies show that everything from a new pet to an exercise program, as well as the passage of time, can relieve depression.

I explain to my patients: You have lost faith in your life--that you will ever love anyone or anything again. Getting over your depression will require pushing through your conflicts and fears, and finding the courage to love again--to love people, to love creative work, to love nature, and to love life. Read the whole article

Coach Johnny Wooden's 7 Point Creed

2010-06-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

John Wooden's 7 Point Creed

Be true to yourself.
Make each day your masterpiece.
Help others.
Drink deeply from good books.
Make friendship a fine art.
Build a shelter against a rainy day.
Pray for guidance, and give thanks for your blessings every day.

given to him by his father when he graduated from elementary school

Why Am I Anxious and Upset All the Time

2010-04-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

Perhaps we remember reading Ann Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea, calling us to a more thoughtful life. We see the old pictures and the old movies and we see people, who although living busy lives, and though conditions were harsher, carried themselves in a more stately and graceful manner.
.
We sense we are hurried and impatient. We have somehow been degraded. We hear talk of balance, and someone may even come to one of our staff meetings to talk about balance. We learn time management. We de-clutter. We look for quality time.

Yes, these are all well and good, but something more is needed, and in our heart of hearts we know it.

I will give you a couple of hints. The prize of becoming a blythe free-spirited person living anxiety free in a happy present is reserved for those who love truth, and who are willing to heed what they wordlessly know in their heart and follow it.

If you wordlessly know something in your heart, but doubt it and believe what others have to say, that doubt separates you from your ground of good from which you could flow. You become an extension of the challenges and pressures on the outside instead of an extension of inner love and wisdom.

One more little hint. I will never forget I heard of a man who sat watching his grand daughter playing. She was happy and spontaneous and care-free. He was ever getting lost in reliving the past and worrying about the future. He was angry, tense, and bitter about some things.

He asked himself: what is the difference between her and me? He pondered for a long time, and finally he realized the answer to his question.

The difference was resentment. He was resentful, and she was not.

I have much to say on the subject, far more than I can say in one blog. I have a free meditation and some books.

What we do here at the Center For Common Sense Counseling is help people work through relationship and stress issues by teaching them how to become centered and flow from intuition.

Most of us are suppressed and inhibited because we are reactive, and thus outer directed. We react to situations and people, and then say or do the wrong thing. We become afraid of expressing our pent-up hostility, and we dread another round of error and failure.

So we hide ourselves from others so as not to be embarrassed or make mistakes. We put on a phony facade to keep people at a distance. Our secret hostility and resentment make us feel empty and needy.

But instead of finding an inner rapport and wholeness, we reach out to the world.
(article continues below.)
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Roland's new book Becoming a Friend of God: Finding Peace of Mind and Courage in an Age of Anxiety is now available in ebook. For a donation of any amount, get the ebook as our gift.
Find out more.
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Feeling unworthy and yet needy, we clumsily claw for love, often settling for the most lowly and loathsome love offerings. When we can't bear the pain of reaching for love anymore, we settle for the comfort and false love of drugs, alcohol, and pills, or we stuff ourselves with food. All because in our distant past someone upset us or pulled on our heart strings, tempting us to step away from our center of dignity and love.

Some of us continue to yearn for the good we have never known. But reaching out to worldly spiritual or religious organizations has brought us betrayal or led to cynicism. We love truth and goodness, but we haven't found the real thing. Those we trusted either betrayed us, used us, or revealed their own lack of understanding.

What we need is to re-find the inner intuitive way of living and moving and having our being. We need the original perspective, the one we had before we were upset and sidetracked by authorities who themselves had been tempted away from reason and inner love.

Fortunately we can find the love and understanding we have always been searching for by learning to become still.

We can re-find the original perspective, and then moving unemotionally from this clear perspective, we will see our way back to a sensible, calm, inner directed way of life. A special simple meditation or centering exercise teaches us how to stand back from thought and emotion.

It is not difficult or complicated. Perhaps the most difficult part of it is setting aside the intellectual analysis and second guessing, and just practicing the meditation in its sheer simplicity.

Calming down and beginning to see clearly, we begin to see things and people, including ourselves, as we really are. Going out into the world, we learn to be less reactive. We learn to be patient with people. We learn not to look to them for love, because once having found the inner light in which to see, wordless guidance by which to act, and inner warmth and rapport to seal us off from outer entanglements, we are free to express truth and be patient with others.

Family, relationship, work, and health issues begin to resolve themselves. When we have love instead of seeking love, and when we have patience instead of impatience, we develop a healthy disinterest concern for others, instead of needing something from them.

Spiritual and physical health is the natural state of the body and soul. By learning to give up the resentment, emotionality, and a misguided lifestyle that interferes with health, we recover in the Light.
.

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The following quotation from Francois Fenelon is perfectly accurate. Years ago when I was young, I would have liked this passage in a hopeful idealistic sort of way. It would have sounded right and something I wished were true.

But now, after having made friends with conscience and learned to meditate to be still, I see that it is true. There is an inner silent testimony that quietly bears witness to the words. It is that silent witness, God's intuitive light within, that is the true comfort. Because it means that God is there and His inner Light is a guide, a comfort, and a present help in time of trouble.

Both of these quotes have to do with living in the present. The first shows how our fretting, goal seeking, planning and scheming lead to anxiety. The second quote is about living and moving and having our being calmly in the present.

The crosses of the present moment always

bring their own special grace and consequent

comfort with them; we see the hand of God

in them when it is laid upon us.
But the crosses of anxious foreboding are seen

out of the dispensation of God;

we see them without grace to bear them;

we see them indeed through a faithless spirit

which banishes grace.
So, everything in them is bitter and

unendurable; all seems dark and helpless.

Let us throw self aside; no more self-interest,

and then God's will, unfolding every moment

in everything, will console us also every moment

for all that He shall do around us,
or within us, for our discipline.

FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.

Do not be discouraged at your faults;

bear with yourself in correcting them,

as you would with your neighbor.
Lay aside this ardor of mind, which exhausts

your body, and leads you to commit errors.

Accustom yourself gradually to carry prayer

into all your daily occupations.
Speak, move, work, in peace, as if you were in prayer,
as indeed you ought to be.
Do everything without excitement,

by the spirit of grace.
As soon as you perceive your natural impetuosity

gliding in, retire quietly within,

where is the kingdom of God.
Listen to the leadings of grace,

then say and do nothing but what the

Holy Spirit shall put in your heart.
You will find that you will become more tranquil,
that your words will be fewer and more effectual,
and that, with less effort,

you will accomplish more good.

FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.

These words were written 300 years ago. They are just as true today as the day they were written. He's obviously found something, and I know what it is. I would like to share the secret with you, but it is only for the sincere in heart.

Find out more about our free meditation.

Preview Conquering Stress and its Symptoms
online free.

Listen to the meditation.

Read more about dealing with anxiety and upset.

His Delight Is In the Law of the Lord

2010-04-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

His delight is in the law of the Lord.

And he shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water,

that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;

his leaf also shall not wither;

and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

PSALM 1, verses 2 and 3.

The wind that blows can never kill
The tree God plants;
It bloweth east; it bloweth west;
The tender leaves have little rest,
But any wind that blows is best.
The tree God plants
Strikes deeper root, grows higher still,
Spreads wider boughs, for God's good-will
Meets all its wants.

LILLIE E. BARR.

It is a mistake to suppose that we

cannot be holy except on the
condition of a situation and circumstances

in life such as shall suit
ourselves. It is one of the first principles

of holiness to leave our times
and our places, our going out and our coming;

in, our wasted and our goodly
heritage entirely with the Lord.

Here, O Lord, hast Thou placed us,

and we will glorify Thee here!

T. C. UPHAM.

It is not by change of circumstances,

but by fitting our spirits to the
circumstances in which God has placed us,

that we can be reconciled to life
and duty.

F. W. ROBERTSON.

What Is Pure Religion?

2010-02-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction,and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

JAMES 1, verse 27.

Not to ease and aimless quiet
Doth that inward answer tend,
But to works of love and duty
As our being's end. J. G. WHITTIER.

It is surprising how practical duty enriches
the fancy and the heart, and action clears
and deepens the affections.

Indeed, no one can have a true idea of right,
until he does it; any genuine reverence for it,
till he has done it often and with cost;
any peace ineffable in it, till he does it always
and with alacrity.

Does any one complain, that the best affections
are transient visitors with him,
and the heavenly spirit a stranger to his heart?

Oh, let him not go forth, on any strained wing
of thought, in distant quest of them;
but rather stay at home, and set his house in the
true order of conscience; and of their own accord
the divinest guests will enter. J. MARTINEAU.

Roland's comments.

Religion is the relationship between a soul and its maker. When you are right with God, you are attuned to His delicate guidance, and you are ever attentive to the rightness of things.

Each moment you proceed through life without fear. There is always the accompanying backdrop of intuition. Attentiveness to wordless intuition is the soul's desire to be dutiful to God and indicative of its willingness to do what is right.

The soul, ever attentive to moment by moment just-in-time guidance, moves spontaneously. There is no need to go through any elaborate decision making processes. Living by faith is checking with God given intuition. This intuition is the inner Light. It is wordless, silent, and ever present.

Much of the time we do not sense its Presence, other than a quiet sense of well being. For most of our mundane activities, there is no wordless impediment to acting, as we go about our lives, and we move fearlessly. It's called living by faith.
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But occasionally, something just doesn't sit right with you. Instead of acting without rhyme or reason, you defer, wait, and watch. For example, if someone is trying to persuade you to their point of view or get you to do something, and you sense something a bit out of order, then just defer. Neither agree nor disagree. And just don't do it. The positive flip side is this.

At certain times and places, you just intuitively move toward some opportunity or action, and it sits right. Again, it is your intuition guiding you.

Mostly our intuitive guidance helps us in delicate moments with others, our spouse or children, for example.

What to say or do in any such moment can only be perfect with Divine Guidance. Most of us look into our brain for some stock answer or some thing we saw or learned somewhere. But this faithless one size fits all easy answer is never right. Even if it happens to be technically correct, the timing, tone of voice, and so on is off.
.

Another mistake we make is speaking under sway of emotion, such as anger or excitement. Our body language, intonation, gestures, facial expression and the words are spoken pridefully, destroying any good effect.

The pre rehearsed words, or the clever reasoning of someone else who we heard or read are canned and ring false. They ring empty, no matter how technically correct or beautiful.

But the word or deed that comes from a soul who admits it does not know what the right thing to say or do is, but deeply with all its heart wants to do the right thing, will draw the compassion and the help of the Father. Suddenly you will know what to say or do, it will just come out, without pre-planning or thought of the consequence and it will be right.

Believe me, your loved ones can tell whether you are speaking from the heart and being real with them, or whether you are bringing up something someone else said and basically doing or saying something that serves or defends your pride.

On all sides we are tempted to be ambitious, to reach for some grandiose goal. We are tempted to be more, give more, do more. And of course, the means by which we are ambitious is knowledge, and we even use this predigested knowledge to try to bamboozle or brush off our loved ones.

Whenever you feel emotion rising when presented with some challenge, stand back and come to your senses. The pure in heart move by faith, not by emotion.

God put you in a certain place, for a reason. Who was Einstein's mother? Mozart's dad? Unknown in history, not famous, and unheralded, yet they had a purpose. What if Mozart's dad or Einstein's mother, yielding to societal temptations, had decided to ambitiously pursue a career instead?

Set aside ambition and be attentive to what is right. You will be able to move toward opportunities presented to you. When they are intuitive and right, you will be able to succeed and enjoy them without guilt or conflict. In the meantime, be content with what you have, be there for your kids, avoid doing wrong.

If you are living life attentive to intuition and you sincerely and deeply desire to do what is right, but realize that as you face each moment you don't know what the right is, you will then be properly attentive to others, knowing the right measure of giving and withholding.

Maybe giving a dollar to a panhandler is the right thing to do, and maybe it's not. Maybe giving money to your college kids is right and maybe not. I can't tell you what the right thing to do in any moment is, but you will know if you sincerely check with conscience.

What was Peter saying, when he said that pure religion is caring for widows and orphans? He meant exactly what he said. Helping widows and the fatherless is a noble thing. I think he means that it is better to do something for those who are innocent victims and deserving than just talking about doing good or serving the undeserving.

Action speaks louder than words. Especially when you are helping someone who you don't want anything from in return.

True religion is not feeling pious or good. Some of us do our good deeds to look good before others, to get rid of guilt, or to feel good. We study to impress others or to compensate for a lack of true faith. Christ said "let not your right hand know what your left hand is doing." He meant to do service to others without looking for approval or for a feeling.

A person who lives moment by moment intuitively does not feel much of anything other than a quiet joy.

more information about intuition and living by faith.

The True Meaning of Christmas--Keep Searching

2009-12-22T17:48:00.000-08:00

Thoughtful people are sometimes troubled by shallowness and consumerism during the holidays. Don't be troubled. The engineer keeps searching for a solution, the scientist for a break-through, and the researcher for a cure. They do not quit just because others do not share in their pursuit of answers.

In your quest for life's meaning and purpose, be as patiently persistent as they are. Enjoy the niceties and fellowship of the holidays, and also look for the deeper meaning of life. It is okay to have fun and be thoughtful at the same time.

Looking for real answers to life's meaning is like a treasure hunt. You have to seek for it. What is the old saying about not cursing the darkness, but lighting a candle instead? Likewise, instead of lamenting the materialism, look for real meaning (and then share it with others).

Maybe, just maybe the meaning could be right here amidst the busy-ness. So instead of being distracted by resenting the advertisers and harried shoppers, let's keep seeking. Why, we are even told to do so in the Book where the original Christmas story is told.

The wise men followed a star, seeking the Christ Child. The shepherds sought the baby Jesus after having been given a hint by the angels ("you will find Him wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger"). Even Jesus' mother had to seek for Him. We are told that Mary sought for Jesus, and found Him in the temple teaching.

Time and again, the process of seeking is said to be important. The centurion whose daughter was sick came to seek Jesus, and when he found Him, the daughter was healed. Jesus told parables involving seeking: where, for example, the master came back and sought the servant, where the prodigal son sought his father, where the bridesmaids sought the bride, or where the shepherd sought the lost sheep. When Jesus was killed, Mary and Martha came to seek Him, but He was risen. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: "seek and ye shall find."

Today we must also seek for Jesus and what He represents. The shallowness of consumerism at Christmas time should not trouble us. It simply means that He is not to be found there. When our religious, moral or political leaders are revealed to be opportunists or frauds, it should not trouble us. It only means He is not to be found there. When their words are shallow, it means He is not to be found there. Thus it is revealed where there is no use looking for Him.

But He is here. He even gave us some hints where to look. He said wherever two or more are "gathered in my name, there am I among them." Maybe He also wants us to figure out what "in my name" really means. He also hinted that the Kingdom of Heaven is all around us. He also said the Kingdom of Heaven is within. He said words to the effect that "if you love me and obey my commandments, then the Father and I will come and make our abode in you." Was that a clue about how to find?

But don't forget that He said: "Seek first the Kingdom of God." Was this another hint: this time about seeking to do what is right first, instead of self-seeking and expediency first?

He said that in the last days people would say, "He is here or He is there," but He would not be found there. He is not where most people expect Him to be.

Little children love Santa Claus or love their dolly. This love is beautiful and sweet, but it is an emotional thing. Alas, many of us have had feelings for Jesus in the same way. We adults must seek for something deeper.

In human terms, the meaning of Christmas may be about giving, about sharing or about family. This is fine as far as it goes. The presents, the friendship, the Christmas stockings, the Christmas story, the music and the candles are nice and they have their place. But the true seeker keeps seeking. Without rejecting the niceties of Christmas, the seeker keeps searching for the real Jesus, that's all.

Therefore, if you have a sense that the true meaning of Christmas is lacking, you are probably right. If you feel like something is still missing and you haven't really found Him--even though you may have said you have and want to have--then keep searching. That is what He told us to do.

We Already Know In Our Heart God Exists

2009-12-19T15:34:00.001-08:00

Hast thou not known?

hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God,

the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth,

fainteth not, neither is weary?
He giveth power to the faint;

and to them that have no might

He increaseth strength.

ISAIAH 40, verses 28 and 29.

Workman of God! oh, lose not heart,
But learn what God is like;
And in the darkest battle-field
Thou shall know where to strike.

F. W. FABER.

For the rest, let that vain struggle to read the mystery

of the Infinite cease to harass us. It is a mystery which,

through all ages, we shall only read here a line of,

there another line of. Do we not already know that the
name of the Infinite is GOOD, is GOD?

T. CARLYLE.

The Best Preparation Is the Present Well Seen To

2009-12-19T15:32:00.001-08:00

December 20.

Take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in
that same hour what ye shall speak.

MATTHEW 10, verse 19.

Just to follow hour by hour
As He leadeth;
Just to draw the moment's power
As it needeth.

F. R. HAVERGAL.

You have a disagreeable duty to do at twelve o'clock.

Do not blacken nine, and ten, and eleven, and all between,

with the color of twelve.

Do the work of each, and reap your reward in peace.

So when the dreaded moment in the future becomes

the present, you shall meet it walking in the light, and
that light will overcome its darkness.

The best preparation is the present well seen to,

the last duty done. For this will keep the eye so clear and
the body so full of light that the right action will be

perceived at once, the right words will rush from the heart

to the lips, and the man, full of the Spirit of God

because he cares for nothing but the will of God,

will trample on the evil thing in love, and be sent,

it may be, in a chariot of fire to the presence of his Father,

or stand unmoved amid the cruel
mockings of the men he loves.

G. MACDONALD.

The Unseen Hand of God

2009-12-19T15:23:00.001-08:00

And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in Thee.

PSALM 39, verse 7.

O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for Thee.

ISAIAH 33, verse 2.

He never comes too late;
He knoweth what is best;
Vex not thyself in vain;
Until He cometh, rest.

B. T.

We make mistakes, or what we call such.
The nature that could fall into such mistake exactly
needs, and in the goodness of the dear God is given,
the living of it out, And beyond this, I believe more.

That in the pure and patient living of it out we come
to find that we have fallen, not into hopeless confusion
of our own wild, ignorant making; but that the finger
of God has been at work among our lines, and that
the emerging is into His blessed order; that He is forever
making up for us our own undoings; that He makes
them up beforehand; that He evermore
restoreth our souls.

A. D. T. WHITNEY.

THE Lord knows how to make stepping-stones for us of
our defects, even; it is what He lets them be for.
He remembereth--He remembered in the making--
that we are but dust; the dust of earth, that He chose to make
something little lower than the angels out of.

A. D. T. WHITNEY.

And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in Thee.

This Is My Father's World

2009-12-16T14:40:00.000-08:00

December 18.

We trust in the living God.

1 TIMOTHY 4, verse 10.

Thy secret judgment's depths profound
Still sings the silent night;
The day, upon his golden round,
Thy pity infinite.

I. WILLIAMS. Tr. from Latin.

Now that I have no longer any sense for

the transitory and perishable, the universe

appears before my eyes under a transformed aspect.

The dead, heavy mass which did but stop up space

has vanished, and in its place there flows
onward, with the rushing music of mighty waves,

an eternal stream of life, and power, and action,

which issues from the original source of all
life, from Thy life, O Infinite One! for all life is Thy life,

and only the religious eye penetrates

to the realm of true Beauty.

J. G. FICHTE.

What is Nature? Art thou not the "Living Garment" of God?

O Heavens, is it, in very deed, He then that ever speaks

through thee; that lives and loves in thee, that lives and loves in me?

Sweeter than dayspring to the shipwrecked in Nova Zembla;

ah! like the mother's voice to her little child

that strays bewildered, weeping, in unknown tumults;

like soft streamings of celestial music to my too exasperated heart,

came that Evangel.

The Universe is not dead and demoniacal,

a charnel-house with spectres; but godlike, and my Father's.

THOMAS CARLYLE.

Rejoice Always

2009-12-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

December 17.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

GALATIANS 5, verses 22 and 23.

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my
disciples.

JOHN 15, verse 8.

O Breath from out the Eternal Silence! blow
Softly upon our spirits' barren ground;
The precious fulness of our God bestow,
That fruits of faith, love, reverence may abound.

G. TERSTEEGEN.

Is it possible we should be ignorant whether
we feel tempers contrary to love or no?
whether we rejoice always, or are burdened
and bowed down with sorrow?
whether we have a praying, or a dead, lifeless spirit?
whether we can praise God, and be resigned in all trials,
or feel murmurings, fretfulness, and impatience under them?
is it not easy to know if we feel anger at provocations,
or whether we feel our tempers mild, gentle,
peaceable, and easy to be entreated, or feel stubbornness,
self-will, and pride?
whether we have slavish fears, or are possessed
of that perfect love which casteth out all fear that hath torment?

HESTER ANN ROGERS.
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Roland's Comment

Paul tells us over and over again to give thanks, to pray with thanksgiving, and to rejoice always. It is only recently that I have finally understood that feeling sorry for ourselves very often subtly supports pride. Likewise, not being grateful or thinking that life owes us something is also a thing of pride. Therefore I watch for little impatiences, complaints and judgments toward others. When I observe any of them, I stand back and watch. If I try to change myself, it is also a thing of pride. But if I observe error and don't like what I see about myself, but at the same time realize I cannot change myself, this attitude is a silent cry to God. Thereby I learn to call upon Him.

Be Still and Know That I Am God

2009-12-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

December 15.

Return unto thy rest, O my soul;
for the Lord hath dealt bountifully
with thee.

PSALM 116, verse 7.

We which have believed do enter into rest.

HEBREWS 4, verse 3.

Rest is not quitting
The busy career;
Rest is the fitting
Of self to its sphere.
'T is loving and serving
The highest and best!
'T is onwards, unswerving,
And that is true rest.

J. S. DWIGHT.

As a result of this strong faith, the inner
life of Catherine of Genoa was characterized,
in a remarkable degree, by what may be
termed rest, or quietude; which is only
another form of expression for true interior
peace.It was not, however, the quietude of
a lazy in action, but the quietude of an inward
acquiescence; not a quietude which feels
nothing and does nothing, but that higher
and divine quietude which exists by
feeling and acting in the time and degree
of God's appointment and God's will.
It was a principle in her conduct, to give herself
to God in the discharge of duty; and to leave
all results without solicitude in His hands.

T. C. UPHAM.

Inspiration for Leaders

2009-12-10T08:56:00.000-08:00

God, give us men!

GOD, give us men! A time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office can not buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking!
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty, and in private thinking;
For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds,
Their large professions and their little deeds,
Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps.

Josiah Gilbert Holland.
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Roland's Comments.

This poem contains one of my all time favorite lines:

Tall men, sun crowned, who live above the fog.

If you click on the listen to audio button just above the poem, you can hear it being read.

Last night at a choir performance, Kati Rosten, choir director, told us a little about Josiah Holland before we had the opportunity to actually sing a hymn he wrote: There's a Song In the Air. What a thrill it was!

This morning I learned the following from Wikipedia:
"Although his literary products are rarely read today, during the late nineteenth century they were enormously popular, and more than half a million volumes of Holland's writings were sold. He is also remembered today for his contributions as an editor. Holland and his wife were frequent correspondents and family friends of poet Emily Dickinson. "

Thank you Josiah Holland. Incidentally, I heard someone quote from the poem on the radio
so we know that his poetry is still being read (and his songs sung).

Where Can I Find Some Old Fashioned Preaching Audio

2009-12-09T16:54:00.000-08:00

Pastor Roland has been on the air for 22 years and he tells it like it is. Listen to his programs free at Pastor Roland's audio archives.

Pastor Roland also enjoys listening to old fashioned preaching himself.

Here's something Pastor Roland wrote a few months ago.

After a restless night, pondering the current state of the nation and the world, I felt a deep need for some kind of comfort.

I searched and searched the internet this morning for some old fashioned preaching: the kind you used to hear in America and the kind that used to be on the radio. Like the song says: "Give me that old time religion."

How I miss it. I yearn to hear someone with authority, a man with a booming voice, who tells it like it is, with no equivocation, no pandering, and no appeals for money.

A man with a message who is not out to win a popularity contest. A good man, a family man, who wants us to clean up our act, start acting like ladies and gentlemen, and help each other instead of hurting each other.

Incidentally, a lot of dads used to be that way. Some still are.

It is comforting to me to hear a strong authority tell it like it is.

If you would like to hear someone who speaks with power and clarity, may I recommend the late Dr. Adrian Rogers at Love Worth Finding Ministries.
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If you would like to hear someone who speaks with power and clarity, may I recommend the late Dr. Adrian Rogers at Love Worth Finding Ministries.

After searching the internet for awhile, I came upon a really great site, SermonIndex.net, which published many old fashioned preachers. As it happens, I have a book on my shelf by a man named Vance Havner.
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I checked and sure enough, SermonIndex has some of his old sermons!
If you have never heard or read Vance Havner, you are in for a special treat. You can find some of his sermons on SermonIndex.net.
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If you love old fashioned preaching like I do, then you will love to hear Vance Havner.

Thank you SermonIndex. If you can support SermonIndex in some way, please do so. They have done a wonderful thing, putting these sermons on line for people to listen to.
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Another gentleman you might listen to is Brother Ray Pringle. I used to listen to his 15 minute Word of Prophesy sermons every week night at 11:45 in the Bay Area when I was a young guy. His family has preserved all his programs to listen to.

While you are here, check out the old time radio widget in the right sidebar. Listen to a new program everyday.
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Starting Over: With God All Things Are Possible

2009-12-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

What Does the Bible Say About Duty, Courage, Strength, and Steadfastness?

2009-11-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

Continue in prayer, and watch
in the same with thanksgiving.

COLOSSIANS 4, verse 2.

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

1 CORINTHIANS 16, verse 13.

We kneel how weak, we rise how full of power.
Why therefore should we do ourselves this wrong,
Or others--that we are not always strong,
That we are ever overborne with care,
That we should ever weak or heartless be,
Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer,
And joy and strength and courage are with Thee?
R. C. TRENCH.

It is impossible for us to make the duties of our lot
minister to our sanctification without a habit of
devout fellowship with God. This is the spring
of all our life, and the strength of it. It is prayer, meditation,
and converse with God, that refreshes, restores,
and renews the temper of our minds, at all times,
under all trials, after all conflicts with the
world.
H. E. MANNING.

____________________________________

Roland's Comment

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit ye like men.

These are weighty words from Paul. These words, in my opinion, stand shoulder to shoulder with

George Washington's "Put only Americans on duty tonight." In the dark night of the revolutionary war, all held their breath as everything was in the balance. George Washington knew that on this fateful night, no summer solder or sunshine patriot would do. Only those with honor, fealty and love of country should stand guard.

"England expects every man to do his duty." Admiral Horatio Nelson

Or Winston Churchill's stirring words to the English people:

"Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour."

Paul's words are just as powerful. He boils it all down to 11 words in one sentence.

I'm reminded of my stepfather's words to me, as he was lying in a hospital bed after just having had a massive heart attack. "You're the man of the house now." I was 15 at the time. I understood what he meant. "I've been taken down. You take over. Watch out for your mom and little sisters."

Paul tells us what is expected of us. Stand in the faith, have a bucket full of guts, be a man. Be a woman.

Be there for your kids. Be there for your mate. Be aware. Follow your deepest and highest instincts. Do your duty.

Paul said it all.

Who Is God? Resentment, Pride, Anger, and Making Things Too Important Block Us From Knowing Him

2009-09-14T08:50:00.001-07:00

"It is impossible for us to live in fellowship with God without holiness in
all the duties of life. These things act and react on each other. Without a
diligent and faithful obedience to the calls and claims of others upon us,
our religious profession is simply dead. To disobey conscience when it
points to relative duties irritates the whole temper, and quenches the
first beginnings of devotion. We cannot go from strife, breaches, and angry
words, to God. Selfishness, an imperious will, want of sympathy with
the sufferings and sorrows of other men, neglect of charitable offices,
suspicions, hard censures of those with whom our lot is cast, will
miserably darken our own hearts, and hide the face of God from us."

H. E. MANNING.

How Do I Deal With Worry and Discouragement

2009-09-14T08:46:00.002-07:00

O Lord, I am oppressed, undertake for me.

ISAIAH 38, verse 14.

Being perplexed, I say,
Lord, make it right!
Night is as day to Thee,
Darkness is light.
I am afraid to touch
Things that involve so much;
My trembling hand may shake,
My skill-less hand may break:
Thine can make no mistake.

ANNA B. WARNER.

The many troubles in your household will tend to your edification, if you
strive to bear them all in gentleness, patience, and kindness. Keep this
ever before you, and remember constantly that God's loving eyes are upon
you amid all these little worries and vexations, watching whether you
take them as He would desire. Offer up all such occasions to Him, and
if sometimes you are put out, and give way to impatience, do not be
discouraged, but make haste to regain your lost composure.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

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Why Am I Anxious and Worried All the Time

2009-09-14T08:45:00.002-07:00

The following quotation from Francois Fenelon is perfectly accurate. Years ago when I was young, I would have liked this passage in a hopeful idealistic sort of way. It would have sounded right and something I wished were true.

But now, after having made friends with conscience and learned to meditate to be still, I see that it is true. There is an inner silent testimony that quietly bears witness to the words. It is that silent witness, God's intuitive light within, that is the true comfort. Because it means that God is there and His inner Light is a guide, a comfort, and a present help in time of trouble.

The crosses of the present moment always bring their own special grace and
consequent comfort with them; we see the hand of God in them when it is
laid upon us. But the crosses of anxious foreboding are seen out of the
dispensation of God; we see them without grace to bear them; we see them
indeed through a faithless spirit which banishes grace. So, everything in
them is bitter and unendurable; all seems dark and helpless. Let us throw
self aside; no more self-interest, and then God's will, unfolding every
moment in everything, will console us also every moment for all that He
shall do around us, or within us, for our discipline.

FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.

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How Do I Let Go of Anger and Judgment Toward Others

2009-09-14T08:43:00.002-07:00

Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
with all lowliness and meekness,
with long-suffering, forbearing
one another in love.

EPHESIANS 4, verses 1 and 2.

Help us, O Lord, with patient love to bear
Each other's faults, to suffer with true meekness;
Help us each other's joys and griefs to share,
But let us turn to Thee alone in weakness.

ANONYMOUS.

You should make a special point of asking God
every morning to give you, before all else,
that true spirit of meekness which He would have His
children possess. You must also make a firm resolution
to practise yourself in this virtue, especially
in your intercourse with those persons to whom
you chiefly owe it. You must make it your main object
to conquer yourself in this matter;
call it to mind a hundred times during the day,
commending your efforts to God.
It seems to me that no more than this is needed in
order to subject your soul entirely to His will,
and then you will become more gentle day by day,
trusting wholly in His goodness. You will be very
happy, my dearest child, if you can do this,
for God will dwell in your heart;
and where He reigns all is peace.
But if you should fail, and commit
some of your old faults, do not be disheartened,
but rise up and go on again,
as though you had not fallen.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

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Roland's Comments

How many thousand times over the years have I told people to let go of resentment. But it seems to me that the above lines say it very well. It is pride that feeds on resentment and judgment. Meekness, humility, patience, long suffering, kindness, forbearance--do they not all reveal a person who has set aside pride and ego?

Let me ask you a question? Are you like the person, who facing a tough situation, says to another: "Well, we've tried everything. There's nothing left to do but pray!"

Is your prayer an afterthought, or is it the first thing you do?

Let it be the first. Ask God to give you a spirit of meekness. Then you can be more forgiving and less judgmental.

Am I MY Brother's Keeper?

2009-09-14T08:43:00.001-07:00

Am I my brother's keeper?

GENESIS 4, verse 9.

Because I held upon my selfish, road,
And left my brother wounded by the way,
And called ambition duty, and pressed on--
O Lord, I do repent.

SARAH WILLIAMS.

How many are the sufferers who have fallen
amongst misfortunes along
the wayside of life! "By chance" we come that way;
chance, accident,
Providence, has thrown them in our way;
we see them from a distance, like
the Priest, or we come upon them suddenly,
like the Levite; our business,
our pleasure, is interrupted by the sight,
is troubled by the delay; what
are our feelings, what our actions towards them?
"Who is thy neighbor?" It
is the sufferer, wherever, whoever, whatsoever
he be. Wherever thou hearest
the cry of distress, wherever thou seest any
one brought across thy path by
the chances and changes of life (that is, by
the Providence of God), whom
it is in thy power to help, he, stranger or enemy
though he be, he is
thy neighbor.

A. P. STANLEY.

He That Endureth to the End Shall Be Saved

2009-09-14T08:40:00.001-07:00

Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work
in you will perform it.
Philippians 1 verse 6.

He that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Matthew 10 verse 22.

Fill with inviolable peace;
Stablish and keep my settled heart;
In Thee may all my wanderings cease,
From Thee no more may I depart:
Thy utmost goodness called to prove,
Loved with an everlasting love!

C. WESLEY.

If any sincere Christian cast himself with his whole will upon the Divine
Presence which dwells within him, he shall be kept safe unto the end. What
is it that makes us unable to persevere? Is it want of strength? By no
means. We have with us the strength of the Holy Spirit. When did we ever
set ourselves sincerely to any work according to the will of God, and fail
for want of strength? It was not that strength failed the will, but that
the will failed first. If we could but embrace the Divine will with the
whole love of ours; cleaving to it, and holding fast by it, we should be
borne along as upon "the river of the water of life." We open only certain
chambers of our will to the influence of the Divine will. We are afraid of
being wholly absorbed into it. And yet, if we would have peace, we must be
altogether united to Him.

H. E. MANNING.