The story of "The Wizard of Oz" could have been shorter.

"After almost facing death at the hands of the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda arrives and reveals to Dorothy that the Ruby Slippers can grant her the power to return home. After having an emotional farewell with her friends, Dorothy follows Glinda's instructions, clicking her heels three times and repeating, "There's no place like home." Dorothy awakens back in Kansas after being knocked out…" (as described on Wikipedia)

Wait a minute, all she had to do was to click her HEELS?!?!?!  This whole time, being attacked by flying monkeys, walking through the haunted forest and facing the Witch… it all could have been avoided?!?!?

How Dare Glinda withhold this information. Right..? Right…? Wrong..?

If you can remember the story, Dorothy wasn't the most respectful of children and was causing issues at home. Her dog had bitten Miss Gulch, who in turn threatened to take the farm if the dog wasn't handed over to her. 

When the dog escaped Gulch's basket and returned home, Dorothy then ran away.

There were lessoned to be learned for sure.

Glinda could have told her from the beginning that the magical slippers were her ticket back home, but there were some things that needed to be done which would allow Dorothy to understand how important her family was and how to respect those around her.

Sometimes, we search for the quick answers instead of accepting that we may need to go through the storm to see the rainbow.  Romans is a great book (in the BIBLE) to read when you feel like trying to improve as a person and believer in Christ.

When it comes to suffering  the storm of life, a couple of verses stay with me always:

Romans 5:3-5

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 8:18

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Sometimes our suffering is due to the choices we make, while other times, suffering may come from sickness, disaster or random acts of life.  Let's not forget the lessons we can learn in our suffering and help others who may be going through the same or similar situations.

There is a reason OUR story hasn't ended yet. There is a reason we haven't been instructed to click our heels and go home. Let's take the gift of today and learn, live and love.

"Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope..."
~adam

In our Silence

Gray, rainy days may be some of my favorite.  There is a silence in the air as the birds await the sun and everyone stays inside to avoid the downpour. I feel like I can truly relax even when I am extremely busy.

A few of these days made their presence this week and man did I take it in. I wrote some and read some and spent as much time outside as possible.

This week, I also re-read the book of Psalms.

My mind stayed In Chapter 62:5-8

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, 
 for my hope is from him.

He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

On God rests my salvation and my glory; 
 my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

Trust in him at all times, O people;
 pour out your heart before him;
 God is a refuge for us. Selah”

When the storms hit and the waves crash, it does us no good to bust out the doors running and screaming. Sit in silence, pray and allow God to work.  If we believe, have hope and make Him our rock, the one we lean on a trust. We cannot be SHAKEN. 

Are you dealing with something and feeling alone? Do you find yourself feeling like all you have around you is noise and chatter?

Sit in silence, show God that you have hope in him and you trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart and let him work.

So tonight as we reflect on our day, lets sit in silence and allow God to do the talking. Try it… you’ll like it.

Thanks for allowing me to share my week with you,

~adam

Without...

Have you ever gone a whole day without your cell phone?

I left the house the other day and left mine on the kitchen counter. This left me with no audiobooks, music, email or any other form of communication.

This also meant that throughout the day if awkward situations arose, instead of burring my head in my phone to avoid them, I had to acknowledge them.  (A definite throwback to the times when I didn’t have a phone.)

Needless to say by the end of the day, I was quite anxious to check my messages, missed calls and social media updates. 

Guess what? I missed nothing, no calls, no important emails, no messages. I survived a whole day without something I thought I couldn’t live without.

I’m reminded in a letter from Paul that he wrote to the Philippians while in prison.

But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:19)

Here is Paul, sitting in prison and a still remains encouraged and encourages others.

In the past few weeks, it seems that our domestic news stories have been filled with despair and devastation. With the Wild fires, the Flooding, Remembering 9/11 and the most recent fire on the New Jersey Boardwalk. It’s easy for us to look at it all and say, “ I can’t live without…” But we must remember that we can survive through it and God will supply our needs. Lets focus on God and try to remember that material things come and go and our true needs will be met.

My Prayers go out those in Colorado and New Jersey.

~adam 

No Harm. No Foul?

This week I was talking with a friend about the “good ol” days and how we would play pick-up basketball games and play by “STREET” rules.  One of the major rules, was one I always thought was interesting,no harm, no foul. If there was not any physical damage when touched, no blood or bruising, then you couldn’t call a foul.

A foul in basketball is when another player illegally touches or “hits” the opposing player, the game of play stops and restarts with the offending player getting a penalty.

In Street ball, you play through the little touches unless someone really gets hurt. This is all fine and dandy until the last play of the game when you have the ball and take the winning shot and get your arm slapped, miss the shot, and you can’t say anything.

I think sometimes through life we think, “hey, if I don’t say I am hurt, sad, or broken, then I am not.” Well this isn’t always the case. Just because we can’t tell from the outside that there is pain or hurt. Doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Psalm 34:17-18:

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

How cool is that?! The Lord wants to hear us, and will take a care of us, brokenhearted or crushed in spirit. 

So just because you may be externally doing fine, don’t neglect the feelings inside and don’t try to keep them there. Cry for help, God will provide it through the people around you. 

Peace and Love,

Adam