“Rut” – a grave with both ends knocked out!

How do I get out of this?

Do you ever get the sense that you’re just living the same day over and over again!?  Bill Murray’s movie classic, “Groundhog Day”, surely brings the point home.  In that film, Bill’s character relives Groundhog Day (February 2nd) in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, over and over.  His self-centered weatherman character, Phil Connors, gradually learns the only way to get “unstuck” is to be less stuck on himself!  Through actions focused on others and his own personal growth, the shallow, hedonistic, desperate prisoner of his own life becomes a more whole person – and even “gets the girl”, Rita (played by Andie MacDowell). Check it out, sometime, if you haven’t seen it.  A culture classic from 1993!

I have heard it said that, “A rut is nothing but a grave with both ends knocked out!”  How true!  Once we get into a pattern of thought or actions that lead nowhere the life gets sucked right out of us!  Hope, anticipation, new experiences, adventure, new relationships – these, and more, are squelched before they can even get started!  I really don’t like “ruts”, but you can’t altogether avoid them!  Sometimes, a rut has to happen before the need for change can be realized and welcomed.

One way to deal with a rut is to reach out for help:  Isolation and self-determination lead to a lonely frustration.  Keeping the rut to myself is a sure way of remaining stuck (Yes, it is humbling to even admit that I am in a rut!).  When I, finally, open the situation to the light of day by sharing it with a trusted and able friend or counselor, my truth telling begins to make the rut a teacher, instead of a grave.

Openness, conversation, prayer, encouragement – these are just some of the ways that I find myself breaking free of my own personal “Groundhog Day” experiences.  I can’t really think of a rut in my life from which I can become free without connecting to someone and something greater beyond myself.  How about you?

Stuart Swann
www.faithsnap.com

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

Horror and Hope

“Thy Kingdom come …”

In light of the horrific tragedy at the Boston Marathon, yesterday, once again, it seems the distance between heaven and earth has grown so much greater.  I won’t belabor the tragedy, but I do join with millions to express deep sorrow for the losses and in outrage against the evil behind it!

This photo of another great city, Los Angeles, taken by my daughter, reminds me of the separation between the earthy reality and the anticipated fulfillment of God’s “kingdom come”.  We wonder:  “Will that kingdom ever really come? Will we truly experience peace ruling over chaos?”

I don’t know when or how that will be accomplished, but this I do know:

Every day is one day closer;

Every prayer and act of kindness is one step nearer;

Every time goodness and compassion and faith and love raise the flags of hope we are reminded that good will triumph over evil and that God’s justice will prevail.

For every evil deed that is seen and televised, there are countless, mostly unseen, acts of courage, fidelity, thoughtfulness, generosity, and so much more, extended by people in all kinds of situations!  Somehow, the spark of hope for a just and peaceable Kingdom is kept alive in this world.  It must be a sign of God’s will “being done” – one day, one person, one action, at a time.

Stuart Swann
www.faithsnap.com

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

I’m so stinkin’ slow!

Why is it taking so long?!

Do you ever feel that you’re just not making progress?  You’re giving it everything you’ve got; you’re keeping a “can do” attitude; you pray, believe, hope, work … and still, you’re just not able to realize any forward movement to speak of!  It seems others are just blazing past you in life and success?

There are people whose achievements rise with rocket-like speed – they bolt  from the gate like the finest purebred, steaming ahead to win the race!  Then, there are the ones who just plod along with lives more modest and undetectable to the star-gazing world.  That “ordinary soul” isn’t any less loved by God or forgotten in the care of such abundant Providence.  The love of God, so perfectly shown in Jesus Christ, is given to every child, equally, no favoritism, although our courses may differ and our visible “worth” in the world’s eyes will vary.

Is it possible that the Almighty has a finger on you?  Today … right where you are?  Maybe, you feel stuck, or incredibly slow in your progress … it is for wanderers, and the lost, and the hurting that the reservoir of God’s unlimited supply can be most easily tapped.  Not to the mighty, but to the broken and contrite of heart is this Gift most readily revealed!  Self-made, snug and smug achievers are hard-pressed to see the need of such saving grace.  But who knows their end, or the sum of their days, or the struggles yet to come in their personal lives?  Only their Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer can know this – the same One from whom and to whom all folks must ultimately draw their strength and give their answers.

Does not he see my ways, and number all my steps? (Job 31:4)

Stuart Swann
www.faithsnap.com

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

What tomorrow brings

Who “nose“, anyway?

I’m thinking about the future, as in “tomorrow”, threats of nuclear attacks from N. Korea on the bigger scale, and how will I get my “To Do List” done on the smaller scale? In between these extremes are a multitude of unknowns that are probably far more important to deal with!

How do you deal with the “future”, as in immediate – tomorrow kind of future? Do you just wake up and let it happen, or do you have a “game plan”? I guess that’s a personality thing, and some of us are just a mix.

The future is something we face, daily, or avoid. All I know is what I’m doing today shapes tomorrow in simple and profound ways. If I fail to prepare for the food that will be healthy to eat “on the run”, I’ll end up at a fast food spot trying to find something not-too-bad (but it is!) to kill the hunger; If I don’t plan ahead to take my camera along and, suddenly, there’s a great shot to be taken – well, too bad – I missed it!

Let’s not just let tomorrow come and go. It will do that, but will we be any wiser, richer, happier, healthier in its passing? A few things I try to do, personally, that help …

Thank God for each day, at least at the beginning and ending. Taking a conscious time to meditate and pray helps – nothing too deep or spiritual, really, but at least enough to “pause” before the busyness sets in.

Feed my soul and mind with some good news:  Some scripture, an e-mail exchange or two with special people in my life, some simple reading from a good book that feeds my brain and soul.

Take an inventory of my health supplies: Do the pantry and frig have fuel for my best health, and am I planning ahead about what I will eat and drink today?

FaithSnaps:  What images speak to me today, and how can I prepare some more images to be of use to others? Is there an opportunity coming up today where I surely must have my camera?

Productivity:  Doing whatever work is at hand, and “making hay while the sun shines” to get things accomplished, so that I can be satisfied with my work at the end of the day. Hopefully, this involves something that is of value or service to others. If not, I wonder what I have produced?

Activity:  Going to the gym, or taking a walk, daily to make sure this body of mine stays as flexible and strong as possible. I want to last and enjoy this great life for a long time!

Don’t forget to share appreciation and love with people in your life. That’s something that really can’t wait for “Tomorrow”!

Well, these are some of my own habits. How about yours? I bet you have many of your own personal practices that make tomorrow a better day. I’d really like to know what makes your tomorrow work for you. Who nose what you’ll be doing next?!

Stuart Swann
www.faithsnap.com

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

Follow that dream – Where!?

Mark 9:35

And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, “If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

Well, that’s not what I wanted to hear!  I have a dream, after all, a special destiny that no one else has, and I intend to be a “star” in my own right!  As they love to say on the “reality” talent shows, “I need to take it to the next level”, ramp up my game and get all the accomplishment and recognition that I can achieve.  I’ve given “my life” to this, and “winning means everything to me!”  Well, that’s just silly talk – you know!?

What we are promised in this life isn’t dream fulfillment.  In fact, what we come to understand and follow as our “dreams” can easily be fantasies of exaggerated and needy egos.  What if our dream was “to serve”, to inspire, to bless, to share, to be the best and most authentic person that God created us to be?  What if that dream meant lifting someone else up to a place of prominence while we remained in the shadows?  What if that course took us down a road of hardship and disappointments, and what if that course never resulted in public recognition for our life and labors?  Would that mean we are less than the person who seems to have had “all of their dreams come true”?!

I’m surely not implying that we should cease to seek and strive for ways to have a dream that is worthy and attainable – and is the right fit.  It just may be that we need a “dream adjustment”, that’s all.  Sometimes, “taking it to the next level”, might mean going down a step.

Oh, Lord, I pray you will tap us on the shoulder and help us to dream your dream for the particular life you have given each of us to live.  Open our eyes and ears, and enlighten our hearts to receive the corrections that may lead us down a different path than we had intended. To you, who came to be servant, not to be served, we say, Amen.

Stuart Swann
www.faithsnap.com

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

Steer clear of FEAR!

Hate it, hate it, hate it!

Why? Fear stultifies, mesmerizes, fossilizes, fantasizes, irrationalizes … and, over all, it’s just a pain in the butt! I find that so much of life is just facing fear head-on in whatever form it comes in a given day – fear of not having enough time, not getting things done, disappointing someone important to me, not achieving, getting older, lacking what I need – STOP! This is just ridiculous!

I take heart from the Apostle Paul writing to his understudy, Timothy, who must have faced fear.  Pauls says to him,

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (King James, 2 Timothy 1:7)

I have no reason to be overcome with a spirit of fear when it is overcome with something greater – that is the Spirit of God within me, growing, expressing confidence, overcoming weakness, building courage, settling anxiety with the peace of a secure (sound) mind.

I find that fear, much like money, takes on a life of its own, if I don’t deal with it – regularly! It isn’t just a concept, but a force that would like to take control of our lives. This isn’t what God intends for those who love Him. I can feed on fear, and it will consume me; or, I can face fear with the greater power within me – the majesty and presence of the gift of God – the Holy Spirit who dwells powerfully in my heart to give testimony to the abundant life of Christ within!

Once again, I cast all my cares upon Him who cares for me (1 Peter 5:7), and I refuse to give irrational, damaging fears a place in my thoughts and actions. I am free to be “not afraid”! 

Stuart
www.faithsnap.com

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

Make my day – “TODAY”!

“Open”, says a me!

I opened my day with this thought and prayer (click on photo).  Why?  Because, I couldn’t sleep past 4 am, and knew there was something bothering me.  After making a cup of coffee, feeding the cats, and regaining my eyesight, I settled in a comfortable chair to take inventory of what’s going on “inside”!?  There, I realized so much of what needs expurgation.  I find that the best way to move on with the day is to just be honest with myself (as honest as I can be, anyway!) about what’s going on and what needs attention … then, to offer these to God in a prayer.  Here’s my prayer for “today”.  I guess it will work for “tomorrow”, too, because it will soon be today.

Maybe, it will be a strength to you, my friend, as well.  Have a great day – “TODAY!” …

Stuart
www.faithsnap.com

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

What’s a “faith snap”, anyway?

Eye see faith walking!

“We live in a visual world”, commented one of my Facebook friends, recently.  So true, and it’s so easy to take photos these days on every kind of device imaginable!  What makes a “faith snap” any different from the myriad of photos circulating?  I don’t have a great camera, and I really don’t need one for the kind of graphics I have in mind.  In fact, I would probably just drop or lose a fine camera in the field somewhere!  For me, and now for my grandchildren, it has become kind of contagious to look for iconic thoughts and moments that might be fit for a scripture, an inspiration, or just an advertisement.  It’s fun, it’s habit-forming, and it lifts my spirit.  You probably have a bunch of faith snaps in your photo inventory, too, if you “see faith walking” … Eye bet you do!

Stuart
www.faithsnap.com

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

FaithSnap Kids Intro

Open for Business!

I couldn’t be prouder or happier to introduce FaithSnap with the help of my grandkids, Sage and Micah, who bring the kind of energy and youthfulness to my work that will also benefit those who participate in FaithSnap resources.  The web site is up and running, “Open for Business”!   Come and see, leave a comment, suggestion, idea – whatever you have on your mind.  Let’s get “snap’in'”!

Stuart
www.faithsnap.com

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ