Check this out…Job 25:2 “Dominion and awe belong to Him, Who establishes peace in His heights.”

To be in awe of God means to have ‘an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful…”.

I am in awe of God these days, and I’m loving it. Lately I see Him everywhere…in others…in the lives of the Saints…in the readings at Mass and in daily prayers…and most importantly to me, in my wife. God is revealing Himself to us everyday, we just need to list. Isaiah writes in chapter 29 verse 23:

But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My name;
Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

I encourage you to pray that you have the faith to see the work of His hands in your midst. I’ve been praying this for myself for sometime and it has just caught me off guard with wonder and awe. He is an awesome God. He is our King.

Not sure of how to do this? Or what it means to be in awe? Or if this is all just my mind playing tricks on me? All I have to say to you is this, God is more wonderful than we can ever imagine. And in my life I’ve seen things that cannot be explained. Last night I was talking with a friend at the Matt Maher concert about this and I told him that I read a book once that reasoned ‘faith is a belief in what we can reasonably expect to be true.’ I remember reading and liking the book very much until I shared the idea with my Pastor Fr. Ed. He quickly pointed out, correctly, that that premise lacks the “leap” necessary for “faith” in God. How true.

Faith is a belief in something that isn’t reasonable. I need to make the distinction here that I’m not talking about having faith in your wife doing the shopping, or that sun will shine tomorrow. Those are human things, keeping with the books premise. However when you consider the Supernatural, Godly things, faith cannot be a conclusion in what we can reasonable expect to be true, it Has to be a belief in the unexpected…the incomprehensible…

How is it likely that I, a complete degenerate, could be redeemed and form into the man I have become…husband…father…etc. Riddle me this…how is it reasonable…for a man who lived 2000 years ago become so loved by his friends and followers, that they would be willing to die horrible deaths simply to spread his message. That, is not likely. What if I asked you to sell a product, and the consequence for getting caught selling that product was immediate upside down crucifixion. If you are like me, monster.com would be my first stop after that conversation. I’d be out of there!

That my friends, is why I am in awe of God. See, he could choose to stop all of this, he could stop time, fix our brokenness and all the problems, and take us all to heaven….but instead, He loves us sooo much that He..God…The King…chooses to let us have free will so that we can fully love Him if we desire.

Well friends…I desire! Do you?

I hope that today you are in awe of Him. If you aren’t sure, take the leap. Pray for Faith. Faith is a gift of God the Holy Spirit in our hearts. The gift of faith will convict a person more than anything else we have ever encountered. I pray that we all have increased faith today. I pray we are more in awe of Him everyday. And I pray you are filled with His peace and joy.

If you still aren’t sure what to do next. Pray some more. He will guide you when the time is right.

God bless you and all those you meet. I pray you infect them with love, as He infects you.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2007688/highlight/14089

See Sarah giving her witness at the Memphis Cursillo Ultreya!!!!

People find it acceptable, and have the audacity, to make very judgmental comments about our family, my wife, or our choice of lifestyle.  Some common examples of what people say:

-         “Don’t you know what causes that?”

-         “So you are done right?

-         “Wow, really trying for that girl aren’t ya?”

-         “She better not get pregnant again!”

I used to respond to the first statement with ‘yeah and we are getting pretty darn good at it’.  This has scandalized many a persons. 

Well I guess I’ve had enough of this.  I once read a study that says Christians are more judgmental than non-Christians.  I’m beginning to agree.  What is most funny is most of these responses come from Catholics!!!!  People who took a vow to be open to life, and who say every Sunday, “Thy Will be done.” 

Normally I just let this stuff go, and I’ve even been an advocate of ignoring such ignorance.  Lately however I am more and more frustrated by it.  It’s sick.  How can a culture that is so much oriented toward protecting the rights of self, be okay with these comments which seek to restrict my “freedom”???? 

I know this post is somewhat of a rant, but I’m upset and I’m tired of being judged by people who claim to believe.  I’m fine being persecuted by heathens who know no better, but I’m sick and tired of Christians who proclaim to desire the Will of God telling me I’m ignorant for following the Will of God. 

I think it’s time I buy some bumper stickers…

’This Car Parks Frequently, I’m Catholic with lots of kids.’

Or maybe…

‘SLEEP NAKED’

Lately I have been thinking a lot about sacrifices and suffering. My wife has sacrificed a lot for sake of our family, and for me. She has sacrificed our time to allow me to be a youth minister; she has sacrificed her time and accessibility to her big ole Catholic family in order to move with me to TN. She sacrifices herself to bear our children. She home schools which I’m convinced is also known as “free pass in purgatory” (its not that bad for her, but for me….). At any rate, I’m impressed by her constantly.

If I broaden my thoughts on this I think of others who sacrifice so much to be good parents. Or those that answer the call to the priesthood and religious life and what they have sacrificed. It is amazing to me what people will willingly give up when they are called to do good things.

Why am I surprised then when I get upset at those who martyr themselves when asked to give up little?

Have you ever heard the saying: to whom much is given, much will be expected?

I remember when also hearing many times that big boys buy big toys.

And have you ever seen a bumper sticker that says, “In the end the one with the biggest toys wins”? What a joke.

I’ve come to a conclusion about the men in my life. This is not a judgment, simply a scientific approach to explain one’s willingness to be a man when it counts. I use the following simple equation to determine the strength of another’s resolve.

Big men, make big sacrifices.

First let me define what I mean by “big men”. By Big men I mean MEN who exemplify the word in their spirit and in their actions. Think about it, do you really respect those that are not willing to sacrifice? My wife has a friend whose husband is a wuss. He wouldn’t know sacrifice if it slapped him in the face. Now I respect him as a creation in God’s kingdom, but I don’t consider him a Man. He is a boy as he still makes childish sacrifices. I love my children and they are growing up too fast. And they have already taught me soo much. One thing I have learned is how our sacrifice must begin small as children. But also that it cannot remain there. The sharing of the favorite toy cannot be the extent of our suffering in life….or we remain boys.

Second let me add 2 clarifications to this.

1. Big men sacrifice big things……without complaint. The MAN doesn’t not cry when his blanket is taken away. He lets it go when needed and fights for it when appropriate.

2. Big men sacrifice the Right things. Many of us make sacrifices. But Big Men discern what is right to sacrifice. And what is most beneficial. In the end I think there is a Big Man in all of us waiting to be let out. Sometimes we are unwilling because of pride. That is, when we say My will be done. But when one says to God, Thy will be done, then he can make big sacrifices.

So the next time you are called upon to give up something, be a Big Man. Put away childish sacrifices and really discern what it is you are living for. Me or He.

And remember, God doesn’t always call on the phone, or by yelling. Read 1 Kings 19 to learn more about how God comes to us, sometimes in the form of a whisper.

Let’s pray. God thank you for the strength to sacrifice. We pray you increase in us the openness, willingness, and Grace to live this life as you call. Focused on your will. Accepting of your instruction. And guided by your Holy Spirit. Increase in us the gift of wisdom and faith to know your will and the courage to carry it out. In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.

 Watching them get married also brought me close to God in another way. When I first learned that they were to be married by a magistrate rather than in a church, I panicked. My sister-in-law grew up a Catholic and I feared that a wedding in this manner would present problems with God. After some searching I found, through the direction of a trusted friend and priest, that since she has chosen a non-Catholic faith and left the Church she was no longer bound by Catholic norms for marriage.

My response was not judgment, rather it was in fear that I became concerned for her. I did not want their marriage to be seen as bad by the Church. Nor did I want to subject us to the decision of supporting a marital ceremony seen as scandalous by the Church. I say this to point something out about Catholics, us, we the believers.

 The Church has a deposit of faith that is unchanged since Christ walked the earth and since the Holy Spirit first descended upon the Apostles in the Upper Room. This faith is constant and you can count on it. You and I can count on our faith.

Let me say it again. You and I can count on our faith.

You see, in my heart I knew this marriage was right. I knew that God wanted them to be married. But my lack of full understanding caused me to fear in my intellect that it would not be endorsed by the Church. I was ready, as Abraham was, to take one for the team and not go in my mind, but in my heart I was already watching them say “I do”.

“So Bob, what’s the point” you ask. The point my feathered friend is that the more we know about our faith and our Church, the better we can make decisions based on faith. I did exactly what I admonish others for doing…I made a decision about something without the fullness of truth as my guide.

How often do we do this? I can count on a calculator that has more than 7 digits the number of times I have heard, “I’m a practicing Catholic, man I try to get to Mass at least twice a month.” Or, “I believe in Abortion but I’m a Catholic and that’s okay.” Or my favorite, “The Eucharist is just a sign, that old ideal about it really being Jesus is over now.”

So here is my simple conclusion to this long post about me being a short sighted uninformed decision maker who learned his lesson.

Begin with love: If you truly believe, your heart won’t guide you wrong.

Back it up with Truth: The old ‘trust and verify’ method.

Trust your heart, verify with the knowledge of 2000 years of tradition and theology.

And lastly: ASK. My good friend Tom who has more than once said something smart told me I was crazy to not attend the wedding which affirmed my heart. Our true friends who know the desire of our heart is Christ, will always lead us to him.

So go forth, be fruitful in the Spirit, multiply if your are married, and…. Make good decisions based in faith. Until next time I’m your host…humble bob.