Mother Teresa's Philosophy

"It is in giving that we receive."  Mother Teresa

All I ever knew about Mother Teresa is that she lived her life dedicated to the betterment of the lives of others.  I picked up this little coffee table book on clearance at Borders titled, LOVE, the words and inspiration of Mother Teresa.  Reading her story, and of her dedication to loving the "unwanted", I am in awe of a life given over to others.  It doesn't seem that she lived even a day for herself, but continually poured herself out to homeless and hurting children, the sick, and the dying.  She rescued babies left in trash cans in India,  and provided shelter, medicine, and food for abandoned children living on the streets with disease.  Where there was news of abandoned children during a war, she would, herself, at age 75, drive in the war zone to personally rescue them.  When a limousine was donated to her by Pope John Paul IV, she immediatly sold it and donated the funds.  She said, "why own a limo when I can walk or take a bus?"  She worked hard to think outside the box to reach the needs of the people who were otherwise forgotten.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes of hers from the book.

"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put into what we do."

"The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for, and deserted by everybody.  The greatest evil is the lack of love and charity, the terrible indifference toward one's neighbor..."

"A smile is the beginning of love."

"Joy is love- a joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love, for she gives most who gives with joy."

"In these times of development, everybody is in a hurry and everybody's in a rush, and on the way there are people fallingdown, who are not able to compete.  These are the ones we want to love and serve and take care of."

"Never let anyone come to you without coming away better and happier."

"Intense love does not measure, it just gives."

Let's live each day looking for someone who needs our love, our encouragement, a warm smile, a kind word.  In doing this, one by one, we can heal the hearts of this world!  Let us be encouraged by Teresa's example, that one life, humbly poured out, CAN change the lives of many.

simply CHRISTmas

The Christmas hoopla is all well underway.  For many of us, it's an exciting time, full of Christmas music, decorating, shopping, and baking, and parties. But for nearly as many others, it's a rough time to get through, for a long list of reasons. 

It's so easy to lose our focus this time of year, with the good and the bad.  With our focus on gifting, there's a great financial burden for a lot of people.  With the focus on activities, there's the stress of a TOO packed December schedule, and how to fit it all in.  For a lot of us, the family "reunions" that happen this time of year are equally as stressful.

The danger each year, though, is to miss out on simplicity of what Christmas is all about.  With the focus on Christ during CHRISTmas, we are all able to breath a sigh of relief, and grab onto the peace and hope that the story of Jesus so abundantly offers us.  When we choose to embrace what it's all about, and maybe forego some of the other stuff, we also can CHOOSE to reduce some stress and busyness.

Let's celebrate Christ's birth like we never have before. Let's be intentional to sit with our families and our young children, and tell them what it's really all about.  Let's set our hearts on the gift of His son, born to die for us.  Christmas is what we make it.

the birth of Jesus:
Luke 2:8-20
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Let's glorify and praise God for the gift of his son!

Get out of the boat!

²⁵ Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
²⁹ “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

If we want to experience the greatness and awesomeness that the Lord has in store, we've got to get out of the boat.

Peter could have been greatly inspired just be seeing Jesus walk on the water, and still remain "secure" from inside the safety of the boat, as the others did. They were able to witness God's power from inside the boat, but only Peter was able to experience the intimacy and greatness of walking WITH Jesus out on the water! 

I believe Peter had an understanding that the others in the boat may not have had.  He knew that, although the water carried the threat of drowning, of the unknown, it offered something that he could never experience within the boat. We are wise to grasp this concept. 

Once Peter took the leap of faith and stepped out of the boat, Jesus gave him a supernatural ability that was outside of the "human" realm of possibility.  This was something that Peter could only have experienced had he trusted his Lord!  His faith allowed him to walk on water.

Is there something God has in store for your life that you're missing out on because of your lack of faith? Are you settling with mediocrity? If life feels stagnant, and you feel ineffective or feel a lack of purpose, maybe it's because you've chosen to stay in your boat.
I challenge you to not be content with being "inspired" by witnessing God's greatness in the lives of those around you.  Don't limit yourself to living vicariously through the faith of others.  Pray that you have Peter's eyes to see what he has for YOU outside the boat.  Whatever is it, it will surely deepen your relationship with him, and your faith, and give you a great story to tell.