Making A Difference December 8, 2008
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Advent/Christmas, Encouragement, Self Giving.Tags: Advent, Charity, Christmas, Gay, Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, Giving, GLBT, Religion, Self Giving, Spirituality, The Holidays
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Advent is about making known the presence of God to others. Its about incarnating the presence of God. It’s about God with skin. Experiencing the presence of God through our prayer is good indeed, but sometimes we need God with skin. We need the touch and comfort of another. And we are called to be that for others.
“Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
Make firm the knees that are weak,
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!”
(See Isaiah 35: 1-10)
We are, each of us, a Word of God spoken in time with a mission, a purpose. How can you make a difference in someone’s life today?
No Strings Attached November 24, 2008
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Detachment, Self Giving.Tags: Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, Gay Life, Giving, GLBT, Happiness, Queer, Relationships, Religion, Spirituality
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“They make contributions out of their surplus, but she from her want has given what she could not afford – every penny she had to live on.” (See Luke 21: 1-4)
When I give something, do I place expectations on my giving? If I give something to a friend, do I expect something in return? If I give my time, do I expect it returned? Or do I give, only when I FEEL like giving?
Or, when I give, do I give completely, even when it’s inconvenient, expecting nothing in return?
If I examine my own life, sometimes it’s about expectations and convenience and not about freely giving. At other times, I give freely of what I have.
One thing is clear. I am most happy, most content, when my giving is free, no strings attached. It is in those moments when my heart feels a quiet contentment and knows the care of a loving God who promises that I will be given all that I need, . . . if I just let go. Even when it comes to love, when I cling, life becomes cloudy and difficult. When I let go, life becomes a richer experience.
Taking Risks November 19, 2008
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Risk, Self Giving.Tags: Charity, Gay, Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, Giving, GLBT, Queer, Reigion, Spirituality, Talents
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“Here is your money which I hid for safekeeping. I was afraid of you because you are a hard man.” (See Luke 19: 11-28)
Again we are reminded: how are we using the gifts that we have been given, the gift that we are as persons? Are we taking risks, reaching out and being of service to others with what we have to offer? Or are we afraid of getting out there? Or, maybe we think we don’t have all that much to offer and what difference would it make anyway? Maybe what we have to give is small. But small things put together become big things. A few cents in my pocket isn’t a lot, but when I throw it in a bin, over time these small amounts add up to something much bigger.
As we head into the end of another year, maybe it would be a good time to pause and take stock. How well have we used our gifts for the good of others this past year? Have we given what we have to give? And how have we seen it multiply? Whenever we give, it WILL multiply!
Give What You Have . . . And Watch It Grow! November 16, 2008
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Self Giving.Tags: 33rd Sunday of the Year, Gay, Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, gay spirituality, Giving, Religion, Sharing, Spirituality
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Matthew 25: 14-30
We all have something to give to make this world a better place. We just need to give it, no matter how small we think it is. Sometimes those who think they have little to give end up burying their gifts. But if we give what little we think we have, we will find it affecting others and multiplying. We just need to put ourselves out there a little bit and we will begin to see things happening. I can think of no better feeling than knowing that something I have given has had a positive effect on someone. It then becomes like a ripple effect of good.
What do you have to give? It doesn’t need to be much. The important thing is that it is giving. And in the giving, we will see it growing.
It Is In Giving . . . September 22, 2008
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Self Giving.Tags: Catholicism, Christianity, Forgiveness, Francis of Assisi, Gay, Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, Gay Life, Giving, GLBT, Love, Religion, Spirituality
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Matthew 20: 1-16a
When I read this passage I think to myself, “you’ve got to be kidding!” Here we have God described as a landowner who gives the same wage to those who have been working all day in the hot sun and those who have only been working one hour. No fair I would say if I was one of those workers who had been working all day! But such a response would emanate from the ego mind, which is about comparing, hoarding and wanting.
When it comes to enlightenment, peace and inner joy what one of us would be jealous of one who experienced these things? Even if we’ve been at this quest for years, why would we be jealous if someone experienced what we have? The enlightened mind does not work this way, only ego. The youngest novice at this can teach us something.
Divine generosity is here exposed as lavish and certainly not fair to our standards. However, when I have been the one who has made a major mistake, when I have hurt someone or screwed up my life in some way, believe me, I would stand very grateful if such generosity was given to me. So it all depends on our perspective.
If God is said to be so generous in forgiveness, am I the same toward others? How abundant is my sense of giving and forgiving? I am to reflect the same abundance that my Source exhibits, lavishly giving – like Francis of Assisi who prayed that he be more concerned with consoling, understanding and loving than being consoled, understood or loved. . . . I have a ways to go to be honest. Perhaps I would do well to daily return to this prayer attributed to this great Saint, as a reminder of the attitude that I need not be concerned with ego wants, but Divine generosity.
Do Something Nice For Somone You Don’t Like! September 11, 2008
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Forgiveness, Self Giving.Tags: 12 Step Spirituality, 12 Steps, Forgiveness, Gay, Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, Giving, Religion, Resentments, Spirituality
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This is the kicker though. We are told to be generous, giving people, even to those who have hurt us, to those we don‘t like! “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you and pray for those who maltreat you.” This sounds so poetic and wonderful, . . . until I begin to think of a specific person who has hurt me deeply. When I think of him and then read this everything in me says: “You have GOT to be kidding!” But this is the key to healing deep hurts. Doing good to those who have hurt us. Thinking well of them instead of holding them in contempt. In 12 Step programs they recommend the following action in order to get rid of a resentment: pray for the person everyday for two weeks. AND, they recommend that we not only pray for them, but pray that THEY have all the happiness and blessings that WE would want! Sounds absurd, but when we are able to do this, then we will find ourselves to be truly free people! When we do good to this person, it shows great strength and power, for we stop allowing the hurt or the person to affect our day or the person that we want to be!
It reminds me of my Mom who used to always say: “Kill em with kindness!”
Hmm, maybe Mom was right!
Am I growing in the knowledge that God will take care if I but let go and share what I have and what is within me, even to my “enemies?” Give what you have and what is within you, and watch what happens!
Give Baby Give! . . . And Watch What Happens! April 25, 2008
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Self Giving, Spirituality, gay spirituality.Tags: Consciousness of Abundance, gay spirituality, Giving, Spiruality
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John 15: 12-17
“There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
If I live life focused only on myself and what I can get out of life or this person, I will always be frustrated and unsatisfied. Lot’s of relationships fail because they are entered out of a sense of need. I feel an emptiness or lack inside and then I meet this guy or gal and he or she makes me feel whole and happy. And if my neediness is great, I quickly begin to drain them of their energy. A relationship based on how this person can fulfill MY needs is doomed to failure. A life based merely on what I can get from it and not what I can give to it is a half lived life and will not lead to joy.
It’s amazing what happens when we begin to give to life! I was taught by nuns when I was a boy and they often said that if you give, you will receive a hundredfold of what you give. OK, let’s face it, some of their ideas were pretty wacky. But some of them were right on! Watch what happens when you begin to give to life. At the minimum we will have a sense that our life matters in some way, that it’s making a difference and this alone can bring a sense of peace and joy within.
The energy or resources that we send out to the world come back to us and often times in increased measure! If we look at our world, at our relationships and at ourselves, lots of unhappiness emanates out of a sense of self centeredness. When we begin to let go and give of our time, our love and our resources amazing things begin to happen. Give a little today . . . and watch what happens!
