ARE YOU OPEN TO THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD; OF JESUS?

ARE YOU OPEN TO THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD; OF JESUS? A few years ago There was a saying Going around: “IT'S ALL GOOD” And that is the way It is with our God ALL the news is GOOD “IT'S ALL GOOD” For that is what Our God wants for you All good things “After John Was put in prison Jesus went into Galilee Preaching the good news Of God 'The TIME has come,' he said 'The KINGDOM of God Has come near Repent and BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS'” Mark 1:14-15 The word of God IS LIFE The word of God Is LOVE The word of God Is TRUTH The bad things That happen to us In life Is usually due to The evil of other people Or just The circumstances of life “TASTE and see That the Lord Is GOOD Blessed is the one Who takes refuge In him” Psalm 34:8 “Whoever seeks GOOD FINDS FAVOR” Proverbs 11:27 There is something That we have to recognize About the listeners Of Jesus' day They weren't closed To the bad news They were CLOSED To the good news Of the Lord The reason They were closed Is that they felt threatened They denied the REALITY Of GOD'S PROMISE And they literally Pushed him away “They rose up Drove him out of town And led him To the brow of the hill On which their town Had been built To hurl him down headlong But he passed Through the midst of them And went away” Luke 4:29-30 WE CHRISTIANS Of the 21st century NEED to wake up To the PROMISE OF GOD “IT'S ALL GOOD” BELIEVE in God Believe in Jesus Their words are good “NO ONE is good Except God alone,” Mark 10:18 Jesus said And yet his Father LIFTED him up After the RESURRECTION Talk about GOOD “But the angel said to them 'Do not be afraid I bring you GOOD NEWS That will cause great JOY For all the people TODAY In the town of David A SAVIOR has been born to you He is the MESSIAH THE LORD” Luke 2:10-12 DEAR LORD=we pray That we will Always remain OPEN To the GOOD NEWS Of the Lord IT IS ALL GOOD Robert P. Wallman 8-31-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Amy Welborn

FINDING GOD IN THE PRESENCE OF ONE ANOTHER

FINDING GOD IN THE PRESENCE OF ONE ANOTHER We don't ever Have to worry about FINDING GOD For his PRESENCE Is within us He walks with us Through every situation We encounter in life “Because of my integrity You uphold me And set me in your PRESENCE- FOREVER” Psalm 41:12 “Dear children Let us NOT love with words or speech BUT with actions and truth This is how We know That we belong To the truth And HOW we set Our hearts In his presence” 1 John 3:18-19 But it is NOT ENOUGH To know That God lives WITHIN us And that he is present In our hearts We MUST KNOW That the PRESENCE OF God Ia ALIVE=in our brothers and sisters In Christ Of ALL people of God And all people WHETHER they believe in God Or not And treat them accordingly With DIGNITY=with KINDNESS= And with LOVE “A new command I give you: LOVE ONE ANOTHER As I have loved you So you must love ONE ANOTHER By this Everyone will know That you are my disciples IF you love one another” John 13:34-35 We must UNDERSTAND That LOVE is not just a noun But it is also a verb And verb implies action And we need to be NOT just hearers of the words-BUT DOERS “Be doers of the word- And not hearers only- DO what it says” James 1:22 LOVE-love-love=EVERYONE For the presence of God Is in them Do you have an action plan For loving others Mine is very simple: Birthday cards-friendship cards- Poems-and an encouraging word (and HELPING when I can) And most of all LETTING the person know That you CARE about them You would be surprised How an ENCOURAGING WORD Can pick you up MANY of you Have picked me up In my time of need And I am HERE for you If you need me And don't UNDERESTIMATE TH POWER OF PRAYER for others OFTEN times This is our BEST weapon And we can let others know That they are in our prayers “You have made known To me The paths of life You FILL me with joy In your presence” Dear Lord: WE PRAY Thank you for your presence Of living in us And we ask you To HELP US To let others know That we FIND THE PRESENCE OF GOD LIVING IN THEM Robert P. Wallman 8-29-15

FINDING COMFORT IN GOD

FINDING COMFORT IN GOD Today we celebrate The PASSION of John the Baptist Who is Jesus' cousin The precursor to Jesus And who came To PREPARE the way The bible Has its share of eccentric figures But none more so than John “John's clothes Were made of Camel's hair And he had A leather belt Around his waist His food was locusts And wild honey” Matthew 3:4 Talk about eccentric We had Some very eccentric GREAT UNCLES In our family But not even they Ate locusts and wild honey John was a very good man And his MISSION Was to prepare the people For the moral and spiritual teachings Of Jesus “Herod feared John KNOWING him To be a righteous And holy man........” Mark 6:20 John was One of those people Who could NOT Hold back From telling people What was on his MIND He criticized King Herod Telling him that his marriage To his brother's wife Was UNLAWFUL And it ultimately COST John his life When he was beheaded I am SURE John found COMFORT IN GOD As he knew His cousin Jesus Was to BEGIN his mission Of bringing God to the world “EVEN though I walk Through the darkest valley I fear no evil For you are with me Your rod and your staff THEY COMFORT ME” Psalm 23:4 “May your unfailing love BE MY COMFORT According to your promise To your servant” Psalm 119:76 Many of us too ARE righteous and HOLY Just like John (And we may be A little bit eccentric too) But we too EXPERIENCE UNJUST criticism and punishment But we too Can go on Just as the KINGDOM of God did Because we find The SPIRIT of John The spirit of Jesus And the COMFORT OF GOD Living in our hearts Living deep within us “COMFORT-comfort my people Says your God” Isaiah 40:1 “PRAISE be To the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ The Father of compassion And the God of ALL COMFORT Who comforts us In all our troubles So that We can COMFORT those In any trouble With the comfort We ourselves RECEIVE FROM GOD” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 DEAR FRIENDS-May you find The comfort that John did The comfort That Jesus did For we ALL Need to experience And do receive THE COMFORT OF GOD Robert P. Wallman 8-28-15

LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE

LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE Looking back Could you have PREDICTED WHERE you are In your life right now I could NEVER Have predicted That as a young man I would SURVIVE Three life and death operations And live a whole life With an UNPREDICTABLE chronic illness I could never have predicted That I would be LIVING In South Florida And spending My time SEARCHING for God And searching for A deeper MORE SPIRITUAL And HOLY life “This is the will Of God-YOUR HOLINESS...” 1 Thessalonians 4:3 How about you Could you have PREDICTED The course of your life And are you searching FOR GOD-for truth And for LOVE in your life Are you searching For a deeper More HOLY life With God “Ascribe to the Lord The GLORY Due his name Worship the Lord In the splendor Of his holiness” Psalm 29:2 And another thing About our JOURNEY Through life What we think Is “good” or “bad” At the time In RETROSPECT Often turns out to be Just the opposite over time I could NEVER HAVE PREDICTED That having this illness That my life BEING totally out of my control Could brine me THIS CLOSE to God And this close To my FAMILY AND FRIENDS In this life “The priest answered them 'Go in peace Your journey Has the LORD'S APPROVAL'” Judges 18:6 How about you Could you have seen SOME of the wonderful outcomes Of some of the twists and turns Of your life Could you have predicted How something That seemed so great Could end up bringing An UNEXPECTED sad circumstance LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE And only the LORD KNOWS Where we are going And how we are going To get there ONE thing I know is That wherever we are in life LIFE is about the giving And receiving OF LOVE Along the way SHARING our successes and failures In life=WITH each other And life is a CALLING Toward a deeper holiness “It is because Of him(GOD) That you are In Jesus Christ Who has BECOME for us WISDOM from God That is our RIGHTEOUSNESS- HOLINESS-and REDEMPTION” 1 Corinthians 1:30 TODAY=on this feast Of Saint Augustine Let us acknowledge LIFE'S UNPREDICTABILITY And let us REMEMBER As Augustine himself showed us It is NEVER TOO LATE For conversion It is never too late To become a Christian And DISCIPLE OF CHRIST For that is-in life's unpredictability What we are CALLED to BECOME: A disciple OF GOD And Jesus Christ In this world A calling Toward a deeper HOLINESS In our SEARCH FOR GOD-for truth- And For love In this crazy mixed-up world That we live in Robert P. Wallman 8-27-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Amy Welborn

GOD'S MERCY IN EVERY SITUATION

GOD'S MERCY= IN EVERY SITUATION Our God Is a MERCIFUL God To us In EVERY situation ALL we have To do IS to continue To TRY and do Our very best And work our way BACK to God (If we have lost sight of him in our lives) “FILL us at daybreak With your kindness That we may shout For JOY and gladness All our days” Psalm 90:14 All we have To do Is to look to The story of Saint Monica- The patron Saint and mother Of Christian families To KNOW that GOD'S MERCY abounds In every situation No matter How desperate your situation It couldn't be any worse Than Saint Monica's God's MERCY In every situation “David said to Gad 'I am in deep distress Let us fall Into the hands Of the Lord For his MERCY Is great But do NOT let me Fall into human hands” 2 Samuel 24:14 The FAITH of Saint Monica GIVES all parents CONFIDENCE in God That God Will never forsake Their children No matter how disappointed We are-in the choices The child has made For Augustine Had turned his back On his faith And became a womanizer And even fathered a child “BLESSED are the merciful For they will be shown MERCY” Matthew 5:7 Monica had already FORGIVEN Augustine-for his wayward life style Because she believed God LOVED Augustine UNCONDITIONALLY And he did Just as he CONTINUES TO LOVE ALL of us And our children Despite our wayward lifestyles “LOVE is patient-love is KIND- …..... It always PROTECTS-always trusts- Always HOPES-always perseveres- LOVE NEVER FAILS” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Just as Monica's love Was for Augustine Just as our love is For our children And just as GOD'S LOVE Is for us- HIS very own children “Yet to ALL Who did receive him To those who BELIEVED In his name He gave the RIGHT To become CHILDREN OF GOD........” John 1:12 Well eventually MONICA'S FAITH was rewarded As Augustine- TURNED backed to her And to God And he went on to Become the BEST KNOWN And most influential Christian Since Saint Paul All because of Monica's FAITH And great belief In the MERCY OF GOD GOD'S MERCY IN EVERY SITUATION Let us all CONTINUE to pray Because we all need God's MERCY at daybreak And at all times During every single day OF OUR LIVES Robert P. Wallman 8-26-15 Ps Inspired by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Deborah Meister

IN A DARK WORLD=GOD IS THE LIGHT

IN A DARK WORLD= GOD IS THE LIGHT We do the BEST That we can To avoid The dark times In life But the TRUTH is We all have Dark times In life In those dark times In a dark world GOD IS THE LIGHT “For you darkness itself Is not dark And night shines As the day” Psalm 139:12 “You Lord- KEEP my lamp burning My God TURNS My darkness into light” Psalm 18:28 The dark times In life Are unavoidable They come To us all The loss of health The death of a child-parent- Or family member-or a friend Financial difficulty THE LIGHT of God The LIGHT of Jesus SHINING on us Makes the difference Whether we can go on Or not “THE LORD is my light And my salvation Whom shall I fear? The Lord is The STRONGHOLD of my life- Of whom Shall I be afraid” Psalm 27:1 “WHEN Jesus spoke again- To the people-He said 'I am the LIGHT Of the world WHOEVER follows me Will NEVER walk In darkness But will have THE LIGHT OF LIFE” John 8:12 And that is the DIFFERENCE Between those of us Who can move forward WHEN dark times come And those who cannot ACCEPTING THE LIGHT OF GOD Some people Want to BLAME God When darkness and pain Befalls them And some of us KNOW That dark times fall On us all At one time on another And that we can STILL move forward With and in THE LIGHT OF GOD In this dark dark world God is the light Jesus is the light They show us HOW we can still LIVE in The GRACE of God “For the law Was given through Moses GRACE AND TRUTH Came through Jesus Christ” John 1:17 “The night is Nearly over The day Is almost here So let us Put aside The deeds of darkness And put on THE ARMOR OF LIGHT” Romans 13:12 God is the light Jesus is the light In a dark world What makes All the difference Is that We are CONVINCED That God In the person of Jesus KNEW the darkness Of this life And survived And because of this Because of him EVERY dark space In life Has become A SOURCE OF HOPE- REDEMPTION-and LIGHT He is the LIVING HOPE That darkness brings He is the PROMISE OF NEW LIFE IN US Robert P. Wallman 8-25-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Father James Behrens, O.C.S.O.

NOT JUST WHAT=BUT HOW

NOT JUST WHAT-BUT HOW I think our God Our Lord Is the God of Surprises Have you ever seen A mother nursing Her child What a GENTLE sight It is an INTIMATE ACT Of human love And that reminds me Of the religious art Down through the ages Of the infant Jesus At the Virgin Mary's breast What a precious picture Jesus came to us SWEET-innocent-and dependent On his nurturing mother “Rather- We were GENTLE among you As a nursing mother Cares for his children” 1 Thessalonians 2:7 And NOT only Was Jesus and his mother-GENTLE- But so is OUR GOD “The Lord said- 'Go out-and stand On the mountain In the presence of The Lord For the Lord Is about to pass by Then-a great and powerful wind Tore the mountains apart And shattered the rocks Before the Lord But the Lord Was NOT in the wind After the wind There was an earthquake But the Lord Was not in the earthquake After the earthquake Came a fire But the Lord Was NOT in the fire And after the fire Came a GENTLE WHISPER” 1 Kings 19:11-12 Of all the places God could meet Elijah It was in THE GENTLE WHISPER Which is a REMINDER TO ME IF our Lord Can be gentle with others If our Jesus Can be gentle with others And they are To be our ROLE MODELS The least that we can be To others-IS GENTLE WHEN we bring THE WORD OF God To them It's not only what we say It is HOW we say it And we should Pass on God's WORD-God's MESSAGE In GENTLE LOVE Paul tells the missionaries That this is how The Word of God Should be brought WITH GENTLE-TENDER LOVE Towards others Speak to others With gentle words It is just not What we bring To the table But HOW we bring it “A gentle answer Turns away wrath But a harsh word- Stirs up anger” Proverbs 15:1 “WHAT do you prefer? Shall I come to you With a rod of discipline? Or shall I come in LOVE With a GENTLE spirit?” 1 Corinthians 4:21 I know what I prefer How about you? Dear Lord-I pray-WE PRAY That you place your words On our tongue-and that we always BE GENTILE AND LOVING In bringing your word To others Robert P. Wallman 8-24-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Jennifer Christ

UNMET EXPECTATIONS-LOOKING TO GOD-LOOKING TO OURSELVES

UNMET EXPECTATIONS-LOOKING TO GOD- LOOKING TO OURSELVES WE live In a world Where our expectations- For others For ourselves EVEN for God Often go unmet Or unrecognized IF you have someone In your life That FULFILLS your expectations- Or beyond- In whatever area Of your life HOLD ON to them With all you got For even Jesus was LESS THAN the apostles expected “Can anything good Come from Nazareth?” John 1:46 That was Nathaniel's response To Philip telling him That he found the Messiah They were looking For a Messiah That was going to overthrow The Romans And the world With military power NOT one looking To CHANGE the world With LOVE Even his hometown Of Nazareth Let him down “BUT Jesus said to them: 'A prophet Is not without honor Except in his own town And own home' And he could not Do any miracles there Because of their Lack of faith” Matthew 13:57-58 Unmet expectations Unrecognized expectations But Jesus Turned out to be MORE than they hoped THE MAN who conquered death And no one before-and no one since Has ever done it Or will ever do it MORE than they hoped People Will let you down In this world I know that FOR A FACT And TRY as you might With all you got You will Let someone down too During the course of your life But you won't IF you BUILD Your life On the POWER OF GOD Once you get To that point You won't anymore either “An I tell you That you are Peter And on this ROCK I will BUILD my church And the gates of hell Will NOT overcome it” Matthew 16:18 “Heaven and earth Will pass away But my WORDS WILL NEVER PASS AWAY” Matthew 24:35 You will have UNMET EXPECTATIONS In this world You will Let others down In this world UNLESS YOU BUILD Your life On the WORDS OF GOD LOOK AROUND For God-For Jesus In this world I guarantee you He is here He especially CALLS to us In the LIVES of the poor The lives of the lonely- The downtrodden-and the suffering It is the HURTING Of this world That PULLS us out of ourselves So that we can HELP OTHERS With unmet expectations By building our lives More DEEPLY-on the POWER OF GOD And the POWER OF Jesus Robert P. Wallman 8-23-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE By Fr. Stephen Behrens, O.C.S.O.

WHO IS IN FIRST PLACE IN YOUR LIFE?

WHO IS IN FIRST PLACE IN YOUR LIFE? WHO is in first palace In your life? Or what? In your heart In your mind In your soul FOR ME-it is God- And his Son-Jesus He has ALWAYS been there Way back-since my transformation That began-WHEN I was 22 Although-I have had MANY people Tell me- That they think I was ALWAYS THAT WAY I guess- I would have to AGREE And right behind God Has always been MY FAMILY “But if SERVING the Lord Seems undesirable to you Then CHOOSE for yourselves This day Whom you will serve” Joshua 24:15 Make God A PRIORITY in your life MAKE HIM number 1 Joshua is challenging The Israelites To choose God TO SERVE GOD Not the pagan gods ALL around them Joshua makes his choice With a STRONG personal commitment “But as for me And my household WE WILL serve the Lord” Joshua 24:15 I MAKE the same choice That Joshua did I will LOVE GOD FIRST Till the end of time And I will attempt to love Family, friends- And ALL of mankind Until the end Of my days ( the first two commandments-as given to us in Mark 12:30-31) I make That SAME CHALLENGE To the people of today Put God first Put GOD AND FAMILY Above sex-Above money-above science And ABOVE everything else In today's world You can ONLY choose ONE first LET IT BE GOD “NO ONE Can serve two masters Either You will hate the one And LOVE the other Or you will be devoted To the one And despise the other You cannot serve BOTH God and money” The secular culture PROMISES other “gods” Can replace The empty places In our hearts But ONLY God can ONLY LOVE CAN Only God-only Jesus Can nourish our souls Only ACCEPTING Christ Only by accepting his body and blood Can we BECOME-ONE in union With Christ Too much for some of us To handle-YOU BET But Saint Peter-the ROCK Gets it right Jesus asks him: “Do you also want to leave?” And Peter responds: “MASTER-to whom shall we go You have the words OF ETERNAL LIFE” John 6:67-68 I'm with Jesus-I'm with peter And there I will REMAIN For as long As I shall LIVE How about you? WHO is in FIRST PLACE In your LIFE? I HOPE you can say Like Joshua “As for me And my household WE WILL SERVE THE LORD” Robert P. Wallman 8-20-15 INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Father Martin Pable, O.F.M. Cap.

THE MOST IMPORTANT "YES" OF YOUR LIFE

THE MOST IMPORTANT “YES” OF YOUR LIFE The most important YES Of your life OF MY LIFE Of anyone's life Is that “YES” We utter to God WHEN he calls our name 2,000 years ago God-through the ANGEL-Gabriel Appeared to Mary- OUR BLESSED MOTHER And ASKED her to be THE MOTHER of God The Mother of Jesus Despite fears- Despite doubts-despite trepidation She said: “I am the Lord's SERVANT May your WORD to me Be fulfilled” Luke 1:38 In other words-”YES” Because of Mary The history of civilization Was changed The WORD Was made flesh “The Word became flesh (IN JESUS) And made his dwelling Among us We have seen His glory The glory of the one And only Son Who came From the Father FULL of grace and truth” John 1:14 HOW will you respond How will I respond For we KNOW IF we are believers God will ask you To ANSWER the call SAY YES to God- And like Mary and Jesus Commit your life to God- I actually did say “YES” To God- When I made my PROMISE ALL those years ago “To LIVE for my family-friends And ALL people everywhere” You whoever you are READING this Are my FRIEND PLEASE BELIEVE THIS: “GREATER LOVE Has no man than this: To lay down One's life For one's friends You are my friends If you do What I command” John 15:13-14 Say yes to God And ANSWER the call If you are a parent You know What it means And I am SURE Most of you parents Would LOVINGLY lay down your life For your child OUR GOD Is a LOVING PARENT To each and every one Of us And He gave up The life of His SON For us In this world So that we could live FOREVER WITH THEM WE can make A formal and public commitment To God Like a Catholic priest Or a pastor does Or we can make A PRIVATE PROMISE to God- As I did Lying on my deathbed in In 1977 What is important Is that we let Our yes to God Mean yes And that we LIVE OUR LIFE By KEEPING Our commitment to God “Let your yes MEAN yes And your no mean no” Matthew 5:37 Make the MOST important YES Of your life And say “YES” to God Then live out the promise Day-in and day-out And you have become A GREAT WITNESS for God To others with your life Just like OUR LORD Jesus And his MOTHER Mary Robert P. Wallman 8-14-15

ATTITUDE=KEEP IT POSITIVE

ATTITUDE=KEEPING IT POSITIVE I think MAYBE the most important thing In life-IS Keeping our attitude POSITIVE After all Good and bad HAPPEN to all WHY does one person TRHIVE In the face Of difficulty While The same set of circumstances Sink another I dare to day My friends- IT IS ATTITUDE KEEP IT POSITIVE “You were taught With regard to your former way Of life To put off Your old self Which is being corrupted By its deceitful desires To be made new In the ATTITUDE Of your MINDS And to put on Your NEW SELF CREATED to be like God In true righteousness And holiness” Ephesians 4:22-24 That's right You are CREATED NEW To be MORE like God And two things I can tell you About God-ARE: GOD ALWAYS loves you No matter what situation You find yourself in And God always WANTS good things for you Good things To HAPPEN in your life SO KEEP IT POSITIVE God is nothing If he is not positive If he is not perfect In every way PARTICULARLY IN ATTITUDE “TASTE and see That the Lord IS GOOD BLESSED is the one Who takes refuge in him” Psalm 34 :8 “A GOOD MAN Brings good things Out of the good STORED UP In his heart …..... For the mouth speaks What the HEART IS FULL OF” Luke 6:45 So keep THE ATTITUDE POSITIVE And do it By thinking GOOD THOUGHTS And by surrounding yourself WITH GOOD PEOPLE People that will ENCOURAGE YOU And try to LIFT you up-NOT Tear you down YOUR THOUGHTS Are like your friends And they both NEED to be positive For you-and your life TO STAY POSITIVE THOUGHTS are The biggest influence In your life So don't hang out with Negativity-with discouragement-and dissatisfaction IF you are hanging out With them-you are hanging out WITH THE WRONG CROWD So keep the attitude positive And keep on hanging out WITH POSITIVE PEOPLE And hang out with GOD Who FOREVER LOVES YOU And you will FIND God along way To having A positive life ATTITUDE=KEEP IT POSITIVE Robert P. Wallman 8-12-15 Ps DEDICATED to Norman Vincent Peale-a minister-a writer-and ONE of the great POSITIVE THINKERS of our time

RECONCILIATION WITH GOD AND OTHERS

RECONCILIATION WITH GOD AND OTHERS People OFTEN hurt you In life That is a fact The KEY is That WHEN someone hurts us HOW are we Going to react Jesus had it RIGHT When he said: “IF your brother Sins against you Go and tell him his fault Between you And him alone” The problem is: You and I UNFORTUNATELY Sometimes don't always REACT this way We react In the moment WITH INDIGNATION AND PRIDE It happens SO QUICKLY That you and I Don't even consider Whether we have been COMPLICIT In the affair or not CHRIST RECONCILED The world To himself Without barely a peep “For if WHILE we were GOD'S enemies We were reconciled to him Through the death of his SON How much more having been reconciled Shall we be SAVED Through his LIFE” Romans 5:10 IF CHRIST Could do it For ALL of us The least we can do Is TRY to be RECONCILED with our FAMILIES And friends And our brothers and sisters In Christ Do you KNOW What Reconciliation means? It means a REUNITING A bringing together=fence-mending That is something We should ALL BE REUNITED with God; and reunited With one another As BROTHERS AND SISTERS in Christ We weren't meant to be Alienated from one another “All this Is from God Who RECONCILED us To himself Through Christ And gave us THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION” 2 Corinthians 5:18 OUR CHRIST Is the KING OF RECONCILIATION In this world He is also THE KING OF PEACE- Our King of Peace Let us all remember PEACE is NOT Winning an argument It's not inducing shame On someone Or ganging up On someone Peace is HUMILITY-GENTLENESS And an attitude of MERCY To those who have Lost their way in life We should all give And receive human dignity Toward one another Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you MY PEACE I give to you I do not GIVE to you As the world gives DO NOT Let your hearts be troubled And do not be afraid” John 14:27 Let us all Live in PEACE And dear Lord HELP US To RECONCILE to you And to each other OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS In Christ Robert P. Wallman 8-10-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Elizabeth Duffy

LEARNING TO LOVE OUR CHILDREN

LEARNING TO LOVE OUR CHILDREN One thing That I KNOW We adults NEED TO LEARN To do better In this world is: To learn TO LOVE OUR CHILDREN After all We USED to be children And maybe IF we Were taught a little better As children Maybe there would be MORE LOVE in the world And NOT as much Hatred and violence Jesus said it BEST, “See that You do not despise One of these LITTLE ONES For I say to you That their ANGELS in heaven ALWAYS look upon The face Of my heavenly FATHER” Matthew 18:10 Yet to put out A couple of statistics: “OVER the past 10 years 20,000 American children Are BELIEVED to have been killed In their own homes By FAMILY MEMBERS” Michael Petit (PRESIDENT of ECM=EVERY CHILD MATTERS”) “1,825 children are abused Or neglected each day” 2,014 CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND-annual statement of America's Report AND yet-we are called To be EXAMPLES Of LOVE-FORGIVENESS-and KINDNESS For our children In today's world Maybe the REASON Children aren't growing up To be model adults Is that we adults Aren't getting it right- OURSELVES We NEED to LEARN to LOVE OUR CHILDREN In a 1970 song”TEACH YOUR CHILDREN” by: Crosby-Stills-Nash and Young Graham Nash wrote: “YOU Who are on the road MUST have a code That we CAN LIVE BY” And I can THINK of no better code Than the one That Jesus himself LIVED BY And tried to TEACH US “LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD With ALL your heart And with all your soul And all your mind This is the first And greatest commandment And the second is LIKE it LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR As yourself ALL the law And the prophets Hang on these two commandments” Matthew 22:37-40 And ALWAYS FORGIVE And always be KIND For Jesus was nothing IF he wasn't at least These to things IMAGINE what a world It would be For our children IF we adults LIVED by the ABOVE qualities TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL LEARN TO LOVE YOUR CHILDREN I have no children Of my own But I do Have two godchildren-and four nieces (ONE whose very birthday is today=8-11-15) And I also have SPONSORED A young man from Ecuador For the last ten years And I do Or at least TRY TO LOVE ALL CHILDREN LOVE ALL PEOPLE “CHILDREN Are a heritage From the Lord Offspring a reward From him” Psalm 127:3 Dear LORD=WE pray HELP US To learn to BELIEVE that And really and truly be AN EXAMPLE OF LOVE For our children And live by LEARNING TO LOVE ALL OF OUR CHILDREN Robert P. Wallman 8-10-15

LOVING AND SHARING-REAPING THE HARVEST

LOVING AND SHARING- REAPING THE HARVEST The ONE thing That I KNOW about love Is that the more we give THE more we HAVE To give At least That is the way It has worked for me In this world And SHARING Is one of the first things That we are taught In this world As children I just wonder If the ONES Who don't learn to love And share Are the one Who grow up To be the psychopaths And sociopaths Of this world “WHOEVER sows sparingly Will also reap sparingly And whoever sows bountifully Will also reap bountifully” 2 Corinthians 9:6 This verse is true In EVERY area of our lives It speaks to us To our GENEROSITY Of time-money-and prayer To-and for others “In the midst Of a very severe trial Their overflowing JOY And their extreme poverty Welled up in rich GENEROSITY” 2 Corinthians 8:2 We can ALWAYS Be GENEROUS In some area Of our life If we Have no money We can be generous In other areas And always at least In SHARING our love And PRAYING for others “You will be enriched In every way So that you Can be GENEROUS And through us Your generosity will result In thanksgiving to GOD” 2 Corinthians 9:11 God will PROVIDE for you So that you can SHARE Your LOVE with others In time In money And in PRAYER At least he has DONE so for me But we NEED To trust God LOVE AND SHARE Reap the harvest of love In a way The above verse (“SOWING sparingly-or sowing bountifully”) Speaks to us about FORGIVENESS We NEED to forgive EASILY AND OFTEN (70 x 7) NOT always so easy to do At least for me God is MERCIFUL and KIND To us So he CALLS us to be MERCIFUL AND KIND to others But MOST of all THIS verse speaks to us ABOUT LOVE The well of our love NEVER runs dry GIVING ourselves away IN LOVE ALLOWS us To live authentically and joyfully For if we Are truly living by LOVING AND SHARING It allows us to REAP IN THE HARVEST Robert P. Wallman 8-9-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Kristin Armstrong

FOOD FOR THOUGHT?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT? We need food To survive-REAL physical food On a normal day Most people eat Three meals a day But for me I have to tell you Sometimes I eat 4 or five times A day MAYBE that says More about me Than I should reveal “Get up and eat Else the journey Will be too long For you!” 1 KINGS 19:7 We need SPIRITUAL food For the journey too Or else the journey Will be too long And too painful And arduous After I get My coffee and juice And breakfast I sit down EVERY MORNING And PRAY for at least An hour INCLUDING a CATHOLIC ROSARY Which is a great contemplative prayer “'HE put a new song In my mouth A hymn of praise To our God'” Psalm 40:3 “Jesus answered, 'Man shall NOT live On bread alone But on every word That comes From the mouth of God'” Matthew 4:4 Food for thought For SPIRITUAL THOUGHT There are A lot of people In this world Who daily Do not have Enough food to eat We should TRY to feed them WHERE AND WHEN we can But we should Try and feed them SPIRITUALLY TOO Jesus said to Peter, “FEED my lambs” John 21:15 And, “FEED MY SHEEP” John 21:17 And we KNOW That Jesus did feed the hungry He fed the 5,000 And the 4,000 And we are too To FOLLOW in his footsteps Feed the hungry physically And feed the hungry SPIRITUALLY But we must ALWAYS REMEMBER Just as the body Needs nourishment SO DOES OUR SPIRIT But God KNOWS this And is COMPELLED To feed us SPIRITUALLY too We meet Jesus In the WORD We meet him in PRAYER We meet him in SCRIPTURE And we meet him IN THE EUCHARIST “'Take and eat THIS is my body' Then he took a cup 'Drink form it ALL of you'” Matthew 26:26-27 He is THE LIVING BREAD That nourishes us now And for all eternity FOOD FOR THOUGHT? Robert P. Wallman 8-8-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti

THE ROCK OF OUR LIVES!

THE ROCK OF OUR LIVES WHO or what Is the ROCK Of your life The anchor-the staple- the center that BINDS everything together That entity From which ALL things flow That entity That makes all other things GO For me I think It has always been GOD And on a conscious level I KNOW it has been God Since I was 22 And then, of course, FAMILY, friends, and churches I could NOT Have survived this long Without any of the above And some might say-NOW- NOT only surviving But thriving BECAUSE OF GOD The ROCK of my life (and because of family, friends, and church) “I love you-O Lord- My strength O Lord My rock My fortress My deliverer” Psalm 18:2-3 We live In unstable times There are many things Demanding our time and attention And times Seem to be becoming A little more UNCERTAIN Every day This is WHY We need our ROCK- OUR GOD A little more every day “MAY these words Of my mouth And this meditation Of my heart Be PLEASING In your sight Lord-MY ROCK- And my REDEEMER” Psalm 19:14 OUR Lord OUR God THE ROCK of our lives Sometimes our paths Are rocky and are painful That even making it Through another day Seems NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE But we can do it WHEN God Is the ROCK Of our lives “PROCLAIMING The Lord is upright He is MY ROCK And there is no wickedness In him” Psalm 92:15 God wants to be THE ONE We lean on The one Who KEEPS us Standing strong He wants to be THE ROCK Of our lives “For they drank From the spiritual rock That accompanied them And that ROCK WAS CHRIST” 1 Corinthians 10:4 GOD ENCOURAGES us To develop A relationship with him And to make him The FOUNDATION of our lives We become more grounded And stable Let us ALL Look to make God THE ROCK OF OUR LIVES Robert P. Wallman 8-7-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Sister Julia Walsh, F.S.P.A.

A DEEPER-CLOSER WALK WITH GOD

A DEEPER-CLOSER WALK WITH GOD WHEN I was A little bit younger And a whole lot stronger I used to walk Around Riverview Park A nice park in Pittsburgh, Pa. Two times around Was about 4.4 miles And it would usually take me About 1 hour and 8 minutes But sometimes I would slow down Take a little bit longer And take in the BEAUTY And see the greenery A couple of times I even saw some deer “ALL THIS You were allowed To see That you might know The Lord is God And there is no other” Deuteronomy 4:35 SLOW yourself down And take a DEEPER- CLOSER walk with God We can walk Through life The same way A life Like an exercise WHERE life is a meaningless trudge Or slow ourselves down And take in the greenery And the deer And LIFT our eyes To God And see the world And ALL creation THROUGH NEW EYES Taking a DEEPER-CLOSER- WALK WITH GOD “BLESSED are they Who have learned To Acclaim you Who WALK in the light Of your presence-Lord” Psalm 89:15 “I AM The LIGHT of the world WHOEVER follows me Will never walk in darkness But will have THE LIGHT OF LIFE” John 8:12 SLOW yourself down Walk a little DEEPER Slow yourself down Walk a little closer With God-and with Jesus By slowing ourselves down By choosing the latter It allows us a glimpse Of the DIVINE Here on earth A glimpse of nature And the greenery And the deer A glimpse Of the MASTER'S handiwork And a sense of God's PRESENCE In our everyday life TIME to get away From the hustle and bustle Of the world It's time to take A DEEPER-CLOSER WALK WITH GOD “THE SPIRIT Searches all things Even the DEEP things Of God” 1 Corinthians 2:10 Dear Lord-WE PRAY As we lift Our eyes to you That you HELP us take A DEEPER-CLOSER WALK WITH YOU-OUR LORD In Jesus' name Robert P. Wallman 8-6-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Steve Givens

MORE THAN THEY SEEM

MORE THAN THEY SEEM On the highway Of life We ALL get lost From time to time We get our priorities Out of whack And we LOSE our path But OUR GOD-OUR Jesus NEVER get lost He is the compass He is the GPS We can all look to-TO FIND our way back home HE is-THEY ARE MORE THAN THEY SEEM “His dominion Is an everlasting dominion They shall NOT be taken away His kingship Shall not be destroyed” Daniel 7:14 Many things CHANGE Over the course Of time Sometimes-old friendships change The old neighborhood changes It doesn't look the same As when we grew up there But GOD never changes He is slow He is steady He is the rock AND HE IS LOVE His love never changes Or wanes “I the Lord DO NOT CHANGE” Malachi 3:6 “But form everlasting To EVERLASTING The Lord's LOVE is With those who fear him” Psalm 103:17 And I might add With those who love him Like you and me He is-JESUS IS EVERLASTING LOVE He is MORE THAN HE SEEMS He is-Jesus is NOT just the carpenter's son He is-the ALPHA- And the OMEGA- He is LOVE PERSONIFIED And if we judge By appearance OUR LIVES Are just a series Of random events-of accidents- And losses But our lives too Are made to be MORE THAN THEY SEEM Just because OUR GOD LOVES US-and he puts us ON RIGHT PATHS “He guides me Along the right paths” Psalm 23:3 “And he will MAKE your paths STRAIGHT” Proverbs 3:6 TODAY is the feast of the TRANSFIGURATION The appearance Of Elijah and Moses with Jesus To Peter-James-and John Let us REMEMBER That life Isn't what it seems It is MORE Because GOD LOVES US Jesus is OUR LAMP SHINING in the dark places Of our life Jesus was MORE THAN HE SEEMED He was the KING Shining over ALL the earth And since GOD IS- Jesus is-who they are FAITH tells us That our lives are Meaningful too Our lives too are MORE THAN THEY SEEM For our God IS NEVER LOST Robert P. Wallman 8-5-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Eve Tushnet

REMAINING PATIENT WITH THE PLANS OF GOD

REMAINING PATIENT WITH THE PLANS OF GOD God has a PLAN For ALL of us That much I know I have seen it And felt it IN my own life It can be A wild ride While we are waiting To see God's plans For our own life “BUT they soon Forgot his works; They waited NOT for his counsel” Psalm 106:13 It is HUMBLING To feel weak In the presence Of someone else's Strength and power This psalm Is spoken of the Israelites In the dessert UNHAPPY that they feel So weak Before the Canaanites' Strength and power It is easy To sympathize With their unhappiness and impatience No one likes To feel small and weak And isn't that The way for us When we begin To feel IMPATIENT with God When our plans For our own life Isn't happening fast enough “A person's wisdom YIELDS PATIENCE” Proverbs 19:11 I used to tell My dad God has a plan For all of us Even when he was diagnosed With Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma My dad would just wryly smile And say: “I WISH He would come up With a new plan” He was sick For two years BEFORE he passed on And he would often say: “I'm offering up My suffering For the poor souls In purgatory” I wish we all COULD remain that patient I think it would be A BETTER WORLD But like The Israelities We grumble And become IMPATIENT with God “Being strengthened With all power According to his glorious might So that you may have GREAT endurance and PATIENCE” Colossians 1:11 What a difference HAVING PATIENCE In our lives make I think having patience Having FAITH in God's PLAN Makes us more actively engaged In life Like my dad It HELPS us become MORE AWARE of the love Within the suffering And more committed To the POWER OF LOVE in life And actually living it Dear Lord-WE PRAY We have not forgotten ALL you have done for us In life Please HELP US To REMAIN PATIENT For the plans you have for us IN LIFE AND FULFILLING THEM Robert P. Wallman 8-4-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Mary Marrocco

STORMS ARE A PART OD LIFE

STORMS ARE A PART OF LIFE Things go wrong In life That much IS for sure And you have To have MORE Than just a little FAITH To get you through the storms Of life FAITH is defined As a “STONG belief Or TRUST in something;' 'BELIEF in the existing of God'” In the 14th chapter Of Saint Matthew's GOSPEL We read about Jesus walking on the water And Peter-THE ROCK-trying to FOLLOW in his Master's footsteps “Peter said to him In reply: 'Lord-if it is you Command me To come to you On the water'” Matthew 14:28 Peter starts off With FIRM RESOLVE Only to eventually sink Ye of little faith Aren't we A lot like Peter Starting out STRONG In our faith in the Lord ONLY to have our resolve weaken By the storms of life And weaken just like Peter Jesus said, “You of little faith WHY are you so afraid?” Matthew 8:26 I find it interesting That Peter asks NOT that the storm be quieted BUT for the ability To walk on water HOW about you Do you ask For the problems of your life To go away Or for the ability To NAVIGATE Through the storms Whatever the case It takes a lot of FAITH To walk on the water Or wade through the water UNTIL we make it THROUGH the storms of life Like Peter found out It takes A DEEPER amount of faith “'HAVE FAITH in God,' Jesus answered” Mark 11:22 Then Jesus said, “RISE and GO- YOUR FAITH has made you well” Luke 17:19 And I KNOW It was God-it was Jesus Who SAVED my own life NUMEROUS TIMES WHEN I was in my 20's I know I couldn't save myself And admittedly The medical community Couldn't save me STORMS ARE A REAL part of life And like Peter I realize It takes something DEEPER To SUSTAIN our lives It takes GOD It takes Jesus Your life-my life Will NEVER be without storms And Peter had it right God and Jesus Can't always take away the storms But if have Just a little faith THE FAITH of a mustard seed He gives us the ability To walk through them Dear Lord- WE put our FAITH in you PLEASE hold our hand As we walk Though life's storms Robert P. Wallman 8-3-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Steve Givens

OUR GOD WHO IS ALWAYS LISTENING

OUR GOD WHO IS ALWAYS LISTENING IF it is true That PRAYER Is the OPENING of our hearts- Our minds-and souls to God Then it is Also true That OUR GOD Is always LISTENING To everything We have to say He listens to us WHEN we are happy And when we are singing His praises But he also listens When we are sad and disappointed And when we are angry And even when We are cranky “I cannot carry ALL this people By myself For they are Too heavy For me If this is the way You will deal with me Then please do me this favor Of killing me at once So that I need no longer Face this distress” Numbers 11:14-15 Yes that is What the Jewish people are In Numbers chapter 11=CRANKY And Moses Is cranky because EVERY time something goes wrong The people come to him- COMPLAINING How about you? Do you ever get cranky? Do you ever COMPLAIN TO GOD? “Listen to my words-Lord Consider my lament HEAR my cry My KING and my God” Psalm 5:2 CRANKY? To say the least HOW do you pray To the Lord? WHEN you get irritated With the world WHEN you get irritated With certain people I assure you I get cranky How about you Do you get a little bit Out of sorts A little bit ANGRY With God It HELPS to know That God is always listening It helps to know That God ALWAYS Wants to know HOW WE FEEL It HELPS to know That SCRIPTURE SHOWS That we can still Talk to God Even when We become fed up “We are from God And whoever knows God LISTENS to us But whoever Is NOT from God Does not listen to us This is how We RECOGNIZE THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH And the spirit of falsehood” 1 John 4:6 God is OUR FATHER And what father or mother Does not care What his child Has to say GOD SAYS to us: “I know it's terribly hard I will feed you-WITH LOVE” Dear Lord-WE PRAY- THANK YOU Lord For always Being AVAILABLE to us And always having A LISTENING EAR Robert P. Wallman 8-3-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Patricia Livingston

KEEPING THE PASSION FOR GOD

KEEPING THE PASSION FOR GOD We should feel lucky WHEN we feel A PASSION For anything in life When I first started With my passion for God It was easy to FIND And easy to keep on going But as years come And years go It is NOT always So easy to keep The passion going EVEN PASSION FOR GOD We have stronger And we have weaker periods WHEN we have to fight For every inch of passion “........they themselves Got into the boats And came into Capernaum Looking for Jesus” John 6:24 I MARVEL At the people's effort To find Jesus After he moved on The PASSION To FIND The ONE who inspired And filled themselves With HOPE I wonder If they were able To KEEP their passion For God Long after Jesus moved on HOW about you Are you able to keep Your passion for God “For the GRACE of God Has appeared That offers SALVATION To the people It teaches us to say “NO” to ungodliness And worldly passions And to live self-controlled Upright and godly lives In the present age While we wait For the BLESSED HOPE The APPEARING of the GLORY Of our GREAT GOD and Savior- Jesus Christ” Titus:2:11-13 And teaches us to say “YES” to KEEPING THE PASSION FOR GOD And yes To whatever the work We have to do To keep this passion I KNOW In my own case It takes an HOUR OF PASSION Of prayer every morning And a ROSARY And some type Of writing almost every day I know sometimes I don't want to pray For irritating people I know There are some days WHERE I don't feel like praying At all But that is EXACTLY What we must do And exactly WHEN WE must do it We must get back INTO THE BOAT And go looking for Jesus In order to KEEP THE PASSION FOR GOD Robert P. Wallman 8-1-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Sister Joyce Rupp, O.S.M.

A SHARED MISSION

A SHARED MISSION Jesus and his cousin-John Came to earth On A SHARED MISSION FAMILY TIES- Ties that bind The message That makes ALL the difference “His head Was brought on a platter And given to the girl Who took it To her mother His disciples Came and took away The corpse And buried him And they went And told Jesus” Matthew 14:11-12 IMAGINE how Jesus Must have felt WHEN HEARING of his cousin John's death And betrayal And his head Being served on a silver platter I have cousins That I am very close to In my life I can ONLY IMAGINE How Jesus must have felt I can tell you That WHEN I learned Of my cousin Jimmy's death In his 50's And my cousin Mary Ann's death In her 30's I FELT AWFUL Jesus and John SHARED A MISSION With their lives John the messenger PREPARING THE WAY Jesus the ACTUAL MESSAGE The walking and talking OF GOD'S LOVE “The spirit himself TESTIFIES with our spirit That we ARE GOD'S CHILDREN And if we Are children Then we are heirs Heirs of God And co-heirs with Christ IF indeed we share In his sufferings In order That we may also SHARE In his GLORY” Romans 8:16-17 So Jesus SHARED in John's sufferings Just as John shared In JESUS' FUTURE GLORY And just As I shared In the lost lives Of my cousins- I get to share In the FUTURE GLORY Of our FAMILY We are ALL On a SHARED MISSION IN THIS LIFE To continue to bring GOD'S LOVE And Jesus' life To this earth No amount of setbacks Will thwart us And mo matter How many people have to die GOD'S GLORY WILL TRIUMPH in the end We are on A SHARED MISSION To feel That LEAP OF JOY WHEN God's love When Jesus' love SPREADS To every single person On this earth That is OUR SHARED MISSION Robert P. Wallman July 31st, 2015 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Patricia Livingston