SLAYING THE GIANTS IN YOUR LIFE

We ALL have giants

In our life

GIANTS or crosses if your prefer

GIANTS standing in the way

Of our worship

Crosses-something

Standing in between

Our love of God and our love of others

Standing in the way

Of our desire

To live a happy successful life

In the 17^th chapter of 1 Samuel

The author literally

Tells us the story

Of a young man-a boy perhaps

Stepping forward

And slaying the GIANT for Israel

A Philistine giant named Goliath

Calls out to the Israelites,

“Why do you come out

And line up for battle

Am I not a Philistine

And are you not

Servants of Saul

Choose a man

And have him come down to me

If he is able

To fight

And kill me

We will become your subjects

But if I overcome him and kill him

You will become our subjects and serve us”                                               1 Samuel 17:8-9

My friends

The giants of our life

Are calling us out

The giant of a chronic illness

The giant of financial problems

The giant of family relationships

Maybe even the giant

Of an addiction or two

David-the youngest of eight sons

Steps forward for the Israelites

And wins the fight

With a slingshot of all things

No one believed in the boy David

Least of all King Saul

But David said,

“The Lord who delivered me

From the paw of the lion

And the paw of the bear

Will deliver me

From the hand of this Philistine”                                                                  1 Samuel 17:37

And the Lord did

Deliver David

And he will deliver us

If we unite our lives with his

David went on

To become Israel’s greatest king

And went on

To write many of the psalms

A cross-our crosses

Are the GIANTS of our life

And by UNITING our lives with Christ

That is the pathway to our FREEDOM

“If anyone

Would come after me

He must deny himself

And take up his cross daily

And follow me”                                                                              Luke 9:23

Unite your life with Christ

Unite the problems of your life with Jesus

And your burdens will become LIGHTER

“For whoever wants to save his life

Will lose it

And whoever loses his life for me

Will save it”                                                                                 Luke 9:24

My friends

The way down

Is the way home

If the giants of your life

Are weighing you down

Let God and Christ

Help you back up

And like David and the Israelites

We will live to RISE AGAIN

Robert P. Wallman

7-18-12

AUGUST 5^th, 2012

THE SUNDAY MORNING SERENITY

Awakening in the morning and feeling so much at peace

I never felt so good

I never felt so complete

It’s the Sunday morning serenity that makes me feel this way

It’s the Sunday morning serenity that always makes my day

For on Sunday morning there’s no where to go

There’s no one to see

There’s nothing else that matters

But you and but me

It seems I’m looking for a reason to pull me through to the next day

I’ve searched all the seasons

And am looking in all that I do

But the world doesn’t often ring the bells of truth

And I just have to find it

And put it in my life to stay

Looking out my window and what do I see

People all dressed up and on their way to worship

But that’s not the way it is for you and for me

For it’s these Sunday mornings when we find ourselves alone

And much of our inner feelings are revealed

And we find the courage to let it show

These moments of idleness and peace

They surely do not come often

And we need them to soften

The blows we feel throughout the week

So it’s the Sunday morning serenity

I look to throughout the week

It’s the Sunday morning serenity that makes me feel so good

And makes me feel complete

It’s the Sunday morning serenity that leaves me in my peace

Thank God for the Sunday morning serenity

It’s everything I live for

It’s everything I need

I just don’t think that I could live without

THE SUNDAY MORNING SERENITY

Robert P. Wallman

3-22-1981

Ps        written many years ago when I was SO SICK

            that I could barely make it out of bed

            much less go to church

“God called the light “day”-and the darkness he called “night”

And there was evening-and there was MORNING-the first day”                 Genesis 1:5

“In the MORNING-O Lord-you hear my voice

In the MORNING-I lay my requests before you

And wait in expectation”                                                                     Proverbs 5:3

“And we have the word of the prophets

Made more certain

And you will do well to pay attention to it

As to a light shining in a dark place

Until the day dawns and the MORNING star

Rises in your hearts”                                                                      2 Peter 1:19

    

A FEW MEN---The Story of Saint John Vianney

Many Catholic priests

Take heavy criticism

In today’s world

Some deservedly so

Many not

John Vianney

Was the son of a farmer

He spent his early life

As a shepherd boy

On his father’s farm

With little formal schooling

At the age of 20

He began his studies

For the priesthood

But his studies

Were interrupted

By a call

To military service

During the French Revolution

Let us always remember

That many of the Catholic priests today

Have dedicated

Their whole life

To a life of service

Dedicated to serving God and others

John Vianney

Was such a man

Dedicated to loving and serving God

And loving and serving others

John was a man

With great humility

He had

Much difficulty with his studies

Particularly Latin

But John

Like many of us

Was a man with a dream

And persisted in following his dream

John had such insight

In to the personal difficulties

Of others

It was said

He had the supernatural gift

Of reading men and women’s hearts

Three times

John left to become a monk

But 3 times he returned

John was

A great preacher and counselor

He excelled

Both inside and outside the confessional

And so today

As Catholic priests

Continue to come under fire

Please remember

That many of these men

Are men of great humility

Men living a simple life

Of dedication

To God and you

Men like Saint John Vianney

The patron Saint

Of parish priests

A man so highly thought of

By his government

That knighthood  and the legion of honor

Were attempted to be given to him

But he refused

In Jesus’ name

We pray

That we never forget

True men of honor

Men like Saint JohnVianney

And their contribution

Towards building the Kingdom of God

Robert P. Wallman

7-6-11

Ps                   Today---August 4^th--- is Saint John Vianney’s feast day

                       We honor him today---as we honor ALL men and women of virtue

                        Who have dedicated their lives to the building up of the Kingdom of God

AUGUST 4^th, 2012

THIS IS ME

Life is growing

Life isn’t always knowing

Life is learning

From your previous mistakes

Life is yearning

To be something better

Life is thriving

To reach that unreachable goal

Life is being a fool

And swallowing our pride

But most of all life is living

Each day as it comes

And making the decisions we see fit

Based on our collective experiences

Of our successes and failure

And applying our success to tomorrow

And screening our failures from yesterday

And saying here I am world

You can take me or leave me

I’m getting by the best that I can

THIS IS ME

Robert P. Wallman

September 1980

Ps        “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it GROW” 

             1Corinthians 3:6

            “For God KNOWS that when you eat it of your eyes

             Will be opened

             And you will be like God-KNOWING good from evil”      Genesis 3:5

            “Whoever believes in the Son has ETERNAL LIFE

              But whoever rejects the Son will NOT see life

              For God’s wrath remains on him”                                     John 3:36

AUGUST 6^th, 2012

TAKING THINGS FOR GRANTED

Taking things for granted

Can sometimes leave you stranded

In the corners of your own mind

When things are coming too easily

You lack the ambition to go out and find

The things in life that are meaningful

The things that you should control

You spend too much time worrying

About the things that are insignificant

Namely, what others do and think

When you could be on the brink

Of discovering your own goals

When you’re taking things for granted

And comparing yourself to what the average person does

You are bound to be supplanted

Because you are concentrating on the norm

You’re ignoring your own form

You’re wasting your talent

Your life couldn’t possibly be in balance

You’re just another face in the crowd

But when things are going bad

You begin working for anything that you can get

Until you reach a goal that can’t be met

But you know, when you are concentrating

That could never happen

Somehow, when things are looking bleak

That’s when you reach a peak

If you don’t set lofty goals

And just be average-you know you are a fool

After what you’ve come through

You know-something no one else could do

Don’t be just another face in the crowd

You have to be proud

You know you are something special

You know you got that magic

If you don’t use it-it would be so tragic

Come on-stand tall

Don’t be afraid to fall

Just give it your all

Be the one above the crowd

But be humble in the crowd

Just don’t go taking things for granted

And you won’t be supplanted

And even when things are going well

Keep on forging ahead

The past is the past-so just don’t dwell

Well, enough for now has been said

It is time to go to bed

Tomorrow is another day

I’m not taking it for granted

Robert P. Wallman

9-26-1980

Ps        “For it has been GRANTED to you on behalf of Christ

             Not only to believe on him

             But also to suffer for him

             Since you are going through the same struggle

             You saw I had, and now hear, that I still have”                   Philippians 1:29

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME

“SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME”
Is one of my favorite movies

It is a 1987 film

Where a cop

Acting as a bodyguard

For a murder witness

Falls in love

With the woman

He is protecting

To make matters worse

The cop has a wife and a child

Wouldn’t that be great

If we had someone watching over us

Someone protecting us

Every minute of every day

But we do

OUR GOD AND OUR FATHER

So as we journey through life

When we run into trouble

Our God and Father protects us

“You are my hiding place

You will protect me from trouble

And surround me

With songs of deliverance”                                                                 Psalm 32:7

Isn’t that GREAT

We travel through life daily

And we have someone watching over us

Someone ready

To DELIVER US from our troubles

All we have to do is ask

And turn out hearts back to him

“Hear the word of the Lord

Oh nations

Proclaim it in distant coastlands

He who scattered Israel

Will gather them

And WATCH OVER his flock

Like a shepherd”                                                                      Jeremiah 31:10

“For the Lord WATCHES OVER

The way of the righteous

But the wicked will perish”                                                    Psalm 1:6

So we know

THE LORD WATCHES OVER US

And we know

That he not only watches over us

But he will come get us

When we become lost

On the highway of life

And he will DELIVER us

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep

And loses one of them

Does he not leave the ninety-nine

In the open country

And go after the lost sheep

Until he finds it”                                                                         Luke 15:4

And then he DELIVERS US safely home

“The righteous cry out

And the Lord hears them

He DEIVERS them

From all their troubles”                                                               Psalm 34:17

In the movie-the cop ( Tom Berenger )

Protects the beautiful woman ( Mimi Rogers )

And SAVES the day

When his own wife ( Lorraine Bracca )

And child are captured and held hostage

In the movie 

Of our OWN life

Our own God

WATCHES over us, PROTECTSus

And in time of trouble

Saves us and DELIVERS us home

Our God-WHO IS LOVE

“Always protects-always trusts

-Always hopes-Always perseveres”                                              1 Corinthians 13:7-8

OUR GOD NEVER FAILS

Robert P. Wallman

7-25-12

AUGUST 2^nd, 2012

IT ALL BEGAN WITH YOU

29 years ago

As I lie dying

Someone gave up their life for me

And ever since

I have been trying

To live up to that hope

He had in me

29 years ago

Someone gave me another chance

Someone took a stance

And it gave me a chance

To try and find myself

And reach for that

Impossible goal

29 years ago

Someone helped me begin anew

And it all began with you

Robert P. Wallman

4-12-06

Ps        Dedicated to God and my grandfather Carl Wallman

“In the BEGINNING you laid the foundations

Of the earth

And the heavens

Are the work of your hands”                                             Psalm 102:25

“The fear of the Lord

Is the BEGINNING of knowledge

But fools despise wisdom and discipline”                        Proverbs 1:7

“In the BEGINNING was the Word

And the Word was with God

He was with God

In the BEGINNING”                                                           John 1:1