Podcast appearances and mentions of faith group

Organized religion isn't always the most welcoming space for 2SLGBTQ+ people. We heard about one event this week that celebrates the intersection between the community and spirituality.

The Real Talk Weekly team is bringing you a highly educational episode this week! Learn how to escape from prison, communication with Gen Z, and trademarking. New reports also suggest Evangelicals are the most highly favored faith group… or are they? Listen now! *Video podcast now available on YouTube AND Spotify! Please leave us a review! We love to hear what y'all think! It helps us greatly when you review our podcast! Don't forget to follow us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram

Hosts: Fr. Greg Sakowicz and Mark Teresi. Mustard Seeds is a small faith community at Holy Name Cathedral. Joining us for the last segment of today's program to discuss the value of small Catholic Christian Faith communities are three members of Mustard Seeds, LouAnn Burkhardt, Sue Kovacs, and Christine Lawless.

Is wisdom obtained simply by attending church? Is wisdom a one-time "purchase?" In this series we discover what the Word of God tell us about seeking, obtaining, and maintaining life-long wisdom.   Wise Living Series Travis Miller  January 20, 2019   Come Visit Us!! Or join us online at LivingFaithMinistries.church     Episode Transcript English   Travis Miller: [00:00:15] I must speak for a little while this afternoon, I'm going to share some stories, I'm going to look at some verses of scripture, they'll be put up on the screen and my whole intention, my entire goal and direction in speaking this short while this afternoon is to inspire each and every one in the sound of my voice to have a conversation with God. In conclusion prayer in her own way, in her own fashion, in her own words, is to have a conversation with God, that is exactly what I am attempting to do. There you go. Cat's out of the bag. That's what I am trying to do in sharing this talk. This speech, this sermon, whatever you want to call it, so that we would respond to God. [00:01:07][51.9] Travis Miller: [00:01:09] As you might expect, is pastor of this congregation, I am in the people business. I've been in ministry now for more than 30 years. I've been around church and around congregations for more than 50 years and over all those years and all those experiences. I've observed some things, quite frankly, that trouble me. I've seen some things and reflected on some things that, to me, seem out of place with following Jesus Christ. [00:01:46][36.2] Travis Miller: [00:01:48] Here's the deal, I've wondered how in the world good people end up in bad situations. I, over the years, in the course of time in various congregations, I've traveled and ministered in 40 different states and God knows how many different churches as part of our ministry and I've seen this and that and the other, and you know what I come across? What about this young lady who's kind and compassionate and friendly, but she's often in a bad relationship? What about that? What about the faithful family that even serves in some ministry in the church, but they seem to regularly be in financial trouble? What about that? What about the friendly, interesting couple whose children, unfortunately, are giving them regular grief? Or what about the couple who found Jesus long ago? They seemed to really love Jesus, but they fight and argue like complete enemies. I'm bothered by the good young man who seemed to not be able to keep anything related to a decent job. I am concerned about a sincere person who is in lack of personal control that brings ongoing health issues. Am I the only one who is ever wondered about such things? [00:03:13][85.5] [00:03:20] Three or four years ago, I learned of the ridiculous tragedy of a long time friend. Fact he was a friend for 20 plus years. An enjoyable person, a helpful, fun, pleasant, churchgoing man. Not only churchgoing, but church involved, he served and ministered to others. But a few years ago, unexpectedly, my wife and I received a call from his wife. She discovered that the man had maintained a mistress in another state for seven, eight, 10 years. He destroyed his marriage. Devastated his children and rocked the faith of those he'd influenced. It makes me ask how? How does that happen? How does a nice person do something so foolish? I'm aware of another good man. An older man, a man who spent his entire life serving congregations. A man who planted churches and pastored churches, who then went on to help others plant churches and pastored churches. A good person, a righteous man. One of his adult children started business, the business started getting a little bit of success and the child decided, You know what, I want to expand the business, I want to add other locations, and so he went to the bank, but the bank wouldn't give a business loan. And so the good dad, the righteous dad, the ministry dad. Emptied out his 401k. Gave all the money to the child. There were struggles in the business, and the child was convinced things are ready to turn, the tipping point is really very close. Just a little more capital and the business will go over the edge, and really over the hump, and it'll go from there. And so dad, the faithful man, the righteous man. Mortgaged his home, gave the money to the child. And the business went belly up. Retirement money gone. Bank foreclosed the house, the righteous man, the faithful man, the ministry man lost everything. How does a good person? Makes such tragic mistakes. I mean, really, anybody who hangs around a church and ministry long enough, you hear sermons about how God wants to bless lives and how God heals people and how God changes families and how God blesses finances. But still, if you observe, you get engaged, you watch and figure what's happening. There are examples of people who hear the messages but aren't experiencing what's being preached and taught. Why is that? [00:07:04][223.7] Travis Miller: [00:07:07] Actually, if we become students of the Bible, the word of God, there are similar stories in here. Sometimes we think in the Bible, well, the stories in the Bible are like this. We get stories about wicked people who live wicked lives. Well, that's true. Well, there's story about righteous people who have righteous lives. That's also true. But today, I want to point out that in this book, we also find stories of good people who did foolish things and it cost them dearly. Right in this book, There are battles lost. There are lives ended, there are families ruined by good people acting foolishly. There are murders and adulteries. There are kingdoms lost. There are friendships ended in this book by decent humans who are acting ignorantly. There are hopes vanished and promises extinguished and health wasted in fortunes forfeited and relationships terminated. These are Bible stories that happened at the hands of good people who were living poorly. Why do these things happen? [00:08:23][76.5] Travis Miller: [00:08:26] In the Book of Job Chapter nine in verse four, he made a helpful observation for this discussion. Today in Job nine, from the Bible, says God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against him and prospered? Well, clearly, God is wise and God is mighty, that's plain and simple, Joe declares it. But after declaring that truth, Job then asked who has hardened himself against him against God and prospered? Who's hardened himself against God? And still prospered? [00:09:14][48.1] Travis Miller: [00:09:18] Nearly every spring, and it's coming up again in April, May. My wife wants me to take her to Skagit County and see the beautiful tulip fields. Sometimes we visit, you've been there, you know this, you visit and boots are absolutely needed. There's not just mud there's lots of mud. Fabulous Pacific Northwest rain, note, I said fabulous. Soaks those tulip fields, making them muddy and soft. But there are other times we have visited those fields when the rains have ended and the fields are different. Fields are crusty. I've been there when the surface is hardened and even cracking, it's so hard, yet when you walk on it, you can tell it's a crusty surface, but there's moisture underneath, but the surface is hard and dry. The soil is gone from moist and muddy to crusty and hard. And you know what? We know this that doesn't happen immediately. First, the rain dwindles, there's fewer days of rain and then there's fewer inches of rain. It's not as severe, less rain, less mud, slowly but certainly, then no rain and then more crusty hardened soil. Job asks the question, who has hardened himself against God and prospered? It's a rhetorical question. Listen, good people live poorly when we allow our lives to harden toward God like those tulip fields. Soil lives don't harden immediately. Would you hear the preacher today? It's not overnight that we go from muddy, saturated, spiritually soaked people into hard, cracked and crusty hardened ones toward God? Oh no, my friend. But over a period of time. Choices are made. Often times not intentionally, but accidentally good people, people who have an experience with God get hardened toward God, we minimize God. Sometimes we de-emphasize God. And sometimes it's not just ignoring God, but we forget about God. We go on our daily duties and our things, and we don't even consider, Hey, I might want to talk to God about this distancing from God. It happens when we don't make the connection between eternity and our present reality times. We become crusty because we compartmentalize God and the spiritual rain diminishes, because there are some areas of my life I don't want God raining on. I don't want God messing with. I don't want him investing in challenging and changing that area of my life. We don't need him. We think for some things, dryness comes when we keep God at arm's length. We hold God to a comfortable distance. And as we make these small incremental decisions, they accumulate until there is faulty, hard crusty, cracking soil in our approach, in our determination and our response to God. And when we get to that place where we are hardened toward God, hear this preacher and that ancient preacher Joe from years ago, we cannot expect God's prosperity and God's success when we have put him out of areas of our life. Good people know failure when they allow their lives to harden against God. [00:13:44][266.9] Travis Miller: [00:13:49] How's a good person make tragic mistakes? It bothers me. I believe that good people foolishly fall. When we mistake our righteousness for wisdom. Good people. Foolishly fall. When we mistake our righteousness for wisdom. You see, righteousness, that explains the believers standing with God. It describes his view of our lives when we are in right relationship with him. According to scripture, living in the New Testament Covenant, we enjoy rightness with God when we apply the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to our lives. We enjoy rightness with God when we repent, when there's sorrow for walking the wrong direction, and we turn toward Jesus Christ is rightness with God. When we are baptized in the name of Jesus to wash away our faults and failures, there's rightness with God. When we receive the gift of his Holy Spirit, part of him dwelling within us, and that New Testament new birth experience makes us righteous in God's sight. It brings us in the right relationship with him, and that's a wonderful and miraculous and amazing thing that we could never accomplish on our own. But righteousness is not the same as wisdom. [00:15:49][119.4] Travis Miller: [00:15:53] Wise living is earthly wise, living is a human experience. In the great book on Wisdom, Proverbs Chapter one and verse number seven. Solomon writes, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Fear of the law, the respective God entering into a right relationship with him, that's the beginning of knowledge, that's the start. But hear me, it doesn't say all knowledge is now yours. It doesn't say all wisdom is now yours. It doesn't say you've completed the package and you've got all of God's brains. It doesn't say that it says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. And it also says fools despise wisdom and instruction, I think it's interesting that it doesn't say wicked people despise wisdom. It doesn't say sinners, despise wisdom. It doesn't make that differentiation, it says. In other words, I can be a good person, I could fear the Lord yet still live foolishly in this world. Proverbs Chapter two, notice these verses, beginning at verse number six. For the Lord grants wisdom. From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense. Man, there you go. The treasure of common sense. He grants that to the honest. He's a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the powers of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. Verse nine, then in other words, afterwards, after these things have happened, then you'll understand what is right just and fair, and you will find the right way to go, for wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Hear me today, according to scripture, wisdom follows honesty and integrity and faithfulness. We are told that wisdom comes with the salvation package. We don't get baptized in the name of Jesus and come up out of there full of wisdom and understanding. It's not the way it works. Wisdom for living is separate from righteousness with God. Come on, think about it, folks. I can be compassionate and kind, and it's not the same as being thoughtful and thorough. I could be loving, and it's not the same as being discerning. I can be funny, and it's not the same as being perceptive kind. People aren't always knowledgeable. Pleasant folks aren't always rational. Sweet folks aren't always sensible folks. [00:19:22][209.7] Travis Miller: [00:19:23] Righteousness, explains the believers standing with God. Wise living is a human experience. I want us to get in in our hearts and our understanding and our knowledge today. Sometimes we mistake, alright standing with God, with wise living on the Earth, and when we do, good people fall into foolish outcomes. What's the alternative? Preacher, Surely you haven't just shared all this information to scare the bejesus out of all of us? There's got to be a solution? Indeed, I need to make us aware of the deception, and the error in the faults, that would cause us to crash. But I happily proclaim that there are elements of scripture, very clear and very direct, to help ordinary humans as you and I. There is a better way we can experience God's prospering, we can know God's success, not just on Sundays in a house full of worshiping disciples, but we can know success in our career choices. We can know success in our marriages and families. We can know success as we go into this world, in our financial decisions. We can know success in our retirement. We can know success in our careers, if we do what the scripture points us to do. [00:20:57][94.0] [00:21:00] A few weeks ago from this pulpit, I spoke about the Ark of the Covenant. In particular, David's efforts to return the ark to Jerusalem, perhaps you recall that the Ark of the Covenant represented God's presence. It wasn't all of God's presence in a gold box, but it it signified the centrality. And when he visited his people, it was from the centrality of that box. And so, David's trying to bring the box back to the Israel, to the city, and we talked about how, that while it was in the House of Abinidab, God blessed that household because of the Ark. So David had one failed attempt to return the ark. Then he got it right, and he led the people to transfer the ark back to Jerusalem. And so we pick up at that same story again, if you'll look with me in first Chronicles 16 and verse number one. The Bible says they brought the Ark of God and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for us. Then they burnt offerings, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. They brought it back, put it in the Tabernacle, in the tent in the town where they were living. Verse number seven of the Bible says, on that day, David first delivered this Psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren to thank the Lord. Now this entire song runs to verse 35. I'm not going to read it all right now. I encourage you to read it in its entirety. It's a wonderful song, but I want us to notice something right near the beginning of the song David had sung after the Ark was back in town. All give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him. Sing songs to him. Talk of all his wondrous works. Glory in his holy name. Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord. Look at verse 11, seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his face evermore. Seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his face evermore. [00:23:40][159.6] Travis Miller: [00:23:47] Over the recent holidays. Our family took an adventure, went down to Safeco Field or T-Mobile Field now. We went to that enchanted Christmas thing. Where the whole infield was created into this big old maze of incredible Christmas lights. And in the maze, there were hidden, Santas nine reindeer. So as you walk into the maze, every participant is given this little card with all the names of the nine reindeer and there's little scratch off places. When you find a reindeer, you could go over to the table with all the five year olds and scratch off your gold coin that you found that reindeer. Some in our party were more jazzed about finding all nine than others. We went round and round in that crazy maze seeking nine reindeer. I'm sorry to confess, among six average Americans, we were not able to find them all. Some little five year old kid found them all in five minutes, probably, but adults were lacking. I think we found 7 maybe. But after that, it was over. The seeking was finished. We found all the reindeer we were going to find, everybody with me seeking, it was a one time event. Seek, find, it's over. And so I'm challenged when David writes, and so says to the children of Israel, seek the Lord and his presence and his strength, seek him ever more. And I begin to struggle. That seems kind of strange to me because the arc wasn't lost any more. The presence of God wasn't somewhere else any more. It was no longer in a barn in Abinidabs house. The ark was in town. It was in a tabernacle made by David. It was in a tent, the ark, if you will, while David was talking, was right over there! David Seeking, had to be different than us looking for reindeer in a ball park. I want to know, why does a king call his people to seek the Lord when the presence of God is right in the tent? Obviously, it's right there! Why does David challenge all of Israel to seek what is obvious? His meaning of seek, if we look in other translations, it says study God. It says search for the Lord. It says, look to the Lord. Study God. Inquire of God. Look to the Lord, in modern day in practical terms. I submit to this congregation, david was saying this, we sought the ark. We searched for the presence of God. We brought it back home and we set it up in a tent. And there it is. And now, as he's singing and as he's rejoicing us, he says to the children of Israel, Now hear me as often as you can, as regularly as you would go to the tent, seek what is obvious! Get into that tabernacle! Saturate yourself in the presence of God! Have you found God's presence? Absolutely, they had. Did they know where he was? Certainly they did. David was saying, Now visit the ark. I want you to notice in that passage, he said, seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face ever more, seek his face ever more. Seek his presence, continually pursue his presence day and night, frequent the power of God always. Why? Why did David feel that way? Why was the presence of God so important as David challenged the people of Israel? [00:28:46][299.3] [00:28:47] I'll take you back to the book of Job once again. Job said, God is wise in heart. And mighty in strength. God is wise. And Mighty. You get to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul and an apostle by the name of Jude had this to say, in first Timothy 1:17. Now to the King Eternal, immortal, invisible. To God, who alone is wise be honor and glory, forever and ever amen. Jude, in the last sentences of the book, in the letter that he wrote Verse 25, he says, to God our savior, who alone is wise the glory and majesty, dominion and power now and forever. I believe with all of my heart that David called for a continual and lifetime pursuit of God's presence. Because David knew there is a difference between rightness with God and wisdom in living. David knew, I want to be in the presence of God because he alone is wise. David understood the presence of God brings more than a right relationship for humanity. The presence of God also brings wisdom for a living. I preach this afternoon there's a difference between finding God and learning from God. There's a difference between an experience with God and the goose bumps on a prayer meeting, and there is a prospering and a successful life with God. We don't constantly pray and turn to God because we've lost him. We're not on our knees because our relationship is in question, rather, we constantly seek the obvious because we want his wisdom for living day to day. Finding God the first time that makes my soul right with him, but seeking God all the time that makes our lives successful here and now. [00:31:31][163.6] [00:31:37] Well, I preach today, you know what, we keep going back to that obvious tent because God alone is why we seek the obvious, because we want his wisdom in our day to day living and we seek the obvious because you know what, I want to maximize success. And I want to minimize foolishness. That's why we seek the obvious. 21 days of prayer, preacher? Why are you doing that? Did you lose God? You don't know where he is? Is your relationship in trouble? Oh no, my friend, we seek the obvious because we want to maximize our success and we want to minimize our foolishness. We want to do that as individuals. We want to do that as families. We want to do that as a congregation. Well, you have pre-service prayer for 30 minutes, Don did a great job leading prayer today. Evan did a great job last week. Why do you do that, preacher? We're going to pray at the end of church anyway. Why are you praying at the beginning at church? What's going on? You're so carnal? You're so sinful? No, my friend, we seek the obvious because we want to maximize success and we want to minimize foolishness, right here right now on this Earth, as individuals and families and as a congregation. My God preacher, you're getting all stinking wound up, sweats running down your little bald head. What's the big deal man? We saw you last weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Preacher, you were having a Holy Ghost rally, tearing it up, enjoying the presence of God. What are you doing back here again this week? Why in the world do you come in two weeks in a row? You've got three services last week, you're good till June man. Why are you back again this week? Why are you so wound up tight about the things you've got to tell? I'll tell you why, it's not because I've lost him. It's not because I have sinned during the week. I'll tell you why, because I recognize he alone is wise, and I recognize I want to maximize God's prosperity in my life, and I want to minimize the foolishness and the life failures and the crash and burn. I want to have God's favor in my life. I want his wisdom. So I follow the King David Song, Seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his face everyone. For his wisdom. For his strengths. Always. Always. [00:35:03][206.9] Travis Miller: [00:35:09] What are you getting at preacher? I'm getting at here and now. I hope to have provoked to prayer, those in this room who are weighing things in their lives. I hope to provoke in this room those that are making college choices and career choices that they would decide, I will seek the Lord and his strengths forever more in this decision. For those in this room that are making decisions about their family, the school their kids attend, or where they're going to go to school, or maybe your children are entering kindergarten for the first time. I preach to parents, you know what? Those decisions, those steps, those outcomes. We need to seek the Lord in his strength and seek his face ever more. I preach to those who are considering a new relationship or perhaps the status of a current relationship. We need to seek the Lord and his strength. The reason many good people end up in lousy relationships is because we falsely think God doesn't care about that. Hear me today, the church is the bride of Christ. He cares about our relationships as much as that. You considering a home purchase, are you considering a major financial decision? Are you doing something in retirement or in career? Listen, I plead. I preach in faith. We ought to seek the Lord and the only wise God always, in all things I preach, for every one who's already involved in serving in ministry and to those who would become involved in serving in ministry, whether that's in Children's Ministry, Student Ministry, Music Ministry, Guest Services Ministry, whatever the ministry, music and students and all of those things, faith group leadership and all the roles in Faith Group. I pray for a congregation that'll saturate those ministries in the power and presence of Almighty God. I pray for our men and women who must have a saturating anointing of God. I preach this afternoon about decisions, lives, choices that are bathed in God's presence. I Pray for men and women that will recognize and realize, anytime any human decides, I don't need God in that area of my life, we're making a choice. We're saying my wisdom is greater than his. In the Old Testament and new, they were convinced. Those who walked in the steps and pathways with Jesus Christ. Their conviction, their knowledge, their understanding was, He alone is wise. Of course, if I've never found him, I've not known of forgiveness of my sins, I've not been baptized or filled with his spirit. That's the starting place. It's got to begin right there. And hear me today, this holy savior did not die on the cross, suffer that pain, humiliation and ridicule, raise himself from the dead, so you and I could have a one time hit of godly power. That is not what this holy book is all about. But even before the outpouring of the spirit. There is a man named David, got all jazzed about a God experience, And in that moment of God moving on him, as he penned his song, he said, these people got to know. The ark is home, it's in a tent right there, it's obvious. These people got to know it's not the end. It's the beginning. These people got to know, you need to be in a tent. Little decisions add up and become big decisions. You need to be in that tent. Why do you change your schedule? Why do you work around an afternoon service on a Sunday? Why do you organize your life so you can participate in a faith group and get together with other believers? Let me tell you why I need to be in that tent. I mean, look at that gold box. I need to be around when his presence settles in. I got a few degrees, I got decades of experience, but I don't have the wisdom I need to go a step farther. I need to be in that tent. If anybody in this house feels a little bit like I do, would you join me in the presence of God? Would you? Even where you're at? Raise your hands? Would you come up around this front area and kneel? Would you close your eyes? Would you open your voice? Whatever is spurring you and challenging you right now? Come on somebody. Do you want to be in that tent? Are there men and women, and moms and dads, and husbands and wives that'll declare, "You know what"? I am not going into the future on my own, of my own energy, my own defense and my own understanding. No. I want to seek the presence and the power and the anointing of God. All the days of my life. I don't want to end up in a foolish tale here. I want the prosperity of the all knowing and only wise God In me. [00:35:09][0.0] [2041.3]   Episode Transcript Spanish   Travis Miller: [00:00:21] Debo hablar un rato esta tarde, voy a compartir algunas historias, voy a mirar algunos versículos de las Escrituras, se pondrán en la pantalla y toda mi intención, todo mi objetivo y dirección al hablar este corto mientras que esta tarde es inspirar a todos y cada uno en el sonido de mi voz tener una conversación con Dios. En conclusión, la oración a su manera, a su manera, en sus propias palabras, es tener una conversación con Dios, eso es exactamente lo que intento hacer. Ahí lo tienes. El gato salió de la bolsa. Eso es lo que intento hacer al compartir esta charla. Este discurso, este sermón, como quiera llamarlo, para que respondamos a Dios. [00:01:07][45.6] Travis Miller: [00:01:09] Como era de esperar, es pastor de esta congregación, estoy en el negocio de las personas. Llevo más de 30 años en el ministerio. He estado en la iglesia y en las congregaciones durante más de 50 años y durante todos esos años y todas esas experiencias. He observado algunas cosas, francamente, que me preocupan. He visto algunas cosas y he reflexionado sobre algunas cosas que, para mí, parecen fuera de lugar al seguir a Jesucristo. [00:01:46][36.4] Travis Miller: [00:01:48] Este es el asunto, me he preguntado cómo en el mundo las personas buenas terminan en malas situaciones. Yo, a lo largo de los años, en el transcurso del tiempo en varias congregaciones, he viajado y ministrado en 40 estados diferentes y Dios sabe cuántas iglesias diferentes forman parte de nuestro ministerio y he visto esto y aquello y lo otro, y ¿sabes con qué me encuentro? ¿Qué hay de esta joven que es amable, compasiva y amigable, pero que a menudo tiene una mala relación? ¿Qué pasa con eso? ¿Qué pasa con la familia fiel que incluso sirve en algún ministerio en la iglesia, pero parece que tienen problemas financieros regularmente? ¿Qué pasa con eso? ¿Qué hay de la pareja amistosa e interesante cuyos hijos, desafortunadamente, les están causando dolor regularmente? ¿O qué hay de la pareja que encontró a Jesús hace mucho tiempo? Parecía que realmente amaban a Jesús, pero pelean y discuten como enemigos completos. Me molesta el buen joven que parecía no poder conservar nada relacionado con un trabajo decente. Me preocupa una persona sincera que carece de control personal que trae problemas de salud continuos. ¿Soy el único que se ha preguntado sobre esas cosas? [00:03:13][85.5] Travis Miller: [00:03:20] Hace tres o cuatro años, me enteré de la ridícula tragedia de un viejo amigo. De hecho, fue amigo durante más de 20 años. Una persona agradable, un hombre servicial, divertido, agradable, que va a la iglesia. No solo fue a la iglesia, sino que también participó en la iglesia, sirvió y ministró a los demás. Pero hace unos años, inesperadamente, mi esposa y yo recibimos una llamada de su esposa. Descubrió que el hombre había mantenido a una amante en otro estado durante siete, ocho, 10 años. Destruyó su matrimonio. Devastó a sus hijos y sacudió la fe de aquellos a quienes había influenciado. ¿Me hace preguntar cómo? ¿Cómo ocurre eso? ¿Cómo hace una buena persona algo tan tonto? Conozco a otro buen hombre. Un hombre mayor, un hombre que pasó toda su vida sirviendo a las congregaciones. Un hombre que plantó iglesias y pastoreó iglesias, que luego pasó a ayudar a otros a plantar iglesias y pastorear iglesias. Una buena persona, un hombre justo. Uno de sus hijos adultos comenzó un negocio, el negocio comenzó a tener un poco de éxito y el niño decidió: ¿Sabes qué? Quiero expandir el negocio, quiero agregar otras ubicaciones, así que fue al banco, pero el banco no le dio un préstamo comercial. Y así el buen padre, el padre justo, el padre del ministerio. Vació sus 401 mil. Le di todo el dinero a la niña. Hubo dificultades en el negocio, y el niño estaba convencido de que las cosas están listas para cambiar, el punto de inflexión está muy cerca. Solo un poco más de capital y el negocio se irá al límite, y se irá desde allí. Y así papá, el hombre fiel, el hombre justo. Hipotecó su casa, le dio el dinero al niño. Y el negocio se echó a perder. Se acabó el dinero de jubilación. Bank embargó la casa, el hombre justo, el hombre fiel, el hombre del ministerio lo perdió todo. ¿Cómo funciona una buena persona? Comete errores tan trágicos. Quiero decir, en realidad, cualquiera que esté en una iglesia y un ministerio el tiempo suficiente, escucha sermones sobre cómo Dios quiere bendecir vidas y cómo Dios sana a las personas y cómo Dios cambia de familia y cómo Dios bendice las finanzas. Pero aun así, si observas, te comprometes, observas y te das cuenta de lo que está sucediendo. Hay ejemplos de personas que escuchan los mensajes pero no experimentan lo que se predica y se enseña. ¿Por qué es eso? [00:07:04][224.0] Travis Miller: [00:07:07] En realidad, si nos convertimos en estudiantes de la Biblia, la palabra de Dios, hay historias similares aquí. A veces pensamos en la Biblia, bueno, las historias de la Biblia son así. Recibimos historias sobre personas malvadas que viven vidas malvadas. Bueno, es cierto. Bueno, hay una historia sobre personas rectas que tienen vidas rectas. Eso también es cierto. Pero hoy quiero señalar que en este libro también encontramos historias de personas buenas que hicieron cosas tontas y les costó caro. Justo en este libro, hay batallas perdidas. Hay vidas acabadas, familias arruinadas por gente buena que actúa tontamente. Hay asesinatos y adulterios. Hay reinos perdidos. Hay amistades terminadas en este libro por humanos decentes que actúan de manera ignorante. Se desvanecen las esperanzas y las promesas se extinguen y la salud se desperdicia en fortunas perdidas y las relaciones terminadas. Estas son historias bíblicas que sucedieron a manos de buenas personas que vivían mal. ¿Por qué suceden estas cosas? [00:08:23][76.6] Travis Miller: [00:08:26] En el capítulo nueve del libro de Job, en el versículo cuatro, hizo una observación útil para esta discusión. Hoy en Job nueve, de la Biblia, dice que Dios es sabio de corazón y poderoso en fuerza. ¿Quién se ha endurecido contra él y ha prosperado? Bueno, claramente, Dios es sabio y Dios es poderoso, eso es claro y simple, dice Joe. Pero después de declarar esa verdad, Job preguntó quién se había endurecido contra él contra Dios y prosperó. ¿Quién se ha endurecido contra Dios? ¿Y aún prosperó? [00:09:14][48.3] Travis Miller: [00:09:18] Casi todas las primaveras, y vuelve a aparecer en abril, mayo. Mi esposa quiere que la lleve al condado de Skagit y vea los hermosos campos de tulipanes. A veces visitamos, has estado allí, lo sabes, visitas y las botas son absolutamente necesarias. No solo hay barro, hay mucho barro. Lluvia fabulosa del noroeste del Pacífico, nota, dije fabulosa. Empapa esos campos de tulipanes, haciéndolos fangosos y suaves. Pero hay otras veces que hemos visitado esos campos cuando las lluvias han terminado y los campos son diferentes. Los campos están crujientes. He estado ahí cuando la superficie se endurece e incluso se agrieta, es muy dura, pero cuando caminas sobre ella, puedes ver que es una superficie crujiente, pero hay humedad por debajo, pero la superficie es dura y seca. El suelo ha pasado de húmedo y fangoso a crujiente y duro. ¿Y sabes qué? Sabemos que esto no ocurre de inmediato. Primero, la lluvia disminuye, hay menos días de lluvia y luego hay menos pulgadas de lluvia. No es tan severa, menos lluvia, menos barro, lenta pero segura, luego no llueve y luego tierra más endurecida y crujiente. Job hace la pregunta: ¿quién se ha endurecido contra Dios y ha prosperado? Es una pregunta retórica. Escucha, las personas buenas viven mal cuando permitimos que nuestras vidas se endurezcan hacia Dios como esos campos de tulipanes. Las vidas del suelo no se endurecen de inmediato. ¿Escucharías hoy al predicador? ¿No es de la noche a la mañana que pasamos de personas embarradas, saturadas y empapadas espiritualmente a personas duras, agrietadas y endurecidas hacia Dios? Oh no, amigo mío. Pero durante un período de tiempo. Se toman decisiones. A menudo, no intencionalmente, sino accidentalmente, las personas buenas, las personas que tienen una experiencia con Dios se endurecen hacia Dios, minimizamos a Dios. A veces le quitamos importancia a Dios. Y a veces no se trata solo de ignorar a Dios, sino que nos olvidamos de Dios. Llevamos a cabo nuestras tareas diarias y nuestras cosas, y ni siquiera consideramos: Oye, tal vez quiera hablar con Dios sobre este distanciamiento de Dios. Ocurre cuando no hacemos la conexión entre la eternidad y nuestros tiempos de realidad actuales. Nos volvemos crudos porque compartimentamos a Dios y la lluvia espiritual disminuye, porque hay algunas áreas de mi vida en las que no quiero que Dios llueva. No quiero que Dios se meta con él. No quiero que invierta en desafiar y cambiar esa área de mi vida. No lo necesitamos. Pensamos que, para algunas cosas, la sequedad llega cuando mantenemos a Dios con los brazos extendidos. Mantenemos a Dios a una distancia cómoda. Y a medida que tomamos estas pequeñas decisiones graduales, se acumulan hasta que hay un suelo defectuoso, duro, crujiente y agrietado en nuestro enfoque, en nuestra determinación y en nuestra respuesta a Dios. Y cuando llegamos a ese lugar en el que estamos endurecidos hacia Dios, escuchamos a este predicador y a ese predicador antiguo Joe de hace años, no podemos esperar la prosperidad de Dios y el éxito de Dios cuando lo hemos sacado de áreas de nuestra vida. Las personas buenas conocen el fracaso cuando permiten que sus vidas se endurezcan contra Dios. [00:13:44][266.7] Travis Miller: [00:13:49] ¿Cómo es que una buena persona comete errores trágicos? Me molesta. Creo que la gente buena cae tontamente. Cuando confundimos nuestra justicia con sabiduría. Buenas personas. Caen tontamente. Cuando confundimos nuestra justicia con sabiduría. Verás, justicia, eso explica que los creyentes estén con Dios. Describe su visión de nuestras vidas cuando estamos en una relación correcta con él. Según las escrituras, viviendo en el pacto del Nuevo Testamento, disfrutamos de la rectitud con Dios cuando aplicamos el sacrificio de Jesucristo a nuestras vidas. Disfrutamos de la rectitud con Dios cuando nos arrepentimos, cuando sentimos pena por caminar en la dirección equivocada, y nos volvemos hacia Jesucristo es la rectitud con Dios. Cuando nos bautizamos en el nombre de Jesús para lavar nuestras faltas y fracasos, hay rectitud en Dios. Cuando recibimos el don de su Espíritu Santo, parte de él mora dentro de nosotros, y esa experiencia del nuevo nacimiento en el Nuevo Testamento nos hace justos a los ojos de Dios. Nos lleva a la relación correcta con él, y eso es algo maravilloso, milagroso y sorprendente que nunca podríamos lograr por nuestra cuenta. Pero la rectitud no es lo mismo que la sabiduría. [00:15:49][119.3] Travis Miller: [00:15:53] La vida sabia es sabia terrenal, la vida es una experiencia humana. En el gran libro sobre Sabiduría, Proverbios capítulo uno y versículo número siete. Salomón escribe que el temor del Señor es el principio del conocimiento. Pero los tontos desprecian la sabiduría y la instrucción. El miedo a la ley, a que el Dios respectivo entre en una relación correcta con él, ese es el comienzo del conocimiento, ese es el comienzo. Pero escúchame, no dice que ahora todo el conocimiento sea tuyo. No dice que toda la sabiduría sea tuya ahora. No dice que hayas completado el paquete y que tengas todo el cerebro de Dios. No dice que diga que el temor del Señor es el principio del conocimiento. Y también dice que los tontos desprecian la sabiduría y la instrucción, creo que es interesante que no diga que los malvados desprecian la sabiduría. No dice pecadores, desprecian la sabiduría. No hace esa diferencia, dice. En otras palabras, puedo ser una buena persona, podría temer al Señor y aun así vivir tontamente en este mundo. Proverbios Capítulo dos, observe estos versículos, comenzando en el versículo número seis. Porque el Señor concede sabiduría. De su boca salen el conocimiento y la comprensión. Concede un tesoro de sentido común. Tío, ahí lo tienes. El tesoro del sentido común. Se lo concede a los honestos. Es un escudo para aquellos que caminan con integridad. Protege los poderes de los justos y protege a los que le son fieles. Versículo nueve, en otras palabras, después, después de que hayan sucedido estas cosas, entonces entenderás lo que es correcto, justo y justo, y encontrarás el camino correcto a seguir, porque la sabiduría entrará en tu corazón y el conocimiento te llenará de gozo. Las decisiones sabias te vigilarán. La comprensión lo mantendrá a salvo. Escúchame hoy, según las Escrituras, la sabiduría sigue a la honestidad, la integridad y la fidelidad. Se nos dice que la sabiduría viene con el paquete de salvación. No nos bautizamos en el nombre de Jesús y salimos de allí llenos de sabiduría y comprensión. No es la forma en que funciona. La sabiduría para vivir está separada de la justicia con Dios. Vamos, piénsalo, amigos. Puedo ser compasivo y amable, y no es lo mismo que ser considerado y minucioso. Podría ser cariñosa, y no es lo mismo que ser exigente. Puedo ser gracioso, y no es lo mismo que ser amable y perspicaz. La gente no siempre está bien informada. La gente agradable no siempre es racional. La gente dulce no siempre es sensata. [00:19:22][209.7] Travis Miller: [00:19:23] La rectitud, explica la posición de los creyentes con Dios. La vida sabia es una experiencia humana. Quiero que entremos en nuestros corazones y en nuestro entendimiento y conocimiento hoy. A veces nos equivocamos, estando de pie con Dios, con vivir sabiamente en la Tierra, y cuando lo hacemos, las personas buenas caen en resultados necios. ¿Cuál es la alternativa? Predicador, ¿seguramente no has compartido toda esta información para asustarnos a todos? ¿Tiene que haber una solución? De hecho, tengo que hacernos conscientes del engaño, y del error en las fallas, que nos causaría un choque. Pero proclamo con alegría que hay elementos de las Escrituras, muy claros y muy directos, para ayudar a los humanos comunes como tú y yo. Hay una mejor manera en que podemos experimentar la prosperidad de Dios, podemos conocer el éxito de Dios, no solo los domingos en una casa llena de discípulos adoradores, sino que podemos conocer el éxito en nuestras elecciones profesionales. Podemos conocer el éxito en nuestros matrimonios y familias. Podemos conocer el éxito a medida que avanzamos en este mundo, en nuestras decisiones financieras. Podemos conocer el éxito en nuestra jubilación. Podemos conocer el éxito en nuestras carreras, si hacemos lo que las Escrituras nos indican que hagamos. [00:20:57][94.1] Travis Miller: [00:21:00] Hace unas semanas, desde este púlpito, hablé sobre el Arca de la Alianza. En particular, los esfuerzos de David por devolver el arca a Jerusalén, quizás recuerdes que el Arca de la Alianza representaba la presencia de Dios. No todo era la presencia de Dios en una caja de oro, pero significaba la centralidad. Y cuando visitó a su gente, fue por la centralidad de esa caja. Entonces, David está tratando de llevar la caja de vuelta a Israel, a la ciudad, y hablamos de cómo, que mientras estaba en la casa de Abinidab, Dios bendijo a esa casa debido al Arca. Así que David tuvo un intento fallido de devolver el arca. Entonces lo hizo bien y llevó a la gente a transferir el arca de vuelta a Jerusalén. Así que retomamos la misma historia de nuevo, si miran conmigo en la primera Crónicas 16 y el versículo número uno. La Biblia dice que trajeron el Arca de Dios y la pusieron en medio del tabernáculo que David había erigido para nosotros. Luego quemaron ofrendas, ofrecieron holocaustos y ofrendas de paz ante Dios Lo trajeron de vuelta, lo pusieron en el Tabernáculo, en la tienda del pueblo donde vivían. El versículo número siete de la Biblia dice que, en ese día, David entregó este salmo por primera vez en la mano de Asaf y sus hermanos para agradecer al Señor. Ahora, toda esta canción va hasta el versículo 35. No voy a leerlo del todo en este momento. Te animo a que lo leas en su totalidad. Es una canción maravillosa, pero quiero que notemos algo justo al principio de la canción que David había cantado después de que el Arca volviera a la ciudad. Todos dan gracias al Señor, invocan su nombre, dan a conocer sus obras entre los pueblos. Canta para él. Cántale canciones. Hable de todas sus maravillosas obras. Gloria en su santo nombre. Que se regocijen los corazones de los que buscan al Señor. Mira el versículo 11, busca al Señor y su fuerza. Busca su rostro para siempre. Busca al Señor y su fuerza. Busca su rostro para siempre. [00:23:40][159.6] Travis Miller: [00:23:47] Durante las últimas vacaciones. Nuestra familia emprendió una aventura, ahora bajó a Safeco Field o T-Mobile Field. Fuimos a esa fiesta navideña encantada. Donde todo el cuadro interior se creó en este enorme y viejo laberinto de increíbles luces navideñas. Y en el laberinto, había escondidos, nueve renos de Santa Claus. Así que a medida que entras en el laberinto, a cada participante se le da esta pequeña tarjeta con todos los nombres de los nueve renos y hay pequeños lugares para rascar. Cuando encuentres un reno, puedes ir a la mesa con todos los niños de cinco años y rascar la moneda de oro que encontraste ese reno. Algunos en nuestro grupo estaban más entusiasmados por encontrar a los nueve que a otros. Dábamos vueltas y vueltas en ese laberinto loco buscando nueve renos. Lamento confesar que, entre seis estadounidenses promedio, no pudimos encontrarlos a todos. Un niño pequeño de cinco años los encontró todos en cinco minutos, probablemente, pero faltaban adultos. Creo que quizás hemos encontrado 7. Pero después de eso, todo había terminado. La búsqueda había terminado. Encontramos todos los renos que íbamos a encontrar, todos los que estaban conmigo buscándolos, fue un evento único. Busca, encuentra, se acabó. Así que me desafía cuando David escribe, y así les dice a los hijos de Israel: busquen al Señor y su presencia y su fuerza, buscadlo cada vez más. Y empiezo a luchar. Me parece un poco extraño porque el arco ya no se perdió. La presencia de Dios ya no estaba en ningún otro lugar. Ya no estaba en un granero de la casa de Abinidab. El arca estaba en la ciudad. Estaba en un tabernáculo hecho por David. Estaba en una tienda de campaña, el arca, por así decirlo, mientras David hablaba, ¡estaba justo ahí! David Seeking, tenía que ser diferente a nosotros buscando renos en un parque de pelota. Quiero saber, ¿por qué un rey llama a su pueblo a buscar al Señor cuando la presencia de Dios está en la tienda? ¡Obviamente, está justo ahí! ¿Por qué David desafía a todo Israel a buscar lo que es obvio? Su significado de buscar, si miramos en otras traducciones, dice que estudie a Dios. Dice «busca al Señor». Dice: mira al Señor. Estudia a Dios. Pregunte a Dios. Mira al Señor, en la actualidad en términos prácticos. Me someto a esta congregación, David estaba diciendo esto, buscamos el arca. Buscamos la presencia de Dios. Lo trajimos a casa y lo pusimos en una tienda de campaña. Y ahí está. Y ahora, mientras canta y nos regocija, les dice a los hijos de Israel: Ahora escúchenme tan a menudo como puedan, tan regularmente como vayan a la tienda, ¡busquen lo que es obvio! ¡Entra en ese tabernáculo! ¡Sábate en la presencia de Dios! ¿Has encontrado la presencia de Dios? Absolutamente, lo habían hecho. ¿Sabían dónde estaba? Sin duda lo hicieron. David decía: Ahora visita el arca. Quiero que noten en ese pasaje, dijo, busquen al Señor y su fuerza, busquen su rostro cada vez más, busquen su rostro cada vez más. Busca su presencia, persigue continuamente su presencia día y noche, frecuenta el poder de Dios siempre. ¿Por qué? ¿Por qué David se sentía así? ¿Por qué la presencia de Dios era tan importante como David desafió al pueblo de Israel? [00:28:47][299.5] Travis Miller: [00:28:47] Te llevaré de nuevo al libro de Job. Job dijo: Dios es sabio de corazón. Y con una fuerza poderosa. Dios es sabio. Y Mighty. Al llegar al Nuevo Testamento, el apóstol Pablo y un apóstol llamado Judas dijeron esto, en primera Timoteo 1:17. Ahora al Rey Eterno, inmortal, invisible. Para Dios, que solo es sabio sea el honor y la gloria, por los siglos de los siglos. Amén. Judas, en las últimas oraciones del libro, en la carta que escribió el versículo 25, dice, a Dios nuestro salvador, quien solo es sabio la gloria y la majestad, el dominio y el poder ahora y siempre. Creo con todo mi corazón que David llamó a una búsqueda continua y de por vida de la presencia de Dios. Porque David sabía que hay una diferencia entre la rectitud con Dios y la sabiduría en la vida. David sabía que quiero estar en la presencia de Dios porque solo él es sabio. David entendió que la presencia de Dios trae más que una relación correcta para la humanidad. La presencia de Dios también trae sabiduría para ganarse la vida. Predico esta tarde que hay una diferencia entre encontrar a Dios y aprender de Dios. Hay una diferencia entre una experiencia con Dios y la piel de gallina en una reunión de oración, y hay una vida próspera y exitosa con Dios. No oramos constantemente y nos volvemos a Dios porque lo hemos perdido. No estamos de rodillas porque nuestra relación está en duda, más bien, buscamos constantemente lo obvio porque queremos su sabiduría para vivir el día a día. Encontrar a Dios la primera vez que hace que mi alma esté bien con él, pero buscar a Dios todo el tiempo que hace que nuestras vidas sean exitosas aquí y ahora. [00:31:31][163.8] Travis Miller: [00:31:37] Bueno, hoy predico, ¿sabes qué?, seguimos volviendo a esa tienda obvia porque solo Dios es la razón por la que buscamos lo obvio, porque queremos su sabiduría en nuestro día a día y buscamos lo obvio porque sabes qué, quiero maximizar el éxito. Y quiero minimizar las tonterías. Por eso buscamos lo obvio. ¿21 días de oración, predicador? ¿Por qué haces eso? ¿Perdiste a Dios? ¿No sabes dónde está? ¿Su relación está en problemas? Oh no, amigo mío, buscamos lo obvio porque queremos maximizar nuestro éxito y queremos minimizar nuestras tonterías. Queremos hacerlo como individuos. Queremos hacerlo en familia. Queremos hacerlo como congregación. Bueno, tienes oración previa al servicio durante 30 minutos, Don hizo un gran trabajo dirigiendo la oración hoy. Evan hizo un gran trabajo la semana pasada. ¿Por qué lo hace, predicador? Vamos a rezar al final de la iglesia de todos modos. ¿Por qué oras al principio en la iglesia? ¿Qué pasa? ¿Eres tan carnal? ¿Eres tan pecador? No, amigo mío, buscamos lo obvio porque queremos maximizar el éxito y queremos minimizar la estupidez, aquí mismo en este momento en la Tierra, como individuos y familias y como congregación. Mi Dios predicador, te estás volviendo apestoso, con sudores corriendo por tu cabecita calva. ¿Qué es lo importante, hombre? Te vimos el fin de semana pasado, viernes, sábado, domingo, predicador, estabas teniendo una reunión del Espíritu Santo, rompiéndola, disfrutando de la presencia de Dios. ¿Qué vas a hacer aquí de nuevo esta semana? ¿Por qué demonios vienes en dos semanas seguidas? Tuviste tres servicios la semana pasada, estás bien hasta junio, tío. ¿Por qué has vuelto esta semana? ¿Por qué estás tan alterado por las cosas que tienes que contar? Te diré por qué, no es porque lo haya perdido. No es porque haya pecado durante la semana. Te diré por qué, porque reconozco que solo él es sabio, y reconozco que quiero maximizar la prosperidad de Dios en mi vida, y quiero minimizar la estupidez y los fracasos de la vida y el colapso y el incendio. Quiero tener el favor de Dios en mi vida. Quiero su sabiduría. Así que sigo la canción del rey David, Busco al Señor y su fuerza. Busquen su rostro todos. Por su sabiduría. Por sus puntos fuertes. Siempre. Siempre. [00:35:03][206.9] Travis Miller: [00:35:09] ¿Qué le estás diciendo a predicador? Estoy llegando aquí y ahora. Espero haber provocado a la oración, a aquellos en esta sala que están pesando cosas en sus vidas. Espero provocar en esta sala a aquellos que están tomando decisiones de universidad y de carrera que ellos decidirían, buscaré al Señor y sus fortalezas para siempre más en esta decisión. Para aquellos en esta sala que están tomando decisiones sobre su familia, la escuela a la que asisten sus hijos o dónde van a ir a la escuela, o tal vez sus hijos ingresan al jardín de infantes por primera vez. Predico a los padres, ¿sabes qué? Esas decisiones, esos pasos, esos resultados. Tenemos que buscar al Señor en sus fuerzas y buscar su rostro cada vez más. Predico a aquellos que están considerando una nueva relación o quizás el estado de una relación actual. Tenemos que buscar al Señor y su fuerza. La razón por la que muchas personas buenas terminan en malas relaciones es porque creemos falsamente que a Dios no le importa eso. Escúchame hoy, la iglesia es la novia de Cristo. Le importan nuestras relaciones tanto como eso. ¿Está considerando comprar una casa, está considerando tomar una decisión financiera importante? ¿Estás haciendo algo en la jubilación o en tu carrera? Escucha, te lo suplico. Predico con fe. Debemos buscar al Señor y al único Dios sabio siempre, en todas las cosas que predico, para cada uno que ya está involucrado en el servicio en el ministerio y para aquellos que se involucrarían en el servicio en el ministerio, ya sea en el Ministerio de Niños, el Ministerio de Estudiantes, el Ministerio de Música, el Ministerio de Servicios para los Huéspedes, cualquiera que sea el el ministerio, la música y los estudiantes y todas esas cosas, el liderazgo del grupo de fe y todos los roles en Faith Group. Rezo por una congregación que sature esos ministerios en el poder y la presencia de Dios Todopoderoso. Rezo por nuestros hombres y mujeres que deben tener una unción saturadora de Dios. Predico esta tarde sobre decisiones, vidas, elecciones que se bañan en la presencia de Dios. Rezo por hombres y mujeres que reconozcan y se den cuenta de que, cada vez que un ser humano decida, no necesito a Dios en esa área de mi vida, estamos tomando una decisión. Decimos que mi sabiduría es mayor que la suya. En el Antiguo Testamento y en el nuevo, estaban convencidos. Aquellos que caminaron en los pasos y caminos con Jesucristo. Su convicción, su conocimiento, su comprensión era, solo Él es sabio. Por supuesto, si nunca lo he encontrado, no he conocido el perdón de mis pecados, no he sido bautizado ni lleno de su espíritu. Ese es el punto de partida. Tiene que empezar justo ahí. Y escúchame hoy, este santo salvador no murió en la cruz, sufrió ese dolor, humillación y ridículo, resucitó de entre los muertos, para que tú y yo pudiéramos tener un golpe único de poder divino. No se trata de eso este libro sagrado. Pero incluso antes de la efusión del espíritu. Hay un hombre llamado David, que se entusiasmó con una experiencia de Dios, y en ese momento en que Dios se movió sobre él, mientras escribía su canción, dijo, estas personas llegaron a conocerlo. El arca está en casa, está en una tienda de campaña, es obvio. Estas personas deben saber que no es el final. Es el principio. Estas personas deben saber que tienes que estar en una tienda de campaña. Las pequeñas decisiones se suman y se convierten en grandes decisiones. Tienes que estar en esa tienda. ¿Por qué cambias tu horario? ¿Por qué trabajas en torno a un servicio vespertino un domingo? ¿Por qué organizas tu vida para poder participar en un grupo de fe y reunirte con otros creyentes? Déjame decirte por qué tengo que estar en esa tienda. Quiero decir, mira esa caja de oro. Tengo que estar cerca cuando su presencia se asiente. Tengo algunos títulos, tengo décadas de experiencia, pero no tengo la sabiduría necesaria para ir un paso más allá. Tengo que estar en esa tienda. Si alguien en esta casa se siente un poco como yo, ¿te unirías a mí en presencia de Dios? ¿Lo harías? ¿Incluso dónde estás? ¿Levantar las manos? ¿Te acercarías por este frente y te arrodillarías? ¿Cerrarías los ojos? ¿Abrirías la voz? ¿Qué es lo que te está estimulando y desafiando en este momento? Vamos, alguien. ¿Quieres estar en esa tienda? ¿Hay hombres y mujeres, mamás y papás, esposos y esposas que digan: «Sabes qué»? No voy a ir al futuro por mi cuenta, por mi propia energía, por mi propia defensa y por mi propia comprensión. No. Quiero buscar la presencia y el poder y la unción de Dios. Todos los días de mi vida. No quiero acabar en un cuento absurdo aquí. Quiero la prosperidad del Dios omnisciente y único sabio en mí. [00:35:09][0.0] [2036.0]   Episode Transcript in Tagalog   Travis Miller: [00:00:21] Dapat akong magsalita ng ilang sandali ngayong hapon, magbabahagi ako ng ilang mga kuwento, titingnan ko ang ilang mga talata ng banal na kasulatan, ilalagay sila sa screen at ang aking buong intensyon, ang aking buong layunin at direksyon sa pagsasalita ngayong maikling panahon ngayong hapon ay upang pukawin ang bawat isa sa tunog ng aking boses upang magkaroon ng pakikipag-usap sa Diyos. Sa wakas panalangin sa kanyang sariling paraan, sa kanyang sariling paraan, sa kanyang sariling mga salita, ay upang magkaroon ng isang pakikipag-usap sa Diyos, iyon ay eksakto kung ano ang sinusubukan kong gawin. Doon ka pumunta. Cat ay sa labas ng bag. Iyan ang sinusubukan kong gawin sa pagbabahagi ng usapang ito. Ang talumpati na ito, ang pangaral na ito, anuman ang gusto mong tawagin ito, upang kami ay tumugon sa Diyos. [00:01:07][45.8] Travis Miller: [00:01:09] Gaya ng inaasahan mo, ay pastor ng kongregasyong ito, ako ay nasa negosyo ng mga tao. Ako ay nasa ministeryo ngayon ng higit sa 30 taon. Ako'y nasa paligid ng simbahan at sa paligid ng mga kongregasyon ng higit sa 50 taon at sa lahat ng mga taong iyon at lahat ng mga karanasang iyon. Na-obserbahan ko ang ilang mga bagay, medyo lantaran, na problema sa akin. Nakakita ako ng ilang mga bagay at nakalarawan sa ilang mga bagay na, sa akin, ay mukhang wala sa lugar sa pagsunod kay Hesu-Kristo. [00:01:46][36.5] Travis Miller: [00:01:48] Narito ang pakikitungo, naisip ko kung paano sa mundo mabubuting tao end up sa masamang sitwasyon. Ako, sa paglipas ng mga taon, sa paglipas ng panahon sa iba't ibang kongregasyon, naglakbay ako at naglingkod sa 40 iba't ibang mga estado at alam ng Diyos kung gaano karaming iba't ibang mga simbahan bilang bahagi ng aming ministeryo at nakita ko ito at iyon at ang isa pa, at alam mo kung ano ang aking nakikita? Paano ang tungkol sa batang babae na mabait at mahabagin at magiliw, ngunit madalas siyang nasa masamang relasyon? Ano ang tungkol sa na? Paano naman ang tapat na pamilya na naglilingkod sa ilang ministeryo sa simbahan, ngunit tila sila ay regular na nasa problema sa pananalapi? Ano ang tungkol sa na? Paano ang tungkol sa friendly, kagiliw-giliw na mag-asawa na ang mga bata, sa kasamaang-palad, ay nagbibigay sa kanila ng regular na kalungku O paano naman ang mag-asawa na nakatagpo kay Hesus ng matagal na ang nakalipas? Mukhang iniibig nila talaga si Hesus, ngunit nakikipaglaban sila at nagtatalo tulad ng kumpletong mga kaaway. Ako ay bothered sa pamamagitan ng mabuting binata na tila hindi magagawang upang panatilihin ang anumang bagay na may kaugnayan sa isang disenteng trabaho. Nag-aalala ako tungkol sa isang taos-puso na tao na walang personal na kontrol na nagdudulot ng patuloy na mga isyu sa kalusugan. Ako ba ang nag-iisa na kailanman nagtaka tungkol sa gayong mga bagay? [00:03:13][85.6] Travis Miller: [00:03:20] Tatlo o apat na taon na ang nakalilipas, natutunan ko ang katawa-tawa na trahedya ng isang mahabang kaibigan. Katotohanan siya ay isang kaibigan para sa 20 plus taon. Isang kasiya-siyang tao, isang kapaki-pakinabang, masaya, kaaya-aya, taong nagpunta sa simbahan. Hindi lamang ang pagpunta sa simbahan, kundi kasangkot sa simbahan, naglingkod siya at naglingkod sa iba. Ngunit ilang taon na ang nakalilipas, hindi inaasahan, nakatanggap kami ng tawag mula sa kanyang asawa. Natuklasan niya na pinananatili ng lalaki ang isang maybahay sa ibang estado sa loob ng pitong, walong, 10 taon. Nawasak niya ang kanyang kasal. Nawasak ang kanyang mga anak at binato ang pananampalataya ng mga naimpluwensyahan niya. Ito ay gumagawa sa akin magtanong kung paano? Paano iyan nangyari? Paano gumagana ang isang magandang tao ang isang bagay kaya hangal? Alam ko ang isa pang mabuting tao. Isang nakatatandang lalaki, isang lalaking gumugol ng kanyang buong buhay na naglilingkod sa mga kongregasyon. Isang lalaking nagtanim ng mga simbahan at nagpaimbak ng mga simbahan, na pagkatapos ay nagpatuloy upang tulungan ang iba na magtanim ng mga simbahan at mga pastore na simbahan. Ang isang mabuting tao, isang matuwid na tao. Ang isa sa kanyang mga adult na bata ay nagsimula ng negosyo, ang negosyo ay nagsimula sa pagkuha ng isang maliit na bit ng tagumpay at ang bata ay nagpasya, Alam mo kung ano, gusto kong palawakin ang negosyo, gusto kong magdagdag ng iba pang mga lokasyon, at kaya siya nagpunta sa bangko, ngunit ang bangko ay hindi magbibigay ng business loan. At kaya ang mabuting ama, ang matuwid na ama, ang ministeryong ama. Emptied out ang kanyang 401k. Ibinigay ang lahat ng pera sa bata. May mga pakikibaka sa negosyo, at ang bata ay kumbinsido na ang mga bagay ay handa na upang buksan, ang tipping point ay talagang napakalapit. Lamang ng kaunti pa capital at ang negosyo ay pumunta sa ibabaw ng gilid, at talagang sa ibabaw ng umbok, at ito ay pumunta mula doon. At kaya ama, ang tapat na tao, ang matuwid na tao. Mortgaged kanyang bahay, nagbigay ng pera sa bata. At ang negosyo ay nagpunta sa tiyan. Pagreretiro ng pera nawala. Bank foreclosed ang bahay, ang matuwid na tao, ang tapat na tao, ang ministeryo tao nawala ang lahat. Paano gumagana ang isang mabuting tao? Gumagawa ng gayong mga trahedya pagkakamali. Ibig kong sabihin, talaga, kahit sino na nakabitin sa isang simbahan at ministeryo ng sapat na katagalan, naririnig mo ang mga sermon tungkol sa kung paano nais ng Diyos na pagpalain ang mga buhay at kung paano pinapagaling ng Diyos ang mga tao at kung paano binabago ng Diyos ang mga pamilya at kung paano pinagpapala ng Diyos ang mga pananalapi. Ngunit pa rin, kung susundin mo, nakikibahagi ka, pinapanood mo at malaman kung ano ang nangyayari. May mga halimbawa ng mga taong nakarinig ng mga mensahe ngunit hindi nararanasan ang ipinangangaral at itinuro. Bakit iyan? [00:07:04][223.7] Travis Miller: [00:07:07] Sa totoo lang, kung tayo ay maging mga mag-aaral ng Bibliya, ang salita ng Diyos, mayroong katulad na mga kuwento dito. Minsan iniisip natin sa Bibliya, mabuti, ang mga kuwento sa Bibliya ay ganito. Nakukuha natin ang mga kuwento tungkol sa masasamang tao na namumuhay ng masasamang buhay. Well, totoo iyan. Well, may kuwento tungkol sa matuwid na mga tao na may matuwid na buhay. Totoo rin iyan. Ngunit ngayon, gusto kong ituro na sa aklat na ito, nakita rin natin ang mga kuwento ng mabubuting tao na gumawa ng mga hangal na bagay at mahal ang mga ito. Tama sa aklat na ito, May mga labanan nawala. May mga buhay na natapos, may mga pamilya na nasira ng mabubuting tao na kumikilos nang may kamangmangan. May mga pagpatay at pangangalunya. May mga kaharian na nawala. May mga pagkakaibigan na natapos sa aklat na ito ng mga disenteng tao na kumikilos nang walang kamangmangan. May mga pag-asa vanished at pangako extinguished at kalusugan nasayang sa fortunes forfeited at relasyon tinapos. Ang mga ito ay mga kuwento sa Bibliya na nangyari sa kamay ng mabubuting tao na nabubuhay nang hindi maganda. Bakit nangyari ang mga bagay na ito? [00:08:24][76.7] Travis Miller: [00:08:26] Sa Aklat ni Job Kabanata siyam sa berso apat, gumawa siya ng kapaki-pakinabang na pagmamasid para sa talakayang ito. Ngayon sa Job siyam, mula sa Bibliya, sinasabi ng Diyos ay pantas sa puso at makapangyarihan sa lakas. Sinong nagmatigas laban sa kaniya at guminhawa? Well, malinaw, ang Diyos ay matalino at ang Diyos ay makapangyarihan, iyan ay simple at simple, Joe declares ito. Datapuwa't nang maipahayag ang katotohanang iyan, tinanong nga ni Job kung sino ang nagmatigas laban sa kaniya laban sa Dios at guminhawa? Sino ang nagmatigas laban sa Diyos? At pa rin umunlad? [00:09:14][48.4] Travis Miller: [00:09:18] Halos bawat tagsibol, at ito ay darating muli sa buwan ng Abril, Mayo. Nais ng aking asawa na dalhin ko siya sa Skagit County at makita ang magagandang patlang ng tulipan. Minsan binibisita namin, naroroon ka, alam mo ito, binibisita mo at bota ay talagang kailangan. Hindi lang putik ang may maraming putik. Hindi kapani-paniwala Pacific Northwest ulan, tandaan, sinabi ko hindi kapani-paniwala. Ibabad ang mga patlang ng tulipan, ginagawa itong maputik at malambot. Ngunit may iba pang mga oras na binisita namin ang mga patlang na iyon kapag natapos na ang ulan at ang mga bukid ay naiiba. Ang mga patlang ay magaspang. Ako ay doon kapag ang ibabaw ay hardened at kahit crack, ito ay kaya mahirap, ngunit kapag naglalakad ka sa ito, maaari mong sabihin na ito ay isang magaspang ibabaw, ngunit may kahalumigmigan sa ilalim, ngunit ang ibabaw ay mahirap at tuyo. Ang lupa ay nawala mula sa basa-basa at maputik sa magaspang at mahirap. At alam mo kung ano? Alam natin na hindi ito nangyayari kaagad. Una, ang ulan dwindles, mayroong mas kaunting mga araw ng ulan at pagkatapos ay mayroong mas kau

Open Forum - Worldwide there is over 40K Christian denominations. This means that there are many Christians with many different faith beliefs. Today we discussed how to lead people of various Christian faiths. We also discussed about freewill, working with God instead of working for God, and other interesting topics.  Links - Join, Partner

While Catholics wait on their leadership for an apology for the treatment of Indigenous children at residential schools, we open the lines to ask when you've felt you needed to apologize for your faith.

Franklin Graham has a prayer walk scheduled, Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the LGBTQ are taking on a pastor in England, a man in Pakistan is falsely accused of blasphemy, faith-based college groups get a serious victory, China is cracking down on underground faith groups, and we take a little time to remember 9-11 after 19 years.Song: IntentionsArtist: AnberlinAlbum: VitalCopyright 2012

On this episode : DJ Bugsy spoke with the CEO & Founder of "The F.A.I.T.H. Group Ceci Shell. The Faith Group is a player development program, committed to improving athletes behavioral & learning skills, and financial literacy needs. The episode begins with CeCi educational journey she is well accomplished with two master's degrees and a bar exam expected in July 2020. She spoke about the importance of having a diverse educational background. However, being athlete with the grit & grind made her success more attainable. Lastly, Ceci & DJ Bugsy spoke about women in Hip-Hop i.e. Rapsody, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Megan Thee Stallion. Why woman in Hip-Hop have to sell sex just to sell records instead of having a real message in the music. Recorded by DJ Bugsy Edited by Eric Mc Neil Follow Us on Instagram @idoit4hiphoppod Like Us on Facebook @idoit4hiphoppod

If you and your partner are arguing more as you approach your wedding, there’s nothing wrong with you. There's also nothing wrong with asking for support. Landis Bejar shares how Aisle Talk in New York City is making therapy a shame-free option for couples approaching the big day. Music by Terry Hughes Inspired to create something for yourself? Visit https://ever-changing.net/ Links: Aisle Talk: https://www.aisle-talk.com Why Stress When You Can See a Wedding Therapist (NYT): https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/fashion/weddings/why-stress-when-you-can-see-a-wedding-therapist.html Growing in Faith Group to Celebrate B'Not Mitzvah (Augusta Chronicle): https://www.augustachronicle.com/lifestyle/20200214/growing-in-faith-group-to-celebrate-bnot-mitzvah ----------- Full Transcript Bejar: Why do we need this? We're getting married. We're... you know, it's so early for us to be reaching out for ... people think of couples therapy as being the last straw or the rock bottom or something like that Landis Bejar has a job you may not have ever heard of before. She is a wedding therapist. In her room, individuals and couples plan for the big day by setting goals and processing the experience of the transition. Her blog offers tips on wedding therapy themes such as defending something you never meant to defend. Join me for a conversation with Landis Bejar. This is Shame Piñata. I’m Colleen Thomas. Welcome to Shame Piñata, where we talk about creating rites of passage for real-life transitions. Today we're exploring the idea of wedding therapy. Did you know that wedding therapists are a thing? I had no idea until I read an article by Alyson Krueger in the The New York Times called "Why Stress When You Can See a Wedding Therapist." I learned that there are therapists who not only specialize in life transitions but that some specialize in weddings specifically. Landis Bejar is one of those therapists. She's a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and she started her own practice called Aisle Talk two years ago in New York City. In addition to the New York Times, Aisle Talk has been featured in Brides magazine, Business Insider and The Atlantic. Landis is super personable and passionate about her work. She walked me though how Aisle Talk came to be and answered my questions about what makes weddings such a potent time for everyone involved. She is also a big proponent of removing the stigma from therapy. She regularly attends bridal fairs to get her work out into the world, bring it out of the shadows, and make it a shame-free option for couples. She stresses that there's nothing wrong with you if you are your partner are arguing a bit more as you approach the wedding, or if you communication isn't quote-unquote perfect. You're actually doing a monumental thing in rearranging your own life and potentially the lives of your family. Landis shared with me the moment the idea for her practice was born. Bejar: The sort of aha moment came up in the midst of an argument in a bridal dress salon between my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law. My sister-in-law was trying on dresses. My mother-in-law was commenting on how she looked in them. And I was sort of there for moral support. And my mother-in-law said something that did not sit well with my sister in law about how a certain dress fit and that sparked an argument between the two of them. So I sort of as the, you know, off duty therapist in the room said something to sort of smooth things over and kind of join them together and let each, essentially let each of them feel heard, which is a lot of what we do and family therapy, and kind of realized that, you know, this was not intended to be hurtful It was not intended to, you know, be taken in the way that it was and sort of got everyone on the same page. And in the wake of that, my mother-in-law sort of jokingly commented, "Good thing that we brought the therapist along. How come you're not a bridal therapist?" Which I thought at first was very funny. And a lot of people have made comments like that to me over my career, with a different specialties, whatever it was I was doing at the time, whether it was I was, you know, holding a baby or playing with an animal or something like that. "You should be a baby therapist...You should be a dog therapist." different things of that nature. But there was something about this comment where I sort of did have one of those aha moments. And I said, wait a second, does that exist? Because I've been a bride before and I know that there's lots of psychological and dynamic pieces that are involved in planning a wedding and thinking about getting married and there should be bridal therapists. So that was kind of moment where I started thinking about this as an actual business and some work that I could be good at. Thomas: Why is it that the deep-rooted family problems can come out of the woodwork at weddings? Bejar: First of all, like weddings are not new, even though the way in which we might experience them feels like it's ever changing and ever evolving. It's a really long standing tradition. And so I think that with that comes lots of ways to interpret that tradition and that can be just very different in one family to another. It can be really different from one individual to another and it can be really, really different from one couple as compared to each of their family of origin. So we have this thing that like has been around for so long, but everybody interprets it differently. And so I think that that's one set of circumstances that sort of informs, you know, how that can cause some some family issues to arise along that, along that plain, you know, weddings are also culturally informed. So there's cultural expectations, there's generational expectations about how this milestone is recognized. And it's a milestone not only for an individual person, and not only for a couple, but many view it as a milestone for our family. So I'm kind of, you know, those I feel like those two things are like a venn diagram where there's separate things and then overlapping things. And then on top of that, it's a marker of time. You know, and with any sort of marker of time or what I call in my work, life transition, all kinds of stress comes up because as we mark time, and as we move from one life state to another through a life transition, we ostensibly are grieving the previous state in order to make space for the new state. And that can be challenging both for the person who's moving through it and the people surrounding that person. So if we remove ourselves from the wedding example, we have like a mom sending her five year old to kindergarten, a mom might cry. And it's not because she doesn't she's not happy that her child is ready for the next step in their life that she might be grieving those toddler years or those years where she spent more time with the child and now is kind of watching them gain their independence and moving into this next state. And same reason why we cry at graduations, you know, and you know all of those things, so that comes up during weddings as well. And the other thing that I would say is that like, there's a lot of pressure for this to be the happiest day of your life. And so when you have all of these other sort of variables coming up that would naturally challenge our emotions and psychological states and family dynamics, the first sign of distress feels really upsetting and maybe extra upsetting because of the pressure that we're all supposed to be so happy. And I think that that kind of creates a little bit of a pressure cooker for some of these things to come out in really aggressive ways that we're not expecting. Thomas: You had spoken before about the taboo of therapy. It sounds like you, you address that in your work. Bejar: I do try to address that in my work first by acknowledging how hard it might be for somebody to reach out to me. And also to make my practice one that is trying to sort of in its presentation and where we show up, whether it's a bridal show or a workshop or you know something like that, but just in by by showing up and not being sort of in the dark corners of the internet, we're modeling that it's okay to seek out therapy. It's okay to seek out therapy during this time, and things like that. Thomas: That's wonderful. And specifically, how does that taboo relate to folks are planning to get married? Bejar: Yeah, I think that I think it's like that image of like, if somebody is sort of operating either consciously or unconsciously from this place that there is a taboo around therapy, then people might relate to either themselves, or maybe the perception of others that if you're going to therapy, you have hit rock bottom or things are really dire or things are really terrible. So, if one or more of the partners is operating under that assumption or they feel like people around them are operating under that assumption, that can be really disheartening to think that you've hit rock bottom when you're just about to get married, which is certainly not true, not true most of the time, of course, could be true, I'm sure in many cases, but it's not a requisite to seeking out therapy. Thomas: Are you putting that message out there to help combat the taboo of therapy around the couples that are getting married in some way? Bejar: Yeah, I think that in a like you know wider brushstroke when we're talking to like more people like then we're doing it sort of inherently in our actions rather than our words, right? So like showing up at an expo and being like, you know, at a table in between your, you know, the personal trainers and the bridesmaids dresses and the make up artist, is like your wedding therapist. I think that showing up in that way is our sort of like walking the walk rather than talking the talk is like we don't feel ashamed about it. We want to tell you what we're here for. We want to tell you the things that are very common to experience during your wedding planning and if that relates to you, come on over like we are here to support you during this process. And I think that is sort of like our, our walking the walk of de-stigmatizing therapy to not sort of be in the closets and in the shadows and be very present amongst the people the other people who help you with your wedding planners or your you know, all the things that you do as you're preparing to get to get married. And then maybe more on a micro level is when we're working with people, that's the first thing that we're addressing. We're saying, you know, it's really hard, you know, we're seeing how hard it is in the midst of whether it's our own personal stigma that we carry, or just societal societal stigma, we're acknowledging how powerful it is that they're seeking, seeking support in spite of that and normalizing for so many people that this is so common, and it happens so often, and there's nothing wrong with you. There's nothing pathological about you because you're arguing a little bit more during this time or you're having difficulty with communication. You're collaborating on a big event together, not just the two of you but also incorporating the needs and wishes of your two families and trying to strike a balance between that. And you're on the precipice of committing to a life together and there's a lot of pressure in that. You know, and you're mourning, maybe a loss of your singlehood, which nobody wants to talk about. So we're really doing a lot to sort of normalize that experience and the stress that inherently comes with that. Thomas: What is the experience like for you, when you're at the bridal fairs? How to couples relate to you? Bejar: It's interesting, I think that like I do notice a difference between... like kind of across generations. So I noticed that some of the moms in the group or some of the maybe older generations will have, will have like, definitely some humorous reactions. I've definitely had like some older folks come by and just say, you know, kind of like laugh or giggle or say, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe... They think of everything lately!" Which is totally true and I totally I acknowledge that but I also think that in that is maybe layered with some discomfort perhaps with the idea of seeking therapy for all of these different reasons. But by and large, the reaction is, "Oh my god that is so needed. What a great business!" A lot of times we have people who are stopping by who maybe are accompanying a bride and they say, "Oh my gosh, what I would have given for this during my wedding planning!" or "My family needed this so much," or reactions like that. And then the other reactions are from the other vendors who have probably subbed in as surrogate therapists or just support people as they've been closer to the stress up until this point and wedding history and have taken on the brunt of, you know, family feuds or emotional breakdowns or things like that. And they're oftentimes the most supportive of this mission because that's not what they are contracted to do necessarily, or what they feel comfortable with, or what they're trained for any of those things. Right. So how cool would it be to actually have a trained therapist on staff, if you will, to help you navigate the stresses of the ceremony - not only your stresses, but those that might be coming up from the folks around you? I'm hoping this wedding therapy idea is one that catches on. May we all have all the support and witnessing we need as we go through our life transitions. Thomas: So on the show, we talk a lot about life transitions, and we've been focused on creating rites of passage for those as, as we feel called to do that, whatever we feel that urgency when something is really intense, and we, we really want to honor a transition with ceremony. And we also talk about rites of passage that we had, that we had in our life or that we wished we'd had in our life. And so I'm curious if there are any transitions in your life that you wish you could have had a rite of passage for. Bejar: Yeah, I don't know if I've ever really like articulated this. But when I was in like, middle school time, so like seventh eighth grade, I had a lot of friends who were having Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. And I think, for me as someone who has one Jewish parent but wasn't raised with any sort of formal religion in my family growing up, it was a time where I sort of long to be part of something a little bit more structured and I saw my friends kind of going through that rite of passage and all that comes with it. It's not just a day but it's, you know, years of practice and study and understanding and sacrifice in terms of like, the time and the energy and when you're, you know, a really young person, and you're often working on like a special philanthropic project, you're learning a new language, you're sort of performing that new language in front of other people, you're interpreting it, you're doing a lot of things that probably at the time I was like, interested in certain aspects, but as I've gotten older, I'm think it's really interesting, sort of rite of passage for a very young person and like, tasked with a lot of responsibility. Then I guess 10-15 years later, I was, you know, thinking about getting married to my partner and my person who I found and I was marrying somebody who is Jewish and who longed for a partner who was Jewish and might have converted or being if they weren't already either converted, or in my case sort of affirm their Jewish identity and gone through a process of like, doing that so that we could, you know, raise a Jewish family and things that I probably wasn't able to do without having the Jewish upbringing and just having my one Jewish parent. So, I think that, you know, that was a very special time for me going through that process before getting married. And they think that it's really interesting that as you asked me this question, the rite of passage of the Bar or Bat Mitzvah that I am immediately think of feels very, feels like it fits really well because ultimately, like I did sort of go through this conversion or affirmation of my Jewish identity that has been very important to me. And I feel like as a part of that work that I did when I was an adult, I reflected on many moments in my life where I longed for like being more a part of that community and I feel like as a part of getting married, I got to do that in a more formal way that I had longed for as an individual and then kind of gone through a process in my, you know, planning to get married. Thomas: So you went through the Bat Mitzvah process, but when you were older? Bejar: It was a conversion process. It was different than the Bat Mitzvah, but it feels like it feels very relevant that I guess that was something that I longed for, and later sort of affirmed my Jewish identity in a different way and sort of this adult way, which you can have a Bar or Bat Mitzvah at any age, and it's something that I kind of think about but it is actually quite more involved than the conversion - which is are already very involved, it's like a year long process - but the Bat Mitzvah... which is like amazing, because this is something that I try to wrap my mind around doing now and and like, you know, 12 and 13 year-olds are doing it at that age and I feel even more impressed by it now as an adult. But yeah, it’s still something I think about doing today but haven't. But I feel like it just fits in with the sort of this path that I sort of took on a little bit later in life. Thomas: There was actually an article in the Austin Chronicle this week about women in the fullness of their womanhood, no longer, you know, pre-teens and teenagers who are going through kind of a Bat Mitzvah experience. They call it a B'Not Mitzvah. Bejar: Oh, that’s cute! That's so cute. Well, when I was doing my conversion classes, there was actually a class there was simultaneously going on in the synagogue which was women who were, you know, fully in their womanhood, not teenagers or pre-teens, and they were all doing a Bat Mitzvah class together. And so I was in my class over here which was different, but I would sort of look over and say that would be something that I do you later on down the road. Thomas: Yeah well, thank you so much for this conversation it’s been so inspiring to talk with you today. Bejar: Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to talk about these things. I feel like things are all things that I love to talk about and I love to reflect on and are so important to me. And I love the kind of context of really focusing in on the transition of the ritual and how that is impacted by all things that, you know, my specific work is impacted by in terms of stigma and pressure and all of those things, so I really appreciate the opportunity to talk with you. Landis Bejar is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in private practice in New York City. Her practice is called Aisle Talk. Aisle talk focuses on helping individuals and couples cope through the stresses of planning a wedding and getting married through therapy and counseling. Learn more at https://www.aisle-talk.com. That's aisle DASH talk.com. Our music is by Terry Hughes. If you like the show, we'd love it if you'd share it with a friend. Learn more at shamepinata.com. I’m Colleen Thomas. Thanks for listening.

3 Invaluable Lessons from Faith Varwig Developing matrixes of responsibilities for IT departments is critically important. Listen to your IT specialist and believe that they know what they’re talking about. Making the right decision is better than making a fast decision.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Faith Varwig about some of the insights and secrets of how to make IT successful on projects. Welcome to Construction Dream Team Podcast where Sue Dyer interviews industry leaders and experts so you can learn about the people side of construction and build your construction dream team based on OPE, Other People’s Experiences.  Accelerate your success by learned from those who have already been there and done that. Please join the Construction Dream Team LinkedIn Group to ask question and have a dialogue with the experts we have featured on the Construction Dream Team Podcast and with each other.  Visit CDTlinekedin.com to join. About Guest Faith Varwig (2:05) Faith Varwig is the Principle and Founder of The Faith Group. The Faith Group LLC was established in 2004 as a full-service consulting and engineering firm specializing in the planning and design of security, IT, safety, operational and MEP and FP systems for aviation, transportation, healthcare, federal, government, large campus environments, and critical infrastructure clients.   Faith’s Journey to Becoming the Founder of The Faith Group (3:10) Faith spent more than 20 years working for several architectural engineering firms in the St. Louis region (3:34) She wanted to support not only the tech but the operations and business systems of her clients (3:45) She cares about the culture of her company; she makes work fun and upholds company values (4:00)   Faith’s Strengths as a Leader and How She Creates and Leads a Great Culture (4:48)   She loves communicating and working with her clients and staff on a personal level (4:55) She’s accessible as a leader - no matter your role, people should be able to come in and talk to you about anything (5:28) She wants to share with her team her more than 35 years of experience (5:55) She empowers her team to think outside of the box and come up with new ideas and approaches that set a different standard (6:15) She’s not afraid to try new things, take some risks, and experiment (6:40)   Why Do the IT Components on So Many Projects Still Fail? (7:55) IT needs to be there at the very beginning, many companies wait to include it the end of the project (9:07) There are problems assigning an appropriate budget for IT (9:26) The IT disciplines are lumped under the prime electrical contractor who doesn’t have the skill-set to manage them (10:00)   How to Implement Technology into the Construction Process (11:20) You have to start thinking of technology infrastructure as the fifth utility of the building (11:28) Start with the stakeholders during the early stages of the planning process to develop goals, objectives, and detailed design documents (11:55) Have a liaison between the stakeholders, the planning and development group, and the general contractor to help deliver a program that’s on time and in budget and meets all the goals and objectives of the end stakeholders (12:55)   How Do You Implement Technology When You Have a CM That Thinks It’s Their Role? (13:50) A technology rollout is completely different than construction management. The key difference is that in many cases the IT department of the company plays a key role in implementation. These IT teams generally have no experience in construction, so there has to be flexibility in budget and tools to ensure that the department delivers on time.   How to Get the IT Department On Board (17:10) Work hard with IT departments to help them understand where they fit in (17:58) Create schedules and develop matrixes that assign responsibilities (18:05) Realize that the internal IT department has no contractual obligation to the contractor (19:00)   What is the Barrier to Creating a Strong Tech Implementation for Extraordinary Results (21:10) Get the owners and the contractors to understand the value of up-front planning, along with the need for future growth. Everyone has to understand that there will be risks and there need to be people on staff who are strictly focused on managing the IT program. IT is complicated and the approach to delivering the project needs to be flexible because the process and technology will change.   What You Need to Do to Truly Implement Technology on Your Project (23:40)   Understand the true scope of the project up-front (24:13) Budget appropriately for the full scope of the work (24:32) Have the right combination of the right consulting team early on (26:40)   A Big Challenge Faith Has Faced (27:20)   Professionally, being on the wrong side of a political decision of an organization.  We did our job and doing everything right, be we were on the wrong side of the political environment.   Personally, making the decision 15 years ago to start her own company was a challenge. She was under the safety umbrella of a large organization and then was compelled to step out and put her own ideas into action. It takes about five years to prove to people that you’re going to stick around. She now has a great client base and multiple offices.   The Very Best Advice Faith Has Ever Gotten (30:20) Remain calm, don’t overreact to anything. Developing relationships and partnerships with companies is the most important thing you can do.   Resources for Listeners (35:53)   Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It and Why the Rest Don’t by Verne Harnish Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family by Bob Chapman Airport Consultants Council Young Professional Group   Faith’s Favorite Personal Piece of Tech (37:32) Microsoft Teams and GoToMeetings are the platforms the Faith Group is moving to instead of Skype.   Contact Faith Email Faith Faith@FaithGroupllc.com   Faith’s Parting Advice (43:10) Be nice to people, everyone is in a program or project to be successful (43:20) Create a culture of inclusion (43:40)   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Construction Dream Team Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!  If you have an iPhone, you can say, “Hey Siri subscribe to Construction Dream Team Podcast” and it will happen.  Also, please give us a five-star rating. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

Episode # 42 is here!! In this episode, I speak with my Friend and Brother-in-Christ, Vincent “Buzz” Lamoureux. Buzz is a “Cradle Catholic” and has been a lifelong Parishioner of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in San Antonio, TX. What keeps Buzz's fire burning for our Catholic Faith? We learn how adversity has helped his Prayer Life. He shares how attending and serving on ACTS Retreats has helped him go from “meandering” and being private in his Faith to engaging more in Fellowship and being a Witnessing his Faith. Buzz shares about several Ministries he is a part of, such as The Men's Faith Group at Holy Spirit and Christ in the Workplace. Buzz shares “The Elephant Story.' You do not want to miss this!!!! Items also mentioned on the episode: Watch D.O.G.S. https://dadsofgreatstudents.com/ Devotional – Jesus Calling https://www.jesuscalling.com/ A BIG Thank you to Dr. Jeff Vista, Executive Producer!! Special thanks to Philip Strauch III for providing the Outro Music, "He must Increase." Text and Tune copyrighted. Like what you hear? Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/thejohn330podcast

On November 18th, Fr. Riccardo spoke to the Family of Faith Group of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish on Taking Back Sundays: Keeping the Lord's Day. This is a podcast of Fr. John's address to the group. The Universal Prayer of Pope Clement XI referenced in this podcast is available here.

On November 18th, Fr. Riccardo spoke to the Family of Faith Group of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish on Taking Back Sundays: Keeping the Lord's Day. This is a podcast of Fr. John's homily from the opening Mass.