"What's Really Important?"

Why do we care so much about things that mean so little? Why is it we put so little time into the really important aspects of our lives? I believe that one way to answer these two questions is our never-ending search for finding the easy, more comfortable way in all that we do. If one way seems to take less effort than the other we have a tendency to take this route.

Many of us choose to focus on things that truly have little or no real effect on our lives in an attempt to avoid having to deal with things or situations that are important and have a real, tangible effect on us. Examples of this are watching television, unnecessary shopping, sports, movies; all are an attempt to escape reality and the things that truly matter. These things can give us a temporary high, though if things don’t go right with them we may allow these meaningless things to ruin our day.

How ridiculous and sad is it that when our team loses a game, we may yell at the kids, or argue with the wife! Does the fact our team lost have any real effect on our lives? Not really, only what we let it. While we all need an escape from reality once in awhile, many of us have a tendency to let these little distractions take over our lives.

We need to take back our lives; instead of watching others live and perform for our entertainment we need to get out there and live life. Do things instead of watching them be done! If you’re not living you’re dying! Choose to live!

"My Perfect church"

In my ideal church, everyone would be welcome; help would be offered to all. The church would not pressure or guilt anyone into making donations, or make people feel they need to give more, to get more. Our church wouldn’t be built on money like so many others are today; we would seek to build a nice simple church that would make people feel comfort and at ease when they enter, and full of joy and hope when they leave. Our mission is to give the hope, guidance, and unending support needed to all we meet, inside or outside of the church.

My belief is that God does not want to be feared or worshiped as so many religions would have us believe. I have to believe that God is like a father watching over his children, and all he really wants from us is love and respect, as well as our being as morally pure as we can. The most important thing we can do for him is to be the best we can be, and to help our fellow man to be their best.

There are too many churches out there that offer their help with one hand while asking for money with the other. Too many televangelists on television who put on a huge theatrical production of what god wants us do, only to manipulate us into sending them money. Do you really think the so called blessed jewelry they offer (for a small donation of course) will really help you? These people use religion to get to you, and to your wallet.

We then have the big churches, the ones who receive massive amounts of donations. Why is it they feel the need to spend so much of these donations on making the church so extravagantly beautiful? Is it vanity, greed, or is it because they think it will bring in more parishioners? Maybe it will, but I would rather all that wasted money be used to help the people in need. And of course many of these preachers need a big fancy house, an expensive vehicle, and even an RV, in order to better help others.

All the big extravagant displays of how well their church is doing does nothing to help the needy. These are selfish, vain, and greedy displays as well as a misuse of donations, bordering on criminal acts. They give religion a bad name. A large number of people stay away from religion due to these misguided and sometimes even corrupt individuals or organizations. The news is full of church misuse of funds, cover-ups, and other negative instances.

The children and young adults of today are receiving mixed signals about religion, they are told to believe in god and to follow his beliefs, yet they see that so many of these religious leaders are not practicing what they are preaching. Could this be one of the reasons for the deterioration of society? People need guidance, and they need positive role models. We need to bring religion back to respectability and hold our religious leaders to a higher standard.

Religion shouldn’t be something we dread, it should offer a fun, enlightening, joyful time where people from all walks of life can come together to learn of gods ways and of each other. There should be no pressure placed on anyone to do or say anything. Going to church should be a time of ease, where we can relax and be ourselves without fear of judgment. What good is church if you are putting up a front and are not truly honest about who you really are inside. You shouldn’t be afraid to go to church because you can’t afford to make a donation or your clothes aren’t nice enough. Church shouldn’t cater to the privileged, everyone, no matter their race or circumstance should feel welcome and embraced. Let’s take the fear and embarrassment out of going to church and replace it with a spirit of hopefulness, and excitement of learning more about ourselves and forming new friendships with others.

We all need help and support sometimes in our lives, the church should be one of our greatest sources for both. People do need people, and everyone needs something to believe in. Let’s help give god and the church the chance to offer both.

Thank You!

Thank you all for coming to my blogsite. I hope you enjoy my writings. Go to www.jeffreyblecha.wordpress.com to check out my website "Live Your Life"
You can also see some of my articles published on EzineArticles/Jeffrey Blecha

“Two Powerful Little Words”

Apologizing to someone may be one of the hardest things to do. Some of us have a hard time admitting we’re wrong. How many relationships has this cost us? Even if it may not have caused the total loss of a relationship I’m certain it’s caused some animosity and lessened the relationship in one way or another.

A simple heart felt apology, the simple words “I’m sorry” have a tremendous impact on our lives. It can change a person’s mentality from one of war and strife to one of peace and love. Two little words, but they hold so much power!

Why is it we allow these two powerful and positive little words to interfere with our lives? Just uttering these words can have such a meaningful, tension releasing effect on not only the ones hearing them, but also on the person saying them. “I’m sorry,” how many times have you thought to yourself, “it wouldn’t be so bad if he/she had just said they were sorry?” Two little words!

How many of us are poisoned by the fact that we feel terrible about something we may have done or said in the past to someone and we wish we had apologized? We still can! No matter how long ago or how strained the relationship may be now we can still say “I’m sorry.” While the person may not accept and forgive you immediately, you’ll feel better that at least you tried, and who knows? In time this person may come to realize just what effort it took for you to apologize and see that you really do value their relationship.

I compare our remorse to a poison that is slowly, yet deliberately killing us each day. It eats away at us, causing resentment, self doubt, and sucking the very joy out of life. The longer it’s inside the more it festers and causes us pain. We need to find an antidote, a cure that will save us and give us our lives back. These two little words “I’m sorry” may be that cure, they may be just what is needed to repair our relationships; they may be our only salvation!

It doesn’t matter how long ago an incident took place. Just imagine how you would feel if someone you felt had wronged you 20 years ago, came up to you or called you, or even wrote you and said “I’m sorry.” How would that make you feel? There is no time limit for remorse! It can be a freeing feeling!

If this story helps you in any way then I’m thankful. If it inspires you to go out and apologize to a friend, neighbor, or especially a family member then I’m ecstatic! Relationships are hard to build but easy to tear down. Value every relationship, try to see the good in everyone, care enough to utter these two little words “I’m sorry.” It’s too important not to!

If this story offends anyone out there then all I can say is that was not my intention, and that “I’m sorry!”

"How Important Is Acceptance?"

How many great men and women are hidden from society due to their own self imposed insecurities? We are all great in our own way, the sad fact that so many of us never reach our potential because of fear and worry of public opinion is an injustice to humanity. Not only do these crippling feelings cause pain to the individual, society also suffers.

People need to feel and be free to be whom and what they really are inside. How many of us are trapped into being and doing things just because we feel it’s what society demands, that it’s the only way to fit in and be accepted in today’s world? I’m sure that the cause of many mental illnesses are the fact that we feel imprisoned by our need to be accepted by society, we hide our true feelings and let them fester inside and poison our health and well-being.

Men need to be strong, virile, and confident. Women must be petite, soft spoken, and look their best at all times. These are just a few of the many unspoken perceived rules of society. What of the people who don’t fit these profiles of the proper man or woman? These are the people who are ridiculed and shunned by society. They are made to feel that they are doing something wrong or that they aren’t normal. The real question is what is normal? Who decides what normal is? Do we or should we really want to be like everyone else? Imagine how boring the world would be if everyone was the same.

Our differences are what make the world more exciting, more colorful. Imagine if all painting used the same colors, the same styles. Everyone sees the world differently; it’s just that most of us are afraid to say exactly how we feel. The fear of acceptance is a stifling emotion. The few of us who are strong enough to truly be ourselves are usually the ones who come up with many of the inventions, styles, and artistry (including culinary) that add spice to humanity.

Is it wrong to be a homosexual? Are homosexuals evil, wrongdoers? While I myself am not a homosexual I do respect their right to be who they are. There is nothing wrong, or evil about being a homosexual, just as there is nothing wrong with being a heterosexual. As long as there are two consenting adults it can’t be wrong. The only true wrong is not being who we really are.

"Dad"

My father was the kind of man that everyone looked up to and respected. Dad was incredibly smart and it seemed there was nothing he couldn’t fix or figure out. He grew up during the depression and as might be expected, that had a great influence in his life. During the depression money was scarce and hard work was the name of the game. Dad learned at an early age to work and to save his earnings, and to not trust the banks with all his money. He was very frugal with his hard earned income.

Dad was a workaholic; it seemed he always had to be working on something. As a child, we always celebrated our Christmas on Christmas Eve. Each Christmas Eve after dinner my family would journey to my parent’s bedroom where we would intently watch out the window for Rudolph’s shiny red nose, signifying that Santa was near. While watching for Santa we would sing Christmas carols as a multitude of pictures were taken. My father was hardly ever in these pictures though, before we ventured to my parent’s bedroom my father would disappear, my mother would tell us he had to work on something in the garage.

The fact that my father would be working even on this night might have seemed odd to most people, but not to us, we were all used to seeing him work so much. It wasn’t until years later that I realized he wasn’t out in the garage working, he was helping Santa. Our Santa had a lot of work to do too; with seven children eagerly awaiting his arrival.

When we would go out into the living room, after Santa had gone, we were amazed by the vast amount of presents that filled the room. Now, I believed in Santa a little longer than most of my friends, this was because when questioned about Santa my parents always explained there was no way they could afford to buy all those gifts for all of us. While I know my father worked a lot, I’m still amazed our parents were able to give us so much.

This is just one story, the stories and accomplishments of dad are too many to list, though throughout the years I know we will all be telling them to our children and grandchildren just to give them a small piece of what he’s given us for all these years.

To say my dad was a good provider would be an understatement. He gave us whatever we needed and more. Even though he knew the value of money and was very cautious with his spending, his sense of family was by far his strongest emotion, and he made sure his family was happy and well taken care of.

I realize this workaholic trait of my father’s supplied me and my family with many happy memories, but I just wish my father would have had more time to share in them with us. I always tell everyone that “I had the best parents in the world.” They taught us love, respect, and the true meaning of family. My only wish is that dad is happy; and that he knows how much he is loved by us all and that we’ll miss him very much. He is and always will be the greatest man I’ve ever known.

WE LOVE YOU DAD!

"Are We Spoiling Our Kids?"

Parents are always saying “I want to give my kids the things that I never had.” Why do we feel the need to give our children everything? Was our own childhood really that bad? I would guess that for most of us the answer is no. Of course we want to provide whatever we can for our children, but sometimes we do too much.

Are we doing so much for our children that they acquire bad habits that will actually hurt them and their future? Do the children expect the parents to wait on them when they are perfectly able to do things for themselves? Do the children perform choirs, even simple little ones, or do they just ignore them until the parent either yells at them or does it themselves? Do you have to wake your child in the morning or have to keep telling them where they have to go, or what they need to do, or are they responsible enough to set their alarm clocks, or know what they need to do without being told?

These are just a few things that will affect them in later years. The habit of waiting for others to do it, or not respecting others time by being late can eventually cost them their jobs as well as their relationships. Could our doing too much for our kids be the reason why there is so little respect in this country? Are we spoiling our children and ruining future adults?