Snapshots and Synapses

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people: Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased!” - Luke 2:14 (NET Bible)  Good News? The headlines are filled with almost everything but! Peace??? Where? 2010 has been a flurry of a year! How can anyone argue with that? 2000 years after Christ’s birth, we see wars, famines, etc. Where is God in the midst of suffering, violence, sickness, and death? I’ve heard good questions like these, and to be honest, I don’t know if my answer would satisfy the person that has these questions, but I have an answer that satisfies me. It all has to do with the words of the ...

I was reading a book on marriage discussing the concept of making your own happiness. The author wrote that the human mind is like a computer that regularly receives programming: positive talk reinforces a positive outlook while negative talk promotes a negative outlook. The author continued to identify “self-talk” as the thoughts we allow ourselves to think repeatedly that have the same impact on our perspective. Now, I believe that happiness flows from our response to circumstances, which in turn comes from our ability to find joy, and according to Scripture, joy is a fruit of the spirit. So spending time with God allows the fruit of joy to fill us… but we need to agree with the truth He reveals to us for the fruit to grow. Our thoughts need to be conformed first to His way of thinking (1 Cor 10:5, Phil 4:8). I’m not always good at putting this into practice, but I’ve resolved to program my way of thinking so I can respond with joy and happiness to the circumstances of the day. In ...

“Here, you must need this dollar more than me.” The man said with a note of aggravation in his voice. It took my lunch companion and me by surprise. We didn’t know what he was talking about, but taking a tip from Proverbs 15:1 (“A mild answer calms wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”), we asked some questions to try and figure out what had happened. Intending to be courteous, my wife had moved her purse out of the way as the man sat down in the crowded café. This was a habit I’ve seen her do consistently through the years out of consideration. But the man, an African-American, took offense at her actions as an insult to his integrity. We talked about it, but in the end, I don’t know if he felt the respect and consideration we were trying to convey. The years and even generations of mistreatment doled out by someone with my skin color blocked the good will my wife and I wanted to show this man. I see this tragedy work its way into the lives of my kids as well: an intended display ...

When I was little, my parents would sing a slightly modified nursery rhyme: I see the moon; the moon sees me;      the moon sees somebody I’d like to see. God bless the moon; God bless me;      God bless the somebody I’d like to see. It seems to me that God above      created you for me to love. He picked you out from all the rest      because He knew I’d love you best. As I started having children of my own, I’d sing this song to them, and my guess is that they will pass this on to their children. Romantics have often gazed into the night sky and looked upon the beauty of the moon, inspired with thoughts of love. But the first time I was truly struck the moon’s radiance, was at Disney World. As the day at Disney came to a close, the customary end-of-the-day fireworks started exploding over the castle. Now the folks at Disney put on a good show, and the fireworks are part of the package, do...

copyright ©2010 Mitchell Malloy ( http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/ ) You may think you know this tale, but it just may lead you to a different Destination than what you expect. Once upon a time, and this is a true story, mankind lived in a literal paradise. They had everything they needed, including creative hobbies and companionship. Food could be found in abundance, disease was non-existent, and no healthy desire was out of reach. The people even had direct access to God. That’s right, they could have a face to face encounter throughout the day. Even negative thoughts were non-existent… well, at least until this one idea crept into the head of one of the people. The concept was this: if a person knew all about what is right and wrong, then they would be as powerful as God. Essentially, if you knew everything about everything, including the way to be perfect, you could be your own god. The thought seemed like a good idea: understand right and wrong, know how to perfect yourself,...

copyright ©2010 Mitchell Malloy (http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/ ) I had just come off a mini-deployment to the North Atlantic, six of the most miserable weeks of my life. During that time I had seen the sun a total of six days: the day we left Charleston, SC; the four days we stayed in Oslo, Norway; and the day we returned to Charleston. On the return trip, I had nearly been swept overboard by a large swell that caught me on the fantail of the ship after skirting around a hurricane. A fire hose dangling as a result of the storm found its way to my hand, steadying me and preventing me from being washed into the churning seas. The six weeks had been miserable. Shoring myself up emotionally, I consciously decided to only bring “positive” reading materials and music on the approaching six month deployment. Along with the Bhagavad Gītā and Upanishads, I brought a dust-ridden copy of the Bible. My degree was in Philosophy, and I had adopted Ghandi’s definition of a Hindu (i.e. –...

copyright ©2010 Mitchell Malloy ( http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/ ) What if a million dollars had been set aside for your use, but you weren't allowed to draw on it until you reached a point where you could responsibly handle it? And what if the "responsibly handle it" part meant that you had learned to use it in a way that didn't seek your own pleasure? What good could you do with a million dollars? If the money was spent foolishly, what damage could happen to you and your family? Is is possible that God has unlimited resources that He is just waiting to hand over to you, but He's waiting for you to reach a point where your own pleasure is no longer your pursuit? What if God cares so much for you that He withholds those good things that you are not ready to manage responsibly? What if we all sought the good of others over our selfish wants? What if we truly believed God was able to meet all our needs and even exceed our expectations? How would today's ac...

copyright ©2010 Mitchell Malloy ( http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/ ) Well, now that we have become an Obama nation (not quite the same as “abomination”) and as elections start to loom in the distance, I hear people saying: “how’s that hope thing working out for you?”. The last presidential election was, after all, centered on “hope” and “change”. But I’m not writing about campaign strategies or critiquing the performance of our statesmen. I’m focused on our need for hope as individuals. Where is the hope? I see and sometimes feel a great absence of hope as marriages struggle, finances crumble, and life-long vocations teeter. One co-worker of mine despairingly acknowledged current events and trends with a corollary statement of “might as well have a drink and not think about it”. In other words, find your drug of choice and pretend there’s no problem to fix. While I acknowledge that avoidance can be a valid short-term tactic, it’s a dangerous long-term strategy. Healthy organization...

copyright ©2010 Mitchell Malloy ( http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/ )   Now, I don’t know about you but I can be guilty of extreme reactions when it comes to “authority”. So the extremes are this: 1) resist authority or 2) yield to authority. But what about questioning authority… where does that fit in? Authority… the word evokes various reactions. For some people, the mere thought of “authority” is like a sound to arms… a call to resist… to rise up and fight… like John Cougar’s “I fight authority” lyrics. For others, it’s a proclamation to comply… to obey… to submit without considering the validity of the order. The academic discipline of Logic recognizes a logical fallacy: Appeal to Authority. The fallacy (or error in reasoning) manifests when a person concludes something similar to this: “[Authority Person] says this is true, therefore it is automatically true”. Religious systems can often appeal to an authority in providing answers: “the pastor said this, so it MUST be tru...

copyright ©2010 Mitchell Malloy ( http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/ ) - Sermon Notes for 07/25/2010 at Soldier's Memorial Chapel in Fort Benjamin Harrison “All we can do is pray.” I find myself saying that way too often. Why do we say “all” as if this is somehow an inferior act? Although I KNOW that prayer is important and powerful, somehow, it’s easy to lose sight of that. I wonder why? How is it that when we finally get to the end of our own power, our own strength, that we remember our most valuable Resource: we have the ear of the All-Powerful and All-Knowing God! Now for clarification, God is not some genie in a bottle that we command to do our bidding; He is God and we are His subjects. Still, why wouldn’t we go to the King of the Universe when we need anything? He is our Provider and Protector! 1One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." 2He said t...

I’ve noticed something about myself: when purpose drives my life, I’m passionate about life, but in the absence of purpose, I tend to focus on what pleases me, which leads to a lack-luster longing for more. I don’t think I’m unique in this, especially among guys. We thrive on purpose. Our identity rests on it, and in the absence of purpose, we find one: career, status, finances, skills, video games, drinking games or whatever else brings us pleasure. It can drive us to build great things, create new artwork, or just compete for competition’s sake. In the end, it can be filled with great worth or feed our vanity, and it whiles away the hours. Now, there are a lot of worthy activities, and there are some less worthy ones. When we occupy ourselves with the less worthy pursuits, there’s a cost. When my purpose centers around my pleasure, the world suffers; I suffer. Whether it’s a short-term, immediate self-gratification or a long-term pursuit self-service, selfish ambition keep...

copyright ©2010 Mitchell Malloy (http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/ ) (Continued from Chapter 2: The Tempest ) “Before I chase him down, what should I know about King Ahaziah?” Ginath asked his sibling as he prepared to depart the larger army. Obed looked at his younger brother. Although Ginath was only slightly younger, he almost could have passed for Obed's son. Lean and tall with jet black hair and a beard, Ginath looked to be in his late twenties rather than upper thirties. “Are you only taking two warriors with you and the king?” Obed asked. “Ah ha! I see what King Jehu means: do you always avoid answering?” laughed Ginath with a huge smile piercing through the thick, black beard. “I was not avoiding your question, I only wondered...” Ginath interrupted him: “Relax, Obed! You are always so serious! I am taking the only two riders who can keep up with King Jehu and me. Should Ahaziah reach his own army before we catch him, I will regret not having this entire army ...

copyright ©2010 Mitchell Malloy ( http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/ ) You know that saying: “You learn more from kids”? Well, it applies to teachers as well as parents. In the late ‘90s, I taught at a Christian school in Central Florida, and I learned more from one class than I ever passed on to them. Now as a father of 5, all my children are my favorites, and as a teacher I tried not to show any favoritism. But the reality of life is that we sometimes click better with some people than others, and I really enjoyed the kids in this one particular class. They were some of my “favorites”. Then a new student entered the class and the whole atmosphere changed. This new kid really wasn’t bad, and outside of the classroom, I truly liked him. But in class he was very disruptive, even to the point where my once favorite class had become my least favorite. As this new kid criticized and complained, it seemed as if the entire room was filled with similar students. I don’t recall all the deta...

copyright ©2010 Mitchell Malloy ( http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/ ) (Continued from Chapter 1: Duty ) Obed brought his chariot to a stop as Jehu ordered the army to a halt. The thunder of the chariots disappeared into an eerie silence, interrupted by the occasional cough of a dust-stricken soldier or the snort of a weary horse. With the exception of these intermittent sounds, the only noise Obed could hear was the whisper of wind in his ears. His brother was positioned slightly behind Jehu, and from his position to the right of Ginath, Obed had a clear view of the two approaching chariots. King Joram of the Northern country was accompanied by his nephew, King Ahaziah of the Southern kingdom. Obed knew them both well. As the two royal chariots continued to approach the army, Obed allowed himself to drift into thought. He realized they had come to stop in the Royal Vineyard, purchased by Joram's father from Naboth the Jezreelite shortly after he “enlisted” in the Royal Guar...