Why I Go to Bed at 8:00

October 10, 2012

A familiar scenario for most people: the alarm clock goes off. You set it early this morning because you have so much to do and you really need to get a head start on the day.

You know the importance of starting your day with some quiet time with God and you’ve seen the fruit of that when you’ve been consistent with it. You also made that resolution to exercise and you really want to get back into shape. Add on top of that the ever-increasing demands of your job and your need to get in early and get some work done before the chaos of the day ensues. Bottom line: YOU NEED TO GET UP EARLY TODAY.

But despite all those reasons, 9 out of 10 times you end up doing the same thing…SNOOZE!

And you continue to hit the snooze button – every 9 minutes if your clock is like mine – the whole time calculating in your head what you can cut out of your morning routine in order to get some more rest (if I don’t eat breakfast I can sleep for another 3.5 minutes). Sound familiar?

Ignorance Is Not An Excuse

October 5, 2012

When I was in high school one of my teachers had a poster up in her classroom with the phrase “Ignorance is Not an Excuse in the Court of Law.” At the time I had high hopes of becoming a lawyer. And even though my career took a turn when I learned that law school was three years, the phrase stuck with me.

The official legal term is “Ignorantia Juris Non Excusat,” and in my loose legal translation it essentially means that people cannot claim ignorance as an excuse to do something illegal. I have been thinking about this lately as I have been feeling convicted about the faith and the Bible which I claim so fervently to love.

I can picture Judgment Day and going up to the Throne of God and attempting to claim my ignorance of His Law as the reason for my disobedience. I then imagine laughter infiltrating the depths of Heaven. I grew up in a home where we had about 4 Bibles per capita, access to countless sermons (in HD), books available on order, and Google. I’ve had parents and a plethora of teachers willing to listen to the questions I’ve had and answer them with research and deep consideration. All these thoughts brought me back to “Ignorantia Juris Non Excusat.” I really have no excuse.

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What I Learned from Last Night’s Presidential Debate

October 4, 2012

“This is fascinating!” That’s what I told my wife when she came downstairs at 10:00 last night and saw me sitting in front of the television watching the Presidential debate between President Obama and Governor Romney. It must have been captivating to keep me awake that late; but I couldn’t resist. It was “must-see” TV.

I wasn’t coming downstairs to watch the debate – to be honest, I didn’t even know there was a debate. I don’t really follow the news and I especially don’t follow politics. To me, “watching the news” means the latest edition of SportsCenter and “the debate” means watching Kornheiser and Wilbon face off on PTI. That’s the extent of my knowledge of current events.

But I couldn’t resist last night. It was scintillating stuff. The way these guys were able to address one another face to face was great. You really got to see not just what each candidate is proposing on paper (which I wouldn’t understand anyway), but rather how each candidate thinks. To me, that is infinitely more important. Why? Because "as a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7).

Welcome (back) to My Blog

October 3, 2012

Phew! Finally! I’m back!!! It’s been almost two weeks since my blog got hacked and went down, but thankfully the long wait is finally over! Thanks to a lot of hard work from some talented people (@drjohn323, @sbeshara16, and @tizmagik), FrAnthony.com is back and I’m ready to rock ‘n roll!

And in the end – as is the case with so many things in life – it actually turns out that getting hacked was a blessing in disguise. The Bible says that “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28) and that was very true in this case. I had been planning to redesign the site for the longest time and add some new stuff. I wanted to add a tagline. I wanted to redesign the commenting system. I wanted to add some better navigation.

But it wasn’t till the site went down that I actually did any of that. So there’s your blessing in disguise for the day (here’s a link to a great song about blessings in disguise). So in the end, all things really do work together for good.

Change of Mind = Change of Behavior

September 21, 2012

What would you do today if you believed you won the lottery? Would that change anything in your day? I’m not talking about if you played the lottery and thought you had a chance to win. I am saying imagine you just got a certified letter, hand-delivered to you by Regis himself, saying that you’ve just won $100 million and the check is in the mail.

Would that change your behavior?

YOU BET IT WOULD! Are you kidding me? I’d be dancing in the street! I’d be screaming so loud that the neighbors would hear! I’d drive straight to my workplace – with resignation letter in hand – but before I submitted the letter, I’d go around and tell everyone how I REALLY felt about them!

(Note to all who work with me now: please don’t be offended by the last sentence. Of course I was just exaggerating to make a point. I’d never want to work with anyone other than you guys and as long as I don’t win the lottery any time soon, I’m sticking with that as my story :) )

What You Might Be Missing Out On

September 18, 2012

Have you ever been scared by a Bible verse? It doesn’t happen often but every now and then, I’ll come across a verse that makes me cringe. Verses like that might not be common, but when they come, they have the ability to scare the pants off you (or robe depending on what you wear :) ).

Luke 7:30 is one of those verses. It says: “But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him (John the Baptist).”

Does that verse scare you? If it doesn’t, then you may need to read it again. Let me break it down for you and add my own emphasis on the verse.

"But the Pharisees and lawyers..."

aka THE GOOD GUYS, not the robbers and thieves and adulterers. These are the guys who were supposed to be the religious leaders and those who knew God best.

"…rejected the will of God for themselves..."

Your One Thing

September 14, 2012

A few generations back, before the world of Twitter, Facebook, or cool blogs on the Internet (subscribe to us here!), there was Popeye the Sailor man: the short, balding, mischievous cartoon character on television.

For those not familiar with the character, he was a sailor by trade but more than that to millions of kids who tuned in faithfully every weekend. He also had a special lady friend named Olive Oil, a dashing young lady with a pickle-shaped nose and spaghetti-thin arms (every young boy’s fantasy!). And most of the time, Popeye and Olive Oil went about life enjoying their days and taking things in stride as they happened.

But when things took a more serious turn, and if it looked like Olive Oil might be in some danger, Popeye would race to her side and utter those famous words of an entire generation: “That’s all I can stands, and I can’t stands no more!” (Popeye was never known for his impeccable grammar however)

Are You As Responsible As You Think You Are?

September 13, 2012

If you’re a parent like me, there’s a word that gets repeated in your home daily. Most children don’t like it very much, but it’s something they need to learn – not just for their own sake, but for the sake of the rest of society. It’s a word that – even though we can’t always agree on its meaning – we all agree on its importance.

What’s the word? RESPONSIBILITY

(cue the high pitched shriek in the background)

responsible: ‘answerable or accountable, as for something within one's power, control, or management’

A child who makes a mistake and owns up to it is not a problem. No matter what the problem is, it can usually be fixed easily once it’s been identified and owned up to. That is what responsibility means.

The problem is when the child makes a mistake and then denies it, or makes excuses or blames others. That child is much less likely to change his behavior, regardless of the consequences. Why? Because he’s never fully taken responsibility for his choices. He sees them as someone else’s fault or the fault of circumstances.

How often do we behave towards God in the very same manner in which we try to teach our kids NOT to behave?

I’m So Glad He's on My Team

September 11, 2012

“Wow! He’s incredible! He’s amazing! This is a going to be our year! I’m so glad he’s on our team!”

That is what I’ve found myself thinking and saying ever since Sunday afternoon. What happened on Sunday afternoon? For those who don’t know, this past weekend was the one that I – and men like me all over the country – have had circled on our calendars since early February. It was the weekend that wives from coast to coast (including the one in my house) have been dreading and hoping to avoid. Oh yes, boys and girls, it’s that time of year…

FOOTBALL IS BACK!!!

How could I blog about anything else this week? Football and Sundays go together like peanut butter and jelly, and now that football is back, order is restored to the universe and my life.

What Makes Me a True Child of God

September 7, 2012

As a parent, if there’s one lesson that I’ve learned repeatedly over the years, it’s this: as much as I know that God has many things that He wants me to teach my children, He has an equal number of things that He wants me to learn from them.

Last night was one of those nights. All week I’ve been thinking/blogging about the idea of hearing God’s voice and discerning His will – how to make decisions and how to know what’s right, etc. And then last night, during our family Bible time before bed, we read this passage:

“Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:48-50)

After reading that passage, we discussed it together as a family and my kids came to the following conclusion: we need to obey God to be in His family.

The Answer to Your Decision Making Dilemma

September 5, 2012

Yesterday I posed one of the most important questions in life: how can I know the “right” thing to do in whatever situation I’m in? Ultimately your life is nothing more than the sum of all your decisions. Make good decisions and you’ll probably find yourself in a good place. Make bad decisions and you’ll find the exact opposite. The question for us is: HOW DO I MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS?

I mentioned yesterday that sometimes it seems (emphasis on the word “seems”) that Jesus was inconsistent in His decisions. Sometimes He would heal people and sometimes He wouldn’t. Sometimes He’d raise the dead person, other times He wouldn’t. Sometimes He’d speak softly and compassionately; other times He spoke sternly and harshly.

How did He know when to heal and when not to heal? How did He know when to say yes and when to say no? How did He know the “right” thing to do?

How Good is God in Your Money?

August 31, 2012

Last summer I sat down with my wife and two fish tacos at Baja Fresh. We prayed and I was just about to dig in after a day of fasting. Suddenly, a young woman walked in with a cardboard sign that said something about starving family members. Despite the many people who were there, for some reason she walked right up to us.

What was I to do? I handed her one of the fish tacos in front of me, and the woman was out the door. I’d like to say I was generous and thankful. But the truth is, I was sulky for having to part with my taco.

That same summer I was leading a Coptic Orphans staff book study with On Social Justice (St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary Press, 2009) where St. Basil the Great preaches on the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-22 who walked away from Jesus sulky, too. In “To the Rich”, Basil says “those who love their neighbor as themselves possess nothing more than their neighbor…” (§1, p. 43)

But what about my Health Savings Plan? Retirement? Surely there are some exceptions, right?

I’m learning that God isn’t out to part us from as much of our substance as He can. He wants to use our money to show just how good He is—to us and to others. So what exactly does He want then?

Are You Getting Ready for the Wedding?

August 29, 2012

Weddings, weddings, weddings. This summer has been full of weddings. Whether it’s actual weddings that I’ve attended or future weddings that I am helping couples prepare for, the subject of weddings has been the topic of conversation for much of this summer.

Of course everyone loves to rejoice and celebrate weddings with family and friends, but I think we’d all agree on this: it’s a lot more fun to attend a wedding than to prepare for one. Preparing is hard work – as I’m sure that all of the brides (and mothers of the brides) could attest to. There’s so much to keep track of and coordinate and stay on top of. In the end, it’s all worth it – but there’s no doubt that it isn't easy.

What about your wedding? Are you ready for it? Are you working to get ready? Did you realize that it’s coming up soon?

A Mother's Heart

August 17, 2012

“The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother.” ~ St. Therese of Lisieux

A few years ago, something happened to me that changed my perspective on what motherhood really means. I remember it as if it were yesterday. At the time, my prayers were focused on one thing: becoming a good mother.

I wanted to be a good mother to my newborn son. And, as the wife of a priest, I wanted to learn how to be a mother of the church. Both are overwhelming tasks, tasks that I cannot handle on my own. So I looked to the best mentor and guide I could find for this vocation: the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of our Savior Jesus Christ.

At the time, there was a group of young women I was discipling in a small group. We were growing in the Word of God. We had spiritual retreats and fellowship outings. We had fun too – with cooking nights and having them over to spend the night.

A “Whatever It Takes" Mentality

August 13, 2012

I know a guy who throws away the batteries in the TV remote control whenever he checks into a hotel.I know a guy who cut the internet service out of his home.I know a young lady who will hug everyone in the world except for her fiancé. She won’t even hold hands with him until they’re married.I know a man who refuses to look up when in line at the grocery store – he just stares at the ground and barely makes eye contact with the cashier because he wants to avoid seeing the trashy tabloids by the register.

Are these people insane? What’s wrong with them? I mean, I understand they’re trying to remain pure and avoid temptation, but it seems a bit extreme doesn’t it?

What they’re doing is what we’re all called to do in a sense. I’m not talking about what they did specifically, but rather the way they approached their problem. These people all have something that many of us lack today: a WHATEVER IT TAKES mentality.

Watch Out for the Giant Mushrooms

August 9, 2012

Giant mushrooms! Yep, that’s right. That’s what you see. That’s a real photo that I took yesterday of three giant mushrooms that are currently growing in my front yard and scaring my neighbors’ kids from coming near my property.

The strange thing is that:

a) I’ve been in this house for more than 3 years now and I’ve never before had a problem with mushrooms

b) Those mushrooms weren’t there at all last week.

c) I saw a little baby mushroom start to come up 2 days ago, but I have no idea how they got so big so fast!

Just so you get some perspective on exactly how large those mushrooms are, I took a picture of one of the mushrooms next to a standard 16 oz bottle of water and another picture next to my size 11 running shoes. WOW!

There’s a lesson to be learned here. The lesson is about the inherent danger of sin and the way sin grows in our lives. If you’re not careful, you may wake up one day and find yourself with a giant problem on your hands that came out of nowhere.

But I have never had a problem with that kind of big sin before.

Not Even a Hint (sermon video)

August 6, 2012

It’s 5:23 am and I am sitting at the airport waiting for my 6:20 am flight to start boarding. I’ll be travelling for the next couple of days so I’m sure if I’m going to get a chance to write a blog post – at least for today. So instead I’m posting a video of the sermon I gave last week at STSA – the first installment in our newest series called NOT EVEN A HINT.

This series is inspired by a verse that I wrote about last week:

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” Ephesians 5:3

You can watch the rest of the videos in this series as they become available by going to our website, www.STSAchurch.org, weekly.

For discussion: I’d love to hear any thoughts, comments or feedback on the sermon if you have any.

A High Standard for Living

July 30, 2012

"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” Ephesians 5:3

Not even a hint? Isn’t that a bit much? God doesn’t really expect us to reach that level does He? That’s asking a bit much isn’t it? Does God really expect that for us living in the world today?

YES OF COURSE! The beauty of God’s Word is that it is transcendent. It transcends time, culture and all other factors. Something commanded 2000 years ago to a small collection of believers living in the Middle East is just as applicable and relevant to us today. The standard of God is the same yesterday, today and forever. And that standard is this…NOT EVEN A HINT!

Why would a loving and caring God give such as difficult command to follow?

Would You Ever Build a House without a Plan?

July 26, 2012

The late Dr. Stephen Covey, best-selling author who helped change my life with his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, used to always say that “all things are created twice.” What he meant by that is that every new idea or concept or dream must be created twice: first in one’s mind and secondly in one’s life.

For example, let’s say you want to build a house. What do you do first? Start digging a hole? No. Before you start the actual work of building a house, you sit down and come up with a plan. You can’t just start digging and figure it out as you go. You first create the house on paper – in as much detail as possible – and then you begin the actual work of building the house physically.

The same holds true for a dream. Recently I wrote about the starting point of making your dreams a reality.

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Making My Dream a Reality

July 24, 2012

“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” ― Vincent van Gogh That’s one thing that we don’t do enough of. We don’t dream enough. I believe that my life will ultimately be defined by my dreams. And so will yours. Tell me your dreams and I’ll tell you the ceiling of your life. Dreams set the destination and direction of our lives. You’ll never reach a point past your dreams.

Yesterday I spoke about having dreams and about how our heavenly Father has big dreams for us. Today I want to talk about the steps we need to take to turn those dreams into reality. I’ll talk about the first two steps today and then continue in my next post on Thursday.