And The First Shall Be Last...Wait, what?

    There's no doubt that Jesus brought love. From forgiving an adulterer to cleansing lepers, Jesus expressed love. But he also brought confusion through statements that seemed contradictory. "The last shall be first, and the first shall be last (Matthew 20:16)." "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it (Mark 8:35)." "The greatest among you must be your servant (Matthew 23:11)." Why would God want to confuse us like this?
    Well, Jesus wasn't looking for us to be confused, his goal was to make us think and reflect. It is a reminder for those of us who are in high standings to respect and care for those who are not. It also encourages us when we are serving.
    When I was little, my siblings and I would use these verses to make the sibling who was first feel bad. Yes, it was funny, but it was exactly the opposite that Christ was trying to get across. He said it best in Mark 9:35, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." It's taking the physical into the spiritual. What I mean by this is that Theresa and Maria may have been first, but in my heart, I wanted to be first.
    Christ isn't worried about who's first or last physically, I mean, someone needs to go first and only one person can be last. But he does care about where you want to be. If you believe people should serve you, you're putting yourself first in your heart. On the other hand, if you serve others when you can, you are putting them first in your heart.
    This Lent, put yourself last in your heart. Perhaps a better way to say this is to put everyone else ahead of you. By that, I mean don't lower the view of yourself, but raise the view of others. "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40)."

God Is Greater Than _______

    Welcome to Lent! The time of year we have to give up stuff we like. This begs the question, "Why does God want us to suffer?" In short, he doesn't want us to suffer, that's why we have Lent.

    Lent is a time of cleansing and refocusing on Christ. As Christians, our goal is to get to Heaven by following Christ. With constantly being surrounded by worldly things, many of us lose focus. Yeah, we may pray and get to Mass, but we don't do it joyfully.

    Christianity is not just what we do, it's also how we do it. So when we offer something up during Lent, it's saying "God, I value this thing, but I value my relationship with you more." It's like saying, "Mom, I know you bought me this Xbox, but it's been distracting me from you. So I'm not going to play it for a while so I can spend more time with you."

    Things tend to get their hooks in us. Don't believe me? Turn your phone off for two days (heck, try an afternoon). Even if you're able to keep your phone off, take a tally on how many times you think about your phone. That "need" isn't healthy for us. God wants us to be freed of these hooks so that we can truly be ourselves.

    So what has its hooks in you? Instagram? The "Related Videos" on YouTube? Netflix? Twitter? Maybe that's what God is asking for you to offer up this Lent. When you feel tempted by what you are offering up, just say, "God, I love you more than _______."

Creativity

     God gave everyone a creative mind, but most of us hide it, even from ourselves. Think about it, who's going to give a more creative story, an adult or a six year old kid? When I was six, I spent hours climbing on furniture because the floor was lava. I would make forts with sheets and brooms to play and sleep in. Today, I walk around the house and sleep in a bed. What ever happened to creative me?

    Kids are known to be very creative, but the older they get, the less creative they become. Why? "Elephants aren't pink! You're stupid!" Ever have a situation like that? You were doing something and someone crushed your dreams? About a month ago I was watching my nephew and aunt playing with a number puzzle. Isaac put the 1 into the 7 spot...and it fit. My aunt said, "No honey, that doesn't go there." I was in the background saying, "It fits, Isaac! Don't let anyone crush your creativity."

    Sometimes we get caught up in the fact that everything has a right place, that we forget to think out of the box. If I need to serve chips, and I don't have a bowl, but I have a pitcher, you best believe I'm putting the chips into that pitcher. Just because the pitcher was made to hold liquids doesn't mean that it can't do anything else. The same can be said for you and me. God created each of us to use our gifts, not in one way, but in many ways. Don't limit yourself...God made you for more!

Happiness...Where are You!?!?

    Where does happiness come from? Everyone seems to be searching, but not that many people seem very happy. Let's dig into happiness to find its roots.

    What makes you happy? Netflix? Ice cream? Going to a concert? All these things bring instant happiness. So what if we always watched Netflix and ate ice cream, would that be complete happiness? Yeah, until you threw up. So what else makes you happy? Being good at something, perhaps good at math. But what happens when you're out of math class? does that end your happiness? There has to be something that creates happiness that doesn't have to end.
    Happiness is found in gifts. God gives each of us a unique set of gifts. Some of us could be athletic, musical, intelligent, wise, strong, compassionate, creative, etc. Why did God give you your specific gifts? To use them to better yourself? Or did he give them to you to build up those around you?
    A gift isn't a gift until you give it away. It's the same for happiness. If you are always trying to get happiness, you will be disappointed. But if you are constantly sharing your gifts with others, you are making those around you happier which in turn makes you happy. Try it out. Do nice things for your family this week and assess how happy you feel at the end of the week. You won't be disappointed.

Overcoming Pornography Addition

Here are some tips to overcome pornography addiction:

Pray with purpose: Ask to be healed. Bringing God's grace into your life will make a huge change in your life if you let it.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." 

2 Corinthians 12:9

Pray for those involved: If a porn star pops into your mind, think of it as God reminding you to pray for him/her. The Father of Lies will not temp you as much if you turn his evil into good.

Get to Reconciliation: For Catholics, we have the opportunity to reconcile with God as often as needed. Going to Confession each time you fall gives new graces and really makes you think "Do I want to confess this again?"

Fast: Prayer without fasting is like boxing with one hand tied behind your back. Addiction is caused by the wants of the body. Fasting forces your mind to overcome your body which gives you more control in your life. If you can't say no, what is your yes really worth?

Accountability: Find friends who you can talk to about your struggles. Report to each other every week. Don't think you need to fight this battle alone. Pray for one another.

Where one alone may be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply bored is not easily broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12

Think of your future: When you get married, there is not a switch behind the altar that will turn you into the perfect husband or wife. The challenges before marriage will follow you into marriage. If you're unfaithful to your spouse before the wedding, don't expect a change after. 

Avoid temptation: Keep the computer in a public room in the house. If you live alone, go to a coffee shop for the internet. If you're tempted, call a friend, pray, do 30 pushups, go for a walk, knock a punching bag, go out to dinner, etc.

The Heads Up Challenge: We often don't realize the lust we let go through our minds every day. Whenever you inappropriately look at someone, say a Hail Mary for that person.

Be a warrior: The best thing to overcome addiction is to be a warrior. Fight the urge to sin with everything you can. Choose love over lust.

Online Resources

Covenant Eyes: An internet filter with accountability.

The Porn Effect: A website with facts, battle plans, and encouragement to overcome pornography addiction.

Fight the New Drug: A website with a plethora of articles, facts, ways to get involved, battle plans, and more.

Fortify Program: A program that helps track your successes and setbacks as well as gives you short videos that breaks down the battle of pornography addiction into more smaller battles.

    Sexual sin is not here because our passions are too strong, but because our passions are too weak. Rather than having the amazing fruit which God provides to us through love, many of us settle for the rotten fruit we found on the ground just because it's easier and we are hungry. Don't settle for the fake love you find on the internet, with yourself, or with someone who you didn't commit your life to. God wants to give you the best...are you willing to receive it?