JB Lifestyle

Yesterday i was reading an article about the true meaning of humility. The writer was saying that humility does not mean putting yourself down to others or denying the truth of what you are.. Being humble does not mean thinking yourself ugly when the fact is you are beautiful or thinking yourself dumb when you are brilliant. Being humble does not mean denying your gifts or accomplishments in life. To me being truly humble means accepting those gifts or talents but realizing that your gifts or accomplishments do not make you better than someone without them and do not entitle you to be treated to a higher degree of respect than others. Yes the world is usually kinder to people with accomplishments and these days money makes people "respect" you. Do not buy in to the false sense of esteem and security that money or accomplishments bring you. The most important thing to a person is his/her reputation and character. I would encourage you to try to be truly humble espe...

Temptation is all around us everyday. As human beings, we are all vulnerable to temptations. whys is it so easy for us to give in? I think sometimes we want a life free of complications, free of consequences. We just want to live in the moment. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be free and happy however we should learn to accept that our actions have consequences and we cannot just do whatever we please. As a grown up, i realize that you cannot "have your cake and eat it." Something has got to give, you have to let go off somethings. Sometimes, i  think i want something and why shouldn't i have it? But that's just being selfish and immature. You usually feel guilty after giving in to temptation and you end up feeling worse instead of better. You just have to keep trying to fight the urge to give in . ( "it is really hard but suck it up")

I have been very anxious at work this week about a work issue that has not yet been resolved but am trying to be patient. I think being anxious is very common especially among young people. We usually want things done right now and in this era of technology where we have "fast foods" and "instant coffee", we expect things to get done right away. However we need to learn to accept that patience is a good thing. ("but oh so painful") Sometimes, in order to get something done right, you have to take your time or it ends up going horribly wrong. Patience also builds character and helps you keep calm in stressful situations. Think about some people like farmers who have to wait patiently for their crop or livestock to mature. What about that tailor who has to patiently hand stitch those beautiful designs? what about that scientist who had to patiently invent something after so many failed attempts? The list goes on and on. We all are anxious at some...

Often times we are afraid. We are afraid of things we do not understand, of strange animals, even of the unknown, of the future. I usually read bout people who have different phobia's like fear of open spaces, or fear of flying or fear of heights. Personally speaking, i am afraid of certain kinds of insects especially large spiders (yikes!). I generally have a dislike of bugs and insects because i find them to be grotesque looking. Sometimes i think about certain phobias like agoraphobia and realize that such fear actually leads to paralysis of your life. If you are afraid to leave your home everyday, how are you supposed to work, or form relationships? such fear is irrational and yet the person with the phobia cant seem to shale that fear. I once read an article about a tourist who was backpacking through central africa nnd when she came back to the UK, she discovered a very large spider in her bag. honestly i think if i had been the one, i would have fainted. I could not be...

My mother said that to me in a conversation we had last week. It got me thinking about life and how we always look for explanations to life's mysteries and problems. But the truth is sometimes in life , there is no answer! I was watching one of the TV shows i love, (yes i love watching TV shows) and the dad was saying to his child that "one day you are going to grow up and realize that you don't have all the answers". Children usually have an innocence that reasons that there is an answer for everything but us we grow up we realize that life is not black and white. Life is complicated and sometimes there is no explanation. There are so many things that happen in life and we ask ourselves why? Why are some people born with horrible disabilities? why are some people insane? why do some parents abandon their children?  Why do some people die so young? why cant everybody find love? There are just so many things we cannot understand and not matter how desperate...

Last week i was reading a discussion about salvation among several christian denominations. Someone was arguing that Catholics put emphasis on being saved by good works and yet salvation comes from God's grace. while i agree with that i think that it is quite silly to think that you can have faith and not try to align your actions with faith. As james said, "faith without action is dead." How can you have faith in the unseen God and not be moved to do good? How can you say you love God and not show that love to others? By your actions, people will recognize the faith that you have and also be moved by it. You cannot just sit back and say i have faith in God and thus i am saved! That is folly! Let us all try to have a faith that is alive and a faith that inspires others to be better people and brings peace to all men. God bless you all!

  Some time back I watched the local news on television and was astounded to see people who were affiliated to a certain “church” actually eating grass and drinking petrol. I was dumbfounded to say the least. It was just unbelievable. I also read somewhere about a “church” in Kenya which whose pastor was giving out some kind of miracle portion and people were being duped into paying for it. A part of me was thinking, “people how gullible can you actually be?” But then I think about it and I realize some people are truly desperate in life. Sometimes people have no work, no family, no prospects or just a lot of problems. And they are always cruel people who will notice that and still take advantage of their desperacy to make money out of them. I just feel so disgusted when I think that they are people out there who would feed on the despair of others. How do u live with yourself after doing that? Anyway I am a Christian and I do believe in miracles but not tho...

Last week i read an intriguing but also disconcerting article about Sr. Magdalena of the cross, a medieval nun whose experiences with the devil deceived most people into believing her "visions" were from God. I do understand that the catholic church must always encourage caution when dealing with private revelations as the faithful are not required to believe in them. However some private revelations have brought people closer to God provided they do not contradict church doctrine and are not opposed to faith and morals. Many people especially today do not believe in the malevolent entity called the devil and his minions, the evil spirits. People today think the devil is a myth or just a made up entity to scare children into being good. How very wrong we are indeed. The devil exists and he is just as real as you and me. He is happy when many people are blind to his existence but you do not have to look far for signs or proofs even in every day life. Sr. Magdalena ...