José N. Harris

Don't let your plans or goals become more important than yourself, or the ones you care about! :)

Rare is the man who seeks not only to heal himself but to heal his fellow man.

As Christians, we celebrate many holidays and memorials throughout the year. Some we decide to celebrate by referencing events in the Bible. Others are related to events in our personal lives. Still more are pushed upon by this World.There's nothing necessarily wrong with celebrating events that bring us joy or keep important parts of our lives in focus.As a Christian, it is important for me to follow Christ's words and teachings. I do not obey man's intepretations of God's word. I read it and follow it. Its that simple. I dont need an interpreter. Christ is my intermediary. Ive been blessed to have been given the gift of language and... in the Bible, when you read it in Aramaic, there is only ONE event, one memorial that Jesus asks us to remember and thus honor our Savior. And its not His birthday. We are upon that annual event this weekend. For Jesus "blessed and he broke and he said, __ake eat; this is my body, which is broken for your persons; thus you shall do for my Memorial."[1 Cor 11:24]Holidays can be fun times for families to get together and to celebrate life. This weekend lets not lose focus. For this is the one and ONLY holiday that our Christ commands us to memorialize. Its in his words. Its in the Bible. It was important enough for Him to spell it out. It should be important enough for us to listen. Above all other events in our lives, isn't Christ Jesus's sacrifice truly the most magnificent one? Lets remember our Savior and not allow the World to mislead us into over prioritizing any other day than when -He gave His life for us. Truly His act was a gift to mankind that remains matchless.

We all fail at times or make huge mistakes. I was among the worst. It can hurt. It can crush your spirit. To move on, we need to learn to sincerely forgive ourselves... again and again and again and again. As many times as necessary - so we can be able to feel the peace we need in our souls to keep living. Not just to be alive, but to live.Of course it also helps to forgive others when we are ready and able to, but its crucial that we need to learn to forgive ourselves too.

Taking on too much of other people's drama is just a poor excuse for not taking ownership and control over your own life.

Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart.

There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who do not. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living.

If you take a hard look at the people in your life, you may be blown away by how many explorers and survivalists surround you. Everyday, I'm amazed by the number of people I meet, who have climbed Mt. Everest, time and time again...without ever having been to the Himalayas.

Fighting can be like champagne. It can go to the head of a coward as quickly as of a hero. Anyone has the ability to be brave on a battlefield; when you are forced with the choice of: Be brave or... be killed.You may not realize it, but most of us have the chance to be heroes off the battlefield. When we take a stance and find our inner courage, instead of looking the other direction when we encounter evilness or oppression.

When you find your path, you must ignore fear. You need to have the courage to risk mistakes. But once you are on that road... run, run, run, and don't stop til you've reached its end.

Never apologize for showing your feelings. When you do, you are apologizing for the truth.

There is beauty in truth, even if it's painful. Those who lie, twist life so that it looks tasty to the lazy, brilliant to the ignorant, and powerful to the weak. But lies only strengthen our defects. They don't teach anything, help anything, fix anything or cure anything. Nor do they develop one's character, one's mind, one's heart or one's soul.

I__ SORRYI am developing a new board game. It__ called ____ Sorry._ It__ also a form of __elf-Help Psychological Therapy!__ou take turns moving around the board like Monopoly. But if you land on a Yellow or Green ____ Sorry Space__ you have to make a Phone call. Both green and yellow cards are labeled- the same with things like: Your Ex, Parental figure, friend, co-worker, boss, children, etc. You get the point_If you land on the yellow space, the game stops, everyone gets quiet and you have to call that person up _ on speakerphone. You apologize for something you__e done in your past. Come on you know you are not perfect and you probably screwed up, hurt or disappointed everyone in your past at one time or another. So you call and you apologize. You explain what you did to them wrong if they forgive you, you move forward 10 places and everyone cheers! No forgiveness back- you move back to the beginning.If you land on the green space- it__ similar. But you call the person up and you try to explain to them how, in someway, they hurt you in the past. If they apologize_ cheers and you move forward 10 spaces. No apology_ move backward ten spaces. They curse at you- game over.In the original packaging of the yellow and green cards, are mixed in a set of ____ Sorry Cards._ If you are lucky enough to get to pick up an ____ Sorry Card,_ it__ like a Get Out of Jail Free Card, and you don__ have to make the call.The only catch is that the cards come hermetically sealed. After opening up the package, and the cards are exposed to air, all of the ____ Sorry Cards,_ magically turn into __eal With it Cards!_ And so, you really never get a free ride. In reality, every time you pick up a yellow or green card, you have to- Deal with It!Of course you can always order a new factory set of sealed of ____ Sorry Cards._ But they only last about 30 minutes and are very expensive, so you__l have to play fast. Cute Game? Hey, don__ steal my idea!!!

BETRAYALNo failure in Life, whether of love or money, is ever really that simple; it usually involves a type of a shadowy betrayal, buried in a secret, mass grave of shared hopes and dreams.That universal mass grave exists in a private cemetery that most... both those suffering from the loss, but especially those committing the betrayal, refuse to acknowledge its existence.When you realize you've been deeply betrayed, fear really hits you. That's what you feel first. And then it's anger and frustration. Then disspointment and disilussionment.Part of the problem is how little we understand about the ultimate effects and consequences of betrayal on our hearts and spirits; and on trust and respect for our fellow brothers and sisters.In writing, there are only really a few good stories to tell, and in the end, and betrayal and the failure of love is one of the most powerful stories to tell.Tragedy in life normally comes with betrayal and compromise- by trading in our integrity and failing to treat life and others in our life, with respect and dignity. That's really where the truest and the most tragic failures comes from... they come making the choice to betray another soul, and in turn, giving up a peice of your own.

Waiting hurts. Forgetting hurts. But not knowing which decision to take can sometimes be the most painful...

The Bible talks primarily of two kinds of angels- Cherubim and Seraphim. But there is a third kind of angel. If you ever find yourself troubled, suffering or in despair, God may send you this third type of angel. These angels are called...'friends.

Each of our lives_ is a separate and precious journey. No matter how happy, sad, painful, tragic or confusing it may by, it is unique and beautiful. No matter if we hurt others or if we ourselves were hurt, it happened and it is part of our story. If we think we can have complete control over this journey, our journey will wake us up_ usually with a very unpleasant surprise.More than genetics, money or education, it is our journey who defines who we are. It defines what kind of person you are. Not the experiences you encountered nor the happy or traumatic events you may have endured. But rather how we dealt with those events and how we continue to deal with those events; when we evaluate ourselves and how we treat others. Your journey is part of your story. But it is not the complete story of who and how you are. You are a soul, a spirit, who has traveled through this life and along the way; you learned and gathered bits and pieces from here and there. And you, yourself, have woven together a soul, a spirit. And that is who you are today. You define_ you.Oh, and just in case you thought your journey, your story was over_ surprise, its not. So keep weaving. You are not finished yet. It is never to late to define who you are.

SELFLESS LOVE.If you have a special person in your life, but you find yourselves arguing, irritated and/or fighting out of the blue_ you both need to try to step back and be selfless and think of the other person... with no ego of your own. No ego. We are ALL dealing with our own tough issues. We may keep them to ourselves, but we all have struggles. If you BOTH allow yourselves to step into each others shoes- to have the awareness and respect for each others issues and struggles... that will most likely allow the love that you have for each other to shine through at its brightest.There will be ups and downs- feelings of being under-appreciated for both. It will happen. But let that be the worst that happens. Unity through diversity. That's the greatest love. A selfless love. It__ paradoxical, but you each would get back more than you give out. That's the love that conquers all things that__ mentioned in the Bible. It will be challenging for both of you, but well worth it.