Staying Close to God

I've taken vacation over the Christmas holidays. With the kids being off of school too, my daily schedule has been different. I haven't spent as much time praying as I normally do.

Last night and earlier this morning I was feeling very anxious and edgy. This morning I spent some time in prayer, and I feel much better. The experience underscores the idea that we must stay close to God through prayer.

As human beings, it is easy to get discouraged in our prayer. We may not see the immediate effects that prayer has. Yet, it is critical that we continue to pray so that we stay close to God. Through prayer we receive the consolation that St. Paul talks about. Prayer is the link that God uses to communicate with us.

Keep praying. It keeps us going.

Angering Article About Charitable Giving

I read an article yesterday that really made me mad! The article was about how religious people donate more to charity than non-religious people. The author used the article as a call-to-arms for atheists to "catch up" in their charitable giving.

(NOTE: I generally like the Get Rich Slowly blog. I was hesitant to publish my post because I think the blog is generally helpful. However, the post in question really pissed me off, and I needed to rant to get it out of my system.)

The author of the article has missed the true crux of the matter: religious people donate more because they are focused on something other than themselves! I know this is a tough message, but it's the truth. I donate money, clothing, time, etc. because I genuinely want to help people because I believe that my God is calling me to do that.

I want to call non-religious people to search their hearts for the reason that as a group their charitable giving is lower. If they honestly look for a truthful answer, they will find God waiting for them.