Forgive

All my life I have studied about forgiveness, from the perspective of the Bible,

from psychology , sociology , and its influence on human health, I have always tried to practice forgiveness ... but so far I am struggling. I find it hard to forgive (It is not a virtue , I 'm ashamed to say that, but it is the truth). Whenever I get offended, I have to think about it, repent of my anger, forgive in my heart, and seek to approach with love the person who hurt me. As I am an expert in being offended, I had to become an expert in forgiveness. We cannot live happily without forgiving, we cannot live without forgiving. The lack of forgiveness is like moorings that keep us from moving forward. If you want to enjoy marriage, or family, or friendship, you have to learn to forgive.

An aerostatic balloon cannot fly until it is released from its moorings and weights. It cannot go up and fulfill its purpose for which it was created. If we  don't forgive we get stuck.

Jesus taught us to pray: “Forgive us for doing wrong, as we forgive others...”. If we want God’s forgiveness, we have to forgive, too.

What is forgiveness?

• It is important to differentiate forgiving from apologizing. I apologize when I did something wrong and I recognize my fault. To forgive is when somebody did something wrong to me and I decide to let it go.

Not forgiving produces bitterness, hatred. It makes me remember the hurt and anger I feel towards the person that hurt me, or disrespected me. Too many people hurt us every day by not respecting us , by ignoring us, or mistreating us in many ways... we can not live without forgiving. WE MUST LEARN TO FORGIVE IN ORDER TO LIVE. Unforgiveness damages our health, our relationships, our work performance, it affects our sleep, it takes away years of life, depresses us, it takes away the strength to live, to smile. Unforgiveness hurts us, destroys us.

Unforgiveness is "Punishing yourself for something someone else did."

Next week I’ll share examples of forgiveness. I hope you will be inspired...

Daniel Martin

http://workplacewis.blogspot.com/

Tell yourself the truth

Renee Descartes ( XVII Century ) devoted his life to uncover the  clear and indubitable truth . He systematically doubted everything. To doubt everything is to think. He then reasoned that if he was thinking , surely  he existed. Hence the phrase that defines the thinking of Descartes : "I think, therefore I am" .

 

Marco Aurelio was another thinker. He was a Roman Emperor around 170 A.D. He also sought the truth . He discovered that human emotions are not just random products of circumstances , they are determined by the way you think. So, where Descartes said: "I think, therefore I am". Marco Aurelio would have said, "I think and so I determine my personality ".

 

"For as he thinks within himself, so he is." Prov. 23:7

 

We are creatures full of mental energy, emotional and physical. When we clear the irrationalities and lies of our thoughts and replace them with the truth we can live a satisfying life. A life that is rich and emotionally fulfilling.

 

Jesus said "I am the truth", and also "you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free".

 

The cause of our feelings is not necessarily those childhood or current experiences. Our feelings are caused by what we tell ourselves about our circumstances. It can be words or attitudes. What we tell ourselves can be true or false. If you repeat to yourself: “I'm a fool" or “I do nothing well”, you will start to believe it and you will act accordingly.

 

Erroneous beliefs are the direct cause of emotional storms , maladaptive behavior , and most so-called "mental illness". Erroneous beliefs usually appear as true for the person who is repeating them to him/herself. This is because there is almost always some truth in it and because the sufferer doesn't examine or question these assumptions. But we must realize that if it is a lie, it comes from hell and it is instilled in our minds by the devil himself. He does not want to risk being discovered, so he makes the lies look like truth to us. Words like: "I can not do anything right”, or “I always do " are good examples. You'll be more vulnerable to believe these statements, specially after making a mistake.

 

James 3:15 tells us where this self destructive conversation comes from. "That is not the wisdom that comes from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual  devilish." Negative and distorted statements that a person repeats, comes from the devil. Our immature nature accepts it without questioning and then, as spoiled food, these words create mental poison, painful emotional aches and pains. This deadly toxins diet ends up killing you. Paul says, "The mind of sinful man is death..." (Rom.8:6). God wants us to be able to have control over our feelings and our actions.

 

1. Misbelief: I must please people . My actions should not displease others or make them to disapprove me. This would be intolerable.

TRUTH: A healthy person does not have to fight for the approval of all those around him/her.

 

2. Misbelief: It would be terrible if nobody speaks to me at a social gathering. It would be terrible to be selfconcious and nervous.

TRUTH: I can enjoy wherever I go. I do not necessarily have to have someone to talk to, to have a nice time. Being by myself is not going to kill me.

 

3. Misbelief: Others may be happy, others may experience God, others may change their beliefs, others can be free of anxiety, depression and anger, but not me.

TRUTH: I can change my emotions like everybody else. I can adapt and be happy no matter the experience or circumstances in which I find myself . I can do it!

 

Homework: If you find yourself repeating similar misbeliefs, try to find the Truth that answers to that lie. Repeat the truth instead of your misbelief every time you remember it until the truth becomes part of your normal thinking.

 

Definition of happiness

Cheerful. Grateful. Friendly. Kind. Connected. With a clear mind.

Free to serve without unresolved outstanding issues.

Motivated to grow. Inspired. Inspiring. Generous. Laughing.

Able to play and live in the present.

To be happy I must be at peace with God, with others and with myself.

 

 

 

Daniel Martin

danielmartinusa@hotmail.com

From the Fire to Mozambique

Dear friends,

 I am writing from an improvised desk at the hotel. It has been a month since we were displaced from our home by the fire next door. For those who don’t know, the building adjacent to our house got fire. Hannelore called our children who were sleeping at home and from the school,  she saw Lucas and David fleeing the house between columns of smoke that surrounded our house. The picture of the house and the smoke was taken by Hannelore from the school.

Our house is the white house near the burning building

Hannelore found a text that inspired our souls: Isaiah 43:2 "When you have troubles, I am with you. When you cross rivers, you will not be hurt. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not hurt you."

Our house suffered from smoke and water from the fire department (thank God was not hit directly by the fire), the city closed our house and they will decide when it is safe to return (the building that caught fire is unstable and may collapse).

We received the love of friends and many offered their home for us to stay. Thanks to all of you. We moved to an hotel paid by the rental insurance.

Lucas, our son, began his first official work "full time" in a company that is widening a freeway called Turnpike. It is a paid internship that helps with experience. He is enjoying it and learning a lot. We are very proud of our son who is undertaking this new stage of his life.

David was inducted into the National Honor Society. He was the only male of his school of 3,000 students, along with 6 girls that received that honor. It was a joy to see the effort rewarded, especially for Hannelore, in the education of David.

         

After many weeks of preparations I am ready for the trip to Mozambique, as many of you know I am visiting Mozambique to help people over there. We are fighting against malaria and other diseases. We are helping people to know God. And we are involved in many development project. You can read about it in http://welovemocambique.blogspot.com/ .

Tomorrow I am living for 2 weeks for Mozambique. I hope you will remember me in your prayers and thanks to all that are already supporting our efforts financially. My goal is to be able to listen and catch the vision of the local leaders and find ways we can cooperate with them in their project. One hope I have is to find a way we can motivate orphans to grow and be persons of good. I hope that God will be glorified in everything we do.

See our Fire in the news: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/video?id=9122857  

Photos of our fire (The white house next to the fire is ours and the red car next to the firefighter is our car. http://www.northjersey.com/photos/Photos_Raging_fire_engulfs_a_four-story_apartment_in_Passaic.html?photo=9&c=y

Visit our Mozambique blog

http://welovemocambique.blogspot.com/

Daniel Martin

danielmartinusa@hotmail.com

http://workplacewis.blogspot.com/

16 MINUTES

That’s how much time you have to save your life. That’s the story  of the Oklahoma tornado.

Daniel Martin

Tornado Average warning time in the US is 14 minutes!  As kelly Byrne reflected the next day for The Times: “If you have never been through one, you don´t realize how quickly it happens... when there are cars flying through the air, and trees and parts of houses, there’s only so much you can do to hide from it”. She was able to hide her family in a neighbor’s below-ground shelter and save their life.

 

People’s attention focuses on the Plaza Towers Elementary School, where teachers used these 16 minutes to execute a plan they had rehearsed with the children again and again. Schools built after the 1999 tornado include safe rooms, but older Schools like Plaza Tower do not. The student filled into the innermost part of the school, away from the windows, knelt and covered their heads. After the storm many children were trapped under what had been school walls.

 

Thank God for first responders, the people from the National Weather Service of Oklahoma and the radars and technology available to predict events like this. When you read the story of what happened in Moore, Oklahoma, what people did or couldn’t do to save themselves, was the result of years of preparation for events like this. The difficult to built and expensive shelters, proved to be indispensable. The procedures parents and teachers learned to protect their children were a key element.

 

Many times, the storms in our lives hit us suddenly. Our capacity to protect ourselves and our loved ones and the resilience to recover, depend on how well we prepared ourselves before. The Bible tells us that we should put our foundations on solid ground. The solid ground is what really matters like our relationship with God, and how we live out His principles in our lives.

 

“The words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.”Matthew 7:24-25

 

There are going to be storms in your life. Start to prepare yourself now. When they hit, you will be prepared.

 

God bless you. Have a wonderful week.

 

Quotes:

 

"Forget what you've heard about Jesus if it doesn't begin and end with love."

- David Phelps

 

"You know you've created God in your image when He hates all the same people you do."

- Anne Lamotte

 

"God is too good to be unkind, too wise to be mistaken and, when you cannot trace His hand, you can always trust His heart."

- Charles Spurgeon

 

Hungry for violence

Daniel Martin

A marathon usually makes us think about peace, love for life, human tenacity, a good cause, perseverance. This year’s Boston marathon was tinted with blood, violence and fear. Our heart and prayers went out to people in Massachusetts while waiting for the police to solve the mistery of this terrorist attack… We talked about this at the workplace. We tried to understand what were the two boys thinking. What justification could they create in their minds to be able to kill innocent victims? How difficult it must have been for the Tsarnaev family to discover what their kids were doing.

In my city in Passaic there were several false alarms of bombs in schools this past week. All the kids were mobilized out of their school. Many were consumed by their fear. The police was mobilized with cars and helicopters and had to investigate.

Violence is not an uncommon experience. Sometimes it is a result of our own frustrations and anger. But other times it is covered with justifications like: “fighting for peace”, “it is the only solution”, “it is the only way out” or what is worse; it is practiced just for fun. Violence could express itself with physical aggression or with violent words which also do a lot of damage. I used to like action movies. But more and more action in movies means violence. Human life becomes undervalued. Respect for others is vanished. Human life looses its dignity. Even some artists like the band Mayhem portrait violence as something cool and atractive. Many songs, Tv programs and video games encourage a disensibilization to violence. We are being forced to consider it as normal and common.

The Bible tells us: “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders… blasphemies” (Matthew 15:19). “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9)

We (me and you) are the responsible, the generators, and producers of violence. It is created in our hearts, and when we allow ourselves to continue dwelling in destructive thoughts, it grows in complexity, it becomes an attitude and starts to be reflected in our actions.

Violence comes from our hearts and our thinking patterns. If we justify our feelings of hatred and desire of revenge, we will evidence violence in our marriage, our family, with our colleagues and even against ourselves. Most of us have used violence of some degree. Violence destroys our self-worth, our relationships, our family and our future.

That’s why God is against violence. Violence doesn’t make us any good. God wants us to be connected to Him, to our friends and family, to our neighborhoods and to a healthy view of ourselves.

Violence starts in our hearts… my heart… your heart... and it must be cured there.

I agree with some gun control regulations and better measures to help the mentally ill. It will prevent the effect of self-inflicted wounds of gun owners, and their families. But what is wrong in our heart cannot be cured by some external superficial solutions.  

God says: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:26).

This is why moral, heartfelt transformation, is the best solution to the deadly and dangerous ills that are plaguing our society. We need a new heart.

Instead of violence, we need forgiveness, peace, understanding, and patience. Healing from violence brings peace and joy, which is so much more desirable then destruction.

God can help us change. But we should make the decision. And we should be sincere. God promised to give you a new heart, a heart more like His. And when God promises something, He does it.

Start today. Reject every destructive though. Remember Jesus at the cross, who was able to forgive even his torturers. Ask God to put His thoughts in your mind. Don´t let anger to overtake your thinking. Forgive as soon as you detect anger against somebody in your heart. Love people, love and try to understand. Love has healing powers. And finally, love satisfies more than violence. We love not only when people deserve it, we love when we decide to love.

Daniel Martin

danielmartinusa@hotmail.com

http://workplacewis.blogspot.com/

Passover Welcome

Passover Welcome

Daniel Martin

Spring is taking longer to show up. Somebody said that they are going to take groundhogs to the court. (ja ja!)

Welcome to the online format of Workplace Wisdom. I am so happy to be with you after a pause while we were rethinking this publication. Thanks to all of you who signed up for the email format. It gives you the additional benefit of being able to reply with questions, suggestions, or to engage in a debate.

Passover is a special time for celebration for Jews and Christians. Jews celebrate their nation’s biggest liberation event. Around 1450 BC, Jews were slaves in Egypt and experienced a miraculous liberation guided by an important hero called Moses who took them to Canaan, the Promised Land, which later was called Israel. The word “Pass-over” comes from the phenomena they experienced in Egypt when the plague of death “past-over” their houses and their children were spared while every other household suffered death. This was the last of ten plagues. It confused Pharaoh and he let all the slaves depart from Egypt with their families, animals and provisions. They were able to cross the Red Sea miraculously and wander through the desert until they arrived at the Promised Land. This is called the Exodus. The second book of the Bible has that name.

When Jews commemorate this foundational historical event, they have a special meal which symbolizes the different aspects of this event. It helps them remember that God had a purpose in mind with His people. It helps to see life, and the future, with hope and purpose.

Christians celebrate pass-over with a new meaning. Jesus celebrated the Jewish pass-over before he was arrested and he gave the meal a refreshing meaning, including the remembrance of his own death that was about to happen.

When celebrating Pass-over, Christians remember Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection, witnessed by more than 500 ocular witnesses and registered in writings to posterity by 4 of them. Jesus’ resurrection is central to the Christian faith. An empty tomb reminds us that we celebrate the victory of life over death. Popular culture includes symbols of life like eggs (which are a promise of a new life), or rabbits (which are known to reproduce life very quickly).   

Like the Jewish Pass-over, Christians also celebrate a liberation event: “Liberation from Sin”. Jesus’ death is a payment for our debt with God. Because of Him, transformation is possible. We can be forgiven and reconciled with God. If we really repent, we don’t need to carry the burden of guilt or continue with a destructive behavior all of our life. We are able to decide a good path for our life. We can see life and the future with hope. We can experience God’s love for us and through us. We can find meaning and purpose in life.

Passover should remind us of the One who loves us more than anybody else. He was ready to die so that we could experience real life.

Passover should remind us of the possibility of change, renewal and victory. If death couldn’t stop Jesus, His power can help us overcome any difficulties in life.

Passover should remind us that Jesus is alive and that he came to give us real life. Sin brings death to our life. We should resurrect from sin and experience an abundant life.

Passover should remind us that Jesus paid to enable us to have good relationships: with God, with ourselves and with others.

Open your heart to God and accept all these gifts He brings to you today. 

Happy Passover!

I believe in Christ like I believe in the sun, not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else. CSLewis

Do what God has put in your heart and trust Him to take care of your critics. Joel Osteen ‏

“Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.” ― St. Augustine

Daniel Martin

danielmartinusa@hotmail.com

http://workplacewis.blogspot.com/

Special Edition Workplace Wisdom

By Daniel Martin

I am running a free and independent biweekly publication called “Workplace Wisdom” since 02/24/2011. It grew from a few copies I shared with my closest friends at Bioreference Labs to 190 copies that now are distributed  among friends at Bioreference Labs and other companies.

This publication is intended for people like myself, dealing with everyday issues in life, especially at work. 

It covers topics like:

·   Tips to handle stress.

·   Dealing with anxiety.

·   Building a Healthy environment at work.

·   How to encourage healthy relationships.

·   The importance of humor.

·   Recovering from life's disasters.

·   Positive attitude at work.

·   Believe in yourself.

·   Defeating discouragement.

·   Defusing anger.

·   Honesty.

·   Spirituality.

·   Managing time.

·   Preventing emotional burnout.

·   Facing failure.

·   Bouncing back from storm Sandy (resilience).

·   Releasing your full potential.

·   Living within your income.

You can find many editions at http://workplacewis.blogspot.com/

What about the readers?

I am proud to have the support of readers from different cultural backgrounds, races, and religions, which are represented at Bioreference Labs. I receive positive feedback from them.

Growth, improvement of relationships, strength to overcome disappointments in life, and encouragement, is what this publication means to them. Their input helps me to keep going.

Some readers share this publication with their families or discuss it with friends. I feel that I am doing a contribution to my friends and the multicultural environment we experience at work at Bioreference Labs. I have the support of many department supervisors. I always respect and adjust myself to the suggestions and restrictions they give me about this publication.

At Bioreference, we are a living demonstration that it is possible to live in harmony with people from very different backgrounds. 

We are able to interact and talk freely about culture, religion, and even politics, in a respectful way, without being rude or offensive to people who think differently. That’s how we can grow and benefit from our diversity.

I am happy to say that at Bioreference we feel like a big family in which we can support each other and build long lasting relationships. But discrimination of religion and censorship of the opinion doesn’t serve this purpose.

I experienced freedom of opinion at Bioreference since I started working here. I see people from different cultures and religions decorating their workplace and learning about the different traditions and cultures of their colleagues. I celebrate that freedom. It doesn’t hurt anybody. It enriches us. It opens our minds.

Stopping now?

 On January 9th, 2013, the administration of Bioreference asked me, through my supervisor, to stop sharing this publication inside the Lab. It was because of their concern about the religious content of my publication. They said that I can share this publication "only with friends and people I know".

I’d like to understand this ambiguous limitation and what the reasons are for this censorship. If there is a policy of equality at the company, I want to be treated the same way as others:

At the cafeteria and at the entrance of buildings, people post ads with pictures, posters, boxes with flyers, etc. about sales, cultural activities, concerts, support of specific causes, news, etc.

Proposal:

I ask for a spot in the bulletin boards in each entrance and in the cafeterias where I could place my publication in a way that everybody could take a copy freely if they want. Those not interested shouldn’t be bothered by it.

This way we guarantee the freedom of everybody to read or not to read as it always was my intention.

I am not asking the company to promote my publication. I just ask for freedom of speech and equality.

I ask for the same treatment that is given to any other initiative, cause, or business that are promoting their views and activities on the bulletin boards at the entrances of buildings or departments, or in the cafeterias. I don’t think I am asking for too much.

The company celebrates Christmas, Halloween and Diwali, celebrations which have clear religious implications. We treat each expression with respect without imposing our views to anybody. Why should it be different this time?

The administration labeled my initiative as “religious” implying something bad or dangerous for the company.

I haven’t promoted any religious institutions in this publication. But it is also true that I am not afraid to talk about God. He is my most important motivation in life. Killing God (Nietzsche's way) only makes life sad and purposeless.

God is the biggest inspiration anybody can have.  

I assure you that not only some employees, but the company itself will benefit from this initiative. It will result in a better work environment, a better motivation of the employee force, a better general and mental health resulting in less absenteeism and higher efficiency at work. Building conscience and life values like “honesty” and “respect”, will give us the motivation to be more responsible about our work ethics and to the patients we serve.

Please, give me this opportunity to prove myself right. I am not asking anybody to agree with 100% of what I say. But check if something could be useful for you. If I didn’t think this would be beneficial to many, I wouldn’t be so passionate about it. This project was never an imposition. It is a free contribution to our community.

 About the Editors of “Workplace Wisdom”:

 Daniel Martin and Hannelore Schultz are both Medical Doctors graduated in Argentina.

Both graduated from Theological Studies at the International Baptist Seminary in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

They worked in Mozambique, Africa for 5 years with an International Medical Mission.

They started several humanitarian projects and maintain ties with this African country helping in community development projects to this day.

They are married and have two children.

Daniel is an ordained pastor and active member of the American Association of Christian Counselors.

Daniel is proud to be part of the Microbiology Department where he works as a Medical Technologist.

Thanks for your support

  danielmartinusa@hotmail.com