Ring. Ring. Ring.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Just last night I was about to head to bed for the night after a long day of work. It was 10pm, I turned off my light, pulled over the covers, closed my eyes, and just then... the phone rings.

***Ring***Ring***Ring***

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end of the phone began to tell me about the past 17 days and how he has been sober after fighting an alcohol addiction for 24 years.

"I'm telling you brother, 5-6 pints of 100 proof vodka each day. And ever since that night... nothing! It's a miracle man."

"That night" which he was referring to took place 17 days ago with another late night phone call from (let's call him) Jay. Jay called me after watching the HBO film Hard as Nails and was pouring out his heart about his struggle to overcome alcoholism and the effect that it was having on his family. His wife and children were not home for Christmas this year. We prayed together that night on the phone - two brothers crying out to the Lord to PLEASE HELP.

"I am telling you Tim, I know that you were tired that night, but staying awake with me, listening to me, and praying with me... it made a difference. Thank you."

You know what, I WAS tired that night. I was REAL tired that night. I even questioned as I went to bed that night whether I could have prayed "harder" for Jay. Can I be real with you all? Ok. Well... I ask the Lord for these opportunities to serve Him but often the Lord provides those opportunities at the wrong time - like 11pm at night after a long day of working to serve Him. A true saint would jump at the opportunity to serve the Lord no matter what the time or inconvenience. I guess it is true that the Lord's POWER is made perfect in our weakness.

-Tim Hanley
Hard as Nails Ministries
Newark, NJ

Give God Everything.

The Lord looked into her eyes,

filled with complete desperation,

and gently asked her...

"Alisha, who do you believe that I am?"

"Lord", she responded,

"I believe you are the Lord,

the one true God, the King".

He paused for a moment

then asked her,

"What do you believe I can do?"

"Lord," she said,

"I believe You can do anything Lord… everything".

The Lord said to her,

"… then let Me Alisha. Give Me everything…"

My brothers and sisters, let God in. Give Him everything.

+ Raquel Jimenez

Hard as Nails Ministries

New York, NY

Shadows.

You can't see me.

The reflections of this man stand
about 12 feet,
making it seem as if I can understand
the plan of the Lamb
to see me be... slaughtered.

I spread my arms to embrace
a life of what ifs and maybes,
and in doing so the only surety is revealed
in the shadow of this act - the cross.

I wish to gaze heavenward at the Glorious Christ
manifesting Himself in Splendor
and Majesty - the Resurrection and
an uncertain understanding of suffering redeemed.

Instead, my eyes fix themselves downward
upon the shadow of redemption itself,
the instrument by which those sufferings
can make sense.

I seek to run
from the shadow,
to the only refuge - darkness -
yet even there it exists
though not perceived with lack of light.

Truth revealed and hard learned -
stretch my arms out
to embrace love in the light,
and become the one
who casts the shadow of the cross
before my own self.

-Tim Hanley
Hard as Nails Ministries
Newark, NJ

Smile and nod.

Just the other night I was chilling outside the Hard as Nails office in Newark, NJ on the streets. Now if you know 8th Street in Newark... enough said. So this guy is walking toward me face to the ground but eyes right on me. I am thinking "Aight, who's this character? Never seen him before." As he approaches I have three options, either (1) look the other way and pay no attention (most common), (2) stare him down as he does the same to me (not a great idea), or (3) smile, say hello, and wish him a happy new year. So, I take a chance and smile, "What's up bro? Happy New Year man."

Why am I so afraid of rejection? There's something in me that hesitates and wonders "well what if he doesn't want me to say hello and just keeps walking." Can you relate? When I was in college, me and a best friend used to tally the number of smiles we could get from people walking down campus. If you got a look that was 1 point (at least they acknowledged you), a smile was 2 points, and if you got a smile and a simple "hey" you hit the jackpot. It was amazing how people would do whatever they could to avoid eye contact and any type of interaction. "Hey there, how's it going?"... and absolutely no response, as if I were talking to a wall. We've done the same thing in Manhattan and I think 4 points is the current High Score.

Anyway, back to the other night in Newark. So after my comment, Mr. Thug Daddy turns to me and quickly his snarl turns into a smile and he stops in mid stride, turns back around to give me daps, and says,

"Yeah, happy new year to you too."

"Thanks bro, God bless you tonight. Stay outta trouble."

"Yeah I will. God bless you too my brother."

Bless somebody today who you don't know and make them smile with a nice word of encouragement. The Lord calls us out of our "comfort zone" in order to make a difference in the lives of others. When we are a little uncomfortable, it makes us turn to the LORD and rely on Him all the more. I mean heck its a small challenge, but I bet it will go a long way.

-Tim Hanley
Hard as Nails Ministries
Newark, NJ

Re-solutions.

So, it's about that time of year again where we have made another New Years resolution that is just a bit more than we can realistically maintain over time. Right? Or maybe we have the ability to stay faithful to these resolutions, but today on day number two , I am beginning to question whether I really want to do ALL of that. I mean come on... no chocolate for a whole year? Running 27 miles everyday for the next 365 days? Seems a little extreme doesn't it?

In the life of faith, I sometimes find myself slipping a little bit in different areas. Take for example my prayer life. If I notice that I have been unfaithful to a daily prayer life of spending time with my Lord, it is easy to go into "PERFECTION MODE" where I come up with everything that I need to do each day in order to get back on track.

"Ok... I need to go to Mass, spend a holy hour in prayer at the chapel, pray a rosary, read a chapter of the Bible, pray Morning - Evening - and Night prayer, and of course read a chapter from a spiritual book and contemplate how to apply it to my life. And when I get it all done today, then I have to hold myself accountable to doing it again tomorrow. I'll be back on track in no time!"

A bit ridiculous huh? We then realize that we can't maintain such a crazy schedule after doing nothing for the past two months. So, we give up, go back to doing nothing at all, and then a month later we try to go into "PERFECTION MODE" once again. After this hasn't worked a few times, then I try to come up with another solution to the "problem" of my lacking prayer life. After that solution doesn't work, then I try another solution. This turns into a vicious cycle of solution after solution, and resolution after resolution - and then we never really make a change.

Here's my quick suggestion... pick one thing to focus on in your life right now. Maybe its a particular struggle or addiction that needs to be rooted out of your life. Maybe its a need to grow in your knowledge of scripture. Maybe its a need for more quite time with Jesus. Whatever it is, pick the ONE thing that stands out to you as that which will most positively affect your life of faith. Ok... got it? Now come up with a realistic game plan to focus on that thing over the next day. Then execute that game plan today and tomorrow. You did it? Good. Now keep focused on working on that issue until you are comfortable with the progress you have made and feel that its time to move onto the next thing that needs tending to in your life. This may take weeks or months. Just be faithful to the small things and you will find that over time the Lord does change us. Don't be satisfied simply with a DESIRE for change. Make an effort to be faithful to Our Lord in the small stuff, and you will see that He will turn that DESIRE into a REALITY.

-Tim Hanley
Hard as Nails Ministries
Newark, NJ