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These were posted on the lifeteen.com website in 2002. There's some great stuff in them.

- t.

10 Ways to Make 2003 better than 2002

10 Ways to Make 2003 Better Than 2002

Dear Teens, I am determines to make 2003 better than 2002! Though there are no guarantees that this year will be better, I've learned a lot in my years as a priest, and I want to share those with you. On the personal level, 2002 was the worst year of my life. I learned what it is like to go through depression. It made me more compassionate, and I have to take more responsibility for my own life. There is not a whole lot of things in my control, and the more I abandon myself to that fact, the better I do. 1. God desires your happiness. God is not the enemy. I can't tell you how many people think that God is a big meany, that God loves everyone but me. Even for me, I forget that God wants me to be happy. Happiness doesn't mean that everyone wins $300,000,000 lottery. Life isn't going to always go as we plan, but that doesn't mean God has abandon us. "God's love" sounds so simple yet so profound. Most people don't have trouble believing in God, but that God loves and cares for us. If for some reason you are angry at God, deal with it. God desires your happiness more than you desire your happiness. If you read nothing else, know this: GOD WANTS YOUR HAPPINESS. 2. Get rid of TOXIC things/people in your life. There are probably some people that you need to back away from. I know this sounds weird coming from a priest. You should love your neighbor, but sometimes you have to love at a distance. We have to stay away from gossip, negativity, alcohol, and drugs. Some people have an emotional grip that will strangle you. If it's your boyfriend or girlfriend, it's not a healthy relationship. It doesn't mean that God doesn't love them or they are an evil person, you just have to be painfully honest about who and what is toxic in your life. For a lot of people, the Internet, music, and television are toxic. 3. Choose your reactions & moods. I used to have a lot of anger and that anger was something that just happened to me. Maybe it's because I have an alcoholic father. Then I realized that anger is a chosen response. If anger is a chosen response, then other emotions are chosen as well. If I can choose anger, hatred, and negativity, or I could choose love, joy, and have faith. Faith is like love, it is a gift, but you have to CHOOSE to accept it. The quicker you realize this, the healthier you will be. I can choose my moods! 4. Deal with issues: Get help when needed! Ignoring your issues never solves your issues. There is nothing holy or healthy about avoiding your problems. If you have physical, emotional, or relational issues--deal with it. Will that be painful? YES. But it'll be worth it. Get help! We are so goofy and proud about this kind of stuff. 5. Make Family, Friendships, and Intimate Relationships your TOP priority. After 9-11, all the people went to church. Two months later, they weren't around. All the patriotism faded and now they roll their eyes during the National Anthem. Relationships became a priority and everyone vowed to take time to be with friends and family. Relationships give texture to our lives...each other. This is where our souls get fed. Some of you spend little time with brothers and sisters, parents, and grandparents. If you call someone your best friend and don't spend time with them, that is unhealthy, and unchristian. You can never get that time back. 6. Stop the negativity! Affirm! Sometimes you listen to talk radio and you wonder if people have anything better to do than to call and complain about others. It's okay that we don't agree on everything...it's okay if someone enjoys something that I don't enjoy. We have different tastes. I have to say, "I'm not into that." Whiners will be with us to the end of time. I am talking about me too! I've had some of the dumbest cashiers in America. :) No matter what line I am in, the manager makes an announcement, "dumb cashier to Monsignor Dale's on isle 2." Sometimes I think they do construction work only on the roads I drive on. It's amazing what happens when you are positive! A simple "thank you" is so disarming. Say something nice to everyone around you. If it is raining, you can grumble, or be thankful. Either way, IT'S STILL RAINING. That's a reality check. If it's going to rain, enjoy it! Keep your sense of humor positive. There is not time to bring each other down in the name of laughter. 7. Laugh! We have to take ourselves much less seriously. When I process up to the altar at the beginning of Mass, we are singing to God, but the angels are really singing, "Send in the Clowns." God has a sense of humor! Don't take yourselves too seriously because nobody else does. :) People get up to read at Mass and I've always wanted them to say, "A reading from the Book of Numbers. 7, 12, 45..." In 100 days, is anyone going to care about the things that seem so important at this second? We need to laugh more...laugher is healing and unites people. Laughter brings a different view on life. That's what I love. 8. Learn something NEW. There is a story about a young and an old priest. The young priest said to the old priest, "can't we do anything different?" The old priest said, "I have 26 years of experience, so I know what I am doing." The young priest said, "no, you've done 1 year 26 times." It makes you think, doesn't it? Pick up a new hobby or something. You could learn photography, how to make furniture, or a new sport. I am going to learn sacred dance. Do something different this year than last year, so by the end of the year, you feel better about yourself. 9. Commit to a prayer pattern. Don't say that you will and don't do it. Pray something specific: I will pray the rosary, or read the daily readings, I will pray on the drive to school, etc. I did this for Advent and it was great! You always win with prayer. 10. Live beyond reproach. Try to live in such a way that your character and your personhood is beyond people questioning your intentions. Not questioning your perfecting, but your intentions. Are you intentions to be Christlike, or to serve yourself? What puts us in pain is the past; what puts us in fear is the future. I can't change 20 years ago, or 20 minutes ago. I can't live in fear of 20 minutes from now or 20 years from now. This moment is precious: I can love you and I let you love me. In this moment, I can appreciate the friendship and even the pain that sometimes comes in life. The more that I can live in the moment, the more I can experience God. Don't forget how much God loves us, how much He wants our happiness, and that he'll be with us every moment this year. You all will be in my prayers! Msgr. Dale Fushek, V.G., Founder of LIFE TEEN

10 Mistakes God Does Not Want You to Make

10 Mistakes God Does Not Want You to Make

by: Paul George, from XLT-ATL Talk Series October, 2002 If God could stop us from doing things, what would they be? Obviously there are more than 10 mistakes that we can make or have made in our life, but teens in Atlanta agree, these are mistakes we all fall into. 1. Putting God in a box Many people today, especially teens, make God into something that they want Him to be. We begin to tell God how and what He can and can't do in our life. Before we know it, we've made God into exactly what we feel comfortable with. God doesn't want us to be comfortable, He wants free reign to work miracles and wonders through us-no matter how uncomfortable that makes you. Don't limit God, let Him out of the box and allow Him to take over your life. 2. Holding on to grudges and not forgiving All us have been hurt. What we do with that hurt can either lead us closer to God or further from Him. For some reason we find comfort not forgiving and holding grudges. Those very grudges build a wall between you and God. When we hold on to those things we tell God that He can't be in control over our feelings and our emotions. Let God take your pain, your unforgiveness and your grudges and He will give you comfort and the ability to forgive. 3. Seeking false intimacy Many people think that intimacy = touch. It doesn't: intimacy has nothing to do with touching. We all crave intimacy and the opportunity to be in intimate relationships with people. However, most times we seek that intimacy by fooling around or having sex. But, God wants us to have intimate healthy relationships. He doesn't want us to destroy our hearts and our souls by seeking intimacy in false ways, ways that will not lead us closer to Him. God put those longings for intimacy inside of us to draw us closer and more intimate with Him. 4. Believing that you are in control of your life It's all about control. If we have control over everything in our life (our future, our present, what we want to do etc....) then we think for some reason that everything will work out. All of the Saints I read about had no control over their life. They finally gave God the complete ability to take control. We are no different. Your life could become more smooth, peaceful, and better than anything we could ever plan or do on our own. Just let go and let God! 5. Refusing to change This is dangerous. People who are unwilling to change are the people who end up being the saddest people of all. Change is good, not bad. God is all about change. He is all about changing us and shaping us into the person He wants us to be. If we develop the mindset that we can't or shouldn't change then we've put ourselves in a place that will only lead us away from God. Be open, don't allow yourself to stay in one place in your faith. 6. Taking life too seriously Yeah that's right. Have fun. Laugh! One of the mistakes that we can make is too take life so seriously that we forget to LIVE. God didn't create us to be miserable. Yeah, there are going to be times that we all have pain, but pain doesn't last forever. For some reason many people even think that Christians can't and shouldn't have fun. Hello, I don't know about you, but I serve a God who knows what life is all about. He knows the joy of living. Don't take life so seriously, have fun and enjoy the LIFE that God has blessed you with. 7. Living for today, without eternity in mind Many teens make decisions without thinking about their future. Too often, immediate pleasure and satisfaction is the driving force to do something. What people don't realize is that one decision can have lifelong consequences-even eternal consequences. If teens made decisions with Heaven in mind, then their decisions would be different. With every decision, always keep your eternal future in mind, and you will be at peace. Heaven-don't miss it for the world. 8. Keeping Catholicism a religion and not a reality Whoa!!! Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Catholicism is not a religion or shouldn't be a religion. It is a great religion. One that's been around for over 2000 years. Jesus established the Catholic Church. HoSwever, many people separate the obligation of being a Catholic and the calling to live as a Catholic. Being Catholic won't get you to Heaven. Living as a Catholic is the true calling that God has for us. God calls us to be fully Catholic to follow Him and His Church with everything that we have. If being Catholic is just a title, then we have done a disservice to God and the Catholic Church. Make Catholicism a living reality in you life. 9. Denying that evil exists Let's be honest. No one really talks about Satan anymore. It's almost like that we pretend he doesn't exist, and then he doesn't. This is such a lie. The spiritual world is all around us: the good and the bad. Satan is very alive and present, always tempting us to destroy our very lives, but in ways we refuse to see. Satan takes God's truths and turns them into lies, and takes lies and turns them into truths. We can't buy into the lies. We shouldn't give Satan credit or attention, only be aware that he is real and wants to destroy our soul. 10. Believing that God can fix any mistake Let's not mistake forgiveness with God fix'n something. God will forgive us for anything we've done if we truly ask Him. However, He can't stop the consequences of our decision from taking place. It's like gravity. We can pray that gravity won't happen, but the reality is that gravity takes place no matter what we think. The same goes with our choices. The consequences take place whether we want them too or not. We can think that God will fix all of our mistakes that we make but He can't. He can forgive us and He can make good things come out of our bad choices. God is good, but we have to do our part too.