Another point of view...

So, God brought the Good Samaritan into my world again yesterday, and I was going to post a new blog then, but something stopped me. We'll be somewhat hopeful and call it the Holy Spirit, but it might have just been plain laziness and/or distractedness.

Either way, this morning, on my drive into work, I thought more about it, and something triggered a thought from a perspective different than I had ever really considered before.

When studying this parable, we always seem to focus on the work of the Good Samaritan and how he seemingly shunned the social mores of the time (Jews and Samaritans hated each other and went out of their way to NOT associate), went way above and beyond the call of duty to tend to the victim in this story, and basically epitomized Christ's call to "love your neighbor as yourself." For all intents and purposes, this is the classic example of what it means to serve others and to do everything you can to meet the needs of anybody and everybody, simply because we are called to do so.

But, what about the victim? Do we ever think about his role in this story? And, is there a lesson to be learned from him?

Those are rhetorical questions, so don't answer them...at least not yet. Instead, answer this:

When you have true life needs, are you able to let others either help you meet them, or maybe let them meet them outright for you?

If you are physically unable to do something due to an illness or injury, do you allow a well-meaning individual the opportunity to help you? Or, are you too proud or too self-sufficient to accept help? When you are in a financial bind, would you accept a monetary gift or financial assistance, or would you feel you should be able to make ends meet on your own, that it's your job to take care of yourself and/or your family?

Would your pride get in the way of allowing another person the opportunity to serve God by helping you?

You see, this Samaritan had such a compassionate heart for his fellow man that he couldn't just walk on by like the other two "religious" men in the story. He had a heart for people, and in my opinion, a true heart for God.

And, I believe when you refuse the assistance of another, you are quite possibly robbing them of the opportunity to serve the God they love.

Now, sure, the victim in this story was left for dead by the folks who beat him, so he wasn't really in a position to even tell this Samaritan to buzz off. I understand the comparison is somewhat of a stretch, but this morning, as I was driving to work, this is the side of the story that God wanted me to see.

That sometimes, when we are in need, by allowing others to meet our needs, we are actually affording them the opportunity to serve the God they love.

Regardless of how self-sufficient we think we are, or think we should be, there are often times we have needs of our own. And, maybe there is someone out there who is in close contact with God, and just maybe, God is telling that person to help you meet whatever need it is you have.

Are you going to be so bold as to keep them from serving God in their lives by being too prideful or self-sufficient to receive their help?

How dare you!!!
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As always, please check out my website: http://www.readtheletters.com/.

And, the book sales are going great!! I sincerely appreciate all the orders that have come through so far. If you haven't gotten yours yet, you are missing out. They are flying off the shelves!!

Lastly, I'd love to know your thoughts on my blog posts. I encourage you to post your comments. They can be supportive, encouraging, contrasting, or even antogonistic or contradicting. I certainly do not cast myself as some spiritual scholar, so I welcome any dissenting opinions, as long as they are presented nicely and politely. I wouldn't even mind a friendly debate.

Thank you for reading, and please keep checking back. I'm hoping to begin making more regular posts!! Please share this blog with everyone you know.

Oh yeah, if you love hand-made baby quilts, check out my wife's blog -- http://thebrowneyedpea.blogspot.com/ -- and order a quilt for you or someone you know!!

God bless,


Sean Hanzelik

Yo, Homey, wassup?

"Yo, Homey, wassup?"

Have you ever addressed God this way? Ever started a prayer in this manner? Ever just been sitting there, looking up at the sky (why do we do this, by the way?), and said, "Yo, Homey, wassup?"

Nah, I'm sure you haven't, nor have I, and I'm sitting here wondering why. Why don't we talk to God like he's one of our pals? or chums? or "homeys"?

Well, I'm sure there's some aspect of reverence involved, probably a fair amount of conditioning, training, and tradition, and perhaps even a feeling that it's just not right, but I suspect there's another reason as well, a deeper root to the problem. And, I think it's founded in relationship, or perhaps, lack thereof.

I know for me, personally, a lot of the time, I just don't feel that close to God, and certainly, I don't feel like he's all that close to me. Now, I know deep down that the latter is all my doing. I know God is right there, waiting on me to seek Him, wanting me to allow Him all the closeness in the world. I know this; yet so often, I do nothing to open myself to Him, nothing to bring Him in.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what a relationship with God really is. What's it like? What does it look like, or feel like? What kinds of things do you do when you are close to God? How do you talk to Him? What does He say to you? How hard or easy is it for you to even hear Him? Can you feel Him? Do you know He's present wherever you are? Are you more blessed? Or, do blessings even matter? Are you healthier, happier, more joyous, more pensive, more worshipful, kinder, gentler?

What exactly does it mean to have a relationship with God, or to be "in relationship" with God?

Well, this is what I've been pondering for awhile now, because, honestly, I really don't know for sure. I could give you a "book"-type answer, or I could give you a "churchy" answer, but something just doesn't seem right about those types of answers.

Sure, I could tell you, "Well, you know, when you are close to God, you want to read the Bible more, you pray more, you listen to worship music more, you feel tingly all over when something cool happens or something seemingly miraculous occurs."

Or, I could give you the always fun, "I don't know. I just know it. I just feel it. I can't describe it. I just know it."

And, you know what? I truly believe all of that is true, but it's not true in the way you may think. Sure, I believe the closer you are to God, the more you will probably read the Bible, and I believe you will most likely pray more often, and you'll probably be moved by spiritual things more easily or more often, you may be nicer and kinder and gentler, and you may not even be able to describe it in words, and your answer may actually be, "I just feel it."

However, I think the main difference is in the motivation.

I believe when you are truly "in relationship" with God, you simply want to spend time with Him, like you would with your spouse, your kids, your best friend, etc. You want to talk with Him (note I said "with" not "to"...there is a difference). You want to listen to Him. You want to truly worship Him. And, you want to get to know Him. Basically, you become consumed by Him.

You don't read the Bible to meet your quota for the day. You don't pray just to say you started your day with prayer. You don't listen to worship music just to feel tingly. You do these things simply because you want to be with Him.

Now don't get me wrong. If you have a daily reading plan, that is awesome, that is great. I commend you, because I spend way too little time in the Word and probably need to set one up myself, mainly just to be more disciplined; however, I would also encourage you to check yourself every now and then and look at your motivation. Are you reading because you have made yourself feel obligated to complete the task you set before yourself? If so, it's certainly better than not doing it at all, but I would ask that you make a concerted effort to loosen the restraints you are putting on yourself, and just immerse yourself in the Word so that you can simply spend time with Him, or so that you can learn more about Him, not to just "get your reading done for the day." Don't make it a chore, don't make it an assignment. Make it a dialogue between you and your Creator. Listen to His wisdom as you read, and feel free to speak to Him about it. Develop an intimacy with Him like none you've ever had. Seek to know all you can about Him, and sometimes, just read because He loves you and you love Him.

It's the same with prayer, in my opinion. Do you pray every day? Do you start your day with prayer? Do you say bedtime prayers, or pre-meal blessings? If so, great!! These are all awesome things to do, and I can't say I do any of them all the time, but only some of them some of the time. However, have you ever just chatted with God? Told Him how your day went? Asked Him what he thought? Do you ever come before Him in prayer without any requests? Do you ever just say, "Lord, I want to know you better? What don't I know that You want me to know?" and then just sit there and wait for Him to reveal it? Try it.

Do you have close relationships with other people that you don't know anything about? Of course not, because if you know nothing about someone, then they are basically a stranger. So, when you want to know something, what do you do? Typically, you ask them and then you listen to their answers. So, why don't we do this more with God? Why are we so enamored with asking Him for stuff, whether it be health for a loved one, blessing at work, guidance in a decision, etc, etc, etc, we always seem to be asking, asking, asking, asking.

And, you know what? In His infinite love, He wants to give to us. He wants us to seek Him for all of our needs, so again, these types of prayers are just fine. But, do they have to be EVERY ONE of our prayers?

Every now and then, just stop yourself, and say, "Lord, for today, I want for nothing. I need nothing. I just want to be close to you. Please show me how."

Yes, I know, asking God to show you how to be close to Him is technically asking Him for something, but it's different. Let's not play the semantics game, because you know what I mean. So, I encourage you, sometime in the near future, set aside one single day where you don't ask God for anything for you or for anybody else. Don't set out to accomplish any kind of self-motivated goal.

For just this one day, in all that you do, seek to know God better.

If you read the Bible, don't worry about how long you have read, or how many chapters, just seek Him. When you pray, just talk to him like He's one of your "homeys" with perhaps a little extra reverence thrown in, although this may not be necessary either. After praying, or even during, stop and just listen with your heart. What is God trying to tell you or show you? He may not want to show you anything. He may just want to sit with you. He may want you to see nothing more than how much He loves you.

Just spend time with Him. If you don't know what that means or how to do it, you are NOT alone. We are so accustomed to our "churchy"-type behaviors, that it is very difficult to just BE with God. I think we sometimes think we have to be doing something. Reading the Word, praying, worshiping, etc. But, sometimes, I think God wants us to just BE with Him. So, if you don't know how to do this, ask Him to show you how. Or, put on some soft worship music and just sit...sit and wait for the Spirit to move. Just acknowledge God's presence, because, yes, even if you don't necessarily "feel" it, God is there. Acknowledge it, and just enjoy being in it. Don't wait for a "feeling." God isn't about "feelings."

So, I don't know if any of this makes any real sense. It's difficult to put this kind of intangible thing into words. But, if anything, I can leave you with this all-encompassing wisdom:

When you've simply spent time in the presence of God, you'll just know it.

Ha, how's that for wisdom?

I hope you have a blessed day in the Lord, and as always, please check out: www.readtheletters.com and purchase a copy of my book, THE LETTERS.

God bless,


Sean Hanzelik

In the beginning...

Am I band-wagoning? Seems like everybody I know has begun blogging, and so here I am, jumping on the ship way after everybody has already done it, but honestly, I have been mulling over a blog extension to my website: http://www.readtheletters.com/ (which, by the way, has been totally revamped from its original publishing) for well over 2 years. However, as is the case with a lot of things, I've simply been too lazy, distracted, or uninterested.

Well, the time has finally arrived, and here it is...the first post.

This is basically just an introduction to the blog, no real content, no great words of wisdom, and certainly no "here's what's going on in the life of Sean." I'm sure none of you cares too much about what I'm doing on a daily basis, which basically amounts to sleeping, eating, working, playing with kids, doing homework, attempting to be a husband, while also struggling to fit in a few moments of personal leisure here or there. Not too exciting, and certainly not the kind of thing that would generate much of a consistent readership.

So then, what will this blog be? Well, to be honest, first and foremost, it will be a simple attempt to generate buyers for my book, THE LETTERS. Is that wrong? Should I use a blog to generate business? Or, should it have a higher calling? A real purpose? Hmmm....

Okay, so I wasn't being 100% honest, although, deep-down, selling the remaining inventory of THE LETTERS is certainly a goal of mine in doing this blog; however, to be completely truthful, God has been tugging at my heart for over two years to share the little tidbits of wisdom He seems to like to give me at random times. I'm not sure why He feels compelled to bless me with some of the things He does, but He regularly does.

Maybe it's because I teach an adult Sunday School class, and He wants my classmates to hear His message through me. Maybe it's because He's blessed me with some sort of talent for the written word, and He thinks I'll somehow share that with the world in some way. Maybe it's to share with my kids as they grow, develop, and mature. Maybe it's none of that, and I'm totally delusional about His even giving me divine wisdom. Who knows?

I do know this though...at least most of the time, I feel blessed by what I believe is truly God-given pieces of wisdom. Whether it is or not, I guess I'll leave that up to you to decide over the next few days, weeks, months, or...God-willing, years.

So, as Stephen King likes to describe his readership..."Faithful Reader," it will all depend on you, so check back regularly, and if you feel so driven or compelled, post a comment and let me know if I'm delusional or not.

And, as always, please check out: http://www.readtheletters.com/

The INVENTORY BLOWOUT sale is in full force, and you can now get your AUTOGRAPHED COPY of my first novel, THE LETTERS, for 60% off the cover price. Just use our secure paypal shopping cart.

I look forward to our future blog relationship!!

God bless,



Sean Hanzelik