Five Minutes with Tony Agnesi

FMWT-154 A Life of No Regrets

A palliative nurse wrote an article a few years back about the research she had done with the elderly.  The article talked about the five regrets of the dying.  In this podcast, Tony’s explains how we can all have a life of no regrets.

Scripture: It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity,but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus].  Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 3:12:14 NAB

For godly sorrow produces a salutary repentance without regret, but worldly sorrow produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10

Reflection: How do we live a life of no regrets?  What re the top five things we can do to live a life of no regrets?  Is Tony’s list relevant to your daily life?

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FMWT-153 God Grants Mulligans

Every week, when I tee it up with my buddies, we have an unwritten rule that everyone get a mulligan.  A mulligan is basically a do-over, a second chance to redeem ourselves from a really bad shot.  God is that way with sin. In this podcast Tony’s discusses forgiveness.

Scripture: If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. 1 John 1:9

Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love; in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.  Thoroughly wash away my guilt; and from my sin cleanse me. Psalm 51 NAB

If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. Matthew 6:14-15

Reflection: Do you ever thing that your sins are unforgivable?  We all have core sins, do you confess the same sins over and over again?  Does that fact that God forgives a humble sinner give you a feeling that with God you can do all things?

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FMWT-152 Trust God, Don't Worry

In this podcast, Tony discusses worry.  Americans spend so much time in their lives worrying.  We worry constantly.  We worry about unimportant things, things we have no control over, things that we can’t change. What can we do to stop worrying?

Scripture: Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?  Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.  Matthew 6:27-29

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7

“If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?”  Matthew 6:30

Reflection:  Do you spend time worrying about things that are out of your control?  Have you ever worried so much that you made yourself sick?  What do you think of the idea that faith is the antidote to worry?

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FMWT-151 In the Blink of an Eye

Time flies is an expression we hear all the time.  And it’s true. In this podcast, Tony discusses how time flies and how we need to understand that in the blink of an eye things can change.  He offers several suggestions. too.

Scripture: To your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone, or like a watch in the night.  You sweep them away like a dream, like grass which is fresh in the morning.  In the morning it sprouts and is fresh; by evening it withers and fades. Psalm 90 4:6 (Grail Version)

“Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never forsake you or abandon you.”  Hebrews 13:5

Quote: In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance, when you least expect it, sets you on a course that you never planned, into a future you never imagined. –Nicholas Sparks

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“Life is a preparation for the future; and the best preparation for the future is to live as if there were none.” — Albert Einstein

“Happiness, not in another place but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.” –Walt Whitman

“Life can change in the blink of an eye. All you have is right now. So don’t ever put off telling someone how you feel about them, don’t assume that they know, because they might not and it might be too late.” ― Alexandra Potter

Reflection: Have you blinked you eyes and a year has goon by or even a decade?  What can we do to savor the time we have together? Do you try to live in the moment?  How difficult do you find it?

FMWT-150 Debbie, the Good Samaritan

In this podcast, Tony tells a story of people that crossed the street to avoid a homeless man, yet stopped to help a lost dog.  Everyone, except Debbie.  Where are our priorities Tony asks in this story.

Scripture: But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:29-37

Reflection:  Have you ever crossed the street to avoid a homeless person?  How did it make you feel?  Or, have you ever found yourself in the role of Good Samaritan?

FMWT-Special On Father's Day

Father’s Day; it is the one day each year that we honor fathers, a day to tell dad just how much he means to us. But, it is a shame that over 24 million kids, one in three children, growing up in the United States today, have no father present in the household to honor.  In this podcast, Tony discusses the Father crisis in America.

Quote: People “look at a child in need, in poverty or failing in school, and ask, ‘What can we do to help?’ But what we do is ask, ‘Why does that child need help in the first place?’ And the answer is often it’s because [the child lacks] a responsible and involved father.”  –Vincent  DeCaro

Tony’s Prayer:  Heavenly Father,

…Help me to become a better father.

…Make the way I treat their mother be a model for their future relationships.

…May I find quality time to spend with my children and understand that “any time” is better than waiting for the “right time.”

…May I nurture and guide my children, passing along my faith by making God, church, and service to others, a priority.

…Lord, give me the ability to provide for my wife and children and protect them for any harm.

…And, may my kids look at me as a shining example of God’s love, that one day they will say, “I want to be just like dad!”

Amen.

Reflections: How do your kids view your relationship with their mother?  What do you think of Tony’s comment that kids spell father T-I-M-E?  Do you view yourself as a role model?

FMWT-149 To Have a Father

In this Podcast, Tony relates a story of a young man going to prison for 25 years.  How passing judgement on this young man proved to be an eye-opening experience for Tony.  Let’s not be so quick to judge.  We never know the circumstances that get someone to a particular point in their lives.

Reflection:  As you listened to the story, did you pass judgement on this young man?  Once you understood the circumstances, did it change the way you will approach judgement in the future?

Scripture: We have become orphans, fatherless; widowed are our mothers.  Lam 5:3

Note: *Dr. Ray Guarendi is the father of 10, clinical psychologist, author, public speaker and nationally syndicated radio host. His radio show― “The Doctor Is In” can be heard on EWTN.

FMWT-148 Is Chivalry Dead?

In this podcast, Tony discusses the golden rule and how good manners have almost disappeared in this self-centered world we live in.  What can we do?  Tony offers some suggestions.

Scripture:  Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.  Leviticus 19:18

Do to others as you would have them do to you.  Luke 6:31

Reflection:  Do you still open doors or give up your seat for an elderly person?  If so, why?  And if not, why not?

FMWT-147 Who Do You Say that I Am?

In this podcast, Tony talks about the two questions Jesus asks of his disciples at Caesarea Phillipi.  They are just as valid today.  We need to ask the question, Who do you say that I am?  Our answer speaks volumes of our understanding of Matthew’s gospel.

Scripture: When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”   Matthew 16:13-17

Quote: “Right is right even if no one is doing it, wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it.”  St. Augustine of Hippo

Reflection:  Who do you say that Jesus is?  Who do your friends say that Jesus is?  Are you a Christian first, before liberal or conservative?

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FMWT-146 Enjoy the Mangos!

In this podcast, Tony discusses God’s gifts and how sometimes a simple thank you is better than answering every question through worry and anxiety.

Scripture:
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Matthew 6:27

Quotes:
“Aam Khao, ped, kyon ginte ho?”  (Enjoy your mango, and don’t worry about what particular tree it comes from.)

Reflection:
What are you going to do to recognize God’s gifts and enjoy the mangos?

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