Past and Present

Boy, look, look! Look! Your daddy may not had a whole lot of money. Oh, but he was rich, because he invested in people. What'd you think? You think I was the only one he gave a job to, Calvin? No! That man opened up the doors to anybody and any knucklehead around here in the city of Chicago that wanted to come down here and make somebody out themselves. Gave the opportunity to be somebody!  - Eddie, in the film Barbershop

Just recently after watching the film Barbershop, I was quickly reminded of many things from my past and the lives I invested in. I believe God had just wanted to point out that within my past failures there were accomplishments, so they really weren't failures at all. It seems that wherever my feet may have trembled God used me, sometimes without my even recognizing it, and I kind of like it that way. From the very beginning of my blog in 2009, you will read some amazing stories from people I've encountered through my life and through the business I owned and operated. For the short time of running a business and my job as a Youth Pastor, and the ministries I've been a part of, I've allowed God to just use me according to my personality and talents. I'm not boasting or bragging, I'm just glad God can use me in such a way.

Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water
    from the wells of salvation.
And as you do it, you’ll say,
    “Give thanks to God.
Call out his name.
    Ask him anything!
Shout to the nations, tell them what he’s done,
    spread the news of his great reputation!  (Isaiah 12:4 MSG)

God has a great reputation, one worthy of telling others. He rescues us from circumstances and difficulties so that we may tell others of His goodness.

 In the last week I have seen many posts on Face Book about forgetting our past and moving forward, such as this one:
You can't start the next chapter of your life, if you keep re-reading the last one. Turn the page!

 Some great words to live by, but sometimes God has a way of reaching us the most when He does remind us of our past. He can either remind you of  the miry clay He brought you out of, or He can remind you of the successes you've had within those failures. Yes, I believe much can be accomplished through our failures, just as past mistakes can bring us back to God.

Domino's Pizza has been carrying out a new campaign slogan: Failure is an Option. What they are saying is they are not afraid to try something new and fail, because you never succeed if you don't try, and so you can't be afraid to fail.

Hope is the only thing stronger than fear. God gives us hope. He wants us to try new things. He wants us to succeed. He has a reputation to uphold. He can't go back on His Word, nor His promises.

Move forward knowing God's got your back!

If you live in an area with no access to a Bible, click on www.biblegateway.org for more of God's encouraging Word.

The Greatest of Fears: Rollercoasters

"Always do what you are afraid to do." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Now that is quite a statement on facing your fears. A most recent conversation with  friends pertained to scaling the greatest of fears, roller coasters. I bypassed roller coasters and ferris wheels throughout my childhood for fear of heights. It wasn't until I was eighteen when I was coaxed into fighting that fear, or lest be humiliated by my friends and forever be known as a wimp. The things we do to maintain our manhood.

Later on in life, it was my very own brothers who had coaxed me into fighting another fear of roller coasters, the rides where you get flipped upside down while harnessed in a seat with your feet dangling in mid-air. Nevertheless, I went ahead and conquered yet that fear. After awhile it just gets easier to be talked into trying an amusement park ride to fight those fears. And it also appears easier when you get older to say, "No, I'm not an idiot and I'm not letting you talk me into trying that ride."

 If you want to appear tough, yes, you have to do what you are afraid to do.

 One of my favorite Everybody Loves Raymond episodes is titled "Pet the Bunny". An episode where Raymond fondly remembers as an eight year-old catching his tough dad Frank petting his son's rabbit. Frank denies it ever happened so he won't lose his image as being a tough guy.

 If you do decline to ride a roller coaster or ferris wheel, remember, you won't lose your image as who you are. You will not lose your manhood or womanhood.

 As a kid, I remember sitting on a park bench at an amusement park waiting for my dad and sister to be rescued from a ferris wheel that got stuck. Yep, they were stuck atop that ride for over an hour. All I could do was sit there and chuckle saying, "Better you than me!"

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

But when it comes to riding roller coasters, I think it's okay to fore go that fear and just pick another fear to conquer. Hmm, how 'bout skydiving?



 

  

 

The Kids Are Alright. Or Are They?

"When I was a kid my parents moved alot, but I always found them."

- Rodney Dangerfield

For every unsettling story about kids there's always a feel good story,too. And we need those good stories to compensate for all the unfortunate tragedy we see in kids lives today. 

 

Just recently an eleven year-old named Lucy Li made the US Open Women's golf tournament as an amateur. Although she didn't make it past the first round, her presence made a difference within the seriousness surrounding children in today's society. I loved her response when a journalist asked her if she could beat her dad in golf, she just giggled.

Our children are so precious and yet it is very disturbing to see what they have to go through and face each and every day,even in America. You see it in the news on a regular basis: children killing children within the confines of their own school, kids being pawned off in human trafficking, and in Chicago, the murder capital of our country again, we have innocent kids being shot every weekend in front of their own homes.

 

It's good to remind ourselves each day that our children are not only precious in our sight, but in God's sight as well. And so it is our job to train them up in the Lord so they can be that shining light within the darkness that surrounds them.

  

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. 

(Proverbs 22:6)

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

As an old classic movie guru, I recently watched the original Cheaper by the Dozen made in 1950. It's the true story of an American family in the 1920's who had 12 children. Frank Gilbreth, Sr., was a pioneer in the field of motion study, and often used his family as guinea pigs (with amusing and sometimes embarrassing results). One funny scene was when he decided to record his children's tonsillectomy's in hopes of coming up with a better, efficient way of doing the surgery.

What's so interesting about this story is the father's persistence in training his children up for when they became adults. This would pay off in later years when the father suddenly passes away of a heart attack.

His wife Lillian would take over the family business while all of the children would tend to the household duties. Two of the eldest daughters even chose to for-go college to help raise the younger one's.

Lillian Gilbreth went on to become Time Magazine's Woman of the Year in 1948 for becoming the world's leading efficiency expert. In 1984 the US Post Office created a stamp with her image.

 

Along with training up our children we also need to pray for them daily before they leave the house. It's unfortunate that this is the way society is today, but that is also what's expected of us. Those of us who don't have children, but have plenty of kids within our family and church family, praying for them is also our responsibility.

 

Children are precious, let's keep it that way.

 

If you live in an area with no access to a Bible, click on www.biblegateway.com for more of God's encouraging Word.

 

 

 

 

 

Shock the World: Forgiveness

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. 
  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Two years ago Ady Guzman- DeJesus lost her daughter in an accidental shooting by a classmate. Her daughter's friend thought the gun was unloaded. In a courtroom last week, DeJesus forgave her daughter's killer and gave him a hug, to which the judge responded,

"In 20 years, I've watched human tragedy unfold in this courtroom. Today, I never would have imagined a victim's mother embracing her child's killer." 

DeJesus pleaded with the judge for a lighter sentence for the young man; he received one year community service along with having to travel to high schools within the state of Florida to talk about the dangers of handguns.

What made this story go viral?  The simple act of forgiveness that is not often seen today.

The grieving mother chose to forgive rather than bring more darkness into the situation. She chose to be a light within that darkness.

Sometimes in certain situations that we find ourselves in we want to fight fire with fire. We let our emotions get the best of us and want to add to the darkness.

When you enter a darkened room in the house the first thing you reach for is the light switch. Without any light you can't find your way through. And so, those who live in darkness need light to direct their path.

In Mathew 5, Jesus asks us to be the salt of the earth, to not hide our light, but let it shine before men.

The best way to acknowledge forgiveness is by asking yourself, "How can God forgive our mistakes, if we can't forgive others mistakes?"

Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God. (Mathew 5:8)

A pure heart is one that forgives; one that chooses to be a light in a darkened world.

Forgiveness, just one of many lights that beacons through the darkness.

Heart vs. Eyes

"Sometimes the fans see with their heart and not their eyes." - Doc Emerik

During a recent Stanley Cup playoff hockey game, the home town fans did not like the referee's penalty call, so naturally they booed. But instant replay shows it was a legitimate penalty, hence the above remark from the announcer.

The hometown fans desperately wanted a victory, dang, who doesn't want their favorite team to win?
When it comes to championships of all sports, it's the die hard fans who have put their heart and soul into each play that makes watching sports interesting.

These hockey fans were so into winning that they let their heart oversee what their eyes were actually seeing.
Their hearts were eyeing the prize.

When you think of faith, most Christians associate faith with the Father of our faith Abraham.

Abraham was not perfect; he was an ordinary man with faults and shortcomings. However, he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief.

He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
and being fully convinced that what He (God) had promised He was able to perform.
(Romans 4:20,21)

For ten years Abraham continued to believe God's promise that he would have a child through Sarah. Even though the physical circumstances looked impossible, Abraham's faith grew stronger rather than weaker.
Abraham saw things with his heart, he had faith, he called those things that weren't as though they were and the promise was fulfilled.

God asks us to do the same. Sometimes I even find myself at fault for seeing things the way they are and not choosing to use my faith and claim victory before it actually happens. I don't lack in faith, but I do have a tendency to fall into a momentary lapse of faith at times. I need to be bold and proclaim those promises that God has instore for me. My daily reading of scripture builds up my strength and trust, but sometimes we do get busy and fall short of what we should be doing on a consistent basis, which is reading His Word.

Sometimes it's good to be reminded of how we should act in faith. Who knew for me all it would take was a hockey game.

If you live in an area with no access to a Bible, click on www.biblegateway.com for more of God's encouraging Word.