truly thankful

Every time I post, my intention is to always make my next post happen fairly soon after. You know, get into the habit of writing regularly. But then, life happens. I get into my more common habits of grading, lesson planning, and coaching…and blogging becomes somewhat of an after thought- if ever a thought at all.

As Thanksgiving approaches, and I have time off to gather my thoughts and get ahead on grading and lesson plans, I also am reminded of how blessed I am. There have been many challenges this year from moving to a new place, starting a new job, and getting acquainted to my environment. However, I’ve been abundantly blessed in spite of my challenges and despite my own ability to get in my own way. That said, here’s a short list of what I’m thankful for:

1. I’m thankful for God: His grace, mercy, salvation, promises, peace, and unfailing love.

2. I’m thankful for family: their love, support, emails, calls, and cards of encouragement and for always believing in my dream despite my unbelief.

3. I’m thankful for friends: their laughter and encouragement, prayers, texts, Twitter and BBM updates keep me sustained as I go through the day to day grind.

4. I’m thankful for my students: who ALWAYS keep it real, make me laugh, push me to be a better person and teacher, and who understand that sometimes a hug is the best medicine.

5. I’m thankful for provision: in a recession, my needs are met and a lot of my wants are satisfied. Truly a testament to God’s faithfulness.

6. I’m thankful for the journey: the lessons learned and the growth that has taken place has helped to make me stronger. I’m also grateful for dreams that have come true, those in the process of coming true, and those that have yet to be dreamt. Again, a testament to God’s ability to do just what He is.

So, I’m truly thankful for everything and everyone in my life. I can honestly say I’m blessed.

Until next time…

Book Review: Max Lucado’s Fearless

Before reading this book, I’d never picked up a single Max Lucado book. While I’d seen them in various bookstores, the titles never seemed to jump out at me.

I’m glad to say that my foray into the world of Max Lucado was a delightfully enjoyable and inspiring adventure! In Lucado’s latest book, Fearless, he encourages the reader in how to live free from fear and confident in the faith that we profess.

There are many things that I like about this book, but perhaps what immediately grabbed me was the realistic nature by which Lucado communicates with the reader. In my experience, I’ve found that many faith-based writers tend to talk AT the readers and not TO them, often in such a way that they seem preachy or either exempt from the circumstances that they write about. Lucado’s realism is refreshing and I felt as if I were having an engaging conversation with someone who had faced the same challenges that I had.

I also enjoyed the way that scripture was used in this book to affirm the reader as well as to emphasize the point that the author was trying to make. At no point could it be said that the book was based off of Lucado’s own spiritual assumptions—the use of scripture is too compelling. As I read through the chapters, I was encouraged by his use of scriptures; many of which I had read before, but I hadn’t thought to put in my scripture lineup in regards to fear. Thanks to this book, I have many more to choose from besides relying on 2 Timothy 1:7.

I would definitely recommend this book to others- new Christians, old Christians, or just those who need a refreshing take on how to handle fear as they go through life as a Christian. Additionally, the discussion guide that accompanies the book makes it pretty awesome for those who want to read it in a group. But whether you read it in a group or alone, it’s a wonderful choice!

Thursday Thoughts

“A joyful spirit is evidence of a grateful heart.”
~Maya Angelou

Thursday Thoughts

“Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing.”
~G.M. Trevelyan

Thursday Thoughts

“A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is…. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.” ~ C.S. Lewis

So Proud…

I normally wouldn’t do this, but some things are worth recognizing.

Big shout out to Quinton Sawyer on his new position as Head Athletic Trainer at Campbell University.  You can check out the awesome press release on Quinton here.

So…this should help to further dispute the idea that there aren’t any good black males out there.  There are, and you know it.  And while I know it’s tempting, don’t run out and try to holla at Quinton.  I don’t think his girlfriend would like that too much.

Congrats Q!

Easter Thoughts

Today is Good Friday.  When I was a kid, Good Friday was little more than the day off before Easter.  While I understood what the day meant, I didn’t feel the significance of the day.  I’m glad that I feel the significance of the day now.

Good Friday and Easter are part of the core beliefs of Christians.  That God sent his son to die on the cross for our sins, and that three days later, he rose from the dead with all power in His hands.  This morning as I prayed, part of my prayer was for God to continuously help me to be mindful of the sacrifice.  And while I do want to be mindful of the sacrifice, I also want to continuously be mindful of the power of God.

Part of the Good Friday story is one, that I believe, represents struggle.  Yet Jesus, who was ever mindful of his purpose endures the struggle so that the purpose and the prophecy may be fulfilled.  That’s a lesson for all of us- we will endure many challenges on the road to our purpose.  However, we must stay diligent and endure so that our own purpose and the prophecy over our own life may be fulfilled.

I am limited.  I am a human with very real limitations and inabilities.  Yet, I serve a God who is completely limitless in the range of things that He can do.  As I reflect on how God has moved in my life, just over the past weeks and months, I’m in awe.  And for me, that is the other side of the Easter story- the power of God to accomplish anything.  The resurrection of Christ, for those who don’t belief, is perhaps a bunch of loony crap.  But for me, it fully encompasses the ultimate sacrifice and simultaneously expresses the love and power of God.

My prayer is that I’m always mindful and thankful of God’s expression of love; and that my heart is always open enough to yield to Him so that His power may work in my life.

Planting the Right Seeds

I grew up in the country, and around about this time of year, we’d be preparing to plant some flowers.  My maternal grandmother was the quintessential gardener, and always had impeccable flowers around the yard.  One of my fondest memories of my grandmother is of her working in her flowers.  It was something she took great pride in, and I recall several afternoons from spring, and into the early summer, of getting off of the school bus and finding her in some obscure nook and cranny of the yard, figuring out what type of plant would be perfect for that spot.

As a tomboy who loved to be outdoors, helping my grandmother with the flowers was a nice activity.  Perhaps, not my favorite in terms of what actually took place.  However, the quality time that I shared with my grandmother made it all worthwhile.  It was in these moments that I truly understood the value of planting the right seeds.  Not just in the ground, so that one could have beautiful flowers; but also in life.

Anyone who halfway knows The Bible most likely has a general understanding of reaping what you sow.  In Galatians 6:7-10, you can find the following:

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

That scripture speaks to the value of planting the right seeds, and the effects of not.  However it also encourages us to not give up in doing good- which I would say can be a challenge.  At least I know it’s a challenge for me.  Yet and still, if I would study the first part, and recall that I’m reaping what I’m sowing , it’s some encouragement for me to stay on the right path.

All of these thoughts were sparked by an email that I received from Mrs. Reba.  Mrs. Reba is a delightful woman who I met at my church when I was living in Athens.  She truly has a wonderful spirit, and always seeks to encourage others.  And, I will say that what I love most about her is her willingness to tell the truth in love.  I think it’s wonderful for people to care enough about you to tell you the truth.  But I digress.

In Mrs. Reba’s email, it included some thoughts about planting the right seeds.  Here’s the snippet that I enjoyed the most:

* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends

* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness

* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective

* If you plant hard work, you will reap success

* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

* If you plant faith in God , you will reap a harvest

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

Well said, Mrs. Reba, well said.  This has renewed my focus on what happens later, because as Christians, this life is only a glimpse of what to come.  We’re preparing for eternity.  It just might be useful to plant the right seeds for it.

How to Live a Moral Life?

I found the following passage from Jessica Kelley’s old blog, and I’d like to know what you think.  Here it is:

“Many Christians today insist that the keys to living a moral life are not drinking, not smoking, and not having extramarital sex. While avoiding these indulgences may help one to have a healthier body and avoid emotional baggage (benefits God surely wishes us to enjoy), do such omissions really help one be more Christlike? How much more discipline and faith does it require to actively give of one’s time and resources for the less fortunate? To practice selflessness and peace? Which would God prefer? What does the Lord require of us, but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God?”

This intrigues me because I feel that Christianity is often posed as a list of things that one CANNOT do, as she has listed.  Yet sometimes, I feel that what gets left out are some of the other things: HOW to love thy neighbor as thyself, HOW to worship God in spirit and in truth, HOW to seek God with our whole heart, HOW to trust in the Lord with all thine heart.  Are those not as valuable as the list of “cannots”?

I suppose the argument would be that your actions reflect an inward change, and that if one has TRULY been born again, then they wouldn’t take part in such activities, and that their actions would indeed reflect that they know Christ.  But in all honesty, that’s not for me to judge.  I’ve got my own issues that I’m trying to improve on and settle with the Lord before we have our meeting.

We’re currently in the Lenten season, and I’ve heard different people express to me what they are giving up this year as to be mindful of the sacrifice of Christ.  While that’s cool, before I give up anything, I always think back to something that my former pastor told me.  He said that during the Lenten season we have a tendency to give up something that is indeed a sacrifice, but not necessarily something that will make us a better Christian.  If we are going to go through with this sacrifice, we should do so with the goal of becoming a better Christian.  So, giving up chicken or chocolate may be a sacrifice, but will you be closer to God after it’s over?  Just a thought…

And for the record, I don’t have the answers on how to live a moral life.  I just try to follow the Lord and do the best that I can.

But He Knows My Heart…

…I know a lot of people who have said that in relation to their relationship with Christ.  You may know a lot of people who’ve said it as well.  I myself am guilty of saying it, usually to justify some behavior that didn’t completely match up with the intentions of my heart when considering my relationship with Christ.

Yes, He does know my heart.  But when is that not enough?  When does that become an excuse to stay the way we are instead of moving out of our comfort zone to change?

I’ve been thinking about this recently, as I’ve been very frustrated with myself because I haven’t found a church here.  At the same time, I haven’t consistently visited churches to make a decision.  However, I feel that God knows my heart- he knows what I want in a church and what I need…so shouldn’t that count for something?  I don’t feel like it does, because I haven’t put forth the effort required.  I believe that God honors our sincerest attempts to “get things right” (whatever that means, whatever that implies), but those attempts won’t work forever.  At some point, we have to meet Him halfway- or extend ourselves and grow in these sincere attempts.

Since He does know my heart, I have to acknowledge that He knows my good desires and my not-so-good desires.  And that fact alone is enough to evoke change in me, even if I’m not always certain of the best way to go about it.

Just my thoughts…as Steve Harvey would say, “Don’t trip!  He ain’t through with me yet!”