What does Discernment look like?

Posted: December 29, 2016 in Something to think about
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Would it make any difference to you if you could have background knowledge of events before they happened so that you would “know what to do” when the time came? Do you think that just having that understanding might give you more of a sense of confidence in this world because you knew what was going to happen?

I think the easy answer is yes to these questions because understanding is so important when events are happening around us. To possess the knowledge of maybe when to go, or when to stay, or when to speak, or when not to can be the difference between success and failure no matter what our situation.

Many people call what I am describing here discernment. Webster defines discerning as: to perceive by the sight or some other sense or to recognize as distinct or different.

Can you imagine the capability to discern what the intent was in any situation? Can you imagine having the ability to discern what was going on right now, in this age? To actually recognize something you and I see for what it is, and even more importantly, know what you should do about it?

I found an example of this very idea in the Bible that caused me to think about this topic and how this might apply to you and me. It is a very short verse but nonetheless, very powerful in its meaning:

…men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do-200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command; 1 Chronicles 12:32

In the research I have done on the Men of Issachar, I have learned that whole books and sermons have been written and preached over just these few words.

The set up for this verse is that the Philistines have killed Saul and David has been anointed King over Israel. He has been living in Hebron prior to him taking back Jerusalem as his kingdom however during his time in Hebron, warriors came from all over to join his army and as the writer of Chronicles tells us in verse 22, Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God. One of these groups joining him were the men of Issachar, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. I think it is important to point out here in scripture, they receive special mention because of out of all the tribes; they discerned what God was doing by bringing David to the throne and as a result, they understood the specific circumstances as God revealed to them through discernment.

These men had received from God the gift of discernment and used it in the way He wanted them to. In this instance, they recognized that this was a crucial time – the 11 tribes of Israel were without a leader, without guidance, and a model to follow. This was a time for special understanding. It was a time for real discernment.

But to me, the most compelling part of this verse is; they knew what Israel should do.

 I come back to one of my original questions from the beginning:

Can you imagine knowing what to do and the right time you should do it?

If you said yes, then join the club because who wouldn’t want that ability?

But the reality is guys is that any of us can have this ability and all we have to do is ask. But understand up front from me that Spiritual discernment is far more than a skill, but rather it is a gift from God. Moreover, God can only give it to you if you do the following:

One who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (I John 4:8)

Guys, God wants you plugged into Him for the answers you need everyday and if you can do that, if you will seek Him constantly, daily, all the time, He will give you the discernment necessary to make the right decisions for you and your family.

I will not lie to you. This process takes effort from you. You have to do the heavy lifting by getting on your knees and talking to Him about your life, your family and all the difficult stuff. Your relationship with God is just like muscle, if you don’t physically exercise, your muscles get atrophied and soft. On the other hand, when you do exercise, your muscles stay strong and can bear a tremendous amount of stuff this world will throw at you.

If you exercise your relationship with God, I can guarantee you a different result when you ask for discernment.

There…you now have the answers to the test.

The question is…what are you going to do about it?

 

Until next time guys-

Happy New Year from IronmanStrength!

Stay at 17 inches!

Posted: September 26, 2016 in Inspirational
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Hey Guys-

As I’ve told you before, every now and then I run across a story that fits right into the message here at IronMan Strength and this one no exception. I learned about this college baseball coach a couple of years ago and as I began to research him, I began to understand why he was such a legend in the eyes of so many of his former players as well as anyone else who knew of him.

John Scolinos was born March 28, 1918-2009) in Los Angeles, California and was a Hall of Fame College Baseball Head coach who coached at Pepperdine University from 1948 to 1960 and Cal Poly Pomona University from 1962 to 1991. He died at age 91 in 2009.

Coach Scolinos had a total of 1,198 victories on the diamond and while coaching Cal Poly Pomona, he won Division II national championships in 1976, 1980 and 1983. Along with the aforementioned, he also won six California Community College Athletic Association championships and was named Division II coach of the year three times.

He was even the pitching coach for the 1984 U.S. Olympic Baseball team that included Will Clark and Mark McGwire, in which they finished as runner up to the Japanese that year.

This story was written a few years back by Chris Sperry and appeared on his blog, http://www.sperrybaseballlife.com/stay-at-17-inches/

I hope you enjoy…

 

“Stay at 17 inches!”

In Nashville, Tennessee, during the first week of January, 1996, more than 4,000 baseball coaches descended upon the Opryland Hotel for the 52nd annual ABCA convention.

While I waited in line to register with the hotel staff, I heard other more veteran coaches rumbling about the lineup of speakers scheduled to present during the weekend.  One name, in particular, kept resurfacing, always with the same sentiment — “John Scolinos is here?  Oh man, worth every penny of my airfare.”

Who, is John Scolinos, I wondered.  No matter, I was just happy to be there.

In 1996, Coach Scolinos was 78 years old and five years retired from a college coaching career that began in 1948.  He shuffled to the stage to an impressive standing ovation, wearing dark polyester pants, a light blue shirt, and a string around his neck from which home plate hung — a full-sized, stark-white home plate.

Seriously, I wondered, who in the world is this guy?

After speaking for twenty-five minutes, not once mentioning the prop hanging around his neck, Coach Scolinos appeared to notice the snickering among some of the coaches.  Even those who knew Coach Scolinos had to wonder exactly where he was going with this, or if he had simply forgotten about home plate since he’d gotten on stage.  Then, finally …

“You’re probably all wondering why I’m wearing home plate around my neck.  Or maybe you think I escaped from Camarillo State Hospital,” he said, his voice growing irascible.  I laughed along with the others, acknowledging the possibility.  “No,” he continued, “I may be old, but I’m not crazy.  The reason I stand before you today is to share with you baseball people what I’ve learned in my life, what I’ve learned about home plate in my 78 years.”

Several hands went up when Scolinos asked how many Little League coaches were in the room.  “Do you know how wide home plate is in Little League?”

After a pause, someone offered, “Seventeen inches?” more of a question than answer.

“That’s right,” he said.  “How about in Babe Ruth’s day?  Any Babe Ruth coaches in the house?”

Another long pause.

“Seventeen inches?” came a guess from another reluctant coach.

“That’s right,” said Scolinos. “Now, how many high school coaches do we have in the room?”  Hundreds of hands shot up, as the pattern began to appear.

“How wide is home plate in high school baseball?”

“Seventeen inches,” they said, sounding more confident.

“You’re right!” Scolinos barked.  “And you college coaches, how wide is home plate in college?”

“Seventeen inches!” we said, in unison.

“Any Minor League coaches here?  How wide is home plate in pro ball?”

“Seventeen inches!”

“RIGHT!  And in the Major Leagues, how wide is home plate in the Major Leagues?”

“Seventeen inches!”

“SEV-EN-TEEN INCHES!” he confirmed, his voice bellowing off the walls.

“And what do they do with a Big League pitcher who can’t throw the ball over seventeen inches?”  Pause.  “They send him to Pocatello!” he hollered, drawing raucous laughter.

“What they don’t do is this: they don’t say, ‘Ah, that’s okay, Jimmy.  You can’t hit a seventeen-inch target?  We’ll make it eighteen inches, or nineteen inches.  We’ll make it twenty inches so you have a better chance of hitting it.  If you can’t hit that, let us know so we can make it wider still, say twenty-five inches.’”

Pause.

“Coaches …”

Pause.

” … what do we do when our best player shows up late to practice?  When our team rules forbid facial hair and a guy shows up unshaven?  What if he gets caught drinking?  Do we hold him accountable?  Or do we change the rules to fit him.  Do we widen home plate?

The chuckles gradually faded as four thousand coaches grew quiet, the fog lifting as the old coach’s message began to unfold.  He turned the plate toward himself and, using a Sharpie, began to draw something.  When he turned it toward the crowd, point up, a house was revealed, complete with a freshly drawn door and two windows.  “This is the problem in our homes today.  With our marriages, with the way we parent our kids.  With our discipline.  We don’t teach accountability to our kids, and there is no consequence for failing to meet standards.  We simply, widen the plate!”

Pause.

Then, to the point at the top of the house he added a small American flag.

“This is the problem in our public schools today.  The quality of our education is going downhill fast and teachers have been stripped of the tools they need to be successful, and to educate and discipline our young people.  We are allowing others to widen home plate!  Where is that getting us?”

Silence.

He replaced the flag with a Cross.

“And this is the problem in the Church, where powerful people in positions of authority have taken advantage of young children, only to have such an atrocity swept under the rug for years.  Our church leaders are widening home plate for themselves!  And we allow it.”

“And the same is true with our government.  Our so called representatives make rules for us that don’t apply to themselves.  They take bribes from lobbyists and foreign countries.  They no longer serve us.  And we allow them to widen home plate and we see our country falling into a dark abyss while we watch.”

I was amazed.  At a baseball convention where I expected to learn something about curveballs and bunting and how to run better practices, I had learned something far more valuable.  From an old man with home plate strung around his neck, I had learned something about life, about myself, about my own weaknesses and about my responsibilities as a leader.  I had to hold myself and others accountable to that, which I knew to be right, lest our families, our faith, and our society continue down an undesirable path.

“If I am lucky,” Coach Scolinos concluded, “you will remember one thing from this old coach today.  It is this: if we fail to hold ourselves to a higher standard, a standard of what we know to be right; if we fail to hold our spouses and our children to the same standards, if we are unwilling or unable to provide a consequence when they do not meet the standard; and if our schools and churches and our government fail to hold themselves accountable to those they serve, there is but one thing to look forward to…” 

With that, he held home plate in front of his chest, turned it around, and revealed its dark black backside. “… dark days ahead.”

Coach Scolinos died in 2009 at the age of 91, but not before touching the lives of hundreds of players and coaches, including mine.  Meeting him at my first ABCA convention kept me returning year after year, looking for similar wisdom and inspiration from other coaches.  He is the best clinic speaker the ABCA has ever known because he was so much more than a baseball coach.

His message was clear: “Coaches, keep your players—no matter how good they are—your own children, your churches, your government, and most of all, keep yourself at seventeen inches.”

Until next time guys…

 

Do I Deserve to be Happy?

Posted: August 22, 2016 in Something to think about
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Blue sign points the way to happiness

I heard someone the other day make this statement to me about how unhappy his life is and all of the troubles he is going through right now. He said that after all the bad stuff he has had to deal with, he believes now he has paid the price and is due some happy times because he deserves to be happy.

Is that how our lives are supposed to be? We struggle with daily trials and difficulties whether we are married or single. We deal with our kids, our jobs, and our families and once we reach a certain point, the scale tips and then things start to go our way? Is that part of God’s plan?

But what does God think? Does He say, “Well this guy has been on my “bad” list for 6 months but now I am going to switch him over to my good list to balance things out”.

Sometimes I think we work hard in our minds to assume that God thinks like we do.

Everyday, all of us hear that something isn’t fair or, we need to balance that out when all along God never promised us happiness and bliss while here on earth.

I know what I am about to say will not excite anyone but the reality is, who are you or who am I that we would challenge God about anything? The idea that God needs to bring me happiness in this life or else is ludicrous and frankly, just selfish. I have said this before, God is God and we are NOT. If we approach God on those terms, HE WILL NOT HEAR US. The Bibles tells us to, humble thyself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. James 4:10

There is a character in the Bible that maybe you have heard of or maybe not called Paul. Before he was Paul however, he was called Saul and before he was an Apostle, he was on a mission to exterminate Christians from the early church (Acts 9:1). Saul was NOT a nice guy. But as we see in the same series of verses (Acts 9:1-17), God had a very different idea about who Saul was and how He would use him for His own purposes. God’s intent was to save Saul and use an actual enemy of Christianity as a force for His good.

My main point in using this story today is to simply draw your attention to a single verse from Christ at the point of Saul’s conversion.

For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. Acts 9:16

When I read this, my first thought was Christ was getting retribution from Saul for all of the persecution he inflicted upon Christians by making him suffer too. But then I realized that was not the case at all, Christ was foreshadowing the many statements that Paul himself would make as he walked his own Christian journey.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

 

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:3-5

 

Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.     Philippians 1:27-30 (NKJV)

 

Through his own suffering, Paul experienced an amazingly, intimate relationship with Christ that he would never give up for anything he had before. There are so may examples of how Paul went through prison and torture and still praised God.

Read this from Paul’s own words:

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.

 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move.

 I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.

 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

2 Corinthians 11:23-27

 

So am I suggesting that we focus on just suffering for God? No, I’m not. What I am suggesting is that my original question is flawed because we are NOT on this earth to be “JUST” happy. God never promised us that. He never told us that life on this earth would be pure bliss and our existence is just about being happy. I do think the world we live in does make that a priority. What God did tell us is that HE WOULD BE WITH US as we walked down the path. One thing I can say with confidence, bad things will happen but in Him, we can find ways to move forward even though we may be in pain. God does NOT owe you or me anything. You have been given a freewill to choose either the easy path or the hard one. (Luke 13:24)

I encourage you to read what Paul wrote about the pain of his life and his journey as a way to help inspire you on yours. (Philippians 3: 7-11) If we can gain the right perspective about our life here on earth and NOT think that God owes us anything, it will change the way you think and pursue God but more importantly, the suffering you may experience along the way will be different. How?

God will use your suffering to make you stronger in Him. I know it sounds crazy but if you rely on God while on the path, He will get you through safely and over to the other side.

I leave you with one more word from Paul:

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Philippians 4:11

 

Until next time guys…

40 Interesting Facts about Football

Posted: August 20, 2016 in Sports Stuff
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We have been battling through a whole bunch of life stuff on this blog for a long time so I thought we might take a break this time and think about the great game of football. So in honor of this new season of the NFL, I collected 40 or so interesting and fun facts about this game we love. These are some great facts about football that I have never thought of before like who knew that the “G” on the Packers helmet stood for “Greatness” and not “Green”?

I hope you guys enjoy this post…

40 Interesting Facts about Football

  1. It takes about 600 cows to make one full season’s worth of NFL footballs.
  1. The Wilson Sporting Goods Company in Ada, Ohio, has been the official football supplier for the NFL since 1941. They make more than 2 million footballs of all sorts every year.
  1. A cow has only a 1 in 17,420,000 chance of becoming an NFL football that is used in the Super Bowl.
  1. Only two players have caught, rushed, and thrown a touchdown against the same team in the same game: Walter Payton in 1979 and David Patton in 2001.
  1. While football originally was popular in midwestern industrial towns, its growth in popularity around the U.S. is typically traced to the 1958 NFL Championship game, which has been called the “Greatest Game Ever Played.”
  1. Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett is the only player to rush for a 99-yard touchdown, in 1983.
  1. Just two years after finishing their careers, approximately 78% of NFL players go bankrupt.
  1. In 1892, former Yale star William “Pudge” Heffelfinger became the first recognized pro player when he accepted $500 to play for the Allegheny Athletic Association.
  1. Though football games usually last around 3 hours, the ball is typically in play for only 11 minutes. Around 56% of the game on TV is devoted to replays.
  1. In an NFL game, as many as 75 minutes, or about 60% of total TV air time (excluding commercials) is spent on shots of players standing on the line of scrimmage, huddling, or just walking around between snaps.
  1. Injured football players in televised NFL games get six more seconds of camera time than celebrating players.
  1. The average age of an NFL cheerleader is 25 years old.
  1. NFL cheerleaders typically make $50–$75 a game. However, by the time they spend money on makeup, hair accessories, dance classes, etc., they end up losing money.
  1. During broadcast NFL games, cheerleaders are on TV for only about 3 seconds. Coaches and referees receive around 7% of the face time in a game.
  1. An NBC’s Sunday Night Football producer says that he makes it a point to get Dallas cheerleaders on screen but “otherwise, it’s not really important . . . if it’s the Jets, I couldn’t care less.”
  1. In the 1930s, NFL game telecasts were simply a constant feed of the field. Instant replay became commonplace in the mid-1960s, which helped fill the idle moments of the game. By the 1990s, some football broadcasts showed about 100 replays per game.
  1. Deion Sanders is the only person in history to both hit an MLB home run and score an NFL touchdown in the same week. He’s also the only person to play in the World Series and the Super Bowl.
  1. The NFL has annual revenue of $9 billion, with a profit of 1 billion. MLB has annual revenue of $7.2 billion, with a profit of $49 million.
  1. The NFL consists of 32 teams, with an average team value of $1 billion. MLB has 30 teams, with an average team value of $523 million.
  1. The average game attendance for an NFL game is 66,957 spectators. For MLB, it’s 30,135 spectators.
  1. There are nearly 3 million sports industry jobs in the U.S, which is approximately 1% of the population.
  1. According to the California Avocado Commission, 12 million pounds of avocados will be purchased in the week leading up to the Super Bowl. On Super Bowl Sunday, Americans will eat 8 million pounds of guacamole.
  1. The Baltimore Ravens are named after Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.”  The team mascots are named Edgar, Allan, and Poe. Poe wrote his famous poem while living in Baltimore in the 1830s.
  1. Though wings and pizza are the most popular Super Bowl snacks, around 11 million pounds of chips are eaten on Super Bowl Sunday. Additionally, around 4 million pounds of pretzels and 2.5 million pounds of nuts are eaten that day.
  1. Contrary to common opinion, the “G” on the Green Bay Packers helmet doesn’t stand for Green Bay. Rather, it stands for “Greatness.”
  1. Six teams in the NFL don’t employ cheerleaders: the Bears, the Browns, the Lions, the Giants, the Steelers, and the Packers.
  1. Super Bowl XLV was the first Super Bowl with no cheerleaders at the game because both the Steelers and the Packers don’t employ cheerleaders.
  1. The most famous NFL cheerleading squad is the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. They were originally a male/female group called the CowBelles & Beaux.
  1. The huddle was invented by Paul Hubbard. A legally deaf quarterback from Gallaudet University, he “huddled” other players together so he could hear them better and to protect them from the other teams’ prying eyes.
  1. The last scoreless NFL game was in 1943 when the Detroit Lions and New York Giants battled it out for a 0-0 tie.
  1. As of September 2012, the Dallas Cowboys were the highest-valued sports franchise in the history of the United States.
  1. The wealthiest team in the NFL is the Dallas Cowboys. They have an estimated value of approximately $2.1 billion and generate almost $269 million in annual revenue.
  1. The first recognized football game as played between Rutgers and Princeton Universities in 1869, using rugby-like rules.
  1. Red Grange was football’s first true superstar. He was one of the first athletes to sign endorsements. His games attracted record crowds and he also starred in several movies.
  1. American football has several names around the world. In Europe it’s called soccer, and in the U.K. it’s called rugby.
  1. The Miami Dolphins are the only NFL team in history to complete an undefeated playing season, in 1972.

37. The days when Super Bowl games are played rank second when it comes to the   highest American food consumption. The number one-day when Americans eat is Thanksgiving.

  1. NBA players earn a bit over $4 million. MLB players earn a little under $3 million. NFL players are the lowest-paid players, with salaries that average to less than $1.5 million dollars.
  1. Ronnie Lott had his left pinky amputated after the 1985 season. It had been crushed during a tackle on running back Timmy Newsome
  1. Antacid sales increase by 20% the day after the Super Bowl. Additionally, 6% of Americans will call in sick the day after

 

And finally…

  1. During Super Bowl halftime, there are an estimated 90 million toilet flushes. That’s equivalent to 180 million gallons of water flowing at once, or 3.5 minutes of flowing water on the Niagara Falls

 

5 reasons why ALL OF US should not Worry

Posted: June 18, 2016 in Tough Times
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I have found that we “Humans”, by far, are the best “worriers” on earth. I think this is true because our list of things to worry about always seems to stretch into infinity.

We worry about our health; and if our doctor says we’re okay, we worry that he has missed something. Worrying about money is arguably second on our list which causes us to worry about gross income, net income, deductions, and taxes and on and on it goes. We also constantly worry about whether our job will still be there for us tomorrow and…We worry about our children…worry, worry, worry.

Guys, the reality is that most of the things we worry about will actually never come to pass, but yet we worry about them anyway. So here is my question for you today…

What does that say about your faith?

 Do you trust God to ACTUALLY take care of you, or is that just lip service?

For you, and me, I have put together a small list of 5 reasons why we should not worry that are taken straight from the Bible and Christ’s own words in order to remind you and me of what God told us to do when we become anxious. So I give you…

 

5 reasons why ALL OF US should not Worry

 

  1. Worry is inconsistent  – Matthew 6:25

If we can trust Jesus to provide us with our very life, why can’t we trust Him to provide for us our daily needs? 

Its easy to give God control over areas of our lives that aren’t to dangerous or where the fallout of failure wont be too great for us to fix…but isn’t that just lack of faith altogether? If we can trust and believe that He can handle the smaller things then there isn’t any reason not to believe He can handle EVERYTHING for us?

  1. Worry is irrational – Matthew 6:26

If our Lord cares for the birds, will He not also care for us, since we are more valuable than they are?

I understand the fear we feel when we are riding to close to the guardrail of life knowing full well that if we lose control, even for just a moment, we may lose all or a part of what we have. Guys…it truly is called faith for a reason. God has you in circumstances specifically to find out what you will do when you are close to the edge. Will you walk away and just give up? Or will you TRUST HIM and let HIM provide for you?

  1. Worry is ineffective – Matthew 6:27

Who among us can add one cubit to our stature by worrying?

There is no such thing as worry points. We do not become better men because we worry, we become worse. Even Christ asks the question do we somehow get better or grow in stature if we worry? We do not…in fact, we will only make ourselves miserable as well as all of the people around us.

  1. Worry is illogical  – Matthew 6:28-30

If God so clothes the lilies of the field, can He not also clothe us?

Trusting God means we trust Him to take care of us…period. We can’t have it both ways whereby we only trust Him some of the time and not others. Let God work in your life and see where He takes you.

  1. Worry is irreligious – Matthew 6:31-32

When we worry, we act like those who don’t know God.

When we worry, its like we put handcuffs on the God we say we believe in but don’t trust Him enough to pull us through this particular tough event in our lives. Moreover, what do we show unbelievers about following God when at the first point of adversity we take the reigns back from God and say, “I can do a better job than Him”?

One final thought about worry before we end today. When Christ spoke about worry, He just didn’t say “don’t worry” and then He was finished…NO…He also told us How NOT to worry as well which for all of us, is extremely helpful. You will find His answer in Luke 6:33-34 where He says:

But, SEEK FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Honestly guys, that is all there is to this process…seek HIM first, then trust and watch Him work in your life. Let me give you 2 more verses on trust:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.   (Proverbs 3:6 NKJV)

 

Until next time guys…

Muhammad Ali said it Right…again.

Posted: June 4, 2016 in Inspirational
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Back in 2011, I posted this in honor of the greatest fighter that ever lived. As a result of his passing this weekend, I wanted to repost in his honor. Whether you liked him or not, he changed the sport of boxing with his style and his personality. He was a game-changer and very fun to watch him “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee”.

RIP Mohammed Ali…

We have all heard of Muhammad Ali and we know that he tended to be controversial because he was so outspoken. What I find interesting now is when you go back and listen to what he was saying, he really knew exactly who he was and exactly what he wanted.

Many of these quotes are truly inspirational but the bottom line is, don’t let other people make up your mind about what YOU are supposed to do OR become…With Christ’s help, you can become exactly who He wants you to be…exactly who you are designed to be…Enjoy these quotes and just a “little” commentary…

1. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

Without a doubt, life is ebb and flow and most of the time you are relaxed, but every now and then you have to stick up for what you believe in. When that time comes…sting like a bee!

2. “If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.”

Stop procrastinating and focus on your dream…don’t put off what you can do and be right now!

3. “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

In my opinion, Impossible is a cop out. Impossible is for people who like to live inside the box…I prefer to think outside that box…how about you?

4. “To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If not, pretend you are.”

Confidence starts with you…What can YOU do and what can YOU achieve…? That is 100% up to you because YOU get to choose…

5. “What you are thinking is what you are becoming.”

If you are focused exclusively on what you can’t do, or no focus on the impossible, I can tell you exactly what will happen to you. Stay focused on your dream.

6. “Don’t count the days, make the days count.”

Life is too short to waste time on pursuits that don’t allow you to reach your mountaintop. Focus your energy each and every day on reaching the next level, YOUR next level. Every day do just one thing towards your goal.

7. “What keeps me going is goals.”

Without goals, you are NOT accountable to yourself as well as how do you measure that you’re going in the right direction? Goals keep you focused…Goals keep you motivated…

8. “I know where I’m going and I know the truth, and I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be what I want.”

Life is all about making choices…You can be whatever YOU want to be…Make the right choices

9. “Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you’re going to be right.”

A friend of mine told me recently “Life is too short, drink the good wine first”…I like that.

10. “Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.”

I have found age to be only in my mind…I work hard to stay young. What do you do?

11. “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, then they can sure make something out of you.”

I am NOT going to give up on you…but you have to help…

12. “Silence is golden when you can’t think of a good answer.”

Another way to look at this is “when in doubt, shut up…”

 

So what do you think?

I really enjoyed his quotes and I hope you did too. Yes I know that Muhammad Ali was a loud mouth that never stopped talking but he backed up what he said in the ring. After reading about his philosophy through his words, it sounds like I should have paid more attention to what he was saying.

Guys, I included these quotes as inspiration to help face a new day. I know all of you will face tough times like unemployment, or your hours being cut, or something worse. My words to you are don’t give up, keep on trusting in Jesus Christ for your life’s direction. He really cares and the best part is he will never leave you OR forget you. No matter what your circumstances may be, you are NOT alone…believe me…I leave you with these verses…

If you make the Most High your dwelling–even the LORD, who is my refuge…then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalms 91:9-16

 

Until next time guys…

 

 

In God’s eyes, we are without excuse

Posted: June 4, 2016 in Something to think about
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For the last several years, I have had the pleasure of working with an atheist who is 100% adamant that there is no God, or any god, in this universe. Her premise is simple; she is here and she makes her own way through life and there really isn’t much after that. Our conversations about this topic tend to be very short because in her mind, there really isn’t another side to this argument. She refuses to accept the notion that there is a higher power and that He created this world from scratch. She tells me what she thinks sometimes, but it just sounds like a rationalized excuse.

Now it has never been my job to judge anyone because they have the beliefs they have. All I can do is share and then let God do the heavy lifting in their lives. What is always hard though is when you think about the physical examples that God has given us to recognize Him as we see in nature or as we learn more about the human body and how the microscopic world functions on our behalf. All these things that we didn’t know but have discovered along the way, they always were there but now discovered, are an example of the kind of Creator we serve.

All of these physical examples have not swayed my coworker into any acceptance of what she sees around here having any connection to a God.

Honestly, that fact alone scares the heck out of me because of these verses:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:18-20

Please inspect these verses carefully and understand the critical nature of what they mean for you, for me, and my friend. God expects us to recognize Him by what we see around us. This verse explains that, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen and separated from what has been made.

In other words, what MAN has made versus what God has made.

Man builds a skyscraper. God creates a mountain. Man discovers DNA. God invented DNA. Man can perform surgery on the human body. God created the human body.

Do you see the difference?

Then there are the constant physical examples like Yosemite, or the Pacific Ocean, the miracle of birth with your own children…all these examples around you that if you wanted to, you can try and make an excuse, or labor to explain all of what you see because of just science, but I speak the truth when I say to you…You cannot go about your daily lives living in ignorance.

As the verse clearly explains…In Gods eyes, we are without excuse. We have our time here on earth to get this right. We don’t get a “do-over” and we certainly don’t get a chance to explain to Him why we didn’t choose to believe when we had the chance to. We have the here and now. One time through this world and that is it. We get to choose 100% of which direction we should go and where we spend eternity is determined by what we believe.

This post is NOT intended to upset you, but when I see Gods word communicated so clearly for this generation, I put it into a blog so you can see it also.

My only goal is that you too will look around you at the examples God has shown us as examples of His presence and see for yourself.

Would you do me a favor and look closely first and then make your decision?

 

Until next time guys…

 

Walk in the Manner that is Worthy of your Calling

Posted: May 20, 2016 in Something to think about
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I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, (Ephesians 4:1 ESV)

 

I have a friend that always tells other men to “man up” when he thinks they are not acting in a manner worthy of their gender. He always laughs at their reaction because they are usually stunned when he tells them. Most recently, he surprised someone I know with this same declaration only this time it got me thinking about this idea that we have all been called by God to be something really special only many of us are just not living up to that call.

What I mean is, what this verse above actually says, “walk in the manner that is worthy of the calling”. Guys, this is Paul the Apostle talking. Remember him? He was a punching bag for almost his entire ministry but yet he continued to stand worthy of Gods calling throughout his many journeys. This guy was literally responsible for enormous church planting in the beginning in the early days of the gospel. Yet sometimes his message wasn’t received, and as a result, he was beaten, imprisoned or even worse…

Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; (2 Corinthians 11:23-25 ESV)

Here is a guy that honestly could have quit early on in his ministry solely based upon injuries alone…but he didn’t. He could have chosen to quit when his message was rejected…but he didn’t quit then either. Instead, he constantly made statements like “he rejoices in his sufferings…”

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. (Romans 5:3-4 ESV)

 

What is my point?

As a believer in Christ, you have been called to be His follower. That means something. That means you MUST act different than you did before you were a believer. Paul reminds us that we need to walk a walk that is truly worthy of His calling on our life.

Don’t assimilate into the culture… Separate yourself

It may cause some discomfort…but trust me…Christ has your back…

 

Until next time guys…

Letter to my Mom on Mothers Day

Posted: May 8, 2016 in Inspirational
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I have always found this interesting in that I have had many friends over the years tell me that they aren’t very close to their moms because of reasons that don’t make any sense to me. I have had friends tell me that they tolerate having their mom around because she participates in taking care of their kids… and I have also had friends tell me their mom had passed on and they desperately wish they had said something or done something different to heal the brokenness between them…but they did not. I can’t imagine the guilt some of these guys have because of what they should have said.

Honestly though, none of these circumstances apply to me when it comes to you Mom. None.

54 years ago, I was blessed to be born to you and Dad because of what I now understand you both stood for in our home. The plain and simple truth, God was at the head of our house and you both followed that path. We were not rich, but that didn’t matter because we were truly blessed and being Christ-centric made a difference in our home. Honestly, when I look back on my childhood, I can only remember the good things, the happy times, and most importantly, the sacrifices you made for my brother and I. Over the years I have figured out that raising kids is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life but without a doubt I learned the “HOW” because of how you raised me.

Looking back, I can see how difficult I was to raise because of one main thing…I was rebellious. I remember flat out…NOT liking being told what to do by anyone. As you well know, I got in trouble in school, with you and Dad, and even at my job. At one point to multiply my poor attitude for all the world to see, I was pulled over by a policeman for a simple taillight problem and he ended up citing me for as many problems as he could find simply because I was such a jerk to him. That is probably something I’ve never told you before but to say the least, it is not something I am very proud of considering how much I have tried to teach my own kids to respect the law. So YEP…YOU got to deal with all of that just from one punk kid.

Years later, when I look back at everything you had to cope with I find I am embarrassed because I realize now that even though I thought I knew everything, I really didn’t know anything. Up to that point, I had ZERO life experience and wasn’t smart enough to listen to you as you tried to explain the “whys” and “why nots” to me. I can’t tell you how thankful I am though that you didn’t give up on me. Thank you for not giving in, and giving up because that would have been the easier road to take. Instead, you and Dad persevered and stayed the course in my life and both of you chose to pray me thorough the mayhem of my teenage years and helped me get to where I finally began to understand some of what you were saying all these years.

The Bible says that, as Iron sharpens Iron, so one man sharpens another in Proverbs, but I can tell you that the solid iron determination that you displayed in my life WAS the difference in me figuring out the “whys”. You made me angry many times but I always knew you loved me and I thank you for that.

Mom, it is extremely important that you understand this from me right now instead of me waiting until it would be to late to say it. Even though I don’t say it enough, I do love you and I thank God that you are my Mom. To be truly honest with you, I couldn’t let one more Mothers Day go by without telling you this. Of course, posting this on my blog for the whole world to see maybe a little too much in your eyes but not in mine.

I truly do wish you the best Mothers Day any Mom could ever have…

I Love you,

Your Eldest son

Wrestling with Unbelief

Posted: April 30, 2016 in Father
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“My son says he doesn’t believe in God anymore”. Those were the anguished words I heard my friend speak to me just the other day when we were together. He said, “he announced that to my wife and I with the proclamation that he no longer needs to go to church anymore as well”. My friend’s son is just 17 and only a junior in High School. He went on to tell me that this announcement was really just the tip of the iceberg inside their home in that he and his wife have been dealing with pure rebellion in this young man for close to a year. Moreover, with younger kids still in the home, this situation is beginning to tear his family apart.

How do you respond to someone when they tell you that?

My brothers I am sure many of you can identify with this very same scenario in your home and all the battles that happen as a result. As the father, some of us may get very firm and stand our ground in front of our kids and wives and shout, “My way or the highway!” while others of us may be more fearful and not want to upset the household to much and therefore we don’t do anything leaving everyone confused because there aren’t any boundaries coming from dad…

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

The Bible tells us this in Proverbs:

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.   (Proverbs 22:6 ESV)

So if we give our kids the correct Christ-like foundation, and a home that believes in Him and loves each other, no matter what…then if I understand God correctly, He will take care of the rest?

The answer is a resounding YES.

Guys, I am NOT an expert; I simply speak from experience in my own life when I was a teenager as well as now being the father of 2 sons.

It all starts with love in the home. By building a foundation of love inside your walls and providing for your children in the best way YOU can…then you have laid the foundation for God to work with later on when they are older. You see the reality of this life is that our children get to make their own choices about their lives…and that includes whom they will serve. As much as you and I may try, we don’t get to make that decision for them. They make it for themselves…your kids and mine. All we can do as parents is to give them the best we have and then it is up to God.

Now, please don’t misunderstand me about this point, I am NOT saying we walk away from them…OH NO. I am saying that once they reach that certain age and begin to question everything…we continue to love them, pray for them and provide guidance as they walk through this valley. That is our job and that is exactly what I told my friend. “Your home is being attacked by the enemy through your son and no matter what happens, you have to stand strong in Christ and work to try and love your kid through this major episode…together”. I encourage him like I would encourage you with these words:

God is working in your life, even when you don’t see it, even when you can’t feel it, even if it’s not evident.

You are NOT alone on this battlefront. God is right there beside you and no matter how many mean things our kids will say to us…WE STILL TRUST HIM…

Please don’t give up guys…Let me leave you with one of my favorite verses from the Bible is Joshua:

 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”   (Joshua 24:15 ESV)

 

Until next time guys…

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