Overcoming difficulties to succeed

Nothing is ever handed to us. Everything requires hard work and effort. Last night as Hailee and I were relaxing we had The Blind Side on. It’s based on a true story (Not the complete true story), and a great story. This was after watching the first Number 7 seed win the NCAA championship. With my ADD mind this changed my thought to how MSU was looking for next years team and what new recruits our team signed. I found a recruit with a remarkable story.

On sports writer Joe Rexrode’s blog, it mentioned how MSU signed three star recruit Marvin Clark. I didn’t know much about him. I read and it seemed like he was a pretty good player and a good find for MSU. Then near the end of the story their was a remarkable story about his life.

Check it out…

Such a great story to overcome. I have been reading through 2 Corinthians 7 for the past couple of days. It talks about how people were doing the wrong thing and finally repented as individuals and as a church. There have been plenty of times I have regretted an action I have done and have needed to repent. Clark could have gotten mixed up in a bad situation and his life would be going a different direction. He was able to overcome the bad in his life and turn his life to the positive.

Clark has a great story, but we each have a story. Maybe you are happy where your life is at right now, that’s awesome! If you have something you wanted to work on, maybe it’s time to move forward from the past. Do whatever it takes to make that happen. You can overcome.

Have a great day.

Pleasure in Pain

Hurt so good. Through the years, I have heard this saying/song many and as a kid I didn’t understand it at all. How could something that hurt be so good? Not really going into the song, can something that hurts be good? It makes me think of going through pain for the greater good.

Pleasure can come through pain. If you watch the Biggest Loser you watch people that didn’t work out and now train hard to lose weight. It is not an easy task, but at the end of the show you are simply amazed at the results. For reality TV it is one of my all-time favorite shows. There is plenty of pain to see those people lose hundreds of pounds and not only change their lives but the lives of the people around them. The training is tough, can you be excited in the rough times?

Is it ok to have an attitude in suffering? The Bible is a noble concept when it comes to this subject. Listen to what Paul shares in Romans 5:3-5…

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Nobody who wins an Olympic medal is done by skill alone. They are in strict training, when Michael Phelps didn’t do so great this Olympics it was because he didn’t train like he did in the previous Olympics, it showed. Yet Phelps worked harder than anybody has a clue. Training all day long without the thrill of that gold medal years down the road, Phelps worked hard. You can grow through the tough times.

Maybe it’s not because of training but real life can take a toll on you. There are always rough times ahead, through the rough times, what do you do? Do you hide from a challenge or do you work through it. Just like Paul talks about, through suffering there is so much benefit it makes who you are today and in the future. Fight through the tough times just like a line in a movie, “Never give up, never surrender.” Hang in there. God is with you when you call on him and is there to comfort you.

Have a great day.

Go ahead and kill Bambi if you want

Hunting deer seemed pointless to me.

Why waste hours of sleep to sit in an extremely cold place to see a creature come by and take it out with a bow or gun? Deer hunting never made much since to me.  A couple of years ago, my mind changed.

I was driving down the highway going 75. I was driving my sweet 91 Buick (I loved this car). Out of nowhere a deer ran across the highway.  I hit the brakes and swerved out of the way. I missed that deer, but I hit his friend (We will call him MJ, because the dude could fly).  I was trying to control my car and did a 720, both times spinning around I still saw MJ airborne.

I was impressed.  That deer went flying.  I thank God that nothing happened to me and there was nobody on the road.  Two things happened that day, my car died and I change my thinking on deer hunting.  I always heard deer hunters say it controls the population of deer.  I chalked that up to a lame excuse.  It took me hitting MJ on the highway for me to change my view on deer hunting. Sometimes it takes something drastic in order to change our thinking.

Something happened like this to Paul. Paul was a man who killed Christians and went out of his way to make sure they were in jail.  Acts 26:9-11…

“I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.  And that is just what I did in Jerusalem.  On the authority of the chief priest I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.”

Whoa.

Have you ever had something happened in your life that caused you to completely change your view?

If so, would you mind sharing? Paul was a brutal attacker and killer of Christians. Yet he changed, became what I would classify as a hall of fame Christian life.

He changed, started many churches and defended the people he used to try to kill. A major thing happened in Paul’s life and he changed. No matter where you are at with Jesus, you are never far enough where you can’t call on him. Jesus gives us a second chance in life.

A chance to change. How many opportunities do you have like that? This is what’s awesome about faith. Jesus gives us a second chance, a chance to make things right. I thought deer hunting was pointless, my mind was changed.

What have you changed your mind about? If you gave up on faith, you are not too far from Jesus and I hope you give it a second chance.

Have a great day.

Are you the police? No ma’am. We’re musicians.

We’re getting the band back together.

I remember the classic movie of the Blue Brothers.

Feeling like they are called for a special journey they were going back to band members, some of which they owed money too.

Why would they go back to people they owed money and didn’t have money?

For the end goal in mind.

They believed they were on a mission from God to save the orphanage.

I think about this as I look at how Paul was always followed by a bad group of people.

Acts 17:13…

“But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up.”

Once again I will tell you this did not represent every Jew at that time but just a certain group of them.

It made me think of what Jake and Elwood had to go through.

They knew they owed people money and some people would turn their back on them, but they went and jumped in with both feet.

They believed they were on a mission from God.

When you look at your life, what is your mission or goal?

Some people have a goal in life but never reach it because they don’t go for it.

“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.” Lawrence J. Peter

Not many people get in a car and try to drive halfway across country to a city they have never been before and plan to end up there.

Paul had a goal in mind to share Jesus with other people.

He knew this goal came with major consequences as life goes on, but he did this because he knew his goal was to share the message of Jesus.

The same guy that used to make fun of, throw Christians in jail and have them murdered, is the same one that is trying to bring people to Christ.

Paul had a goal in mind.

What is your goal in life?

Paul knew his and went All-In for his goal.

Are you going all in trying to accomplish your goal in life?

If not, today can be that brand new start.

Start heading for the direction you want to go.

Today is the day!

Do something with it.

Have a great day.

It’s funny how the people who know me the least have the most to say

People talk.

Some good, some bad.

Human nature leads us to talk bad about other people.

I rarely listen to the radio, but over the past 9 months I have started listening to ESPN radio.

I used to absolutely hate listening to people that talk about sports.

I love watching the game and finding insight, but radio talk takes it to the next level.

Everything can get blown out of proportion.

Sometimes we are a society that likes to talk about the problem rather than trying to fix it.

We talk about losing weight, but we don’t eat healthy.

We talk about moving towards our career we want, but do nothing to get there.

We talk about saving money but spend it as soon as we get it.

We like to talk.

We talk about other people, how we would do things different if we were them and how life would improve if they did things our way.

We also have a tendency to love someone’s life or what they have.

Jealousy is sometimes in the put we call our opinion.

Paul went and was sharing his message about Jesus.

Rather than listening to what he was saying, a group of people weren’t happy with the fact he was talking about Jesus.

So they did this in said in Acts 17:5…

“But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city.  They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.”

They were ticked and unhappy.

They didn’t like Paul and the message of Jesus, so they went on the attack.

Ever feel like someone has went on the attack on you?

When jealousy overtakes us, it keeps us from growing and becoming the people we are meant to be.

Rather than listening to what Paul had to say this certain group of people (I’m not saying Jews as a whole, because this was a small group of people with this faith) created a riot.

Do you think we are a society that is quick to judge and give our opinion, why?

In Facebook, people give their opinion and they like you as long as you say and believed what they believe.  I f you disagree, they are the same ones that say you aren’t loving, caring, showing grace, and judgmental just for not agreeing with them.

We get bitter, protective and possessive when people sometimes don’t agree with us.

I will admit, I will get like this at times and it’s a trait I am trying to improve on.

Do you find yourself being jealous, judgmental, hateful, over opinionated or u loving?

You don’t have to be this way.

You can be a different person, more loving, caring and graceful.

Which would you rather be known for?

Being jealous and judgmental or loving and caring?

Today, you choose.

Make the right decisions.

Though it all, Jesus loves you!

Have a great day!

When I grow up I want to be a sports star

Plans change.

When I was younger, I always wanted to be a pro sports star.

My brothers and I spend days upon days playing, basketball, baseball, hockey, football and whatever else we could play.

Our goal as a young kids was to play pro sports.

We had so much fun playing.

In life you can’t always have everything planned.

What did you want to be as a child?

Sometimes life has a way of changing.

Before getting married, I wanted maybe two kids.

Immediately after having Nevaeh, I wanted no more kids.

Life changes and plans change.

I am excited that thanksgiving will be extra special this year as we should have our fourth child.

We need to be ready for change and how life can change.

Paul and friends were traveling and looking for a place to go and pray soon they found themselves talking with a lady.

If they stuck to their plan they would have focused on prayer, instead this is what happened in Acts 16:14-15…

“One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshipper of God.  The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.  When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home.”

Paul went for prayer and ended up giving salvation to a women and her whole family.

What if Paul didn’t change and adapt?

Would that household go to heaven or not?

It’s not for us to decided, but imagine if he focused on what he intended to do when going there.

Sometimes life can change.

As stable as life can be it can become unstable very quickly.

Learning to role with the punches is key to make it through life.

Where are you at in life?

How have you dealt with change?

Do you adapt and make the best of the situation or do you take the hit and fall to the ground?

Paul adapted and made the best of the situation he went into.

How can you make the situations you go through in life better.

What can you personally do to improve?

It’s up to you.

Have a great day.

I love bacon

I couldn’t imagine life without bacon.

It taste great and is perfect in so many foods except a burger.

Bacon is a part of almost any breakfast that I cook.

When we make bacon it’s with a pretty good meal.

I couldn’t imagine life without bacon, but at one point this was the case.

Why couldn’t they eat it could be explained in this phrase…”Animals must chew their cud and have split hooves. Pigs do have split hooves but do not chew their cud, so we cannot eat pig meat and its derivatives.”

No bacon = no fun.

This is how it worked for a long time.

Then God had a vision for Peter.

In the vision it showed all types of four footed animals and told Peter to kill and eat.

Peter wouldn’t because they were not allowed to eat this food.

Peter was denying God in this vision.

Finally God said this in Acts 10:15…

“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

He gives permission to eat these animals.

It went against the customs and culture of the times along with Old Testament law.

As the disciples expanded to reach more people, they needed to do this and be able to meet and eat with the people of different cultures.

God gave them this ability.

I love God for this and I love God for bacon.

Thank God for bacon.

Have a great day.

The Bloomin Onion burger = eating over a full dozen of glazed dounts….NO WAY

Something so good could be so bad.

I am a fan of Outback steakhouse.

They are a little on the pricey side so we can’t go there all the time, but if Hailee and I were going on a hot date and money wasn’t an issue, most likely we could end up at Outback.

About 1-2 years ago they added a burger to their menu.

The Bloomin Onion burger.

It’s the Bloomin Onion appetizer on top of a cheeseburger.

It is amazing!

My second favorite burger next to the bonzi burger from Red Robin.

It is amazing.

On top of that I have them make the fries into outback cheese fries.

This is an amazing meal.

I love the taste and I enjoy every bite.

Until I see the health content….

1,221 Calories

77g fat
30g of saturated fat
249 mg cholesterol
2831 mg sodium
76g carbs

BUT

There are 7g of fiber and 56g of protein so I have that going for me.

Take it I do switch mustard with the bloomin onion sauce, so I think that lowers everything about 50 percent right?

Then the killer is the cheese fries.

The cheese fries at outback are amazing.

We usually order them and I eat about 75 percent of them.

Health content for cheese fries with ranch (We eat without ranch)…

2,900 calories182g fat and 240g carbs

Wow.

On top of it all, Men’s Health listed the cheese fries at outback the Number 1 worst food to eat in America.

How do I live when I eat this meal?

How could something that taste so good, be so bad for you?

This can happen so many times in life.

Something we enjoy especially for a quick fix can be so bad for us.

Sometimes its food, sometimes it’s something we get caught up in and other times it could be people.

Could something that is good for us, we hate?

A lot of people could say vegetables in here, but what about people?

Listen to how they describe Stephen and what opposition he faced in Acts 6:8-10…

“Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.  Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) – Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia.  These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.”

Stephen was known for doing amazing things and yet people didn’t like him.

How could someone known for doing amazing things, be a bad person to the people?

Sometimes we are very hard on other people.

I have seen this happen in schools a lot where the people that are really nice and respectful are treated like dirt by other people.

Why is this?

What makes us be bad to good people?

Stephen was a great man and yet people didn’t like him.

They tried to speak against him but he was wise beyond them.

Stephen was a great person.

Some things like that burger are very bad even though they taste very good.

People treated Stephen very bad even though he was very good.

Bad vs. Good.

How does this happen?

Why do we sometimes treat good people so bad?

Think about one person you are not nice too.

Why are you mad at that person?

Could the relationship be saved?

Things can change in life.

Attitudes can change.

We don’t have to make the same mistakes and can repair relationships.

We don’t have to treat other people bad when they honestly could be very nice people.

How can you be nice to someone you have been mean to today?

Have a great day!