MarriedandWhatnot

I recall in my younger years there were lyrics to a song by Common that always stayed with me. He was telling a story of coming home from a long trip only to find out his home had been violated. Someone had stolen something from him. While on this journey home, he stated – In my mind home was pictured and rest was the frame.

The older I get, the more I appreciate peace. I define peace as the stillness in the moment after a storm. After the trials have passed and you can breathe a sigh of release. The euphoric feeling that allows you to relax and consumes your belly with contentment. There within lies a problem. Life is full of difficulties, so how do we manage stress and achieve this same level of contentment while in the midst of a troubling situation?

There is an old saying that every cloud has a silver lining. I never really understood the optimism in that statement even as a child…until I grew spiritually. One could say that statement simply states a disposition that one takes where they see and expect the most favorable outcome, regardless of the situation. If we say we walk by faith, then we really have to take this element of hope in an otherwise bad situation. As one site wrote, we must develop a hopeful or comforting prospect in the midst of difficulty.

While going through a storm, no one wants to hear about God’s purpose or plans for your life. Let’s be honest, you want immediate deliverance. Just keep in mind that there is always some hopeful aspect even in the gloomiest situation. It is all in your perspective. If you choose to see the situation for its face value, sometimes you will miss the underlying meaning. Focus on the things you do have versus what you lack, and open your mind to receiving revelation from your situation. Sometimes it just takes you stepping back and looking from a different perspective. What you thought you initially saw may not be the case.

Everyday I look for signs in my life and try to read into them God’s intentions. – King Silas, NBC Kings

This post was birthed from a humorous conversation with my wife about current technology, and how I was going to go on a social network fast because I was frustrated with the time it eats. I merely log-in to check an e-mail or respond to a status update or stupid pointless application request, and before I know it I am submerged in photos/profiles wasting precious time that I could be using to do something productive.

I initially intended to pose the question, “Could you go 7 days without Facebook?” Could you literally close your Facebook right this second, and not be tempted to look at it until this time next week? If you have followed any of my previous posts you know my train of thought rarely stays in one place too long, so let’s not limit this to scenario to Facebook. Do you think you could you go 7 days without…

- cellular/home phone
- music (radio, cd, mp3 player)
- personal e-mail
- social networks (Facebook, MySpace, Ning)
- television
- video games
- visiting gossip / nonsense websites
- other technology (be honest with yourself)

Granted there are gray categories…like those who rely on the internet because they have online businesses or online students…but there are a lot of luxuries we pretend we cannot live without. We convince ourselves that it is a need, and eventually this untamed desire grows until it becomes an obsession. I once read in a book that need involves demand and implies there is something lacking in life. In essence we spend time in these areas because there is a void of some sorts…a void that only God can fulfill.

Looking through my normal rotation of fitness websites, I ran across an article by a nutritionist recommending the removal of sugar from your diet. It went on to discuss how your body becomes adjusted to sugar, so you don’t really understand the harm until you clean it out of your system. After a few weeks, once you reintroduce sugar to your body it will immediately make you sick.

Oftentimes I have to wonder as men/women trying to do right and grow spiritually, how many things in life serve as sugar? What things in our diet do we introduce daily and act like we can’t live without? I have a few friends and oftentimes we discuss fitness and our goals for getting back in shape. No matter how much talk goes on, ultimately it comes down to discipline and obedience. Most of us want to have the (fill in the blanks) physique but don’t want to fuel our bodies properly. We want to eat whatever we want to eat. The problem is our mannerisms carry over into our spiritual walk. We want all the benefits of being His child, but don’t want to be disciplined. Instead of feeding our spirit healthy Word, we’d rather ingest junk and clutter it with nonsense. We basically want to do whatever we want to do, and want God to bless our efforts because we feel we are good people in other areas of life. Our resumes say we are full time believers, but we put in part-time hours.

Sometimes I feel like the biggest spiritual loser. When you think about how we waste our time, most of us believers are not acting like the leaders we were called to be. Are we just conformists? Are we becoming the same hypocritical generation we accused the previous one of being? Just food for thought.

NOTE: I don’t want this post to come across fussy or foul. Everything I write is out of love and self-reflection. Look at this post as more of a self-evaluation/challenge to people on the fence.

You will either follow God’s standards by deliberate choice, or you will follow the world’s standards by default – Myles Monroe

There was a story on the news last night about the correlation between children watching television, and depression (due to negative influences and advertisement). It made me think about all the negative things we let influence us on a day to day basis as adults. Just take a moment and think about the course of one day all the nonsense on TV, radio, workplace conversations and e-mail that we allow to seep into our brains. When you process all the junk, it makes you realize how we have to monitor what we take in, and who we choose to surround ourselves around. I think many times we keep company in our presence we should have eliminated years ago for various selfish reasons. Whether that be someone who makes you feel important and strokes your ego, someone who gives you whatever you want (sex/money), or someone you think may take you somewhere in life. My general rule of thumb is if someone is not enriching the health of my life (physically and spiritually) then they are just wasting my valuable, precious time. Time is not like AT&T rollover minutes. Once it is gone, we are unable to get back. If someone is not helping you to grow mentally and challenging you in your walk, then anything material they give you (clothes, cars, jobs) is irrelevant. That is not a good enough reason to keep them around.

A few years ago I heard an older gentleman state the best gift you could give a man is to change (transform, challenge) the way he thinks. In Romans 12:2 it tells us to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. The Amplified says to change your ideals and attitude. We’ve heard the old cliché your attitude determines your altitude, but sometimes it is a lot easier said than done. While in the midst of a storm you don’t want to hear that, you want immediate deliverance. I have sessions where I vent and been frustrated with my Father, but when it is all said and done I know that He has my best interest at heart. Sometimes you just need to do what my wife and I call “stiff arm” certain folks and keep them at a distance so you can hear God clearly. Oftentimes we let peoples words and opinions distract, deter and discourage us, and we just need to set aside alone time to mediate and get our heads straight. If you let people, they will attempt to Deebo (bully) you with words because they are miserable in some way, and tearing you down makes them feel better about themselves. There is an X-Men character named Magneto (pictured above) who used to wear a helmet to guard and protect his mind from intrusion. Maybe an extreme example, but you get the gist. We have to slide on a spiritual helmet (to discern motives) and develop thick skin because there are people out there trying to destroy you with their tongue (Psalms 64:3).

I don’t know your situation, but I just wanted to offer words of encouragement. I don’t believe you were led to my blog to read this post for no reason today. I know we all face different trials, and I don’t personally know what you are going through and how that is affecting your life right now. What I do know is you are not in the dark (even though it may seem that way), and you need to know that He is listening to your prayers and this soon will pass. I know it hurts and there are nights you are in so much pain your tear ducts are dried up, but stay strong because your breakthrough is closer than you may think. I come into agreement with you that His will be done in your life and you make it through this tough period of time! Sometimes we can’t see a way out because of the circumstances surrounding our situations, but hold on to your faith. One of my favorite inspirational sentences is – Fear knocked, faith answered, nobody was there!  I know things may seem like they will never get better, but in retrospect I can personally attest to His provision and protection. 

Be Blessed!

JM

This was a conversation the wonder twins (my 4 & 6 year old) had in the back seat of the van a few weeks back.

4 yr: Is it Christmas yet? When is Santa supposed to come?
6 yr: There is no Santa. Daddy is Santa.
4 yr: That’s right, I forgot.
6 yr: But he has to get a green suit so he can buy us toys.
4 yr: He already has a green suit, and a big brown bag to hold our toys.
6 yr: OH!

Yea, it didn’t make sense to me either. lol. They never cease to amaze me with their conversations. Now I am sure millions will disagree with me, but I just don’t get this Santa stuff. Growing up I always questioned Santa and his tactics. How he came down a chimney, the construction, his weight/size, our fireplace, what if I slept over Grandma’s house, how does he get to my friends with apartments? More importantly, I was a good kid and didn’t understand why I didn’t get certain things when spoiled brats I knew did. After I kept asking questions, my grandfather told me the truth. He didn’t believe in lying to kids about Santa, and you know what…I agree. It didn’t destroy me because it never made sense to me in the first place.

I am not a Grinch. How I may not be the jollyest person, my family definitely gets into the spirit of the holiday. We are very giving, we decorate heavily (prior to Thanksgiving…lol), and watch numerous seasonal movies. It is not that I am against tradition, but what I am against is lying to your kids. As a parent we try to do our best to equip our kids with the tools they need to succeed. Along with basic needs (food, clothing, shelter) some of us instill principles, manners and wisdom to help with their survival once they leave the roost. In our household we try to build men with integrity and teach them to be honest, so how can you do that and outright lie? And for what? Because society tells you to do so? I can’t speak for anyone else, but we work to hard for our money for our kids not to appreciate that these things were sacrifices from their parents. My kids have grown to become very thankful and I love that about their personalities. They go so far as to thank us when we prepare their food. They are that way because the time we devote to developing their character. People dedicate all this energy to develop faith in their kids regarding Santa, but not Christ?

What are your thoughts? I am not judging whatsoever. I feel it is your child, and you should have the right to do what you feel best. What I do have a problem with is people looking at us like we are lepers because we choose to tell our children the truth. I actually feel sorry for anyone who my 4yr old comes in contact with. He is not shy like my other sons, rather quite outgoing and outspoken. He will argue with you in a heartbeat, and I am sure he will burst someones bubble…lol.

I wrote this prior to Christmas to auto-publish, so I pray you all have a blessed Holiday. Keep Christ in Christmas!

J

When I was younger my grandfather got mad at my mother for writing “X-MAS” on the box of decorations we kept in the attic. He said that we were crossing out the name of Christ. I heard what he said, but at the time I really didn’t understand why he took that so seriously. Now that I am older and look at things from a different angle, I get it. I Googled ‘xmas’ and there was an interesting perspective on Wilki. I understand this isn’t the most credible source, but they stated: “Christ” was often written as “XP” or “Xt”; there are references in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as far back as AD 1021. This X and P arose as the uppercase forms of the Greek letters χ and ρ, used in ancient abbreviations for Χριστος (Greek for “Christ”), and are still widely seen in many Eastern Orthodox icons depicting Jesus Christ.

I am too exhausted to do the research right now, so I chose to stay in cynical land (my own mental amusement park). I hear what the article is saying, but I still have my reservations. Why don’t we abbreviate Thanksgiving and call it X-giving? I mean technically it is a longer word. These are things I question. You have to do what you feel, but for me and my household we choose to keep Christ in Christmas.

Be blessed people!

Do you ever feel like you are constantly losing pressure? Sometimes I think I am too crazy to be crazy (if that makes sense). I don’t have any mental illnesses (that have been diagnosed with), but sometimes life can make you feel like you are going bananas. Have you ever cried and not realized you were crying because you were just zoned out? Maybe I should stop being so truthful on this blog before they send a white van to my house, place me in a straight-jacket and ship me to a psychiatric hospital. I usually don’t reveal much about my personal life, but blogs to me are therapeutic because they allow an avenue to vent and self-reflect. Besides you never know…maybe in the midst of my dysfunction I may be able to help someone.

I was talking to my friends ‘ALL CAPS’ and ‘Will the Hostess Zebra Caper’ yesterday crying and complaining about life. I told them how I feel like a boxer. I was watching this mixed marital arts last night, and this dude kicked the other in the liver. I don’t know what that does physiologically, but it paralyzes your body temporarily. That is how I feel my storms are. They never cripple me severely, but they temporarily paralyze me. They hit me so hard they keep me from talking (praying). Not only that, but you know when someone knows your weak spot and you anticipate it? I feel like I am in a fight, and fighting hard, but in my mind I know I can’t block that liver shot that is inevitably coming. It is like I win one battle, then get ko’d. I get back up, this time go old school 15 rds and bam…right when I get close KO’d again. I am tired of fighting for the championship. I am ready to get past boxing so I can promote others. Of course my dudes encouraged me to keep fighting and not throw in the towel, but like I told them sometimes I feel like my faith is tapping out. On top of everything else going on right now, we had this severe leak that I didn’t have the financial means to take care of.

A couple months back I noticed there was some water backed up where my sprinkler valves were located. This water also saturated the earth around this area, so I knew there was a busted pipe somewhere. Because I assumed I didn’t have the means to fix it at the time, I ignored the problem instead of getting to the root of it and resolving it. So fast forward to Wednesday. Driving home from work I am chatting with my wife, and she tells me when my sons came home from school, they explained to her that the water had flooded the sidewalk, and they had to jump over it. It rained the night before so I thought nothing of it until I got home. I pull into my driveway and water was pouring out the hole at a rapid pace and flowing down the street. I immediately went inside and called the water company, which was the quickest, easiest solution. They claimed they would send someone out, but most likely it was the homeowners responsibility. I knew this, but was just hoping by some miracle it was their fault. I put on some old jeans, went outside, and with the assistance of my neighbor spent an hour or so out in the pitch black frigid air trying to turn these stubborn valves shut. My neighbor is this big 6′3 250lbs shredded guy, and he couldn’t even turn them counter-clockwise. After alternating muscle, we finally got them shut. We scooped the water out, and no sooner than we it overflowed again and continued to pour down the street. At this moment we both realized there was a severe break with no quick fix. The earth which was previously wet now formed a mound as the water pressure beneath it built up. I was so frustrated I just went into the house. I didn’t once think about cutting over the main water supply until I figured it out (duh). I went back into the house and jumped into a warm shower and stood there for 15mins frustrated, hurt, pissed, cold, and irritated that the water pressure was so low. I stood there as water rolled down my face thinking about all the money I had rolling down the street and what my water bill was going to be. I also thought the worst scenario. How this is Christmas time, and anticipating an expensive bill from a plumber.

The next day instead of a plumber I called an irrigation specialist, and he came out to fix the leak. He dug the ground up, and replaced the broken PVC pipe. Apparently the original contractor for the home connected this PVC from the mainline to our house with a pressure coupling. As they dug the soil (clay) out, they pulled out some gargantuan rocks. I started thinking about my old neighbors moving, and how they backed their truck up over that area and how the pressure most likely pushed that rock into the pipe and cracked it.

Will was talking to me yesterday about the trials we go through, and how I always have a testimony as a result that I share with him. In this situation, I sought to prove him wrong as I was rebellious and mad at everything and felt this entire situation was pointless. You know how sometimes how you know what people are telling you is right, but in the midst of your problem you don’t want to hear it? Him and Caps were both on me yesterday about persevering through.

As I took a shower this morning, the water pressure was now restored and I had time to meditate about this entire situation. I thought about how sometimes in life we see a problem…the wet ground around us…and instead of taking the time to get a shovel and dig to the root of our problems, we just ignore it like it will go away. We walk past our issues daily, and convince ourselves we will deal with it another day. Like I did with the water company, we want the quickest, easiest solution, or a quick fix. We anticipate the worst and try to avoid it altogether. As soon as the break occurred, I did like most people do. We try to defer blame to someone else, and accept no accountability for our own actions. Then what happens? That leak gets worse and worse. The pressure around us constricts and eventually that trouble area which started as a hairline fracture cracks and we implode. Standing in the shower I kept thinking about the water pressure, and how it is like God’s grace. For the past month or so since this crack occurred, the water (grace) was there, but I couldn’t experience the full flow of it until I fixed that problem I kept overlooking. Maybe the hindrance of favor in my life right could be directly correlated to me not going to the root of a troubled area in my life?

I believe we all have issues. The problem is most of us don’t deal with them. And in some cases the problem may be too big for us to solve by ourselves, so we may have to call in our own (mental) irrigation specialist. Someone who can keep us from losing pressure and help to restore that flow. A person grounded in the word that can be a listening ear for you to vent, yet give you sound advice and proper guidance. I am thankful for all the irrigation specialists God has currently placed in my life. I have been truly blessed with wonderful wife and some good friends (who I view as brothers).

I was doing some research this weekend on ROI (return on investment), and I came across an interesting article by a guy named John Wesley (written in 2007). First let me back up. About a decade ago, my wife and I attended this seminar for real estate, and one of the things this guy said stuck with me ever since. He stated the difference between wealthy people and people of lower income brackets is simply how they chose spend their time. He went on to give examples of how he doesn’t watch television, rather reads the newspaper. He shared numerous tips about how he maximized his time.

I will be the first to admit sometimes I don’t use my time wisely. I tend to get frustrated at life circumstances and knocked off kilter. Some roadblocks and life make me just pump the breaks, and want to just go play with my kids and enjoy life, play around on the net, or just plum sleep it off. Going through trials are exhausting; mentally, physically & spiritually. In any case, while performing research yesterday I stumbled upon this ROI article. It spoke about how the goal of an ROI is to maximize the return on the money you invest, however we have not been taught to view ourselves as a primary investment rather than money. It went on to talk about how we have to start looking at everything we do as an investment of time (e.g. watching a bad TV show is a poor return of time). My bro-in-law and I talk all the time about how time is more valuable than money. You always have an opportunity to make money, but once time is gone, it is gone. Often times I look at my kids and their growth, and I feel a rush of anxiety. I feel as if I am running out of the luxury of time and have this sense of urgency that I wish I possessed in my younger years..

The author of this article stated that the key is to invest our time so that we can be productive in more than one area. He calls this multiple positives and states, “The key to finding multiple positives is finding areas where different positive actions intersect.” An example of this would be playing basketball (fun + exercise), or maybe studying a field that would help you in the workplace as well as with freelancing (web design, writing, etc.). Of course the opposite of these multiple positives is what he calls multiple negatives. An example would be going out to a club. As much as people like to kick it, when we are honest it is not productive, drinks are costly, and the effects (hangover, sex, whatever) will affect the next day. The problem with that is we began to develop a “pattern of poor investment” where we continue to do negative things out of habit. I talked once before about habits being formed or broken in 3 weeks. Many of us have habits from years ago (I know I do).

The article also spoke about the principles of compound interest. Basically when you invest money, you earn interest, and then you start to earn interest on the money you earned from interest. Over many years this continues to compound, thus leading to substantial returns. Now when you apply this to time, you can see where many of us lost ground. Many of us worked hard, but at some point or another gave up due to various life circumstances. In turn, it limited our ability to be in a position to be successful and reap the benefits of our investment in time. I often wonder if I were a better steward with my time, and were diligent and handling things despite of circumstances which seemed to distract me, where would I be right now? Or better yet, if I managed the time that I have right now, what could I do to change my current environment?

Let’s even take one step out the door of finances. One of the most important ways to show someone you love them is how you spend your time. What if I worked on spending time with and developing my relationship with God more when I was younger? What if I allocated my heart towards His will versus mine…despite all I went through? I know many times I fell into the “that’s not fair” tantrum…feeling that I deserved to have more favor from God than I was receiving. In retrospect He was protecting me the entire time in ways I can’t even describe. Nobody has the ideal circumstance in life and we all go through things where we feel we won’t be able to make it, but believe me God is real and has our best interest at heart…even when sometimes we can not understand it whatsoever. In the midst of our storms, we have to gather ourselves up, be encouraged (click here), and continue to press forward. Trust me from experience, don’t allow your circumstances (or any one/thing) rob you of time as it is such a valuable commodity.

Just food for thought. To close this blog, I will quote the last part of this article:

Many people think their time isn’t valuable when they aren’t working, so they throw it away on activities that have a poor return on investment and don’t build for the future. The truth is, no one else is going to consider your time valuable until you do. If you want to acquire the wealth that will provide the freedom to live your ideal lifestyle, start thinking of every decision as an investment. Nothing is insignificant.

One mental model that can help you make better decisions is imagining that your life is a corporation and you’re the only employee. If you were the CEO of John Doe Incorporated, and were obliged to maximize profit on behalf of investors, what would you make yourself do? You’ll find that this sort of analysis simplifies many decisions and increases return on investment.

Figured that would be an appropriate title for the season. You know when I started this blog, I planned on sharing life from a married man’s perspective. A Christian man…although you may not be able to tell sometimes by my comments. Hey, I am human…I have mood swings and emotions. But more importantly, I am real. I know there is a great responsibility to watch your words, so I promise in the months to come things will be cleaned up. That being said, I am still the same ol goofy guy.

Yesterday I was cutting my son’s hair. It is like a barbershop up in there with all those heads. I mean literally, my clippers run hot by the time I am through. I usually turn on Pandora and crank the speakers on my computer in my study; which is adjacent to the bathroom where I clean them up. I have several Pandora stations, but this particular one is set to play songs from the 90s, so it provides a nostalgic, authentic barbershop feel (hence the Jingling Baby title). I am old school and use Andis Master, Andis T-Outliner and a straight razor. Yes, I am for real. Sometimes I get in the zone and almost feel like Denzel off Training Day – “I am precise with this ___ Jake!” It is time consuming, but I have learned to just enjoy the time I spend with them. It is so crazy how different my boys are. Aside from the different textures of hair…which is slightly different, but not enough to warrant a paternity test (lol). Just kidding…I branded all my boys with features. Anyways, aside from hair, their personalities are so different. They are these little complex creatures with their own opinions, emotions and interpretations. I engage in conversation with my offspring and it amazes me to see their growth. Conversations range from food they ate, to fight they got into with each other.

After I finished the 2 & 3, I went into my kids playroom and plopped down on the couch to take a break. My oldest was in there frustrated while doing his homework. As we chatted, it just hit me. Wow…I am actually a father. I think because I am a lighthearted person and I like to laugh, sometimes I don’t even realize the authority I have. The presence I have in my household, and how it affects my wife and children. How my voice commands respect. How they ALL look up to me for approval. I started to think about how important a father is in the household, and how it parallels our relationship (or lack thereof) with our Heavenly Father. Just think about how being detached from your father brings about dysfunction in your life. How a lack of communication distances you from your father and how, regardless of if we want to admit it or not, we NEED our father’s approval. Those of us with the biggest deadbeat of the millennium can still be influenced by their words. That being said, I reflect on some of the dysfunction in my life, and have to think…is it because I have distanced myself from my spiritual father? Did I get mad because he left me instructions, and I am just rebellious and want to do my own thing? Is it because I am doing things that I know He doesn’t approve of? Is it because I am not communicating (prayer) with Him regularly?

I don’t preach religion (ever). But what I will say is you owe it to yourself to at least try to form a relationship with God. I understand people are hurting and have questions. Some things don’t make sense, and don’t understand why bother…but I want to offer a non-theological take. This is just pure logic. If I am wrong for following God, what will I lose? If there is no God, what would I lose other than living a life of integrity while on this earth? But if there IS a God, what would you lose (eternally) by not following Him? Your choice.

Man, I love Marvin Sapp…

I was born/raised in what we dub – tha city. Coming from that environment, you grow up around one million cats who have big dreams and don’t follow through on them. Everyone talks about what they are going to do, but never follow through on anything. I understand circumstances sometimes dictate how people react to certain situations. I know sometimes life throws things our way and we just toss our hands up and just say forget it. But like I told my wife, no matter how bad things seem, I just can’t quit because I wasn’t created to quit. I wasn’t created to be stagnate. We have a living, moving God…we weren’t made to be dormant and complacent.

I was praying this weekend about direction in a particular area, and started thinking about all the people who talk about their aspirations, and never follow through because they get tired of fighting (myself included). I picked up my Bible, and just happened to stumble upon this passage…

Proverbs 14:23 (NIV)
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Proverbs 14:23 (AMP)
In all labor there is profit, but idle talk leads only to poverty.

Of course you have to read it in context with the rest of the passage, but just taken literally it has such significance. I like the amplified version because it states “idle” talk. The definition of idle is habitually doing nothing or of no real worth, importance, or significance. I read somewhere that a habit, whether good or bad, can be broken or created in 3 weeks. Rereading this passage, I now understand that it goes beyond just talking; we have created an environment where we trained ourselves to live in self-pity and feel as if we have no worth. The thing is we just need revelation like the prodigal son. Many of you know the story (Luke 15:11-32), but my favorite part was when he received revelation. The Word said he came to himself. He basically realized who his father was, and that he didn’t have to continue living the way he was.

So science tells us the time frame for breaking/developing a habit, and the word teaches us how to form a relationship (thus putting us in position to receive revelation). Now we just have to be honest with ourselves and address our own issues. I personally think the most critical component is time. I thought about this seminar I went to years back when this guy stated the difference between wealthy people and people of a lower financial class is merely how they choose to spend their time. He went on to talk about how he doesn’t waste time watching television, and how he chooses to read the newspaper instead. Spoke of numerous things he did to stimulate his mind and maximize his time.

Time is so crucial (I cannot stress that enough). It is one of those things in life we can’t get back. How we choose to use it is so important. So while we sit here complaining about our situation, and why we can’t achieve the goals we set forth, first we must analyze how we spend our time. I have a challenge for you. Document one of your days in 30 minute increments. Do it on a spreadsheet, or even a piece of paper. Now analyze how you spend your time over a 24hr period of time. We always say we don’t have the time, but when we look at it analytically, are we honestly spending every minute wisely?

I am tired of people who talk…I am ready to be around people who do. I understand times are hard and it seems like there is no way to make our goals come to fruition (possession of), but if we stop being disobedient to what the Word says, then we will fall under the blessing and receive favor. Favor goes such a long way. It could put funding behind your vision. It could place the right person in your path with the right connection.

I have had an increase in visitors to this blog, and like I told my boy Juggernaut, my goal is to challenge my brothas to speak of His goodness and try to use this platform to encourage folks. So I have this challenge for you. I want to challenge you to prove God is real, and prayer works. My challenge to you is to give God something to breathe on. I think it is safe to say that we all have aspirations, dreams and goals. If God gave you a vision, I challenge you to take a step of faith this week. Whether that be registering a business name, writing out a business plan, doing additional research, making calls, taking steps to get into a home, taking steps to complete school or additional education, whatever it may be…do something to call your faith into action. The Bible tells us to write our vision (Hab 2:2), but we also know that faith without works is dead. Which means you can’t just sit on your hands (idle) and think an opportunity will just fall into your lap.

God’s word cannot come back void. Once He says it, it was, is and will be. What I am asking that you activate your faith regarding your vision, and if it is of God, I come into agreement with you that something manifest this week. When it does, all I ask you to do is to come back and leave a brief praise report. If it takes longer than a week, these blogs are archived so search for it, and still post something. Don’t let the adversary silence you! Let’s take advantage of the authority we have in the spiritual realm, and produce something tangible to show someone who may be straying the fence that it is beneficial to follow God.

Do you accept this challenge?