Lessons from Kobe and Mr. NFL

When we brought Kobe the Labrador home almost two months ago, he was this cute little thing. No more than 15 pounds. He fit in our laps, he was easy to pick up and snuggle with. That was two months ago.

Kobe is now 30 plus pounds, no longer fits under the bed and it requires two laps to hold him.

But he has no idea of how big he is.

He still tries to go behind our legs while we're seated. Something he could easily do when he was smaller; not so anymore.

When I'm working at my desk, he used to fit underneath my desk and nap by my feet. Now it's a bit more difficult.

He thinks he's still this small thing. Not true.

Little dogs terrify him. With one swipe of his big paw he could easily dominate but for some reason he still sees himself as the inferior one.

Yesterday our son didn't play his best game against our school's fiercest rival. After the game he told us that before the game he told himself he would only be able to make layups. Well you can imagine how that went. He rarely got in the lane to make a layup. He wouldn't take open shots all the while me and Elgin are yelling from the bleachers...SHOOT!

Kobe and Mr. NFL/NBA teach believers valuable lessons.

Know who you are
Kobe is not a small dog; he doesn't know that and behaves in a way completely out of character for a dog his size. True, he's a puppy and he's learning. We're pretty certain that truth will catch up with him and he'll be comfortable in his big feet.

Child of the Most High! Are you acting out of character? Are you seeing yourself as a grasshopper when God says you dominate? Today I challenge you to see yourself as the Father does and behave accordingly. No more running from small, yappy dogs.

Watch what you tell yourself
The bible says that what a man thinks, well so is he. What are you telling yourself? Are your thoughts limiting your success? Our son had possibly his worst game all because of what he told himself during the pregame. We're teaching him to control the story he tells himself in any situation. Instead of "I'm only going to be able to make layups" how about "I make every shot." Eventually what you do will line up with what you say.

Unstoppable is the person who knows who they are and thoughts line up with the Word of God.

Be blessed everyone.

Read more...

What do projects and trials have in common?

My text book says not to confuse projects with everyday work. Projects are not routine, repetitive work; they are done only once. Projects are also not programs. Programs are a group of related projects designed to accomplish a common goal over an extended period of time (Larson & Gray, 2011).

As someone who is knee deep in several projects, I'm so glad I know that projects like trials don't last always. They have ending dates. Sing with me...I'm so glad, projects don't last always. I'm so glad...

Back at it tomorrow.

Read more...

Prayer on another level

Normally at the end of each bible study I host, I close in prayer.

This week, things went a little differently.

I knew the Lord wanted the ladies to pray for each other.

We created His Vision Boards and the goal was to simply agree with each other in prayer. To be in support of God's word in the life of a fellow believer.

Now I knew this activity would absolutely terrify a few so I did my best to put them at ease.

Our newbie to the bible study paired up with a veteran and she was scared; dare I say intimidated.

She said she had no idea what to say but eventually prayed a prayer from her heart that I believe reached heaven.

No vain repetitions needed.

Eloquent speech not required.

Stumble along if you must, but prayers uttered by righteous people get the job done.

Even if your knees are knocking.

Our newbie grew yesterday and hopefully she'll grow more confident in offering audible prayers for anyone who asks.

Watching people grow in their faith never gets old.

Read more...

Excuse me, do I know you?

Anyone can be used by God to fulfill his purpose.

He makes vessels of honor and dishonor.

So the being used part is not the part to get excited about.

What you want to get excited about is being known by God.

Couple of scriptures for your consideration:

Some folk who had done some pretty awesome things in the name of the Lord had their face-to-face moment with Him. They said, Lord we cast out devils in your name and oh the miracles we performed! Hallelujah! Jesus' response was, do I know you? Paraphrased from Matthew 7:22-24

In another setting, Jesus empowered a few disciples, sent them out on a mission and they came back with glowing reports. Lord, the demons were subject to us! We cast them out just like you did! Jesus told them to save the high-fives. He said don't get all caught up because the devils were subject to you...be glad that your name is written in Heaven. Paraphrased from Luke 10:20.

There's no credit given to being used outside of relationship with Him.

You have to be known for the stuff you do to count.

Jesus said this the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul and mind. That's the greatest thing you can do. To love Him is to be known and accepted by Him. You've missed a critical step when you do outside of relationship with Him.

So you can do all those things, create a name for yourself and make big money doing it.

My question is, are you known?

Strive then to be known, being used will come automatically.

Read more...

Reclaiming what's mine

I love Kobe the Labrador. He's sweet, he's obedient (which is a big contrast from Mac the Beagle) and he's loyal.

One thing Kobe the Labrador is not is cooperative on my morning walks.

And I understand it's because he's a puppy and needs to be trained.

Most days I would cut my walks short and head home frustrated.

Not this morning.

I reclaimed my morning walk.

I understand a few things about dogs that I didn't before.

They want to please and look to you to be the pack leader.

Proper pack order dictates that I tell the pack what we are and are not doing.

I needed to train Kobe how to walk with me.

No he can't pull.

No he can't lag behind.

No this isn't a poop sniffing expedition.

No he can't go running scared every time a car passes or dog barks (he's very skittish).

This is my morning walk and he will learn to share it with me.

So this morning we walked at my pace, to my set destination and back.

I didn't do a lot of talking. Usually there's a lot of  "Kobe, no!" on our walks but this time, I let the tug of the leash do my talking.

I reclaimed my morning walk by taking control and that meant teaching Kobe how to walk with me. It meant correcting behavior in real time and not stressing when he stressed out.

I reclaimed my morning walk. What can you reclaim today?


Happy Monday everyone.

Read more...

My Love Hate Relationship with Facebook

I'm a fan of technology. Always have been. Elgin and I were early AOL adopters. We had email addresses but no one to email because most people we knew weren't connected yet.

I'll admit I was late getting to Facebook. I had a Myspace account, was on a few Ning groups, I was blogging and really didn't see a valid reason for joining. Especially when it was promoted as a way to connect college students. As Facebook evolved, I finally became a user.

It's been a mixed blessing.

What I love about Facebook

• Connecting with family and friends
• The ability to share a message with wide circle of people
• Facebook advertising totally rocks
• Ministry does take place on Facebook. A few days ago I prayed for clarity on a business matter and this woman gave me the answer I was looking for. She had no idea she had just been used by Holy Spirit!
• People do share some good stuff on Facebook; so it can also be a place to learn. 
• You don't have to all statuses show up on your wall

What I hate about Facebook

• It's noisy! OMG, the more friends you have the more chatter you encounter. I'm a member of a few Facebook groups and some people post five, six, seven posts...one right after another. There's something to be said for talking too much. Your voice loses something if you're always talking. People will tune you out. I know I have. The ear becomes desensitized because you've just become another source of noise. Write a blog and get it all out in one thorough, well-defined post. (Dismounting from my soap box now.)
• Privacy issues.
• Dishonest and unscrupulous people. One person went through my friends list, added them to theirs and tried to run game on them after they had been outed as a fraud. (Hmmm, with the new timeline feature, I wonder if my friends list is still hidden...I need to check.)
• Bleeding on Facebook. I know some of them are cries for help but other folk vent stuff no one should know about.

Being on social media networks requires your discernment be up and running and then listen and act on what Holy Spirit shows you.

There you have it; my love/hate relationship with Facebook.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Read more...

So they screwed up again?

Mistakes.

Screw-ups.

Epic failures.

These are life's learning opportunities.

We all make mistakes.

We all have moments where we experience epic failures.

Babies learning to walk fail repeatedly until they finally grasp the concept of balance.

We don't beat the child mercilessly because they fell down during the course of learning to walk.

Not healthy people anyway.

If you happen to be in someone's life while they are experiencing learning opportunities, don't let that cloud your judgment about that person's call or purpose. Don't let that keep you from seeing them as God sees them. I understand some screw-ups cause people to say and do things that would have you write them off eternally but before you do consider this; God's great grace covered you during your learning opportunities.

Just because they're talking crazy today doesn't mean they won't be a dynamic mouthpiece for God tomorrow.

Just because they're in jail today doesn't mean they can't be used of God where they are.

Just because she got pregnant doesn't mean she won't be a devil-chasing, soul-winning evangelist with a word in her mouth.

It's an easy trap to get caught into; seeing things from just one angle.

The people who grew up with Jesus, the folk from His neighborhood couldn't see past his job as a carpenter and they missed it. They missed the greatest man to walk the earth because all they saw was Jesus the carpenter. They didn't see Jesus the healer, Jesus the Master Teacher. The bible says that Jesus could only do a few miracles in his hometown because of the people's unbelief.

How sad.

Not being willing to let go of someone's yesterday, clinging to the old and not embracing the new caused them to miss something wonderful.

How about you? Just because you see them at their worst, does this keep you from seeing their possibility?

At the end of the day, they will be the dynamic person God called them to be with or without your support or encouragement.

So, how do they look to you now?

Can you muster some more grace as God continues to make them...process them?

I knew you could.

Not always easy when you're right in the thick of it, but God strengthens us to do what we don't even think is possible.

Read more...