Weekend/Signal Lights

Well, I am actually pumped up for a Monday. I had a great weekend. It started out with an amazing conference at the church my cousins attend. The guest preacher was great. He spoke about the different types of worshippers. There were a few visiting church choirs in attendance also. There's something about a woman that can sing! It makes her that much more beautiful. That's word!

On Saturday, I went to the fair in West Palm Beach with some people from my church. We had a nice time; clean fun. I never thought I could have fun without involving sin, LOL! I haven't been on rides in years. I feel ALIVE!!! The best part was that I didn't have to drive.

On Sunday, I went to church. The message was great. I really liked the way the preacher set up the message. The message in a nut shell was that our request for things initially are big, but as time passes and we are not getting what we requested, the request becomes smaller and smaller. We become desperate for just a small fraction of what we originally were looking for. He used the analogy of an aircraft pilot coming in for landing on a moving aircraft carrier. He/She uses the different color lights on the carrier to make adjustments in order to execute a perfect landing. If for some reason the lights are off, they would first radio for the base to turn on the lights. After a few failed attempts to communicate with the base, their request would become more desperate as they would now be running low on fuel, tired and hungry. The may simply request any light so that they would at least know where the runway was located. As our time on this earth is becoming shorter, the enemy is getting deperate for just one more broken marriage, one more case of suicide, or one more abortion. We as a church, need to become desperate for just one more soul to turn to Christ, one more country to know who Christ is, one more word and touch from Him. 

There are many people who need someone to just 'turn on the light' for them. They are flying around with no idea of where to land.  

* TURN ON THE LIGHT *  

He's a Must-Have

I guess I really don’t have a type (physically) when it comes to women. This is not to say that appearance doesn't matter. Anyone who has known me for a long time will confirm that personality is key for me. I’ve learned that the devil can be very beautiful lol! Contrary to my past, what’s most important now is whether or not Christ is number one in her life. He’s number one in my life, so I expect Him to be 'numero uno' in her life as well.


This blog is inspired by someone I recently met who asked me about my thoughts on being unequally yoked. I think many people associate this term with marriage alone, but it also refers to fellowship with unbelievers. As Christians, I don't believe that we should completely avoid and ignore the unsaved. We were once unsaved. Obviously we should not go out clubbing and drinking with them, but we still must try to reach out to them when the opportunity presents itself. I have family members that are not saved, but that doesn't mean that I have to completely cut them off. They understand what I'm about and respect it. When they go to certain places I respectfully exclude myself or they respectfully do not invite me. We can reach out without indulging in their lifestyle. Imagine if Christ and his disciples had just stuck together and shunned the unbelievers...SMH.


When a couple are equally yoked they draw their strength from the same source, which is Christ. When all else seems to fail their foundation still remains strong and sturdy.The Lord is the marriage counselor of marriage counselors.  "What God put together let no man put a split in it." The marriage of two alcoholics stands a better chance than that of an unequally yoked couple. Yeah it sounds crazy but think about it like this. What is it that the alcoholic couple share a great love for? Alcohol. They may argue and fight excessively, but they can depend on their partner to show support of their habit. As long as they are standing on the same foundation they have a good chance of staying together, but if one decides to quit, the foundation is now compromised. They begin to see-saw. One person is trying to go in a particular direction and the other is resisting. Sometimes this is the case between believers and unbelievers.They may meet as unbelievers then one becomes a believer. 


This is the part where it gets complicated and touchy. What happens now? Do they stay together? Do they divorce? I believe there needs to be a genuine effort in turning the other person to Christ. Since I am not a marriage counselor, nor have I been married, I do not want to get too deep and say the wrong thing. So with that said, I elect to use a little wisdom and end this passage right here. All comments and thoughts are welcomed.


* 2 CORINTHIANS 6:14-18 *    

  

Michelle Bonilla sings Your Show (Acoustic Version)

28's???

1. Are you playing hide-n-seek with yourself?
2. How do you react when you encounter someone who shares some of your negative qualities?
3. What makes you laugh?
4. Do you sometimes feel the urge to smile or laugh in a situation you probably should not?
5. If your closest friends were to describe you in 5 words, what word would they have in common?
6. Do you make numerous trips to the kitchen when you know there isn't anything in the refrigerator?
7. Do you fiddle with your cell phone when you are nervous or in an uncomfortable situation?
8. Do you really LOL! while texting or facebooking?
9. How would you spell your laugh?
10. What do you do in the mirror?
11. Do you or some you know walk with their head down? What do you think that means?
12. Would you rather be over dressed or under dressed?
13. What is fashionably late?
14. Why do your clothes become darker when you pour water on them?
15. What was the last book you read?
16. Are you an introvert or extrovert?
17. Do you have manipulative friends? Are you someones manipulative friend?
18. How long have you been friends?
19. Have you ever felt you had to defecate while taking a shower?
20. What was your expression after reading that question?
21. When someone asks you, "what kind of music do you listen to?", is your answer everything?
22. Are you a 'people-pleaser'?
23. How would you describe your sense of humor?
24. Do you like 'The Office'?
25. Would you lie to protect?
26. How often do you lose your keys?
27. If there were 25hrs in a day starting tomorrow, would we have an extra month?
28. Are you gullible?

*RANDOMOSITY*

Who's That?...You Know Him Too!

My New Year's resolution is to not make any. I simply want to continue my journey with Christ and keep evolving into the man I'm called to be. I guess this will be a life-long journey. I'm down for the ride.

Prioritization will either be my downfall or the catalyst to launch me to the next level. In the past it has been the cinder blocks tied to my feet. Lately, I have been working on removing clutter. Life is much more peaceful when you know what's NOT important. It's like going through your inbox and deleting what you don't need. It makes it easier to see what you do need, what's important. There's more structure and order in my life now. I love spam blocker, lol!

So, what's important to C.L? My walk with Christ, spending quality time with family (not just being in each other’s presence), my physical and mental health, the future of our youths, financial wisdom, and my legacy. My walk with Christ is the foundation for all that proceeds in my life. Christ has done things for me that I could not have imagined a few months ago. I know He loves me. He loves you too. Trust me he does. I always thought I was too screwed up for His love. I considered myself a 'goner', hopeless, worthless. I was wrong! The word of God was right! Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. ~Matthew 6:33 

What will my family and friends, my community, and those who know me say about me when I am no longer here? At one point in life this did not matter to me at all. I felt that when I left this world, the things I did would no longer matter. I now know that what you do while you are on this earth is just as important when you're gone. I need to pave a new way for my children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. There are too many bad habits and negative mentalities that get passed down from one generation to the next. If you examine the genealogy of most people of great success, you will likely find a progressive pattern. You may find a grandmother who worked two jobs and sold knitting's or pies to bring in extra money. A parent who had to put education on the back burner to provide and later went back to school to earn a degree. These lessons of hard work, resilience, and importance of education are what pave the road to success and stability for the next generation. The same holds true for the negative things. Lack of interest for education, divorce, infidelity, defeated mentalities, and bad spending habits are usually passed down from previous generations. Who will be the one to break the family generational curse? 

 Now I don't want this to seem like I'm writing my eulogy, but my legacy is very important to me now. I want to be remembered as a MAN who had a genuine interest in the well-being and future of others, a selfless man. The FATHER that didn't care if he got the roses while he could still smell them. The BROTHER who, through his faith and love for Christ, helped changed the course of his family's future. A SON that had a positive influence on those around him and others he never met. The GRANDPA that always left you with jewels of knowledge when you spoke to him. The UNCLE who understood you. A financially wise FRIEND. What kind of impact do you want to have?

*ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST*

Controlled Amnesia; Elastic Mentality

So I'll be starting a new job this coming Monday. I'm really happy because it's been a long time since my last job ended. Actually, this has been the longest I've ever been without work. Though it is temporary work I'm still excited and even more grateful to have this opportunity. God has been so good to me. There have been a few disappointments along the way; such as life. But through it all, I've learned to not let the feeling of disappointment consume me. I now know that, "out of rejection comes new direction."

*Let me take a moment to say that my family has played such an important role in my survival through these times. Without their help I don't know what or where I'd be today. They have lightened the stress load tremendously. I LOVE YOU ALL. 

What makes a sales-person great at what they do? It is their ability to bounce back from rejection. It is almost as if they have the power of 'voluntary-amnesia'. We too, need to acquire this power. Now I don't want to be misunderstood. I'm not saying to just forget all about it, because the first step in rectifying any problem is to acknowledge and analyze the details. If we don't know what went wrong, how can we change it?

A key part of acknowledging and analyzing is self honesty. We must have the courage to be honest with ourselves about what may have gone wrong on our behalf. Mistakes are key learning instruments. If there is responsibility to be taken, take it! We must also accept the fact that we are not and never will be perfect and some things are simply beyond our control. Sometimes we tend to put unreasonable amounts of pressure on ourselves. I am all for setting high goals/expectations, but we must remain honest with ourselves. Once all the facts have been acknowledged and analyzed and we know what went wrong, we can now adjust and advance.

Adjustment is the response to a miscarried attempt. Advancement is the evidence of self-forgiveness and a lesson learned. Adjusting can be the tough part. This is when the self-interrogation begins. How do I adjust? Will this work? What if it doesn't work? Well, if we don't try we'll never know. The fact of the matter is, we will have to repeat these in pursuit of our goals. How often do we get it right the first time? Much of life is trial-and-error. Once we've made our adjustments we can now tap into our 'voluntary-amnesia'! Let's evict the memory of our rejection and press forward. Let's advance. Remember, this is applicable to the various arenas of life (finances, relationships, career paths, etc). Rejection and failure are alive and how we respond will greatly impact our future. ACKNOWLEDGE, ANALYZE, ADJUST, ADVANCE.

*CUT THE ANCHORS OF REJECTION AND FAILURE*  

Passion and Purpose, Key Elements

There are many lifestyles that can be detrimental to our well-being and the security of our future. A lifestyle of crime, dishonesty, and pessimism can plague not only our lives, but the lives of those who love us. But the one that trumps all these is a life without passion and purpose. Notice I used the word AND not OR. It is imperative that we have both active in our lives.

I strongly believe that passion breeds purpose. In my first blog, I stated that I was having a very difficult time figuring out what my purpose was on this grand-design. In hindsight, I realize that my problem was directly attributed to my lack of passion. With sadness, I can honestly say there wasn't a single thing in my life, for many years, which I felt passionate about. This is not to say that I didn't love anything or anyone. I'm simply saying the enthusiasm wasn't there. Without passion it is almost impossible to know your purpose and if you don't know you can't fulfill it.

{Now, I have to take time out to give thanks to my Lord Jesus Christ for rescuing me from a life without passion and purpose. I can say with full confidence, that if you are like me and have lost your passion and sense of purpose, it can be renewed and strengthened through Jesus Christ.}

As much as this society is spiraling downward in morals and ethics, my passion is for trying to understand and help people psychologically. I must say my enthusiasm is inclined toward the youths. I'm very concerned about what our children, brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces are hearing from their authority figures in school. Are the seeds of our future being nourished with words of encouragement and confidence or are they being reprimanded more than praised? Are the teachers conditioned to put their focus on what's wrong and not what's right? Are they expending more effort into consequences rather than solutions? What real purpose does a DETENTION serve? Sounds like preparation for jail to me; mental preparation. Did you know that some schools set dates for your child to serve his/her time? Sound familiar? Yeah I'm shaking my head too. Sorry, Passion took over for a moment there!

Now I know that children, at times, can need a kick-in-the-butt to get up and ready for school in the morning. Sometimes that requires some yelling. But allow me to assume the role of Picasso for a moment. Twelve year old Kurt arrives at school a little upset from the stern talking-to he received from mom at home and on the way. Kurt gets to first period and gets back the results of yesterdays test. 'D'! His teacher moves on with the class leaving the students who did not pass to deal with the feeling of failure on their own. Kurt goes about his day, receiving a detention from his third period teacher for having his head down in class (and yes they give detentions for that in some schools). The end of the day is here and Kurt has not heard a single word of encouragement, hope, or confidence from the authority figures he spends one third of his day with. He goes home to explain himself to his parents(period) Had that first period teacher taken three minutes to instill some positive affirmations into HER students, maybe the detention could have been avoided. But we'll never know. For the parents and others who are involved in their lives outside of school we have to do our part as well. Swallow that anger and disappointment and speak nourishing words. PLEASE! Do it for their future and well-being. Their future is our future.      

I believe my purpose, my role, on this 'grand-design' is to find effective ways to boost morale and properly nourish the seeds of our future. Sounds like a plate-full, but I am so passionate and concerned about the future of our young ones and I truly believe it starts with a nutritious mind.

{I encourage everyone to embark on a journey to finding your passion and purpose. When you lack these two key elements of life you are in danger of becoming a wanderer without substance. I am a man speaking from experience. Find your niche. Play your part.}

*I MUST MAKE AN IMPACT*