Blog

What Side of Racism Will You Stand On?

Another weekend and another round of mean-spirited racially motivated tweets. When will it end? When will leaders on both sides of the political aisle stand up against these tweets and comments? What side of racism will you stand on? I think that is one of the most important questions we need to asking our leaders, our churches and ourselves.

Sadly, the leaders of the Republican Party appear to be staying silent on the mean-spirited racist comments coming out of the White House. Why? I think Republicans are more concerned about having a Republican in the Oval Office than they are about doing what’s right for the country. Before you bash me as a liberal snowflake, I was a loyal life long Republican until the Republican Party sold out and nominated the current President. I could not in good conscience stay in a political party that would nominate a person that went against everything I stand for. So my question to my former party is how long will you support a person that holds none of your values? If the current President was a Democrat or Independent, you would have already run him out of Washington. Stop being afraid of the truth and stand up for what is right.

Dear Church Leaders, will you continue to sell out your beliefs, to have a seat at the President’s table? You are supposed to live with a higher standard. For those religious leaders who continue to stand up for the President, has it been worth it? Can you actually sleep with a clear mind? Have you actually talked with the members of your church who are frustrated and scared about the current state of America? You do not get a pass because your church prays when there is a racially motivated shooting. No, that is not enough. Dear Pastors, America is watching your actions or lack of. What side of racism will you stand on?

I believe there are good people on both sides of the political aisle. I believe there are churches and pastors standing on the right side of history. I want to personally thank you and encourage you to continue standing up for what is right. Even when standing up for what is right cost so much. ~OC

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; Only love can do that.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

0

Let Go of Fear

Has fear controlled your life? At some point in our lives, everyone has dealt with fear. For some, fear has paralyzed them. Kept them from truly living life.

During my 17-year and counting crazy beautiful health journey, fear has reared its ugly head several times in my life. I remember the first diagnosis so many years ago. Cancer. How could I possibly have cancer? Fear gripped my wife and I after that diagnosis. We had only been married a few years at that point. We had so many plans. Would we even have another year together? This scene has played out in our marriage many times over the years, as I have been diagnosed with one life threatening health issues after another. How have we dealt with the different fears that have tried to steal our happiness?

Prayer. I know this sounds simple, but a lot of times we reach for everything but prayer. Prayer becomes a second or tenth option. I would encourage everyone to make prayer your first option. I can personally testify to the power of prayer and faith in my own journey. I know I would not be alive today, writing this post if not for prayer. Not just my prayers, but the prayers of many. Whatever you may be going through today, I encourage you to pray and don’t be afraid to ask for prayer. People genuinely want to pray for you. Let them.

Team. Do not try to walk through your fears, or life for that matter, by yourself. We were not created to do life alone. The Lone Ranger may have been a good tv show/movie, but is a terrible lifestyle choice. During my health journey, my wife and I have surrounded ourselves with an amazing team of people. Team Todd has helped us walk through some of the most difficult days of our lives. People want to help, so let them.

Keep Living. This is much easier said than done. The fears and all the junk life throws at us can become overwhelming. We have all been there. Laura and I made the choice early on in this crazy beautiful journey to keep living. We decided not to just live, but to Thrive. Todd, what does that even mean? Thriving means not letting your current circumstances define you. Thriving means taking a last-minute cruise. Thriving means spending quality time with family and friends. Thriving means stepping outside of your comfort zone. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Don’t allow your fears or your current circumstances to keep you from living a beautiful and blessed life.

Find Purpose. During my crazy beautiful journey, I knew there had to be more than doctors appointments, hospital stays and multiple medications. There just had to be. Finding purpose in this journey allowed me to overcome my fears. During the past 17 years, God has allowed me to use my story to encourage others. To pray for someone going through their own journey. To hold their hand and guide them through the toughest moments of their lives. To walk them through their fears. So what is your purpose?

Does doing these four things guarantee you will no longer deal with fear? Unfortunately no. After all these years, I still deal with fear at times. But I do not live in fear. Fear does not control me. The power of Prayer/Faith, Team, Thriving and Purpose help me let go of any fears that come my way. Faith>Fear. ~OC

0

Love Over Hate

Hate can be easy. Hating someone or something, means you don’t have to learn about what you hate. You don’t worry about finding the truth. Hating is an excuse not to deal with your feelings. Also hate is easy to find. Just turn on the news. Turn on your computer or phone. Go outside. Take a look at our so called political leaders. There is enough hate to go around. But I believe hate is also tiring. Lonely. Have you ever watched a racist on tv? They all look mad, tired and lonely. Why would anyone choose to hate? It definitely does not look healthy.

Love can be hard. It takes time. It takes the choice to actually listen to other opinions. Not to close down when someone challenges your beliefs. Love means you have to be willing to forgive others. Even when your right. Love means that sometimes people will take advantage of you. Your heart might get broken. More than once. Why would anyone choose love?

Even though love can be hard, it is always the right choice. Love brings out the best in people. Love allows strangers to speak up for each other. Love allows us to look past our differences. Love challenges us to be the best version of ourselves. Love forces us out of our comfort zones. People who choose love are full of life. Love doesn’t keep score.

I wish, when we opened up the newspaper or turned on the news, the first stories that greeted us would be full of love. When we scrolled down social media, we would smile/laugh more than we would cringe. That would be amazing. Not sure that’s going to happen anytime soon, but this blessed overcomer is always going to choose love. How about you? ~OC

0

A Choice

As I scrolled through social media this morning, I was overwhelmed by the choices people make when posting on their pages. It is amazing what people choose to put on their pages. Let’s review some of the post.

The first post I came across was from my friend John. Every Sunday morning, John does a Facebook Live from his bicycle ride. John’s live videos are always positive, challenging and encouraging. I look forward to them every Sunday. My friend could easily spend that time complaining about everything going on in the world. No, my friend John is the type of person who chooses to look at the positives in life. Now that doesn’t mean John goes through life with rose-colored glasses on. No, my friend is well aware of the negative things going on in our world. But he makes the choice to emphasize the positives. The wonderful possibilities life presents. I so appreciate John’s outlook on life.

I wish more people would choose to look at life like my friend John. Sadly, that is not the case. As I left John’s Facebook Live this morning, I scrolled down my social media pages to see so much hate. Now, I know the majority of my social media friends personally and know they do not hate people. But if I did not know them personally and I was just scrolling through their social media pages, I would probably have a different view. Some of the post I read this morning were trying to be funny, but they came across as hateful and mean-spirited. What is concerning about these post, is that these same people will complain about how negative the world has become. Hello, you cannot complain about all the hate if you’re adding to it.

My hope is that this blog post does not come across as judgemental. My hope is that this will encourage everyone to think before they post. I am guilty of not doing that sometimes. I am not telling people to only post about rainbows and unicorns. I believe social media is a great place to share ideas and concerns. But I do believe we should be wise in how we convey our ideas and concerns. ~OC

0

Speaking Tour

Hello. Since my wife Laura and I had our book The Blessed Overcomer published this past March, we have been blessed with several opportunities to share our story with an audience. Those engagements have been amazing. We love interacting with an audience. So, we are looking at putting together a Speaking Tour. Laura and I would be honored to share our crazy beautiful journey with your church, schools/university, business or small groups. Did I leave anyone out?

Okay, let me be honest here. Based on Laura’s work schedule, a lot of times you would just get me. I know, I can sense the disappointment. I love sharing our story together and audiences love Laura. Laura has assured me I would be okay flying solo at some of these events. She reminded me, I used to speak to large groups before we wrote our book. Laura has never led me wrong, so I will trust her belief in me.

So, if you or your organization is looking to hear a story about overcoming, endurance, faith and never giving up, feel free to contact us. I have attached a link to a short video of my story, a dear friend created for me. ~OC

0

Who Was Mr. Emmett Till?

This week, a lot of Americans heard the name Emmett Till for the first time. The reason Mr. Till’s story came back into the news was because racism is still alive in America. For those who may have missed the story, three Ole Miss University frat boys decided to post a picture of themselves along with their guns beside a monument in honor of Emmett Till. So, who Was Mr. Emmett Till?

Emmett Till was born on July 25, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. In 1955, he was visiting family in Mississippi. During that visit, Mr. Till was accused of whistling at a white women. Oh, did I mention Mr. Till was a 14-year old African-America boy, being accused of whistling at a white women in Mississippi during the 1950’s? What was the punishment for this so called crime? Mr. Till, a 14-year old boy on vacation was lynched by two white men.

During the 1955 farce of a trial, the two white men accused of this horrific crime Roy Bryant and J.W. Milan were found not guilty by an all white jury. In 1956, the two men acquitted of the crime admitted publicly they had killed Mr. Till, but were protected by double jeopardy. Also decades later Carol Bryant, the white women who had accused Mr. Till of whistling at her admitted she made up the whole story.

Why am I sharing Emmett Till’s story in 2019? Because it is part of our history that should never be forgotten. Even though things have improved in America, we still have a long ways to go. I think the photo of the three white frat boys standing next to Mr. Till’s memorial proves that fact. Or the story of the white woman in North Carolina who defended herself for calling an African-American woman the “N Word.”. That is why I will continue to be a voice against racism.

Emmett Till would have turned 78 this week. What would he have accomplished in life? Maybe he would have become a doctor, lawyer or teacher. Maybe he would be a grandfather today, enjoying his grandchildren. Sadly, Mr. Till never had the opportunity to “Maybe” see any of these things. His young life was taken way too soon based on a lie and hate.

You may have noticed, I referred to Emmett Till has Mr. Till during this blog post even though he was only a child when he was murdered. I did that out of respect for Mr. Till and his family. Oh, how I wish that young 14-year old boy would have had the opportunity to become Mr. Till. ~OC

0

Criticizing America is Not a Sin

Over the last week or so, there has been a lot of debate about criticizing America. Some people believe if you criticize America and it’s leaders you should pack up and leave the country. Others, like myself believe it is healthy to discuss the warts of America. That does not mean we do not love America. Actually, it shows that we really love this nation.

America was built on people having the right to share their concerns about this beautiful country. These debates have shaped this nation. Let’s take a look at some of those debates.

Women’s Suffrage. In 2020, we will celebrate 100 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment. This gave women the right to vote. Did you catch that date? Women have only had the right to vote for 99 years. The brave women of the Suffrage Movement were criticized for criticizing the way things were being done in America. Can you imagine the Sunday dinner conversations? But those brave souls did not pack up and leave America. No, they pushed forward until the 19th Amendment was ratified and signed on August 18, 1920.

End of Slavery. Who can forget we actually fought a war against each other over this terrible part of American history. Imagine if some very brave people would have stayed silent and not criticized America about the sin of slavery. We would never have seen the passage of the 13th Amendment which was ratified and signed on December 18, 1865.

Civil Rights Act. For some this seems so long ago, but this landmark act was signed on July 2, 1964. That was only 55 years ago. Some people reading this were alive during this turbulent time in America’s history. Some were on the right side of history, while others fought to hold on to the terrible past of America. The brave souls of the Civil Rights Movement were criticized for wanting to make America a better place for all. Some gave their lives for that freedom. What if they would had stayed silent? Where would we be as a nation?

I could go on and on with examples of how America was changed for the better by people who criticized her. Think about all those people involved in the examples above. Today, we celebrate them. But during those struggles, those same people were being beaten and killed for speaking up. So before you pass judgement on those brave enough to criticize America, remember America was built on people criticizing her. Oh, by the way, criticizing America is not a sin. It is a right that many have died for. A right we should continue to fight for. ~OC

0

Church In America

I saw this sign posted on some friends’ social media pages this week. Some of these friends would call themselves Christians. This photo made me angry and sad all at the same time. I almost posted something ugly in response, but God reminded me two wrongs don’t make a right. Yes, this church was wrong to post this message. Anyone who liked this photo, gave a thumbs up or a smiley face was wrong.

I am concerned that too many churches have become more concerned about politics and less concerned about the gospel. If this church and it’s leadership were more concerned about the gospel, they would have looked at that sign and decided to post something that would bring people together. But I fear, like so many churches in America, they put their political beliefs over their obligation to love God and love people. Even people they disagree with.

Did that church have the right to post that sign? Yes they did. Would I feel welcome in that church? Probably not. Sadly, that would not be the first time I didn’t feel welcome in a church. So my challenge to churches across America, is to be more concerned about living out the gospel of Jesus Christ and less concerned about living out your political beliefs. Thanks for listening. ~OC

0

I Love America

I love America. I love the freedoms we have. I truly would not want to live anywhere else. But I also realize that America has its problems, just like any other country. What’s great about America, is we have the right to criticize the things that need to be changed. Well, at least we used to.

I am concerned with this new sentiment of Love It or Leave It. We have all heard someone say it. Heck, I even saw it on a church sign. Really? Note to self, never attend that church. If you have used this statement, I would encourage you to check your heart. Also check your America History. America was build on people being able to share their concerns about this country without the threat of being told to “go back to your country.” Even though those who dare to criticize America, where actually born here in the Good Ole USA.

I know some will be upset with this post. How dare I think it’s okay to criticize America? I make such criticism, not because I hate America, but because I love America. We have to stand up for people even if we do not agree with their opinions. That is their right. A lot of great people died to give them that right. We have to be willing to look at the good and bad that makes up America. The day we stop allowing people to criticize America, is the day we become like a communist country and lose what has always made America great. ~OC

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑