Amazing song and video from For King & Country and the legendary Dolly Parton. ~OC
Perspective
Life is tough. I am not telling you anything new. We all have faced challenging times during this journey called life. Sometimes we feel stuck. Maybe a little lost. Our heads get full of so many different thoughts. Anybody been there?
During those times, it is easy to become frustrated and forget God’s faithfulness in all seasons. Guess what? We do not have to live in frustration. We all have choices as we walk through these frustrating moments in life. We get to choose our perspective. Did you hear that? We get to choose frustration or choose to be thankful for what God has done and is doing in our lives. We have the choice to stay stuck in our current situation or look at the lessons God is teaching us during those difficult times. Not always an easy choice, but I encourage everyone to turn your difficult road into life changing training ground.
During my health journey, God has brought me into a greater place of worship, praise and devotion. To pray to God, that he would bring me through this journey in the way only He can. My attitude and the way I look at my current health situation is my choice. I have chosen to look at life with a different perspective. With a perspective of hope.
Will you make the choice to live with a different perspective today? The choice is yours. ~OC
God’s Promises
Today’s a new day! God has promised to look after me…. to bring help. God, who defends me, who is far greater in strength than my health issues or anything life throws at me. God, who spoke and whose words caused the universe to be. His word are true and unfailing. If He promises something, He will deliver. ~OC
400 Years After 1619
In 1619, slavery came to America. In December 1865, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in America. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 2008, America elected the first African-American President with the election of Barack Obama. America has come a long way in the 400 years since 1619. But have we come far enough? Yes, this post is about racism in America. For those of you tired of me writing about racism in America, you can skip over this post if you would like. But I hope you don’t.
When most of us think about racism in America, we think about the days of slavery. We think about the 1960’s and the Civil Rights Movement. A lot of people think racism ended with the passage of the Civil Rights Act. I wish that was the case. Sadly it’s not. In 2019, racism is sadly still alive and well in America. Let’s take a look.
In 2019, hate groups are on the rise in America. The latest report shows there are 1,020 active hate groups in America.
In 2019, some police officers are still stopping African-Americans for simply driving while black.
In 2019, people of color are still followed by some business owners when they enter a store.
In 2019, African-Americans are still held at gunpoint by some white people for simply being black. Even when that African-American is a police officer
In 2019, some white people still call the police on Africa-Americans for simply living life.
So how can we take steps to improve race relations in America? Here are some suggestions.
Do not be afraid to have conversations about racism in America.
Stand Up against racism when you see or hear it. Don’t be Silent.
Make sure your place of worship is having real conversations about race.
Visit and invest in African-American owned businesses.
Know your history. Visit African-American museums and civil rights site.
Pray. Ask God what you can do to help improve race relations in America.
These are just a few suggestions. Feel free to share and implement your own ideas. We have to continue having these conversations. Silence is not an option. At least not for me. ~OC
Life Around The Table
I love sitting around a table and engaging in great conversation. As a child, I remember listening to my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles sitting around the table discussing life. They laughed and sometimes cried. There is just something about sitting around a table and talking.
Think about all the events that happen around a table. From birthday parties, holiday dinners and wedding toast to name just a few. Some of the biggest events and life decisions happen around a table.
As I travel on this crazy beautiful health journey, I can no longer eat anything by mouth. Since I have been on my feeding tube, some people have a hard time eating around me. They feel bad about enjoying a meal around me. Even though I constantly reassure them that it does not bother me, I have noticed less invitations to the table. I miss those moments because sitting around the table has nothing to do with eating for me. It never has. Engaging in great conversations and sharing life has always been more important than the food. I am thankful for those friends who still invite me to the table.
I do not share that experience to make anyone feel bad, I share that experience to show that more than a good meal happens at the table. Life happens around the table.
As I think back on those conversations my family had around the table, food played little into that memory. Most of the time, coffee was the only thing around the table. That and a lot of amazing conversations.
So as we start a new week, who will we invite to the table this week? Maybe it will be a friend, neighbor, coworker or maybe a complete stranger that God wanted us to meet. Remember, life happens around the table and sometimes food is involved. ~OC
Some Lessons Learned On The Journey
During my crazy beautiful health journey, God has shared many lessons with me. I have shared some of these lessons in earlier blog post. Today, I would like to share some more lessons learned during my journey. Some of these lessons have been difficult to walk through, but they have brought me closer to God. They have made me a better person. They are lessons I never want to forget.
Don’t Live In Fear. Surrender everything to God. Including your fear. My life is filled with a lot of unknowns. It would be easy live in fear. For moments I have. Thank goodness, I chose not to live in that fear. No, instead I continue to choose to live in Hope. Not always easy, but making the choice to not live in fear has been life changing.
Let God’s Word Empower You. Spend time in God’s word. Speak it. Pray it. Sing it. Live it out. During my good days and bad days I choose to let God’s Word pour over me.
Embrace Every Moments. Make every moment count. Tell your love ones you love them. Share some hugs. Take that trip. Give freely. So some grace. Love without prejudice.
Be Grateful. Take time to be thankful for your many blessings. My journey has been filled with some rough moments, but I have so much to be grateful for. My wife. My family and friends. My medical team. Great insurance. Beautiful moments.
Never Give Up. The temptation is always there. The journey is too hard. The pain is too great. There are plenty of reasons to give up, but I encourage you to keep fighting. Reach out to trusted family and friends to walk with you during those moments of wanting to give up.
I hope these lessons will encourage you. They are not easy to walk through. Believe me I know. I have been trying to live them out for the past 17 years. ~OC
Do Friendships Matter?
I think most people reading the title of this blog post would answer in the affirmative. Yes, friendships matter. So why do we sometimes treat our friendships like a winter coat in Florida? Only use it once or twice a year. Ouch! This post is not about slamming anyone. No, I am writing this in the hopes that we will truly think about the importance of our friendships and do they really matter.
We currently live in a society where we can count the number of friends we have. Just take a look at your social media pages. It will tell us how many “friends” we have. It even tells us we cannot add anymore friends once we reach 5,000 friends. Really? Five-thousand friends. Let us not forget our followers on Twitter and Instagram. But for so many people that is their definition of friendship. I wish I could say that was a millennial issue, but sadly it effects all age groups. Sadly, so many people have chosen social media friendships over actual real life friendships. Hey, it’s so much easier. Just comment on a friends post, click the like button or share an emoji. Who doesn’t like a good emoji?
Have you tried setting up a time to meet with friends lately? I think dealing with the DMV is easier. I understand we are all busy in life. We all have families and careers. We have responsibilities we need to take care of. I get it. Life is just busy. And all of those things are important. I am not saying we need to give all those things up. What I am asking, is when did it get so difficult to be a friend?
So, how can we actually be better friends? Here are a few suggestions.
Set a Date. “Let’s get together sometime.” How many times have we said that to someone? Instead of talking about it, set a date. Then actually follow through.
Check In. Instead of just clicking like on a friend’s Facebook post, pick up the phone and call them. You can actually use your phone to talk.
Take Time. Instead of rushing out of that meeting or church service, stick around and spend some time catching up. Time building friendships.
Stop Complaining. Do not complain about the lack of friendships, if you are not making the effort to invest in friendships.
These steps are not easy. Sometimes we are taking these steps and still finding it hard to build friendships. That can be frustrating. I have tried taking these steps with some people and all I got was silence or false promises. But I would encourage all of us to keep on trying. True friendships are worth it. Are you willing to put in the work? ~OC
Never Stop Thriving
When I was diagnosed with multiple life threatening health issues, I made the choice to keep thriving. When I had to stop running, I made the choice to keep thriving. When I had to retire early based on my health issues, I made the choice to keep thriving. When I have been told I should not be alive, I make the choice to keep thriving. Do you sense a theme here? We have to keep thriving.
When my health journey started, I made the choice to become a patient advocate. When I had to give up running, I made the choice to start running a new race. A race to encourage others going through their own crazy beautiful journey. When my health forced me to retire early, I made the choice to become an abolitionist, a missionary, a speaker and a writer. I made the choice to not allow my circumstances define me. This has not always been easy, but it has been worth it.
Today, I encourage everyone to keep thriving. You may be facing some tough circumstances and you are just concerned about surviving. The thought of thriving is not even on your radar. I would encourage you to change your mindset from surviving to thriving. I would encourage you to surround yourself with people who will help you thrive. I realize this might be difficult. Change is never easy. But if we want to live a life of thriving, we will have to make some changes in our lives. I guarantee changing your mindset from living/surviving to thriving could be life changing. ~OC
Today I Choose
Today I choose to listen more than I speak.
Today I choose to speak words of encouragement.
Today I choose not to judge others.
Today I choose to love the immigrant.
Today I choose to look at the best in people.
Today I choose to speak out against injustice.
Today I choose love over hate.
Today I choose to love the unlovable.
Today I choose to love those that look different than me.
Today I choose to love those that worship differently than me.
Today I choose to love those who vote differently than me.
Today I choose to love those with different opinions than me.
Today I choose to speak truth.
Today I choose to check in on my friends.
Today I choose not to give up.
Today I choose to embrace adventure.
Today I choose to have a positive attitude.
Today I choose to spend time with God.
Today is all we have. Tomorrow is not promised. Yesterday is a memory. How will you choose to live today? ~OC
The Gift of Brokenness
Sometimes I feel broken.
There are times I look at my life and see all the ways I fall short. Maybe it was my negative attitude or words that negatively affected someone else.
There are so many ways to feel broken- physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually. In the middle of our brokenness, it’s easy to agonize over whether or not we can ever be acceptable to God or be used by Him during our brokenness. I know I struggle with this sometimes.
During this crazy beautiful health journey, God has taught me a valuable lesson about being broken.
Our brokenness is a gift. A gift? Yes, a gift because our brokenness connects us to other people walking through their own brokenness. A gift because our brokenness brings us closer to God. It is during our brokenness that God makes us whole.
Sharing our brokenness brings meaning and healing to our crazy beautiful journey.
Blessings happen during the brokenness. As I have shared my health journey with others, people have reached out to me and shared how my journey has helped them walk through their own crazy beautiful journey. It has been a blessing to see God move through my brokenness.
Being broken is a gift, because through our brokenness we recognize our need for God. Because only through God can our broken life be made whole.
I am so grateful for the gift of being broken. During my brokenness God has continued to love me and use me in spite of my brokenness. What a gift.
My prayer for you is that during your brokenness, you will look to God and allow Him to use you during this time. I pray you will find the gift of brokenness as God puts your broken pieces back together. ~OC
The Blessed Overcomer 