Category: Uncategorized

Faithful Friend

Today’s a new day! Sadly, as I have run this crazy beautiful health journey, several friends decided to walk away. But this is not about them. No, this letter is for you.

Dear Faithful Friend, I want you to know you are one of the greatest blessings God has ever given me. Coming from a person who has watched many friends walk away, I am thankful that I never had to see what it would look like as you walked away. You have been a constant. You have been persistent. You have been faithful. You have constantly showed me that people are capable of caring unconditionally. Friends like you are hard to find these days, even in people who call themselves Christians.

I am thankful that you have never left, as I have run this crazy beautiful health journey. You haven’t just stayed during the good times, you have decided to run with me even as my body has went through one trial after another. You care for me even when I have nothing to offer.

You have seen the worst parts of this health journey. You know the good and not so good in this season. You know God gives us things exactly when we need them… that’s proven to be true because of the fact that He has blessed me to call you friend. Our paths crossed because God saw that I needed a faithful friend. He was right. I needed someone who intercedes in prayer on my behalf without me asking. I needed someone who would sharpen me as I walk through this journey.

I have studied the Bible to see what it means to be a good friend and most of the things I have read are qualities that you possess. I have seen you run with me at my weakest moments. You have been an honest voice. I have seen you build me up and encourage me. You have had my back in ways I will never be able to truly thank you for.

I am so thankful for your friendship.
I can only pray that I have had a small impact on your life. You have helped me become a better person as I run this crazy beautiful health journey. I pray for you and your family on a daily basis and I hope you know that I am here in all seasons for you, just like you have been there for me. I do not write any of this lightly. Thank you for being a faithful friend. I am thankful for your friendship in my life. ~OC

0

True Identity

Today’s a new day! What are you attaching to your life? As I talk with people or scroll through their social media pages, I see so many people associating negative thoughts to their story. Too many people allowing negative thoughts to run through their head, telling them they’re not good enough or they do not measure up. After a while people begin to internalize these negative thoughts and allow them to become their identity.

My hope and prayer is that instead of believing the lies of not being good enough or measuring up, people would be reminded how amazing, unique and loved by God they are. That they are a masterpiece in His eyes. That’s your true identity. ~OC

0

Be Still

Today’s a new day! Do you ever just sit still, with no distractions except your thoughts?

I believe this is one way to truly know God and experience His true peace.

In those quiet times with God, we experience the stress of the world fade away and feel the hopeful peace only He can provide. You may also discover that God uses that time to provide answers to those difficult situations in life.

What a joy it is to just rest in the peace of God. It reminds me of the beautiful scripture Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

I believe that it’s vital for us to rest in the presence of God. Life is crazy with family, careers, phones that never stop buzzing , a world filled with constant distractions and countless decisions to make on a daily basis.

These are not necessarily bad things, and they are all a part of the world in which we live today. But, it can be difficult to tap the brakes and slow down when we try to spend quiet time with God. So many times we rush through a short passage of scripture and our list of prayer requests, keeping one eye on our phone to make sure we don’t miss that text or social media post.

I think it’s awesome if you’re spending time in the Bible and lifting your prayers up to God, but I would encourage you to spend more time being still and truly listening to the voice of God.

I believe God wants us to share our praises, struggles and victories in life with Him, but I also believe God wants us to move beyond that and into a place where we simply sit with Him, resting in His presence. In His peace.

As we begin to do this, I believe we will find the stress and distractions of the world diminishing in the hopeful peace of God who saves, and we might just discover that He uses that quite time to provide answers to the difficult moments in our lives. ~OC

0

Three Steps

Today’s a new day! As I walk through this crazy beautiful journey, I continue to notice so many people making a simple relationship with God much too difficult. In my personal experience, I have discovered if I do these three things daily everything else seems to flow properly.

1). Pray. Each morning I wake up giving God thanks for another day. I thank Him for the many blessings in my life. I pray for others. Then I listen. Each day I want to improve on making sure my prayer time is centered more and more on gratefulness and listening.

2). Time in my Bible. As I pray, I seek guidance on what book and chapter I should read in the Bible for that day. Sometimes, God has me reading through a certain book of the Bible, but I always seek His guidance as I spend time in the Word. Then I reflect on what I have read that morning. Sometimes it leads me to journal and sometimes it leads me to just listen.

3). Do what God says. As I finish my time of prayer and reading, I do not rush off to complete the days agenda. No, I spend more time just listening to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. Then I simply do what God wants me to do for that day. When I choose to live this way, I am able to be part of the bigger God story. That is the most amazing gift in life.

This three-step approach is as complicated as my faith gets. The hardest part of this faith journey is learning to slow down. We tend to have this false narrative, that if something is going to happen, then we must make it happen. But as I slow down in life and try to live out this three-step approach, God continues to teach me that’s not how our faith works at all. ~OC

0

Comfort Zone

Today’s a new day! Dear Church and Christian Community, as we walk through this crazy beautiful journey called life do we really see the bruised and hurting?

The American Church does a wonderful job buying up a lot of properties, but I fear many miss out on so many life changing opportunities. Unfortunately, I believe some churches and Christians have walled themselves into a nice and safe comfort zone.

Too many Christians spend their time at church sipping a premium latte, discussing the problems of the world and passing judgement. They wonder how the world got to this point. But sadly, instead of stepping up and doing something too many Christians are comfortable hiding behind the safe walls of the church.

Don’t get me wrong here. The Church is important. I have been part of the church for over half of my life. I love the Church. But the lost and hurting are not spending their time and money at a church with a cool name and cafe.

No, hurting people are sitting in the corner of a McDonald’s because they feel unworthy of love and forgiveness. The hurting are eating lunch by themselves at work or school. The bent and bruised are walking through the grocery store trying to decide if they buy food or medications. The bent and hurting are sitting in chemo rooms trying to make it through another day. The bent and hurting are standing on the side of the road with a sign asking for help, as many speed by them and look away.

So many hurting people walking through life feeling alone. These hurting people are not looking for someone to just invite them to church. No, a hurting world is waiting for Christians to step outside the comforts of the Church and actually be the hands and feet of Jesus. To really care. ~OC

When asked by the Pharisees, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus replied, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners.” ~Mark 2:17

0

Dear God,

Dear God, thank You for granting me another day to live out your plans for my life. I lift up this prayer to You as I start my morning with your love and grace. Dear God, I pray that my family and friends remember to start their morning with you as well. I pray you would bless them with the strength and courage to face whatever trials they may encounter today. Dear God, lead them so that they may get through their day peacefully, no matter how challenging it might be. God, please meet their needs so that they may never forget that no matter how difficult the road ahead may seem, everything is possible with You by their side. Amen. ~OC

0

The Thorn

Today’s a new day! As I run this crazy beautiful health journey, several in the Christian community, have tried to sell me a lie that I do not have enough faith or I have unresolved sin in my life and that’s why I am sick. That my health issues and God cannot coexist.

Over the past twenty-two years, multiple health issues have been my “thorn.”  Of course this has brought on many questions over the years.

At times, questions of doubt danced around in my head. I pondered my walk with God.

Did I do something to bring these health issues into my life?

If God actually loves me, why would He allow me to walk this journey?

How could a broken and cracked body fit into God’s plans?

Unfortunately, our worldly value depends on what we do and what we can accomplish. For a guy who spends the majority of the year in the hospital or doctor appointments, a meaningful life seemed out of reach. To some Christians, the presence of sickness seemed to indicate an absence of God’s affection and love in my life.

But this false theology is simply unbiblical. Let’s dispel this lie by replacing it with God’s truth and equip ourselves with biblical instruction for endurance. 

Maybe you don’t struggle with a chronic illness, but we all struggle with chronic life issues. Whether you’re dealing with an incurable disease or the scars of walking through the storms of life, God tells us that no trial can separate us from His Love (Romans 8:35).

In fact, our pain might be the very tool God uses to strengthen our relationship with Him and to share the gospel. So, instead of getting caught up in the lies “what could I have done differently to prevent these health issues”, instead start asking, “God, how can you use me as I walk through this health journey?”

Two words come to mind when I consider how God can work through our pain to build our faith. Reliance and Glory.

1). Reliance: God can use the storms of life to encourage us to rely more fully on Him. For those struggling to understand why God allows hardship in our lives, the Book of Job is a masterpiece written just for us. The Bible describes Job as a faithful man with many blessings. But to test whether Job would still praise God’s name even when his life got turned upside down, God allowed Satan to wreak havoc on Job’s life. Allowing Job to walk through a season of multiple health issues. Striking his family down. Job was not only chronically ill, but also chronically lonely, as his loved ones and so called friends tell him to just give up and curse God.

Let’s pause here for a moment. God allowed the enemy to test Job. Why would God allow this? Among many reasons, God used suffering as a tool to refine Job’s faith. God knows that it is in the valleys that we are encouraged to rely on Him. Many lessons can be learned in our valley seasons, but only if we take the time to listen.

Amid all the storms of life, Job’s mind was a battlefield much like our own as we walk through a painful season. Job’s thoughts yo-yo between wanting God to leave Him alone and begging for God’s support. As we read in the end, Job remained faithful that God’s love and promises are true. Job learned that God loved him during the good and tough seasons. That everything works together for good.

Sometimes God allows us to walk through tough times. Not to punish us, but to strengthen our relationship with Him. When storms come our way, I pray we will trust that God’s plans are purposeful and better than ours. Even when we do not understand them. This means that whether we are battling a cold or fighting for our lives, God’s loving hand is in everything.

2). God’s Glory: Our weakness reveals the need for God.

In 2 Corinthians 12:7, the Apostle Paul describes pleading with the Lord to remove a “thorn in his flesh.” Our current life storms can represent the “thorn” in our own lives.

Jesus responds to Paul’s pleas by equipping him with endurance and explaining that his pain has a purpose.  Jesus answers, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My Power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul’s story reminds us of our need for God in every area our lives.

Even though, God does not answer Paul’s request for healing, God assures Paul that His grace will help him endure. Paul is not blessed with healing from whatever that “thorn” in his side was, but he experienced something more life changing. Paul experienced the amazing ability to see God’s light in the darkest moments of his life. God never leaves us to sit in our pain, He helps us endure. To Overcome.

God gives hope to those who might feel their prayers are seemingly going unanswered.  As we pray for God to remove the “thorn”, in our side, may we remember that a lack of healing is not evidence of a distant God. No, God always responds to our requests; His response just might be different than what we prayed for. But no matter the response, if we put our trust in God, we can be sure that He is working for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).

As we learn from Paul’s experience with God, some of our wounds will only heal once we go home to Heaven, but we can trust that our pain is a part of a beautiful redemption story. A testimony.

Let’s look at another example of how God can work through our pain to reveal His Power. In John 9, Jesus is walking around town with his disciples when they spot a man who is blind from birth. Jesus’ disciples ask him a question that might sound like one you’ve asked yourself or someone has asked you: “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2).  Sound familiar? The disciples mistakenly assume that this man’s disability is due to his personal sin.

Jesus corrects the disciples by responding, “neither this man nor his parents sinned…This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him” (John 9:3).  With this declaration, Jesus dispels the lie that the only purpose for our pain is punishment, and He communicates that our pain can be used to display God’s power.

Jesus then heals the blind man, confirming his belief and establishing an eternal relationship.

Before his healing, we can’t be sure of how this man’s disability affected his self-esteem, but he might have believed some of the same lies that often ravage our minds.  When measuring himself against the standards society puts on us, he very well could have attributed his disability to a distant God. However, when Jesus enters the scene, it becomes clear that this man’s disability was the very experience God utilized to strengthen his relationship with Him. 

As we reflect on each of these stories, the word of God illuminates his heart for the chronically ill or those facing some other storm of life. God has a purpose for our storms. His love never wavers and God will work all things together for His good, even in the messiness of our lives.

God does not promise to remove our thorns, but He does promise to help us endure. To overcome. Whatever your thorn looks like, may you remember that God provides a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7).

Throughout my crazy beautiful health journey, one verse that has given me hope to keep running is “We do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:12).

So today, no matter how deep the thorn in your side digs, I pray you never give up and keep leaning into the promises of God. ~OC

0

Love

Today’s a new day! The issue of love for Christians is not optional; God demands that we not only love one another, but that we show His love to a broken world. As believers, we are not just the salt of the church, but the salt of the earth and the light of the world. If you can only show love to your family, friends, those that think like you and your inner circle, how is that showing the love of God?
 
Remember, the love of God we’re walking in today is not earned. We did nothing to deserve it. God loved us while we were totally unlovable, yet He loved us so much that He gave his life for each and every one of us. Why then do we wait for others to earn our love before we reach out to them?
 
My friends, love is from God and for us to claim to have God in our lives, then love must naturally flow through us. The love of God is not the love that reaches out to us because we have earned it; it is love that reaches out despite our errors and shortcomings. Yes, each of us were unlovable, but God chose to love us and has called us to be His ambassadors to the world. Who have you shown His love to?
 
It is so easy to profess love. Many Christians are simply professors; but God does not want us to just profess love. No, God wants His love to radiate through us. He wants us to reach out to those around us in love. Not everyone can give money, but we can give a smile, we can give a word of encouragement, we can give love and a helping hand. Love is not just a bunch of words, actions as they say, speak louder than words. The world is watching and waiting to see God in us; what will they see? ~OC

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ~1 John 4:7

0

Gratitude

Today’s a new day! What are you grateful for? For me personally, I have so much to be grateful for.

I am grateful for the love, peace, grace and forgiveness of God in my life.

I am grateful for my bride Laura. She has been a rockstar, as we have run this crazy beautiful health journey. I am blessed to be her husband.

I am grateful for all of my friends and family, and for all that they do for me.

I am grateful for this crazy beautiful health journey. It has made me a better person. So many lessons learned.

I am grateful for my medical team. They have been a blessing to Laura and I the past 22 years and counting.

I am grateful for complete strangers that have shown me little acts of kindness.

I am grateful to God, for the life He’s given me.

I could go on and on about what I am grateful for, but that would take me days to share.

How do we live a life of gratitude?

When you think about it, simple acts of gratitude cost us nothing, but the effects of gratitude in our lives make such a huge difference.

God has given each of us so much, if we only choose to take the time to recognize it. I believe we owe it to God to recognize these gifts and to be grateful.

An ungrateful person will never use or understand God’s gifts as well as they should and will complain often – missing all the blessings that God is giving to them. And it’s only when we keep our eyes on God and all that He has given to us, that we will make the best use of His gifts.

And this gratitude shouldn’t end with only what “feels” good to us. Let your gratitude extend to all things in life, even to the less pleasant and even the more difficult things, which God allows us to experience. Because He has planned each of our lives with His wisdom and love. Nothing is by accident. And everything we receive in life is meant to help us to grow closer to God.

If I began to count the all of the things that I owe to God, I would never finish counting, because each added moment of life is another gift.

Gratitude keeps our hearts humble, it helps us to see everything as a gift from God and helps us to focus our lives on others – versus always thinking of ourselves.

I encourage each of us to always keep gratitude in our hearts. Never letting it fade away. It can change everything. ~OC

0

Resurrection Sunday

Happy Resurrection Sunday! I pray this day brings you encouragement. The grave could not hold Jesus. He has risen! Nothing is impossible with God. That’s Good News!

Easter, is a time to be reminded that Jesus sits on the throne. Death could not hold him down. The grave could not deter God’s plan. It moved forward. In fact, it was God’s plan all along that Jesus would die for humanity. His death on that old rugged cross was factored into the plan to save us before the foundation of the world.

I do not know what storms you’re facing today. The challenges may seem overwhelming for you at times. The joy of the Lord may be absent. Maybe you have no idea what the future holds for you. How can the resurrection of Jesus give you hope today?

As I run this crazy beautiful health journey, I have learned that in the depth of despair, trial and uncertainty, the resurrection of Jesus gives us hope. If God can raise Jesus Christ from the dead, certainly He can take care of whatever problems we’re facing today.

As I have run my crazy beautiful journey, I have spent many days in the hospital. In the midst of tremendous suffering, I have seen angels from Heaven surrounding my room. Those special moments have reminded me of the two angels that were at the empty tomb on Easter Sunday.

Those moments in the hospital have given me tremendous encouragement. Sometimes we have to go through the storms we face, even though we would rather not. Jesus had to go through death and hell to come out victorious on the other side and ascend to be seated at the right hand of God the Father. Sometimes our own journey takes us through the valley of the shadow of death.

But do not be afraid. Do not be not discouraged. If you’re like me today and cannot actually attend church due to health issues or for some other reason know this: Jesus is victorious! Death could not hold Him! Nothing can hold Him back! Nothing is impossible with God!

Do not dwell on your circumstances today. Focus on Jesus who has risen!
Dwell not on the size of your storm today. Instead, place everything in the hands of the Miracle Worker. Focus on the One that even the grave could not hold. Walk in that victory today.

Yes, all God’s promises are Yes and Amen in Jesus Christ! ~OC

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑