Tag: Challenge

Are You Ready For Revival?

As I continue to reflect on my time at the Asbury Revival, the fire for revival in my community as grown stronger. But what does that look like? As I have been praying, here are some things God has placed on my heart.

*Before revival can come to any community, there must be an increase in prayer. You might say a Revival of Prayer. We must make prayer a priority. Stay in prayer.

*We must sacrifice some things in our life. Instead of binge watching a tv series, take that time to pray. Sacrifice some worldly pursuits to truly hear from God. Stay in prayer.

*Make a new commitment to reaching a lost and hurting world. We must be willing to step out of our comfort zone. Lean into Jesus. Stay in prayer

*Ask God to reveal the sin in your life and then truly repent. Stop carrying your sin around like a backpack. Leave your sin at the Cross. Stay in prayer.

*Ask God to transform your life. Seek His purpose for your life. Walk it out. Stay in prayer.

*Stop being so busy with the things of this world. We are easily distracted from praying. Now is the time to pray and hunger after the things of God. Stay in prayer.

*Believe in the power of God. Expect Him to answer your prayers. Believe that God wants to bring revival to your community. Stay in prayer.

*Revival starts with us. It starts in our hearts. Be serious about praying and seeking God’s guidance. God wants to move in his churches and communities. Stay in prayer.

Are You Ready For Revival? ~OC

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Men and Friendships

Today’s a new day! Hello men. This post is for us. I want to get real about friendships. Based on my own experience and talking with other men, we are mostly failing in the area of friendship. Most men I have talked to share they have many surface friendships, but lack deep meaningful friendships. Can any other men relate?

I personally want to have intentional friendships that have meaning and depth. It appears so many men are happy with surface friendships. They fear deep intimate friendships. The casual version of friendship is sadly repeated over and over again and not just with guys outside the church. Men in the church are not doing much better. From my own observation, most men lack true friendships and happily settle for less. We use phrases like he’s my buddy or bro. These are not bad relationships, but just other men who do not understand the importance of having intentional friendships.

I could go into deep reasons why so many men lack deep friendships with other men, but so many of them are just excuses. Most of the time it comes down to laziness. Men like to use the excuse of being too busy. But that doesn’t fly. Go check with your wife or girlfriend. Their schedules are just as busy if not busier than yours, but they still find time for deep and meaningful friendships. As men we settle for less because we do not want to put in the time and effort.

Where are your friends that you can lean on and that can lean on you? Can you pray with them? Can you talk about real life with them? Your failures and successes. Over the years, I have observed too many men are scared to share their wounds, emotions, or real life issues with other men. The best example of a man we have is Jesus. He cried, he got angry, he had a tender heart. He chose to invest in real relationships with 12 other men. He dared to hold those men accountable. To walk through life together. The good and bad. To serve together. Do you have those type of men in your life? We all need men we can challenge and men who will challenge us to be better men. We need to be intentional in our friendships with other men.

So I want to encourage you and myself to do the following:

*Chose to take a risk and open up to some of the men in your life. See what happens. Jesus was not afraid to be vulnerable.

*Chose to be a better friend. Start to be intentional and sacrificial for other men. Asked the tough questions. Listen without interrupting or trying to fix the problem. Share your hopes, failures and dreams. Pray together.

*Chose to pray that God places Godly men into your life, then be on the lookout for them.

Notice how Jesus chose to be open and honest with the disciples. He chose to serve them and together serve others. Jesus chose to be intentional with these 12 men. Are we willing to do that with the men in our lives? It might not be easy, but I promise it will be life changing if we choose to put in the time and effort. No more excuses men. ~OC

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Lessons In The Storm

Today’s a new day! We all deal with struggles in life. Whether your dealing with a serious health issue or just having a tough week, leaning into our faith can help us overcome any challenge that the world throws at us.

As I reflect on my own journey, I wanted to share a few ways I have dealt with the challenges of life.

1). Hold onto your Faith. As you are walking through the challenges of life, do not separate the challenge from your faith. Our faith is what will help guide us as we face the trials of life. Our faith is at the heart of who we are. Embrace the gift of faith as you walk through the storms of life.

I have chosen to incorporate prayer and worship music into my day. This gives me peace and comfort. I pray that God helps me overcome the storm I am facing. My hope is to better understand the love of God and what he desires for me. Do not allow your current circumstances to keep you from praising God.

2). Hold onto the peace of God. Never allow a person or situation steal your joy. That joy is a beautiful gift from God. What if you do not have that peace in your life? I encourage you to pray and ask God to fill your heart with his incredible peace. The peace of God is life changing.

3). Lay your burdens down before God. This is easier said than done. Most people tend to hold onto their burdens. We think we can deal with the problem ourselves. Let me assure you that is not true. During my own journey, I have learned to lay my struggles and burdens at the feet of God. I rely on his wisdom, strength and love that gives me the hope to overcome every obstacle that comes my way.

4). Find your circle. What do I mean by find your circle? I am talking about finding the people who will walk with you through those storms in your life. I encourage you to be careful who you allow in your circle. Not all of your loved ones or friends are designed to be in your circle. And that’s okay. I encourage you to pray and ask God who he wants in your circle. Finding your circle is one of the biggest decisions you will make, as you deal with the challenges of life. Do not rush the process.

5). Find your purpose. As you walk through the storms of life, I encourage you to find your purpose. When you find your purpose, you will find your peace. That does not mean your current circumstances will automatically change, but finding your purpose will change your attitude. Finding your purpose during the storm will allow you to be a blessing to someone else.

Remember that God is bigger than any storm we will face in life. I encourage everyone to lean into that beautiful truth. ~OC

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Your Choice

Today’s a new day! Like it or not, the storms of life are a part of our journey. The great news is we choose how we deal with those storms.

I realize walking through a life storm is not easy. At the time it feels you are the only one who has ever experienced anything this hard and intense. But let me reassure you that you are not alone. You do not need to walk through this storm by yourself. I argue you to reach out to someone to come along aside you and walk with you during the storm. You will be amazed by how many people are just waiting for you to reach out. Some have walked through the same trials you are facing. Never forget the lessons we can learn from those who have walked through the storms of life and have persevered through their trials. With God, our trials can turn into triumphs.

So we have some choices to make as we walk through the storms of life. Will we learn and grow from these storms and allow God to turn them into life changing victories? Or will we choose to walk through these storms alone and miss the beautiful lessons that could help us grow and experience greater purpose in life?

Let me be real here. Walking through a storm or trial is not easy. I do not want you to put on a happy face and pretend everything is fine. Please be honest when you are hurting. It’s not about pretending you don’t suffer, struggle with doubts or fail to see how God could produce anything good out of this storm. It’s a matter of choosing to find that beautiful joy and peace in the midst of the storm. It’s a time to lean into the promises of God. To find comfort in his loving embrace. Remember, God promises to never leave or forsake us. Even during the biggest storms. ~OC

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Adversity

Today’s a new day! We will all face adversity in our lives. I pray as we face the challenges of life, we take the opportunity to set an example of the love, peace and grace of God. When those around us see us facing the storms of life with unwavering love and patience, they see a true example of a Christian walking out their faith. ~OC

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Growth

Today’s a new day! Life can be filled with lots of trials and tribulations. As we walk through these trials, we must learn how to endure and overcome those storms. As we endure, we grow in character. As we grow in character, we grow in hope. This hope comes from God, who walks with us through every trial. Our pain and trials bears evidence of the life changing spirit of God living in and through us.

Some days, I have no strength or desire to go for my morning walk. But when I put my shoes on and get out the door, I see the beauty of God’s creation. I realize God has called me to live in his strength.

Some days I wrestle with questions and emotions about why God has me on this crazy beautiful health journey. I am thankful God is patient with me during these moments. He patiently and lovingly reminds me of my purpose during this journey. So I shake off the negative thoughts and take another step forward. Trusting and believing God will continue to bless and meet my needs.

Dear Friends, I pray your hope is not based on your own strength and ability to walk through the trials of life on your own. God is bigger than any trial we will endure. He is waiting for us to lean into his loving strong embrace. God does not want us walking this journey alone. He is using these trials to grow us and teach us life changing lessons. I know that is not always easy. But our aim is not perfection (on this side of heaven), but it’s growth. So continue to keep growing where God has you planted. ~OC

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19th Mile Moments

Today’s a new day! During my marathon running days, mile 19 was when I hit the wall. When I just felt like giving up. Thankfully, God always gave me extra strength to push through and finish the race. So as I have walked this 20+ health journey, I often refer to the tough moments as my 19th mile.

During this crazy beautiful health journey, God continually reminds me that His love and grace are sufficient. Throughout my health journey, God has taught me several important 19 mile lessons. I have learned to trust in God’s plan for my life despite how I feel on any particular day. To turn to Him for strength, peace and wisdom during my darkest moments. God has also taught me to humble myself and ask for help when needed (not always easy for me) and most importantly, that all my hope is in Jesus alone.

I long for the day to see Jesus face to face, to receive my glorified body, and walk the streets of Heaven without pain or disease. Totally healed! Until then, I will walk by faith and keep leaning into the beautiful promises of God.

I pray this post brings you some encouragement as you walk your own crazy beautiful journey. Keep running the race and never let mile 19 break you. Stay Focused. Finish Strong. ~OC

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Flaws and All

Today’s a new day! As we start this new day, remember people are not perfect. We all have flaws and shortcomings. Do not allow those things to keep us from being loving, kind and forgiving. Let’s spend time cultivating our relationships. Flaws and all. ~OC

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Pray

Today’s a new day! As we start this new year, do not forget about the caregivers, those that are terminally or chronically ill, those that are mourning, those who enter 2023 not knowing what losses it will bring, what sadness will accompany the next 365 days. Pray they will see some beautiful light through the broken glass. Pray they will feel the arms of God wrap around them like a warm blanket. Pray they will be surrounded by loved ones as they walk through their journey. Pray no one will walk alone. Pray even as they walk through the roughest storms, there will be some beautiful moments and memories. Pray they will experience peace. Pray that through the toughest moments they will keep moving forward and never give up. Blessings. ~OC

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Keep Dancing

Today’s a new day! I hope you wake up with a dream in your heart and a sense of excitement about a new day. A new adventure. May you never take a day for granted. May you embrace every breath. Take in every moment. May you always fill loved and never take it for granted. May your life be filled with laughter and tears. Both are healing. I pray when given a chance to be a difference maker, you grab hold and run with it. Never be afraid to shake things up a little. I pray you never give up when life gets hard. I pray when given a chance to quit, you make the choice to dance. I pray you never fear those raging waves in the distance. They will eventually calm and be filled with amazing lessons. Keep dancing during the storms of life. Who wants to look back and regret not taking a chance? A chance on love. A chance on friendship. A chance on making amazing memories. A chance on living a crazy beautiful adventure. I pray you keep on dreaming and dancing. Give your dreams more than a fleeting glance. Never lose your sense of wonder and adventure. Keep dancing. ~OC

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