Tag: Crazy Beautiful Journey

Shine, Shine, Shine

Today’s a new day! Life can be filled with so many twist and turns. Anyone else ever feel like you’ve lived a hundred lifetimes already? Sadly, there is so much hurt, fear and pain in our world today. It can be heavy and overwhelming. My heart grieves over the loss of life, the sin of racism, the hatred and injustice, the fear and the division that still exists today. It’s awful. It’s evil. It’s heartbreaking. And I know, I will never be able to completely understand it all.

When life is confusing and there’s so much devastation, we can find hope and guidance by looking at our example, Jesus. He lived with compassion and empathy. He loves and welcomes all. He taught us to love God with everything we’ve got, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. He taught us that there is no greater love than one who would lay down their life for another. Love is the greatest force there is on this planet, because God is love.

I pray you realize how loved you are. If you feel neglected, overlooked or mistreated, know that God sees you. God loves you. I love you. My prayer is that we can come together and love our neighbors, our communities, our nation and our world – love each other– like never before. That our love for others would help the healing process, and reflect God’s love and light in the darkness.

I love the following words from Saint Francis Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, the truth;
Where there is doubt, the faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

God has called each of us to love Him and each other. In a world that is hurting and broken, let us look for ways to love others well and share the hope we have in Him. Let’s pray that God can use these broken moments as a real turning point for good. Let’s live a life of more love and less hate. Let us be the light in the cracks. Let God’s light shine through us. Let it shine, let it shine. ~OC

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Blogging

Today’s a new day! It’s been six years since I started my blog. I have used my blog to share about my health journey and my thoughts on different issues that mean a lot to me. The last few days, I have spent some time reflecting on the last six years of blogging.

  1. Intellectual Stimulation:
    One of the most jarring changes was going from an active social and work lifestyle to a life filled with constant medical appointments and having issues with problem solving can be a bit jarring. Having a blog has given me an impetus to really think about issues. It forced me to write regularly, to think about issues, to engage in at least a limited conversation on intellectual topics I cared about. Instead of being a passive consumer of ideas, posts,
    articles, essays, and books, I became an active one.

The knowledge that my writing would be open and available for anyone to read and judge made me think even harder to develop my own thoughts and opinions. If you write a crappie paper in a college course, the professor gives you a poor grade and you file it away. If you write a halfhearted post, it’s out there for anyone to read. Family, friends, and strangers. All of them now have a growing body of my writing to read, disagree with, and critique if they’re so inclined. For a non- scholar like myself, this provides some major motivation to really think and work at what I write.

  1. Joining a Community:
    Blogging also let me jump into a vibrant online community of digital historians and humanists. Instead of being something of a sideline observer, I laced up and joined the fray. Doing so not only exposed me to a wide range of new ideas and possibilities, but also introduced me to a number of fascinating and inspiring people. Which has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams. Especially for a newer writer like myself, having a blog gave me confidence and allowed me to participate in a wider dialogue.

Moving forward, the connections I have made through blogging and publishing two books, will hopefully help me become a better and more thoughtful writer.

  1. Feedback:
    I am a firm believer that there’s no point in writing into a void. While much of my blogging was “for myself,” in that I wrote about what interested me, the most rewarding part by far is the response I’ve received. The positive , negative and indifferent. Those comments have helped me become a better writer and person. I still write based on my thoughts and experiences, but I do take into account past feedback before posting. But I will never compromise my beliefs to make sure everyone agrees with my latest post.

I am not sure what the future will hold for my blog and writing. On Monday of this week, I was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. That will definitely change the way I write or don’t write. Regardless, blogging at The Blessed Overcomer, has been, and I hope will continue to be, an enriching experience. ~OC

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Christians, Love Thy Neighbors

Today’s a new day! As Christian’s we are called to love and serve others. We are also called to be ambassadors of reconciliation. In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul wrote, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:11-21)

What does it look like to be a reconciliation ambassador? It doesn’t look like calling people names and telling them they’re going to hell. It’s loving them and praying for them and looking for opportunities to talk quietly like civilized human beings on topics about which we all care deeply.

Looking at the fruits of the spirit, agape love is a divinely inspired action. It’s not a feeling. No, agape love comes from God. We cannot do it on our own. It requires sacrifice. When scripture says love your neighbor, it’s not a choice, it’s a command. Which means we must love people even if we don’t agree with them.

We don’t get to call people out in a holier-than-thou, take-that tone of voice that says they’re less than while we’re angels-in-training.

Here’s some truth. Jesus never belonged to a political party. Contrary to popular belief, Jesus was not a Republican. Also, I do not believe Jesus was a Democrat. He loved the woman at the well. He loved the tax collector. He loved the adulterer. He loves that political candidate you have decided to hate. He loves the sinner. He loves you. He loves me. And Jesus expects us to love everyone.

As a Christian, do you find that difficult? Fine. Start with one of the first things our moms and grandmas taught us. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.

Then move on to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”

And then “let he who has no sin cast the first stone.” That’s a good one. As I reflect on my past shortcomings, I sometimes shutter at some of the things I’ve said, written or done. I am blessed and humbled that Jesus has forgiven me and crushed those iniquities under his heel.

I cannot stand in judgement because I have this enormous plank in my eye and I can’t see the splinter in the other person’s eye. Unless you’re perfect—and only one perfect person has ever walked this earth—I suspect we’re all in the same boat.

“We love because He first loved us. If anyone says I love God, yet he hates his brother or sister he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother and sister, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: whoever loves God, must also love his brother and sister.” 1 John 4: 19-21

What happens if we do not love our neighbors as ourselves? Galatians 6:15 declares, “If you keep biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” Wow! Strong words, indeed.

It may be a tough pill to swallow, but we’re all brothers and sisters in God’s eyes. We are His family. We need to start acting like it. ~OC

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Life with Friends

Today’s a new day!

“This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” – John 15:12-13

The words from this gospel of John make me realize how blessed the bond of friendship are. However, I wonder how often we recognize how the love shared between friends reflects the love that God shares between each individual person. Additionally, I wonder if each of us realizes how difficult friendship can be.

It’s interesting to see that the gospels do not always paint a flattering picture of the friendship between Christ and his apostles. The Gospel of Mark consistently depicts Jesus struggling with the apostles, who fail to comprehend his message. In chapter 6 of Mark, Jesus calls these twelve men together to follow in his example of teaching God’s reign in the surrounding villages and gives them power over unclean spirits (6:6-7). However, Mark also writes that the apostles were unable to understand Jesus’ great power demonstrated in the miracle of feeding of the five thousand because “their hearts were hardened” (6:52). Additionally, the gospels of Matthew and Luke also depict the rocky and challenging moments in Jesus’ friendship with the apostles. Jesus chides Peter for trying to prevent Him from traveling to Jerusalem to enter into his Passion, saying, “get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block for me…” (Matthew 16:23). Finally, Luke shows that Jesus is exasperated with the disciples even after his Resurrection, when he calls Cleopas and the other disciple walking on the road to Emmaus “foolish” and “slow of heart” for failing to understand the meaning of His suffering and death, predicted first by the prophets (Luke 24:25).

How often do we find ourselves angry or frustrated at our friends because we want them to understand us in our words and actions? These brief scripture passages illustrate that sense of frustration. The Son of God enters into a world that struggles to recognize God at all, let alone when God is immanently present in the person of Jesus. Yet God loves this world so much that God freely gives God’s self to us in friendship through Jesus, despite the risk of being misunderstood, mistreated, and maligned. That is the blessing, and the risk, of friendship. We give ourselves in vulnerability to one another without knowing whether or not we will be loved and accepted as who we are.

However, friendship highlights our own vulnerabilities within ourselves and reveals our inherent desire for one another. My friends and I are not always laughing and joking; we meet each other in our brokenness and reach out for each other in our tears. They challenge me to consider new perspectives that de-center me from my own perspectives. Sometimes we get frustrated and do not understand each other. But our friendships exude love for one another because we recognize how incredible it is to simply find someone else. When we discover one another in truth and love through friendship, we choose to give of ourselves to that person.

Which leads me back to the quote from John above. I believe what Christ is trying to tell us is that friendship is the unspoken commitment of two people who recognize each other’s vulnerable, imperfect humanity and choose to love anyway. Jesus commands us to love each other as he loved us because he continued loving the world amidst rejection, sin, and death. He laid down his life to show us that the bond of friendship is at its strongest when we pour ourselves out to another. When we give of ourselves to each other, we glimpse into the eternal love that Christ promises us through his life, ministry, death, and resurrection.

This understanding of friendship creates friends who, like Jesus and the apostles, are unafraid to continue loving and challenging us. These friends will always reach out to us in our happiness and our sadness. These types of friends will always be there to take us down from our cross and lay us to rest, and wait for us to rise to new life, even if they don’t always believe it’s going to happen. And these friends will continue to believe in us, long after we have moved on from this world. ~OC

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Today in History

Sixty-one years ago today, Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed, claiming the lives of four young girls. We can never forget how hate destroys. We must always remember to love and respect others. ~OC
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Dear Christian Community,

Today’s a new day! Another election season is underway and is very heated. Sadly, since 2016, I have witnessed too many pastors, churches and Christians abandon the Gospel for politics. Which is such a terrible idea. Here are just a few reasons I believe so many Christians have made this decision.

  1. They have lost sight of the fact that the human heart is depraved. No national leader or political party is immune from the fallenness of humanity. One party or president may do a better job than another, but at the end of the day—or at the end of the century—life remains pretty much as it has through the course of human history, and the human heart is still “deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jeremiah 17:9).

    The gospel tells us that we are in a helpless state and that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But in His great mercy, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
  2. They see a political party as “the power of God that brings salvation,” which is only true of the gospel itself (Romans 1:16). It is tempting to believe that if your guy gets elected, then he will fix all of the problems in society and bring prosperity, safety, and peace to all. That’s not going to happen, and that’s not what government was designed to do. It simply does not have the power to bring lasting change.

    On the other hand, the gospel is powerful enough to take dead men and make them alive “because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).
  3. They have forgotten which kingdom demands your total allegiance. While we are called to obey our governmental authorities, our ultimate allegiance does not belong to a political leader, a party, or even a nation. Jesus said in John 18 that His kingdom is “not of this world.” The kingdom of God is greater than any earthly kingdom, and it operates on a completely different value system. The kingdoms of earth say, “Blessed are the rich and powerful”; the kingdom of heaven says, “Blessed are you who are poor” (Luke 6:20).
  4. They have allowed their heavenly citizenship to be eclipsed by their earthly citizenship. When this happens, you can find ourselves sucked into the political vortex and filled with anger, vitriol, hatred for the other side. You become consumed with what happens here and now and forget that we are only on earth for a short time. This is not the way of Christ. The gospel says that we are but “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11) and that “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).
  5. They are focused on the temporal instead of the eternal. Politics, campaigns, and cultural issues are all significant parts of our lives on earth, but they won’t last forever. Scripture reminds us that life is but a vapor, “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). The gospel, however, will be relevant for all of eternity. So we must not lose sight of what matters the most—namely, our relationship with Christ and telling others about Him.
  6. They underestimate the sovereignty of the God who raises up kings and brings them down (Daniel 2:21). You have been tempted to think that “we the people” determine the fate of the nation when we go to the ballot box. Yet God is ultimately the one who calls our leaders and grants them authority to govern. So should we even bother to vote? By all means, yes, for the same reason we pray even though God has marked out the future. There is great mystery and tension in between the sovereignty of God and the moral responsibility of man. But Scripture is clear that God is the one who “makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and disperses them” (Job 12:23).
  7. They have set aside humility and love, and picked up pride and anger. Some Christians are holding so tightly to their own views on a candidate or an issue that they are lashing out against those who see things differently. Believe it or not, it is possible to disagree with someone without hating them. The gospel calls us to “be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2). Since we are in Jesus’ kingdom, we need to refrain from vitriolic rhetoric and dialogue, “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).
  8. They view their candidate as a messiah.Most followers of Christ would not actually believe that a presidential hopeful is the Messiah, but it currently seems that many Christians are treating the former president that way. They’re acting as though they are electing someone who will lead our nation into an age of glory and righteousness. But no mere human could ever attain such heights.

    The gospel says that the true Messiah has already come. “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him who is true by being in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).

    And it says that He is coming again. “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10).
  9. Some have forgotten who the ruler of this present evil age is. If it seems like politics can be filled with lies and vitriol, there is a reason for that. Jesus refers to Satan as the “prince of this world” (John 14:30), and he is a master of division and deception. There is actually “no truth in him,” Jesus says, “for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). No wonder the Internet and airwaves are filled with political ads that slander and defame.

    The Scriptures tell us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). Christians must be careful not to partake in such divisive and vicious assaults, for in so doing, we employ the worldly tactics of our enemy.
  10. They want a “fixer” rather than a Redeemer. Some Christians are looking at their political leaders to provide perfect solutions for the problems of our day, but even the most effective politician can only put Band-Aids on societal wounds. A fixer provides temporary solutions to temporary issues. A redeemer, on the other hand, lays down his very life to bring complete restoration. Jesus did not come to “fix” us; rather, He “gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own” (Titus 2:14). Because of this great redemption, “you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:18).

At the end of the day, as a concerned Christian, I pray my fellow Christians would keep a proper perspective on the purpose and limits of politics, and the power and glory of the gospel. Do not abandon the gospel for politics. Rather, let us be humble and loving toward others, even those with whom we adamantly disagree, because “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). We must not allow temporal struggles to distract us from our eternal joy, “so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). We must trust in the sovereign power and will of Almighty God, remembering that “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Do not exchange the infinite beauty of the gospel for temporary political power. If you find yourself placing more hope in politics than in the gospel, know that you will find no rest there. Instead, regardless of the outcome of this and future elections, rest in the promise and hope that the gospel brings. “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). ~OC

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Sunday Hope

Today’s a new day! Living by faith and hope in the midst of a storm is hard.  There are real losses to be grieved. It’s appropriate to feel sadness, grief, and fear.

The question is, “What next?”

Jesus sits with you, lifts your head, and calls us to live with hope. Not because of our strength or ability, but because of his strength and love for us.

What is Hope?

Hope is “a feeling of trust, desire, and expectation for a certain thing to happen.”

Being trapped on a boat in the midst of a hurricane-like storm had to feel incredibly scary to the disciples. So much so, that it would seem natural to forget who was in the boat with them.

But What If I Don’t Feel Hopeful?

Sometimes we need to be reminded that what we feel isn’t ultimate. You may be on the mat in the ring, bloodied and bruised, but you are not crushed or destroyed, my friend. You may not be able to see ten minutes ahead of you in this storm, but you need not despair. You may be feeling frustration and opposition from every part of your life right now, but you are not abandoned.

Paul anchors our particular hope later in 2 Corinthians 4; he points us beyond our momentary feelings to ultimate reality.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

The dominant, momentary scripts for many are either:

  1. That what you feel is true for you personally is what is most true.
    1. What is most true is what you can see, experience, or measure in this material world; there is nothing beyond that.

But Paul, Jesus, and a Biblical view of God show that those scripts are not only too small but insufficient in the midst of crisis. They aren’t enough.

What is most true is that what you are experiencing now is but a shadow in light of the eternal glory that lays ahead of you. Take all that fear and anxiety that feels relentless; and see that the shoulders of Jesus are big enough to carry those burdens for you. What is most true is that Jesus stands not just with you but ahead of you; his love for you, the love that you know in part now, you will know in inestimable fullness one day.

You cannot always change your circumstances. But what you can do is decide what to do, right now, with the time given to you.

May God help you, help us, to live with a resilient hope in the Gospel of Jesus. Our God is the Lord of the storm, and he is with us. ~OC

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Waiting…..

Waiting. For most of us, waiting is not one of our favorite things. What do you do when life finds you in a state of waiting? When all we can do is wait. Waiting on test results. Waiting on a relationship to be restored. Waiting for a breakthrough. Waiting for a sign from God that it will not always be like this… waiting can be taxing, discouraging and deflating. Waiting can cause us to question our faith. To question God.

But what if waiting is the season God is using to grow us? That there is purpose behind the waiting. God wants us whole and He wants us free, and He will often take us on a journey of discovery before we get to the fulfillment of what we hope for. God has your back and He wants what is best for you. God is for you and will not forsake you, even in the middle of your biggest storm. Even during the waiting. ~OC

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A Question for White America

Today’s a new day! I have a question for white Americans. It’s not a trick question or a very difficult question to answer.

When was the last time the white population in America was locked up for simply being white? A will play the Jeopardy theme song for a few seconds to give you time to think…………………………………

Okay, I’m back. How did you do? Ready to share your answer? If your answer is anything, but zero you might need to take a history lesson. Because white people in America have never experienced being locked up simply for being white. Sadly that cannot be said for all. Let’s take a stroll down American History Lane…

Native Americans slaughtered and others put on reservations. Young Indian children sent to boarding schools to “Reeducate” them. Families torn apart forever.

Innocent people from Africa and other non-white countries brought to America and enslaved. Families torn apart forever.

During World War II, Japanese Americans sent to internment camps. Families once again torn apart forever.

Jim Crow laws that discriminated against African-Americans.

None of the groups mentioned above did anything wrong. They just happened to be born something other than white.

So when I hear so many white Americans complaining about their rights being violated or taken away, I encourage you to educate yourself on the true meaning of discrimination in America.

Oh in case anyone is wondering, I am a white American. ~OC

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Watch More Cartoons

Today’s a new day! We’ve all been there – a newly formed friendship quickly crumbles at the mention of the 2024 election.

So as a white Christian man in America who does not support the former president, when some people in the Christian community find that out about me, I often hear the following “How could I be such a hater?” or “Are you really a Christian?”

This election year has been rough for all of us – and we’ve all failed miserably in some way.
We may disagree about the future of America and think it can’t get any crazier, but our country has been through some tough times.

In 1804 Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shot long-time political opponent Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Of course we got a great musical out of that incident, but I am sure they couldn’t see that back in 1804. Do you now have the music of Hamilton in your head? I do.

Or that the election in 1864 occurred right after 620,000 individuals were killed in the Civil War and an entire half of the country had to put together the pieces of their lives.

I have taken the time and compiled what I think are a few helpful tips on how to survive the 2024 election.

1). Do your best to keep relationships over politics. Your family and friends are worth more than your opinions.

Now if that person is spouting hate filled nonsense, then maybe you just block them during this season or choose to have a heart to heart conversation with them.

2). Be a good listener. Sometimes wisdom is best shown with a closed mouth and open ears.

Everyone loves a good listener, and showing you’re willing to listen builds relationships and you might learn a thing or two.

Even better is being an informed listener. Do your homework so you can be an active listener and give a intelligent, well thought out answer when asked a question.

3). Try to not take attacks personally.
When someone posts a negative video about your candidate, it’s not an attack on you. Don’t be ashamed of your beliefs. And please don’t attack people personally for who they’re voting for. That can be a tough one.

4). Admit when you’re wrong.
There are no better words in the English language – better yet, election season – than, “I’m sorry – please forgive me.” Seriously.

Also, it’s okay if you don’t know the exact bill your candidate supported 20 years ago, and that’s a great chance for further conversation — after the fact.

5). Don’t lose your soul.
Take a step back. Breathe. And ultimately be yourself. Yes, you might get into some heated debates. You might ultimately lose friends. You might even do something you regret this election cycle. But that’s okay. Learn from it and don’t beat yourself up over it.

That’s the beauty of a democratic republic – it’s messy and it requires our participation.

As of today, there aren’t any perfect candidates or political parties, so this one is pretty easy in theory, but can be hard in practice.

Be active, let your voice be heard, and do not be ashamed, but remember there is more to life than politics.

True hope and change are found in the Lion of Judah, not the Democratic donkey or the Republican elephant.

6). Rest up and have fun.
Get away from it all. Turn off the TV. Shut the laptop. Hang up the phone.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Share some smiles and laughter:

And watch more cartoons. That makes everything better. 

I hope these make you laugh a little and think. This upcoming election is very important and we all need to be informed voters. There are some major issues that need to be addressed. But do not allow this election season to steal your happiness. Go watch some cartoons! ~OC

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