Today’s a new day!
Today’s a new day! The new book is out. Thanks for all the love and support. This book is 20 years in the making. The majority of the book was written from my hospital room on 4South at Good Samaritan Medical Center. A fun fact. I have written both of my books on my Apple iPhone. I continue to live a blessed life. ~OC
Today’s a new day! I’ve looked back on it a thousand times. It plays on rewind in my mind. When did we become so divided? Family and friends divided over things that really don’t matter at the end of the day. Words spoken that have divided us and caused pain. Opinions over relationships. When did we become so divided? You are in my heart.
All this division has me praying and hoping for better days. Believing in healing days. Praying for those who choose opinions over friendships. Love keeps no record. You are in my heart
Would you love me across the political aisle? Would you love me if I worshiped in a different style? Would you love me if I thought in a different way? Would you love me if I chose a different lifestyle? Love keeps no record. You are in my heart.
What do we do with all this division? All this negative space between us. How can we come together and erase all that separates us? I am praying for better days. Believing in healing days. Love keeps no record. You are in my heart.
As I replay all this negativity in my head, I have nothing but love for all. I choose to look past the differences and embrace the beautiful diversity all around me. I choose to listen and learn. I refuse to hate and judge. Love keeps no record. You are in my heart.
I will not allow all this division to steal my joy. I will continue to pray and work for better days. Believing in healing days. Love keeps no record. You will always be in my heart. ~OC
Today’s a new day! To be honest, there are moments when I would like nothing more than to walk away from battling the storms of life. Walking away can sound so much better than this journey of building endurance, character, and hope. How many storms do I need to face in life? But in those tough moments, hope reminds me that I am not its source. The hope I walk in does not come from me, but from God who is compassionate, loving and faithful.
Opening up my eyes, God encourages me to look at the world with more hope. To look deeper and see more than what is and more of what could be. To hope.
Taking a deeper, more honest look at the realities of a hurting world can also become an act of hope. I believe in the power of love and peace. My hope is in God who is filled with love, mercy and compassion. My faith always leads me back to hope. This hope is real and available to each of us. Today, I encourage you to take a step towards Hope. ~OC
Today’s a new day! As we walk through the storms of life, hope is something we must continue to hold onto. Hope is not based on our circumstances. It is a firm conviction, a way of living out this journey called life. Hope sustains us through difficult times. We know God is always walking beside us, regardless of what our current circumstances might lead us to believe. We trust suffering is temporary and that God will use our storms for good. Even during our biggest storms in life, we boldly proclaim that God is in control. He never leaves the boat.
Many times in the last 21 years, I’ve found encouragement in reading in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, where Paul talks about the thorn in his side. God responded by saying these powerful words, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” Those words give me hope. Those words give me strength. Those words guide me to encourage others as they walk through their own crazy beautiful journey.
I do not know what my future holds health wise, but I do know who holds my future in His strong nail scarred hands. I will continue to believe God’s love and grace is sufficient. It’s enough for me. I pray it’s enough for you. ~OC
Today’s a new day! I am still standing. On 3/20/09 after having what doctors thought was a cold, my wife Laura was informed she needed to take me to the emergency room. I was having trouble breathing and was extremely weak. My cold actually ended up being Myasthenia Gravis. I was in a Myasthenic Crisis. Some doctors were concerned I would not make it through the the night. Most thought I would not make it through the year. Here we are 14 years later and I am still standing. Still fighting. Still thriving.
This twenty-one year crazy beautiful health journey has not been easy. On more than one occasion, Laura has been told by doctors that my condition was critical and things did not look promising. Throughout this journey, Laura and I have looked to God for guidance, strength and wisdom. He has never failed us. We do not know what the future holds for me health wise, but we know who holds our future. Laura and I will continue to make beautiful memories. We will continue to encourage people with our story. I will continue to fight. After all these years, I am still standing. Still praising God. ~OC
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
Today’s a new day! God has wonderful plan for each of our lives. Unfortunately, we sometimes allow fear to hold us back from our God given purpose in life. God wants us to confidently walk forward and trust him.
As we walk out God’s purpose for our lives, we have an enemy that wants to steal, kill and destroy that plan. As we are walking out God’s plan, the enemy will try to creep inside and put doubt and fear in our hearts. The enemy wants to stop us in our tracks. To stop our momentum.
The enemy loves to use doubt and fear, to prevent us from pursuing our dreams and purpose in live. He wants us to be paralyzed by our current situation. All it takes is us focusing on the negatives instead of keeping our focus on God’s plan.
It’s too hard. What if I fail? Could this possibly be God’s plan for my life? I can’t do this. Sound familiar?
During our journey, we will all face these moments. Times we have to push through all the questions, doubts and challenges. To move forward in spite of our fears. If we wait for that gnawing fear to disappear, we will allow ourselves to become overwhelmed by the moment. We will stop moving forward. During those fear induced moments, we must keep moving forward. Do not let the enemy get the victory.
During the uncertain seasons of life, we need to trust God. Sometimes that happens one step at a time. God can use the trials of life to help us overcome our fears and experience victory and freedom through him. No backing down. No retreat. Keep moving forward. ~OC
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
Today’s a new day! As I was praying early this morning, I felt God saying this was going to be a week of healing. If you or a loved one needs healing, I encourage you to keep leaning into God. Blessings. ~OC
Today’s a new day! Radical obedience to Jesus does not seek to conform to the standards set by the world. No, radical obedience to Jesus is completely laying everything at his feet. Radical obedience is pursuing Jesus at all cost. Radical obedience is saying yes to Jesus when he says “Sell it all and go serve me.” Are you walking in radical obedience to Jesus?
I pray every Christian will pray this prayer each morning:
Dear Jesus, fill me with your radical faith that does not waver in hard times.
The Blessed Overcomer 