Tag: Prayer

When Life Is Hard

We’ve all had some rough days. Maybe your rough days have turned into rough years.

As I have walked through my own crazy beautiful journey, I have experienced my share of rough days. Days where nothing seems to go right. Days where I just wanted to crawl back into bed (in my case, crawl up in my recliner). Those days can seem overwhelming at times. They can be stressful.

A season of health issues, relationship issues, financial issues or unemployment can seem overwhelming. During my health journey, I have learned a few lessons about dealing with the challenges of life. I pray you will find them encouraging and helpful.

Your Character. We cannot always control what happens to us in life, but we can always control how we react to the circumstances we face. During the rough moments of my journey, I have made the choice to stop complaining and instead thank God for my many blessings. Choosing to stay positive during those storms of life. Not always an easy choice, but it can be life changing. Our character should always be stronger than our circumstances.

Struggle to Strength. God can use every storm in life to make us stronger. To strengthen our faith. I know sometimes that is hard to see during the storm, but hold on. Our storms have a purpose.

God’s Plans are always perfect. God’s plans are almost always different than ours. Come on, we all think our plans are perfect in the moment. Sometimes we believe God’s plans for us are moving too slowly. Come on God, hurry up! Has anyone but me ever uttered those words? I would encourage each of us to slow down and be patient. Oh, that word Patience. Remember, God’s plan for our lives is always the perfect plan for our lives.

God is always with us. I know that is sometimes hard to believe, as we are holding on for dear life as we face another storm. But the minute you asked God into your life, he is always with you. Walking by your side as you navigate the crashing waves. If you have not asked God into your life, I pray today would be the day you make that incredible decision.

I pray these lessons help encourage you, as you walk through those tough moments in life. I also pray you will never walk your journey alone. Reach out to family or friends when facing those tough moments in life. Most importantly run to God and allow him to wrap his loving arms around you. ~OC

 

 

 

 

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A Night of Miracles

Hello everyone. Last Sunday morning, God woke me up and shared this past week would be a week of Healing and Miracles. During the week, I also felt God calling for me to asked people to pray for my throat and stomach. As many of you know, I have not had an appetite for almost 4 years and have not been able to speak without the assistance of a voice amplifier for about 3 years.

Last night my wife Laura and I attended a Prayer and Healing Service. During the healing part of the night, God blessed me with an appetite and allowed me to talk without the assistance of my amplifier. God is so good. I am overwhelmed by His incredible love for me.

Since I had an appetite, a bunch of us decided to go celebrate Jesus. So the picture below is my first meal in 3 years. I was able to eat a little chicken salad and fries. I also had a few sips of sweet ice tea. I am thrilled to share, I did not choke or throw it up. That had been a major problem in the past.

I encourage everyone to never stop praying for Jesus to move in your life. You never know when the Holy Spirit is going to show up. Keep Believing in your Miracle. ~OC

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New Opportunities

I had to retire early from my career in the juvenile justice field. I was only in my early 40’s. Thankfully, God was not finished with me. In the past ten years, God has allowed me to take on several new roles. Here are some of the opportunities God has blessed me to be part of:

Abolitionist

Missionary

Blogger

Encourager

Author

Thought Leader

Speaker

Prayer Warrior

Health Advocate

Blessed Overcomer

Ten years ago, I could have allowed my health issues to become my identity. But God had other plans for me. I had to make the choice to keep living and thriving. I pray you will make the choice to look past your current circumstances and choose to keep thriving and making a difference. ~OC

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Revival

God woke me up this morning with the word Revival on my heart. I believe we are beginning to see revival happening around us. I also believe God is going to use some unlikely places and people to bring revival. Should we be surprised by that? I do not think so. God used Jesus to change the world. If we look at Jesus resume, he was an unlikely candidate. Let us look at Jesus resume in today’s light.

Jesus Christ was born in a cave. Not really a great start according to the world.

Jesus was a carpenter.

Jesus was not a college graduate.

Jesus was a refugee.

Jesus never owned a home. No MTV Cribs Show for him.

Jesus was not not hanging out with the rich and famous. He would never have been interviewed by Robin Leach (Young folks google that one).

No 401k or pension for Jesus.

Jesus was definitely not jumping off the pages of GQ Magazine.

That is what Jesus resume looks like. By today’s standards not too impressive. But yet, this one man changed the world forever.

So has I thought about what God shared with me this morning, I thought about all the unlikely people God has used to share his word over the years. Most of the time, God has used common people who chose to be available. That is the kind of person I want to be. Available to serve God in any way he chooses.

I am excited to see how God is going to use common, but available people to help bring Revival. ~OC

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A Complete Day

Here are a few things I do everyday:

Pray

Study the Bible

Listen to Music

Read

Spend Time in Reflection

Give Thanks

Makes for a complete day. ~OC

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Faith

Dear God, I continue to pray for those who are hurting, that you will use the storms they are facing to strengthen them from a “What If” faith to a “No Matter What” faith. ~OC

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Where Is The Love?

In the past 24 hours, I have read about a Christian Speaker attacking another Christian Speaker and a Christian Author attacking another Christian Author. Both have saddened me. When did it become okay for Christians to attack other Christians? Oh wait, that has been going on since the beginning of time. It still breaks my heart. Where is the love?

There is amazing power when Christians are united. I would encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ to read the Book of Acts again. It is a beautiful blue print on how Christians should treat other Christians. How we should be united.

I pray we will stop these petty attacks. Let us be aware that the world is looking at us and shaking their heads in disgust. We must remember that the enemy will use the temptation of pride and self-righteousness to divide the Church. We must stand united for Jesus.

Please know, I am not saying there cannot be disagreements within the Church and among Christians. When there is a clear disregard for the scriptures and Jesus teachings, we must speak up. I welcome healthy dialogue among Christians. What I don’t care for is publicly attacking fellow Christians over petty disagreements. God created each of us with unique differences, but still in His beautiful image. We should celebrate those differences and not let them divide us.

My prayer is that God’s children will stop looking for ways to attack each other and start truly living out the Book of Acts. That the world will see a united Church and not a divided  one. I pray you will join me on this journey. ~OC

 

 

 

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