Tag: Prayer

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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Emanuel

I received this dvd in the mail yesterday. It is a powerful story of faith and forgiveness. A must see. ~OC

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The Hands And Feet Of Jesus

As I continue to walk through this crazy beautiful health journey, I have been blessed to see those around me be the hands and feet of Jesus. It has been a wonderful experience to see God’s people actually living out His teachings.

Several years ago, I had to stop driving. My health got to a point where driving was a dangerous undertaking. I could not put other people or myself in danger. This was not an easy decision. Part of my freedom was taken away. It also put a lot of pressure on my wife. She had to take on the role of being my chauffeur. That is a huge job with all of my medical appointments. So for a number of years, Laura would drop me off at my treatments/appointments and pick me up afterwards. So basically, she had to work around my schedule. Then last year, Laura and I joined a Bible Study at our church. During one of the gatherings, Laura mentioned my treatment/medical appointments schedule to a one of the lady’s at the study. Without missing a beat, this young lady shared the group could help out with rides to treatments and doctor appointments. She asked Laura to send her my schedule and she would put together a team to take and pick me up from my appointments. And she did! Within a few days, people from our Bible Study had signed up for all the time slots. Laura and I were blown away. So for the past year, people have been signing up to take me to my treatments. What a huge relive and blessing that has been for my wife and I.

That is just one blessing from our amazing small group at church. Our Bible Study includes dinner before the study. The group always has extra food to send us home with, so Laura does not have to worry about cooking. What a beautiful blessing that has been for Laura. A simple act that has meant so much to us. Laura and I have been so blessed by this amazing group of people. Our small group has become our family. So blessed.

So how can each of us become the hands and feet of Jesus? Here are just a few ways we can help serve others.

Rides. Who in your circle might need rides to medical appointments, grocery store or mall? Take the time to find out and help set up a schedule.

Meal Train. Who in your circle might benefit from having meals delivered to their home. That new family to the neighborhood, that family with a new baby, that family dealing with some medical issues.

Mission Trip. Step out of your comfort zone and go on a mission trip. You can start off with a short-term mission trip and work yourself up to a long-term trip.

Volunteer. I guarantee you there are endless possibilities to serve in your community. Take the time to research and find out where you can serve.

Brown Bag. Make some lunches or dinner for the homeless people you pass by every day. That simple act could make a huge difference in someone’s life.

Hygiene Kit. Put together some hygiene kits to pass out to the homeless.

Gift Cards. Buy some gift cards and pass those out to a single parent, college student or homeless person.

Visitation. Take time to visit a person at the hospital, treatment center or the person who is homebound. I can tell you from my own personal experience, visits mean so much. I have some friends who just sit with me during my treatments and hospital stays. It makes a huge difference.

Prayer. We can all pray. Never underestimate the power of prayer. Join the prayer team at your place of worship.

These are just a few ways we can be the hands and feet of Jesus. There are so many more. I encourage each of us to find a way to serve others in our community. ~OC

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Never About Me

As I continue to walk through this crazy beautiful health journey, I pray my journey will continue to encourage others to never give up. Even when the race gets overwhelming, people will inspired by my journey. But more importantly, I pray people will realize that whatever strength and insight I have comes from God. Only through God can I continue to walk through this marathon called life. Anything good you see in me comes from God. He is the one who has turned my health journey into a crazy beautiful adventure. I pray this journey never becomes about me. ~OC

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What Is Your Calling?

If someone were to asked you what was your calling in life, would you be able to answer that question? Would you even know what the person was talking about? Answering the question of what is your calling in life is a pretty big deal. Nothing to take lightly. So what is a Calling? 

According to the dictionary, a Calling is a vocation, profession, or trade; a call or summons; a strong impulse or inclination. A pretty simple definition, but a life changing decision we all make at some point in our lives.

As a Christian, I believe God has called each of us to live a life of serving Him and others. Of course that is going to look different for each of us. Some will be called into full-time ministry. Others will be called to serve in their given profession. I believe God has a specific role for each of us that will use our unique gifts, talents, experiences and connections.

As most of you know, I am a former long-distance runner. I ran cross country in high school, a little running in college, but had not run in years when I felt God calling me to start running again in 2003. Oh, did I mention that God shared that calling with me while I was having open-heart surgery to remove a nasty tumor from my chest? It would have been very easy for me to dismiss this calling as way too much anesthesia. I mean really, who has a vision of running marathons while having life-threatening surgery? But several days after surgery, I still felt that calling on my life. I could not escape it. So five months after major surgery, I went on my first run in years. Answering that call changed my life in so many ways. Let me share just a few.

When I heard God calling me to start running marathons, I also heard him share that I was not going to be running just to run. No, I would be running to share God’s story in my life. How He was walking me through this crazy beautiful journey. Of course back in 2004 when I started running again, I had no clue this health journey would last this long. I am thankful for that. As I started running marathons, I felt God calling me to run for those who could not run themselves. My wife Laura started making shirts with the names of people I was running for. It became a topic of discussion at my races. People asked me questions about the shirts and why I was running. During those discussions, I was able to share not only about the names on the shirts, but I was able to share my faith.

During my running career, I was diagnosed with Young-Onset Parkinson’s. All the sudden, I was the cancer survivor and Parkinson’s patient running marathons. Then God woke me up on New Year’s Day in 2008 and called me to run a 1,000 miles in one year. Crazy I know. But with that calling came request for interviews and speaking engagements. More opportunities to share my faith with a larger audience. That was an amazing season of life.

The call to running saved my life. Really OC? How could running save your life? I am glad you asked. When my body started shutting down in March 2009, the prognosis was not great. Some medical staff were not sure if I would make it through the night. But of course I did. Then I made it through the month. Then I made it through the year. And ten years later I am still here. Almost all of my medical team shared I survived because I was in such great physical shape from running. That running had also made me mentally tough.

I often think back to 2003, when I felt God calling me to run marathons. What if I would have decided to ignore that calling? How different would my life be today? Even though I am no longer able to physically run, I still love running. I love talking about it, reading books on running, talking with other runners and coaching runners. Ten years after having to give up running, I still have the mentality of a runner. I believe my faith and my running mentality have kept me alive and thriving.

So how can you find your calling in life? Here are a few ways I found helpful.

Prayer. Being in prayer helps us discern God’s calling on our lives. If you are confused about the calling on your life, spend more time in prayer. God will make things clear. Never stop praying.

Obedience. Are you willing to follow through with the calling on your life, even when it forces you out of your comfort zone?

Trust. You may not understand the calling on your life at first. Others may tell you it’s crazy. I got some weird looks and responses when I told people God had called me to run marathons. Do not listen to the doubters. Keep your eyes on God and trust Him for guidance and direction.

What is God calling you to today? I pray that God will guide your steps as you seek His calling in your life. ~OC

 

 

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Running With Endurance

As some of you know, I am a former long distance runner. I would still be running today, if not for my failing health. I still miss running and competing in marathons.

We marathon runners are a rare breed. That’s putting it mildly. Not many people wake up before dawn to go run 26.2 miles. People often joke with me that they get tired just driving 26.2 miles. I used to run multiple marathons a week. Yes, you read that correctly. I just loved running. Did you know that only half of one percent of the population in the United States has completed a full marathon.

Can we be honest? Completing a full marathon is hard. There is the training. The diet. The miles. The cost. The time and effort. For what? A t-shirt and a finishers medal. The t-shirts and medals are great, but there is more to running marathons than all the things I listed above. But I really did love the medals.

So, it is not surprising that not many people actually complete a full marathon. It takes a lot of effort and commitment.

As Christians, we are running a race that requires proper training if we want to finish well. It takes a commitment. It takes some work. It’s not always pretty. Here are just a few tips for running this race called life.

Prayer and God’s Word. Marathon runners do not head to Krispy Kreme or a buffet before a race. No, we full up on food that will give us the proper energy needed to cross the finish line. We also stay properly hydrated.

God’s word is our fuel. It fills us up. The Word prepares us for the long race ahead. God’s word draws us closer to Him. The Word helps us stay on course. God’s word and prayer strengthens us when we fill like saying No Mas. The scriptures and being in prayer sustains us for the journey.

Watch Your Pace. Every runner has their own pace. Some runners are just naturally gifted as runners. They have perfect stride and can cover more miles at a quicker pace. That was not me. I definitely did not have perfect stride. Thank goodness God blessed me with the ability to run for hours.

As a runner, I had to be realistic about my finishing time. I definitely was never going to be an elite runner. But that did not stop me from training and striving to be an elite runner.

In life, we will be tempted to run someone else’s pace. Their pace is so much better than ours we tell ourselves. Look at their stride. If only I could run like that we tell ourselves. But God did not design us to run someone else’s pace. We were not created to run someone else’s race. God designed a beautiful race just for you and me. Maybe it’s not at the pace we want, but it is the perfect pace for us

Never Stop Training. I was not your average runner. I never took a day off from running. Probably not recommended by the experts, but it worked for me. I believe God knew my running days would be short, so He gave me the extra energy to run everyday. Oh the memories. Wait a second, get back on track OC.

I did not wake up one morning and run a marathon. No, I trained and worked my way up to completing 26.2 miles. As my endurance increased so did my miles.

I love what James says in James 1:2-3, “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

Just as a runner needs to train for a marathon, we have to continue exercising and developing our spiritual muscles. During this marathon called life, we will face many obstacles and trials. Something or someone will try to knock us off course. Our spiritual training will help us overcome those trials. Can I get a amen?

I love 1 Corinthians 9:24, Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

Thankfully when this marathon called life weighs us down, God is there to shower us with His amazing love, patience, understanding, grace and mercy.

Maintain Your Vision. Finish Strong. During my running days, I had a clear vision of what I wanted to accomplish. I had my eyes on the prize. Having goals helped me to keep running towards the finish line. To finish strong.

Knowing that our hope is in God, encourages us to keep running forward even when life gets hard. God has given us everything we need to run the race. To strive for the prize. To finish strong.

I love Philippians 3:14, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

We all have a race to run. I pray these tips help you to run the race God designed specifically for you. ~OC

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Lessons Along The Journey

During my 17 year crazy beautiful health journey, I am often asked what lessons I have learned along the way. I could probably write a book on the lessons God has taught me, as I have walked this journey. I am not up for writing another book at this time, so I thought I would share a few with you. Here we go…..

Prayer. I knew the importance of prayer way before my crazy beautiful journey started, but this journey has only reinforced the importance and power of prayer. I can look back on multiple occasions when the prayers of many saved my life. Praying for others is a real honor for me. Prayer energizes me.

Choose to Thrive. Dealing with multiple health issues can be overwhelming. The journey can flat out be exhausting. It can be very easy to just survive. To just make it through the day. Who could blame me? But years ago, my wife and I decided Just Surviving was not how we wanted to live life. No, we decided to Thrive in life. That means not allowing my health issues to define us. Thriving means embracing life. Even on those rough days. Choosing to thrive is  a daily choice. Sometimes a moment by moment choice.

Finding Purpose. During this crazy beautiful journey, I had to find a purpose for it all. There had to be more to this journey than doctor appointments, unending test and hospital visits. During my 17 year journey, God has allowed me to become a Abolitionist, Missionary, Motivational Speaker, Author, Patient Advocate and Thought Leader. I made the choice to turn a perceived negative into an opportunity to make a difference in life. What a ride it has been.

Laugh Often. When you have been diagnosed with as many life threatening health issues as I have, you just have to laugh. My wife Laura and I have used humor, dark humor most of the time to get through some of the toughest days. I mean when your known as The Man Who Refuses To Die, you have to laugh.

Don’t Sweat The Small Things. Life is too short to worry about the small things in life. My wife often shares with people, “Todd and I do not argue over how one of us squeezes the bottle of toothpaste.” 

Find Your 3 am Friends. Who’s in your posse? Who are those friends that you can call at 3am when life becomes overwhelming? Do you have any? I truly believe God brings those 3am friends into our lives. I do not believe they can be manufactured by us. Also, I believe your posse can change over time. And guess what? That’s okay. I believe some relationships are just for a season. So don’t stress out when your posse changes.

Travel. I had never really traveled that much before my health journey. A few trips here and there. But after I started dealing with my health issues, my wife and I decided we wanted to travel more. Sometimes it’s just a day trip up the road and sometimes it is trips to Cuba and Alaska. Traveling has been a true blessing for my wife and I. So plan your next trip.

These are just a few lessons learned along the journey. I pray they will help encourage you, as you walk your own crazy beautiful journey. ~OC

 

 

 

 

 

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