Tag: Truth

Keep Soaring

Today’s a new day! I write this as another hurricane comes through Florida. A good majority of the state is still recovering from another hurricane that hit us just a few weeks ago. These back-to-back hurricanes got me to thinking.

One thing about the storms of life is they do not last forever. They come and go. It is the size of our faith in God that determines how we will make it through each storm we face. Overcoming the storms of life can be overwhelming at times. When going through the storms of life, our faith and focus should be on God, the author and the finisher of our faith, not our problems. Sometimes that is easier said than done. It is during the storms of life when our faith is tested.

The only way to overcome the storm is to face and confront it. Overcomers cannot afford to play hide and seek with challenges, but instead must choose to face and deal with them head on. The challenges we are facing are just for a short time. We can never allow them to rob us of our destiny. We can never give up on life, on our faith, on our family/friends, and on the important things in life. We must face the storms of life and trust God for a brighter future. God did not bring us this far to leave us. He has a purpose for our lives. The word of God says- But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. ~Isaiah 43:31. I do not know about you, but that gives me hope.

While all the other birds fly away from the storm with fear, an eagle spreads its mighty wings and uses the current to soar to greater heights. An eagle doesn’t run for safety during the storms, but rather, it takes advantage of it to soar to some higher spot. Storms need somebody who will not give up no matter how hard it is. During the storms, take advantage to pray harder and worship like never before. There are times when the storms of life hit us so hard, when the storms threaten to sweep away all that we have. I am talking about times when the storms take away our loved ones, when the storms take away our possessions. Those are the very times we need to stand up and face the storms head on. God is bigger than any storm we will ever face in life. To overcome the storms of life, we have to have faith which is bigger than the storms. Our life is not over until God says it is.

If we are going to overcome the storms of life, we must let go of certain things surrounding our lives. We have to let go of some people who are holding us back. We have to let go of all of our fears and doubts. We have to let go of everything that is weighing us down and soar to a higher spot. Leave gossipers to gossip, leave haters to hate. Overcomers do not have time to confront everyone who speaks against them. Those living without purpose have limited vision, but overcomers see beyond the storms. Your storm will not last forever. Keep soaring! ~OC

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S.T.O.P.

Today’s a new day! This morning I need you to STOP!

S: Seek God in prayer about everything.

T: Trust God through prayers of thanksgiving.

O: Open your mind to that which comes from God.

P: Practice the Word of God.

Praying your day is filled with amazing moments and God’s blessings. ~OC

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Be A Champion!

Today’s a new day! God did not bring you this far to lose. Keep your head up and keep fighting. You are strong enough. God knew when he chose you, that nobody would run harder for him than you. When the enemy showed up at God’s door, and shared he wanted a fight, God needed someone on the frontline and he chose you. God didn’t choose you by accident. He chose you because he knew when things got tough you would not run away. No you would run to a the battle. No retreat. There is no quit in you. You have been through battles way tougher than anything the enemy could ever throw at you. And you continue to overcome. So stop complaining and step up! God has brought you through bigger battles than this. God will not settle for the world’s second best for you. You have to choose to step up and out for your God given purpose. Stop just passing through life. Every hater and naysayer will try to hold you down, but you are a child of God’s. So keep fighting. Never give up! Choose to be all that God created you to be. A Overcomer! Don’t stop running until you receive your prize. Anything standing in your way will be defeated. So get up and be the Champion God created you to be. Go get it! ~OC

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Dear Christian’s, I Have Some Questions

Today’s a new day! I know I will take some heat for this post, but I am a big boy. As we move toward another presidential election, I truly am trying to understand how Christians can continue to support Donald Trump. In all seriousness and good faith, I’m asking you to tell me.

I am posting a number of questions here and I would truly love your honest feedback about your support of the former President.

I would ask that nobody leave sarcastic, snarky or rude answers or comments. I truly do want to understand how a Christian could cast their vote for Donald Trump.

I grew up in the Church, so I know we are all more than one thing. I know if I was just released from the hospital, you would start a meal train. If I were in a car wreck you’d stop to help me. You wouldn’t ask if I’m a Christian or a Democrat or a DEI worker. You’d just help. I know that side of so many of you. That’s part of what makes your support of Trump so baffling to me.

I want to understand this issue that puzzles me because what I see in the former President is absolutely antithetical to the gospel I learned about as a child in that Southern Baptist church in South Florida.

I want to understand how you see the former president so very differently than I do. So, please, write in and respond to one or two of these questions:

1). Why do you as a Christian support Donald Trump?

2). Do you think Trump as a person and/or his former presidency and current campaign express the love of God in Christ for others to see?

3). Does Trump’s personal moral behavior matter to you as long as he supports policies you want?

4). Do you think Donald Trump is a good role model for your children or grandchildren?

5). The Bible many times over says to welcome the foreigner within your borders. How does that square with Trump’s ultra anti-immigrant stance and policies that especially target migrants at our southern border?

6). What do you think of Trump’s history of sexual misconduct and impropriety, including comments about his own daughter, Ivanka?

7). The former president has threatened chaos, including the possibility of a civil war, if he’s not elected. What do you think of that?

8). If you believe the U.S. is supposed to be a Christian nation, what do you think we should do about the non-Christians who live here?

9). If the U.S. is supposed to be a Christian nation, which Christians get to decide public policy?

10). What do you think of how Trump calls people names or says ugly things about people?

11). Are you bothered by all of the Trump lies?

12). How does your support of Trump square with the Gospel for you?

I really hope and pray my fellow Christians will take the time to study and answer these questions. Thank you. ~OC

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Prideful Strut

Today’s a new day! We need to stop walking with a prideful strut. We need to stop being smug and selfish. We need to stop making life about us. We need to stop being a “Me Society.” We need to put the focus back on God. He is the only one who needs to be famous. We need the Holy Spirit to subdue our fleshly pride. We need to walk with a limp of total dependency on God. ~OC

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I Asked…

Today’s a new day! As I have posted some videos about my current trip to Plains, GA for President Jimmy Carter’s 100th Birthday Celebration, several people have reached out and shared they wished they would have known I was coming because they would have loved to make the trip with me. I was like what?

I just checked my past text and social media post and back at the first of August, I sent out text, messages and social media posts inviting people to join me on this trip. I knew back then before my dementia diagnosis, that traveling by myself was not a good idea. And Laura’s busy work schedule did not allow for her to make the trip with me. I also had numerous conversations with friends on the phone and in person about this trip. Several shared they were interested, but never followed through. Only one friend stepped up and shared he would go. I am thankful he did.

So while I am sorry many are missing out on this amazing trip, it’s not because you were not asked. It’s because you chose not to respond. I am not mad at you, but do not act like you were not invited.~OC

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A Big Question

Today’s a new day! What is keeping you from living the complete life? I know that is a big question, with many potential answers. But God designed each of us to live a complete whole life.

Here are a few things, I believe can help us live out the life God created for each of us.

A New Chapter. Too many of us are living in the past. We continue to relive past disappointments. Past failures. Or sometimes we live in past successes. We all know someone, who is eager to tell us about winning the 5th grade all county championship forty years ago. Don’t get me wrong, we should celebrate past successes. We should also learn from past mistakes. But we cannot live in the past. The great thing is, we have the opportunity to start a new chapter each morning. So close the chapter on your past and start writing a new one.

Worthy. Has anyone told you lately you are worthy? That you are important. No matter your past, God finds you worthy. He sent his Son down from heaven to die for us. I think that proves how worthy we are in God’s eyes.

Comfort Zone. I believe to live the whole life that God created for us, we have to step out of our comfort zones. We have to be willing to take some chances in life. God designed us to be creative. To be adventurous. We cannot truly experience life, if we choose to stay in our nice easy comfortable zones.

Labels. Stop wearing the labels the world puts on us. How many people continue to wear the labels put on them as a child? Not smart enough. Too short. Too weird. Too heavy. Too tall. Your from the wrong side of the tracks. So many people continue to wear these labels into adulthood. Today, I encourage you to take those labels off. Trash them. You are more than a label. You were created by a loving God to live an incredible life. To Dream. To Succeed. To Thrive.

Courage. It will take courage to start feeling Worthy. It will take courage to step out of your Comfort Zone. It will take courage to take off the Labels you have been wearing for years. But I promise you it will be worth it.

Today, I encourage each of us to think about these five points. To start living the incredible life, God has created us to live. Will you make a commitment to living wholeheartedly? ~OC

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3AM

Some mornings when I wake up early, I feel God using that time in an amazing way. But I have to be honest, some days those early mornings are tough. Today is one of those days. Let me share an early morning with Parkinson’s and dementia.

Today’s a new day! So it’s 3am and my brain is fully awake
I have been up since before 1am, but who’s counting? I am! Some days I wonder how my brain knows it’s 3am or earlier
Some days I wonder if my brain and I are on the same page

Oh, all the voices and noises
It can be a little scary, but I am thankful I haven’t gone a little insane

I think about my 3am folks going through the same, I wish I could reach out and lend each a helping hand

This early morning I look up to the sky
And sometimes wonder why my brain is so different
Some mornings I just want to cry
I wish I could just open my brain and hit the reset button, but that’s just a dream

On these crazy mornings, I wish it was just a phase
But I been running this race for too long for it to just be a phase
But a brother can still dream
Oh, wait a second you have to sleep to have a dream
There will be no more dreaming on this morning

All the voices and noises
It’s crazy, and I am thankful I haven’t gone mad
Thankful the voices don’t call me to danger
I wonder who’s up at 3am and would not freak if I rang them?

So at 3 am I go out on the balcony
And I talk to God, thank goodness He always takes my call
It’s 3am am I look up and pray

On mornings like this, I do not feel like anyone else

I feel like a stranger

It’s 3 am, once again
Talking to God because He always answers when I call
He reminds me that I am not like anyone else
That I am unique and wonderfully made,
That gives me some peace
I bet God gets a lot of calls at 3am
That gives me comfort as I look out over the night sky and I pray. ~OC

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Faith Over Fear

Today’s a new day! The last few weeks have been a bit overwhelming for me. Dealing with multiple health issues and a new life changing diagnosis. In the midst of all the challenges, it would be easy to get discouraged….or stressed out….or worried….or afraid.

But the Bible has something to say about times like these – and as you might guess, it gives us some tools for overcoming the storms of life.

When life gets discouraging, we can look at the story of the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts and hopefully his trial will lift us out of any discouragement or fear that we might be walking through.

Paul knew what it was like to be in a storm – both literally and figuratively. He had been stoned and left for dead, whipped repeatedly for preaching the Gospel, was endlessly persecuted and experienced more than one setback.

One of those setbacks happened in Acts 27, when he was a prisoner being transported to Rome for trial. It was the wrong time of the year weather-wise for this trip, and Paul even prophesied to them, saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives” (Acts 27:10). But the captain of the ship decided to go anyway, and they sailed right into a major storm.

The Bible says they went days and days without seeing the sun or stars. For weeks they were tossed and slammed by the raging seas. Just reading through this story makes me a little queasy. In verse 20, we read that after so many days, all hope – even among these veteran sailors – was lost.

Have you ever been in a position where all hope seemed lost? Where despair and hopelessness got the best of you? That can be a devastating place to be. And the Apostle Paul was there because of the stubbornness of the crew. He had warned them about making the trip, but they went anyway.

But then, Paul stood up in the midst of that dark, hopeless situation and shouts, “Be of good cheer!”Unbelievable!

“Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭27‬:‭22‬-‭25‬ ‭

What a crazy thing to say to people in the midst of a hopeless situation – “cheer up!” But Paul had hope where there was no hope. He knew he belonged to God. He heard the word of the Lord (v. 23) and knew he had the victory.

In the same way, we also have the word of the Lord — we have the Bible. We can do what Paul did in the midst of the storm – look to the word of God and cheer up.

The Apostle Paul chose to believe in the word of God more than he believed in the raging storm. Faith came by hearing, meditating on and remembering the word. We can do that today. For starters, read and meditate on (Mark 9:23, John 10:10, Philippians 4:6, 7).

When we do what the Apostle Paul did – focus in on God’s word in the midst of the storm, then faith comes, and we can see beyond the storm. We can imagine life beyond the dark clouds. We can use our storms of life to encourage everyone around us.

Today, I want to encourage you as you walk through the storms of life, do like the Apostle Paul – declare Faith over Fear. Today, be of good cheer! God wants us to be healed, have our needs met, to overcome the world and have peace. All things are possible to them that believe. Lean on those promises.

Today, as you walk through the storms of life, I pray Romans 15:13 over you: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Amen. ~OC
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Dear Hate,

Today’s a new day!

Dear Hate, I trust this letter finds you well. Actually, from what I see on tv and social media, it looks like business is booming for you lately. I have to give you credit, you have managed to keep yourself in the news and social media 24/7 these days and that’s not an easy feat. You are like a chameleon. You continue to reinvent yourself. Sadly, your brand is a whole lot stronger than most people realize. Somehow you have been able to leverage all that fear out there into a pretty impressive machine.

But, thankfully we have the answer to overcome all hate. A beautiful four-letter word called Love. Oh yes, Love. That’s your kryptonite.

Love is the beautiful response to all the hate we see in the world. Love can rebuild everything that hate tries to destroy.

Love is a redemptive song that people keep finding a way to sing together no matter how difficult the days become. Sure, maybe we have had a rough stretch lately, but we’ve been through this all a million times before and Love has always been able to defeat hate.

And I believe Love- will answer now too.

Let’s face it, deep down we all know how this is going to play out, don’t we? Hate will grab the headlines and make a dramatic statement and chaos will briefly come, and you’ll feel and seem like you’re winning. Hate will get a bit of traction and celebrate for a moment, but it will not be long until Love rises up and slowly drives back all the destruction that you have managed to raise.

Like yeast in the dough, Love will quietly and silently do the healing work. From person to person, heart to heart, breath by breath. Love will dance!

Hate, you probably have noticed that Love doesn’t resort to all the theatrics you’re known for. Because the truth is, Love and goodness is humanity’s default setting and when people stop to breathe, when they step away from all the hate, when they draw nearer to one another and recognize the goodness in the other’s eyes—then hate you’re defeated.

I believe people will always return to compassion and mercy because those are the most powerful forces on earth. And when they do, they find Love there waiting. They’ll embrace Love and Love will embrace them.

Yes, hate may occasionally corrupt the system, but Love is the system. Love is the truth that people know without knowing they know it. Love is a deep sacred place that the human heart will always seek at its level. When hurting, grieving, weary souls search for rest, Love is where and when people finally find themselves at home.

So hate, you can have your eye for any eye, and Love will keep making peace.
Hate, you can demand revenge and Love will keep forgiving.
Hate, you can spew venom and Love will turn its cheek.
Hate, can strike with a closed fist, and Love will stretch out its open hand.
Hate, you can gloat and brag and feel quite pleased with yourself for the momentary chaos you’ve manufactured—and Love will press firmly into that which endures and defeats it.

Hate, you are a powerful and resilient, force, but you’ll never overcome Love.

Hate, no matter what unspeakable damage you do, Love will bring even greater healing.

Love will always have the last word.

Hate, look around you. Look beneath the headlines and the noise. Look deeply into the eyes of those who get Love and see how much they’re willing to do.

Love will not be denied.

Hate, you cannot win this one, my bitter friend, no matter what you, the news, social media or the fear mongers say.

This place belongs to Love. ~OC

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