Tag: Words

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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Peace and Harmony

Today’s a new day! I enjoy peace and harmony. But sometimes I allow myself to get caught up in the distractions of social media. So starting today, I will no longer be responding to anyone’s negative or conspiracy theory posts, comments or text. I know I am not going to change anyone’s way of thinking, so why allow myself to get caught up in all the negativity. As I walk out this 4th quarter of my life, I want to enjoy the ride. Blessings. ~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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Hope

Today’s a new day! There is a four-letter word that is woven into the fabric of our souls, and that word is HOPE. Having a purpose in life encourages self-determination. It all starts with a belief, an idea that can create a powerful purpose filled life.

The seed of hope is planted deep within each of us. If we water those seeds, amazing and beautiful things will be created. Hope creates motion, motion creates action, action creates results, results create achievement, achievement creates self-confidence, and self-confidence creates the mindset that we can and will achieve everything God desires for us.

Through hope, we can conquer our fears and turn a life of trials into a life of triumph, a mess into a message, fear into faith, and a test into a testimony. There are times our hope button can get stuck. Here is how I believe we can activate our stuck hope button.

We have to decide to change our mindset from selfish to selfless, from “poor me” to helping someone else who is walking through a major trial. Our selfless time engaged in someone else’s life battle could help kick-start hope within them and start a chain of of hope dealers. Hope is contagious!

How awesome would it be if we each lived a life of Helping One Person Everyday. Helping others succeed brings so much hope and meaning into our lives. How beautiful it is when we give of ourselves. It fills us up as well and provides us with the strength to conquer life’s challenges.

We all have the ability to share hope with those around us. It could be a smile, kind word, listening, or lending a helping hand.

It is never too late to start living a life of Hope. You never know the difference you can make in a person’s life. So today be bold, compassionate and loving. Share Hope. Help one person today. ~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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The Legacy of President Jimmy Carter

Today’s a new day! Yesterday, I had the honor of being in Plains, GA to celebrate former President Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday. It was a wonderful day seeing old friends, meeting new friends and reflecting on the life of a man who has truly lived a life of honor.

As we are in the middle of another election, I spent some time reflecting over the legacy of past American presidents. The debate over a president’s legacy begins the moment they leave office. Sometimes sooner. I am sure everyone can make their case for who is or was the best and greatest president in the history of America. We could debate their contributions, records and everyone could weigh in with their memories and opinions. But I personally do not believe anyone can argue that the greatest post presidency does not belong to the 39th President of the United States from Plains, Georgia Jimmy Carter.

When President Carter and Mrs Carter left Washington, DC in 1981, the so called experts were in agreement that President Carter had failed and would be forgotten. That was not to be the case. Not even close. President and Mrs Carter would leave a major life changing legacy behind.

Upon leaving the White House, one of the first things the Carters did was to become closely identified with a nonprofit volunteer project, Habitat for Humanity. During its initial two decades, owing in large measure to the Carter’s involvement, Habitat became a household name in communities across the US, helping over 59 million people build or improve a place to call home. Well into their 90’s, President and Mrs. Carter were still spending one week each year volunteering with Habitat. The Carters became so identified with Habitat that when thinking of them, more Americans probably called to mind the Carters in denim with hammers in their hand more than the Carters dressed up for a formal dinner at the White House.

In 1982, just two years after leaving office, Carter further burnished his credentials as a great leader when they created the Carter Center, which described its role as “waging peace, fighting disease, and building hope.” Many of the Carter Center’s initiatives were led by President and Mrs. Carter, including monitoring elections in dozens of countries; negotiating peaceful resolutions to conflicts in Africa, Asia, and the Americas; under the leadership of President and Mrs. Carter the Center took on programs to help eradicate multiple diseases around the world including guinea worm. According to the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, In 1986, the disease afflicted an estimated 3.5 million people a year in 21 countries in Africa and Asia. Today, thanks to the work of The Carter Center and its partners — including the countries themselves — the incidence of Guinea worm has been reduced by more than 99.99 percent to 14 provisional* human cases in 2023. Working tirelessly to address multiple global concerns, the Carters have established a legacy as the greatest of our former First Families.

My wife and I had the honor of meeting President and Mrs. Carter in 2019, as he taught Sunday School at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, GA. It was one one of highlights of my life. I had no idea how profoundly that day would change my life.

Yesterday, at the 100th birthday celebration, a group of us who all attended President Carter’s Sunday School class at different times, sat around a table reflecting and celebrating the life of the man who brought all of us together yesterday not as strangers, but as friends. That is one of the beautiful legacies of President and Mrs. Carter.

With all these wonderful memories flowing from my heart, I recall the words of President Carter from back in 2019, when sharing about his health, “I didn’t ask God to let me live, but I asked God to give me a proper attitude toward death. And I found that I was absolutely and completely at ease with death.”

This is the legacy of our 39th President Jimmy Carter. A humble man who has taught us how to live a life for others in service. As President Carter approaches the end of his life, he is teaching us another lesson about not only living a life with grace, but maybe more important how to die with grace. ~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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