Tag: Words

Let Love Win

Today’s a new day! I am tired of all the hate speech and division I see around me. It breaks my heart. More importantly, it breaks God’s heart. I will always believe that no one was born with hate in their hearts. Somewhere along their journey, they were taught to hate. Just like I was taught to love. I will always speak out against hate of any kind. I will confront hate when I see it. Even if that means standing up to a friend or loved one. I will not allow hate to touch my heart.

We can never let hate win. So be careful of the words and thoughts you allow to grow in your heart. Because eventually those thoughts will flow out of your mouth and cause pain and division. Or those hateful thoughts may flow out of your heart on to your social media pages. Once again causing pain and division. So today, examine what you have growing in your heart. I pray it’s hope and love. ~OC

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Taste

Today’s a new day! Dear Christian’s, imagine everyone we come in contact leaves with a little taste of what Heaven will be like. Will they walk away with a taste of honey or vinegar from their encounter? ~OC

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Keep Pushing

Today’s a new day! Back in my running days, I had the honor of coaching a few runners as they trained for upcoming races. I challenged them to run further than they thought they could. To change up their diet. To push past what they thought they could do. My friends were not always happy with the way I pushed them until they crossed the finish line of a race. Then they could look back and see how all the training and pushing helped them achieve their goals.

There are some Christians, who are not always happy with my post. Some think I push the envelope a little too much. They’re not always comfortable with the way I push and encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ to do better. To actually live out the scriptures we read in the Bible. To truly be the hands and feet of Jesus.

But just like I always pushed those runners to go harder, I will continue to push the Christian Community to do better. This race we’re running is more important than any 5K, half-marathon or marathon. A lost and hurting world is depending on us. Finish Strong! ~OC

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I Choose…

Today’s a new day!

Even if you look different than me…I will still choose to love you.

Even if you came from a different country…I will still choose to love you.

Even if you worship differently than me…I will still choose to love you.

Even if you speak a different language than me…I will still choose to love you.

Even if you live a different lifestyle than me…I will still choose to love you.

Even if you vote differently than me…I will still choose to love you.

As I continue to run this crazy beautiful journey, I will always choose love over hate. ~OC

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Embrace Silence

Today’s a new day! As I walk through this crazy beautiful health journey, one of the issues caused by my health battle is with my voice. As I write this morning, my voice is becoming weaker and weaker. Over the course of this crazy beautiful health journey, I have experienced many hours without a voice. While my voice issues have made it difficult for others to communicate with me, I have found amazing peace in my own silence.  I love having the time to sit quietly with my thoughts and to sometimes just be present without thinking at all.  I also love quietly watching what is going on around me without having to connect to the conversations.  During the course of this crazy beautiful journey, I have grown to love the silence in my life.

In my silence, I have learned or reinforced many lessons that I already knew.

1). Silence allows me the time to create a beautiful container for my own thoughts.  Sometimes the chatter that I engage in takes away my ability to be present and to trust my own thoughts and desires. The silence has given me the space to allow what God put in my heart to resonate more fully within me. The silence has allowed me to hear and connect with God in an intimate and powerful way.

2). As a Speaker, my voice was often used as a tool to tell stories and to connect with people. Dealing with voice issues, forced me to trust God and others in new ways.

3). As my voice became more of an issue, my love of writing became stronger. I have been blessed to write two books and start a blog. Issues with my physical voice can never silence me.

4). Vulnerability is a reality of life.  Sometime illness takes away our ability to function; it also makes me realize how we sometimes need to rely on others. That’s not a sign of weakness. No, it’s just part of being human.

As I have shared, my health journey is a gift. A gift that keeps taking away so many things, but also allowing me to experience so many beautiful moments. Losing my voice has given me time to reflect and to make some decisions for how I will navigate my life a little differently.  Perspective has come from the silence.  Instead of me just speaking the words that come to me, I have had the opportunity to stop and take the opportunity to reflect before acting too quickly.  Much can be learned in the space between the words (spoken or written).

My hope is that I will create a little more silence in my life as I continue to navigate this crazy beautiful health journey. I hope you take the time to experience the beautiful gift of silence in your own life. ~OC

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Hope and Peace

Today’s a new day! As we scroll through social media or turn on the news, we see the world is full of chaos. Most days it seems like people are losing their minds. Day after day is filled with stories of hate and violence. Some days you just want to stay in bed and pull the covers over your head. But I encourage you to not to lose your hope or peace in the midst of all of the chaos.

We cannot walk around this crazy world expecting God to be the source of our hope and peace if we are looking to the world for our satisfaction.

The words above are a reminder, that we cannot expect God’s amazing peace to flood our hearts when we allow this world to be our source of happiness.

In the famous words of The Rolling Stones, we can’t get no satisfaction
We can’t get no satisfaction
‘Cause we try and we try and we try and we try, we can’t get no, we can’t get no satisfaction.

As we look around at the world today and read the news ticker or social media post, remember that the violence, hate and anger we see is because so many lack true peace and hope. So many people have put their hope in a broken system. A place where they can’t find any lasting satisfaction.
 
The current state of the world is painful to watch, but we cannot give up on humanity. We must remember, God died for each and every soul walking this unpredictable world. He gave His life for the angry person at the political rally and the angry person driving erratically through traffic. Therefore, we should not give up on this world, but love each of our neighbors.
 
As I continue praying for this broken world, I am reminded of the powerful words God. May the following scriptures fill us with hope as we seek peace in the midst of these uncertain times.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. ~John 16:33

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons and daughters of God. ~Matthew 5:9

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. ~John 14:27

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. ~John 13:35

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! ~Psalms 133:1

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live
in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. ~2 Corinthians 13:11

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Pillars of Truth

Today’s a new day! To my brothers and sisters in the Christian community. I am greatly concerned and disappointed that so many Christians appear so willing to sacrifice the mandates of God to be pillars of truth by trafficking in lies for political gain. Something to think and pray about today. ~OC

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Old Friends

Today’s a new day! I woke up this morning, walked out on our balcony that overlooks my old high school (Twin Lakes High School / Palm Beach High School). It made me think a minute about some old friends.

Back in the day, I missed my friends on Summer Break. I loved a break from school. Loved getting to visit out of town family and playing sports all day. But a few weeks into the break, I would start missing my friends from school that did not live close by. Kinda felt like I wasn’t my whole self without them. No cell phones or social media back in the day. So between school and after school activities we would basically go from spending all day every day together to zero contact over the summer. Ouch. What was I gonna do call my friends on the phone that was attached to the wall several times a day and check in? Yes! That’s what a lot of us did back in the day. We made the effort to stay in touch. I fondly remember talking to some friends for hours on the phone.

As I reflect back on my high school years, I couldn’t wait for school to start back to see all of my friends. Yes, I was that person. Life was always better with friends around. I am thankful that God created me to be a person who really wants to connect with others. I can do the surface conversations, but I truly love having meaningful conversations. Always have. Of course being a teenage guy, that was not the norm. That’s probably why I have always had more female friends than guy friends. As I recall, there was not a lot of meaningful conversations with a lot of my guy friends back then. No real sentiments would be shared. I do not think we hugged back then. We would just be together, probably swap stories and just catch up. I am thankful for the few guys that were willing to open up and be real.

I look at my friends as family. I am blessed to still have friends from elementary school. I hope I have never taken my friendships for granted. But sadly, I probably have. For that I apologize. True friends are a beautiful gift. Especially when you’re young. Part of who we are today is because of the friends we had back in our younger days. Of course that could be a little scary. Haha!

As I continue walking through this crazy beautiful health journey, friendships mean a lot more to me these days. Every day is becoming more of a struggle for me at this time, but my days are brightened when I hear from a friend or a friend drops by. Especially when a childhood friend connects with me.

We were all created for relationships. Especially friendships. I believe in the old saying, you cannot pick your family, but thankfully you can choose your friends. My life has been blessed with amazing friendships. I am thankful for those friends who have chosen to walk with me through life. Especially those friends who have stayed by my side during this crazy beautiful health journey. You will never realize the difference you have made in my life. Thank you!

So today, take time to remember the beautiful friendships you have experienced over the years. Never take one for granted. Take time today, to reach out to a friend. You may just brighten their day. ~OC

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Romans 8

In Romans 8:5-11, we see the difference between a Christian and the non-Christian, or as Paul says, those who set their minds on the Spirit and those who set their minds on the flesh. I think the difference between these two kinds of people, is like the difference between a fake flower and a real flower. The fake flower has no imperfections, it’s perfect in every way, and it does probably look much better than a real flower, though it’s entirely dead and void of all life. The real flower though, has imperfections to it that reflect its own uniqueness. The real flower might even be drooping and losing a few pedals but it’s truly alive. When you give water to the real flower, it’s likely to spring back up and grow healthier and stronger.

Such it is with those in the flesh and those in the Spirit. Those in the flesh might look like they’re thriving and strong, perfect in every way, but they’re dead. While those in the Spirit are fully alive even though they have imperfections and might droop just a little. Day by day the Spirit sees to them, nurturing them with resurrection life until the day they blossom fully at Christ’s return.

Romans 8:5-11, reminds us that we cannot have two masters. We cannot be in Adam and in Christ. We cannot be in the flesh and in the Spirit. We’re either under the hand of sin or walking in the freedom of Christ. It can be a constant battle.

Where are you today? Who or what has power over you today? I pray you’re living in the beautiful peace of God today. And may you be filled with His amazing Spirit. ~OC

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Reconstructing Over Deconstruction

Today’s a new day! I have noticed a lot of articles and conversations about Christians Deconstructing from their faith. It seems to be a hot topic these days. Before I go any further, let me share that I am not deconstructing from my faith. Even though I can definitely understand why many believers are choosing to walk down that road. Have you noticed how some churches and Christians treat people? And the Christian on Christian meanness is unbelievable. It seems like these days if you do not walk and believe in the latest Christian talking points you might just get ostracized or ghosted.

I get it. I have been there. In 2019, after being given only weeks to live, I experienced a beautiful miracle from God. The man given the nickname “The Man Who Refuses to Die,” was given a beautiful gift from God. More time. After that miracle in 2019, I was the flavor of the month among many in the Christian Community. I was asked to speak and pray at churches and different gatherings. People from around the world wanted to hang out with the “Miracle Man.” I do not share this to brag. No, I share this because that part of my life was only for a short season. The “Miracle Man” had the audacity to get really sick again. Not something I wanted or prayed for. But some in the Christian community, decided my declining health issues must be from lack a lack of faith or unresolved sin in my life. Even though many in the Christian community have tried to put that on me and still do today, I never allowed those lies and poor theology get in my heart and mind. So just a few short years after the miracle of 2019, I went from being the flavor of the month to the man many forgot.

If I was ever going to deconstruct, that would have been the time. The same people who invited me to every spiritual gathering and get together, now appeared to have lost my number. Since my health has taken a turn for the worse, I have not heard from many who used to call me brother. Those who were so quick to use my story have chosen to stop walking with the man behind the story.

So, I understand why people walk away from their faith disillusioned. I understand how difficult it is to make sense of your faith when it appears life is falling apart all around you. I understand how difficult it can be to keep your faith in the middle of the storm.

And yet, here I am. My faith is stronger than ever. I have walked through counterfeit churches and Christians and held onto my faith. I have chosen not to deconstruct from my faith; but reconstruct my faith.

What are you talking about? I know, some of you are just learning about deconstruction and I am adding in a new phrase. What is Reconstructed Faith? I may have just created a new phrase.

Reconstructed Faith means God is bigger than any problem we will ever face in life. I believe many Christians put God in a box. We all think we have God figured out until life punches us in the face. But after life knocks you to your knees, you begin to ask more questions. You begin to examine your life and faith a little more closely.

The events I experienced after my miracle in 2019, did not lead me to reconstruct my faith. No, that started years earlier. I am still walking that process out.

As I continue to walk out my faith journey, I realize more and more how important it is to keep my focus on God; not on the Church or other Christians. The Church and Christian Community are filled with flawed individuals. All of us are flawed humans who fail at living God’s ways a lot of the time. But I pray you give both the Church and God’s people a second or third chance. God can and will answer your questions. God can and will heal us from all of the hurt and pain.

Instead of Deconstructing from your faith, allow God to pull you close to Him in the middle of your storm and hold you close. God desires to change us midst of our trials. Even though sometimes it feels easier to walk away from our faith, God desires for us to have an intimate relationship with Him. ~OC

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