Today’s a new day! Your past has been washed by an ocean of grace. ~OC
True Friendship
Today’s a new day! As most of you know, friendships mean a lot to me. I have written several post about the importance of friendships and how I believe many people take friendships for granted. So I thought I would look more into what a friend really is. I figured the best place to look was the Bible. Here are a few things I discovered.
The Hebrew word for “friend” in the Proverbs passage is ʾahab, or ʾaheb, and is a very strong word that literally means “lover.” It’s used elsewhere to describe God’s friendship with Abraham: “Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?” (2 Chronicles 20:7). Then in 1 Samuel 18:1, we read about Jonathan’s friendship with David: “Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself”
I believe that’s the type of friendship we all desire. Sadly, those kind of friendships are becoming more difficult and rarer, in large part due to our current culture’s social media conditioning that trains us to be aloof, uncaring, and self-centered. Such an attitude is bad enough when it’s aimed at other people, but it’s an eternal catastrophe when it’s directed at God.
I truly believe we can do better. Will we make mistakes along the way? Sure we will. But I believe having real friendships is worth a few bumps along the way. How about you? ~OC
Catch It!
Today’s a new day! Our senses can become numbed in the aftermath of life storms, and the presence of suffering. But if the declaration of God’s love begins with awe, I can think of nothing more effective in helping to restore our wonder than by reminding ourselves through scripture, of just how much God loves us. So much so, that he sent His one and only son to die for us. (1 John 4:9-10)
One of my favorite scripture verses is found in Zephaniah 3:17:
“The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love, and rejoice over you in singing.”
Did you catch that? God will rejoice over us with singing. What a beautiful thought. God delights in us. When we have an accurate view of God’s amazing love for us, we can process our suffering through a lens of hope. And hope can turn our thoughts from being inward focused, to being upward focused. This change in perspective can make all the difference, in the presence of suffering. ~OC
Take a Risk
Today’s a new day! As I was praying this morning, God brought a phrase to my mind. That phrase is “To love is to risk.” With everything going on in the world, that phrase really spoke to me. I had to asked myself, Do I take enough risk in loving people? Do I take enough risk in letting people love me back? Do I take enough risk in reaching out to those I would not normally reach out to and love them – love them like Jesus would love them? Am I happy not to risk being rejected and just sit in my comfort zone and only love those around me I am comfortable with?
Taking risk can cost:
To reach out for one another is to risk involvement.
To expose one’s feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams before people is to risk their loss.
To live is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But I believe risks must be taken, because the greatest pitfall in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
They may avoid loss, suffering and hurt, but they miss learning, growing, and truly loving.
Chained by their fear a person who refuses to take risks, misses out on freedom. Only a person who takes risk in life is truly free.
I choose to be a risk taker. I do not want to be someone who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. I want to be free – free to go and love on people no matter how they respond. Free to risk showing love, hope and forgiveness even if I am not shown this in return. Free to reach out to people even if it does risk being rejected. I want to love even if it comes with risk. Who will join me?
The light of God’s love shined within us when he sent his matchless Son into the world so that we might live through him. This is love: He loved us long before we loved him. It was his love, not ours. He proved it by sending his Son to be the pleasing sacrificial offering to take away our sins. Delightfully loved ones, if he loved us with such tremendous love, then “loving one another” should be our way of life. ~1 John 4:9-11
What would the world look like if we all took the risk and truly loved people – all people no matter their color, their political beliefs, spiritual beliefs or their cultural background, the kind of love we as Christians are called to show to all around us? I just wonder. ~OC
The Potter’s Hand
Today’s a new day! This crazy beautiful health journey has taken me from who I was to the person God created me to be. This is not a path I would have willingly chosen for myself or for Laura and our loved ones. Each day this journey gets a little more painful. My body aches almost as much as my heart. I do not get caught up in whether or not this journey was chosen for me. I will leave that debate for others to figure out. I do know I am being shaped by the Potter’s hand. He continues to dig his hands in and squeezes out all the imperfections…. placing me into the fire to seal his skilled handiwork. All the while I continue to put my faith and hope in my Savior’s loving hands… trusting him with my very life. ~OC
What is Greatness?
Today’s a new day! As I scroll through social media and tv, I see so many post about being the greatest. Is this athlete or that athlete The Greatest Of All Time (The G.O.A.T.)? Is that singer or that band the greatest of all time? All this got me to thinking about greatness. What does it really mean? So here are my thoughts about being great.
I think you become great by simply helping others. Sometimes you put yourself last so someone else can experience being first. What are you good at? Are you a cook? Maybe you could make your signature dish for a family that’s struggling. Are you a mechanic? Maybe you could help a single mom or dad get their car fixed. Are you a coach? Maybe you could volunteer your time coaching a local team. Are you retired and still wanting to stay active? Maybe you could become a mentor or help run errands for someone who is homebound. Maybe you’re a regular person who decides to buy a meal for a total stranger at a local restaurant. You do not have to be a millionaire or person of influence to make a difference.
Simply helping people makes you great. Even though that should never be the motivation. Living a life of service changes the lives around you. Doing the little things in life truly make a difference. They give people hope when all hope seems lost. They put a smile on someone’s face who hasn’t smiled in years. They encourage others to look for opportunities to help. To serve. What talents do you have in your hand? Go share them.
Jesus said: “What you do to the least of these…. you do unto me.” (Matthew 25:40).
“Love” is a verb… a doing word.
Think about that for a minute… then look around, find someone that needs a hand. Because we all do. ~OC
Word for 2024
Today’s a new day! We have officially entered 2024. Happy New Year! As we celebrate a new year, I have been praying about what word God would give me for 2024.
While many are uneasy about the year ahead — whether that anxiety stems from family, health, finances issues or the political climate, I am going into the new year with anticipating and excitement. The word God has given me for 2024 is Passion.
As I reflect back on my running days, I attribute much of my success to being passionate about running. Putting in the daily training to be a successful runner was a grind. Most of my runs were filled with pain and discomfort. It would have been easy to give into the pain and give up. But running was not just a hobby for me. No, it was a passion and calling from God. As some of you know, God gave me a vision during surgery in 2003 to remove a cancerous tumor that He wanted me to start running marathons and sharing his love. As I shared earlier, the marathons and training were a grind, but the passion to share all God had done and was doing in my life gave me the desire to push through the pain.
I wholeheartedly believe to be successful in running and more importantly to be successful in life, we need to approach everything with a sense of passion.
I believe it’s difficult to be successful in this journey called life without enthusiasm, energy, dedication and a passion to achieve.
I pray in this new year, we choose to run after the things that are important in life with devotion and a sense of passion to help others and to make planet earth a better place for everyone.
As I continue to run this crazy beautiful health journey, I will stay the course and spread hope, love and encouragement to everyone God brings my way. I pray your 2024 is filled with peace, joy and passion. ~OC
Growing In God
Today’s a new day! As I continue to walk through this crazy beautiful health journey, God continues to share amazing lessons with me. I wanted to share some of those lessons with you.
During times of pain, aches, fear and the brokenness, God has been and continues to stay near (Psalm 34:18).
God continues to teach me the value of slowing down. The importance of saying no. The importance of patience. The importance of truly being present.
The importance of doing one thing at a time. (Because I used to pride myself in multi-tasking, something I am not great at these days).
The importance of being okay with not being okay.
God continues to teach me the importance of being silent.
The importance of excepting help from others. The importance of caring and unselfish family and friends. The importance of genuine friendships. The importance of embracing the miracles of daily courage.
God continues to teach me the importance of pausing long enough to have meaningful and life-giving conversations. The beauty of observing life at a slower pace. The importance of just laughing with loved ones and sometimes shedding some tears.The blessing of having a bride who shows kindness and demonstrates what in sickness and in health really looks like.
God continues to teach me how to be kind and compassionate to others and myself.
Do I want to continue struggling with the effects of my health issues? Absolutely not! Do I want to continue experiencing the goodness of God as I take refuge in Him? Absolutely! (Psalm 34:8)
As we prepare to say goodbye to 2023 and say hello to a New Year, I have no idea what 2024 will bring. None of us do. I want to continue encouraging and serving others. I want to be a better husband and friend. I want to continue to grow. What I do know is that my heart desires to continue praising God at all times; His praise will continually be on my lips this new year. (Psalm 34:1). ~OC
Memories Along the Journey
Today’s a new day! As I have traveled this crazy beautiful health journey, I see things differently than I used to. Some life experiences and hopefully a little wisdom. My physical memory can be a bit tricky with the neurological issues and Long Covid issues, but my heart memory is in great condition. While I often forget day to day things, I am constantly remembering things that are far more important.
I remember the day I met my bride and how life has never been the same since. So many amazing memories.
I remember the beautiful friends God has blessed me with since childhood. So many amazing memories.
I remember that I need to be… want to be…. a man of honor and integrity. Hopefully a man of compassion and generosity. Because one day, I will become a memory in the lives of those that I love and I want those memories to be ones they will cherish.
I remember that the pursuits of this world… fame, fortune, power, position, success (whatever that means)… are not at all important. They’re just not.
I remember that I need to tell Laura and other loved ones every day that I love them. Not just tell them but show them because life is short. I never want to miss an opportunity to let my family and friends know what they mean to me.
This health journey is not an easy one. People often tell me how well I handle all that has been thrown at me, but the journey has not been easy. This journey has been and continues to be filled with tough moments. My health journey has definitely been an inconvenience in so many ways. It is something I would never wish on anyone. But while I continue to walk through the challenges of this health crisis, there are good things that can be taken from it. Lessons learned and hopefully more lessons to come. Some amazing memories made and hopefully many more memories to be made.
As I continue to walk this journey, I will never allow it to consume me. It will never become my identity.
I love the words in Genesis 50:20:
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now – life for many people.
I have an opportunity in front of me that most people rarely get. I have had the opportunity to reclaim life from a place where there is usually death.
That makes me one of the most blessed individuals on earth. ~OC
Hallelujah
Today’s a new day! As I have walked this crazy beautiful health journey for over 20 years, I’ve had a lot of time to think about the journey. These thoughts have been like a blueprint for my journey. A journey that is radically different to the one I envisioned 21 years ago.
When I received my first diagnosis back in 2002, I was told after the shock of the diagnosis I would deal with anger and depression. Those well meaning health professionals were wrong. As crazy as it may sound, I feel like this health journey is quite possibly one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Yes, the journey has not been easy. All the surgeries, treatments and hospital stays have not always been pleasant. It’s not the blueprint I would have written for my life. But it has made me really re-evaluate a lot of the things I once held close. It’s made me appreciate my family and friends so much more and realize that possessions mean nothing when you’re faced with the real possibility of dying. Most importantly, it has made me so very aware that the God I believe in and serve is so much bigger and so much closer to me than I ever could have imagined.
Throughout history God has had many names, one of them being Immanuel, meaning ‘God with us’. I have never known that to be more true than I have the last 21 years and counting. Sometimes I wonder why I was chosen to walk this journey. But then God blesses me with a beautiful interruption and I am reminded that God has a purpose for my journey.
I know that God’s ways are higher than my own and there has been immense good that has come from this crazy beautiful health journey. God has used my health journey to bring me and others closer to Him. To bring encouragement. As I walk through this journey, woven into the fabric of my life has been an understanding of what it means to suffer, and from that understanding has flown love, compassion and mercy.
During this journey, I have continuously leaned on Psalm 139:15-16, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 and Hebrews 13:5. I will let you research those scriptures on your own. While this health journey and everything that has come with it may seem chaotic, I know there is purpose in this crazy journey. Not my purpose, but the purpose of a God who holds the universe in His hands… who knew me from the moment I was conceived in the womb…. who has walked beside me every day of my life. I may not understand everything that has happened along this journey and maybe on this side of Heaven I never will, but I know that whatever happens, God is in control and he has promised he will never leave me or forsake me.
I don’t know about you, but that gives me a tremendous amount of confidence that everything is going to be alright.
Because of God’s goodness I will sing Hallelujah, Hallelujah. Singing Hallelujah because I am living a blessed life. Singing Hallelujah because my bride who loves me and is standing strong with me in this journey. Singing Hallelujah because I have amazing family and friends who continue to stand with Laura and I during this unending journey. Singing Hallelujah because God walks beside me and fights the battle for me. He commands his angels concerning me and they guard me. God is my fortress, my hiding place while the battle rages around me. He stands between me and my health issues that would seek to take my life and says to the sickness “no further… you will not harm him”.
Singing Hallelujah because I am still alive…. and hopefully will be for many years to come.
There are so many reasons to sing Hallelujah…. so many…. and as long as I have a heartbeat you will hear my Hallelujah.
Whatever you see in me that you think is good comes from Heaven.
It’s not my doing…. it’s His. ~OC
The Blessed Overcomer 