Defining True “JOY”

     Joy, what does it mean to experience "joy" in your life? How does joy make life better? Where does this sense of joy come from and how do we receive it? Those questions are the basis of our time together today in this week's Flat Tire Ministries Thought for the Week.
     Well the textbook definition of joy goes something like this, "Joy- A feeling of great pleasure or happiness." Like in the context of "we felt great joy at the birth of our child." An event like that should cause joy in our lives and there is nothing wrong with that emotional rush and it does exemplify the textbook meaning of the word joy. The definition of joy I'm talking about is much deeper and does not fit the category of an emotion. The joy I want to share with you today is a state of being, a way of life, a perspective that changes your outlook on who you are and what your purpose in life is all about.
     The true definition of "Joy" is best summed up in an acronym for the word that a dear friend of mine, Pastor Rick Bradbury, shared with me several years ago. For Rick the word JOY stands for J- Jesus first, O- others second, and Y- yourself last. Now the whole premise of the FTM "Thought" for the Week is to provoke thoughts or thinking about what we share in this blog each week. If all you do is read the words, close the page, and then just move along with your week, then my intent has not been reached yet. What I'm getting at is have you ever asked yourself "What brings true joy to my life?" Not just happiness that is birthed in an outcome of an event, and not momentary bliss created by the feeling that everything is going your way. On the contrary, the true meaning of joy that I hope you are tapped into has very little to do with self and a great deal to do with everyone else that you come in contact with each day.
      The "J" represents Jesus. Placing your faith in first position in your life is the quickest way to experience true JOY. "I believe" you say, "I go to church", "I listen to inspirational music", I,I, I you say. It isn't about you, when you find true joy in Christ it becomes all about Him. You spend time in prayer, you seek his plans for your life in service to Him. You seek to share His message with others, and you trust in Him that regardless of whether or not what is happening in your life right now feels good or not it is His will for your life at this time in your life. Honestly, it becomes more like His life being lived in you and through you. That my friend is the first step in understanding the true meaning of JOY.
      "O" stands for others. Once you have placed your life in the hands of your Creator, it is imperative that you realize that life isn't about what God can do for you, but instead it is all about what you can do for others in the name of our Lord and Savior. This places a whole new perspective on what you do each day. Now you aren't going to work just because that is what you are supposed to do, but instead now you go to work to impact the lives of those that you work with, the loved ones in your life, and all of the other people in the world that will ultimately be impacted by the influence of your work. Remember delayed gratification from last week's post? That's what I'm talking about here. Your life has a purpose and that purpose is directly related to how many people your life can have an impact on during the time you have on this big, old rock called earth. It is too easy to sit around complaining about how bad we have it, or make excuses about why we can't or don't reach out to help somebody else that has more needs than we do. When we begin to put others in front of our own wants in life, we begin to experience the JOY of giving. Remember the carpenter from Nazareth? He gave His life for all of us, even when the very people He suffered for hung Him on a cross. What sacrifices are you making in your life to receive JOY?
     Lastly comes the "Y" yourself. This one is easy, yet so hard for us to grasp. We want everything to go our way, "what's in it for me?" we too often ask. When you focus on yourself your vision gets blurred to the point that you are incapable of experiencing true JOY. When you place yourself first everything in your life comes back to how much pleasure you get out of the experience. In your mind you may be thinking, " I do stuff all the time for others". True you may, but is it done out a sense of commitment or obligation, which would ultimately come back to fulfilling the needs of self, or do you sacrifice your time, energy, and resources for the benefit of others without feeling like you had to do whatever it was you just did?
      The sounds of Christmas are quickly filling the airwaves and broadcasts of stores, malls, homes, and radio stations across the world. It is almost certain that at some point in the next month you will hear the Christmas carol, "Joy to the World" playing in the background of a venue you are visiting. When you hear that song take a moment to ask yourself the following questions. First, how am I putting Jesus first in my life each day? Not only during the holiday, but everyday. How do you go about the business of sharing His good news and living His life through your own? Second, how are the lives of others impacted by what I do each day? Do I only do my job because it is what is expected of me, or do I understand that everything I do will impact positively or negatively the lives of countless others. Your choices have an impact on others directly or ultimately indirectly. And then finally yourself. In what ways do you sacrifice of yourself without expecting something in return? At work, in your family, at your church, or wherever you donate your time, energy, and abilities is it for you to feel good about it or is it done out of complete sacrifice of self to benefit others and glorify Jesus.
     Once you experience the true meaning of JOY life takes on a completely different definition. Happiness will not just come when you receive a gift or things happen to go your way, but instead your life will be filled with the true JOY of giving instead of receiving.
"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Acts 20:35 
JOY to the World!
Coach Carter

 

Delayed Gratification

     A comedian writes a joke and then after careful practice on the delivery of the joke and the inevitable punch line he or she might try it out on some friends or on a small audience. If the joke isn't met with an instant laugh, then that joke may never be used in the comedian's routine. Comedians aren't into the business of getting laughs later, they need that instant response of laughter because their livelihood depends on it. It doesn't help very much if a silent audience goes home and eventually chuckles to themselves. No the measure of their success is dependent on what we could label as instant gratification.
     Now on the other end of the career spectrum is the job of the farmer. The farmer goes out to the field, prepares the ground, disperses the seeds in the prepared rows, covers the seeds, waters the soil, and then the hard work begins. Week upon week, sometimes month upon month, and in the case of plants such as fruit trees we might even be talking about year upon year the farmer must nurture the plant until it reaches maturity and produces the fruit that it was intended to provide. Without the efforts of the farmer and his or her commitment to the process of nurturing the seed until it becomes what it was intended to be, the outcome of the fruit may never come to "fruition". (Pun intended) The sower of the seeds has to have a different type of mindset, for the farmer it can't be about planting the seed and then instantly hearing the crowd roar with laughter as the comedian requires. Instead the farmer understands that if the seed isn't planted the crop won't grow, and if the crop doesn't grow it is a direct reflection on the farmer who didn't carry out his or her purpose in life. A farmer understands that planting seeds is only a part of the process, a sower of seeds grasps the belief that farming much like life is all about delayed gratification.
     In your life to which mindset do you adhere? Do you expect to see instant results for the "behind the scenes" work you do? When that doesn't happen are you dejected or even worse do you ask yourself "Why do I even bother to try to help?" In education understanding the concept of delayed gratification is critically important. (By the way, I am blessed to be in the profession of teaching, but in reality each of us are teachers. You teach your sons and daughters right and wrong as they grow, you teach your co-workers how to handle conflict or pressure each day on the job, and you teach family and friends what it means to never give up through your dedicated commitment to see life through. Just so you never forget it, YOU are a teacher. I just wanted to make sure that was clear. Now back to our message.)
     Whatever we do as teachers it is so important to understand the concept of delayed gratification. So many times, and I am guilty of this as much as the next classroom teacher, thoughts of "what's the use?" creep into our minds. We work so hard to teach our students the skills they will need to be successful in life both academically and also socially, but it seems like at times we are talking to the proverbial brick wall. Students, family members, and even our co-workers make mistakes or go down paths that we definitely taught them not to travel, yet there they go down that slippery slope and we think "Well I guess I wasted my time there, what's the use?" We watch as the lessons we taught and the skills we shared are tossed to the side and life goes sideways for those we have invested our time and commitment. You may actually feel like a failure at that moment, but I want to tell you that your work has just begun.
      Just as the farmer plants the seeds and then begins the process of pulling the weeds that want to choke out or steal the nourishment of the plant, watering and fertilizing the soil so that when the plant needs support and can't get it on it's own the plant has what it needs, or in the case of a tree the farmer waits, and waits and is required to maintain faith that the small seed that was planted in the ground years ago will eventually grow into a tree. A tree that bears much fruit or provides shade and comfort for those that find themselves under it's branches. We are tasked to do the exact same thing in life. We provide the knowledge and skills, we invest in the nurturing of those skills, and then at the end of the day we must have faith and place our trust in the knowledge that we have done exactly what we have been called to do. From there we pray and hold on to our faith that God has a plan for each of our lives and His plan will be fulfilled.
     I would like to end our Flat Tire Ministries Thought today with a story that a dear friend of mine, Ricky Witt, told me not too long ago. A young preacher, eager to go out and save the world felt led by the Lord to hold a revival. He could feel the direction from above so much that he kept hearing the number "100" over and over to the conclusion that the results of this revival would be 100 people saved. The enthusiastic preacher went about the business of conducting his revival, put his complete effort into the preparation of messages and when the actual event took place he left nothing on the table bearing his heart and soul to the the attendees. The crowd was there, yet at the end of the event one lone soul came forward to be saved. Joy for the one soul, yet heartbroken for the 99 others that did not help him reach what he had been certain was a message from above. Undaunted and committed, the young minister went on to become a successful preacher and ultimately later in life his travels brought him back through the little town where it all began several years ago. Driving down the familiar streets of his past he happened upon a lake baptism with a considerable crowd gathered around. Intrigued, the elder pastor decided to stop by and join in with the fellowship. As he approached the lake, a young pastor emerged from the lake and  hurriedly made his way up to the new guest. When the two met the young preacher reached out his hand and proclaimed to his new visitor, " I bet you don't remember me?" The passerby looked into his eyes and saw a glean that was both telling and memorable. "Well, I'll just tell you, several years ago you held a revival here and I got saved that day. After high school, I made the decision to go to seminary and become a preacher myself. When I finished I came back here and started my own church. Today, we are baptizing our 99th new member to our church!"
     As I retell this story to you, tears well up in my eyes. Delayed gratification, plant a seed today and don't ever stop believing!
"So let us not grow weary of doing what is good; for if we don't give up, we will in due time reap the harvest." Galatians 6:9

"A Round-To-It"

     On a shelf in my office I have several pieces of memorabilia that have a specific memory attached to each and in most cases a story with a moral or lesson I have learned down through the years. One of those lesson building tools is a little round rock with the word "to-it" written on both sides. This is my very own "round to it" rock, as in the phrase "I'll do it when I get around to it". Having "a round to it" provides me with a reminder that I don't have an excuse for putting off what I need to do, and it also motivates me to keep my priorities in order through the perspective of what really matters in life.
     About a month ago I wrote a prayer that speaks to the importance of being productive every day, but also reminds me to put first things first each day as well. For today's FTM Thought I'd like to share this prayer.
"Lord my God, so many things I want to do today. I go through a list in my head and I prioritize all I want to accomplish, but in my hurry I realize that before I turn to do any of those things I need to stop and first thank You for the gift of this day. Another day that I was never promised to have, a gift to cherish. If I only bask in in for a moment, Lord let that moment be intentional and real. Lord let me admire the beauty of nature the sights, sounds, and scents that fill me each day. Father when I stop, when I take a deep breath, I suddenly put things into the perspective of what is real and what is important. Father by doing this my priorities start coming to mind, and I begin to think, "Oh I wish my son could be here to share in this moment" or I realize that the beauty of Your creation needs more of my attention and I decide to go for a  "thankful" walk or paddle on the water. Father in all I do may I always place You first, may I never take for granted the beauty and magnificence of the gift of life that abounds around us and in us. Father I have no clue where I would be without You in my life, but I do know that with You in my life I am a child of God, a forgiven sinner,  and a reborn servant of Christ. Lord show me Your way each day I pray. Amen"
     So many times our days are mapped out for us before we hardly touch the floor with our feet. Before we get so caught up in what we have to do, we need to stop and take care of what should be our first priority of the day. If we will only stop and give thanks for the day, our days won't seem so packed because then we remember our purpose for the list of things we have to do that day. Don't wait until you get "a round to it" before you give thanks for this day, make it your top priority each day! You have a purpose fulfill it!

"This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

 

"Don't" STOP

     I've added some distance to my morning runs and in doing so I now have a loop that is included in the trail. Early in the run there is a gradual incline that quickly gets my attention and definitely elevates my heart rate. There's a stop sign at the top of the hill and I use it as a visual marker reminding me that I've almost reached the end of the uphill challenge. I'm fresh and the graduated challenge sets the stage for my morning run. On the latter part of the loop as I make it around to the incline the grade includes a much steeper portion of the roadway and the peak of the hill, at times, resembles Mt. Kilimanjaro in my mind (and my legs, lungs, and heart as well) if you know what I mean. Well on Thursday I had a light bulb go off in my mind off as I made my ascent on the hill. The landmark that I am always seeking as I jaunt upwardly is that big, red STOP sign. Wow, what a subliminal message to a runner trying to reach a goal! Here I am digging in, wrestling against my body and lungs, fighting the urge to STOP and walk, and all along my eyes are set on a sign designed to make us physically STOP! What a mental battle my brain must have been going through! I had to almost laugh at the juxtaposition the whole scenario created.
     This episode in exercise set my mind to thinking about our Flat Tire Ministry Thoughts and how this just had to be a thought to share. You see in life we face so many uphill challenges or "trails" of adversity and in the world there are definitely more STOP signs surrounding us than there are signs that read, FULL SPEED AHEAD! When you face your own Mt. Kilimanjaro in life what keeps you going? What strength do you pull from to keep pushing and overcome the peak of the mountain you are climbing? In life's struggles I have found my strength to continue the race, to climb that mountain, to overcome the obstacle in front of me through my relationship with God and my faith in His promise "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6.
     "It isn't as easy as that sounds",  I hear you shouting out there! And I'm shouting back, "Yeah I know it I've climbed my share of mountains and I expect (hope) I have many more ascents as I move forward in life." We don't reach a destination unless we travel the road that lies in front of us. Whatever event you are dealing with in life, heck it may be three or four mountains in your life, you may have a whole mountain range to overcome, remember you are not alone in your climb. We have a comfort, a constant reminder that we are designed to be over-comers and we were created to finish the course not STOP before we reach our goals or purpose in life. 
     Whatever you are dealing with that you would label your insurmountable life event I understand it is hard to not listen to the  STOP signs in your life. In my book "How to Fix a Flat Tire" (not published yet), I talk about the "Six Deadly D's" drugs, disease, divorce, debt, depression, and death. That is not an all inclusive list, but in most cases what you are dealing with is somehow connected to one of these. You can't listen to the world that is telling you to STOP. Just as when I was running the big, red sign in front of me was yelling at me "STOP, it's okay, STOP, nobody will know, STOP nobody will care!, STOP you don't have to keep going!" Does any of that sound familiar? If so you my friend are listening to the wrong voice!
     As I dug in and start fighting the urge to do just as the red, octagon shaped sign bids me to do, I heard a voice in my head adding the words "Don't stop, Don't quit. Don't listen to the world, Don't STOP! That is when I got my second wind, that is when I no longer saw STOP, I now saw the sign as a motivation, an inspiration of sorts. My energy renewed and my resolve set the remaining distance to the top of the hill was energized by the small, still voice in my mind telling me  "DON'T STOP!"
     And that is what makes the difference. I have a faith, a trust, a hope that my Lord and Savior has a plan for my life. It more than likely is not the plan I would create, because in my plans I wouldn't input struggles, adversities, or afflictions I'm only human! I am certain there is a plan for each of us on this big rock and it is our job to do all we can to fulfill it, because what we have to realize and understand is that "our" plan isn't about us, it's all about what He can do through us for others through His plan for our life. In other words I don't quit because I know that His plan needs me to do what I have been created to do for His glory and the benefit of the others my life's plan will impact. That is why I run my course and don't give up, that is why when I am faced with life's challenges I don't quit, and that is why I am encouraged to stay the course and never listen to the world when it tells me I should STOP, give up, or quit. When I hear those words they are no longer alone, for me they are always accompanied by the words Don't STOP, never give up, and never quit! 
     As this new week kicks off I challenge you to fight the urge to quit or give up on something you are dealing with in your own "run". When the world tells you to stop running the race, place the word "don't" in front of the sentence and let it resonate in your mind, "Don't stop running the race!" Just as  Hebrews 12:1 encourages and cheers each of us on towards our purpose in life we have a hill to climb so let's get to it!
 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." Hebrews 12:1
Have an amazing week, someone is counting on it! 
Coach Carter