Butter on My Toast

     I don't know about you, but at my house when I fix toast I like to spread the butter on it from one edge of the crust to the other in all four directions. That doesn't only apply to my Land "O" Lakes butter, when I add the jelly I want that same coverage. I don't want to deprive any portion of my toast from getting equal treatment, or it might just be that I like my butter and jelly as much as I like the toast!
     As I was buttering my bread this morning, I started thinking about how we should apply our faith in our daily walk. Do we spread our faith to all aspects of life reaching the corners and spreading it consistently, or is it not quite that equitable? If we believe our faith is best used on Sunday then we are missing the boat. Being involved in church, serving as a teacher, sharing your Sunday morning in a role at your place of worship is a wonderful opportunity to serve, but we have to realize the people we are serving in our church are, for the most part, those that already have an understanding of faith and service. That's like spreading a layer of butter on top of a buttered piece of toast. Our opportunity to spread the faith we have lies in the areas of our life outside of the church. That's where the corners of the bread that need the butter exist.
     I'm not saying that we shouldn't be serving in our churches and I certainly am not promoting the idea that we shouldn't be in church, but I am promoting the idea that our life in every aspect should demonstrate our relationship and our faith in our Maker. In Titus 2:7 Paul exhorts us with this directive, "And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching." Let "everything" you do reflect who you are in Christ is what I hear. In my teaching, when I am coaching, when I am driving down the road, at the grocery store, in the middle of a long line, or when I am with a group of friends or colleagues that may not have this type of relationship, may "everything" I do reflect my integrity and trust in Christ. That's what I hear from Paul in this scripture. 
      It's easy to live life as a Christian when we are surrounded by Christians, most of the people in that circle are on the same page as you. But what happens when we get around a group of people that may not know the love of our Savior? I'm not saying you have to start quoting scriptures and condemning others for not believing, no what I am saying is that you should be living your faith out in that setting just like you would on Sunday morning on your pew at church. Your life should be a reflection not a loudspeaker. If you spread your faith to all corners of your life it will become a natural quality in your life, one that others see and eventually inquire of you, "Why are you so happy?" or "Where do you get so much energy?". That's when you will get the true opportunity to share what God has done for you. 
      I don't just spread butter on my bread like that mayo, mustard, ketchup, and even my peanut butter go from one edge to the other. That's what I want my faith to be like in my life. Do I succeed every day in doing that? Come on now, I'm not perfect, matter of fact I'm a long way from it, but I definitely don't want my bread to have a big clump of butter sitting in the middle of my piece of toast. I want to taste my butter and jelly with each bite I take, so I work hard on spreading it all across my toast. May God give me and the strength to do the same in my life each day that he gives me to live. This is my prayer for each of you as well.
Spread it thick and spread it wide!
Coach Carter

"You're Not Off the Hook Just Because..."

       
     Good morning! What a gift it is to wake up, get up, and get out! You have been given this day on purpose, so what are you going to do with it? Last week our thought for the week was centered on the concept that you were not born accidentally and within that plan each of us has a purpose to fulfill. Hence "you were born on purpose for a purpose". As I went through the week, I started thinking about those that read the blog and thought to themselves, "I hope others find their purpose, because I have found mine and I am living it right now." That's great, but just like the children's book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie", if you give Chuck a purpose he's going to want to extend it and expand it! Guess what, just because you feel like you have found your purpose in life, or maybe you met a need years ago and you feel like you fulfilled your purpose back then, you're not off the hook. Our purpose is multi-faceted, it is ongoing, it is continual and it is our job to keep looking for ways to fulfill our purpose over and over again.
      It's easy to sit back and say, I have found my life's purpose and all I need to do now is put this thing on cruise control and just keep on doing what I am doing. I don't want to live my life that way. I'm not content sitting down, and I'm not comfortable thinking I don't have things to accomplish and work to complete.
      I have set goals, I have reached goals, but the key to that is you can't stop after you reach your goal in life, you have to set new ones. Graduating college was a goal, becoming a teacher was a milestone, finishing my graduate degrees was a dream, and becoming a principal may have been viewed as reaching a pinnacle, but as much as I loved my position as an administrative leader I didn't feel like I could place a period on this life I'm fortunate enough to be living. At each step along my professional journey I feel like I have fulfilled a purpose I certainly feel like I am currently in a position to help others which is what a servant leader does. I could have very well convinced myself that I was right where I was supposed to be and just kept right on doing what I was doing at an earlier juncture of life, but I don't think we were made to just sit still, you know that whole idea of perpetual motion.
     If you are doing something good then by golly it's time you spread it and extend it. If your purpose in life is leadership then you should increase your capacity to lead and the number of people you lead.  Once you decide to extend your purpose in life, leadership in this example, then you need to hone your skill set. Further your education, volunteer to serve so you can become more of a servant leader, or seek out an idea and move it from the planning table to the implementation platform. If you want to lead it's hard to do it sitting still.
     Servant leadership is what my purpose in life centers around, take the above template for extending my leadership and replace it with what you think is your purpose in life. Teaching, sharing, giving, caring, helping, whatever it is you have a purpose that you are fulfilling. Know how can you extend your reach? What can you do that will impact more people in a positive manner? What can you do to move from the stationary bike to the mountain bike? Boats weren't built to sit in the harbor!
     If you have found your purpose in life that is awesome. Just don't think you're off the hook because you feel like you found your purpose and now you're just living the dream. If you have found your purpose it's about time you start looking for ways to expand it and impact more people with your gifts and talents. Life isn't about getting a trophy and sitting it on the shelf to admire, rather it's more like obtaining a match and after striking it, you set a small patch of tinder on fire, which in turn lights some twigs, and from there ignites a bonfire. Don't ever get complacent and don't ever think you are done! Light a fire and let it shine! "Let your light shine in front of men. Then they will see the good things you do and will honor your Father Who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16 
As in all things, to God be the glory. Amen.
Coach Carter

On Purpose for a Purpose

     "You were born on purpose, with a purpose". I was driving to church one Sunday morning and I heard Pastor Ray Sweet make that proclamation. If that is true then each of us, all of us, have a purpose that we are to fulfill in our lives. I'll carry that one out even further, I believe that the "purpose" you were created for may not just be a one day event in our lives, but instead your purpose carries forward until the day you leave this world. Hopefully, if you planted enough positive seeds along the way, your purpose may very well continue to impact others for generations to come. Why your purpose could actually change the course of history and you may never even see it come to fruition or you may not ever make the connection to the change that you imparted along the way. It doesn't matter if you do or if you don't, it only matters that you understand that you are not here on this rock just breathing in oxygen, waiting until it is your time to check out to the other side. You were born on purpose, with a purpose.
      What is your purpose? How do you know that you are fulfilling your purpose? What happens if I don't fulfill my purpose? The answers to these questions may seem foreign or distant to you, but in all honesty the answers are readily available. Your purpose in life is found wherever you are at that moment in time. Whatever you are doing right now, your purpose can be fulfilled. Your life matters right now, and it is up to you to live your life to the fullest, making the biggest impact possible while you are here on God's earth!
     Some people will say, what I do doesn't really matter, or how can I make a difference I'm just a ..... That's the fallacy, the point that you have to understand is your life has meaning you just have to live it. Matthew 5:15 tells us that "Men do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. They put it on a table so it gives light to all in the house." Until you grasp the understanding that your life matters it's like you are taking your purpose and hiding it under a basket. Why would God create a light and then hide it under a basket? He wouldn't, God created you for a reason, now it's your job to seek that reason out and keep seeking it until the day you die!
      Whatever your job is, whatever your role in life is, you have a purpose. You may be working in a job that you would say doesn't really matter and that you could be replaced by the next person that walks through the door. You may believe that your purpose in life can't be fulfilled due to some type of health or physical circumstance. You may have caused so much hurt and pain that you can't envision the possibility that you could have a purpose for good, but in all of these situations understand this you have a purpose. You can be that light to someone today.
     Paul was a persecutor of Christians before he found his purpose. Paul was afflicted with intense pain in his side to the point that he asked God to take it away three different times, only to finally realize it was in his weakness that God made him strong. When Paul was a prisoner he converted the jailer that was watching over him. Paul found the secret. God can use you, wants to use you, and has a plan for you to fulfill. You just have to fulfill it.
     Don't ever think that your life doesn't matter. That is a lie that so many people have chosen to believe and that lie has devastated too many homes, families, and individual lives. Keep in mind, if you have a purpose and you don't fulfill it, the trajectory of other lives will be dramatically altered. The choices you make, the actions you take will send others going up, or unfortunately going down. Be the light you were born to be. Wherever you are, wherever life finds you today, seek to fulfill your purpose to the utmost. If you don't feel like you are fulfilling your purpose seek out what you feel is your true destiny in this life you are living. Your life matters! Live it.
Coach Carter

The Gift That Keeps Giving

     
This one touched my heart and I just had to share it. I feel fortunate that our daughter Rae made the decision to be an educator because this profession provides a tremendous opportunity to serve. Those of us that are called "teacher" get the chance to touch lives everyday and in turn we hope that our students go out into the world and do that very same thing, help others. Well, this past week one of her students reinforced a valuable lesson to Rae, and in the mix, gave me a wonderful reminder to share with each of you.
      Each year our middle schools plan "day games" which allow the student body a chance to see their team in action. Many students wouldn't get a chance to come back to an after- hours event or travel to an away match at a different field or school. So, this past week offered a day volleyball match at Rae's school. Students pay a nominal $1.00 fee to attend the match and then to make the event a more realistic experience the concession stand opens allowing students to purchase sweet and salty treats for the sporting event. There's nothing like a bag of popcorn and a sugary treat to make the spectator experience complete. That's where this story begins.
     From this point, I will be recanting the story as it was shared with me by my lovely daughter and amazing teacher, Mrs. Rachel Newsom. "After the students had filed into the gym and found their seats along the bleachers the game started and the kids were really into it. One particular student, "Jimmy", was sitting beside me on the bleachers. When the game started the window to the concession stand popped open and there on display were all kinds of brightly packaged candies, chocolates, and sweet fizzy sodas. Jimmy was so excited when he saw the brightly packaged candy, he was almost clapping his hands in excitement over the candy store that was on display. Students that brought money from home were dismissed by row to visit the concession stand and when it got to our class, who do you think was the only kid to not get up to visit the concession stand? Jimmy. Well I don't carry cash around hardly at all, but I had stuck a dollar in my back pocket just in case I decided to get a drink or something. So, I pulled the dollar out and told Jimmy to come over to me. I handed him the dollar and told him to go get him something. You would have thought I had given him a hundred-dollar bill! He said thank you and hurried over to the concession stand to take his place in line." Being Mrs. Newsom's father, that alone made me proud, but honestly, she was just doing what she was supposed to do. This story isn't about my daughter doing the right thing, but as the legendary radio announcer Paul Harvey always said, "Now, here's the rest of the story".
     Mrs. Newsom continued. "When Jimmy reached the front of the line, he asked the staff members working in the concession stand what was the item he could get the most of with his dollar. He was informed that there was one particular candy that cost .25 cents each and he could get four of those. Decidedly, that was the item that Jimmy chose. I was thinking well that was getting the most out of the dollar I had given him, but then what happened next blew me away. As Jimmy made his way back up the bleachers, Jimmy stopped and gave a piece of candy to three other classmates from other classes that had not gone to the concession stand either! He came back to his seat and opened the last treat he had purchased and began watching the volleyball match, just like nothing had happened out of the ordinary."
     Wow, I was blown away with the story Rachel had just shared with me and I really didn't know what to say or what to do at this point, but I did know that "Jimmy" is one special young man! I still don't know exactly what I'm going to do, but what I do know is that this 11year old boy had inadvertently given me a gift through the story Rachel shared about his compassionate, giving heart. You see the seed I planted in Rachel's heart to always look out for others, led to the gift of $1.00 to an economically disadvantaged student to buy a piece of candy, which ultimately resulted in not one student receiving a gift, but instead four students benefited from "Jimmy's" giving heart. From there I received the gift that Jimmy gave me through Rae's story. His gift to me, unbeknownst to him, is one of the compassionate, giving spirit that we pray exists in each of our hearts. His gift of a twenty-five cent piece of candy, makes me want to do something for "Jimmy". Obviously, we all know "Jimmy" isn't this young man's name and obviously it doesn't really matter what his or her name really is. What matters is that we identify that this simple act of giving is relevant and important in developing society. This simple act of selflessness should be recognized, it should be respected, and it should be multiplied. I plan on doing something for this young man. I haven't decided exactly what, but I'm thinking that I want this year to include a special visit from Saint Nick??
      In closing today, I don't want to fail to give credit to the ultimate gift that was given to each of us some time ago, a gift that is still giving, and is readily available to each of us. John 3:16 tells me that God gave His Son to us, to live among us, and teach us how to treat our fellow man, and then being the example He is, Jesus gave us the gift of eternal life by dying on the cross as payment for our sins. That gift is yours today, take it just like you would a piece of candy from a sixth-grade student, and then give it to as many people as you have a chance to give. That is truly the gift that will keep on giving.
Coach Carter

The Waiting Game

       
Waiting is an art. Skillfully waiting on your wife while she shops, is a task that many husbands have not been able to master to date, I would be chief among them! As a child, I remember laying down in bed on Christmas Eve, waiting for what seemed like eternity for the visit from "Old Saint Nick", which would magically produce a plethora of shiny new toys, games, and yes even some socks or underwear! Waiting in line at a restaurant can at times feel like your name just keeps getting bumped to the bottom of the list and the prospects of having dinner appear bleak at best. Yes, waiting can be challenging, yet it doesn't have to be about "wasted" time, waiting can and should be a productive experience that builds your character and actually benefits us during what many people would deem "down time". I am resolved that two types of waiting, quietly and actively waiting are not only productive, but also necessary to becoming the person you want to become.
      In Otis Redding's classic hit "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" the crooner tells a story about a man who is just sitting on the dock of the bay, wasting time, watching the tide roll away. Great song, just never really thought about how sad it is that the subject of the song is just sitting around feeling like all he is doing is basically watching his life fade away just like the tiny remnants of a wave that are pulled back into the ocean by the forces of the tide. How sad that anyone would just sit around waiting for something to happen in their life that would change the trajectory of someone's purpose in life. I believe there are a variety of different types of waiting ranging from impatiently pounding on the table wanting to be served waiting, all the way to the other end of the spectrum of hopelessly waiting for the tide to roll out to sea one more time. But, between those two ends of the spectrum there are two types of waiting that can be productive and also beneficial to understanding who we are and what our life's purpose is meant to be.
     The first type of waiting is quietly waiting. When we quietly wait, we ask for something through prayer and then we move forward accepting that God's plan for our life and those we may be praying for is bigger than anything we can even come close to imagining. For example, you may have a loved one that is lost to an addiction and you just want that situation to be fixed. Snap of the fingers fixed. Impossible? Absolutely not. Likely? Possible? I don't have the guaranteed answer to that, but I do know that if we ask and then we trust that God is real, God hears our prayers, and that God has a master plan for anything and everything that happens in life, then we can patiently wait in faith and our mind finds a peace that is not possible without God. So many of us have it in our heads that God is our servant. If we ask Him to do something He should hop to it and it should be done. Sorry, but that's not how it works. Actually, God has given us a list of things to do in the Bible and telling Him how to do His job isn't on that list! The Bible is clear in it's directions “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8. Asking means we are asking in accordance with His will, so don't think just because we pray we are in accordance with His will, that only happens when we spend time with God studying His word, learning His ways, and then living in accordance with His will. That is the true definition of patiently waiting. But what about seeking and knocking what types of waiting would that qualify as you ask? Those are what I have labeled as "actively waiting".
     How is it possible to be active and be waiting at the same time? Actively waiting is more about praying, hoping, and trusting, but not sitting around expecting. Hope and expectancy are different. You can expect certain things to happen because the variables that need to occur are in place for something to happen. An example of this is we can expect that each day we are going to experience a sunrise and a sunset. We expect it and we can wait around on the dock of the bay waiting for it to happen each day. It's pretty much a given, the variables necessary for that event to transpire are in place. On the other hand, we ask for something and then we hope that it happens. We have faith that if we pray in accordance with God's plan everything will work out exactly the way that it is supposed to work out and it is our job to move forward with life, working, trusting, and believing that God's plan is in action. It is our job to do all we can to make sure we are part of His plan to benefit those we are praying for and as a result benefit ourselves as well. 
      Things may work out exactly the way we have prayed and asked, or the outcome may look nothing like what we in our human capacity prayed, but if we are asking, then seeking, and actively knocking on life's door of opportunity we will find that it isn't us that is waiting on God to intervene, but instead it is God who is waiting on us to get up and get out there doing all we can for Him! Don't get caught waiting on things to change in your life, you were made exactly for this moment in time and this place that you are currently situated. Get out and do something!

Coach Carter