Start Small

     
Today's title for our Flat Tire Ministries Thought is more of a suggestion than it is a title. Whatever you endeavor to accomplish I have found that probably the best policy to follow is just that, "Start Small". This has been a life lesson for me in some instances and in others more of an "Aha" moment. Regardless of the situation or eventual outcome this two word piece of advice is one that can guide you and potentially save you a great deal of hardship (personal point taken) along the way.
     Almost ten years ago I had an opportunity to take that piece of advice from my very own daughter, but unfortunately, being the seasoned businessman that I was, I thought with my experience and success I couldn't possibly take advice from my then 20 year- old sage. Our story is probably one for another day, but it will suffice to say that my idea of opening a full-scale restaurant in a big way didn't work out the way I envisioned it and Rae's stinging advice to start out small resonated well throughout this last decade. I failed to look back at our success in our market/deli and how it all started with a steam hot dog machine, a small pot for chili, and a stalk of bologna with sandwich bread. That simple beginning morphed over time to eventually become a full- scale deli with a flat top grill, hood system, deep fryer, and several cooks and support staff. That all happened over a thirty- year period and the Dill Pickle Deli was created about 20 years into that time frame. We definitely followed the start small principle. With our Dill Pickle Cafe & Coffee Shop, the idea, concept, construction, opening, and eventual closing all took place in less than one year. Let me just say that business plan was one headed for failure before the concept hit the paper on which it was written.
     Fortunately for me and my family, I'm not one to give up nor am I one to quit so that chapter of my life has just served as motivation to keep on keeping on and striving to grow and thrive from that experience. Actually, that period of my life is where the idea of Flat Tire Ministries and my book "How to Fix a Flat Tire" were birthed. Alas, I digress!
     The principle of starting small isn't just a smart move in business, think of all the other areas of your life where starting out with baby steps makes a great deal of sense. Dieting is an area where going cold turkey on eating or crashing on a "lose 20 pounds in 20 days" diet sounds like an awesome offer, but as many of us could testify, most diets that make promises like that are short term in duration and flat lined in success rates. Exercising is another area to consider this advice. Day one run, walk, or crawl 10 miles and see how long you stay at that? Hit the gym and spend about an hour on multiple sets with 8 to 10 reps and in about three days not only will you be unable to move, but your desire to continue at that pace will make a fast exit out the gym door.
    The list goes on and on and the significance of this "start small" principle consistently applies and if followed could have a tremendous impact on your life. Relationships, purchases both small and major like a house, and even your walk of faith need to be seasoned with a certain amount of the start small philosophy. What does it mean to start small in the area of faith? Aren't we required to go all out and give up everything if we turn our lives over to God? Well that one on the surface is an easy one to provide an answer, but I would suggest we follow this rule of thumb in our walk with God as well.
      What does starting out small with God look like? The most critical aspect of our relationship with God is as simple as ABC. You must ACCEPT who God is. Our Creator and our Omnipotent Savior is a good reference point for this. Then we must BELIEVE that God allowed His Son Jesus to die for our sins. Once we have confirmed the first two then it is on us to CONFESS that we are sinners and we want to be forgiven of our sins. That is where it all begins. That is a small start to a big relationship that can only occur over a period of time spent in prayer, study, and an unrelenting pursuit of understanding what God's plan is for your life. Like I said that doesn't happen overnight and it sure doesn't magically appear when we complete the ABC steps listed above.
     I don't want to make simple the ABC's of starting small in our faith. Accepting, Believing, and Confessing are three huge steps that begin the process of living our lives for Christ, but just as with so many of the examples listed above, those that come in on a huge wave many times crash on the beach before they have mastered the art of surfing. I cannot think of any other matter that is more important and relevant to your daily walk of life. Heed the words of Paul in Romans 10:9-13
 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Starting small may seem like a slow process to reach our goals in life, but by heeding that simple piece of advice and then being consistent and diligent in our pursuit of that goal we will not only increase our potential for success, but we will also become deeply and personally connected to the goal we so desire to reach!
Have an amazing week!
Coach Carter 

The End of the Beginning

       Happy Easter! Today, we are celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For those that participated in his persecution, conviction, and ultimately had a hand in His death, the crucifixion signaled the end to what they considered to be a brief chapter in history. Of course, as we know that isn't the full story and his death on the cross definitely wasn't the end of the story. I actually read a quote once that summed up nicely the experience of what actually occurred on Calvary's Cross the day Jesus was crucified. In Stuart Briscoe's Daily Study Bible, Briscoe makes a profound commentary that resonates well with the play on words that he engages. His proclamation reads, "It was not the end, nor it wasn't even the beginning of the end. The death of Jesus on the cross was the end of the beginning and set the stage for all that has happened since that day and what you and I are or should be doing today to advance His kingdom." To the Romans, Pharisees, and other non-believers of the day when Jesus breathed his last words, "It is finished" that is exactly what He was proclaiming the end of the beginning had begun!
      To some death signals an end to life, to those that believe the death of Jesus does not signal an end, but actually a beginning for a chance to receive life eternal. Death on the cross was the starting pistol for your life's journey to have meaning and purpose. What happened over 2,000 years ago outside of the city of Jerusalem is comparable to what could be called "the shot that was heard around the world". Because God allowed His son to die for our sins, mankind can now make the personal choice to live eternally! No other gift exists that could be more precious and priceless.
     As you go about your day today, hiding eggs, sitting down to an Easter meal, or maybe when the chocolate bunnies and peanut butter eggs are being gobbled up, stop for just a moment and think about the actual gift that the Easter holiday signifies. To sacrifice His life so that we might receive forgiveness and salvation from our sins, and then for us to ultimately receive life eternal in Heaven if only we will believe and follow God is a gift I am thankful for and will never forget. For those that participated in the death of Jesus, they thought His death would end what Jesus had started. The death of Christ on the cross should have put an end to the message that He was the messiah, that He had been sent by God to teach mankind how to live in accordance with His father's commands. What man intended to end, God had planned since the beginning of time for a beginning. God's plan is fulfilled in this short scene from the Book of Life.
      Did Jesus die on the cross? Yes. Was that the end that was being sought through his death? No. The cross is a symbol of life. We see the cross and are reminded that Jesus rose from the grave, that He ascended to heaven where He sits at His father's right hand, and if we receive His offer of life eternal we too are promised a life eternal. Does that sound like an end to a story? I don't think so. To me it sounds like the event that signaled the end to the beginning of the story and that story lives on today in the hearts and minds of those that believe and live their lives with a commitment to fulfill God's plan for the life He has given us to live. You are tasked with writing the next chapter in this ongoing saga that Jesus has produced and published. The question is what will your chapter say? What will you do to add to the story of life? I choose to continue God's story and serve Him wholeheartedly! Just give me Jesus!
He Lives!!
Coach Carter

Plant a Seed, Nuture a Tree

     
I recently ran into one of my former students from my days as an elementary school principal, and that encounter has provided the subject for our FTM Thought for this week. I spent nine years at Union Heights, some of the most rewarding years in my educational career, and during those years I saw the incredible significance of and critical roles our elementary school teachers play in the development of our children. It is safe to say that from the time a child enters elementary Pre-K or Kindergarten and then leaves as a rising middle schooler the change is unbelievable. Just the physical changes alone are mind blowing, but add to that the knowledge gained and breadth of experiences encountered through those formative years and you have the makings of a future leader in our community!
     Well such is the case with my former student Nicholas. Nick is currently a 7th grader at one of our local middle schools where I recently found myself assisting with lunch duty. When I happened upon Nick, now almost standing eye to eye with me, I was reminded of a story that involved Nick and a little seed from a slice of an orange. Nick is a born and raised farm boy. From the moment I met Nick at five years of age, he could already do more on his family farm than a considerable portion of the adult population could navigate. On their family farm animals and produce were raised so it was just natural that Nick would look at a seed and see the potential where others would might just see a nuisance while snacking on their orange.
    Around the time that Nick was in second grade, he came to school one day with a small 18-24" tree for a class demonstration. I was intrigued and wanted to find out the back story on little Nick's demonstration. It turned out that the tree Nick was displaying in his classroom was the product of a seed found in a slice of orange Nick had during lunch one day when he was in Kindergarten. Wow! For over two years Nick had nurtured and pampered a small, insignificant orange seed to its current stance as a seedling tree. I was so impressed and actually a better verb to describe my reaction would be inspired. Here was this young boy not far removed from being a toddler that saw enough purpose in that one little orange seed to purposefully take it home, plant it in nourishing soil, and then to care for it from the first stage of breaking through the ground as a tiny vein up to the point of becoming a full- fledged tree. How many of us eat an orange, apple, or even a watermelon and as we are spitting out the seeds, stop to give even a passing thought to the potential of that insignificant, bothersome seed? I would be willing to gander a guess that the thought doesn't cross many of our minds.
      Fast forward to this past week of school 2019. When I saw Nick, the fond memory of that orange seed and the sapling it became overtook my train of thought. Surely the sapling hadn't survived the severe winters of East Tennessee? More than likely Nick had gotten tired of fooling with the little twig of a tree and discarded it by now I thought. So I asked Nick about the orange tree from second grade. Nick revealed to me that he certainly did still have the tree and not only was it doing exceptionally well, but it now stands about four feet tall and bushes out each summer. It doesn't have fruit yet, but Nick is patiently awaiting the day that he harvests his first orange from his Kindergarten adopt a seed move. If I was impressed back when Nick was in second grade, I'm not really sure what word could describe the warmth inside my heart at hearing about Nick's orange tree.
      Nick's story should serve as a motivator and an inspiration to each of us as we go about our journey through this life we have been given to live. Whether it is a small child we have the opportunity to work with in a school, on a team, at a church or club, or maybe just the little kid that lives in your neighborhood, we each have the opportunity to value that child just as the seed that Nick looked at and saw a potential tree not a brief barrier in our way. Nick could have spit the seed out onto his lunch tray, dumped it in the trash receptacle, and nothing or nobody would have ever been the worse for it. But because he stopped and looked at that seed and thought about the potential of that little insignificant seed, it now is a full-fledged tree with unlimited potential and purpose in its life. That is what we must do in the lives of those we have the opportunity, no responsibility to invest in each day.
     When you see a child, see that child as a future surgeon, the next mayor of your home town, or maybe as the future teacher of your own child or grandchild. The potential of that child is locked up ready to flourish, it just needs to be nurtured and cultivated. Cared for and encouraged. Provided with the nourishment and "SON" light that you can provide!

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. Matthew 18:2-6

Enjoy the week!
Coach Carter

Balanced Diet

Diets are an American obsession. Approximately 50% of the U.S. population reported that they had worked on maintaining a healthier diet in 2018. It's pretty safe to say that what we put in our bodies definitely has an impact on what our bodies look like on the outside, but not as many people place a great deal of thought on what our caloric intake does to the inside of our bodies. Without the assistance of medical professionals, the damage we cause with unhealthy eating habits for the most part goes unnoticed, some times until the damage is done and we face the consequences of our choices and decisions over a lifetime of improper diet decisions. The Bible makes metaphoric references to what we put into our body in multiple chapters, but two of those in particular are of special interest for our Flat Tire Ministry Thought this week.
     In Isaiah 30:20 the writer informs us that "Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes, you will see them." So according to the Bible adversity and affliction are necessary components in our daily diet because they are given to us by God. On the flip side of that the Bible also describes the diet of "those that choose the bread of wickedness and the wine of violence" in Psalm 4:17. Two distinct diets of which neither sound too enjoyable, yet if we look at how these diet choices played out in the life of the apostle Paul it is clear which choice tops the "most healthy diet choices" list. 
      Paul's early life was one where he most certainly was taking in the bread of wickedness and the wine of violence. Before his conversion, Paul was a brutal persecutor of those that followed Christ. Imprisoning Christians was a pleasure to Paul and many a Christian died as a result of Paul's early work. Living a life of greed, hatred, and immorality it would be safe to say Paul was partaking of the bread of wickedness and washing it down with the wine of violence. Paul the hater of Christians could have continued his life doing just as he was, but through God's intervention Paul's diet changed dramatically. 
   When Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus it wasn't like he had all of a sudden found Nirvana. No, Paul was blinded by Jesus. One serving of adversity topped with a heaping scoop of affliction. Constant pain in his side, lost at sea, shipwrecked, tortured, persecuted, imprisoned, and eventually sentenced to death it is safe to say Paul's life became a menu from the Isaiah 30:20 buffet of adversity and affliction! But something funny and inexplicable in today's societal standards happened to Paul, the more Paul was persecuted, the more the pain in his side mounted, the closer Paul got to His Creator and Savior. How is it possible that a man like Paul could change his diet and his perspective so dramatically? II Corinthians 9:10-12 spells it out for us. "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." That is today's message. We may experience hardship in life, our bodies may suffer from afflictions, diseases, and other maladies, but we are not in this life alone. If we partake of the wickedness and violence of this world you are on your own. Your diet will control your choices and your choices will not be productive, healthy, or beneficial I can almost guarantee it. Yet on the other hand, if you choose to take advantage of the diet of adversity and affliction your life will begin to have meaning and your purpose will be revealed to you. Look at the people that have overcome their afflictions and adversities to become inspirations to people all around the world, their adversity actually became their platform for helping and serving others. 
     You are not alone. Your afflictions and the adversities you are facing are not going to be "fun" or even enjoyable for that matter, but just as Paul realized it is in our weakness that God is made stronger in us! Embrace the life you have been given, look for what God wants you to do from where you are, and then go out and make a difference in the lives of those you come in contact with each and every day! Remember, your life isn't about you! May this week be filled with opportunities for you to serve others and may you do so with the love of Christ as your guiding force!
Coach Carter