Recycled Art Project

    
     Our local chapter of the Keep America Beautiful organization sponsors a school event each year called the "Funky Art" contest. The rules are pretty simple, students are asked to take items that normally would end up in the trash after they've been used, and turn them into some type of creative art project. When I say creative, the intent is that you just don't take a plastic coke bottle and make a decorated bottle out of it, but instead that same bottle might become a lamp stand base or a part of a car model's body. The goal is for students to look at "trash" before we just throw it away as useless, and determine if there could be another use or multiple uses for that same piece of constructive material. I have witnessed some pretty amazing transformations of items that otherwise would have "litter-aly" packed our landfills. Just as we disregard items that could have multiple benefits to them, in our lives we many times fail to look at our circumstances and current situations as profitable events for our future because we are too focused on the base level only. Just as one of the goals of KAB is to "reuse" items we too can gain so much from what has happened in our lives, and use them as building blocks for what God has purposed in your life.
     Think about the life of Joseph. Joseph went from favored son to being sold into slavery by his own brothers. From there he worked his way up as a servant to become the head of a top officials home and farm. That came to an abrupt end when the man's wife falsely accused Joseph of a sexual assault. The accusation resulted in Joseph being cast into prison, but there again this was a stepping stone to ultimately becoming second in command to the Pharaoh of Egypt. At each of these life defining moments Joseph could have said "You know what, I've been dealt a bum wrap, and I've just got to accept that this is going to be my lot in life." But for those of us that know Joseph's story or as you can probably tell from what I've just shared about his life, Joseph possessed a keen sense of being able to look at what others would have disposed of as "trash" and turning it into something with meaning and purpose. How often do you allow your circumstances to dictate and limit your goals and purpose in life instead of using those very circumstances that appear to be roadblocks to stand on to get to the next goal you were created to achieve in your life?
      After all the potential life defining obstacles Joseph overcame, and all the power he obtained through the process, he didn't use that as a negative motivation, Joseph used the "bad" that had happened in his life and used it as a means to help so many others including the very set of brothers that had sold him into slavery as a young lad. During a period of famine, the patriarch of this band of brothers, Jacob, sent his sons to Egypt to seek support from their leaders. Little did the brothers know that soon they would come face to face with the brother they had disposed of into slavery and lied to their father about his being killed by a wild animal.
     When the two finally met, Joseph had the perfect opportunity to send his brothers away empty handed, or even to imprison them for what they had done to him so many years ago. The pain, the suffering, the fear of being put to death, all of those events could have shaped his response to his brothers and they very well could have found themselves in a dark, dreary dungeon. But listen to what Joseph told his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20. Do not be deceived, when we see trash, God sees re-purpose, when we think roadblock God sees hurdle. Just as Joseph was motivated by his faith that God had a purpose with a plan for his life and just as our students can see amazing artwork in the very items we dispose of as trash, God has a plan for your life as well. You may have to turn it upside down, you might have to reshape it to find its purpose in your life, but rest assured whatever you are currently going through, God has a plan for it to take you to the place where you are preordained to be. Don't ever allow your circumstances to define you or to limit you. Take your circumstances and turn them into your motivation, your fuel, and your compass to find the path that God has intended you to travel. Hold firm to this scripture from Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."
     Just as Joseph held on to hope and placed his faith in something he could not see for his future, you too can have that same trust and faith. Look for the beauty in the landfill, find the purpose for the trash that lies in front of you, and create a masterpiece out of the life that God has purposed for you to live!

Coach Carter

 

    

Saving the Barn

    
     Our family is beyond fortunate to be the owners of the Whetsel Farm which has been in our family for close to 100 years. Our parents, and before them our grandparents lived on and worked daily on this farm, which provided crops and livestock, plus a supplemental way of life for our families over the years. After the passing of our father, Joe E. Carter, in 1994 the Whetsel Farm went from being overseen by a family member to a property that was leased to others that might not have had as close of a connection to the preservation of the farm and the other aspects that make up a "farm". In particular, I'm talking about the barn. Now the barn on this property isn't just a typical barn, it's huge! A wide assortment of compartment rooms for handling livestock, a high ceiling loft equipped with a hay fork to move loose hay around for the feeding bins, and plenty of room for hanging tobacco or storing hay which I took part in as a lad. Over the past 25 years this barn has become the victim of neglect and disrepair due to a lack of attention and proper maintenance to the roof and exterior. Rafters have rotted, floor joists in decay, and in some areas the tin has been torn back from wind damage. All of this disarray has created a mammoth structure that to the eye of the beholder basically looks like a lost cause. Enter one Glen Kanipe.
     Glen is my brother-in-law, whether he will own up to that or not is questionable at best, but nonetheless by law he can't deny me! Glen is by terms a "Jack of all trades" and amazes me with some of the projects he has completed, a great many of those by himself. Well Glen has taken an affinity to the farm and has spent the better part of the last three or four years working on the condition of the land by cleaning out fence rows, bush hogging the fields, basically revitalizing the Whetsel farm. During that span of time we have had numerous discussions about the future fate of the aforementioned barn. To the casual passerby, it would be a common comment of "what are you waiting on, when are you going to tear that monster down?" Yet Glen has repeatedly held firm to the idea that the barn could be saved and revert to its former state of being a viable asset to the overall farm. Over the last few months Glen made the decision to save the barn and has done nothing short of a miracle to steady the aching north wall, secure the corner post with the assistance of a remarkable carpenter, Richard Greene, and minimal assistance from one other guy that has ten thumbs, that was willing to help out over the recent Winter break. What has been accomplished is remarkable at the least and a vision for what the final outcome will look like is in clear sight. My mom & dad, grandfather & grandmother, and uncle, are looking down smiling.
    So, what does that have to do with our FTM for today? Well, as I think about what has happened to our family barn over the years due to neglect or inattention, it brought to mind that this in many times is how we handle our relationships in life. Marriages, friendships, business relations, and of great importance our children or students can suffer this same breakdown if we fail to provide ample amounts of attention and care along life's journey. Of greater significance would be our relationship with our Creator. None of the relationships I have just listed will be "structurally fit" if we choose to ignore or neglect them. Just like the barn, the foundation of a relationship gets weak without focused time and proper maintenance being applied on a regular basis. For our relationships, that maintenance comes in the form of quality time and an investment in the other person. Taking the focus off of self and placing the needs of the person on the other side of a relationship is key to the stability of your relationships. I could go into each type of relationship whether it is friend, family, associate, or acquaintance, but each requires its own unique forms of attention and I will leave that to you to determine what relationships are falling into disarray and what you need to do to get the repair under way before it collapses from the weight and burden of extended neglect. The one relationship that all other relationships hinge on would be that of the one with your Maker. If we take time to worship, meditate, pray, and thank Him for all he has done, is doing, and still plans to do in our lives, we won't have to worry about all the other relationships we have in our lives we will do what is spelled out for us in His word. Spend time with God and He will be there with you regardless of what you are going through or what you are about to face. Do your maintenance daily in your relationships and live by the Golden Rule in all instances.
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." John 17:3 
Thank you Glen Kanipe for your friendship and for all you have done for my family! I value our relationship.

Coach Carter

 

Johnny Appleseed and Me

        
American Folklore hero Johnny Appleseed traveled around the Mid-West section of the United States planting apple seeds all along his journey. Appleseed, a.k.a. John Chapman, had a plan to plant seeds wherever his journey traversed, in hopes that his efforts would eventually bring forth fruit producing apple trees that would provide apples to hundreds and thousands of people many years after his barefooted quest ended. What vision Old Johnny must have had. To envision field after field of fruit bearing trees producing a harvest that would benefit so many others. Amazing to have a plan that would provide sustainability to others even if he himself was not physically present to be a part of that effort. Quite the planter of dreams in my opinion. More than that he planted hope, Appleseed didn't know whether those seeds would grow or not, but that didn't stop Johnny from traveling hundreds of miles barefoot planting those seeds all along the way. Johnny trusted that the course of nature would take care of the seeds if he would do his part in assuring that the seeds got spread. Finally, it is important to note that Chapman very likely never saw the extent of the "fruits" of his labor. At best, a seed sprout needs 8 to 10 years before it becomes a fruit bearing tree, so with the years of travel and the stage of life of Chapman during his quest he possibly ate very few apples his work inspired. I believe that is the point we need to embrace from the life of the legendary Johnny Appleseed. Although he knew that more than likely he might never see actual apples on the limbs of the trees he planted, he did not hesitate to continue planting those seeds. He believed, no he trusted, that the seeds he planted would eventually produce fruit and thus provide food for others that he may never meet and for years to come that he may never see. The question begs itself, "What type of seeds are you planting today, and what type of fruit will those seeds bear long after you are gone?"
     When you wake in the morning and as you and your family prepare to start their day, you plant seeds. You either plant seeds of encouragement or it is possible that you could be planting seeds of defeat. Positivity will bear the fruit of a positive mindset in others. You can't nurture a positive mindset with a defeated attitude even before the day begins. "I get to go to work today", as opposed to, "I have to work today" is a seed. You may be saying come on "I get to go to work?" really who wants to go to work? Trust me, if you were unable to get out of bed due to some health or medical issue and thus unable to go to work, let alone move about independently, you would probably become very enthused about the opportunity to go to work. Be thankful you have the health, the intelligence God gave you, and the skill set required to do the job you do and go at it with the attitude that all you do is done for the Lord not for man. (Colossians 3:23) Plant a positive mindset seed. Inspiration, hope, compassion, empathy, perseverance each time you enter a room before you exit you will plant a seed. That's something to be mindful of, you don't just walk into a room and then walk out without having an impact on that room. You can either come in and say or do something that will make someone else in that room feel a warm glow inside that they may not even associate with you, or you can leave the room and that same person say to themselves, "Man I'm glad he/she's gone!" Don't think you can get off the hook here by saying, I'll just keep to myself and walk in that room and then walk out, no remarks from either end of the spectrum, no smiles or frowns, I'll just do my job and nobody can point a finger at me. Guess what, if Johnny Appleseed had decided to not plant apple seeds along his journey he would have just been going for a walk. No footprint that lasted, no legacy of hope for those that traveled after him, and no impact on the sustainability of life that we are each charged with making during our time on this planet!
      Face it, you will plant seeds of some type each day you live. The question is what types of seeds will you plant and to what extent will your labor impact others? It is our responsibility to plant seeds that can be nurtured and eventually produce the fruit. God doesn't ask us to do the full job of developing those seeds, He just wants us to plant the seed, He will provide the positive outcome. Paul reinforces this concept in I Corinthians 3:6 "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." When you wake to start your day plant seeds of encouragement, as you make your way up to the drive-thru window compliment the attendant on a job well done, when you enter the room at work or at school lift someone up with a positive outlook for the day, instill hope, display courage, and always plant the seed of love for your fellow man. You plant the seeds, God will provide the apples.
Coach Carter

"Canvas and Clay"

    
     I dabbled in painting when I was in high school and even went to our local community college on an art scholarship my senior year, but seriously, my abstract art would have made Picasso cringe. I loved the freedom that my instructors gave me to pretty much do whatever I wanted to do on the blank canvas and that is exactly what I did. That freedom of expression can best be summed up with the idea that there are no mistakes in art, just new opportunities to make the piece of art what it was originally intended to be before it was even started. From what I know about potters the same is true in this craft as well. We see a lump of clay the potter sees a beautiful piece of art that just hasn't been released from its confines yet. The job of the artist and the potter isn't to create an object in a color by number fashion, but more so in a free form approach. There is no such thing as a mistake in art and the same can be said about the life that God has given you to live. No mistakes.
     The Contemporary Christian singer songwriter Pat Barret has a new song out entitled "Canvas and Clay" which inspired me in writing today's FTM. In the song, Barret talks about how God made us with a purpose in mind and that purpose is ongoing, changing, and metaphorically being born anew each day. It is our responsibility to embrace the understanding that we have a purpose. Barret's words "You're the artist and the potter, I'm the canvas and the clay" reminds us that just as the artist makes what some would label a missed stroke on the canvas, the artist can only see a new direction for the piece of art. An addition to the original work that will only make it better than it was. Same with the potter, as the potter works with the clay on the wheel many times the original concept is altered by what could be mistaken as a mess up. Nothing could be further from the truth in the eyes of the potter. The clay is being formed and reformed in an ongoing process that isn't finished until the work is placed in the kiln and fired under immense heat and pressure. That's a whole other FTM in the making, but let's just say the heating process creates yet one more change in the original work, thus still working on the original piece of clay even under fire!
     What I need you to embrace from today's message is you are not a mistake. Your life's circumstances are not just by coincidence, there is a purpose for your life and thus there is a purpose for everything that happens in your life. When you see adversity, God sees an opportunity for growth. When you feel like a mistake, God sees you as an ever changing, always growing creation that has a purpose to serve. What we see as devastation God uses to make His creation exactly what it was intended to be from the first stroke on the blank canvas of our life.
     Our role in His creation of this masterpiece? It is our responsibility to never give up, to never think that a situation is final, but instead to trust that for every stroke of misfortune in our lives, there is an intentional outcome waiting to be released. Artists can't use erasers and such is the same in life. We can't change our past mistakes, errors, or misfortunes, and honestly, we don't need to think about that as an option. We need to allow God to use those mis-strokes to guide us to where we were intended to be. What others would see as a failure, we can choose to say to God, "You are the artist and the potter, we are your canvas and clay".
     Keep this in mind this week, you are never alone and God doesn't make mistakes! No matter how overwhelmed you may feel, or how devastated your life appears to be, if we will only trust in the knowledge that God has a purpose for each person's life, we will move forward working to release that masterpiece you were created to be.
"Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8
Coach Carter