Nothing Impedes Progress Like Procrastination

 There is an old Chinese proverb that goes something like this, "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the next best time to plant a tree is today." Fully the call to action is both evident and challenging. In my own life I have procrastinated and made excuses about a project I have felt drawn to undertake for close to seven or eight years now. The idea of not putting off today what should have been done yesterday doesn't even come close to the reluctance to launch that I have carried around ever since this great idea was birthed in my mind and then off and on in my thoughts over the years. The bad part about it is, every time I have shared my idea, people love it and ask what I'm waiting on, and in almost every case I don't have a sufficient explanation to provide. The easiest thing to say would be that I am procrastinating. So if today's Flat Tire Ministries Thought for the Week doesn't resonate with anyone out there, don't worry, I may just be writing this one to myself!

Normally, I identify as a person that moves from ideas to action with little time in between. Being a leader that is something that we do, make things happen. (Quick reminder, we are all leaders. You are either leading someone up or pushing someone down, it may be one person, doubtful, or it may be a whole corporation, but you are a leader in some capacity somewhere.) So, as a leader it is our responsibility to move the needle in the right direction. See a problem and find a solution. Plan for the future and then get the plan from paper to motion. At the end of the day, it is the leader that either evaluates his or her progress or society chimes in and moves forward with you or moves along after you are gone. Leadership is a privilege and making positive progress is what leaders are tasked to do. If that is what leaders are supposed to be doing, then why is it that procrastination even exists and what are the liabilities of not moving forward with the plans we have been given?

Whether it is a plan that will impact your family, or if it is a business decision that will move your company forward, the consequences of not doing anything, or even putting off starting until that illusive tomorrow arrives, we need to understand that progress is the expectation. Solomon was the wisest man to have ever lived and in the Book of Ecclesiastes he reminds us that there is a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time to build and time to tear down, and most relevant to our lives is the fact that there is a time to live and a time to die. (Ecclesiastes 3) So, if we are supposed to be leading and there is something that we should be doing, but we aren't getting it done then we risk the possibility that time might just pass us by and somebody else will have to step up and do what we didn't have what it takes to get it done! Are you going to be the one that gets it done, or are you the one that God will call to clean up the procrastinated mess that a reluctant leader left behind in the wake of his/her indecisiveness?

So what if we just put it off till tomorrow? "I'm too busy right now to do that, I'll start on it tomorrow" has been my standby response for my own initiative, but that one doesn't stand the test either when you read what Solomon had to say about procrastinating. "Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom." Ecclesiastes 9:10. In other words, whatever you are given to do, do it well and do it now, because after you die it is too late! 

Does that mean it won't get done if you don't do it? No way. What it does mean is that since you procrastinated and didn't do what God created you uniquely to do, someone else or a bunch of someone else's will have to carry your responsibilities through to action. That has implications for those you love and share life with because your actions impact the lives of others. Thus, your inaction also carries with it the consequences that indirectly and directly impact the lives of our family and friends. I don't want my inaction and procrastination to negatively impact my family's trajectory, so I have to be accountable to get the ball rolling and finish what hasn't started yet, but most definitely needs to start now!

What is holding you back? Most likely it isn't outside forces, those are just fuel for the excuses we make for not starting. Is it lack of time? Yet one more excuse to comfort us in our procrastination. We make time for everything else on our calendars, why can't we make time to accomplish what we were built to accomplish? When you stand before the judgement throne with God, what excuse will you be able to come up with which God would look back at you, and say "Oh, okay I didn't know you were that busy, come on in my mistake." More likely is the response that Jesus spoke of in the parable of the talents. The third servant had procrastinated about investing the one talent that his master had given him to keep while the investor was out of town because he didn't want to take a chance on losing that one talent. On his return the master was angered that this servant didn't even put the money in the bank to at least create a small amount of interest on the investment. (Matthew 25:14-30).

You have things that need to get done. You have goals to be reached and outcomes to achieve. You can start on your list today, or you can procrastinate until tomorrow if that day ever comes! We all have a purpose, don't allow "you" to get in the way of you completing what God created you to do today! Trees won't be planted, inventions won't be created, bridges won't be built, and relationships won't be restored unless someone moves to see those things accomplished. I pray that you will be moved by God's calling and that you will not procrastinate until tomorrow to start! Today is the day that we have been given, make the most of it! (Psalm 118:24)

Coach Carter

    

What is Holding You Back?

Dams are actually pretty impressive structures. This past week, on my return home commute from a workday in Nashville, I drove by the J. Percy Priest Dam which was generating at the time I passed. I have driven by this dam and glanced over at it numerous times over the years, the gigantic, concrete wall holding back millions of gallons of water assuring the safety of the general population in the Cumberland Valley. A passing glance offers just that, a huge wall of concrete, nothing too fancy, but if we give a little "deeper" consideration to the purpose of a dam our perspective may change a bit. 

Dams were created to help control flooding, but with the advent of hydroelectric power creating man-made lakes out of small tributary rivers such as the Stones River that eventually flows into the much larger Cumberland River in Nashville was a smart economic decision as well. 

 

To create the hydroelectric power, gates are opened which allow a controlled amount of water to enter generators turning the turbines to eventually create electricity. So, in essence the dam acts as a barrier to untold amounts of force and power. For the Cumberland Valley in Tennessee, that barrier is critically important for the safety of those living below the dam. That same dam also creates affordable energy that provides households and businesses via electricity that is generated by the controlled release of the contained water behind the dam wall. Sounds like a win-win situation wouldn't you say?

 

But what is the purpose of a river like the Stones River in East Nashville? To flow right? If the river completely dries up the environmental impact would be devastating. That is why it is so important that dams allow a certain level of water to constantly flow through, and then as the gates are opened to generate power the excess water rises the river levels below the dam and the additional life flow is easily visible. What once was a meandering vein of water, suddenly takes on the life of a robust river with ripples and dips that create the sounds of life. I love a river, it represents life and the ever-changing flow of life. 

 

So, if we can agree that a river is representative of life then we are faced with the question of what in your life is creating a dam? What is it that is hindering your flow of life that needs to take place? What is holding you back? What should you be doing that you aren't because your energy is being held back by some real or imaginary concrete barrier in your life? Fear? Insecurity? Lack of experience? Lack of resources? Whatever your "dam" is you can't allow it to limit your strength and purpose in life. God created you to fulfill a purpose for His glory, there is no barrier that should be able to keep you from rolling on downstream, touching lives and doing good works as you go! The Apostle Paul challenged the church in Thessalonica with this encouragement, "Do not hold back the work of the Holy Spirit."   

 

It is time for you to be doing what you were called to do! What is holding you back? 

 

Coach Carter

 

Honey in The Rock

 If you haven't heard the song "Honey in the Rock" sung by Brooke Ligertwood and Brandon Lake you might want to check it out, so inspirational and quite the motivation tune as far as I'm concerned. Sometimes a song just speaks to your heart and soul, and in this instance the message was exactly what I needed to move me out of a little self-pity party I was having. At times it is necessary to do a little self-reflection to see that what we are complaining about may be what we need to be embracing instead. 

I have been keeping a pretty busy schedule over the last few weeks and months. New job with a new set of responsibilities for a much broader base of accountability. The new school year has kicked in so that also means fall sports are hitting the field and court, so my supervision and coaching opportunities are revving up as well. That basically equals long days, late evenings, and not a great deal of down time to spend with family, keep up with normal household chores, or rest for that matter. After one particularly long day, I was just laying my head down on the pillow around 11:30PM, knowing that around 4:30AM I was going to need to be up preparing for a Saturday at the football stadium with Pee-Wee Football supervision. I was on the brink of complaining about the lack of rest I was getting when I received a little tap on the shoulder reminding me that I really don't have anything to complain about when it comes right down to it. Here I was just about to lay my head down on a soft, comfortable pillow, on my super comfy king size bed. Crisp, clean sheets and a roof over my head with the air conditioner set at a comfortable temperature assured me that rest will come easy. Not even mentioning the hot shower I had taken after I got home, the ice, cold glass of water I drank after that shower, or the fact that my wife was right there waiting on me when I arrived. I may have wanted more time to sleep, but regardless of the amount of time I had, the comforts of home were going to make my rest relaxing and replenishing. 

On the other hand, a short month or so back we were in downtown Chattanooga and on the evening streets around the downtown area, men and women were taking residence in building entry stoops and even up against a corner of two exterior walls. The scene was both a disgrace on our society, and a heartbreaking memory that I revisit across these United States of America. This should not be the case. We have so much, we have beyond what we need, and in spite of how good we have it, we want to complain because we want more. That is where the message in the song "Honey in the Rock" stopped my complaining and enabled me to see my situation in a little different light. 

In the midst of our adversity and affliction, God provides us with what we need. The method of what we need comes to us in various and sundry ways. For me, my complaining spirit was met with the reality that I don't have anything to be complaining about when compared to the hardships that people in my own community and in communities across our state and country deal with each day that they live. God gives us honey from the rock to feed our souls when we otherwise might very well go hungry and thirsty. If you are experiencing hurts and pain in your feet from standing at work too long, stop and ask the man with no legs how he is doing today. When we complain that our food is "not good", think about the family who will eat tonight because of food donations at a local non-profit pantry. Receiving honey from a rock tells me that God knows what we need and He will not allow us to go hungry whatever our circumstance. "But I would feed you with the finest wheat.  I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock." Psalm 81:16.

I am grateful for the honey from the rock of Jesus, he gave me hope and a plan to live forever in Him. Our job is to find the Rock and taste the sweetness of the honey only he can provide! Desiring to have a better life is human, realizing that the life you have is all part of the plan God has for you is essential and life-changing. Honey in the rock!

Coach Carter

Off the Hook

 Do you pray for others? Do you pray for the lost, the sick, the homeless, and the hopeless? Most of us at least mention some of that list in our daily prayers, that's just the right thing to do right? We see the hurt and we know the Healer, right? We see the brokenness and we know the One that provides the glue to put what has been broken back together again. When we pray for those we love that are facing challenges, we know the Great Physician that can make us whole again regardless of what the world has placed in our path. Even Jesus prompted us to ask and receive in our prayers with His directive in the Gospel of Matthew, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" Matthew 7:7. If Jesus told us to pray and we will receive what we pray for that pretty much sums it up right? In other words, if we pray for the needs of others then we basically are “off the hook” in terms of our support of those that we mention in our prayers. How convenient. I'd suggest that once we mention the needs of others, strangers or family members, then instead of being released from any further role or responsibility, we now will be called to action in being the hands and feet of God. 

 

We are called to pray for others, "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2 and in another example Paul challenges us by telling us to even pray for our enemies, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," Matthew 5:44. That's just two examples of how we should be praying for others, and there are numerous verses and commands from Jesus and other Godly servants telling us to pray for others. Once we have prayed again the question is, are we "off the hook" at that point? If you go back and read the verse at the beginning of this paragraph, you'll notice the challenge is to "carry" each other's burdens. We can carry their burdens to God through our prayers, but I believe that carrying the burdens of others is similar to the offer Jesus made when He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30. 

 

So, what does it mean to be God's hands and feet? That means we are not just called to pray and then wait and watch for God to miraculously heal the pain and fix what is broken. We instead are called to pray for others and then in that same prayer ask God to show us how to help. How can we move from sincere words in our prayers to actionable steps of intervention and support, i.e. God's hands and feet! There is no lack of opportunities to serve, even if you aren't literally praying for a particular person or circumstance, being available and moving from saying, "someone needs to do something about that" to "God give me the strength, courage, and wisdom to help in whatever way I can be of assistance". Truly, praying for someone is important, but showing this world the God that we pray to through our actions is much more critical to those we mention in our prayers. Jesus knew that this world's needs would forever increase, Jesus also knew that He would be calling on those who follow Him to serve the needs of those in need. Jesus prayed as much in Luke 10:2 "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So, pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields." You are not off the hook when you pray, more characteristically, you are "on the hook" after you pray! Pray, earnestly pray, pray without ceasing (I Thess. 5:17), but then move to be part of God's answer to your prayer! 

 

"Lord God Almighty, May I be your hands and feet. Send me into the harvest and give me the strength and endurance to help those in need and support those that have not found You yet. Amen"

 

Coach Carter