Dehydrated

Wrap your brain around this one, I heard a statistic the other day that really made me scratch my head and ask, "How is this possible?" During a sermon I was listening to, the teacher shared that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. How is it possible that three out of every four people living in the United States of America are depleted of fluid in their bodies? America home of drive-thru restaurants, convenience stores on every corner, and the land of running water in the vast majority of homes throughout the land. I can see how dehydration could be a problem in a third world country, but it just doesn't make sense here in the land of plenty that the majority of people are walking around thirsty? Or are they actually walking around thirsty? Maybe it isn't the lack of something to drink, but instead, maybe it is actually what people are drinking that is the culprit. 

 

Sugar, caffeine, and sodium abound in the types of drinks that most Americans turn to when they start to feel the least bit thirsty. Coffee first thing in the morning, and then throughout the day for many tea or sodas for lunch, breaks, and dinner. The problem here is the three aforementioned ingredients in our drinks of choice are all considered to be diuretics that actually support the removal of fluids from our bodies. The 75% dehydration stat picture is starting to make sense. 

 

Couple that with the group of folks that just don't stop to take a drink when they feel thirsty and all of a sudden, the 75% dehydration stat doesn't seem that far-fetched anymore. Given the understanding that what we choose to drink may be contributing to a state of dehydration, and that many others just don't stop to take in the fluids they need each day, I guess my question is why don't we all just stop and take a drink of some cold, clear, water? Our bodies are comprised of around 70% water anyway, so doesn't it make sense that we would need to be putting into our bodies what we need the most to be healthy and exist? It doesn't make sense to me, knowing that our bodies need a drink, knowing what is good for us to drink, but either choosing the wrong liquid to drink or choosing not to drink at all just doesn't add up.

 

As I pondered how it could be possible that so many people are walking around dehydrated, my mind landed on the fact that we also have a majority of people in America and around the world that are thirsty for God's love, yet they are walking around spiritually dehydrated. Just as is the case with our physical bodies, our spiritual bodies need hydration to be healthy. Jesus confirmed this in His conversation with a lady He encountered at a well. In the Gospel of John Chapter 4, after a long, hot day's journey Jesus sat down beside a well waiting on someone to help Him get a drink. Finally, a woman from Samaria showed up with her bucket to draw water from the well and Jesus asked her for a drink. After going through a "teachable moment" with the lady, Jesus informed her that, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman realized she needed the water that Jesus was offering and she asked Him for a long, cool drink.

 

Are you spiritually dehydrated? When you feel thirsty do you turn to the diuretics of the world that only serve to fill you temporarily, even while they are actually depleting your life and soul of the very Living Water that it needs? Seek Jesus and the water He offers and He will quench the thirst of your soul. "Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst." Today, if you are thirsty you do not have to be dehydrated any longer, take a drink, a long cool drink and He will quench your thirst forevermore!

Coach Carter

 

Have It Your Way?

 

I imagine that the success of a commercial jingle could be assessed by the number of people who can recall the tune years down the road. If that statement holds any truth to it then two such jingles from my youth would rank right up there at the top of chart. Back in the 70's and 80's the battle for hamburger dominance between McDonald's and Burger King was intense. Looking back, they may have been in a market share war, but to the kids growing up in that era it was more about which one did I want on any particular day, a Big Mac or a Whopper? I suppose that is where the commercial jingles entered the picture, each attempting to garner an appeal for their flagship burger creation. 

 

Honestly, these two commercial jingles linger in my mind today more than a lot of the music I have sung along with on my FM radio. Depending on your generational era you may find yourself chanting or singing along, for me this is all from memory, here we go. McDonald's ode to the Big Mac goes like this: "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun." McDonald's had us battling to see who could correctly recite their jingle the fastest, it was a fun challenge. On the other hand, Burger King took more of the sing-a-long approach with their memorable lyric. "Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us, all we ask is that you let us serve it your way, have it your way!" For those of us that lived out the burger battles of those two decades which one were you? A Big Mac kind of guy, or was the Whopper king in your belly? 

 

So, what does any of this have to do with motivating and inspiring us this week? Well, as I was walking down Hamburglar Lane, a thought came to mind, which of these two mentalities reflect our walk with God? Should we be more of a structured Big Mac or do we tend to drift towards the "Have it your way" Whopper mind frame? A Big Mac isn't a Big Mac if it isn't served the exact way it was designed. That was the way it was introduced and that is what made the Big Mac the signature sandwich for McDonald's. The fickle people that we became as more and more options presented themselves in all aspects of life, brought on the whole "Have it your way" shift in people's attitudes. If you don't like it the way it comes, we will accommodate you. This way of thinking wasn't and isn't reserved to hamburgers then and even more so today. Today, the you can customize pretty much anything from the food we eat to the color and accessories of the cars we drive. 

 

Don't get me wrong, having options is a good thing, but when it comes to our relationship with the Creator of Heaven and earth, the Burger King option of having it your way just doesn't fit. Our walk with Jesus has a design and picking and choosing which parts we want to follow just doesn't work. Moses didn't proclaim God's basic commandments with options on the table. You shall have no other Gods (Exodus 20:3) was the message, not you can pick and choose which gods you want to worship. From there the rules for how we should live were not provided in an optional format. God's commandments for our life throughout the Bible were given to us in more of a Big Mac manner. We must realize the laws by which God has directed us to live are not optional where we can leave off the "pickles of life" that we don't like, the Bible is holy and complete, the words and the guidance they share are eternal and without change (II Timothy 3:16). Sorry, no Whoppers here. 

 

Today I encourage you to reflect on your own personal relationship with God. Do you pick and choose which parts of the Bible you adhere to? Do you know the laws and commands that are shared with us in God's word? Regardless of where you are on the continuum of adhering to God's word, the good news is we can always learn more and move closer. We can still choose how we want our Whopper served today, and we can choose to serve God or not, but we can't choose which parts of God's laws and commands we will honor and obey. My prayer is that you choose God our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Eternal Savior! Amen. 

 

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

Coach Carter

Relation"ship"

Riddle for the day, what do the following scenarios have in common? Driving through and to an unfamiliar city, walking down a dark alley in a not so friendly part of town, and being tossed about in a boat at sea during a storm? Well, I had one commonality in mind when I started today's message, but as I thought about it a few other potential answers came to mind. I guess the first would be that these all involve places that could be labelled dangerous. Another thought could have been that these all involve traveling, in a car, on your feet, or in a boat, each situation involved someone going somewhere. My third thought was actually my first and what I wanted to center our conversation around today. In each of the three scenarios, those are places where having someone journeying with you gives you a sense of security and comfort. In life, having someone journey with us each day, every step along the way provides us with that level of safety in numbers. Traveling with someone through life's journey in a day to day manner creates a partnership between the two parties, in our society we call that partnership a relationship. Today, we will focus on building that relation"ship" with the One that will see you through all of life's dark and stormy days that come your way. 

 

Storms are inevitable, literally and figuratively. I've been fortunate to not have experienced a true storm out at sea, but from what I've seen over the years on movies and other video footage a storm at sea could quickly create a sense of abandonment in a desperate situation. Thunder and lightning, winds gusting uncontrollably, and a constant onslaught of waves tossing your boat haplessly back and forth. Definitely not a situation where you would want to be. Especially not by yourself. 

 

In more of a figurative sense, storms of life are just as daunting and challenging to navigate. Relational storms, health related storms, finances, addictions, and even the loss of a beloved one's life occurs and those same feelings of hopelessness and loneliness toss us about much like that ship at sea. Unfortunately, too often we attempt to weather life's storms on our own. We fall into despair or we get angry and attempt to shift the blame towards bad luck or someone else. Even worse, during life's storms some people fall into a sense of hopelessness and shout out, "God, why??" 

 

In Mark 4:35-41 we read about a time when Jesus and His disciples were caught in a storm at sea. Actually, Jesus was under the deck resting when a storm abruptly fell upon their tiny boat as they were crossing the way. The disciples in their fear woke Jesus from His sleep and questioned Him about whether He cared that they were about to drown in the storm’s waves. "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.  He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” These were men who watched Jesus heal the sick and lame, He raised the dead to life, and He just stopped a life-threatening storm with the sound of His voice. The disciples were amazed, they could not believe what had just happened. Jesus, this man who they were following, just told the storm to stop and it obeyed immediately. The good news here is this, He still controls storms today, literal and figurative, and God is there for you in your own life's storms. God wants a relation"ship" with you.

Having a true relation"ship" with God means you know you are never alone. Life will have challenges, you will feel tossed about at sea at times and you may even feel like you have no control over the circumstances you are enduring. Have faith, as the storm winds gust and as the rain blows sideways, you are not alone. The relationship you have built through reading His word, studying the lives of the heroes of the Bible as they endured typhoon type storms in their own lives builds hope for our own situations. When you develop a true relationship with God through prayer and spending time in His presence, you begin to realize that during life's storms we can't do life on our own, we need God to hold us and guide us through the storms. At times we endure and that may very well be a part of God's plan at that moment, yet through the relationship that we have built, we know that nothing happens by chance and God's plan is bigger than we can imagine. So, we move forward. We persevere, we grow gritty, and we place our trust in someone bigger than anything this world has to offer. Our trust, our faith, and our confidence are placed in the One that calms the storm just as He did for the disciples that day at sea. 

 

If you have a relationship with God that you rely on during life's storms, thank Him. If you know God, but your relationship is not in the place where you place your trust in Him during the hard times in life, then move closer to God. Nurture your relationship, and allow God to carry you through the storms you face. If you don't have a relationship with God, get one. Being tossed about in life's storms is overwhelming. Storms will come, at times they will seem like they are not going to ever subside, yet being in the "ship" with God gives us the strength to endure and the drive to journey forward!

 

Coach Carter

 

Spend a Little with a Little

 I've been blessed to have had the opportunity to work in the field of education for over thirty years. Throughout my career I have served in positions that have dealt with certain grade spans and as in my current role, I have the pleasure of working with all grades Pre-K - 12th grade. Although I enjoy and appreciate working with young people of all ages, I would have to say there is something special about spending any time with our younger students. Their innocence and curiosity are both heartwarming and entertaining, and through that innocence we can all benefit from their view of the world and all things in it. To have that childlike view of the world is something that gets lost in adulthood too often. Today, or even better every day, finding some time to spend with a little child is exactly what we all need to do. 

 

Now, this isn't just Chuck suggesting you spend some time with a little child, in Mark 10:14-16 Jesus reprimanded His disciples for attempting to keep the little children away from Him. It was one of those busy days for Jesus, the blind asking Jesus to open their eyes, lame individuals pleading for the ability to walk, jump, and run, and myriad other requests for miraculous healings being presented non-stop. Parents realizing the incredible opportunity at hand began placing their small children all around Jesus hoping He would bless them. The disciples thinking Jesus had better things to do than to be distracted by little kids climbing all over Him began plucking them off the lap of Jesus. "When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them." The Kingdom of God belongs to little children, what was the lesson Jesus was sharing through this encounter?

 

As I shared earlier, life through the lens of a little child is full of wonder, awe, and innocence. My seventeen-month-old granddaughter loves me unconditionally, and she doesn't make preconceived judgements about me or anyone else for that matter. Through the lens of a small child there is an appreciation for God's creation, all of it. To a child it isn't about what can be gained through a relationship, instead it is an appreciation of the person just because they have been placed in their life at any particular time. Small children don't have to be told to take time out of their schedule to enjoy a star lite night, or a cow chewing its cud. Little children enjoy the simple things in life because they are still amazed by all that God has created and put in place to live harmoniously together. Small children don't hold grudges, they may get upset, but almost instantly they forget what happened and move on to enjoy the moment. Unconditional love, appreciation for all we have been given, and forgiveness that has no limits, this is the Kingdom of God. 

 

Invest in the lives of our small children. Pour into them knowledge, honorable character traits, and most importantly love for God and our fellow man. Stop and observe children at play, sharing, giving, and the joy of life are easily observed on a playground. Listen. Children's minds and their thoughts are innocent, and they see the good in the world and its people. Lastly, play. The imagination of a child in their world of play is a treasure to seek. Life is too short to work it away without some time to play.  Whether you have children of your own or in your family, or if you happen to work in a career field such as education spend some time with a little, the return on your investment will pay dividends beyond compare. "Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:4

Coach Carter

 

 

 

 

Invest, observe, listen, and play

Forward March

Question, what do the following three scenarios have in common? A runner in a marathon race, a soldier marching into battle, and you or I as we face the trials and tribulations of this life we are living? You might answer that they are each facing opposition, the runner has twenty-six miles of roadway in front of her as the starting pistol is fired, the soldier going into battle has an enemy to confront, and we have sickness, financial hardships, relational woes, and a whole list of worries and concerns that stand like mountains we must climb in front of us. True observation, yet not exactly the point I want to focus on today. Instead, today's Flat Tire Thought isn't about the struggles we face, but more about how we respond when we face the challenges that stand like Mt. Everest in our way. 

 

I recently read a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that was the impetus for today's shared message. As I read his charge, it fired up the coach in me and I knew I wanted to share his encouraging words through FTM. "If you can't fly, then run, if you can't run, then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward." Keep moving forward, whatever you are facing in life we have options on how we will respond, but the main goal should always be to move straight ahead. 

 

A marathon runner is faced with the daunting challenge of running a 26-mile trek that forces runners to overcome both physical and mental barriers to success. The will to continue running when your mind is telling you to stop, when your lungs are gasping, and your legs feel like jelly is challenging at the least. Yet, as a runner keeps on going in the face of adversity, she reaches a plateau where unknown strength takes over and she keeps running towards the finish line. 

 

 As I think of soldiers in formation marching into battle, the command "Forward March" humbles me. Facing a life-threatening enemy, the solider decides to move forward to face his enemy without giving in to the thoughts of his own potential demise. Onward Christian Soldier!

 

In your life, just like mine, we face challenges and foes that stand before us like a mountain that has to be scaled and overcome so that our journey can continue. Marital conflicts, financial woes, health issues, or possibly some type of addiction, whatever that might be, are all prime examples of those mountains we all may be facing, but yet our challenge is to move ahead, keep going, don't stop and don't give in. 

 

The Apostle Paul faced extreme adversity throughout his walk with Christ. As he traveled and ministered Paul was imprisoned and tortured, but he kept praying and moving forward. Paul was shipwrecked and adrift at sea, but he held on and persevered. And Paul battled a health condition daily to the point of asking God to take the pain away numerous times, but all the while he kept preaching and teaching the word of God and the offer of eternal life provided by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. 

 

Listen to the words of Paul as he ministered to the church in Corinth, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." II Corinthians 4:8-10. Paul's message is the same message that Dr. King expressed nearly two thousand years later, and that is the same message I hope you take away from our time together today. Whatever you are facing keep marching forward. If you run, run, but if you can't walk, crawl, or drag yourself forward, but don't give up and don't quit. Your challenges are real, the struggle is real, your enemy is my enemy and it is real, but we have a promise that we will not have to face our struggles alone. In John 14 Jesus explains to His disciples that He will never leave us alone. His spirit will abide in us and His Spirit living in us will give us the strength to carry on and persevere.

 

Whatever you are facing today, I challenge you and encourage you to never give in and never give up! "Forward March! "

 

Coach Carter