Lessons from an Echo

      
We would like to say that standing in a valley and yelling out and then having that very yell make its way back to us via an echo is something that mainly children enjoy, but honestly, I imagine the majority of us take advantage of the echo phenomenon when we realize we're in a setting that provides a little echo action. So, the principle behind echos is that when sound waves hit a solid surface they bounce back much like throwing a rubber ball against a wall. Walking underneath a bridge through a tunnel, or standing in a deep canyon with mountains surrounding us creates the perfect environment for experiencing an echo. For most of us, we are probably pretty fortunate that the echo feature doesn't occur naturally with us as we go about our daily journey.
     Think about it, I believe it would be safe to say that if the words we spoke automatically bounced right back to our ears we might think a little bit more about what was getting ready to come out of our mouths in the first place. As it stands I believe most people stand on the premise that we all have our right to freedom of speech, trust me I fully respect the right of each person to speak his or her mind. Bu it's more about the intent of what we say and the content of our heart when we say what we say that I would be more concerned. If it is hurtful, if our words do damage to the self-worth of another, or if our words drag down, emotionally scar, or provoke hatred are those words that we really want to hear bouncing back in our ears? Imagine standing on a mountaintop basking in the beauty of the majestic view of surrounding valleys and peaks. You're standing there and you decide to yell out "Hello" to which you are welcomed back with an echo of Hello, hello, hello. Amused, you go back and forth with your new-found echo friends and then I ask you to yell out the last thing you said about someone that is different from your personal, race, religion, economic tier, or even political viewpoint. What would you hear ringing back in your ears? What would that sound like as it reverberates again and again throughout that beautiful mountaintop range? Can you hear that in your mind as you play this out in your imagination?
     Well guess what? There is an echo phenomenon in your life each and every day you live. Your words are captured by those you encounter as you live, work, play, and influence. As a parent your words are captured by tiny ears and then bounced back through their own words and actions. If we choose to use words filled with negative, hurtful implications then what we should expect to hear back will be laced in negativity and hate. If you talk to people on a daily basis, in other words pretty much everyone, then there is an echo that is going to occur. What message do you want to send out that you wouldn't mind hearing bouncing off the walls and minds of those you influence in the classroom, on the job, in your family, or around the break room?
      In the book of Proverbs, Solomon provides this reminder about our choice of words that we speak, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but hard words stir up anger.” Proverbs 15:1 If what we are saying stirs up anger, if the words we choose can bring joy or have the power to lessen the value of another person's life, the idea of choosing our words carefully really makes sense. The next time you get ready to make a comment on something that has the potential to do harm or cause discord, give a thought to our echo talk today and imagine those very words being bounced back in your ear and the ears of those you will influence along life's journey. Life is filled with choices, choose your words carefully!  
“Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” Proverbs 15:4

Coach Carter 

 

Day One

     "This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it" Psalm 118:24. After listening to a recent sermon on the topic of spiritual warfare, I have taken the advice of Pastor Chip Ingram and committed myself to memorizing some scriptures to heart, for the purposes of sharing with others, motivation in the face of adversity, and also for use in instances where I need my own sword or shield. This verse from Psalm 118 happened to be the first one that I have decided to put to memory. And what a great verse to place right there in the forefront of my mind.
     When we wake up each day we are faced with a choice, we can choose to live in the successes or missteps of yesterday, or we can choose to be thankful for the day that we have been given and live that day out to its fullest. That is the message I get from Psalm 118:24, TODAY is the day that we have been given I'm going to live it like the gift it is, and not allow yesterday's events hamper what today holds for this life I have been given to live.
     In that same way, I won't put off till tomorrow what God has given me the day today to do. Procrastination is a tool used to deflate the gift of today. The idea that "I'll do it tomorrow" runs counter intuitive to the mindset of rejoicing and being glad for the gift of today. I've said it before in other posts, but it's worth mentioning a thousand more times, tomorrow is not the gift. None of us has the guarantee of tomorrow. If that is the case then why would we take the day that we have been given to work, love, share, or serve and place it on the shelf?
     When you woke up this morning that signaled "Day One" of the rest of your life. How you choose to use this day may very well determine the direction that someone else chooses to go in life because of the way you are living this day. Day One signals a new beginning, your past is just that past, yesterday's mistakes are done, the impact of those mistakes will be determined by what you do today to correct them or use them to make today a better day. Day One signals an opportunity to start all over. You may have had a bad attitude yesterday, for the last year, or maybe for the biggest part of your life, but guess what? Today is Day One of a whole new chapter in your life. You make the decision on what today is going to look like, remember our scripture "I will rejoice and be glad in it!" That is 100% a choice, it would have been just as easy for the writer of the psalm to say, "This is the day that the Lord has made, "I wish I could enjoy it but ________". Some of us may be able to fill in that blank, but I can't, let me make it clear, I won't fill in that blank. I have too much to be thankful for, too much to do, and hopefully, God willing, way too many lives to impact with this day that the Lord hath made!
     Today is Day One. I believe that is an appropriate title for our Flat Tire thought for the week. Each day you wake up is a gift, it is your choice to decide what you will do on Day One of the rest of your life. My advice, live it well, live it like it is the first day of the rest of your life!
Coach Carter

Alternate Routes

     
     Let me just say I was headed a completely different way with this week's FTM Thought, but after I read an article a colleague had posted on LinkedIn, I definitely chose an "alternate route" for today's time together. If you have young children, if you work with elementary, middle, or even high school students in some capacity today's message is relevant and critically important as they grow, mature, and begin laying the groundwork for their future. 
     Typically Flat Tire Ministries Thoughts are intended to be of an uplifting positive nature on a topic of life perspective. Today's message is more of advice for all of us as we provide the canvas for our children to draw their own individual map. Our job, provide them with as many alternate routes to get there as possible and let them choose the one that they want to take! Read on, reflect, and then take action.
     The article "Students 'Dream Jobs' Out of Sync with the Emerging Economy" by Sarah Sparks in the February 8, 2020 edition of Education Week poses the hypothesis that today's children still aspire to jobs of the past as their main goal in life. That would be okay if it wasn't for the fact that today many of the jobs of yesterday are either being done by computers and robots or they are on the downhill slide as prospects for the future. I have provided a link to the article and I encourage you to read it a little later after we finish. Basically though, the research that Sparks provides suggests that "we" as the adults that help support students as they maneuver their interests and aptitudes through their experiences and exposure to create plans for what's next after high school base our "teaching" on a model that may very well be limited at best. One of the core matters of concern is that if "we" are the ones that are consulting and mentoring our children, yet we are not aware of the careers and career fields that are emerging, "we" will probably still promote and guide our students towards the fields "we" are most knowledgeable of, hence the aforementioned jobs that are founded in our past, not their future.
     Let's do a little experiment, bear with me on this one, I haven't requested you to do homework very often. You'll need a piece of scrap paper (reuse old envelopes for stuff like this, conserve), a writing utensil, and turn on the stopwatch app on your phone. Okay set your timer for :30 seconds. Now right down as many careers as you can come up with in that :30 seconds. GO! After you finish go to the article link below on the top 15 emerging career fields in the United States and scroll down through the list. How many of the careers on your list are among the top 15 emerging careers? 
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/11/linkedin-emerging-jobs-report-2020-fastest-growing-us-job-pays-136k.html
     You may be in much better shape than I was as a career counselor, but my guess is if you are above the age of 30 your list looked similar to mine. I had some broad similarities like "doctor" or "IT" (That's Informational Technology in case you don't have that one in your vocab yet.), but overall my list paled in comparison to the career fields that will be our children's to fill.  I advise you to go back and read that article and do some research on emerging career paths if you are in any of those roles I mentioned earlier.
     The problem is how can we advise our sons and daughters, our students and athletes, and those we mentor through work and life if we don't know have knowledge of those destinations and definitely the path to take to get to their potential destination? We don't want to hinder their potential, yet if we don't have the knowledge to share, how can we expect to successfully mentor and guide the leaders of tomorrow? What potential damage could we do if we only show them the route that we know without exposing them to the alternate routes that they may need to venture?
     It is our duty, no, our responsibility to provide students with the tools they will need to make informed decisions about their future. That is a fact that should not be debatable. Yet what about our children's faith future? First, as in our example above, we will only be able to advise our students with the background knowledge we possess. So, if our faith is weak or non-existent how will we ever advise or provide guidance to our children? How can they decide what they believe if they don't know what there is to believe? In much the same way as with careers, this is our responsibility. We as the adults are tasked with providing the example by which our future leaders will delve into what they see and hear and then create their own beliefs and aspirations. Do you have a faith to share? Are you a lifetime learner that reads, listens, prays, and seeks God's will for your life? If this isn't part of our life, then how can we expect our children to make an educated decision? Will we leave it up to the entertainment world to teach them what is important? Will we close our eyes and say we hope it turns out well for them? Or will we assume that they will figure it out for themselves because we don't want to pressure them into believing something? How do you think that story is going to end?
    Solomon, who we associate the word wise with, shared his thoughts on this topic in Proverbs 22:6 "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it." Whether we are talking advising students about possible career fields or if you as a parent want to help your child make sound decisions about their faith in God, you have to be somewhat of a specialist yourself. Read, seek, knock, and listen to sound doctrine that will give you the tools you need to assure you don't send those you mentor and advise down an alternate route that leads to nowhere!  

Coach Carter

Here's the link to the Education Week article by Sarah Sparks. I highly suggest you read this if you have children or work with children in any capacity.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/01/22/students-dream-jobs-out-of-sync-with.html?cmp=eml-contshr-shr 

 

The Calm After the Storm

     
     Stating the obvious, storms are noisy. Thunder booms and lightning crackles across the sky, high winds howl through the windows as they toss objects around like tumbleweeds rolling across a desert floor. Heavy rain pounds on rooftops adding to the cacophony disrupting the night. I know my description probably doesn't even come close to some of the storms you have endured. I mean think about it, have you ever went to work the day after a huge storm and when you start talking about how intense the weather was at your house, someone inevitably states, "Huh, it hardly even rained at my house last night." At other times, I have been on the other end of that conversation and a friend or colleague shares about the destruction their neighborhood experienced during the previous night's storm, while our home sat peacefully overnight on that same exact evening.
     Just as the physical storms we endure are unpredictable, so too are the figurative storms we experience in our own lives each day. The downpour of emotions related to divorce, drug addiction, overwhelming debt, or possibly even the death of a loved one is easily comparable to the physical storms that hit and the ensuing damage they wreak. During these storms life is noisy as well, and the aftermath of life's storms can be just as devastating if not more devastating than the outcome of one of nature's weather disasters.
     Both the literal storms that nature evokes on our lives, and our own figurative storms of life we encounter provide the basis for today's FTM Thought. We each have storms that we must endure, yet after the storm passes we also each can experience the calm after the storm. We have to embrace the storm, survive its torrent rains, hold tight when the thunder shakes the very foundation of our shelter, and then we await the warm light of sunrise as the aftermath lies in front of us. It is our job to embrace the calm after the storm instead of focusing on the chaos created by the storm.
     The story of Jesus calming the storm during a sea journey with his disciples illustrates this point in clear and vivid form. In Mark 4:35-41 Jesus was awakened from his sleep by the disciples because they feared their boat was getting ready to be overtaken by the fierce winds and waves of the moment. Jesus' command "Peace, be still" were meant for both the storm and also for the disciple’s fearful mindset. God is with us in the storms of life, and just as His son calmed the storm on the sea for the men on that boat, He offers that same "peace" to you and to me.
     It is our job to endure the storms of life, it is God who provides the assurance of calm after the storm. That assurance is what gives us the confidence to stay strong during the storm, never letting go of our faith that God is there to provide the calm after the storm. Hold tight, keep your faith close, and embrace the chaos that will ultimately provide the peace and calm of God's promise to you. “Peace, be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10
Coach Carter

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