Let's Make a Deal

 

I vividly remember laying on my Mamaw Whetsel's couch, her in her recliner, TV dinner trays still set up in the living room warm from the Swanson's turkey and dressing dinner entree, getting ready to watch Monty Hall and the night's episode of "Let's Make a Deal". It was exciting to watch the couples in their outlandishly creative costumes making a decision to keep what Monty had just offered them as a prize or to trade it in for "What's behind door number 2". So many times, the contestants would have a really nice expensive gift, but their ... curiosity, or discontented mental capacity would cause them to trade it in for something sight unseen that they hoped would provide a better and more satisfying outcome. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it was a complete flop and the contestants walked away with a "pig in a poke" prize. That was the allure of "Let's Make a Deal" the desire to have more, and unfortunately it has only increased as a preoccupation in our world. It's no wonder the original game show aired from 1963-1976, and has been revived over and over since, we always want more, better, bigger, improved, or simply what our neighbor has, remember that "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor..." line? Guess what?  God knew what He was commanding against, it is aberrantly human nature to want more!

That doesn't make wanting more completely bad, but it sure doesn't make it anywhere near okay either. On the game show Monty would flash $100 bills in the faces of the contestants trying to get them to take the cash instead of what was behind the curtain of doors number 1, 2, and 3 at times the money was the best option and sometimes the money was a subpar comparison to the new car or luxurious travel vacation package hidden behind the door. The issue wasn't and isn't whether you traded up or not, it's more about shouldn't we be thankful for the gift we have received, instead of always looking for some way to improve or expand our position in life. I'll make this not so bold statement. "If you can't be happy with what God gave you, then please don't think that just because this world gives you something more you all of a sudden are going to be content and fulfilled."

Contentment is defined by Webster as, "the state of being happy and satisfied". Plain and simple if you aren't happy with the "what" that God gave you then you are very unlikely to be content with the next big "what" that is in your radar. Never enough could be one way of describing discontentment. Dissatisfied with your appearance, have reconstructive surgery. Disillusioned in your marriage, have an affair. Upward mobility is the path to your contentment in life, work more, spend more than you make, and show it off like you have more than enough! All the while none of the aforementioned situations hardly ever lead to contentment with one's situation. Trust me there is no deal that you can make to improve your life that will make your life better if you can't be content with the life that you were given to live!

Satan is the master host of life's "Let's Make a Deal", yet please understand it most definitely isn't just a game of chance. In Matthew 4 we read how Jesus was offered a deal of the century by our adversary. In verses 8-11 Jesus was offered the world, but He had already made the decision to stay true to His Father, "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”  Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only".  Jesus knew that regardless of how appealing the offers that Satan made were, they would never equal the promises that God the Father had made to Him and offers us still today.

Life is full of choices, much like the appeal of my old favorite show, "Let's Make a Deal”, it’s hard to believe that what might be hidden behind door number 3 might just be better than what you have been handed in life. Play the cards that were dealt to you. Strive and work to provide a better quality of life for you and yours, but don't let that strive turn into your drive. As best as I can tell that's when the deal becomes the drive and the appeal just becomes the next thing that will "make" you happy and content. Sadly, that isn't the deal in life. I'll close with this warning from Paul to his fellow missionary Timothy, "For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." I Timothy 6:7-10. Basically, if you can't be happy with what God gave you then be prepared for a long, hard haul in life!

Coach Carter

Purpose, Sacrifice, and Legacy

 

Last week, our message centered around the idea of as long as you are still breathing God isn't done with you. You have a purpose and as long as you are still here on this earth you should be working to fulfill that purpose. At the time I wrote that particular post, I had no idea that the message of embracing your purpose would fit so aptly in a volleyball practice with my travel volleyball 13U team. Thus, today's message of "Purpose, Sacrifice, and Legacy". Enjoy. 

It had been a hard weekend of volleyball, some really tough losses, and a couple of complete breakdowns, yet as the tournament was winding down our team had really stepped up their game and it appeared we were headed for a strong finish on the day. At the point in the tournament that we were, it was in place that we would be finishing with two matches regardless of whether we won the first one or not. The competition was strong, and as I already mentioned we were playing some really good ball ourselves. Emotional as much as a physical endeavor, we took the match to the limit, winning grueling long volleys and scooping up balls that nobody would have imagined could have been saved. It appeared we were on track to win, but at the end of the match we came up short and then immediately on to our final match of the day we went.

The last set had been an emotional rollercoaster as noted above, so when we immediately stepped back on the court for our last match of the day, my concern was whether our team would be able to pick themselves up and squeeze out one last dose of hard work and relentless effort. Unfortunately, we didn't. That hurt. After three decades of coaching I have worked with thousands of athletes and if nothing else is accomplished I have always wanted them to grow internally as much as athletically. The grit, resilience, and tenacity of never giving up and never quitting is a critical quality for life more so than anything I could ever hope to teach them about volleyball, yet volleyball or any other athletic competition are some of the best platforms to reinforce those powerful skills!

The girls were disappointed, parents were disappointed, and both coaches were deflated by what we had just watched. So, as the old saying goes "When life hands you lemons, you go make some lemonade!" As is our regimen after each tournament we always meet at our next scheduled practice to review our performance and map out the goals for the upcoming weeks of practice. The focal point of this particular tournament review was three life altering words, purpose, sacrifice, and legacy.

You see I believe we all have a purpose. We all have multiple purposes, we just don't fulfill one purpose in life then we're done. Instead, our purpose in life can change from one day to the next and it can also endure throughout a lifetime of hard work and dedication. The challenge is to realize that you have to give your A-game every time you step on the court of life in fulfilling your purpose. As I shared with the players on our team, you don't always know what your purpose is, but you have to always give everything you've got because somebody may be watching you that is prepared to give up on life, a relationship, or a goal that may seem too far out to obtain. If they see you giving up and laying down, then your purpose was not fulfilled. They may leave that moment thinking I'm just like that team of girls, the going gets tough and I'd rather just lay down and quit. That is not acceptable. When things get tough, we must be willing to sacrifice the easy way out and accept the attitude that no matter what the circumstances I am going to hold on to faith and trust that whatever God has planned for me is bigger than I am and whatever He wants me to do I'm going to do it with every ounce of energy left in my body! For me the definition of sacrifice is doing whatever it takes to reach a goal regardless of how I personally feel about the situation at that exact moment. This last match of the day we "played", and I use that word loosely, didn't have an iota of significance on how we would place in the tournament. We had already sealed that fate; this particular match was basically practice. But, oh how we practiced! We, as a team, couldn't claim the letter "s" in the word sacrifice, let alone the full term nor its meaning. 

Which brings me to the final term from today's trio, legacy. Siblings were present, spectators were spectating, and other teams were waiting in the wings, my question to our team was what impression did they think they left with all of those in attendance at our court? Most definitely not the one that any of us would have wanted to have representing us as we left that gym. That lasting impression, the very notion of who you are being represented by what you do and how you carry yourself makes for a legacy that will impact the lives of all those watching us as they witnessed how we handled adversity and a challenging situation. Our lives are not really about us, our lives are about how many people we can have a positive impact on during the time we have been given to impact those very lives. You may not play volleyball or any other sport for that matter, yet each day you face challenges, you deal with adversity, and most likely you encounter defeat and losses along the way. How you handle those life events is part of your purpose in the life you have been given. Giving your all, hustling even when it appears that you have lost, and understanding that someone is watching you to see how you handle a devastating situation is all part of the legacy you will leave behind with that someone who is watching. 

I am so proud of our Genesis 13 and under volleyball team. They have so much athleticism, their personalities shine every time we are together, and they are ever quick to encourage and complement each other when they do something notable on the court. That is why I can't fail them by not demonstrating by my example that we can't take a day off or even a match off from giving our best. "Today is the day that the Lord hath made I will rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24 resonated as our chat came to a close, and a last thought that I would share with any and all is this: "And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. “Colossians 3:17. Whether you are playing volleyball or if you are dealing with a life altering event, keep your head up and give it all you got. Your purpose is yet to be fulfilled, and the sacrifice you make to march forward facing your adversity will solidify your legacy for your family, your friends, and possibly even that spectator in the stands!

Coach Carter

"If I'm Not Dead, You're Not Done"

The band Elevation Worship has a song out that proclaims "If I'm not dead, You're not done, greater things are still to come, Oh I believe!". As I listen to those words of faith being sung, I have no other choice but to get pumped up and ready to hit the ground running!

The faith proclaimed in this statement is profound. Basically, as long as I have breath inside this body I have been given, there must still be something that God wants me to accomplish in His name. My situation in life may tell me that I am hopeless, that I am sliding down a mountain getting ready to plunge into a deep crevice, but God isn't done with me until I take that last breath and my heart beats its last beat. 

Viktor Frankl, the famed philosopher and survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, shared his experiences and understanding of those experiences in his book "Man's Search for Meaning". In his memoir, he told of how men lost all hope during the torture, starvation, and cruelty that was their daily life as a prisoner in those death camps. At the moment hope was lost a man would just stop living, literally just quit. Nothing else to live for worth living for. No hope, no chance, no thoughts of maybe just maybe, nothing left. Frankl survived because he held firm to the belief that as long as God made it possible for him to live one more day, then God must still have something He wanted Frankl to accomplish for Him, "If I'm not dead then You're not done with me yet”, kind of thinking. That is the message I wish to impart to you today.

It doesn't really matter what you are going through, God has a plan for your life and it is your job to live it out and fulfill your purpose. The hole you are in may be so deep that you couldn't see the light of day if you had a telescope, but you still have to keep holding on to the understanding that God's plans are not like ours. We can't see, even with a telescope, the master plan of our life. Wouldn't that be nice, we get in a bind and all we have to do is look at the master plan and turn to the what's next page and see how it all turns out. Sorry, that would make it all too simple. The grit, the resilience, the strength that is gained through trusting and believing is what creates the faith in what we can't see, but what we know is there. "Now faith means putting our full confidence in the things we hope for, it means being certain of things we cannot see" Hebrews 11:1 

As we develop this trusting faith in things that are so much bigger than us, then we will develop the conviction that God has a plan for our lives and it is our job to live that life and seek His will as long as we are breathing. Earlier I said it doesn't matter what you are going through. That wasn't said to sound non-chalant about things you are facing in your life. Instead it is a statement of faith that I have to hold firm to or else I might start questioning God's wisdom and the master design of life. I can't say why, and I certainly can't answer your question of why. All I can say is there is a purpose for your life and anything, I mean anything, you are going through can and will impact a life or even a multitude of lives. Maybe yours, maybe someone else, but you have a purpose to fulfill! 

Trusting that truth, firming up your faith, believing when it would be so easy to doubt is not easy. The world told Job that all of his torment was due to something bad that he had done and now he was being punished. Job wouldn't fall for that. He would not curse God when everything had been taken from him right down to his own health. He stayed the course believing that God wasn't done with him yet because he was still breathing. My prayer for you today is that you will hold on when it doesn't feel like there is anything to hold on to. When we keep holding on, we develop our resolve which tells us that God isn't done with me yet! Keep holding on, pray, and believe!

Coach Carter

Insurance or Assurance

 

Let's start out today with a little quiz. I'll give you a slogan and you think of the company name associated with the phrase. Here we go. 1. "The good hands people" 2. "Just like a good neighbor" 3. "Navigating life together" 4. "We've got you under our wing" 5. "Give your child an advantage for life". I'm guessing those may have gotten a little harder as we progressed, yet if you get any exposure at all to television or radio broadcasting I imagine you have heard many of these hundreds or thousands of times over the years. So not to leave you wondering how you fared on the quiz, here are the insurance company names that have the above listed taglines. 1. All State, 2. State Farm, 3. Met Life, 4. AFLAC, and 5. Gerber Life Insurance. 

So, what is it with our obsession with life insurance? We certainly understand that life has a beginning and life, as we know it, has an end mark as well. What then is the goal of insurance? Well probably some of the top reasons to have adequate insurance coverage would center around protection from a tragic life event to providing security for your loved ones after we are gone. We insure our homes, our cars, our boats, and our RVs. Term life, whole life, and universal life insurance policies allow us to provide for our families even after we are gone. The key to insurance is that you invest in it now and then when you need it the investment plus the increased value of making that investment will provide larger dividends to the beneficiary. That sounds like a sound and logical plan for financial security, yet what type of investment are you making into your "life assurance" policy?

Insurance companies promise that when you have an accident or "claim" they will be right there ready to support you and provide the necessary means to get you back on your feet again. We buy insurance because we can never be certain about what might happen tomorrow and we want to have the "assurance" that everything will be okay as long as we have enough "insurance". Yet if you read your life insurance or auto insurance policies a little more carefully, you'll see that all of your policies have limits on how much "insurance coverage" you actually have. That exposure leads many people to continue to purchase additional policies such as extended coverage or annuities and stocks with the hope of having enough coverage. We certainly do not want to be left unprepared for life's unexpected twists and turns. Our insurance policies cover us to the extent of the investment we make into them, our life assurance policy works in a similar fashion, but there are no limits on the coverage for this plan if only we trust and believe.

May I provide you with one simple life assurance? God loves you. He loves us so much that He gave us a life assurance that will forever out perform any insurance policy you can find. Mankind was lost, the path to redemption was marred in sacrifices and rituals that had taken the place of faith and trust in God. So, what did God do? He sent His son to become a living sacrifice for our sins. Jesus died on the cross as a promise of life "assurance", if only we believe in Him, trust in Him, and follow Him. God's slogan for this promise of life assurance would best be summed up in this scripture "For God so loved the world that He gave his only son, that whosoever believeth in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life." John 3:16. Have you found an insurance policy that makes that level of commitment to you or your family? My guess would be no. 

Insurance covers you to the limit of how much you invest in the coverage. Assurance works similar in that the investment into the lives of others you make assures you that you will receive His offer of life eternal and that your example of giving will perpetually go forward "assuring" eternal and internal dividends. The difference is the price for life "assurance" has already been paid! You need only to accept His offer, believe He is who He says He is, and submit to Him. From there we invest our time, assets, talents, and service to the cause of following God so that others can benefit from our investment. 

I don't see insurance companies offering to pay your premiums each month. Their plan is that they invest your premiums into investments that will benefit them through profits and stock values. In contrast, your investment into God's offer of life "assurance" is that when you invest others benefit for free just like your initial commitment. If you are investing in your life "assurance" policy you know the comfort and peace that I am talking about today. If you have spent all your time, effort, and money on investing in life "insurance" policies then you may or may not have found the peace that God's offer provides. Don't forgo your life insurance policies, but do invest more into your life "assurance" policy for eternity! 

I thank God for His assurance of life eternal and the promises He gives us, "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5 and from the mouth of Jesus, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14:3. Invest in His life assurance and you will forever be in "good hands". 

Today, Tomorrow, and Forever God's "Life Assurance Agent"

Coach Carter

Every Step of the Way

I'm going to start today's FTM with the chorus of a current Contemporary Christian hit that is being played across the airwaves delivering an important message of hope for us all to understand.

 "Every step of the way
You’ve been You’ll be
Working everything for the best of me
So I’ll trust in who You are
Every step of the way
You’ve been You’ll be
Fighting and writing Your love in my story
You’ve held my heart
Every step of the way" 

Cade Thompson "Every Step of the Way" 

Does it feel like God is with you every step of every day? Walking beside you, walking in front of you, guarding your back and catching you when you fall? If you confidently answer that question "yes", count yourself as blessed. Having a deep, trusting relationship with your Creator gives you that confidence, sadly there are more people that don't have that confidence that is founded in faith and hope. Let's spend a few minutes diving down into the idea that God is with you "every step of the way".

Adversities, afflictions, trials, tragedies, valleys, and in life's dark alleys am I saying that God is right there with us every step of the way? Yes I am. I say that with confidence. The psalmist David wrote "yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me" Psalm 23:4. David didn't say when times are good, or when I am on the tip top of the mountain you are there with me celebrating my successes and accomplishments. God is there too, but that is easy to acknowledge, it's when things are tough, when illness turns into a potential life threatening or life taking event, that's when we have to understand that God is with us even in life's tragedies. That can be challenging at best. 

If God is with me every step of the way then why did my loved one die? If God is with us every step of the way then why do snow storms, floods, tornadoes, and tsunamis destroy homes, communities, and lives almost daily? God doesn't say I'll put you in a bubble and push you along through life, He said I'll be with you and I will give you my rod and staff to comfort you (Psalm 23:4). In other words, I'll give you what you need to face the battles and the challenges that you confront, but I won't guarantee you that the outcome will always be what you think it ought to be, there is a bigger plan and purpose to everything that happens, we have to trust that while God is with us every step of the way that His plans and His paths are designed not for us individually, but for the greater cause which we cannot fathom. We are called to trust that He is with us every step of the way and that no matter what happens God is there. Every step of the way.

Let me pause for just a moment, there is context for a completely different FTM message in the understanding that if God is real and he is with us every step of the way then it is also important to understand that there is evil in this world and it exists right in front of us as well. Crimes, cruelty, and inhumane treatment of a person is not of God. Evil exists on this earth, but even when it appears that evil has gotten the upper hand, God will prevail. We must trust that God will prevail when it feels impossible to believe that something positive could come from some form of cruel and inexplicable tragedy. We may not be able to see it or understand it, but God will prevail if we only trust and believe that God's plan is beyond what we may even see in our own lifetime. When we are reunited in Heaven with all of our loved ones that truth of victory will then be revealed. For that truth, we can praise God from whom all blessings flow! 

Today God is with you every step of the way! That is the message I share with you today. Each step you take, every detour, pitfall, mountain you climb, and every valley you endure, God is with you every step of the way. Every victory lap you take, every life you touch, and every day you work and serve Him, God is with you every step of the way! My advice to you, walk forward confidently, blanketed in the knowledge that God is with you every step of the way!

One step at a time!

Coach Carter

 

Two Wrongs Do Not Make "One" Right

 

That old saying "two wrongs don't make a right" definitely is true. Placed in the context of driving, if you make a wrong turn and then you attempt to get back on track by making a second wrong turn the end result is you are lost. Believe me I am speaking from experience, ask my wife. From the title of today's FTM message you may have noticed I placed the word "One" in place of "a", well just as in driving, two wrong actions or decisions won't all of a sudden make everything kosher. It is a little easier to own our right actions if we arrive at our destination without any unanticipated detours. Yet, it is critically important for us to own up when we make that wrong turn in life because being lost is one thing, but remaining lost has lasting effects on our lives and those that we live, love, and work with each day. 

Back to our driving analogy, I don't want to stereotype us men, but if it's true I guess we have to own it. When we get "off course" driving, something deep down inside of us thinks that if we just take the next turn up ahead and then a second and a third turn then eventually we will magically be back on the right path. In my own experience, it would have been nice if it had worked out that way! My guess is that's true for most of us in the male species so we will state it as factual. Getting lost is one thing, accepting that you are lost and that you need help with directions to get back on the right route is a completely different feat. My stubbornness has cost our family countless minutes and hours over the years, when all I needed to do was stop going the wrong direction and ask someone for help. Hard to do? Well you wouldn't think so, but how else did men get the reputation that we have so rightfully earned? When we are driving down a wrong path the cost is time delayed on our arrival, when we are driving down the path of our wrong choices in life the cost is so much more. 

Whatever those wrong choices are let's just go ahead and label them what they are, sin. Whether we hurt someone's feelings with our words, sin, or we rob a bank, sin, both are sins and need to be forgiven. Many times, the sins we commit that hurt those closest to us are the very ones that we don't want to turn around from and ask for help with from God. We want to place the blame on the other person making us look innocent in our own eyes. Wrong turn, wrong turn, won't get us back on track! Ownership of our sins is what we are asked to do. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:9. Just as in driving, but not just for men, this is hard to do for some reason. We either want to marginalize the wrong deed, justify it, or deny it is actually a sin in the first place. Remember in driving we need to stop driving in the wrong direction and ask for help, that is what's required for forgiveness of sins likewise.

Just to clarify, nobody is perfect. Paul reminds us of this truth in Romans 3:10 " as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;" " So why is it that we are so stubborn and unwilling to accept that we will make mistakes in this life we are living? Why do we not open ourselves up to self and admit that we have done wrong and that we need to ask for forgiveness? That admission of fault and the sincere desire to be forgiven not only impacts our life, it also has a lasting impact on those we have sinned against and for those that we love so much that learn from our actions in life. 

If I am driving the wrong way, those in the car with me are my captive passengers and will be lost right along with me. The impact of being lost means that everyone in the car is going to be delayed in reaching the destination. That loss of time cannot be regained, and the longer we stay on that wrong path, the longer those with us miss out on the true destination we all desire to reach. Don't ever think that the sins we commit don't have an impact on others, they do. 

As part of the family of believers it is our responsibility to own up to our wrongs and stop following a pathway that only leads to a dead end in life. We are His example to a dark world that is driving down a road that only leads to a dead end. If we don't illuminate this world then our sins will only highlight the pathway that leads to destruction. We must choose to step up, admit our fault, and then ask for forgiveness. In so doing we become an example for Him and we can become that roadside assistant for the next wayward driver! “No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house." Luke 11:33

Are you driving down a wrong one way street? Are you packed down with luggage and instead of being headed to the beach you are headed down a darkened alleyway? The AAA roadside assistance is right there waiting for your call. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye. shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh. findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Matthew 7:7-8. Stop, Seek Him, and Turn Around. A wrong turn plus a right turn equals redemption!

Coach Carter

Farmer John

 

Back in the early 1970's I joined a band, the East Ridge Middle School band that is. Our mother was musically inclined, playing the piano by ear and also through reading music. Along with our mother, my sister also picked up the piano and sings like a nightingale. Yet, when I joined the ERMS middle school band to play the trumpet, my only claim to fame was in the nickname the band director donned on me. Bib overalls probably weren't the most stylish fashion statement in the 70's, but with the hippie culture procuring a great deal of attention in the media and in society, I felt pretty stylish in my denim blue jean galluses. The band director at East Ridge relegated me a new title when I wore my bibs to school for the first time, "Farmer John". Not sure where the "John" part came from, I guess it just sounded good together to Mr. Mayes, but the "Farmer" prefix gave me a sense of pride, coming from a family that loved the land that provided our sustenance and livelihood to a certain extent. Who would have guessed that some forty years later I would be going back to my roots of planting seeds and harvesting the produce in the lives of so many through my teaching and my coaching. I guess Farmer John isn't too far off the mark after all!

The Bible is filled with references to sowing seeds, nurturing the seeds and plants, and then harvesting the gain that they produce. A very popular parable that Jesus shared in Matthew 13 tells of the different outcomes for seeds that happened upon different types of terrain and settings. Some got gobbled up by the birds, others were choked out by the sun, and some found good soil and produced a bountiful return. Well a couple of weeks ago, during my morning devotional I wrote a prayer that almost took on the form of a parable about being a farmer and the seeds that I plant. I'd like to share my parable prayer with you today and pray this same prayer for your own garden that you plant each day. 

Dear God, don’t let me be like a man who is given a fruit producing plant, but places it on a shelf in a dark closet, never allowing the plant to have a chance to grow or produce. Lord don't let me be like a gardener that plants the seeds, but then allows the weeds to overtake the seedlings because I don’t tend to my garden. Dear God, don't let me be the man that is given the seeds, yet never plants them in the ground keeping him from seeing what the seeds might produce. Father, I want to take the seeds you have planted in me and nurture them with the food of your word, showers of worship, and abundant praise. I want to harvest the fruits of that labor and I want to gather the seeds from that produce, and plant them into the lives of others. Use this humble gardener Heavenly Father I pray! Amen. 

We all are sowing and we all will reap. The unknown variable will be what our labor produces. We will sow to the Spirit that leads us and others to Christ, or we will sow to this world and our efforts will never produce the quality or quantity of harvest that you and I were placed on this earth to achieve. My Farmer John nickname may not have stuck with me as I moved on to high school and into adulthood, but I place my hope in the fact that as long as I continue sowing the seeds that God has given me to sow, the end result will be a humble Farmer John that provides a bountiful harvest for His Kingdom!

"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary." Galatians 6:9

Coach Carter