Investing in Your Garden

 

Normally we don't associate the word "investment" with planting a garden, but I would suggest to you that the success of any garden, is directly related to the investment you make to assure there is a bountiful harvest at the appropriate time. You prepare the ground, plant the seeds, nurture the garden with water, fertilizer, and constant weeding all so the tender plants that emerge from the soil have the best opportunity to grow and eventually produce their intended fruit. The majority of people no longer plant their own fruit or vegetable gardens, yet with this same principle in mind, we need to be cognate that our investment into the garden of our families or circle of influence is just as relevant and comparable. The time and attention needed to assure your "garden" grows is an investment well worth your efforts.

Think about it for just a moment. What do you suppose would happen if you went to your local farm supply store, bought some starter plants and a variety of seeds, and upon arriving back at your home you just pick a spot to plant the tiny seeds and plants in your backyard? No ground prepping, grass still growing, just dig some holes and drop those seeds in the ground. Tomato plants? Just plop those into a hole, and add some water for good measure. Then just sit back and watch it grow until the time comes to harvest what you planted. How successful do you think that would be? Based on what I know and the memories I have of how my grandparents and parents raised a garden, that plan isn't much of a plan at all. Pretty much destined to fail. That is not how you nurture a garden and it definitely shouldn't be the way we invest our time into the garden of a family.

Even if you’ve never planted a garden, and then tended to a garden as it grows and prospers, it is pretty much self-evident that things aren't just going to grow the way you hope if you don't invest ample time and effort. To assure your garden grows to maturity and produces an abundance of fruit on the vine it takes time, attention, care, and guidance along the way every day. Understand this, the same principle applies for your family and those you influence along the way. 

Looking at the analogy of investing in your garden, my hope is that you would quickly see the similarities into the investment we should be making into our families, as they are the garden of our life here on earth. Ponder for a moment the steps mentioned above that lead to a disastrous vegetable garden. No preparation of the soil assuring the ground is fertile with nutrients available. Planting the seeds among the grass and weeds forcing the seeds to fight for nutrients and space to grow. Then, after the seeds or plants are in the ground being left to fend for themselves with no investment into the nurturing process, all the time expecting the harvest to be bountiful. That sounds ludicrous even if you've never had a garden you should be able to agree that will never work!

Then why do we do this with our children and our marriages? How can we justify being a coach, a teacher, a parent, a spouse, or a servant to our Creator and believe that the aforementioned process will work without investing properly into our garden of life? What do you want your family to look like ten years from now? How do you want your children to behave? What do you hope they are going to be doing on Sunday mornings ten years from now, and what are you investing in that will assure they are doing what you intend them to be doing ten years down the road? Are you nurturing your garden daily with your own example of what you want their lives to look like ten years from now? Just as in our garden analogy, don't expect a bountiful harvest in the lives of those you have been entrusted to nurture if you don't make an investment in their lives now while the opportunity is in hand. 

Seeds need a safe environment to grow, so do children. Seeds need the proper nutrients to be strong and healthy, so do those we are tasked to nurture. Plants such as tomatoes and beans need guidance and support to assure they grow in the right direction, most certainly so do those we love. You get the point, if it is good for a plant you can pretty much guarantee that the same rules will apply for those we love and care about each day. Investing into the lives of those we love and care for means we are not just caring for them today, it is so much more about what their lives will be like ten years from now. Proverbs 22:6 gives us this directive, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." 

I'll close today by asking you to do one thing for me. Stop what you are doing for a few minutes, close your eyes, and imagine your family or that circle of influence you have in your current position in life. See the young people you have been entrusted? Good, now think about ten years from now. What do you see? Or better yet, what do you want to see? Then ask yourself, "What type of investment am I making to give my garden the best chance to grow and be bountiful? Am I even investing or am I just hoping things will turn out the way I hope they do? That type of plan doesn't work with a vegetable garden and I'm certain it doesn't work with those we love. Work in your garden, the investment of your resources, time, love, and care make a difference!

I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.
I Corinthians 3:6 

Coach Carter

Checkup

 

I believe most everyone would agree that an annual health checkup is a good idea. Our insurance carrier obviously does, they offer one physical per calendar year free to their customers. When I go in for my annual physical, it is kinda like a challenge to me to see where I was the previous year in regards to blood pressure, weight, and other lab results. I've been trying for years to get that height one to go up, but to no avail! The results of that exam help me map out plans to modify lifestyle habits when needed, and reemphasizes the importance of the positive practices I invoke in my life. Less fatty foods high in cholesterol, more fruits and vegetables, appropriate exercise, and adequate rest are examples of what we label "healthy" lifestyle choices. Just as making healthy choices contributes to a positive medical checkup, making some sound choices when it comes to prayer and our focus during our prayers also can lead to a "healthier" spiritual checkup!

Several years ago, I realized that my prayer life was somewhat of a misnomer for me. I would pop out of bed and move into my day not ever giving much attention to prayer, and especially nothing like a dedicated time for reading my Bible, devotion, meditation, and prayer. As the day would come to a close, I would shower, relax a bit, and then off to be I'd go with plans to finish the day with a quick prayer of thanks for the day and or a request for God to intervene in someone's life situation that I had heard about during the course of the day. What actually happened when I laid my head down on the pillow was snoring and snoozing! I go hard every day, always have and always will, as long as the Lord allows me to, but the point here is prayers didn't really happen while I was employing this type of strategy. 

In 2014 my prayer life changed, or it would probably be better to say it began in 2014. Taking on a 30-day challenge to journal a daily prayer, it soon became a part of my day and my life that I wouldn't and couldn't do without. I made the conscious decision to get up a little earlier and give myself an opportunity to meet with my Creator to learn more about who He is and what He wants me to do in this life that He has so graciously given me to live. 

Over the years that prayer time has become such a significant part of my spiritual self, and I wouldn't want to go into a day without first having my morning time with God. Even with that being such an important part of my daily life, I still need a checkup every so often just to see how my prayer life is going. The purpose of prayer to me is to spend time with God. Listening to His guidance, interceding for other’s needs, and thanking Him for the gift of salvation that we did not deserve. All of those should be integral parts of your personal meeting time with your Lord and Savior. 

Just as too much junk food, too much couch time, or too much fatty meats can contribute to a red flag when you go in for a yearly medical checkup, too much time spent focused on your own personal wants and issues can create an unhealthy checkup for your prayer life. Journaling my prayers gives me an easy look into what I spend most of my time praying for and about. If my thoughts and prayers are focused mainly on me and the trials, tribulations, and adversities of my life, then most likely I'll spend most of my day thinking about how unfair my life is and how unfortunate I am. If my condition controls my thoughts during prayer, then my thoughts throughout the day will convey that same mindset of "me first".

I can safely say that I do not believe God wants us to live life that way. Here is Paul's take on the topic in one of his letters to the church in Philippe, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Philippians 2:3-4. Paul said do nothing out of selfish ambition, I would be willing to go out on a limb and include our prayer life in the category of that directive. Once you start taking the focus off you and your issues something magical starts to happen. For me my thoughts start moving towards those less fortunate than I. I begin to think about others needs and how blessed I truly am. My problems shrink in comparison to some life matters that I personally know others are battling. How could I spend so much of my prayer time putting me first? Jesus directed us to go out and save the world (Matthew 28:19), how about we start that endeavor by setting our minds on the troubles of the world and not the troubles of my own little world. Take time to do a self-check, if you don't journal your prayers then maybe start, otherwise pay attention to what you pray about, how often you pray about those things, and how much you actually pray for others in your prayers. This is one sound way to have a "healthy" heart!

Coach Carter

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