Relation"ship"

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

Coach Carter

 

Spend a Little with a Little

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Coach Carter

 

 

 

 

Invest, observe, listen, and play

Forward March

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Coach Carter

Beneath and Beyond

"If serving is beneath you, then leading is beyond you." I read this quote during my morning devotional time today and it resonated so well with my heart and soul that I thought I would share it through our Flat Tire thought for the week. This past Friday, I had the pleasure of having lunch with some of our school board members and a fine group of student leaders at Mary Hughes Elementary School as part of School Board Appreciation month. Known as Student Ambassadors, this group of young ladies and gentlemen gathered to learn more about our board members and how their decisions and responsibilities are carried out. During our lunch meeting the students shared their own responsibilities within the school that included efforts to support the student body, work in their community, and help taking care of those that are less fortunate than themselves. Servant leadership 101. I asked the group what they thought the term servant leadership meant and through their conversation and short discussion we landed on taking care of other’s needs.

 

That is exactly what leadership is about to me, leaders serve those that they lead. The Student Ambassadors shared about serving homeless folks in our community, taking care of needs at their school, and a long list of other service activities that benefited their classmates, their school, and their community outside of the four walls of their school. What a grand picture of servant leadership in action! Not once did this team of student leaders ever mention having others do something for them. Developing leaders that do instead of wanting to tell others what to do, is as important today as it ever has been in our country's history. 

 

Serving others is a fundamental key to becoming a leader, and placing the needs of someone else before our own needs is where true leadership resides. You may be reading this and thinking that you hope those in leadership positions are fulfilling their servant responsibilities, but actually, you may need only to find a mirror and look at the reflection you see and realize that the person looking back at you is a leader to someone or to a group of someones. From the students serving their school as Ambassadors to a community gathering in Bluff City I attended on Saturday, I have been blessed to be surrounded by servant leaders this weekend. But, servant leadership is not confined to being part of a group or an organization, being a servant leader happens as you participate in athletics, in the workplace, and throughout the world in which you live individually. Regardless of your current role in life, you have an opportunity to serve others. When you make that choice, you become a servant leader using your time to benefit others. 

 

Servant leadership comes at a cost. I think of those that served our county and paid the ultimate price to ensure you and I remain free. Others give their time, their abilities, or their personal resources to aid others, all of those examples are the things servant leadership entails. Jesus embodied the life of a servant leader, in John 15:13 He says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." The message here is that Jesus ultimately went to the cross and was crucified so that we could receive life eternal as a result of Jesus giving His life as a sacrifice for us. Servant leadership 101 in its creation. 

 

Don't be mistaken you are a leader. Are you a servant leader? Well that one is not for me to decide, but I can tell you that if you aren't serving others through your role in the life you are living your servant leadership quotient is in deficit mode. President John F. Kennedy is famously quoted in saying "Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,". This was not a call to sit back and wait on someone to do something, but instead it was a call to servant leadership. I challenge you today to ask yourself, "What can I do for someone else this week that will cost me something that I may never get back, but it will have a direct impact on the lives of those I am serving?" God gave His only Son and in turn Jesus gave His life to an undeserving world. Servant leadership 101, "If serving is beneath you, then leading is beyond you." 

Coach Carter

18 Inches

 There are approximately 18 inches that exist between a person’s head and their heart. When we think about our head, we typically reference our brain. The brain is the control center for our body’s movements, and oversees the various body systems such as nervous, digestive, and respiratory, regulating their daily interactions and ensuring we remain healthy. Conversely, the heart’s purpose is viewed as being two fold. The physical responsibilities are pretty direct, pump blood throughout the body to provide oxygen so that we continue to exist. On the other hand, the heart holds the significant role of being the figurative soul of a person. What we think in our brain and what we feel in our heart should match, in my opinion, yet where there is only 18 inches that exist between the two, physically, there are miles that exist from how we should be thinking and how we live out our lives each day. 

In particular, when we think about the heart our thoughts center on love. I mean, last week delivered us Valentine’s Day, the day set aside to give your heart to the one you love. When we talk about how much we love someone, you might hear someone swoon , “ I love you with all my heart” and when a young man asks his love to marry him he says that he will “give her his heart forever”. The Bible goes a little further telling us to '... love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37. The key to this verse is that Jesus charged His disciples to love God with their heart, their soul, and their mind. I think it is safe to say that Jesus was telling His disciples and us to love God with our heart and our head or for the purpose of our conversation today, the brain. 

As we stated in the opening paragraph of today’s FTM, there are only 18 inches between the head and the heart, yet if we are to love God with all our heart and our head the majority of us need to work on closing the gap between what we think in our heads and what we should be thinking from our heart. You see, if we believe what Jesus was teaching us about loving  God with all our heart, soul, and mind, then we also have to take into consideration the rest of Jesus’ directive on love. After answering the question about which was the greatest commandment, Jesus added, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39. If we, as believers, hold to the truth of the red letters being the actual words of Jesus, then it behooves us to love God above all things and then in conjunction with that command we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. That is where the disconnect between head and heart seems to live. 

In general, we as flesh and bone humans tend to do pretty good with loving those who love us first. That is a “no-brainer”, pun fully intended! But what about those who don’t love us or look like us, and even those who actually do us wrong? The words of Jesus are pretty clear here as well, “... Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,... Luke 6:27.  And just a little further in Jesus’ conversation He explains how to love our enemies, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31. Loving our enemies is a tough ask, but Jesus didn’t leave us alone to decipher this out in our own head. Jesus actually explains that the type of love that comes from the heart is one that doesn’t judge or condemn, but instead it is a love that forgives and gives mercy and grace just like God does for each of us. (Luke 6:37-38)

Anatomically, I don’t think there is much any of us can do about the 18 inch distance that exists between our heads and our hearts, but I firmly believe that we can close any gap that exists between the connection between what our heads think and what our heart should be telling us to do! It’s 18 inches, by living out the life that Jesus modeled, we can eliminate that gap. 

Coach Carter

Peanut Butter or Jelly - Hope

What child is born and goes through their formative years stating that when they become an adult their plans are to be addicted to alcohol or drugs? How many kids have you asked the age-old question, "So, what do you want to be when you grow up?" and the response was, "homeless"? I don't believe there is a child out there that has ever started school with the idea that they want to fail all their classes and eventually drop out of school. It's hard to imagine that through the playful, carefree world of a six-year old's mind, that they could be dealing with a mental breakdown just a few years down the road. Yet, these are real challenges, among others, that children face today. We need a solution that can take care of all of these societal woes, but what is that elusive silver bullet? I suggest that what many kids today are growing up without is hope.

 

So, exactly what is hope? Well according to the dictionary hope is "a desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment". Or in a more biblical sense hope is a byproduct of our faith in God, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1. If I may, I'd like to share a visual to "hopefully" clarify the concept of hope. Think about making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a minute, whatever technique you use, I believe we can all agree that if you have jelly on a piece of sandwich bread and hold it up vertically a certain amount of the jelly will roll or slide off the bread. Conversely, if you hold that same slice of bread up coated with a firm coat of Skippy, the peanut butter is going to stick to the bread like glue. We are confident that peanut butter is going to stick to the bread, that confidence or faith is where hope is created and where we build our trust in an unseen future. 

 

Coming from the lens of nature or nurture, I would suggest that hope falls more in the lane of a nurtured skill or trait. I believe hope dwells in each of us, but how it is developed in us, is dependent on who nurtures or fails to nurture a mindset of hope in us that truly makes the difference. Looking back at our verse in Hebrews, faith provides us with confidence about things that we can't see. A first-grader can't see what their future holds, but we have to be responsible as adults to build their hope for a brighter tomorrow. Regardless of today's circumstances and challenges, it is our responsibility to nurture hope in that child's life. Holding on to hope won't happen without faith. "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31. As the prophet Isaiah aptly explained waiting on God or in other words, trusting in God builds our faith in God, which in turn creates that peanut butter type of hope. We just believe it is going to stick. 

 

There is a vast sea of children growing up today with a sense of hopelessness. They do not have the ideal home setting that we falsely imagine ever child is reared under. The pressure that Hollywood places on our children to be someone else other than who God created them to be is a false narrative. Social media presents an unattainable image of the ideal person, family, and life. Trust me this world is not that perfect and the people living in it aren't perfect by far, self included for sure! Even in education today, we many times miss the mark, by not finding the strengths and aptitudes of the individual and then supporting them to find what it is in life that they were born on purpose to fulfill through God's plan for their unique individual life. 

 

I believe that you were born on purpose for a purpose. Within that purpose each of us is called to be a messenger of hope. As an educator, God has provided me with a grand position to be that teacher of hope in a young person's life. For those of us that were not called to "teach", it is your duty to foster hope in our student's heart and mind. For those that are not a part of the education career field, you are not off the hook! We are all teachers, you can "teach" hope through whatever area of life you serve. In your workplace, through your friendships, on the team’s you coach, or in the settings where you volunteer your service, you can allow your faith to be seen not just heard, and may your faith foster a mindset of hope within all that you come in contact with each day. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13.

Coach Carter

Building a Fire

 

Building a fire is a skill that most folks are not just born doing successfully. The phrase “building a fire" is definitely the appropriate terminology, because you just don't light some wood and presto you have a fire. There is a skill set to it that is developed through several trial and error experiences, basically a trial by fire. (Pun intended). Learning how to build a fire can definitely come in handy especially when we are in need of light or when we are in search of warmth and heat. In the same manner, understanding that in our own lives we are responsible for building a fire inside ourselves and then sharing the light and warmth of what we have created with those that we meet and with those we do life with each day. 

 

As stated, I am no expert on the subject, but I do believe the following steps can be agreed upon by even the most experienced camper or woodsman. After prepping the area, you first have to gather dry leaves and grass which serve as tinder or fluff which ignites easily. Small twigs are then placed like a fort around the tinder and at that point the fluff can be lit. The leaves and grass burn quickly, but at that same time the small twigs catch the fast burning flames and suddenly they too are on fire. As the twigs are burning, larger sticks can now be added, and the process continues until you are adding logs on top of logs into the blazing fire. I may have over-simplified the whole process, but I think you get the picture. What starts out as a spark from a lighter quickly becomes a roaring campfire. The warmth of the blaze pulls us in as close as possible so we can warm ourselves on a cold, winter night. The light from the flames illuminate the darkness of the night giving us comfort and a sense of security. And to think, it all started with a spark.

 

We have the same opportunity to build a flaming fire inside our heart and soul. As we accept God as our Savior, we are in essence gathering the tinder and twigs to illuminate Jesus in our lives. Hearing about what Jesus did for you and I on the cross and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior is the spark that lights our internal fire. From there we read His Holy Word, we listen to sermons and Godly mentors who add the larger twigs and logs to the fire, and then as we develop our personal relationship with our Creator through prayer and meditation, the light of our fire begins to illuminate the room drawing those that are lost in the darkness towards His light in us. And to think, it all started with a spark. 

 

We are to be His light. In John 8:12 Jesus proclaimed "... I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” If we are truly followers of God, then His light should be visible in us and others should be able to see God through the life we are living. Jesus charges us to be His light to this dark world, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16. I challenge you today to ask yourself "Am I shining His light in my life each day?" There are myriad ways to shine that light, but the key is that your fire is building and warming those around you. The flames from your internal fire should illuminate a path to Christ. To think, it all starts with a spark. That spark is love. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.

Coach Carter