Recycled Art Project

    
     Our local chapter of the Keep America Beautiful organization sponsors a school event each year called the "Funky Art" contest. The rules are pretty simple, students are asked to take items that normally would end up in the trash after they've been used, and turn them into some type of creative art project. When I say creative, the intent is that you just don't take a plastic coke bottle and make a decorated bottle out of it, but instead that same bottle might become a lamp stand base or a part of a car model's body. The goal is for students to look at "trash" before we just throw it away as useless, and determine if there could be another use or multiple uses for that same piece of constructive material. I have witnessed some pretty amazing transformations of items that otherwise would have "litter-aly" packed our landfills. Just as we disregard items that could have multiple benefits to them, in our lives we many times fail to look at our circumstances and current situations as profitable events for our future because we are too focused on the base level only. Just as one of the goals of KAB is to "reuse" items we too can gain so much from what has happened in our lives, and use them as building blocks for what God has purposed in your life.
     Think about the life of Joseph. Joseph went from favored son to being sold into slavery by his own brothers. From there he worked his way up as a servant to become the head of a top officials home and farm. That came to an abrupt end when the man's wife falsely accused Joseph of a sexual assault. The accusation resulted in Joseph being cast into prison, but there again this was a stepping stone to ultimately becoming second in command to the Pharaoh of Egypt. At each of these life defining moments Joseph could have said "You know what, I've been dealt a bum wrap, and I've just got to accept that this is going to be my lot in life." But for those of us that know Joseph's story or as you can probably tell from what I've just shared about his life, Joseph possessed a keen sense of being able to look at what others would have disposed of as "trash" and turning it into something with meaning and purpose. How often do you allow your circumstances to dictate and limit your goals and purpose in life instead of using those very circumstances that appear to be roadblocks to stand on to get to the next goal you were created to achieve in your life?
      After all the potential life defining obstacles Joseph overcame, and all the power he obtained through the process, he didn't use that as a negative motivation, Joseph used the "bad" that had happened in his life and used it as a means to help so many others including the very set of brothers that had sold him into slavery as a young lad. During a period of famine, the patriarch of this band of brothers, Jacob, sent his sons to Egypt to seek support from their leaders. Little did the brothers know that soon they would come face to face with the brother they had disposed of into slavery and lied to their father about his being killed by a wild animal.
     When the two finally met, Joseph had the perfect opportunity to send his brothers away empty handed, or even to imprison them for what they had done to him so many years ago. The pain, the suffering, the fear of being put to death, all of those events could have shaped his response to his brothers and they very well could have found themselves in a dark, dreary dungeon. But listen to what Joseph told his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20. Do not be deceived, when we see trash, God sees re-purpose, when we think roadblock God sees hurdle. Just as Joseph was motivated by his faith that God had a purpose with a plan for his life and just as our students can see amazing artwork in the very items we dispose of as trash, God has a plan for your life as well. You may have to turn it upside down, you might have to reshape it to find its purpose in your life, but rest assured whatever you are currently going through, God has a plan for it to take you to the place where you are preordained to be. Don't ever allow your circumstances to define you or to limit you. Take your circumstances and turn them into your motivation, your fuel, and your compass to find the path that God has intended you to travel. Hold firm to this scripture from Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."
     Just as Joseph held on to hope and placed his faith in something he could not see for his future, you too can have that same trust and faith. Look for the beauty in the landfill, find the purpose for the trash that lies in front of you, and create a masterpiece out of the life that God has purposed for you to live!

Coach Carter

 

    

Saving the Barn

    
     Our family is beyond fortunate to be the owners of the Whetsel Farm which has been in our family for close to 100 years. Our parents, and before them our grandparents lived on and worked daily on this farm, which provided crops and livestock, plus a supplemental way of life for our families over the years. After the passing of our father, Joe E. Carter, in 1994 the Whetsel Farm went from being overseen by a family member to a property that was leased to others that might not have had as close of a connection to the preservation of the farm and the other aspects that make up a "farm". In particular, I'm talking about the barn. Now the barn on this property isn't just a typical barn, it's huge! A wide assortment of compartment rooms for handling livestock, a high ceiling loft equipped with a hay fork to move loose hay around for the feeding bins, and plenty of room for hanging tobacco or storing hay which I took part in as a lad. Over the past 25 years this barn has become the victim of neglect and disrepair due to a lack of attention and proper maintenance to the roof and exterior. Rafters have rotted, floor joists in decay, and in some areas the tin has been torn back from wind damage. All of this disarray has created a mammoth structure that to the eye of the beholder basically looks like a lost cause. Enter one Glen Kanipe.
     Glen is my brother-in-law, whether he will own up to that or not is questionable at best, but nonetheless by law he can't deny me! Glen is by terms a "Jack of all trades" and amazes me with some of the projects he has completed, a great many of those by himself. Well Glen has taken an affinity to the farm and has spent the better part of the last three or four years working on the condition of the land by cleaning out fence rows, bush hogging the fields, basically revitalizing the Whetsel farm. During that span of time we have had numerous discussions about the future fate of the aforementioned barn. To the casual passerby, it would be a common comment of "what are you waiting on, when are you going to tear that monster down?" Yet Glen has repeatedly held firm to the idea that the barn could be saved and revert to its former state of being a viable asset to the overall farm. Over the last few months Glen made the decision to save the barn and has done nothing short of a miracle to steady the aching north wall, secure the corner post with the assistance of a remarkable carpenter, Richard Greene, and minimal assistance from one other guy that has ten thumbs, that was willing to help out over the recent Winter break. What has been accomplished is remarkable at the least and a vision for what the final outcome will look like is in clear sight. My mom & dad, grandfather & grandmother, and uncle, are looking down smiling.
    So, what does that have to do with our FTM for today? Well, as I think about what has happened to our family barn over the years due to neglect or inattention, it brought to mind that this in many times is how we handle our relationships in life. Marriages, friendships, business relations, and of great importance our children or students can suffer this same breakdown if we fail to provide ample amounts of attention and care along life's journey. Of greater significance would be our relationship with our Creator. None of the relationships I have just listed will be "structurally fit" if we choose to ignore or neglect them. Just like the barn, the foundation of a relationship gets weak without focused time and proper maintenance being applied on a regular basis. For our relationships, that maintenance comes in the form of quality time and an investment in the other person. Taking the focus off of self and placing the needs of the person on the other side of a relationship is key to the stability of your relationships. I could go into each type of relationship whether it is friend, family, associate, or acquaintance, but each requires its own unique forms of attention and I will leave that to you to determine what relationships are falling into disarray and what you need to do to get the repair under way before it collapses from the weight and burden of extended neglect. The one relationship that all other relationships hinge on would be that of the one with your Maker. If we take time to worship, meditate, pray, and thank Him for all he has done, is doing, and still plans to do in our lives, we won't have to worry about all the other relationships we have in our lives we will do what is spelled out for us in His word. Spend time with God and He will be there with you regardless of what you are going through or what you are about to face. Do your maintenance daily in your relationships and live by the Golden Rule in all instances.
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." John 17:3 
Thank you Glen Kanipe for your friendship and for all you have done for my family! I value our relationship.

Coach Carter

 

Johnny Appleseed and Me

        
American Folklore hero Johnny Appleseed traveled around the Mid-West section of the United States planting apple seeds all along his journey. Appleseed, a.k.a. John Chapman, had a plan to plant seeds wherever his journey traversed, in hopes that his efforts would eventually bring forth fruit producing apple trees that would provide apples to hundreds and thousands of people many years after his barefooted quest ended. What vision Old Johnny must have had. To envision field after field of fruit bearing trees producing a harvest that would benefit so many others. Amazing to have a plan that would provide sustainability to others even if he himself was not physically present to be a part of that effort. Quite the planter of dreams in my opinion. More than that he planted hope, Appleseed didn't know whether those seeds would grow or not, but that didn't stop Johnny from traveling hundreds of miles barefoot planting those seeds all along the way. Johnny trusted that the course of nature would take care of the seeds if he would do his part in assuring that the seeds got spread. Finally, it is important to note that Chapman very likely never saw the extent of the "fruits" of his labor. At best, a seed sprout needs 8 to 10 years before it becomes a fruit bearing tree, so with the years of travel and the stage of life of Chapman during his quest he possibly ate very few apples his work inspired. I believe that is the point we need to embrace from the life of the legendary Johnny Appleseed. Although he knew that more than likely he might never see actual apples on the limbs of the trees he planted, he did not hesitate to continue planting those seeds. He believed, no he trusted, that the seeds he planted would eventually produce fruit and thus provide food for others that he may never meet and for years to come that he may never see. The question begs itself, "What type of seeds are you planting today, and what type of fruit will those seeds bear long after you are gone?"
     When you wake in the morning and as you and your family prepare to start their day, you plant seeds. You either plant seeds of encouragement or it is possible that you could be planting seeds of defeat. Positivity will bear the fruit of a positive mindset in others. You can't nurture a positive mindset with a defeated attitude even before the day begins. "I get to go to work today", as opposed to, "I have to work today" is a seed. You may be saying come on "I get to go to work?" really who wants to go to work? Trust me, if you were unable to get out of bed due to some health or medical issue and thus unable to go to work, let alone move about independently, you would probably become very enthused about the opportunity to go to work. Be thankful you have the health, the intelligence God gave you, and the skill set required to do the job you do and go at it with the attitude that all you do is done for the Lord not for man. (Colossians 3:23) Plant a positive mindset seed. Inspiration, hope, compassion, empathy, perseverance each time you enter a room before you exit you will plant a seed. That's something to be mindful of, you don't just walk into a room and then walk out without having an impact on that room. You can either come in and say or do something that will make someone else in that room feel a warm glow inside that they may not even associate with you, or you can leave the room and that same person say to themselves, "Man I'm glad he/she's gone!" Don't think you can get off the hook here by saying, I'll just keep to myself and walk in that room and then walk out, no remarks from either end of the spectrum, no smiles or frowns, I'll just do my job and nobody can point a finger at me. Guess what, if Johnny Appleseed had decided to not plant apple seeds along his journey he would have just been going for a walk. No footprint that lasted, no legacy of hope for those that traveled after him, and no impact on the sustainability of life that we are each charged with making during our time on this planet!
      Face it, you will plant seeds of some type each day you live. The question is what types of seeds will you plant and to what extent will your labor impact others? It is our responsibility to plant seeds that can be nurtured and eventually produce the fruit. God doesn't ask us to do the full job of developing those seeds, He just wants us to plant the seed, He will provide the positive outcome. Paul reinforces this concept in I Corinthians 3:6 "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." When you wake to start your day plant seeds of encouragement, as you make your way up to the drive-thru window compliment the attendant on a job well done, when you enter the room at work or at school lift someone up with a positive outlook for the day, instill hope, display courage, and always plant the seed of love for your fellow man. You plant the seeds, God will provide the apples.
Coach Carter

"Canvas and Clay"

    
     I dabbled in painting when I was in high school and even went to our local community college on an art scholarship my senior year, but seriously, my abstract art would have made Picasso cringe. I loved the freedom that my instructors gave me to pretty much do whatever I wanted to do on the blank canvas and that is exactly what I did. That freedom of expression can best be summed up with the idea that there are no mistakes in art, just new opportunities to make the piece of art what it was originally intended to be before it was even started. From what I know about potters the same is true in this craft as well. We see a lump of clay the potter sees a beautiful piece of art that just hasn't been released from its confines yet. The job of the artist and the potter isn't to create an object in a color by number fashion, but more so in a free form approach. There is no such thing as a mistake in art and the same can be said about the life that God has given you to live. No mistakes.
     The Contemporary Christian singer songwriter Pat Barret has a new song out entitled "Canvas and Clay" which inspired me in writing today's FTM. In the song, Barret talks about how God made us with a purpose in mind and that purpose is ongoing, changing, and metaphorically being born anew each day. It is our responsibility to embrace the understanding that we have a purpose. Barret's words "You're the artist and the potter, I'm the canvas and the clay" reminds us that just as the artist makes what some would label a missed stroke on the canvas, the artist can only see a new direction for the piece of art. An addition to the original work that will only make it better than it was. Same with the potter, as the potter works with the clay on the wheel many times the original concept is altered by what could be mistaken as a mess up. Nothing could be further from the truth in the eyes of the potter. The clay is being formed and reformed in an ongoing process that isn't finished until the work is placed in the kiln and fired under immense heat and pressure. That's a whole other FTM in the making, but let's just say the heating process creates yet one more change in the original work, thus still working on the original piece of clay even under fire!
     What I need you to embrace from today's message is you are not a mistake. Your life's circumstances are not just by coincidence, there is a purpose for your life and thus there is a purpose for everything that happens in your life. When you see adversity, God sees an opportunity for growth. When you feel like a mistake, God sees you as an ever changing, always growing creation that has a purpose to serve. What we see as devastation God uses to make His creation exactly what it was intended to be from the first stroke on the blank canvas of our life.
     Our role in His creation of this masterpiece? It is our responsibility to never give up, to never think that a situation is final, but instead to trust that for every stroke of misfortune in our lives, there is an intentional outcome waiting to be released. Artists can't use erasers and such is the same in life. We can't change our past mistakes, errors, or misfortunes, and honestly, we don't need to think about that as an option. We need to allow God to use those mis-strokes to guide us to where we were intended to be. What others would see as a failure, we can choose to say to God, "You are the artist and the potter, we are your canvas and clay".
     Keep this in mind this week, you are never alone and God doesn't make mistakes! No matter how overwhelmed you may feel, or how devastated your life appears to be, if we will only trust in the knowledge that God has a purpose for each person's life, we will move forward working to release that masterpiece you were created to be.
"Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8
Coach Carter

Instruction Manual for Leaf Blowing

      
     One of the good things about being an educator is Christmas break. Time to relax, recharge, and reunite with family and friends is much more attainable when you have a week or two off around the holidays. That being said one of the not so good things about being an educator is the breaks that you receive, because most of us spend a great deal of said "break" getting caught up on work around the house and yard. Don't get me wrong, I certainly do appreciate the time off, but man, most of the time I feel like I need to get back to work so I can get a little bit of rest!
     Due to the unseasonably warm weather we have been experiencing in our area, the leaves hung on to the branches a little longer than usual and I found myself up on the roof and out in the yard blowing the leafs into piles and rows during this year’s winter break. Most of the time when I am doing a job like this that doesn't require a great deal of focus or attention to detail my mind tends to wander and I do some of my best brainstorming for projects and plans. This particular winter, fall like, day was no different as my mind drifted off in thought about the possibility of a leaf blowing instruction manual. Is there such a document I asked myself? What would it include? How would it be accurate, due to the fact that every yard is shaped differently, some on a hillside, some flat, some small, some extremely large, some with maple trees, and some with oaks, poplar, or maybe even just a small pair of ornamental dogwood trees. A generic handbook on how to blow leaves effectively and efficiently would be a pretty broad topic to cover. (See what I mean about my mind wandering?)
      Armed with that bit of useless information, my mind drifted on down the line to a much more valuable nugget of information. A leaf blowing instruction manual probably wouldn't make the best seller list, one because it would be rather boring, and two because everyone's yard is different and what works for me in the forest I call home, probably wouldn't be so effective a strategy for those that maybe just deal with one of two small trees in the front yard of their home. That being said, we do have an instructional handbook that guides us each day, answers our FAQs, and is infallible whether you live in Tennessee of Timbuktu! The apostle Paul assures us that the Holy Bible is a sure guide with this promise in II Timothy 3:16,"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." When we aren't sure about how to conduct ourselves, or even better yet, to guide us each day in our business dealings, people dealings, or life situations along this journey we are all embarking turn to God’s instruction manual. Unlike my concocted "Leaf Blowing Guide for Beginners", the Bible serves as a direct line of communication from our Creator to each of us if only we will spend time in the Word and then mediate and apply the principles and lessons provided. You can rest assured that for any situation, question, or trial you have, are currently in, or will encounter going forward your life's instructional manual has the answers inside. Seek them. 
     As we enter the new year this week and we all make those New Year resolutions that are laced with good intentions, but not sewn with strong commitments, resolve to turn to "Life's Instruction Manual" and apply the principles, commands, and laws that it so readily provides. Who knows, you may even find some guidance on how to blow the leaves from your yard! Proverbs 14:23.
Coach Carter

When the Answer is "NO", Your Response Should Be "It's ON"

     
Here's something for you to think about as we head into the new year 2020. In life, you have a choice when a proposal is presented to you. You can answer "Yes" or you can answer "No". Pretty simple, and not very thought provoking you may be thinking, but what I'd like to share with you today is the "why" behind the "No" response and why the "Yes" response is what we need to align ourselves with as we enter 2020.
     I guess it would be best to remove the disclaimers first, so we are on the same page, a response of "No" is appropriate in cases of safety, morals, ethics, and when legality is in question. I am by no means advocating for lawlessness to prevail when it comes to questions seeking to get you to do something unacceptable in society or in the realm of law and order. A simple response of "No" is totally the right choice, but it is in those areas of moving people to action for the betterment of a cause or in making decisions about change in the way we do things that it is both undesirable and dangerous for anyone in a position that allows you the privilege of making those decisions to just say “No”. For my friend and colleague Daniel Aldridge, we have decided that when we get the quick answer "NO", all we can hear is, "It's ON!"
     Just a simple inversion of two letters. One vowel and one consonant, yet the power that each word yields can make a monumental difference in the course of life for an individual or for a shift in the way business is conducted. In too many instances the quick responses to a proposed change in the normal accepted way of doing things, (i.e. routine) is "Well we tried that before and it didn't work", or "We can't do that", or maybe you've heard this one, "We haven't ever done that before so would it be fair?", in other words those responses could be replaced with two simple letters "NO". In matters that will impact lives that simple response "NO" is just that a simple response. Basically, what that response says is I don't want to give the effort it will require to try something different,  that doesn't make it acceptable. It definitely doesn't make it right, and it isn't the mentality that has shaped this great country in which we live.
     What if George Washington had said "No" when he was asked to lead the colonies to freedom from Great Britain? He could have said "We can't do that Mother England is a powerful country with all the resources and military might to squash any effort we might conceive to put into action." Wouldn't that have been the safe answer to give? Wouldn't that have assured that George Washington would not be associated with failure? Yet because he along with the other founding fathers of this great country did say "Yes" we now live in the land of the free and the home of the brave! That is a pretty dramatic characterization of how saying "No" can impact society, yet put it in terms of a suggestion to make a change in the way your office conducts business, or in my profession attempting to make a change in the way we “do” education. If the question is one that will ultimately impact a child's life, instead of saying "No" we need to be saying "Okay, it's On, let's try to come up with a way to make this happen". By giving the quick response of "No" we proclaim that we are completely satisfied with the status quo, in essence we are stating that we are comfortable with sitting in idle on the interstate of life.
      The apostle Paul warns the church in Thessalonica about the dangers of sitting on your laurels and thus being stuck in idle in Thessalonians 3:6-15. Paul admonishes the believers by telling them that if they are idle, that basically is a disruption to progress. He goes on to say that if you aren’t willing to work towards progress and change then you basically aren't earning your keep and shouldn't be provided with the means by which you are able to pay your way in life. In other words, earn your keep. It's easy to say "No", it's easy to make excuses about why you are responding "No", and it doesn't require any energy or effort on your part to answer "No". Does that make it right? Or, does it make it the easy answer with the least amount of effort involved?
      Back to the previous example given about sitting in idle on the interstate of life. Picture a car on one of the tracks like at an amusement park. Without any effort on the part of the driver of that car the car is going to go around and around that amusement ride. Will you get anywhere in life by sitting on that track, car in idle, following the path of the zillion other passengers that have rode that same round and round circular path? That to me is how someone responding "No" to a new idea lives their life. Is that a safe ride, absolutely, little risk, small investment of energy, and almost a guarantee that we won't fail, yet is that how we make progress and how we challenge the status quo? Not for me. When you tell me No, all I hear, see, and think is "It's On!". Let's put our heads together, let's brainstorm, why don't we come up with ten ways we could change it and then figure out which one is best for the recipient of the aforementioned change and then put a plan into place that will make it happen. Decisions in life are too important to those that will be impacted to sit in idle and continue going around and around in circles. The latter part of the message from Paul to the disciples in Thessalonica challenges them to "Never tire of doing good". Say yes till it hurts, say yes in matters of what is best for those that will be impacted not best for yourself because it will require the least amount of effort, remember sitting in idle? I’m not even suggesting that the choice of the “No” answer is even intentional, I believe we have just got caught in idle and that is where we are living.
      As we barrel roll through this last few weeks of 2019, make a commitment, a resolution to hold back on the quick "No" response. Slow down, ask questions like "How?", "Why can't we?", and "What if?" before we blurt out that definitive short answer of "No". Saying no requires little effort, (sitting idle), instead when you face a dilemma or when someone proposes a new way, a new path, why not say to yourself and those you live and work with, "It's ON!!"
To paraphrase one of my favorite quotes from Winston Churchill which sums up today's FTM nicely,
"The pessimist sees the challenge in every opportunity, while the optimist sees the opportunity in every challenge."
Breaking the Norm in 2020!!
Coach Carter

"The Ocean Doesn't Need the Sailor"

         I heard a song yesterday that really hit home. I listen to a radio show on NPR entitled Etown which features musical guests from a wide and varied span of genres. Ron Pope, one of yesterday's guests sang a song titled "My Wildest Dreams" (just posted on my Facebook page) in which today's FTM is centered around a particular line from this musical journey.       A lot of times I'm bad about just listening to music without paying enough attention to the words or message of the content in the lyrics. I tend to just enjoy the beat, melody, or rhythm of the song, but in this case, one of the first lines in the song grabbed my attention and set me to thinking about how true the statement was. Mr. Pope, a folksy type artist chimed the line "The ocean doesn't need the sailor, the sky was there before the dusk", and suddenly my mind started thinking about how true that is. The ocean would still exist if there were no sailors to set sail upon it, yet if there were no ocean where would sailors go to sail? Not wanting to say that we are insignificant at all, but just think we need to put things in perspective a little and in so doing realize that our purpose on life is completely necessary, yet if we choose to ignore the purpose God created you for, His will, will be done.
      When we get so caught up in how important we are, how critical it is for our schedule to be the focus, how our plans should have the spotlight or even the idea that someone just cut "me" off on the highway, I would suggest we keep this little reminder in place that really the ocean doesn't need the sailor. We need to remember that just as with the ocean and sailor equation, this big, old world is spinning with no support from us, and if God wants us to do something and we choose not to do it, it will still be done it just may have to take a little different path to get there. The one that loses out in that situation is the sailor.
     Didn't want to sound offensive today by no means, just wanted to send a wake -up call to someone out there that may have a calling that they haven't answered yet or a mother or father that needs to place a higher emphasis on teaching their child about what Christmas is over who they still have to buy a present for this year. Maybe you're listening to the words of Ron Pope's song and that line makes you feel insignificant, well it shouldn't. The fact that the ocean doesn't need the sailor could make us feel a little insignificant, but in my mind all that is saying is yes, the ocean doesn't need the sailor, but the ocean gives the sailor a purpose and through that purpose the relationship of the sailor to the ocean is everlasting. The more the sailor depends on the ocean the more their existence is intertwined. May your life with Our Maker be the same. God existed before us and He will be in existence forever, I just want Him to be in existence in my heart forever! He may not necessarily need me, yet I could not imagine my life without Him in it!  
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Coach Carter