Water is Essential

Water is essential. Our bodies are made up of more than 70% water, and we can only live a limited number of days without H2O hydration. Man has used water as a mode of transportation for centuries, and creating energy from water has flowed from paddle wheels to hydroelectric transformers in our nation's young history. Water is essential. 

 

Probably one of the best things I ever did was learn how to swim as a young child. My respect of water and appreciation of the recreational aspects of water have made me a water dog of sorts. Get me near water and I want to jump in. Just one reason why I would continue to assert that water is essential. The trouble with water is when we don't know how to swim. The result of that predicament is we run the risk of drowning. More than likely you have used the phrase "They are in over their head" meaning what's going on is too big for them to handle alone, or possibly you may have said, "I'm going to dive into the deep end of the pool" proclaiming that you are ready to face the bigger challenge that is standing in front of you. "We may stick our toe in the water", or you might just be "treading water", as the references to liquid life flow like a flowering fountain. My analogy is this, water is as essential to life as the problems, hardships, trials, and afflictions we face throughout our day to day existence. We either have to learn to swim or we run the risk of drowning in our own life's pool of water.

 

Today's thought "Water is Essential" goes without saying, I suggest that life's uncomfortable circumstances are likewise "essential". The earlier we learn to swim literally, the more comfortable we are in a pool, lake, or even in the expansive ocean with its waves tossing us back and forth. In life, the sooner we understand the value of adversity and affliction (Isaiah 30:20), the better equipped we are to swim through the circumstances of life we have been handed. At times it may even feel like we are just treading water as nothing seems to improve, and at times we may actually feel like the waves of life are too insurmountable to carry on, but that is when knowing how to swim carries us through. 

 

Swimming lessons are a must. Some of us may be self-taught swimmers, but to really be effective in water, lessons provided by a well-trained lifeguard raise our efficiency in the water, and thus gives us the confidence to take one more stroke moving us forward. In my life I have learned to swim by the One True Lifeguard. His Word gives me strength to face the waves and storms of life. When I feel like I can't even tread the circumstances that I find myself in, His example allows me to swim on through, always seeking a safe shore on which to reach. I know when I get tired, He is there to throw me a life preserver if I need it! In Galatians 6:9 Paul challenges us with, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." When you feel like the water is too deep, don't give up, swim on! When the current is pulling you the wrong way, don't grow weary, swim on! When you have gone under two times, keep your head up and swim on! God is there with you and He will never let you sink to the bottom of the pool. 

 

Just as we started our time together today I want to finish with the statement, water is essential. We will either use it to learn how to swim, or we will allow it to drown us in the same pool of water. Our job is to use water to teach us how to swim and then call on our soul's lifeguard to assure we are swimming in the right direction, headed for the right shore!

Coach Carter

Thank-Full

Here we are again, curbing right up beside the Thanksgiving holiday, ready to gather together with family and loved ones all for the sake of giving thanks. Well, let's just say that's what it is supposed to be all about. Yet, if you've traveled to your local Walmart, Target, or Costco lately, you may have surmised that Thanksgiving is that meal we all get together to eat before the big ballgames come on later in the day, and the signal that Christmas shopping starts on the blackest of Fridays the very next day. Thursday will be the recognized, official day for Thanksgiving and giving thanks for all we have been given needs to be our focus, yet I would suggest that it isn't as easy as it sounds if your "Thank-full" tank is running on empty. 

 

To earnestly give thanks we have to demonstrate thankfulness throughout every aspect of our lives. Just as it is critically important that we don't allow our car's gas tank to run empty, we must also keep an eye on our "Thank-full" tank and assure we don't allow it to be running on fumes as we journey in and out of each day God gives us to live. If we aren't careful, when we reach a tough spot along our journey, we may not be able to objectively look at our circumstances and still be able to give thanks. Instead, we may turn more towards a subjective inspection and base our "Thank-full" gauge more on what we don't have and "need" rather than thinking about all we do have and gratefully acknowledging those gifts in our thoughts and prayers each day. 

 

The Apostle Paul's tank tapped out the "Thank-full" side of the spectrum. Beaten, cast out into the sea for a day, imprisoned, beaten some more, and then tortured and imprisoned with the potential of being put to death, Paul could have received a pass if he were sitting around the turkey table with us today. But, Paul’s letters to the church in Thessalonica instructed them in this manner, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  I Thessalonians 5:16-18. What do you have going on in your life right now that is making it hard to give thanks in all circumstances? If you compare your life to that of your neighbor or a colleague at work or even worse if you spend your time comparing your life to the one on that "reality" show you are watching, then you are looking in the wrong direction. Social media, television, celebrities, and sports figures are not, for the most part, the norm of which we should be basing our "Thank-full" tanks. Our thankfulness needs to be completely based on what we have to be thankful for as we go through the day to day walk of life. 

 

The key to running on a "Thank-full" tank can be found in doing a daily inventory of all you have to be thankful for and then giving thanks for that tankful each and every day. Let's consider the following "Thank-full" perspectives. "I have to get up in the morning and go to work every single day, it feels like I never get a break and I hate this job!" Or "This isn't my dream job, but you know what? I am so thankful that I have a job and it is allowing me to learn more about how things work and may lead me to different pathways as I journey along life's highway." How about this introspection example, "My life is so complicated right now, my calendar is full, I have multiple deadlines to meet, and to top things off my daughter is sick, and I really don't have time to keep the wheels turning on all the buses I’m driving!" Or could it possibly sound more like this, "God you have given me a full plate at work and at home, yet I am thankful that you have given me this job which allows me to support my family and stretch my mind. I am grateful that I have family members that can help out with my sick child and encourage me along the way." Just as we have to take the time and effort to refuel our gas tanks before they go empty, we must also refuel our "Thank-full" tanks with intentional time and effort given to gratitude and being thankful. 

 

Ryan Fehr, a renowned gratitude guru, offers the following steps to take as you keep your "Thank-full" tank on the full side every day regardless of our circumstances at any one particular moment. 

 

Step 1: Put your gratitude on paper
Write down the names of three people or things in your life you are grateful for, and why.

Step 2: Have a gratitude conversation
Have a conversation with a friend, family member or coworker to share what you’re most grateful for.

Step 3: Tell someone you appreciate them
Identify a specific person in your life and tell them why you are grateful for them over phone or video chat.

Step 4: Pay it forward
Find a way to show your gratitude to someone in your life by helping them in some small way.

Step 5: Reflect and repeat
Take a few moments to reflect on how your gratitude exercises went and commit to at least one act of gratitude every week.

 

It takes work to choose to be thankful, but it also takes work to be ungrateful. The fortunate thing about being "Thank-full" is you get to make the choice on what you will focus your attention on each day. We can choose to be "Thank-full" throughout the year or we can get together on the day before Black Friday and focus on the mindset that the dinner mess is over and the dirty dishes still have to be cleaned. I choose "Thank-fullness" today and every day! Thank you, God, for all you have given me and all I have!  

"Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!" 

I Chronicles 16:34

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Coach Carter

 

Bounce

 

Over the past few weeks I've been listening to a new song by Melissa Helser titled "I Can't Get Away". If you haven't heard this uplifting song yet I highly recommend it. Throughout the song we are reminded that God is with us wherever we go and whatever we do. "When I'm up and when I'm down, when I'm lost, until I'm found, in the morning and in the dead of night, and the one that really rang clear to me, I've been to the bottom and I've been to the top." I love the message that Helser's song delivers, but what I really like is the rhythm of the different paradoxes up and down, lost and found, morning and night, bottom and top, each one brings an image of a little rubber ball dropping to the ground only to bounce right back up to its original starting position. The message of the song "I Can't Get Away" is a reminder, you may fall down, you may get lost, but you can't get away, God's love is always going to be right there waiting on us, helping us to get back up when we fall. In other words, BOUNCE!

If we compare ourselves with that little rubber ball, we will see that the ability to bounce back from adversity is a tremendous gift from God. It is our job to be resilient when adversity hits and BOUNCE back up and try it again. What I continuously hear in the aforementioned song is "I've been to the bottom, I've been to the top, BOUNCE, I've been to the bottom, I've been to the top, BOUNCE, with me in the morning, in the dead of night BOUNCE, God is with us and He always will be. So, what does it take to be able to bounce back from the adversities and afflictions we face? Well in the case of the rubber ball it is what is inside that makes it all possible. Rubber bounces.

The composition of a rubber ball is what gives it that bounce back capability. If the same ball was made out of cement it obviously wouldn't bounce, it would crash and smash. Plastic may bounce a bit, but it really isn't pliable enough to carry the same bounce factor of rubber. But the rubber makeup of that small ball gives it the full capability to bounce back from the adversity of being dropped to the floor, hitting the ground, and then bouncing back.

What does your core composition consist of? Are you capable of bouncing back when your health takes a drop? How about when a relationship is damaged, or your finances take a major setback? What gives you the ability to bounce back? Having a trusting relationship with the Father is the composition of being able to bounce back up and getting your life back on track. The next time you feel yourself being dropped literally or figuratively remember that you have God in you and he doesn't allow us to crash the first time we hit the bottom. Instead God allows us to bounce back from our weaknesses and makes us strong (II Corinthians 12:9-10), BOUNCE. Our total existence hinges on where we place our attention. Colossians 3:2 tells us to "Set your mind on things above, not on things of this earth, in other words" BOUNCE!  

Coach Carter

Trust Factor

Trust. The Word of God tells us to trust Him. Trust God regardless of the circumstances, trust Him. The word trust is a fickle little five letter word. Let’s look at the trust factor in an analogy of taking a trip in our automobile. Trusting God when we are driving down the road and the guardrails are in place on both sides of the road, protecting us from a steep and dangerous fall is easy. We trust God when our car has had a check-up at the station, oil has been changed, and our tires have been certified ready to roll. We find God trustworthy when we are able to stop along your trip and fill our bellies, fuel our tank, and purchase snacks for the remaining leg of our journey. When our GPS is signaling our right hand turns and our "exit two miles ahead" alert, we confidently trust that God is in control of technology, our finances, and our unfamiliar journeys. But, are these actually examples of trust? Is trust even an issue when our route is clear and our resources are plentiful? 

 

We are grateful, or at least we should be grateful, when our journey is smooth. Yet, the true test of faith comes when the conditions are not so favorable. What happens when we lose connectivity and suddenly our life's GPS is out of working condition? We make a few wrong turns and suddenly we are lost. How quickly do we change our tune and yell out, "God, how or why would you let me get lost? Why did you forsake me? I thought you cared about me and promised to always take care of me and watch over me?" When our car breaks down or we have a flat tire, do we ever go as far as to blame God for what is happening to us? Do we cry out in our suffering and ask God for an explanation? "Why God? why is this happening to me/my family?" I take care of my car, I do the required maintenance, so why would You allow me to experience such a breakdown as this?"

 

How do we fair on the trust factor when our resources are thin or inadequate? What about when we are hungry, cold, or lost, and we just don't believe we can move forward? Do we feel abandoned? Has God forsaken us? The answer to that question should be obvious, but often times this is where our trust factor tends to fall to the weak end of the spectrum. If we truly have placed our trust in God, and our faith holds tight to that trust even in times when it would be easy to lose our faith, we come to realize that God is faithful and He is with us regardless of whether our life's automobile is sitting on the curb. 

If we trust God, then we realize that when we are weak then that is when He is made strong in us. “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” II Corinthians 12:10. Our faith guides us as we trust that God's ways are not our ways, and that we can't think in the width or depth of the plans that God has for each of our lives. It is inconceivable for we are not capable, that is why God is God of all things, our thoughts, our circumstances, our bodies, minds, and yes, our souls. "...the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." I John 4:4. 

 

When trials and tribulations come and they will, we must trust that God has a plan and, in most cases, His plan isn't about us, but instead what we can do to serve others for God through our life's trials and tribulations. His promise is that He will be with us and support us to carry out His will if only we trust and believe! "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. Take heart, God is faithful and we can trust that He will never leave us nor will He ever forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)

 

My prayer for you today is that you will deepen your trust factor and place your faith in God, because He is worthy to be trusted! What can you do through your trials and tribulations that will allow you to focus more on how you can help someone else and thus take the attention off yourself. Once you find that place of service, you will find the strength that only God can provide and through that strength you will fortify your faith and grow your trust!

Coach Carter

Biggest Fear

It isn't too surprising to find that the fear of dying is one of the top "fears" that people around the world admit to dealing with in their day to day lives. What was surprising is that a fear of snakes, spiders, and other creepy crawly things ranked higher than the fear of death. In my own mind it isn't that I'm afraid of dying, but more so it is the fear of not living out the life God has given me to live, and fulfilling His purpose that I was uniquely created to fulfill. 

Make no mistake, you were created on purpose for a purpose. In all of history, there has never been an exact carbon copy of your DNA, your mind, body, or soul. This includes every thought, attitude, and mindset that you possess, they belong to you and you have complete control over them. This should serve as a motivation for us, but unfortunately, way too many people spend their time not living the life they were designed to live, replacing God's purpose with the plan of making sure they do all they can to satisfy their own worldly bucket list. If God designed me on purpose than that surely means God has something that He wants me to accomplish for His glory. I just don't want to miss out on doing what I was meant to do. 

 

How do we know if we are fulfilling God's purpose for our life? We may never fully know the exact answer to that question, but I'm pretty sure we can conclude what wasn't on God's mind. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” Ephesians 2:8-10. Paul was reminding the Christians in Ephesus that they were created to do the "good works" that they were created to fulfill. If what we "do" each day doesn't feel like it is having a positive impact on others then I would most likely suggest you re-evaluate what your main priority is in life. 

 

You can live your life working, or you can work your entire life and never really live. You can incorporate God's will for you to do "good works" through your work, your past-times, and your relationships. By living your life in that fashion, I believe you will fulfill God's purpose. God doesn't need us to change the world, although by sharing the love that God has placed in our hearts with those that are hurting and need to see God in action, your random act of kindness may be the very change God created you for on that particular day and at that particular moment!

 

Sadly, there will be way too many people that do not fulfill their purpose. That is the downside to free will, you can choose to fulfill your purpose modeling the life Jesus lived out as your model, or you can choose to live out a life that on the surface feels like it is satisfying, yet at the end of your life there will be a definite void where there should exist contentment and confidence. Don't be afraid to die, but most definitely be afraid of not living out the life God purposed you to live before you die! 

Coach Carter 

Having Sight but No Vision

Helen Keller, the early twentieth century societal leader for individuals with vision and hearing challenges, once remarked that, "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." If for some reason you are not familiar with the work and advocacy that Ms. Keller accomplished during her life, let me just say one word, amazing. As a young toddler, Helen Keller lost both her sight and hearing while recovering from a traumatic childhood sickness. Over the next several years, Helen lived in total darkness and silence. I cannot even begin to imagine what that trapped existence must have felt like. Fortunately for Helen, Anne Sullivan came into her life and eventually broke the chains of silence and solitude which had kept Keller captive a great deal of her early childhood. Sullivan, her teacher and lifelong companion figuratively opened her senses to the world through sign language and life experiences. Based on the quote above, I wonder if Helen Keller may have had better vision than the majority of sighted folks?

 

Do we attempt to see what our lives should be, or are we comfortable seeing only the parts that we want to see? We need to be cautiously aware that having sight does not guarantee we can "see" the true purpose of this life we have been given. Let's look a little deeper at the difference between sight and vision that Helen Keller shared. 

 

How do you look at people that are "different" from yourself? Do you see skin color variations? Do you look at how someone dresses, customs they observe, or possibly even the religion they worship and make a judgement call about that person as a human being? If we only see the surface layer of a person's outward appearance, do we actually have vision? Vision sees beyond what is visible, vision allows us to see the potential in something, or in this case, someone that has worth and value to family, friends, and society. We demonstrate blindness when we don't look beyond what is on the surface of a person's physical appearance (Matthew 7:1-2).  

 

As leaders of our homes and families what direction are we leading? We can't see the future, yet we know that there is an eternal destination we are all striving towards if only we believe and seek His will for this life we have been given to live. It is way too simple to allow life to happen without us being involved in the decision-making process or goal setting for the future. We have to have a vision of what is most important and then just as aptly important is setting a course for how to arrive at each person's individual goals in life. Too often, our vision is stuck on how am I going to survive the day or week, instead of focusing on the end goal or destination. Having a vision of what is in store definitely shifts the purpose and vision of the life we are living. 

 

The foundational difference between seeing what is going on, and having a vision for what the goal for something is transfers to pretty much any aspect of your life. I challenge each of you to step back, slow down, and do a little self-reflection about whether you just see what is visible, or if you have a vision for the long-range purpose or plan in each aspect of your life. Don't be blinded by the interference of your daily grind, things do not happen by coincidence, you have a purpose and your life's purpose will impact others and ultimately the future. What is your vision for the future you will impact?           

  "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he."                      Proverbs 29:18

Coach Carter

Choosing Your Roommate

Play along with for a minute. Let's say that you need a college roommate to split the cost of your new housing arrangement off campus. You share your "Roommate Needed" post on social media and receive several messages of interest. After narrowing down the electronic applications, you decide to set up in person interviews with two individuals. Applicant #1 arrives five minutes early for the interview, has a list of references to provide, and upon further discussion you find that Applicant one has several similar values and characteristics in line with your own. Applicant #1 suggests that whether the roommate possibility works out, or not, the two of you should grab a bite sometime and provides a firm and reassuring handshake. Later that afternoon, you receive a text message from Applicant #2, stating that they will be a few minutes late due to all the slow, stupid drivers that are causing them to be delayed. Disheveled and grumpy upon arrival, Applicant #2 complains about the apartment being on the second floor of the complex and that it really was tough making it up those steps. The analysis continued as Applicant #2 remarks that "there are too many windows (which equals more windows to keep clean)", "the color scheme is a little bright don't you think?", and tops off the meeting with an inquiry about whether their two cats, one dog, and Burmese python would be permitted in the apartment. By the end of this visit, you realize that you have absolutely nothing in common with Applicant #2 and you breathe a sigh of relief when you close the door behind Applicant #2. Which applicant would you choose? Not even a decision to be made I would guess. Ten out of ten times Applicant #1 would be your choice. Wouldn't life be much easier to make decisions and choices if everything was as black and white as the above scenario? 

Let's look at the options for our choice regarding life perspective. In my devotion this morning the subject was Paul and how he always saw the good in the bad, and how he turned what on the surface appeared to be a terrible situation into a victory for God. The devotion proceeded to suggest that when Paul was tortured and cast into prison and then shackled to the prison guard, Paul's perspective most likely wasn't that Paul had been cuffed to a prison guard in terrible circumstances, but instead that the prison guard had been chained to Paul so that he could share the Gospel with this prison guard. (Acts 16:26-34) Paul had a choice to make, he could wallow in self-pity and ask God "Why?" or Paul could look at the opportunity to witness to a lost soul that couldn't get away from him, because they had been cuffed together, which was all a part of God's plan and purpose for Paul's life. Which perspective do you tend to adhere to? I hope you do realize it is a choice? You have the option and you get to choose your mind's roommate. 

The reality of life is that all lives are going to have good and not so good occurrences and circumstances that exist each day. Even in lives that things are going well in, there are times when not so welcome circumstances take place and we have to make the decision on what our perspective is going to be. In the roommate example above, it was overtly apparent who the right choice would be for a new roommate. The majority of us would not want to invite Negative Nancy to become our new roommate and the uplifting smile and friendly gestures of Applicant #1 definitely made that decision simple. So why would we choose to look at the bad in every situation or circumstance? The opposite is just as available and the cost associated with choosing a positive outlook over a negative perspective is identical. It doesn't cost us a penny more to take the positive outlook on life, and actually it pays dividends to have a positive attitude, because it starts rubbing off on others that you interact with each day. 

Paul chose to look at his circumstances and make the best out of the situation God had placed him in at that moment of his life. Today, you have that same option which roommate will you choose? One that complains about everything and can't see the forest for the trees? Or, will you look at every circumstance and ask God what He wants you to accomplish in each situation and at this exact moment in time? "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13

You will choose your soul's roommate each day that you live, choose wisely!

 

Coach Carter