I am so in awe of the Lord and his grace over our lives. It is a disservice for us to take the time that we have been given and not give our all. Everything we do is worship, so we must move accordingly. Proverbs 15:8 tells us - “ “The sensible person’s wisdom is to consider his way, but the stupidity of fools deceives them.”

We’d be fools to think that we have all the time in the world. Our time is fleeing, every time we take a breath. I don’t say that is not to scare you, but it is the reality.When our lives end and we are before our creator, we want to hear - “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

How you live now will set the standard for those after you. You’re building a legacy and you have the opportunity to let your life speak volumes well after you are on the other side of Heaven.

So with that said, what will you decide to do today? Who will you decide you want to be with the time you’re given?

Live well my friend, and die empty.

I’ll be 35 this year and I feel as if just within these last two years of life the Lord has just revealed so much to me about myself and life in general. Being a husband and a father of four the lessons never stop. Those two things will show you exactly what needs work in your life and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  A few things the Lord has been showing me :

1. Everyday is a surrender. We have to make the choice to let things go that aren’t serving others or helping us lead our families and ourselves well. We must shed what once worked and isn’t anymore. Dead weight stops us from moving forward.

1. You don’t have to be perfect to lead. We are all flawed human beings. We don’t walk in that but we understand it and allow Jesus to iron out those things in us daily so we can be our best selves.

1. Your journey is your own. Embrace the season. Not every season will be like the last, and that’s alright. Trust in the Lord , make the adjustments, and keep going.

Life has its twists and turns but stay encouraged knowing we serve a God who cares and is with us. Little deposits in the right direction everyday will reap a bountiful harvest. Keep pressing on.

Isaiah 41:10: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I also love when a guard plays with great pace; knowing when to push the tempo and when to slow down to center the team back to their game plan.

This can relate to life. I know for me, this past two years have been a lot of unlearning and learning. A lot of confronting the things in me that just don’t serve a purpose in this season of life anymore. A lot of change, and accepting the season I’m in and being grateful for it.

THE TRANSITION.

It’s not always easy to realize when you need to slow down and when you need to push the gas. As a former player, paying attention to detail was everything. It could make or break a possession for my team and could be the means to an W or an L. Our lives can be the same way, how are you handling adversity? How are you responding when things aren’t going how you expected? Adjustments are necessary, do not be discouraged when you have to pivot. I know it can be inconvenient at times but there’s growth in the surrender.

Embrace the transition with a fresh mindset and a good attitude. Get back and the game and push forward. One thing I’ve meditated on is this quote : “ Lay another brick, the wall will take care of itself. “

Let me ask you, how are you handling the transition?

A lot of time we treat our lives  like a bag, we carry things that we think make us who we are. Rightfully so, some of these things are learned by our environment, our families, and our own personally adopted beliefs and behaviors.

We go through disappointments and we pack that in our bags, that taught us how to ignore and keep pushing on our own.  We carry shame from our past decisions. We try to let that go but it just seems like we’ll never get past it.

We carry the opinions of others and the lives they have.  We pull that out and complain about the things we don’t have, and how life isn’t fair.

Eventually we are overwhelmed and carrying way too many things that aren’t helping us but weighing us down instead. We can’t even look up and see all the good things in front of us.

Our bag is so crowded with the things we’ve n packed ourselves, there is no space to receive.

Meanwhile we serve a Savior who’s had his hands open to take all the hurt, all the junk we’ve been carrying since we started packing up  our book bag ( life ) with what we thought we’d need.  He wants to rearrange and discard some things. He wants to replace some items with things like peace, joy, kindness, self-control, etc. So when it’s time to take from our inventory we’re using things that bring us life and not take it from us.

Carry only what you’re called to, nothing more nothing less.  🤞🏿

2 Corinthians 5:17 - “ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! “

Romans 12:2 - “ And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. “

I was having a conversation with my oldest son, we were talking about all the little cuts and scars he has from being outside. He began telling me stories about how he got certain scars.

It made me think about our life experiences and how they all teach us and leave scars. Some scars are worth telling the story and others may bring up memories that we don’t want to remember.

One thing they all have in common is they taught us something and they remind us of what we have been through. It also gives us a chance to show gratitude because we are still here.

So remember your scars are your testimony. Some take longer to heal than others but do the necessary work to heal. We don’t want the wound to linger and then become infected. In life if we do that it spills into other areas of our lives and could possibly hurt others around us. Learn the first time so you don’t have to keep repeating the experience. Reopening wounds and causing more damage.

Lead in love, forgive often, be great. Rooting for you on this side. 🤞🏿

Being in the gym, posture and form have a big say in your results. Bad posture can lead to improper form and injury. Bad form can lead to bad workouts and building bad habits later on when you’re in the gym.

This can be just how we operate in life. How’s your posture when you feel disrespected by your boss or a loved one?  How’s your posture when the day isn’t going your way? How’s your posture when you just don’t feel like it?

I can say for me it’s not always good , and I get in my flesh and lead life like I’m on my own. When in reality, I have the Holy Spirit there  as a trainer with the Word of God as my weights to help transform me into the man I want to be. I also need to have community to be spotters when I amgoing through something heavy to help me lift and get through.

But, we can  have all that and choose not to walk in it.  We forget that our posture matters. Are we there to lay on our knees in front of the Lord and receive him and surrender all at his feet.

Or will be continue on our own , putting all the weight on our shoulders and back and complain about how hard it is and how hurt we are? Bad posture.

It won’t happen in a day, but it is a daily surrender. Work on your form and posture every chance you get. You’re not alone, we need each other to press on. Let’s get better together. 🤞🏿

In an attempt to fix ourselves sometimes we lose more pieces or get more cuts. We try to follow the world’s standards of success and love, more broken pieces. We try to follow the crowd rather than the purpose the Lord put on the inside of us, more broken pieces. We run to temporary fixes to help alleviate pain from habits we built over the years; more broken pieces. Eventually we are left with a pile of glass and we have no idea how we got here and how to mend it. We take on a task that was never ours alone from the start.

Repair can only begin from the inside. The Lord is the great architect, he takes the glass and repairs the mirror. The mirror is there to remind us who we are and whose we are. We are created in the image of the Lord. That image does not change in spite of what others may think or say. That image is still intact even though we have flaws. I’ve been here, but it is not forever.

Continue to press forward and heal. Stop trying to put masking tape on cracks that need true repair, not temporary fixes. One day at a time, let’s get better. It starts with one step and the marathon continues.

Love 🤞🏿

Some times it’s just a kid being a kid, other times they are right.  What happens when we sit in that reality? There are two things that occur,at least for me.

I can acknowledge that reality, and then become solution oriented on how I can move forward. Two, I can sit and wallow in the negative and only focus on what I don’t have and ignore all the little great things that I have in my life.

We were never promised the world would be a fair place. We definitely weren’t promised a fairytale life. Although this is the truth, there is a greater truth in the Word of God and the promises of the Father.  I can accept that fact and still believe the Lord has better for me.

I can list so many but for reference I’ll give a couple verses for you to look up and meditate on when you feel like life isn’t fair:

Psalms 84:11

Ephesians 1:11

Proverbs 3:1-4

When life gets tough and we are reminded that life isn’t fair. May we turn to the Lord and remember all that he’s brought us through even up until this point.

It might not be fair right now, but press forward in God and in your journey remembering that sunshine is still possible with rain.

Lay another brick. 🧱

The Bible tells us God has made us uniquely and wonderfully. Psalms 139:14 , every day we are graced with is an opportunity to walk in that truth. We were created with purpose embedded in us. What I’m learning as I get older and deepen my faith is that there is power and honor in obedience. It’s easy to obey when you know you’ll reap on the back-end; but can you do it when the path is unknown or when you have 0 followers? Don’t despise the small foundation you start with because we have the ultimate rock on our side. The cornerstone that cannot be removed, Jesus.

One thing that has kept me going is the idea: “ lay another brick, the wall will take care of itself. “ We keep stacking up our efforts, there will come a time where we reap. Then we can turn and encourage a brother or sister who is right where we use to be.

Keep pressing in, love family. ❤️🤞🏿

It made me think of life, is it time for you to shift gears? What are you stalling on in life? Are you shifting too early?

If we rush the process sometimes we’ll shift too early and skip steps in the process. We run the risk of missing out on things that we are meant to experience that will help us at the next level. Or we take on things that weren’t even meant for us because we couldn’t be patient. Adding a list of other things that have nothing to do with what we are called to do. Missing out on developing for what we are actually meant to do.

In my case, I get too comfortable. I get stuck in gear and forget that I need to shift. So I just cruise along; when the Lord is trying to push me to shift. I won’t experience life abundantly because I’m stuck on what is and masking it as “appreciating the moment”. It’s time to shift gears, it’s time to go to another level. Time is moving, so I should be too. So should you! Take heart and know that you are not alone. May we move together in unity as people! May we offer a helping hand and sound advice to our brothers and sisters. May we run this race with integrity and love remembering that we are all living for the first time ever.

Shift gears family. God has more for you. 🤞🏿

Philippians 3:12-14

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

A lot of times we get caught up in focusing on the destination sign ( career goal, dream home, etc.) we get discouraged. We think man I still have so many more miles to go; that we forget the mile markers ( good health, connected family, able body, bills paid, clean water etc. ) that have been crossed to get us closer to that destination.

I know life can be draining with its many tasks and many inconveniences. But when we have those times we have to look with an optimistic view. Thank God we have the ability to take care of this inconvenience. That inconvenience can be what you need to slow down and look at your situation. It can be a chance that God is giving you to take a break, reevaluate and get back to the task with a clearer vision and a better plan.

The journey will have pit stops, road blocks, and road changes but they are all apart of YOUR journey that God predestined you to take. It will not always be easy. God did not promise us an easy road. God told us to take heart because HE has overcome the world. We can rest in the fact that we serve a God who knows the struggle, who is FROM the struggle and defeated it with everything in him. So with everything in you celebrate how far you’ve come and press on.

Celebrate those mile markers in your journey. They complete your story on the road to your destination set by God. ✊🏿

Often, when I leave the gym I’m hungry. I remember one particular time I was literally scarfing down my food like I hadn’t eaten in years. I wasn’t taking time to enjoy the process nor let the food digest. I just kept going and going. I ate so fast, my stomach was hurting afterwards.

A thought came to me about life, about how we treat life just like our food sometimes.

Going and going without even thinking about what we already have. Looking forward to the next thing without even appreciating what’s right in front of us; what’s happening right now. Then when we get all that we want, we complain and say: “ I have too much on my plate. “ but this is what you wanted right? Self-caused trail aka stomach ache.

More is not always the answer, and I know I had times where I needed to learn that the hard way. Let’s take today to appreciate the little things. Let’s take today to be thankful for what we do have and not discontent because our life isn’t like our neighbors.

Let’s be thankful and practice gratitude for the plate we’ve been given, someone is praying for what you have right now. Love family. 🤞🏿

  The other day I was sitting watching a couple kids get told to do one thing, but their attention was being consumed by another. It’s like they really wanted to do what was being asked of them ,but they couldn’t take their gaze off what was happening around them. He kept saying “ok” but wasn’t putting in effort behind the words.  It made me think of how often I put myself in the same situation.

It’s hard to change our perspective if we are stuck on what’s right in front of us. We won’t be able to see anything that can possible be better because we aren’t willing to look in a different direction. It’s okay to focus on what’s at hand, but be open for what’s to come because it can be just what you need.

Just because God had you here in this season doesn’t mean he won’t call you elsewhere in the midst. We have to be willing to adapt, be willing to accept change. We might outgrow current circumstances and have to shift our perceptive into the unknown, into the new.

At the end of the encounter the child ended up doing what he was called to, and received a treat. It wasn’t about the end result but his willingness to change his perspective granted him something better, something he didn’t have before. Something he would’ve missed out on if he didn’t change his gaze.

Let me ask you, what are you gazing at? Let us first gaze at our creator and put our energy and effort into building that relationship. When we do that, we will live life as he intended us to; abundantly. Then let us gaze on our community, and the passions the Lord has put in our hearts. Embrace the shift, lead with love.

Keep pressing on. 🤞🏿

Do you have a vision for your life? I think some of the hardest questions I’ve ever had to ask myself is: “ what do you want out of life and how can you get there” ? The Bible says in Proverbs 29: “ Where there is no vision the people perish. “  It hit me earlier that when we go through life with no plan, we are not stewarding the time we have been given well. We are not really living the abundant life that God wants us to live. I get it, it’s not realistic to have your whole life planned out but we must have a sense of direction. If we have no idea of what path we intend on going down we will always detour at every fork of the road because we do not know what we really want or where we are trying to go.

We will always follow the crowd because I guess it works, it’s working for them. No, that is not always the case. We must run our race only the way we can. The Lord has chosen you to live this life, and he wants you to enjoy it. In order to do that we must have a vision through Christ that we truly believe can work out for us. We have to not only have that vision, we must work towards it.

Time isn’t waiting for you, there are people in the world that need you. They need to see you work your vision out. They need to see you work in the little details. They need to see you use what you have now to build what God has for you in the future. I don’t want us all to get to the end of our lives and we are standing in front of our creator and he shows us the many times we could’ve changed lives if we would have just started. If we would have just trusted HIS process.

When we exercise our faith through action God honors us. BUT it doesn’t mean it will be in the way you want but it will be what you NEED. Can you have the humility to say yes now even if you can’t see what’s next? It’s scary I know, but we must recall on all the times God has carried us through thus far. It’s alright to be a chill guy, but you can vision & chill. Let’s challenge ourselves to live life abundantly. Dream big, and press forward in the Lord. Let him lead you down the path and grow you through challenge and community.

Let’s grow family. 🤞🏿

A task that you dread or you’re motivated to do.

. One day we say I’ll start with one load a week. We stick to that for about a week or so. Then we start the spiral. A couple pieces on the floor, a few in the hamper. Before we know it our laundry pile that was suppose to stay at one load a week turns into many loads and a headache of “ I can’t deal with this right now. “

Life can be a lot like laundry, it can pile up just as our clothes do. I find myself in this position from time to time. Having to sort out the piles of thoughts, worries, doubts, until I feel like I can manage and get underway.

A few things that I have incorporated to stop this line of behavior within myself is a 10 minute system, self-analysis daily, and simple practicing gratitude. The “I get to” , not “I have to” mentality.

A lot of times we are sitting in the very things we were asking God for, not realizing all the work it would be once we got it.

We have to prepare to work even after the prayer is answered because the job isn’t done.

Whatever you’re facing now, go one load at a time until the process is complete . Then you rinse and repeat. Keep pressing in, you have all the tools and a God who is more than willing to go along the way with you. 🤞🏿

Now I’m not saying that you do things like this to receive but you never know what will transpire because you simply obeyed. You accepted what the Lord was telling you to do. Now will it always be this simple? No , not at all. The yes will get more complicated but what happens inside of you will be well worth it. When we continue to obey our relationship deepens right along with our faith. We go from- “I don’t know I guess” to “yes Lord because you’ve carried me this whole time.”  We look at and live life different when we say yes and truly strive to follow Jesus.

On the other side of your obedience could be your breakthrough, or it could be a tough lesson. Either way, we know it will workout for the good of those that love him. Keep pressing in, keep saying yes, keep building, keep inspiring & loving your community, and stay the course.

“ yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. “

As I have gotten older time has become more valuable to me. As we go through life we learn what things deserve our attention and what we want to just Let go to the waste-side. The reality of life is that one day it will end. We will come to our final moments and that will be the end of our mortal lives. As grim as that is, it lights a fire in us to make the most of today and the moments we are granted.

I read a book titled “ one month to live “ by Lee Strobel. He posed the question , what if you knew for certain you only had one month to live? We’d take every moment to not just cherish but live without regret and do some of those things we labeled as “ some day “ .  This isn’t to put fear in you but to encourage you to live everyday like it’s your last because it very well could be. My father always says he wants to die empty. When we get in front of our creator and he shows us all the opportunities we past up due to others opinions, our own fears, our own doubts it’ll be terrible to see all the time we just wasting waiting for the perfect opportunity when today could be that day.

In all live today like it’s the last! Love today like it’s the last! Encourage all like today is the last chance. In all, lay a brick a day and the wall will take care of itself. God wants you to live a full life NOW.

2 Timothy 1:7 - “ for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. “

Some time ago I came across a story  on Instagram. The story goes like this : A couple guys are out golfing and they’re just having small talk. Brian tells his friend Len that his wife wants him to make his famous chili and cornbread but he doesn’t really feel like stopping at the store to get everything he needs to make it. They continue to golf and after a few minutes Len softly says, “just make the chili.” It took Brian a minute to understand that the conversation was no longer about the food. You see, Len  had recently lost his wife and he was encouraging Brian to do something for his loved one while he still could even if it was a minor inconvenience.

As we go through life and we get in routine and things can become mundane . But let us remember it all could be over before we know it. So I say all of this to say, VALUE YOUR TIME. VALUE THE COMMUNITY YOU HAVE. VALUE THE LIFE YOU LIVE. ALWAYS BE KIND. We get one shot at this, let’s make it count and let’s help others do the same. Love you guys. 🤞🏿 Always, Make the chili.

“ Life is short, Forgive a lot, Help plenty, Love like crazy. “ - Abhijit Naskar

As I sit with these thoughts the Holy Spirit is speaking to me and he said one word : gratitude. So I begin speaking life over myself and my situation. It might not change it right away but it gets the perspective and mindset shifted for the journey ahead. Thank God I have an able body to work on , thank God I have a community to lean on when I feel lost , thank God I have another chance.

I don’t know what you’re battling in the moment but I do know gratitude must be in the forefront of our minds. Setbacks happen, and you’ll need time to recover. Might as well make the most of it and enjoy the ride. It could all be over before you know it. Keep loving , keep inspiring , and keep going. Your time will come. 🤞🏿

“ Obstacles and setbacks are inevitable. How you respond to them will determine if you have what it takes to meet challenges and become a champion. “ - Germany Kent.

“ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. “ - Proverbs 3:5-6

But what if God is calling you to that thing you are avoiding? What if this is here to deepen your trust and relationship with him? It would be so much easier to say yes if we knew what would come of what it is we are jumping into right? OF COURSE!

The thing is, life will not always look glamorous. The jobs we have will not always be that “ dream job. “ but we must  shift our focus and thinking to hearts and minds of thanksgiving.

The Bible says in James 1:2-4

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Sometimes we need those hard things in life to fully see God working on our behalf. We need to go through those things to understand that apart from God we can do nothing! With God we not only better our lives but also those around us; and I would argue that’s the best part. Yes we put our best foot forward, yes we work hard. But we work hard knowing that this is only possible through our Lord. So I say to you, keep pressing forward and allowing God to lead you in this journey. Get around some like-minded people who are on the same journey as you and can lift you up and speak life over you. Last but not least, be sure to give God all due praise and honor for what he has done and what he is about to do. In the end it is worth it because we are being shaped into better reflections of the one who has called us.

Love family 🤞🏿