Show Me Who I Am Before I Mess Up Who I Can Be

If only you could see what I can see in you." Have you ever heard or said these words? It's hard to watch someone with so much potential throw their life away simply because they can not see who they were predestined to be. Often times even those around us have no idea of all the great things we have the potential accomplishing. My parents stayed on my case as a child about hanging with the wrong crowd and doing things that would only lead to destruction. I can still hear my mother saying "If you stay on this course you'll only end up in jail or in the grave." Apparently she'd lived long enough to know a little something about life because the majority of those same friends are or have been to jail, are addicted to drugs and alcohol, and a couple have even passed away. Honestly, I always knew God had bigger plans for me. It was just a matter of me accepting and embracing it. As a kid, I dreamt of being an astronaut that would explore the heavens above, but my actions kept my feet nailed to the floor. Just like Jacob wrestling with the angel in an attempt to discover his true identity, I wrestled with my desire to be "cool" by doing things that were not so positive. I consistently ignored my parents' warnings about the company I was keeping until one day I saw the police outside of the house we would typically hang out at with my friends handcuffed. I realized then that the path I was traveling was indeed headed for destruction. School and sports eventually started to occupy the majority of my attention and I began to excel at both. I was selected by Duke University to take the ACT in 7th grade and scored a 17. In 8th grade I played my first varsity football game and was a full timer starter by the 9th. I eventually graduated high school with honors and earned numerous scholarships in football. I'm thankful that along the way I had teachers, counselors, principals, coaches, friends, and family that saw the potential I possessed and challenged me to fulfill it. I have kept my eyes focused on my goals and have accomplished many things along the way. I own my business, as well as hold a corporate position at a well-known company in the food industry at the age of 24. God has truly blessed me with a vision to strive for, all the skills and tools necessary, and a humble spirit that trusts in Him to lead my path. But first, He took the time to SHOW ME WHO I AM BEFORE I MESSED UP WHO I CAN BE.

I aM mE

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It Only Takes One

One problem that we as people have, is selling ourselves short when assessing the power that we all possess. Every movement, revolution, etc started with ONE person. Many of us choose not to go to the polls to vote for our elected officials because we do not believe in the power of our voice. Our lives are dictated by others because we will not stand up for what we believe.  Instead, we quietly sit down and follow directions. The Bible tells many stories of individuals who made significant impacts on our faith and history simply because they did or did not realize the difference they could make. Adam's transgression in the Garden of Eden cursed us all to have a sinful nature. Moses, along with the help of God of course, rescued over a million Jews from Egyptian bondage. Jesus served as the sacrificial Lamb of God, to redeem us all, and gave us the opportunity to choose salvation. The power that we all possess, and the impact that it can have on the lives of others is incredible. Sometimes, certain situations are necessary in order to bring out power we never knew we had. The old saying, "The most dangerous man is the one that's backed in a corner," is correct. Think about a mother who sees her child in trouble. There is no limit to the extent that she is willing to go to protect him or her.We never know our true strength until it is tested.  When we have no other choice but to fight, we see what we are really made of. It is at this point that we understand that we have the ability to make a difference. Just imagine if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr had not had the confidence in his dream. Or, what if Thomas Edison had not believed he was intelligent enough to create the light bulb? African Americans would still be treated as second class citizens, and we would all be walking around in the dark. So, the next time you feel that you alone can not make a difference remember, It Only Takes One.

Go For What You Know

There are times in our lives when we are faced with decisions that may seem to "go against the grain" from what everyone else sees as normal or possible. These are the times that define us and solidify what we truly believe and stand for. I've learned that life is about growing and maturing, which may give us new "eyes" for certain things that we've seen differently in the past. But, our core principles should not change even with this growth. I am still the same person who has always placed my faith in God to open doors of opportunities for me, but now I realize that He is much more than that. I now see selfishness in only wanting the gifts without accepting the Giver. Going for what you know isn't always the easiest thing to do, especially when the people closest to you don't agree. Sometimes they will even go to extreme measures to discourage your efforts. Even our closest friends and family are jealous of our growth and fight hard to not be left in their misery without company. But, we must stick to our guns and do what we know is right. In 1 Samuel chapter 14, Jonathan's faith in God led him to take only his armor bearer with him into battle against the Philistine camp of about 20 soldiers. After receiving confirmation from God that it was okay to attack, (1 Samuel 14:8-11)  Jonathan and his armor bearer headed towards the enemy camp to fight. God honored Jonathan's faith and caused the Philistines to begin fighting and killing themselves! Upon hearing the commotion, his father Saul became enraged that someone had attacked the enemy without his consent and sought to know who had done such a thing. After learning that it was his very own son, Jonathan, Saul commanded the priest to stop praying for him! (1 Samuel 14:19) Our history on Saul tells us that he was a very jealous man. He was jealous of the Israel's faith in David, Jonathan's friendship with David, and his own son's faith in God. This goes to show that even your closest of kin can be the culprit that is trying to bring you  down. Regardless of what anyone says, we must do what we know God has laid on our hearts to do. Go For What You Know.

Defeat Does Not Mean I Am Defeated

Throughout my life, I have been faced with various situations that could have easily caused me to give in and give up. I'll be the first to admit, that picking myself up off the dirt has always been easier said than done, but knowing that it was necessary for my progression has generally helped lighten the blow. In sports, losing one game doesn't mean the entire season is gone to waste. How else do you explain being able to "lose the battle but win the war?" The same concept applies to the game of life. Setbacks, roadblocks, disappointments and some flat out defeats do not happen to make you quit; they're meant to be tools of growth and maturity. We have to utilize them as learning tools and gleen valuable lessons from them. What mistakes did I make? How can I do things better? If I can do things over again, what would I change? The problem is, we allow these disappointments to pin us down for the 3 count. We give up too easily. "Well, at least I tried" is a lot easier to say  than "defeat doesn't mean I'm defeated."  But, it's all in our minds. How mentally tough are we? Even then, there are still some things we have to speak into existance by literally telling ourselves that we can overcome our situation. I know some people will think we are crazy but so what? I takes being borderline crazy to have the resilency necessary to get the most out of life. Proverbs18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." Life is not about what happens to us, it's about what we do in response to it.

How have you finally overcome an obstacle than once stood in your way?

Former U.S. Marine Anthony McDaniel lost both legs and an arm fighting for our country.

How Am I Carrying My Load?

"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it."
-Lou Holtz, National Championship Winning Football Coach and ESPN College Football Analyst

      I know we can all think of a time when we planned a trip to somewhere nice and thought of all the activities that we wanted to take part in when we got there. We began filling up our suitcase with different types of clothes and shoes to fit every occasion. To our surprise, no matter how hard we try to zip it up, it just would not close. Being tempted to give up, we start taking things out to make room. As we start putting things back in place, we realize that the clothes and shoes had been previously thrown in the suitcase with no strategy, taking up more space than necessary. After repositioning our belongings, we found that everything we had packed before was now able to fit in the suitcase after all.
     We face these same problems periodically in our minds. As humans, we tend to allow things such as doubt, anger, resentment and pride to cloud our judgement and affect our actions. It's hard, nearly impossible, to make sound decisions when our mind is being infiltrated with so many negative influences. Take the servant with only one talent for example. He let fear keep him from being productive with what he was given. When his master returned he was displeased with his servant's works, or lack thereof, and called him "wicked and slothful" (Matt 25:26). Some of us deal with anger issues. The wisest man to ever walk the Earth, Solomon, spoke on this very issue. He said, "Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools" (Ecc 7:9). Anger can cause us to do things that we will later regret. It can cause us to hurt loved ones or take justice in our own hands, rather than letting God be the judge. I know I have said some things that I wish I could have taken back, but it was too late. Situations are only made more difficult by acting out of anger. The best course of action is to stop, look and listen. We need to STOP whatever is it we are doing, or planning to do, so that we can take another LOOK at the situation after we have had time to cool down. Finally, we should LISTEN to what God has to say about the matter. His wisdom far exceeds anything that we could ever hope to attain. He knows the outcome and possible ramifications of our actions if we continue the course we are on. So, when we feel life bringing us down, we should ask ourselves: "How Am I Carrying My Load?"

Just Get Over It

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If you have ever been wronged by anyone, especially someone you think highly of, then you know that forgiveness is easier said than done. We sometimes feel the need to make the other person feel the pain that we feel, or at least make sure they know how upset we are. How many of those times have you later realized the situation that you were upset over was simply a misunderstanding? Many friendships have been strained and ended because the two sides did not have a clear understanding. Even when certain things are said or done out of spite, we should learn to let them go. Forgiveness is not just for the other person, it is mainly for us. Often times the person who has done us wrong has gone on with their life while we are still harboring negative energy. It can eventually affect the way we treat other people. I've heard many people say that they cheat on their partners because of how hey were treated in a previous relationship; or, they bring memories of what happened previously and accuse their significant other of doing things they are not. The best thing to do is to JUST GET OVER IT. I have personally let past relationships cause me not to desire entering anymore. I felt that all relationships would end the same. I had to realize that those women were going on enjoying their lives while I was depriving myself  of companionship. In essence, I was the only one suffering because of my unwillingness to forgive. We are not supposed to hold grudges against anyone. Jesus told the disciples in Luke 17:4, "If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' 'forgive him." We not only keep ourselves in bad moods by not forgiving others, we also block our blessings. God will not trust us with His "good and perfect" gifts if we do not possess the heart to treat it how He wants. The only way to be in a position to receive His gifts is to, "Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (Colossians 3:12). Since it is impossible to possess these traits without having a forgiving heart, I guess we are forced to JUST GET OVER IT.

Tell me about a time that you have been wronged by someone you really cared for. How did it affect your relationship with that person? did you ever JUST GET OVER IT and forgive them?