Love still abounds

This world has become such a bitter place: Divorce, Unemployment, Violence and Abuse, Murder and the list goes on and on. I have to ask God to forgive me when I begin to give up on the world around me and why shouldn't I? It sure seems hopeless. It is a world full of anger and violence. It is a lost world. Yet, God still has a heart for this battered world. He still loves the people that make up this country. He still offers hope and love. He still offers his forgiveness and grace.

While I am one who will not accept the world or its views any longer, I will continue to pray for our country and know that God can still do a work in this nation; regardless of what the past has been or what continues to be spoken over our country. I will not be one who accepts what people say about this country or their lack of hope. I will not be one who allows others to dictate how I live. I will live my life for Christ and I will continue to offer Him praise and glory. I am the head and not the tail....I am above and not beneath. I am more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus!

Suprising to some....Love still abounds in this world around us. Seriously, it does. Even though this world has a lot of angry people, a lot of people who have hurts and pains, there are a lot of people who still have love inside of them. Many of these people have buried their "love" deep within their hearts only to be covered up by life in general. When we see these people we begin to judge on the outward appearance; however, we are not looking at their heart. God looks at the heart and therefore so should we. The old cliche says to not judge a book by its cover and that is so true. We just need to have a heart like the Father and look deeper than what the outer layers show. People have love deep inside, but they have forgotten how to access it and have become so calloused to the situations they are apart of. Even though many people are hurting and have forgotten how to love there are many that do love and are happy to show it....so when someone does show an act of love it often times shocks us.

During my travels through the many airports I venture through I come across a lot of people who are very hateful and definately seem to not have any love in their hearts and then there are some who just don't know how to express themselves any longer and then their are those whose simple acts of kindness speak volumes. Just yesterday in the Detroit airport my laptop bag bumped into a woman and she gave me a hateful look and mumbled something to me under her breathe. All of this even after looking her in the eyes and saying excuse me and I'm sorry. Lord, help her. While I was getting a refill on my drink during lunch, I took the lid off my cup and ended up dropping my straw on the floor. The gentleman who was right next to me reached over and grabbed a new straw and handed it to me. I did not hesitate to say thank you. That simple act of kindness spoke volumes to me and was the catalyst for this blog. That guy did not have to get me a new straw. He could have just looked at me and walked on, but because he decided to show a simple act of kindness it sparked something in my heart. It reminds me of the television commercial where someone does an act kindness for someone and then the recipient of the kind act returns the favor to someone else and it continues to spread like wild fire.

So when you are out in this crazy world doing whatever you may be doing, remember, not everyone is full of hate and anger. There are actually people out there who know how to love and if they have forgotten it is up to us to help them remember.

Be blessed this weekend.

Coach

Friday the 13th? just another day to me

I am not one who is superstitious because of my faith in God, but today has definately been one where someone could/would say, "see, it's Friday the 13th and you are having bad luck." For the longest time in my life I used to say Good Luck and I still say it from time to time when I don't catch myself, but I can thank my mom for that. :) Why you may ask? Well my mom as she grew in the Lord taught me that it isn't about luck, but about Christ. So instead of saying Good luck, she would say the best to you or something of that caliber. I just want to say Thanks to my mom for imparting something into me that I can stand upon. It is not about luck at all. While there are unseen circumstances from time to time, it is called Life and it happens. We all go through unfortunate times and we go through great times, but it isn't luck. Why you may ask? Well I like to say that God is still on the throne and we still have breathe in our lungs. We are blessed to have life....period. Be good or bad circumstances we are to praise God, period.

Philippians 4:4-9, "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

I like what verse 4 says, Rejoice always in the Lord. So, whatever you are dealing with whether it be good or bad, give God the praise...period. Don't begin to make excuses as to why you can't worship Him. Even when Jesus was taking his stripes for us, He still gave praise to His father. He perservered and did not give up. While my issues this morning were aggravating, it was not worth getting anger stirred up inside of me. Yes, it did upset me and yes it did mess up my day, but to God be the glory! God is still on the throne and I still have breathe in my lungs to praise Him another day. Thank you Lord Jesus for giving me life and life more abundantly. I give you praise for this glorious day and thank you for all things.

I pray everyone has a blessed Valentine's Day.

Coach~

Daddy, daddy

Yesterday morning as I was praying I began to call out to God in a different way than I normally do. I envisioned myself like my son, Micah. Whenever he sees me enter a room or he enters a room his arms extend straight up. It doesn't matter what I am doing, I always reach down and either pick him up or give him a big hug. Many times he will just come running up to me and place his head on me, give me a hug and run off. One of his favorite phrases he expresses over and over is, "Da-da, da-da" and even if I respond to him, "Micah, Micah" he repeats it. It is a special bond I share with my son and one I pray never ends. Now...back to my point.

As I prayed I raised my arms to heaven and cried out, "Da-da, Da-da....Daddy I love you!" Too many times I have just considered him anything but that. But He is that. He is our Daddy. He wants to hold us and tell us He loves us, just as I described between my son and I. He wants that bond too. As I was praying I began to cry and felt an immediate warmth of peace and happiness fill my room. I knew in an instant my Daddy was there with me, holding me. He didn't have to say a word, because His arms were around me showing me His love.

We get way too busy to enjoy the small things in life and I am beginning to realize that my life is a vapor compared to eternity and we only have our families, children for a glimpse before they are grown and gone. God is changing a lot in my life and I welcome that. I welcome the changes and challenges...the growing pains. BRING IT ON! Change is good and I am willing to accept it. God is showing me I need to slow down and enjoy life.....kind of like sipping a glass of vintage wine. You don't chug it, you swish it in your mouth and savor the flavor. We are to enjoy our lives. I won't get into it now, but God is revealing a lot to me lately about my life and where He is leading me.

I encourage you to get alone with your Daddy and just crawl up in His lap and spend some time with Him. I can guarantee that you won't regret it and you will feel better for it. I am spending the next 3 weeks traveling on business and as much as I enjoy traveling I do not enjoy how it takes me away from my beloved wife and kids. It makes me want to spend even that much more time with them when I arrive at home on the weekends.....Less of me and more of them. Kind of like what God asks of us, Less of us and more of Him in our lives. I need less of me and more of my family....Less computer time and more family time....Less stress and more rest.

I will leave you with this verse, Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice." Regardless of our circumstances or where we are in our walk with God, we must always remember to rejoice in the Lord. Even when we are facing our darkest hour we are to rejoice. God turns the darkness into light and His joy cometh in the morning!

Till next time....Be blessed in the Lord!

Coach Stretch