Dreams Don't Have Deadlines (The Prequal)

Okay, I'm a wrestling fan, I mean a huge wrestling fan and one of my favorite wrestlers is DDP, Diamond Dallas Page, the one who will make you feel the bang!  And his whole story is very motivational and one time he did a very good promo when he was about to wrestle one of the all time greats in wrestling, Macho Man Randy Savage.  In this promo, DDP said that his first 79 matches, he lost (and as a kid I remember him losing a lot and just to say he lost is being kind).  Anyway, he lost his first 79 matches and one time he was stripped naked in the ring at a live pay-per-view, and whatever you think about wrestling, clearly, no one wanted DDP to be in the wrestling business but the thing is, just as bad as people did not want him to succeed in wrestling, his desire was even greater that he pushed through those barriers.  Keep in mind, Dallas Page was 40 when he lost his first match and continued in this streak, and this was after he had been managing other wrestlers for about fifteen years.  Years later in an interview Page said what helped him through everything was that it was his dream and "you can't put your dreams on anyone else, you have to do it yourself."  And that statement stuck with me.

Taken that into consideration, there is never a deadline on what God has given you to do.  If you want to do something bad enough, something that drives you, a purpose that you cannot deny then there is no time limit for it.  George Elliot says, “It is never too late to be what you might have been,” and its true because if time is our only limit, we have our whole lives to fulfill our dreams.  When Joseph had the dream about being a ruler over his family as a young man it did not happen till he got older.  When David wanted to build a temple, he gathered all the money and materials together and his son Solomon built it.  Simeon literary waited his entire life just for the birth of Christ.  These few and many more had dreams to keep them going and the thing is, through everything, they never gave up on their dream no matter how long it seemed to take.

The old statement of Rome not being built in a day is true.  It started with Romulus, one man with a vision of a city and after thousands of years, one man's dream became realized.  Of course Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream for the future of the people in the US and worldwide and even though he knew he probably not be alive to see it come to pass, he was willing to do whatever it took so that future generations would see it happen.  In all that, we should not put a deadline on our dreams.  If we are 40 years old trying to be wrestler or leader with hope for all people to love one another, there is no time limit on what we can accomplish.

Opportunity Knocks or Invite Opportunity

Recently, I had a conversation with someone that had a great opportunity slip through their fingers.  This person played in a marching band in high school and transferred and stop playing because of the lack of skill level of the band.  Now, in the back of the mind of some of us is, if you love doing something, those little things do not matter right, well to this person it did, and who knows where that road could have gone.  So this person comes to my alma mater, Georgia State University, who in the last few years, launched a football program and along with that came, guess what, a marching band.

Now, this band is not on the level of some other major universities just yet but that will come with time.  At any rate, this person, once again, did not join this the GSU band because it was not up to the level of expectation so being apart of it was out of the question.

Here is the kicker to this filibuster if you will (thanks Dusty Rhodes), Georgia State University just celebrated 100 years of being in education and the marching band was invited to be apart of the inauguration of the re-elected President Barack Obama which I must say as an alumni, I am proud of that fact and I am proud of the band members that were able to have that opportunity and experience; a rare, even once in a lifetime opportunity, that the person I was talking to missed out on.

As the old heads say, the only thing between us and success is opportunity and air and its true.  The thing is, opportunity comes to our house very little and accepts our invitations even less and rarely invites over for that matter so we need to take heed to Ecclesiastes 11:4, instead of waiting on right conditions to do something, i.e., a better marching band, better job, right background, or whatever we come up with, we will never do what God put on the inside of us to do because we are looking at what is going on around us instead of what is in  us.

Ecclesiastes 11:6 says that we should be working at one thing in the morning and working on another thing in the evening because opportunity could happen for either one or both but the thing is to be prepared when God sends opportunity to our house or when He tells us to call opportunity up and invite opportunity over.  I will close by saying that time is precious and opportunities are few so we have to treat it all like a lightning bolt that we can grab on to and ride it because it is no guarantee that we can put that lightning in a bottle (yes it is cliche but it fit right?)  God gives us the skill and ability, provides the opportunity, but its up to us to make the choice if answer the knock on the door or send out invitations for it.

Branded X

I was watching the show Brand X the other night and they were in the midst of an interesting social experiment. One of the audience members stated he was on the way to South Beach a.k.a. Miami, for sex to put it bluntly and the Russel Brand volunteered a backstage area as a porn shoot. (I haven't lost you yet have I? Keep following, I'm going somewhere.) So the debate came to the rest of the audience if they wanted to watch this unexpected turn of events and one woman, mature in age, stated that even though she knows the amount of pornography produced in America and around the world, she's never confronted with it publicly even though she knows it happens and it is against her morals. Now here is where we get to the heart of the matter because Russel points out that we as a society know that immorality and injustice exists and is happening all around us but as long as we are never confronted with them personally, we continually go along with the status quo. Too often we shake our heads at crimes we hear on the news and other things but when more schools are closing, communities are failing, bullying is still rising, shelters are falling apart, racism, sexism, and the list goes on but we do not take a stand on these things. God never wants us to accept things as status quo; He wants us to do justice and judgment (Proverbs 21:3) . In a world where there seem to be me more priests and Levites and less good Samaritans, people are hurting and left on the side of the road because society has said its a sad situation but it is what is. God is calling us to something higher than to accept things as is; He put in us to be different and to change situations. The first step to greatness is to not turn a blind eye but rather, extend a warm hand to those who are suffering in a cold world (Luke 10:25-37).

Willing To Wait

Recently, I mean very recently in December 2012, I saw a line begin to form one evening in front of a shoe store on Candler Rd in my hometown of Decatur, GA and the next early morning, the line got even bigger.  One can assume it was for the Jordan 4 or the D Rose 3 shoe; in any event, it was cold and the store was not going to do a midnight sale so those people had to wait.  It made me think, people can discipline themselves to wait for anything and go to any lengths if they think it is worth it.  We can hardly wait for the dinner to get done or for microwave popcorn to finish or even for a friend to hurry up so that we can get to where we are going; we have to build up patience for those things because in reality, those things are not of great value to us.  But things we really value and want to happen, we become very patient for it.  So I think that is an approach we should to take to our dreams and goals as well.  In Luke 2, Simeon was promised to see Christ before it was over and so he waited.  Abraham, in Genesis 12 and 13 was promised to have essentially, a nation of children but he had to wait on his first child with his wife, Sarah.  And there are so many other examples I could give.  The point is, we must have patience for things to happen because, like those customers that waited for about 15 hours in the cold, anything of value is not going to be given over night.  In the book, Outlier by Malcolm Gladwell, he gives us the "10, 000-Hour Rule," which is to work on your purpose, your dream, your goal, for a long period of time, working out the kinks and the wrinkles so that it and you are perfected.  It takes time + dedication (patience in other words) = to get perfection but you have to be willing to go through whatever it takes, good and bad, cold and hot, sun and rain, days and weeks, months and years.  In this smart phone and facebook/twitter/instagram society we tend to think that things should be done in a blink of an eye and that our dreams and goals should get presidential treatment (never having to wait on anything); but if you look at what it took for the person to become president, all the years of hard work plus the amount of the babies kissed, its no wonder he or eventually she, does not have to wait for an elevator or an airplane or limo.  So remember to go for your dreams and purposes but remember that it takes patience to keep going after them, and if you read Hebrews 11, you may not see the full completion of it in your lifetime but that does not mean you give it up.  Run with patience until your task is complete.

Expecting The Red Light

I am reading Justin Halpern's I Suck at Girls (who also wrote Sh*t My Dad Says) and I get to a chapter "sometimes you have to be hurled off a diving board against your will" in which Justin is retelling a story of his dad teaching him to drive. In this lesson Justin's dad would set up goals of driving from home to a place in ten minutes without breaking the law, with the pressure of having emergency scenarios. Justin stated that this type of pressure would not help him pass the driving test and his dad responded "I'm not teaching you to pass a test, I'm teaching you to drive." Justin's dad was teaching him to drive this way because his dad taught him to swim that way, which consisted of Justin being picked up by his swimming trunks and thrown off the diving board into the deep end (side note: I guess the best way to find out what is in you is to be forced to use it under extreme conditions i.e. young eagles pushed out of the nest). But back to the driving story, Justin is reaching his destination in good time before his ten minutes are up and he is noticing that one light before the street he is supposed to get to is still green. Now he begins to over think his situation and starts expecting the light to turn red. In a panic he starts slowing down while he's approaching the green and then hits the gas on yellow but by then the light turns red and Justin and his dad almost get into an accident.  Just think of what would have happened if he did not slow down at all. God gives us gifts and abilities and is right there with us, giving us wisdom and instructions and letting us know that we can go forward because we have the opportunity but we limit ourselves by over thinking and not understanding that God has put in us the ability to make the green light. Peter started walking on water but his expectation was that the wind and waves would make him sink and Jesus told him is all he had to do is have faith (Matthew 14:  22-33). We should have faith that we can walk on water and make that green light because God is right there with us every step of the way and the choice is up to us if we will go in faith or push on the breaks in fear but remember, in that decision, it will affect the destination on the other side because this is not about passing one test, this is about making the journey through life.

What's Your Religion Kid?

Earlier today, and I mean literally earlier today (October 18, 2012), I got asked about my faith in Christ by someone is looking to start a new chapter in life and it honestly took me off guard.  Now, since I started this blog I have talked about God and Christ but in the context of destiny and achieving life goals.  But the biggest thing I believe God wants us to do in all that we do is to glorify Him and show that we are His and that He puts us in position to be successful.  And with that success, we should be able to give others hope that God, first of all is love, and that He wants to put us all into great lives.  But, that's just the beginning of it.  It has been said and it is worth repeating that Christ Jesus did not take up a cross just for us to have a "good life" which is whatever you think of when it comes to having a good life (mostly material things).  Christ gave us a more abundant life that rather we work for a fortune 500 company or we make ends meet, God will take care of us and will show us that He is with us if we trust in Him fully.  That being said, when people look at our lives they should know God is with us and when they come with questions we should have answers for them because God just doesn't give us blind faith, He gives us love, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and when people see those qualities being used it is a very attractive thing.  Therefore, we should be ready to answer if someone asks, "what's your religion kid?"  Because those days will come and when they do come it's our chance to glorify God even more (1 Peter 3:15). Remember what the cross is about: dying for our sins and the Resurrection so that not only we can go to God our Father without shame, but that we also do not have to fear death because God is with us.  So next time, don't be nervous to share all that God has done for you because it gives hope to everyone.

YOLO!

YOLO! YOLO! YOLO! YOLO! Its a growing catch phrase since the song The Motto right? (Thanks Drake) But maybe its a wake up call for all of us too. You Only Live Once! Take a moment and think about it (I'll wait).  As MC Jin says (before he recorded YOGO), you only live once so never think twice, unless its to consider if its really worth the price.  So many times, we waste our time on things that really do nothing for ourselves or others. For some reason we either think we have all the time in the world or we have not counted the cost of what we put our time and effort into. It is funny how God gives us little to make much out of it and the number of days we live is no exception (Psalms 90). Here in America, its been put in our minds that our life is go to school, go to church, get a job, get married, get a house, get kids, retire as grandparents, maybe become great-grandparents, then die. Sounds ideal, but can we honestly say that we have seen and heard so many people that have regrets over the life choices they have made. How many marriages that have lasted 30 or 40 years end terribly or people become lost because of retirement or because of a lay off. Life is really an opportunity and life as a whole should not be wasted. If you love someone, family, friends, spouse, coworkers, tell them. If you are in position to help someone, help them. If there is a gift or talent that you have, use it, and use it for a purpose. If you think you do not have a special gift, help someone develop theirs. The one thing that can still sting you other than a heart break is a regret but, unlike a heart break, a regret is something you never even tried to do. You can correct choosing the wrong answer on a test but you can never correct a no answer. God has always called for us not to waste time because we only have so much of it to use and when its gone, its gone. Ask any professional athlete about time and chance; they can tell us all about it being now or never and that we should leave it all on the field, because in truth, there is only one chance, one shot, one opportunity, to fulfill your purpose.  And since all of us only lives once, we might as well give what we got and make this one shot we call life, a bulls-eye! Go for it because the kingdom of God is in you.

http://www.4regeneration.com/yolo/