Nothing to read today so you all have the privilege to see my handsome face for five good minutes. Enjoy your weekend everyone.
God's Speed.
I'm the talk of the city, and you can hear em whisperin
Friday, February 5, 2016
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Mr. President (Poem)
Mr. President, why are you crying?
Did a gust of wind hit your eye?
Is the smoke from Sandy Hook still flying?
Or is it the air from the Windy City where the blood can't dry?
Did you see a generation with no father or sons?
Are you misty from the lullaby the pistols sing?
Do you hear names of young black men whistled by guns?
So many innocent took the bullet but you too felt the sting.
Mr. President, I see your eyes watering and your speech is choked:
He said it’s hard to breath in a land polluted by gun smoke.
©
By Marcus G. Taylor
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Say What You Say, Do What You Do
I know it has been awhile since I have written and how ironic that my first topic back would be on finishing strong. Recently, I watched a snippet of Kevin Hart during one of his comedy specials and he was talking about an experience he had at a gym. Kevin, in a very comedic way, described the situation of a muscled up guy on the weight bench doing some bench press reps. Kevin then said this gentlemen started to stack more and more pounds on the barbell, grunted loudly, powdered up his hands, and paced around the bench press for the sake of drama and attention. So as Kevin Hart observed this, Kevin actually got excited and wanted to see this guy actually bench press half a ton of steel. But, to Kevin Hart's disappointment, the guy did not even make an attempt, the guy just simply walked away.
Now if you will allow me to go the scripture on this, Luke 14: 27-33, Jesus gives two short parables about finishing what you start. One was of a man who had to consider if he had enough to finish building a tower, the other was of a king who had to consider if he had enough troops to send into battle. It is interesting that it is not mentioned if either man took action, but we are told that they thought about the negative results of what could happen if they failed. Vince McMahon said in an interview recently that the millennial generation, the Y generation, does not even try to make attempts of going for it all because they are afraid to fail because failing exposes them. It seems lack we are afraid to even start on something because we do not want to end up being exposed..."Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, `This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
But let us tell the truth on some things, if God has called us to do a great work, which is go all in to His will and purpose, we should not have the fear of being exposed. I say that because we should have the faith to believe that God will give us the strength to finish what He has called us to start. Now we need to be clear, we have to see what exactly we are being called to: if we are called to build a tower but we go out to try and build an army, we are going in the wrong direction and we will certainly get exposed.
"I can never quit when it gets hard. if you quit, you going backwards, if you going backwards you're dead," unknown author. I want to leave you with this thought, and that is the thought Kobe Bryant laid on the sports world announcing his retirement. Now, when he first started in the NBA twenty years ago, he set out to be a champion and he accomplished that goal. Nothing was going to deter him from that: not critics, coaches, players, off the court issues. Other players in his draft class seemingly fell off the planet and some ask where are they now. But Kobe endured and accomplished his goal. With that being said, how much more are we to continue on in the faith and complete the work that God has put in our hearts to do.
Now if you will allow me to go the scripture on this, Luke 14: 27-33, Jesus gives two short parables about finishing what you start. One was of a man who had to consider if he had enough to finish building a tower, the other was of a king who had to consider if he had enough troops to send into battle. It is interesting that it is not mentioned if either man took action, but we are told that they thought about the negative results of what could happen if they failed. Vince McMahon said in an interview recently that the millennial generation, the Y generation, does not even try to make attempts of going for it all because they are afraid to fail because failing exposes them. It seems lack we are afraid to even start on something because we do not want to end up being exposed..."Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, `This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
But let us tell the truth on some things, if God has called us to do a great work, which is go all in to His will and purpose, we should not have the fear of being exposed. I say that because we should have the faith to believe that God will give us the strength to finish what He has called us to start. Now we need to be clear, we have to see what exactly we are being called to: if we are called to build a tower but we go out to try and build an army, we are going in the wrong direction and we will certainly get exposed.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
When Life Outside Of You Happens
"With so much drama in LBC it's kinda hard being Snoop D-O-Double G," Snoop Dogg proclaimed once. It is a telling statement of how the world around us has an affect on our lives.
Think about it: there are things that we know that we can control, mainly our personal responsibilities such as our health, money management, or time spent on personal relationships. But, there are things that we cannot control in which we have to manage, like the weather, traffic jams, or Russell Wilson throwing an ill-fated interception in the Super Bowl.
The things we can control, we probably strive, or at least hope to strive at bettering those things. The things we cannot control, we wish we could bend them to our will, it is human nature right? Those are just minor things.
A question I want to bring forth to all of us is, what happens when are directly confronted by things beyond our control? What is our responsibility then? Although I live in Georgia, when 9/11 happened, the way I would travel in the future, my perspective on Islam, the way I looked at my role as a Christian was directly impacted.
So what does it mean when our life gets interrupted by a major event? If you allow me to go to the Bible on this, Isaiah 6:1-8 gives us some perspective. "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple....Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
It would seem as if when things are outside of our control impact our lives, it is a way of God calling us to action. It is our knock at midnight if you will. And I know we get this feeling of helplessness with starving families in other countries but there are schools and community centers closing nearby and maybe there is something we should do for those kids.
Maybe there is a family on our block having a rough go at it and they could use groceries for a week. Maybe there is a coworker who needs to carpool with us or they might lose their job if their late one more time. Or there could be a married couple that needs a babysitter so they can go on a date because they have been on the rocks for a bit.
There will always be things beyond our control. But when we are faced with things that we cannot control, will we step up and answer the call. We all have a choice, so we should choose wisely, and we should choose with love.
Think about it: there are things that we know that we can control, mainly our personal responsibilities such as our health, money management, or time spent on personal relationships. But, there are things that we cannot control in which we have to manage, like the weather, traffic jams, or Russell Wilson throwing an ill-fated interception in the Super Bowl.
The things we can control, we probably strive, or at least hope to strive at bettering those things. The things we cannot control, we wish we could bend them to our will, it is human nature right? Those are just minor things.
A question I want to bring forth to all of us is, what happens when are directly confronted by things beyond our control? What is our responsibility then? Although I live in Georgia, when 9/11 happened, the way I would travel in the future, my perspective on Islam, the way I looked at my role as a Christian was directly impacted.
So what does it mean when our life gets interrupted by a major event? If you allow me to go to the Bible on this, Isaiah 6:1-8 gives us some perspective. "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple....Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
It would seem as if when things are outside of our control impact our lives, it is a way of God calling us to action. It is our knock at midnight if you will. And I know we get this feeling of helplessness with starving families in other countries but there are schools and community centers closing nearby and maybe there is something we should do for those kids.
Maybe there is a family on our block having a rough go at it and they could use groceries for a week. Maybe there is a coworker who needs to carpool with us or they might lose their job if their late one more time. Or there could be a married couple that needs a babysitter so they can go on a date because they have been on the rocks for a bit.
There will always be things beyond our control. But when we are faced with things that we cannot control, will we step up and answer the call. We all have a choice, so we should choose wisely, and we should choose with love.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
MLearning Attempt
After reading the Mobile Learning article by Nick Floro, having a twitter discussion with Rob Power, EdD
@xPat_Letters, and a chat discussion with my mentor Shekema Silveri www.myifeacademy.org, I decided to test the hashtag learning discussion for the teen Bible study.
Without getting into the details of the discussion, the hashtag I came up with was #pulseyourinfluence for Twitter and Instagram. After announcing the hashtag and being the first to tweet it and post pictures, the amount of teens that actually tweeted and instagrammed this discussion: 0.
It's a shame too because the discussion went really well. I was not expecting this hashtag to break the internet, or even sprain the internet. I was hoping for at least one participant though.
After reviewing the discussion in my mind this morning, I remembered a tweet from Tim Elmore, @TimElmore, "Students support what they help create." I realized that while my effort was good, my effect was not.
The teens had no hand in creating the hashtag so there was no connection. Their discussion was very engaging and it is something that will be continued on so they enjoyed the conversation.
My takeaway from this experiment is to let the students have a hand in creating their social media context for learning and have the educators be a guide and set parameters. A great experience to take with me for the future.
Without getting into the details of the discussion, the hashtag I came up with was #pulseyourinfluence for Twitter and Instagram. After announcing the hashtag and being the first to tweet it and post pictures, the amount of teens that actually tweeted and instagrammed this discussion: 0.
It's a shame too because the discussion went really well. I was not expecting this hashtag to break the internet, or even sprain the internet. I was hoping for at least one participant though.
After reviewing the discussion in my mind this morning, I remembered a tweet from Tim Elmore, @TimElmore, "Students support what they help create." I realized that while my effort was good, my effect was not.
The teens had no hand in creating the hashtag so there was no connection. Their discussion was very engaging and it is something that will be continued on so they enjoyed the conversation.
My takeaway from this experiment is to let the students have a hand in creating their social media context for learning and have the educators be a guide and set parameters. A great experience to take with me for the future.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Keep Shooting
So a couple of weeks ago, I was playing basketball with a group of guys and before I tell on anybody else, I have to tell on myself first, I missed some very makeable shots early on. A buddy/co-worker of mine came to me and said "don't worry about it, just keep shooting." As a good leader, he saw that I could have let those missed points bring down my confidence and taken me out of the game. Knowing that I had his confidence to make those shots even when, honestly, I had some doubt, gave me some confidence to just play harder. I kept working to get open and he gave me the opportunity to shoot and low and behold, I'm making the shots.
Since the games were only going to 10, each shot should be a good look at the very least so whenever I would miss he would still say, "Keep shooting." He trusted in (1) that I was listening and (2) that I could make those shots. After the winning the first game, my friend gave me a vote of confidence with the game on the line to make the winning basket of the second game and kapow, I hit the game winner! I was able to make that shot even when earlier, I thought I shouldn't be shooting anything because my friend told me it could be done.
If I can go to the Bible on this, Jesus told the disciples to keep fishing even though they had been fishing all night long and caught nothing and fishing while the sun was out did not make much since but they believed in what He said and ending up catching more fish than they ever caught before (Luke 5:4-7). Now think if they would have told Jesus that He was crazy for even saying to fish in the middle of the day when all the fish can see the nets-they probably would never have become the fishers of men (Luke 5: 10).
So here is the point I want to make: we should not get weary in well doing. In this day and age of instant gratification and having things at the tips of our fingers, it can be so easy to give up on things when it gets difficult. And what I want to drive home is not just giving up on a dream or a career or even a personal relationship but in a bigger picture, we should not give up in doing good to people at every turn. We should look to be there in a time of need for a friend, for a co-worker, for a stranger, for a fellow laborer of Christ (Galatians 6: 9-10). If we keep in mind that we should spread love to all men and women then we can really make a difference in so many people's lives. So lets keep fishing for those who need help and who need love and encouragement because they made end up winning the game for us. We need to keep shooting.
Since the games were only going to 10, each shot should be a good look at the very least so whenever I would miss he would still say, "Keep shooting." He trusted in (1) that I was listening and (2) that I could make those shots. After the winning the first game, my friend gave me a vote of confidence with the game on the line to make the winning basket of the second game and kapow, I hit the game winner! I was able to make that shot even when earlier, I thought I shouldn't be shooting anything because my friend told me it could be done.
If I can go to the Bible on this, Jesus told the disciples to keep fishing even though they had been fishing all night long and caught nothing and fishing while the sun was out did not make much since but they believed in what He said and ending up catching more fish than they ever caught before (Luke 5:4-7). Now think if they would have told Jesus that He was crazy for even saying to fish in the middle of the day when all the fish can see the nets-they probably would never have become the fishers of men (Luke 5: 10).
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Power of Words (Nice Guys Finish Last)
While studying for the GRE I am finding that some words do not necessarily mean what we think they mean. Somehow, words have changed meaning over the course of time. Case in point, the word nice has definitely changed in meaning. When we think of the word nice now, we think of 1500's definition which is to be agreeable and delightful. With nice being such a good attribute how did we get the phrase, "Nice guys finish last?" Good question and I have an answer for that from www.onelook.com and that is the etymology/origin of the word nice in the 13th century actually meant "foolish" and "stupid" [from the Latin nescius-not knowing]. So the power of words and what they really mean can really have an impact on how our world is formed.
"A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket."
-Charles Peguy
Now if you allow me to go to the Bible on this, Matthew 5:48 says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Again, that one simple word tends to trip us up because we always, "I'm not perfect" or "God knows my heart, I ain't perfect" or some other phrase we say all the time because the word perfect has come to mean flawless. But if we go back to the original definition, perfect means to be "complete" and "ready" and that does not necessarily mean we will be flawless in all that we do. Lets be honest, all of us, as humans, are a work in progress (Psalm 103:14), so being flawless would be a hard task but being complete would not be impossible. The truth is, God wants us to be perfect or ready because that is what He is. We should always be ready, prepared, solid, dependable, etc. because that is what the world needs: people who are complete.
If you look at the world today, there are so many unfinished things and undependable people that things are bound to go wrong when they should not have to if things were prepared the right way and if people were ready. So lets get into the habit of being complete and being ready because the world needs complete love from ready people.
"A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket."
-Charles Peguy
Now if you allow me to go to the Bible on this, Matthew 5:48 says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Again, that one simple word tends to trip us up because we always, "I'm not perfect" or "God knows my heart, I ain't perfect" or some other phrase we say all the time because the word perfect has come to mean flawless. But if we go back to the original definition, perfect means to be "complete" and "ready" and that does not necessarily mean we will be flawless in all that we do. Lets be honest, all of us, as humans, are a work in progress (Psalm 103:14), so being flawless would be a hard task but being complete would not be impossible. The truth is, God wants us to be perfect or ready because that is what He is. We should always be ready, prepared, solid, dependable, etc. because that is what the world needs: people who are complete.
If you look at the world today, there are so many unfinished things and undependable people that things are bound to go wrong when they should not have to if things were prepared the right way and if people were ready. So lets get into the habit of being complete and being ready because the world needs complete love from ready people.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)