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.

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.

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.

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.

Oversharing

Awhile ago, my cousin shared something with me that may stick with me for the rest of my life and that is the concept of oversharing.  Oversharing, according to urban dictionary, is providing more personal information than is absolutely necessary.  She shared this information with me on the heels of me seeing this absolutely wonderful play written by Marcus Gardley featuring Minka Wiltz and Enoch King called Every Tongue Confess, in which church and community is in turmoil because of people oversharing. (Side note, if you ever get a chance to see this play, you definitely should, it is really fantastic.)

As you have come to expect, this prompted me to think and reflect on some things that I would like to share but not overshare...lol (had to say it).  We are all living in a time, especially in America, where social media and reality tv and world star hip hop and Youtube and the list goes on and on, gives us license to share every detail about our lives publically with just one click.  Whatever we are thinking or doing at this very moment can be seen, read, and heard by all that want to peek into our lives.  But this is how we get into oversharing because we just start to provide too much of ourselves for the world to see and most of what we share is not the best.

With all of the instant access we can put out and take in, we have exposed personal relationships, private thoughts, and pictures galore all because we can.  Now one could say, that there life is an open book and has nothing to hide but the thing is, Christ said it best, "Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing" (Matthew 6:3).  The wrong people can know too much about you and share it with others that should not the good and not so good things about you.

If you allow me to go to the Bible on this, Proverbs 2:11 says, "Discretion shall preserve you, understanding shall keep you."  See, not sharing everything protects you.  Think about how many wars have been lost, businesses went under, relationships have been destroyed because a little bird sang songs (tweeting) about what was said behind closed doors (Ecclesiastes 10:20).  We need to have an understanding that everyone cannot handle all of our being, if you will, and cannot handle all that we can share so we have to be careful of who we choose to share our lives with.  We need to start choosing secular friend and sacred friends.  Secular friends are people we just keep at a distance and only share things as needed.  Sacred friends are people you can share your heart with and can trust them not to share them with anyone else.

So, as Herman Edwards and Skip Bayless and others constantly warn, before you hit send or before you open your mouth to anyone, take to heart what you are about to share and who you are sharing it with, and just as important, why are you sharing it?

Reference: http://buzz.eewmagazine.com/eew-magazine-buzz-blog/2013/2/6/over-sharing-online-is-nothing-sacred-anymore.html

Stat Sheet Stuffer

I was talking to a close friend of mine recently about accomplishments in life.  As we have gotten older, we started to think on what we have achieved and what we have not done given our opportunities and abilities. One of the things she pointed out to me though, is that she does not want a life of just accomplishing a lot of stuff.  For her, having a lot of stuff accomplished is just as bad as doing nothing at all.

A thought:  doing a lot f stuff.

Of course, me being a modern American man, I referenced sports to frame the conversation and what came to mind is a stat sheet stuffer.  Now a stat sheet stuffer is a player that has the ability to put up impressive statistical numbers in a lot of categories in a game, i.e. a triple-double, hat-trick, hitting for the cycle, etc. Stuffing the stat sheet is an indicator that the player is highly skilled in all areas of the game and, for lack of better term, can put up video game like numbers.  That type of skill level and performance would understandably draw a lot of media attention and cause the fans to say the player is good.

But, as one of my favorite sports analyst Skip Bayless would point out, stuffing the stat sheet does not mean it will win a championship.  Having the ability to fill up all the numbers in the box score becomes fruitless if the end result is still a loss.  And while most players universally would love to have the great stats and the win, if they had to choice, they would rather have the win over scoring a gazillion points.

Which brings me to this:  in our society today, we have come to measure accomplishing a lot by doing a lot. Think about it, we have awards and give out cookies for the smallest things.  As working adults, we stuff our resume with tons of experience that we may not even remember.  Whenever we go out on dates, we stuff our dates with all of our good qualities.  We just pile on and pile on the things that we do and while it all seems impressive, nothing is really gained from them.  In Matthew 7: 15-23, Christ talks about knowing men by their fruits and highlighting that just because people appear to do a lot of good things (stuffing the stat sheet or trying to win points with God), does not mean much.  The reason why doing all of those things are meaningless in God's eyes is because they are meant to glorify ourselves and not Him.

So lets change our mindset:  the mindset of wanting to do a lot of stuff  to the mindset of doing things and living a life that is meaningful.  Living a meaningful life may not always to be glamorous or come with a lot of accolades but it does come with touching a lot of people's lives and pleasing to God.  So lets not stuff the stat sheet, lets win the game.

What Are You Afraid Of?

In the wake of Trayvon Martin's trial and by that I mean, his murder on trial, I talked with a close friend and out of that conversation, the key word of fear came up.  Yes, race is one of the symptoms the disease that caused the tragedy for the Martin family but lets be clear:  the disease is fear.  This trial was about fear, fear of a young black man because presumably other young black men have committed crimes where this young black man resided.

When I was growing up, my generation was taught, not to talk to strangers if your parents or teachers aren't with you, to be wary of people on the street because they might offer you drugs, and to be more localized, don't go through East Lake Meadows (aka Little Vietnam) or Thomasville Heights at night time.  In short, be so cautious that we would fear people.  If people fit a certain image, right or wrong we should fear them, not be cautious till we get to know them but fear them as soon as we see the whites of their eyes.

Its a sad funny that Birth of a Nation is becoming more of a prophecy than it is a film.  And that prophecy is, to fear the opposite of your mirror.  Rather if it have been white or black or red or yellow, this nation has been taught, has been raised to fear.  Where I work, as a black man, I sometimes see young white ladies cross the street or hold their purses tighter.  Where I live, as a black man, I have been taught to look over my shoulder when I see youngsters hanging out just being young and green because some of them could be doing something else and could be watching me. I like Chinese food but I have been told to watch the people in the back because they may not wash their hands.  I mean, the list of things we have been taught to fear can go on and on and on but the point is, we have been taught these things.

But out of the fears we have been taught or picked up on we have left no room for love.  Somehow we have convinced ourselves that our fears will keep us safe when throughout history, we see that is so far from the truth.  Fear, from the beginning has caused us to miss the mark on what God intended for us and that is to love one another.  But how can we love one another when we are so scared of each other.  We have made so many things to keep us separate from each other, mental and material that we can always fear each other and never love each other and to quote Take 6, "what the world needs now is more love!" 

With that, I hope the tragedy of Trayvon Martin makes volume that we have enough to fear each other and that fear leads to hate but we do not have the love.  If you do not mind me going to the Bible on this, 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."  Fear has spread and continues to spread, now is the time for us to spread love.