Adversity

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

And my “Go To”……….

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

This last Friday, I had a guy tell me that there have been a lot of people talking around town about how amazed they are at how I have handled my dad’s death.  My response was “Man, its adversity.” I don’t mean to down play the death of my dad, but throughout my life there have been several brushes of adversity.  Whether it was my dad or a coach, if I had a dollar every time I heard adversity being mentioned I would be retired at the age of 26!  I guess because of how I was raised and coached, I have really only known one choice and that was to try to do the right thing, learn, and move foward.

ADVERSITY: a state, condition, or instance of serious or continued difficulty or adverse fortune

CHARACTER: the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation

It is important to talk about character when talking about adversity because a person’s character is how they handle adversity.  I think that all situations are relative (meaning what I deem important doesn’t mean to someone else it is and vice versa).  I have come to the conclusion that every person’s journey is different.  The one thing I know for certain is that everyone goes through some sort of adversity in their life time.  Throughout my life there have been several times where I have been faced with adversity and every single time The Lord has been the first thing that has come to my mind.  Coincidence? I think not….I think that The Lord allows us to go through adversities to see what kind of character we have.  You see, The Lord is the Alpha & Omega (beginning & end) therefore, He already knows the outcome, but he allows us to have free will.  So, every time we go through adversity we have a decision to make….Blame The Lord or Run to Him and find ways to Glorify Him. 

 Romans 8:28 : And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.    

 Philippians 4:12-13: I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

I wish that I could say that I have always ran to The Lord during adverse situations but I can’t, but the older I get the more I realize that in order to Glorify The Lord, I must run to Him for EVERTHING! What I have learned about adversity, is that during it you have 2 choices…….point fingers/ get mad/ feel sorry for yourself/ envy/ become lazy (A negative attitude)…..or you can try to find ways to Glorify The Lord and try to make the best of it (A Positive attitude). 

I don’t think anyone likes going through bad situations but if you take the situation, learn something and turn it into a positive than you will one day be blessed by The Lord.  Adversity is a tool of learning and growth.  Nothing ever stays the same, either it’s getting better or it’s getting worse.  Adversity gives you the opportunity to gain wisdom and insight to things that were previously unknown. 

In closing, I was reminded today of something me and my buddies said when Obama was elected. His campaign slogan was “CHANGE, we can believe in” (although we didn’t really completely agree with the president) we said that we were going to make CHANGE work for us.  I think the same can be said for adversity. Even though things might not go your way, make the BEST of the situation. Next time things aren't going your way just know that 1) It could ALWAYS be worse 2) Know that you have one of two choices to make.....

May God Bless you,
Daman

Why Blog?

Some Say Why? I say…….

I have many people wonder why "ME” of all people would blog….I think that is an easy straight forward question. 

Now, answering this isn’t so easy.  I think to fully understand why “I” would blog; you must first know a little about me.  As far the nuts and bolts well…I’m a former collegiate athlete, a spiritual Christian, loyal, stubborn, and opinionated MAN.  (Its funny to think of myself as a man these days but I think that at some point you realize that maybe you’re not a little kid any more. I think that I will always be a kid at heart, but I have finally realized that I’m MAN enough to make grown-up decisions.)  I love laughing and joking around.  I try to never take things to seriously but I’m sure my friends would probably contest to that…..I have a burning desire to succeed, which sometimes isn’t the best of things.  It has recently been brought to my attention that I am paralyzed by fear.  That fear just happens to be of making the wrong decision.  I want to succeed so bad that sometimes I caught myself standing still in fear that I might make the wrong move.  I think that this is first part of why I can now say I’m a blogger. 

The second reason is because Aug. 17^th of 2010, my life was completely turned upside down.  My father passed away and it has done a number on me.  I have been challenged daily by the Lord in so many different ways.  My dad was my safety net.  My dad owned his own company and had been in business for 20 years.  After graduating college, I didn’t really know what I was going to do but I always had in the back of my mind that if things didn’t work out I could always go back home and take over my dad’s business.  When you have that type of security it makes things a lot less stressful. Well the night he passed away my life was turned upside down.  I had no net….I had no fall back plan, no “if all else fails”…type situation any more.  Almost instantly, The Lord started to challenge me.  His first challenged me to write a letter to all of my dad’s friends and family.  Now this was a pretty tall order coming from the Big Man.  To some this might not seem all that bad but for “me” a person who previously had maybe written all of 10 papers in my entire life this was something out of the ordinary. 

(Here is one of the main reasons why I blog…this is the last portion of that letter that I sent out to nearly 80 people, more than half of them being complete strangers)

“………..Since his death, I have been trying to find reasons for this devastating event.  For the first few weeks I couldn't find anything, but recently I have been challenged by the Lord.  Of course, there are the "what ifs" and the "only if I would have done this" but Hindsight is 20/20 and I have come to realize that regardless of how much I beat myself up, my dad is gone.  What I have been challenged to do is to get out of my "comfort zone”; meaning that I must start taking action on the things I know need to be done, even if those actions are uncomfortable and not status quo.  The first step is always the hardest and I, personally, have been afraid to take it on several different issues, but complacency is a disease that each and every one of us has.  There are several things that I wish I would have said that I never did because I was afraid to ruffle my dad's feathers.  As ridiculous as that sounds, it's the truth!  In order to do great things you must first be willing to step out of your “comfort zone”.  Whether that is going to the moon or just simply telling someone you care about, exactly how you feel, it all starts with taking that first step.

I know there is at least one thing that you're reluctant to say or do because of the fear of the unknown.  I encourage you to understand that pain is temporary.  Sometimes it is better to ruffle a few feathers, than to live with a lifetime of regret.  As seen through my dad's life, it is short.  I encourage you to stop being complacent and go out and do the things that you have wanted/needed to do. There might be a person that you have wanted to help for a long time but have been afraid of ruffling their feathers.  Well I have news for you, they might cuss you to smithereens and tell you that you don’t know what you’re talking about, or they also might be waiting for someone to come rescue them from their current situation that they don't personally know how to get out of!  In many cases simply just showing concern and caring for that person might be the trick.  I know that you’re probably thinking right now of something that you need to say to someone.  I’m guessing that your next thought is that it’s none of your business, but I don’t think you would have had the thought if it wasn’t.  As long as you approach the situation humbly, knowing that you don’t know all the answers, people tend to be less defensive.  In Regards to being complacent, I also want to encourage you to go take the trip you have always wanted to take or go try the thing that you have always wanted to try.  Take some risk and have a little adventure.  I heard a saying a while back that I plan to live by...When you’re on your death bed, there is one of two clubs that you will be a part of.   "I did and I’m glad I did” Or "I wish I would have."     The choice is yours! I, personally, would rather say I tried something and failed.  Then to always wonder and wish that I would have.

Proverbs 3:5-6 ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. ………”

Now, after writing something like this to complete strangers, the word: hypocrite would be an understatement if I didn’t do the things that I encouraged others to do.  I’m not really sure what will come of my blog..? I feel like if in my blogs, I can challenge one person on one issue then my blogging can be considered a success.  As for right now, I plan on writing once a week….on who knows…your guess is as good as mine. I guess you will have to just check it out to find out. 

So to wrap this all up, I would just like to say:

"No one ever achieved greatness by playing it safe"-Harry Gray

“some say why?….I say why not?”

This is why I blog..

May God Bless you,
Daman

"IN GOD WE TRUST"..............Really?

Take out any sort of US currency and look at it long enough and you will see “IN GOD WE TRUST” printed somewhere on it.  Take a look; I’ll wait…..Ok now think about what that really means.  Everyday millions of lost people come in contact with God and probably don’t even realize it.  I thought about this last night while I was laying in my bed @ about 3 AM.

These 4 words are what this country was founded on! Our founding fathers, wanted to be different from everything else in the world.  They wanted, what some would call, FREE WILL, but they also wanted to have trust, love, and faith in GOD.  Regardless of what you believe personally, this country was founded around the Christian faith.  They believed in this so much that they printed “In God We Trust” on the form of our livelihood (our currency) and now in this country there are people who don't even know who GOD is.

Since the times of the founding fathers, the country has gotten away from what made us who we are.  Top to bottom things have changed…no religion in school, Christians afraid to confess their faith to others because of fear, controversy over our public officials and their beliefs.  The country has lost its religion. I think that we must start seeking the Lord and having faith in Him.  Many people are to busy or just don’t want to accept that things can go from bad to worse rather quickly.  With all the reality TV shows on the air now days it’s very easy to get distracted.  Personally, I feel like this is exactly where the Devil wants us to be…distracted.  Smoke and Mirrors are things used to cover up what’s really going on and from what I have learned what’s really going on is self-destruction.     

The last few weeks, I have done a lot of studying.  I was telling someone the other day I have done more studying in the last few weeks then I did in 5 years of college.  Why?  Because I have come to realize that Knowledge is Power.  Now granted I’m no expert on anything but I have a better understanding as to how much I don't know and how much "stuff" has distracted me, now.  What I have been studying is the government and our current debt situation.  My conclusion is that unless We begin to get back to our roots pretty quick we are DOOMED.

As the old saying goes….History repeats itself.

If you look at any of the world’s most powerful empires throughout time, one thing that has taken them out of power and the world spotlight is GREED.  Whether its POWER or MONEY or BOTH that is the source of greed it always ends badly.  I know that some are saying yeah but that can’t happen to America. George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Well do you think that epic-empires that once were in ancient Rome, Greece, or Spain believe that they would come to end? Doubtful.  The one advantage we have over those countries is we are able to use the past to change our future.  Glenn Beck said, “the only way out is if, citizen by citizen, the public learns the lessons of history and convinces others that we are not immune to the laws of economics.  We can still choose individual achievement, limited government, and low taxes-but we have to turn the corner now.” Biblically speaking God wants his people to be successful. There is nothing wrong with wanting to have money; it is all how you earn it and how you spend it.  I think that throughout the years we have lost sight of the basic foundations in which this country was formed. How can the country that when first founded was afraid of debt and didn’t want to buy anything that they couldn’t afford, now be in over 14 trillion dollar debt?  Well pretty simple, GREED and CORRUPTION.  If the founding fathers were to come back today, how do you think they would feel about our current situation? and more importantly If back then it was “IN GOD WE TRUST” what is it now………..?

            I decided to write this for you to read it and then decide what you’re personally going to do about it.  I want you to do your own research and come up with your own conclusion.  Like I said, I'm no expert nor am I sitting here thinking I have it all figured out.  FDR said “the only thing to fear is fear itself” I have started to take a different stance and say “the only thing to fear is being unprepared”  At the bottom of this I will have some links in order for you to really understand where I’m coming from.  Now, like I said I’m not doom and gloom and I think things will be okay but I would rather prepare and try to do my part opposed to being left out in the cold if things don't change. I hope and pray that the Lord protects us and brings us back to the freedoms in which we have all taken for grated. God Bless you and May the Light of the Lord shine through this!

My first light bulb went off, when I was curious about what I was hearing on the radio for this link, so I clicked it and immediately this issue had my attention:

http://www.endofamerica15.com/

Here is the link to a Glenn Beck special called the Puppet Master.  (regardless of what you think of Glenn Beck, this special is factual information that the public needs to know)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF08PUaQgp4

The day the Dollar Died:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N8gJSMoOJc

Our Debt Clock…real time:

http://www.usdebtclock.org/index.html