 Wednesday, December 05 2018
DADs…when I started training two years ago,
I did not even have a work out plan. I had no real goals or identified a desired outcome.
Without a good plan, my running became somewhat meaningless with nothing to aim for.
So after doing some research…I found a work out that would lead me through a 9 week cycle building each day towards the end goal of running a 5K.
Finally, my running made sense. I set my sights with new energy…as now I had work outs with “end in mind”.
DADs,we also need a work out plan…when it comes to our relationship with God.
Whatever the work out plan is…in order for it to be purposeful...it has to be intentional.
Habakkuk 2:2
Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it."
DADsremember that with God the “end in mind” should be working out daily in such a way that Honors Him while running the race here on earth…so that when our race is over, we can enter into His presence and sit at His Heavenly table!
DADs…“get in the game”…
Today is game day…and so is every day…
God gives you! So…
C’mon men…Suit Up!
To follow the “Suit Up” Movement…
Wednesday, November 28 2018
DADs…what’s on your bucket list?
One of mine when I turned 50 was to get off the couch and run a 5K…3.1 miles.
As of this year, I have ran over 10…5Ks runs in the past 9 years and now the new goal is to start running 10Ks.
Unfortunately that means I must now train a little harder and go a little longer.
To do that…I must ensure that my equipment is up to the challenge to prevent me from injury while training.
In doing this I must evaluate my running shoes to ensure that they are in good enough condition to handle the extra mileage.
If not, I need to suit up with some new ones!
DADs…just like running…my training with God…needs regular evaluation too.
The great thing about working out with God is that…the only equipment you need is your Bible.
And unlike running shoes…the Bible never wears out!
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
DADs…“get in the game”…
Today is game day…and so is every day…God gives you!
So…C’mon men…Suit Up!
To follow the “Suit Up” Movement…
Wednesday, November 21 2018
DADs…at the end of every NASCAR race you will see two unique traditions:
First the winner of the race is usually handed the checkered flag to hold as a banner outside his window as he or she takes a victory lap…then the winning driver typically does a burn out…spinning their car in circles…while creating a cloud of smoke and black marks from the tires on the track!
Clearly a predictable finish for anybody that has watched more than one NASCAR race!
Yet each celebration is a little different. Each victory so sweet. Each driver in the back of his or her mind knowing that this victory came with a price and are sure not to take this moment for granted! Some realize... I am sure…that another victory is never guaranteed and may never come again!
DADs…as Christians and drivers in Gods race… the great news is this…we can go to victory lane everyday…knowing that God holds our winnings in his hands…
In 1 Corinthians 15:57 Pauls writes:
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
DADs…this Thanksgiving Day…consider
how you will celebrate your victories and countless blessings that God has given you?
How will you reflect and give thanks to God for the victory with your family?
Remember with God… we work from the victory…not for the victory!
DADs…“get in the game”…
Today is game day…and so is every day…
God gives you! So…C’mon men…Suit Up!
To follow the “Suit Up” Movement…
Wednesday, November 14 2018
DADs…several months ago, I was watching a NASCAR race on TV.
After numerous cautions throughout the race…
it looked like there would be a clear winner.
One driver had what seemed to be a sure victory as he extended
his lead over the other drivers in the final laps.
But then suddenly on the final turn something happened…
not slowing down…he took the curve too wide and crashed into the wall…
allowing another driver to edge him out of the first-place finish.
DADs…how often have you been so close to a finish line in your life…
a deadline at work…vacation plans for family…or great intentions
to complete a task at home?
But for some reason we find ourselves distracted and just like the
NASCAR driver we take things a little too fast and causing us to fall short of the goal?
So DADshear the good news!
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
The question is then, knowing that we will sometimes fall short of the finish …
will we have the humility to ask God to help us through today’s curves we may face?
DADs…“get in the game”…
Today is game day…and so is every day…
God gives you! So…C’mon men…Suit Up!
To follow the “Suit Up” Movement…
Wednesday, October 31 2018
I was once watching a NASCAR race on TV
and after 400 hundred miles one of the drivers that had
the lead on the last lap ran out of gas on the final lap allowing
another to pass him for the victory.
Now being a fairly new fan of racing…I am still learning the
strategies of the race. What I am finding out is that there are
many adjustments to each drivers original start plan
throughout the race.
Depending on how each driver handles different circumstances
that he or she encounters during a race will often determine the
final outcome.
Many times the drivers that are able to finish and even win
are the ones that take heed to listen to the instructions that
they are given by their crew chief throughout the day…
"If you listento and are careful to keep these ordinances, the LORD
your God will keep His covenant loyalty with you, as He swore to your fathers.
What is it your crew chief…your heavenly father trying to tell you today?
Will you take heed…or will you run out of gas not being able to finish the race?
DADs…“get in the game”…
Today is game day…and so is every day…
God gives you!
So…C’mon DADs…Suit Up! Wednesday, October 24 2018
DADs...This week I am talking about the similarities of my new found
obsession NASCAR and our life in general.
For example, just like in NASCAR…we often find ourselves on the
FAST track going around and around at high speeds trying to win
the human race. To ensure that we are able to keep going so we
don’t run out of gas…we NEED to listen to the advice of our "crew chief"
and make a pit stop!
DADs…the problem is we are sometimes the NASCAR driver that fails
to heed direction and reluctant to trust the advice of others and our personal
"crew chief"…our Heavenly Father.
DADs...You see to be the control of your race…we must relinquish the wheel
and allow God to be the real driver of our lives!
Jeremiah 29:11:
11For I know the plans I have for you "this is the LORD's declaration—
"plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
In all circumstances our God, our Heavenly Father knows best!
DADs…
Where in your life do you need a pit stop to receive God’s plan for your race?
DADs…“get in the game”…Today is game day…and so is every day…
God gives you! So…C’mon DADs…Suit Up!
To follow the “Suit Up” Movement…
Wednesday, October 17 2018
DADs, recently I have caught the Nascar fever. For years I never understood the excitement of watching cars go around and around a track for 3 or 4 hours! But after giving Nascar a real chance…I have discovered that there is a lot more to this racing thing that meets the eye. For instance…what other sport begins with a chaplain saying a prayer to God and His son Jesus Christ aired live for all those watching on TV to hear? Talk about evangelism. Now I am not endorsing nor soliciting your support of Nascar… but I am celebrating the fact that a major spectator event that occurs 36 weekends a year on National networks…demonstrates its boldness and is not ashamed to give glory to our country’s Christian foundation and belief in Jesus.
In Philippians 1:20 Paul says… My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness,Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. DADs, do not be ashamed, just like Nascar to show your boldnessfor Christ? Be eager to model your boldnessfor your kids and your family today! DADS…“get in the game”…Today is game day…and so is every day… God gives you! So…C’mon men…Suit Up! To follow the “Suit Up” Movement…
Wednesday, October 10 2018
DADs…how many times have you set your sights on a goal… only finding yourself falling short or missing the target? How often have you prepared long & hard for a job interview only to receive a thanks but no thanks letter in the mail a week after the process? How often has a loved one made a decision that caused hard ache to you or your family? Disappointment is a part of life. A friend once told me that in the good times or in the bad times, the statement “this too shall pass” works in all situations. I don’t know about you… but I don’t really find much comfort in that… but in Romans 8:28, I do find a more appropriate answer… Paul tells his disciples, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.” In the midst of disappointment or failures…it is hard to see God’s purpose… but we must find the faith in the storm that God’s will… even in dark circumstances will be eventually revealed. Remembering that Paul places emphasis on His purpose versus ours… allows us to pick up the pieces and persevere as it is written in James 1:12, “blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those that love Him”. DADs…trials, disappointments, failures…men, we all go through them… but God does not want us to waiver… regardless of our conditions… instead God wants His DADsto continue to carry His banner… and to be the men…that love Him and always stand firm in Christ! DADs…“get in the game”…Today is game day…and so is every day… God gives you! So…C’mon men…Suit Up! To follow the “Suit Up” Movement…
Wednesday, October 03 2018
DADs…
One of my all time favorite Christian Groups is 4HIM. One of my all time favorite songs
that they sing is called the “Measure of a Man”.
The chorus goes like this:
Oh, I say the measure of a man
Is not how tall you stand
How wealthy or intelligent you are
'Cause I've found out the measure of a man
God knows and understands
For He looks inside to the bottom of your heart
And what's in the heart defines the man…
DADs...How is your heart conditiontoday?
How does your heart measure up to God’s standards?
Society tells us that the measure of the man is how the world judges us.
Society places us on the world scale.
God’s scale is much different. God measures us from the inside out!
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
DADs...do not let the world measure you…but let God be your judge.
Do the things that leads to a heart conditionthat focuses on being the man
God can fully use as His hands and feet.
Be the DADand the husband God praises.
Be the man that has a heart for Jesus in all that you say and do!
DADs…“get in the game”
Today is game day…and so is every day…
God gives you! So…C’mon DADs…Suit Up!
Have you registered for Dad University? It's November 3rd at Magnolia's First Baptist Church.
To follow the “Suit Up” Movement…
or go to suitupministries.orgfor contact information Wednesday, September 26 2018
Dads, I used to hate to stretch…when the coaches would look the other way
I was the one just acting like I was stretching.
Especially when it had to do with mid section core.
Sit-ups. Not sure that I hate any other exercise more than doing sit ups.
Even in the weight room I dreaded the sit up station. I flourished at the push ups…
but avoided my core.
DADs...even today I do all other stretches or workouts before I work my core!
Why? Two reasons.
Its hurts!
And it doesn’t always show immediate results!
Thats what we want…little pain and immediate results.
DADs…why is it the same sometimes in our spiritual walk?
Even when we know it will make us a better …we sometimes choose the easier path?
In the physical sense we know what's good for us... that working on our core will make us stronger…faster…better for our team and teammates...but we get distracted.
The same holds true...now in our adult roles as husband and DAD, we can be detoured and shy away from church, Bible study, and prayer...all things that would only strengthen our families.
As a coach, I would ask my players...Do your individual goals outweight your team…or are your team goals more important than your personal goals?
As your brother in Christ and a Minister of Men, I would in regards to your spirtual growth I would ask does what matters least serve as an obstacle for what matters most?
You see football is a team sport. When you work on your core…you are working on your team. As long as your core values includes putting the team before your individual goals.
As the leader of your family, the DAD…WE can NEVER place outside priorities ahead of our “team” our most precious gifts, our families! That means working on our spiritual Core daily!
As the coach, do you know the players I most admire? The ones that come to work every day. Early to practice. Last off the field. First to volunteer to run scout team. Always have their helmet on during the game but at the same time rarely plays. Wow. The difference in most games when it comes down to the best teams are not always the best players, but the strength of the Core players. Are our core players better prepared than theirs can influence the result. The core becomes difference.
DADs…the difference in your family is YOU!
The outside world wants to celebrate the starters. The one that scores the winning TD. Believe me, as a coach I loved those too…they made me a great coach at times.
But when one of those players is also a Core player…humble…and acknowledges that his success is based on the team…thats special.
As DADswe may not look like the superstars to others…often not even to our own families…but we must be consistent and unwavering in working on our spiritual core!
Hebrews 10:24-25
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
C- compassion for all
O- pen to coaching
R- relentless to be better
E - levates those around him
Be the DADtoday and everyday! Suit Up! Put on your Core!
DADs…do not stand on the sidelines of life…get off the bench…
“get in the game”…Today is game day…and so is every day…
God gives you!
So…C’mon men…Suit Up!
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