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Thursday, December 28, 2006
Help - Part 2 A few weeks ago, I heard a powerful quote that made me stop and think. I encourage you to take a moment and think about this: "A wise person learns from the mistakes of others. An average person learns from their own mistakes. A foolish person never learns." We all need help. If we want to live a life that is considered to be wise, we should accept help from people and learn from the mistakes they have made in the past. In a previous blog I wrote, I talked about this same subject. I pointed out that there are times in life when we all face things that we can't do on our own and we need help from other people. Ultimately, realizing that we can't make it in this life on our own, we need help from our creator, God. We have to be willing to accept His help. Whether you find yourself in a situation that is beyond your control or you realize you are stuck in the ruts of the same old problem over and over again, you need help. The crazy thing is, when we realize we need help, it is during these times that we usually are most open to learning. God knows this and he loves us so much that he is willing to allow these tough times to come our way so we can learn the things we need to learn. I have found that he gives us options as to how we learn and he encourages us to be wise in our learning. His best option is for us to be wise and learn quickly. This is when we learn things quickly and display that we are teachable and thus learn from the mistakes that other people make. Have you noticed that a lot of people don't like to learn this way? They watch their friends make costly mistakes, sometimes even helping them get through the problem or ordeal and then turn around and make the same mistakes they just witnessed their friend make. For example: I know teenage girls who watched their friends struggle to "make it" after having a teenage pregnancy. These same girls then turn around a year later and get pregnant themselves. What's up with that?! I have watched young people talk with their friends about the dangers of drugs then eventually get caught in the same trap and now, they are a straight up junkie. This doesn't make since! We have to be willing to learn and learn quickly. Life is a journey that we take, it's an adventure. We don't always know what will happen and we aren't always prepared to deal with things that come up. At these times we need to rely on others for help. Get the picture? Let me address one more issue on this topic. Some people don't accept help because they don't like "handouts". I understand this. But let's define what a handout really is. A "handout" is asking someone to do something for you instead of you doing it for yourself. This isn't good for either party in the long run. Instead, we should accept "hand ups" - this is when someone extends their hand out to you so you can grab it and pull yourself up. A "hand up" requires you to still be actively working while someone is helping you. I encourage you to be willing to work hard and help yourself while at the same time accept help from others. Strive to be wise and not average. Can you dig it? Word... Pasta' Alex posted by Pasta' Alex # 10:19 AM 0 Comments Links to this post   Wednesday, December 20, 2006 Free Samples My oldest son Trey and I took a trip to Sam's Club after one of his football games. The plan was to grab one of the ready to go pizzas they make in the food court. They are big and quite delicious and the best part about it is that they are very inexpensive. You can get an extra large 16 inch pizza for only $7.97, it's a great deal. If you have ever frequented Sam's Club on a Saturday afternoon, you would know they have several products on display in which they offer all customers free samples. Free samples! You have to be kidding me. So, Trey and I grab a cart so we could fit in with the other shoppers and headed down the isles grabbing free samples left and right. It was unbelievable all the food they had to sample. We were able to enjoy, carrot cake, pork loin, little smokeys, chips and dip (4 kinds of salsa and cheese dip) pizza rolls, rice, smoked fish, cheese, and a lot more. I enjoyed my time at Sam's Club this day, but Trey loved it even more. He moved from display to display like a little kid rushing from ride to ride at Disney World. It was a sight to behold and definitely a lot of fun to be a part of! I enjoyed my time bonding with my oldest son. It was my pleasure to teach him how to maneuver from free sample display to the next in a nonchalant way. They key is to pass by close enough so that the worker is the one to initiate the conversation and then attempts to stop you and offer you the free sample. You then respond with a surprised look on your face as if to say; "Why, I didn't even notice you or the 15 other people offering free samples on the corner of almost every isle in the store". It's an art that takes a lot of practice. However, Trey was not smooth at all, often running up to the display and taking 2 or 3 samples. We have to work on him. Although it was a lot of fun and we received our fill of free samples for the day, there was one major problem. I was so busy enjoying the free samples that I didn't notice all the items starting to pile up in my cart. By the time it was over, my trip to Sam's Club to get an $8.00 pizza ended up costing me around $60. How did this happen? It's easy, the free samples concept that Sam's Club and so many other stores use, really does work! Although we think we are getting something for free, it rarely works out that way. Once we start indulging in the free samples, it's often difficult to stop at the sample part and we usually end up wanting the whole thing. The same is true in life. We often think we are getting a free sample and end up with the whole thing. Look at the man who started off by taking a quick drink at a party and ended up becoming an alcoholic? What about the girl who starts off kissing the boys because she thinks it's romantic and then ends up giving herself away, sexually, to several men before she is married? You could be the one who starts by admiring pictures of beautiful women on the internet and now it has grown into a full blown pornography addiction that you can't let go of. Free Sample? Yeah, right! Perhaps the best thing to do is to avoid the sample all together and realize that not only is it NOT free, but it will cost you dearly. As for me, I won't be heading back to Sam's Club on a Saturday anytime soon. You hear what I'm sayin'? Word... Pasta' Alex posted by Pasta' Alex # 1:01 AM 0 Comments Links to this post Tuesday, December 12, 2006 Who are you hanging with? Have you ever had had your parents talk with you and question who you are hanging around with? From the beginning of time parents have had conversations with their kids about the importance of choosing their friends carefully. I'm sure you have heard the saying: "show me your friends and I'll show you your future". As a youth pastor I find that I have used this statement more times than I thought I would, either in a message or in counseling sessions with students. Funny thing is, as much as we hate to admit it, sometimes our parents are wise and can foresee the future. Perhaps we should listen. I am reminded of the story in the Bible of King Jehoshaphat, he was one of the kings of the Israelites, God's chosen people, the seventh king over the tribe of Judah. He was considered a good king, unlike many before and after him. The Bible tells us that for the most part he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. God was with him because he was wise and learned from his ancestor King David. He wanted very much to obey God and he was careful in not angering God like so many other kings of his time who looked to false gods for help. All in all, Jehoshaphat was a good guy, a good king and a godly man. He did, however, make a critical mistake that almost cost him his life. He hung around and befriended evil people. While visiting another king of Israel, he was talked into helping him fight a war. Jehoshaphat wanted to do what was right before the Lord, but he also wanted to help his friend, he was torn. In an effort to figure out what he should do, the Bible tells us he advised the evil king to ask for advice from other righteous men. After doing this and being warned to not go to war, he still chose to help his friend and follow him into battle. Why is it that despite the check in our gut and the advice from wise Christians, we still sometimes chose to do wrong. To make a long story short, Jehoshaphat was almost killed during battle, his friend - the other king was wounded and killed and he had to return home, embarrassed with his tail between his legs. The prophet came to meet him and asked him; "what were you thinking, why in the world did you go and help evil people?" Imagine how Jehoshaphat must have felt. I mean, he barely escaped with his life and now he is being confronted about his event before he even had thechance to go home, sit down and take a load off. What terrible timing. Then the prophet goes on to ask a rhetorical question that questions his morals and values; "why do you love those who hate the Lord? That's why God is angry with you now." What?! I'm sure Jehoshaphat must have thought to himself, "why is he all up in my grill like this, I was just helping out a friend in need." What about you? Do you love those who hate the Lord? Are you hanging out with people who are not walking the way they should walk, who are not living the way they should live, who don't do the things they should do? Do you love those who hate the Lord by the way they live their life? Think about it. Word... Pasta' Alex posted by Pasta' Alex # 10:26 AM 0 Comments Links to this post Tuesday, December 05, 2006 Do You Believe in the Tooth Fairy? The tooth fairy visited my house for the first time last night. My 5 year old son, Trey, lost his first tooth. It was a clean extraction, after discovering it was loose a few days ago he played around with it and wiggled it free just after polishing off his third piece of pepperoni pizza last night during dinner. Who knew a five year old with a loose tooth could throw down 3 pieces of pizza so quickly? Nevertheless, Trey was excited about the opportunity to have his first visit from the legendary tooth fairy. He wondered how she would be able to move his head and get the tooth out from under his pillow without him noticing it at all. I told him "I don't know, some things just happen, it's that simple". Have you ever seen the tooth fairy? Did you know that the tooth fairy is not a she at all? He's actually a 300 pound big bald black man. I saw him with my own eyes. Isn't that what you remember the tooth fairy looking like? I woke up early this morning, not wanting to miss a single moment of this first experience with my boy. I went into his room to wake him and watched him quickly pop up and check underneath his pillow. He was happy to find his tooth was gone and left in its place was a neatly folded one dollar bill, proof that she had visited him. "She is real", he exclaimed with a smile on his face. This reminds me of our relationship with Jesus. When was the last time he made a visit to your house? Do you believe in him enough that he would even know he is welcome? Do you lay down at night thinking about him and wondering if he is going to make himself known to you? When was the last time you went to sleep thinking of nothing but him and anxiously awaiting your next experience with him? Jesus longs to spend time with you and I everyday. He says in his word that he stands at the door of our hearts and knock, waiting for us to let him in. Many have let him in the door but somewhere along the way decided that he's not real or that he's not what they need. It's not uncommon for a person to think this way; it's like when we get to the age in which we outgrow the concept of the tooth fairy. We decide that we don't believe she is real and we don't want to play that game any longer. We just stop believing. Unlike the tooth fairy, Jesus is real! He's not a mythical figure or the object of folklore or religious tradition. He was alive and well and he longs to visit with you all the time. He can give you more than any tooth fairy ever could. He won't ever go away and you will never outgrow him. He's just waiting for you to believe in your heart and exclaim "He is real". Now put a smile on your face and look for the dollar underneath your pillow. Word... Pasta' Alex posted by Pasta' Alex # 9:49 AM 0 Comments Links to this post |
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