 |
|||||
|
HOME | ABOUT | THE SKINNY | CORNA' STO' | THE LOUNGE | LINKS | CONTACT |
|||||
|
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Professional What?  I'm so happy and excited that my Chicago Bears are going to the Super Bowl for the first time in 22 years. I love football and I love the Bears! I keep telling my son Trey, that he is going to be a professional football player and one day play for the Bears. Truth be told, I would love him to play in the NFL someday, but I don’t care what he does as long as he does it for God's glory. His chances of going to the NFL are quite slim. Statistics show that only 1 in 16,000 people ever fulfill the dream of becoming a professional athlete. Those odds aren't very good. I was reading in Proverbs 22:29 the other day and came across a good scripture. "Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men." In this passage the Bible is telling us to work hard and do our best to become good at what we are doing. When we do this, we will not work for ordinary or normal people, rather, we'll be known for greatness. We have to learn the value of hard work. I learned early in life that natural talent and ability only get you so far. We are all born with great gifts given to us by God. He gives each of us gifts of talent, skill and ability that He wants us to use. He also expects us to prove ourselves to be hard workers and cultivate and develop those skills and abilities to become skilled at what we do. He wants us to become professionals. In order for this to happen, we have to learn to work hard. We have to learn to do what others are not willing to do in order to become the best we can be. My dad taught me what it means to be a hard worker and my Uncle Ronnie reinforced this for me when I worked with him. They are both men who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get a job done and they give time and effort to ensure the job is done right the first time. As a teenager, I remember working odd jobs with my Uncle Ronnie. He owned his own handy man business and could do just about anything. He often took me along and gave me the opportunity to earn a little spending money. I quickly learned with my Uncle Ronnie that if the job wasn't done well, according to his standards, he wasn't going to pay. He taught me how to plan the work to be done and then work according to that plan. He gave a high premium on ensuring the work was done with a high level of excellence and he often focused on paying attention to the little details. He would say the little details are what separated good work from great work. I have noticed that a lot of young people today don't know what it's like to become skilled in their work. With so many things drawing them in every direction and because many educators have adopted the "everyone's a winner" philosophy, young people don't stick with things long enough to become good at them. Many will give up after the first failure. This is not a good thing. We have to train ourselves how to work hard. We have to learn to focus on fewer things and practice them until we are skilled. We have to learn to realize that failure isn't messing up once or twice; instead failure is giving up and abandoning the effort. God wants us to learn to be hard workers so that we can be skilled in the work He has called us to do. He is the king that we are called to serve before and He is worthy of the best we can give Him. Are you willing to stay focused and handle your business in service for Him? I hope so. Word... Pasta' Alex posted by Pasta' Alex # 10:20 AM 0 Comments Links to this post   Thursday, January 18, 2007 Taking Out the Trash  Yo, what up all my homies. I want to share with you about an exciting couple of weeks in The House, our college and young adult ministry. We kicked off the New Year by taking out the Trash. Pasta' Alex broke it down Original Brotha' style. Did you know that 100 million people make new year's resolutions each year? Of these, 40 million will not keep them. That's a lot of brotha's and sista's saying they are going to improve their lives and then ending up sidestepping their resolution and remaining whacked. They fail on resolutions to lose weight, exercise more, read their Bible more, go to church, etc. Why is this? It's simple! A lot of people don't have the discipline necessary to make the desired changes, instead they make New Year's Hopes or New Year's Dreams. In order to make the resolutions a part of our everyday life we have to do them on a consistent basis. We have to make conscious choices to start doing things that will help us reach our goals or to stop doing things that hinder us from reaching our goals. Often times we need to rid our lives of those bad habits or distractions that stop us from fully experiencing life the way God intended. We have to take out the trash. In my neighborhood, the trash is picked up every Monday morning bright and early. This means I have to have my trash on the curb Sunday night. If I don't have my trash on the curb on Sunday night, I know that it will not get picked up and I will have to keep the odorous and gross trash on the side of my house for an additional week. This is not good! I have to be in a routine of taking out the trash, each week, without fail. So it is with our lives. We have to regularly discharge those things in our lives that are odorous and gross. God desires that we live holy lives. Taking out the trash on a regular basis allows us to get rid of the sin in our lives that hinder us from living holy lives. I encourage you as you start the new year, make 2007 the year that you learn to regularly take out the trash in your life. Do it on a regular basis. Spend time in God's word and in prayer so you will be able to truly distinguish between what is trash and what is not. Realize that you can't take the trash out on your own and that you need God's help, accept his grace and mercy and in return live your life for Him. Make 2007 the year you grow closer to the Lord than you have ever been. Can you dig it? Pasta' Alex posted by Pasta' Alex # 10:14 AM 0 Comments Links to this post Friday, January 05, 2007 God Will Save the Day The other day a couple of friends and I were talking about life and how tough it can be. One of my friends is going through a tough time. The last year has been exceptionally tough for him and he has been plagued with problem after problem. He got married a year ago so he is still a newly wed. Shortly after his marriage, his mother died unexpectedly leaving behind two of his younger siblings that he had to take into his home. Both of his siblings are teenagers, junior high and high school age. They have always been and to this day are considered an underprivileged family. Even while his mother was alive they struggled financially like so many others and just barely survived. Now that she has passed, their financial situation hasn't improved much, they are still struggling to get by. The week of his mother's death, his newlywed wife became sick and was in the hospital for about a week. Throw in extended family controversies over social security checks, an incarcerated older brother trying to bark orders from prison, and marriage conflicts that arise from trying to blend 2 kids into a new marriage. I think it's safe to say my friend has been at the end of his rope for the past couple of months. So, we were talking about how hard life is. We all grew up in church and have heard it said that God will not put anymore on us than we can bear. "Yeah right", try preaching this to him and his newlywed wife. We left the discussion that day with my friend affirming his belief in this scripture, resting on all the Lord has done for him in the past. He looked me in the eye and said, "Alex, yeah my life is tough right now, but I can't deny all that God has brought me through and that He continues to bless me, even now." Wow! Did I mention that my friend is only 22 years old? I left that conversation amazed at how God sustains us, yet happy that I don't have to experience His sustaining grace through the eyes of my friend. Who wants to be in his situation?! Not I! I have my own troubles and financial stresses. I have a house in another state that hasn't sold in almost 6 months. We recently relocated across country and started a new job which will make anyone tighten the purse strings for a while. We also just had our 3rd little boy a few weeks ago, do you know how much diapers and wipes cost these days? Life is hard! This morning, my prayer was for God to give me a fresh Word from his scriptures, something for me and my friend that will sustain us. Lately, I have hung onto Isaiah 30:18 when the Word says; "the Lord longs to be gracious to you, He rises to show us compassion." This is true and I believe it! Yet, I wanted something more. I needed other assurance, not only for me but something that I can give to my friend. My Bible reading has me in the book of Psalms and I read Psalms 34 today, it says in verse 17 and 19: "the Lord hears good people when they cry out to Him, and He saves them from all their troubles. People who do what is right may have many problems, but the Lord will solve them all." (New Century Version) What wonderful and beautiful words from the Lord. He hears the cries of good people when we cry out to him and He will save us from ALL of our troubles. We may have many troubles, even though we do what is right, but, the Lord will solve... how many of them? ALL of them! He's way cool like that! Holla' Back, Pasta' Alex posted by Pasta' Alex # 8:31 PM 0 Comments Links to this post |
The Skinny - This is where you can get "The Real Deal" from the Original Brotha's. They bring todays realest topics that will make you laugh, cry, think and sometimes help you see things in a different way.
PAST BLOGS: Big Mistake What God Hates Yesterday I posted a status update on my facebook ... On The Fence On The Fence Shower Talk Cake Eaters and Ballers Sold Out Christian God will help with your Spelling Test Who's Driving Your Car? Archives: 09/2006 10/2006 11/2006 12/2006 01/2007 02/2007 03/2007 04/2007 06/2007 07/2007 08/2007 09/2007 10/2007 11/2007 02/2008 04/2008 05/2008 08/2008 09/2008 10/2008 11/2008 12/2008 01/2009 02/2009 03/2009 04/2009 05/2009 06/2009 07/2009 09/2009 10/2009 11/2009 |
||||