Grateful Equals Greatness

God has been revealing the best and worst of me over the last year and yes, it’s truly been exhausting yet exhilarating at the same time.  Exposing to me and literally forcing me to become acutely aware of my weaknesses and strengths to reveal who He intended me to be through His divine grace.  It is painful, awkward, funny, frustrating and silly all wrapped up in a ball.  I guess this is what they call the divine transformation but let me tell you, for this Devine, it’s not a breeze.

I’m not making a very good case to “try this at home” but the payoff is so truly amazing it cannot be explained.  I’ve been in a pressure cooker over the last year through work/life demands and through the pain and glory I find my way to a place that’s a little higher than before – I dig that!

Many talk about “controlling” emotions or don’t let them control you, but how?  For me, trying to control them typically ended in masking emotions which means that it stays there waiting to come out probably 5 years down the road.  Being disappointed has been a recurring plague in my life and God uses those past events to trigger the emotions that will allow us to become aware so we can address it head on and if we train ourselves with new processes we can reach a new level of awareness and find our way into living in a state of gratitude – the ultimate freedom destination.

How does one do this?  Take a bad situation that broke your heart and find the events, people or outcomes that far outweigh the heart ache.  It might take a little digging but I bet if you twist the mind enough to find something wonderful that lead up to the hurt or resulted after,  you will find it hidden in the misery that steals our joy instead of releasing joy.  Perhaps you met a life-long friend or participated in an event that would have never happened without this heartbreaking experience.

Earlier this week I had one of those moments – a moment that broke my heart with disappointment.  I knew that it shouldn’t and I knew that I was way over reacting so I was determined to change it and find gratitude within my ego pity party.  WOW!  I am blown away by the result that came out of this small yet powerful shift in mindset which otherwise would have never happened.  So radical that it makes me laugh out loud at the greatness surrounding this little disappointment!  How can that be?  Oh, it be – we do this constantly to ourselves.  We can steal our own joy anytime we want OR we can see the miracles happening all around us!

Let me give you the practical wisdom of  how I shifted from trying to control the hurt emotions to finding greatness all around the hurt that eliminated the pain.  When I felt the hurt, I asked God to give me the strength to stop the painful emotions.  That didn’t work.  When I shifted my mind on finding tangible moments of gratitude I eliminated the hurt – it’s gone, seems silly now.  This unlocks the greatness of God – the way He intends for us to use our minds so that we can serve Him and everyone around us as our best.  Don’t misinterpret this as positive thinking or you will miss it.  You must find the tangible evidence of feeling grateful.  For me it was a multitude of things; friends and people that I’ve met, places I’ve visited and events that would have never been possible if I didn’t experience this little pain.  It’s not a trick – it’s a new way to think, live and have permanent peace in our lives.

Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. ~ Acts 24:3

The Gift of Opportunity – Cafe Blends

Last night I had the privilege to celebrate the gift of opportunity.  I attending the grand opening of  a new coffee shop at our Lexus car dealership in Roswell, GA.  Doesn’t sound like a big deal but Cafe Blends is a quite a bit more special than the average Starbucks or self-serve coffee kiosk that you will find anywhere.  This cafe employees adults with Autism.  Three young adults were hired through the Tommy Nobis Foundation  to operate and manage a thriving coffee cafe that serves many customers daily who are waiting for their vehicles to be serviced.

My greatest reward in life comes from seeing someone gain an opportunity that will empower them to reach their true potential that otherwise would not exist. We all have obstacles that we allow to get in our way but I’m talking about monumental roadblocks that are out of a persons control.  My heart breaks for those in 3rd world poverty because they do not have the same government programs, financial aide grants and the like that will give them the opportunity to receive and advance.  The OPPORTUNITY is the biggest void for those in extreme poverty.  Similarly, having Autism can create a barrier for so many who are more than capable to work in the marketplace but have extremely limited opportunities to do so.

I have no doubt that the three individuals working at Cafe Blends are highly capable and will do a remarkable job at the dealership.  Each one of them gave a wonderful speech to the crowd and Rebecca said, “Thank you, everyone just wants to be treated with dignity and respect.”  It was a quote that left an imprint on my heart and strengthened my commitment to support the expansion to open cafes like this in more dealerships and my life’s work which is to give the gift of opportunity.

Please check out the video footage at the URL below that highlights the employees working at the cafe.

http://www.11alive.com/rss/article/221886/3/ROSWELL–Cafe-Blends-offers-avenue-for-young-adults-with-autism

Vision 2012 – what’s yours?

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”  ~ Proverbs 29:18

Without a clear vision, life can become uncertain, chaotic, and even depressing. Weaving the simplicity of God’s word into our lives will deliver the Truth and the unique vision that He created for each and every life. You might ask, but how do I do that? The answer is so simple that many cannot or will not accept it. Read the Holy Bible and live the Holy Bible – that’s it! We create the complexity within our lives when we ignore His teachings and our excuses of why we ignore them become are the very obstacles to the greatest rewards and happiness available in this life. How do I know? Because I can also be an expert at procrastination and spending my time in other ways instead of reading His word daily.

How does He reveal the vision for our life? Through prayer, people, and life circumstances. Once we are willing to receive His will for our life, slowly or perhaps quickly new situations and people will come into our path to shape and direct each step. We simply have to pay attention and act on the information that is presented to us. At first it seems a bit strange but once we realize that this is God’s way of communicating and directing us it becomes adventurous and truly fun. God has exceeded all expectations for my journey and I could not have created anything quite so thrilling and rewarding for my life.

I challenge us all in 2012 to simply commit to reading a few passages every day and just see if this begins to change the way you think and see the world. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. If we truly understood what we have to gain here on earth but more importantly for all eternity, we would never question, procrastinate or ignore His word again.

If you have a clear vision for 2012 that God has inspired I would love to hear about it.  You can choose to share it publicly or privately.

God Bless you in 2012 and beyond. My hope and prayer is that this will be the best year of our lives.

How solid is the ground for which we stand?

Luke 8:11-15 NIV
The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

What a beautiful passage. It’s the secret to heaven on earth and within our grasp if we simply delight ourselves in the word of God – we don’t have to understand it all – just absorb it.

We are only as strong as our strength in Him. Diane Hale shared this message with me once and it was a paradigm shift for me that realized the critical importance of knowing Him and integrating the word of God into our lives, our minds and our hearts. The strength of God is delivered through the pages of His book. Piercing words that create the solid rock for which we can stand against any enemy, struggle or hardship.

e·ter·ni·ty

[ih-tur-ni-tee]

1.   infinite time; duration without beginning or end.

2.   beternal existence, especially as contrasted with mortal life: the eternity of God.

3.   Theology. the timeless state into which the soul passes at a person’s death.

I read a statistic (somewhat dated) that 75% of Americans believe in life after death.  That’s a pretty significant number of people and it makes me wonder how much time those individuals spend focusing on their own eternity.  Most people that I know spend the majority amount of their time focused on this temporary existence on earth, including myself.  We wake up and prepare for work, get dressed and decorated for the day.  We spend the day solving problems of the day and perhaps planning for the weeks ahead and we go home, eat dinner, watch a little entertainment and off to sleep we go only to wake up and do that all over again.  Don’t worry, this is not a bash on American culture or a beat up session about all that we do WRONG.  But, doesn’t it make you stop and wonder about our ETERNITY – infinite time; duration without beginning or end.  This life seems to be flying by so fast and the fact that we seem to be able to ignore that little nagging truth that we could leave this place at any moment is somewhat astounding.  We also see death all around us and somehow we hear it, see it and even acknowledge it but with a degree of numbness depending on how well we knew the person that just passed.  Should we think about death everyday and focus our time on it?  Well, I believe yes and no.  When I allow myself to step out of my demanding day, which I have created by the way, and really think about what eternity means and the level of control that I have over my eternal existence, my brain flips upside down.  The when is out of our control and the how but what about the where?  I don’t believe that it’s enough to be a “good person” and to spend my day at work trying to do my best in this little cocoon that I have curled up in.  Am I grateful for the opportunities that God has given, absolutely.  And now the battle in my mind begins!  Here it goes…ready?

The one argument is that God is in all things and I believe that. Therefore, it doesn’t matter where we work, eat or sleep as long as we are serving him through kindness and compassion to everyone around us.  Okay, I’ve bought that hook line and sinker because I am living that world today.  Then, the conflict begins when I start thinking about Rwanda, Tanzania, America and the list goes on and on.  There are starving nations, people in dire need of clothing, education, spiritual depravity and some basic needs and I think about a passage that I just read this morning… Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  I spend my day in an environment where that request is not allowed. Certainly I can do this outside of the workplace and I spend a small amount of time doing that but the reality is that I am focused mostly on the issues of my day that have nothing to do with serving God.  There is a part of me that believes that just being a witness in the workplace and doing my best to be His best is all that He asks.  There is another part of me that believes that we have chosen a life full of work time and self desires which have shrouded the Truth in God’s expectation of us.

I conclude here because I don’t have the answer to this and I know this is part of my journey.  Someday this will be reconciled but at what cost and for how long?  How much time do I have to think about it before eternity is here?  That’s the ping-pong game that my mind plays everyday.

God’s holy message shall be mine

I’m on a flight back from Chicago to Atlanta and this is on my mind…what message do I want to share tonight?  I started to question why I feel self pressure to leave a message and why would I think that anyone would be interested in what I have to say? I think I fall into the same trap as most human beings and that trap is the mindset that somehow we must figure out the answers to the meaning of life and deliver our own interpretation of that. And why wouldn’t we, the ego convinces us that our view is of utmost importance and we must share it with the world.  Oh brother, why not just share the word of God?  He has already delivered a masterpiece of information and a road-map of how to live this life and yet we somehow know more than the word or we devote our time and energy talking around the word. I believe that if we spent half as much time simply reading the Holy Bible, and applied what we read, our lives would have peace and freedom. Instead, we spend countless hours discussing the meaning behind a short passage in the Bible or analyzing the latest message from our Pastor. I’m not downplaying the importance of group bible study or collaborating with other believers on what we read.  However; if it stops there, have we delivered upon the works that God assigned to us?  How many souls can God save through those who refuse to step out of their comfort zones with like-minded believers never to venture towards the lost to share His message?  As I’m writing this I find myself going inward to evaluate my own territory.  If I’m honest, I spend countless hours discussing the messages and not a lot of time sharing His messages.  So I guess I am challenging myself right now to put my own words into action.  I need to step out of my own comfort zone and deliver some good news to the lost and the broken.

Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  ~ Matthew 9:12-13

How many times have you heard someone say “If only we had an instruction book on how to live this life” or “if only we had an instruction book on raising kids or how to have a successful marriage?”  It’s a tragedy that so many people in our world today choose to ignore the book of life (The Holy Bible) and instead find alternative paths that will justify a life based on human principles instead of God’s.  Either a complete absence of any core value system or some new age concoction of the holy word leaving so many even more lost and confused.  And for those who have never been introduced to the book of life, we, as believers, have an obligation to share the messages with them and help them find their way to salvation.  Otherwise, we’re just listeners and lip service with no substance.

You know this my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.  Therefore, having laid aside all filthiness and abundance of wickedness in gentleness accept the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But become doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror.  He looked at himself and went away, and immediately forgot what kind of man he was.  But the one who looks into the perfect law of freedom, and continues in this and not having been a forgetful hearer, but a doer of work, this man will be blessed in what he does.  ~ James 1:19-25

Sharing His message instead of my own is not only the right thing to do, it’s the righteous thing to do.  There is no other source that compares or can share the Truth in the spirit and the life.

God Provides and Uses our Work

Rwanda continues to remain on my mind and within my heart.  Most recently the concept of establishing an IT network and learning platform for rural schools in Rwanda seems to be taking on a life of its own.  Working among many world-class technology partners and leaders creates an opportunity for me to bring those groups together to share ideas on how we might be able to impact the learning and computing capabilities for disadvantaged schools in Rwanda and throughout the world.  Creating an equal opportunity educational environment is critical to the growth of a nation which is on the rise, not only rebuilding its economic infrastructure, but advancing towards a thriving economic leader in Africa.  Technology (ICT) in Rwanda is a pillar within the overall strategy. If we can help create something that might have an impact then why wouldn’t we do that?

I think the greatest learning opportunity for me so far is to recognize the way that God moves and guides our steps towards his divine plan in all aspects of our lives, not just church, volunteer work and family but our work life as well.  Our work can be such a big component in our lives so it makes sense for Him to steer us in directions that can best serve our needs but ultimately His needs for the world.  I find it impossible to separate  my work from my walk with God.  In fact, if we are truly walking with Him, we wouldn’t even consider it.  I want to encourage others to find God in their work.  It comes in so many forms and opportunities but if we step out of the minutia of work and what we gain or even contribute, the opportunities are there waiting on us to respond.  It’s really not about us and when we make the choice to simply serve God at work instead of ourselves, the results tend to be much greater than if we focus on our own gain from it all.  It’s so subtle that it takes time to establish this mode of operation. When we serve God first above all else, we naturally do our best because that is what He expects from us.  When we remove the selfish aspect something remarkable happens.  God steps in to replace the “self” and everything becomes easier and our best shines.  It doesn’t mean that everything is perfect or we no longer have issues to face and resolve.  However; when those issues do arise, we handle them the way God intended – with grace, compassion and love.  You will find a peace and the freedom in working at a higher level of capacity achieving the the ability to take on more with less stress.  It truly works – just try it!

Seeking Holiness not Happiness

We live in a nation obsessed with finding “happiness” and a fierce drive for instant gratification but do you notice that when the texting and the entertainment stops and the significant other stops filling that void, many still find themselves empty or even miserable on the inside.  Is this you?  I can relate to the struggle of searching for “happiness” during my many years searching to find fulfillment from the world and others.  Why do we find ourselves in this up and down momentum vs. a constant state of bliss? I heard a message one Sunday that explained the difference between seeking happiness and seeking holiness and it all made perfect sense to me. I came to realize that when I was searching to find happiness it was typically for selfish gain even when I had shifted my focus on finding spiritual fulfillment. In fact I recall asking “what is my purpose?” and that certainly seems holy, doesn’t it?  Well, read it again…”what is MY purpose?”  Still the focus was on myself and not God and what HE wanted for my life. Instead, not realizing it, although subtle, the focus was still centered around what I was going to gain from finding the purpose for MY life. This was just another version to help make ME happy by finding MY purpose for living and making me more important in the world than I really am.  Now asking the question “what is the purpose for my life?” is not a bad thing, in fact it is a wonderful way to start seeking the Lord and asking for guidance.  But notice how subtle yet radical the shift when you insert, “What is GOD’s purpose for my life?”  By surrendering and asking for God’s will instead of our own, we truly start living for His diving calling on our lives and therein lies the most amazing happiness and peace that the world cannot deliver. We must get out of this trap that keeps us so centered on ourselves which keeps us so separate from God. In many conversations with my female friends I hear “we all deserve to be happy.”  And I think, YES, that is true but at what cost and for who’s gain?  Anything less than HIS plan focused on HIS desires for us will result in a never ending quest for our own misguided interpretation of happiness and many sad and broken lives in the end.  It’s so amazing how much happiness is received when we make the shift toward seeking holiness instead.  I also find it most interesting that our need to acknowledge the happy moments by serving Him fade away and that is replaced with peace and freedom that transcend any sad attempt for some short-term self centered happiness path.

When I look back and even find myself slipping into the old trap sometimes, I quickly remind myself of who I am here to serve – not me.  And the most difficult part of this to realize is that we don’t give up anything to live this way but we gain our salvation and peace on earth.  I think the world has convinced us that if we choose God’s path, we won’t have fun anymore and nothing could be further from the truth.  God has implanted a desire in every heart and that desire is both His and ours.  It’s the true alignment with Him that reveals that desire and it will bring more joy imaginable.

May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. ~ Psalm 20:3-5

When I surrendered myself to following God’s plan for my life instead of my own, I immediately saw the difference by making different choices and by removing myself from every situation. And the most fascinating realization for me has been the way He continues to bless my life with more than I could have ever dreamed of. For months I pondered on my decision to stay in the corporate world vs. a non-profit role and I questioned whether I truly chose His path or mine.  When I look back on the progress, changes and impact that this decision has made, I have no more doubts that His hand is still in this journey.  It’s a privilege to find His opportunities within the day and they are everywhere. There are unhappy days and really tough decisions to be made.  Seeking Holiness makes this all okay because the intention is to always do the right thing vs. the selfish thing.  Self-promotion, self-achievement, and making decisions based on my wants and desires are no longer the focus. Was this an easy transition, I don’t think so.  At least it wasn’t for me but once I received the rewards of peace and freedom that came from doing things for Him instead of me it became easier and automatic.  It creates the ability to live without fear because He is in charge and it’s not about me and what I can lose or how I will fail.  Does this guarantee a life of bliss every day?  Not at all and I don’t believe that God intended us to live by our emotions although the world has become a master of cultivating that in our culture. Instead, this is a peaceful, no-fear existence that rises above and beyond any level of “happiness” and it comes by fulfilling His plan for our life.

Surrender to Him – put Him first in your life and find joy in seeking holiness.

 In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? ~ Psalm 56:4

It’s time to reboot

Here we are, October 2011 and I ask myself, what happened to the time?  Since my readership is so tiny most of you know what I’ve been doing over the last 1.5 years – basically buried in the corporate world trying to rebuild an IT organization.  So far so good – but that’s not what I intended to talk about today.

The Lord’s journey never stops amazing me and I’m more in awe than any point in my life.  Continuous surrender seems to be the requirement for me to stay on track with His way.  Every time I surrender it is a tremendous blessing and something that should be shared.   We tend to believe that once we fall we have to start over and I’ve learned that we just need to reboot.  When our computer freezes up and doesn’t behave as it should, we simply reboot and it starts running again just fine regaining the memory and the data but enabling a realignment of its mechanisms.  Rarely do we see an actual crash and even then it can recover, it just takes a little longer.  Humans are the same.  If we could adopt the mindset of rebooting, we would be better servants.  We would try harder to reboot less often but also allow ourselves permission to make mistakes because we just do.  Herein lies the gift of grace.

So I encourage everyone to simply reboot and get on with it and the more we do that the less time we waste dwelling on our shortcomings which keeps us separate from the Lord.  At the same time taking a few moments to recognize the error in our ways and try not to make the same mistake in the future – striving for righteousness always.

I will share a personal example;  I had a common life experience that raised a deeply rooted fear within me.  The Lord lead me to a quiet place immediately following this event and He gave me a whisper in my heart saying, “you don’t trust me”.  I thought, “really? – could that be?”   Wow!  I didn’t realize.  I wanted to and if you would have asked me I would have believed that I did but the TRUTH was that I didn’t trust 100%.  Then I realized that this was evident in the event that just took place and among all of my relationships – my marriage, family and my colleagues.  Please realize that this was very subtle and most would never know that I had this inability to let go of things and let people take care of their part – not trusting in their abilities.  Immediately it all made sense to me and I realized that the health of our relationships is a direct reflection of the health of our relationship to God.  My life changed immediately and my relationships the following day were better, stronger and more harmonious. I thought they were pretty darn good prior to that day I received the whisper but I had no idea that deciding to trust God 100% would be so radical in my internal heart and mind. It is a clear example that God wants to clean out every cobweb and crevice to be sure that we have a clean and pure heart to serve.  I am confident that if I stay alert and aware, He will continue to surface my shortcomings to acknowledge but not dwell.  To reboot the system and strive for righteousness again – it’s a working process and a joyous one.

He continues to lead this journey which is always first and foremost to simply serve Him and love Him in all that we do. Focusing on that will activate His will and plan for our life which is there for us to seize and put into action.

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

Rwanda: Schools to Adopt ICT-Based Learning

3 October 2011

The Rwanda Education Board (REB) will, this month, launch an ICT-based training programme, to guide teachers in integrating basic ICT into their lessons.

Primary school teachers will be the first to benefit from the training. The others will be catered for at a later stage.

1,000 teachers are expected to have benefited from the program by June 2012.

This was disclosed by Evode Mukama, the Director of ICT at REB, during a town hall meeting yesterday, organised to update the public on the fourth coming International Teachers Day.

“We will train teachers on how to integrate ICT in their lessons and also extend IT skills to their students. Every teacher is called upon to join this programme,” Mukama said.

He further explained to The New Times that “project-based learning approach” will be the main tool extended to teachers, who will in turn guide their students on how to use (ICT) in their studies.

“For example, a student may choose to learn about rain, and the teacher will in such a case guide him or her on how to use applications like internet, use of “excel” to record relevant data- which is a bit different from the broad sense of ICT.”

The project will be launched on October 31, at the National University of Rwanda with the commencement of a two-week training of trainers (T.O.T) session.

The TOT will be attended by 34 primary school teachers and 30 volunteer university students. Mukama underlined that there is no specific IT experience required of the trainees.

Copyright © 2011 The New Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).