Hanging out

August 31, 2009 Monday
Everybody has their place in life. We are all here with a course to run. There is no one born into this world with a specific purpose and reason for being. The question is, ‘what is our purpose’? That goes for us as individuals and as groups. If we are meeting our individual destiny and purpose then we will be drawn to the groups that are doing the same thing. Like for me, I am drawn to people that want to talk about destiny and purpose. I am drawn to people that want to encourage others. Those are the types of people that I desire to be around, because I want to be like them. I want to be a giver or a dealer of hope, so I hang out with people that want to talk about hope and giving hope to others.

what if

August 30, 2009 Sunday
Sometime back in the fall I was wondering what it would be like if we all were operating or at least moving into our destiny. I really wonder, what is the percentage of folk are actually in that mode? What percentage of the folk are moving toward their destiny and operating in their destiny? I sometimes wonder if it is even 40% of the world. What would this world be like if we all were living in our destiny? There would be no lack, no mess, stress would be gone, and all sorts of things would be different. What would it really be like? I really do want to know, I want to experience that world of destiny minded people. What can I do to encourage people to reach their destiny?

Catching Up

August 29, 2009 Saturday
Got back from Grove Hill this morning around 1am. Had a good time at the game. First person I saw was Freddie Pringle, who I haven’t seen in years, it was so good to catch up with him. Then I spent the evening walking with the chain gang; which Doug Bradford was part of, another cousin I haven’t seen in years. Bobby Keahey was also part of the chain gang. So it was entertaining to say the least.
We are getting a lot closer to having Embrace Your Destiny out on the market. So much has happened since I started that book; I can see why authors say that once the book comes out they wonder if it is really all that good. I see where I would change things and add things, but that’s why we continue to write. I have made a lot of those changes in the project I am working on now, Playbook of Champions and I know that when it’s done I will be making changes in the 3rd book, which right now is going to be called The Encourager. I have created a character in the Playbook; his name is Aggie, and I want to carry him over into The Encourager. So I am seeing a lot of Jackson in the 3rd book. So look out Jackson folk, I am going to be talking to you over the next year or so. But anyways, that’s where we are right now. Embrace will our soon, I will let you know more about it ASAP. Thanks so much for all you have done. I love you all very much!!

Teamwork

August 28, 2009 Friday
Well, its game day again. We head down to Gator Country tonight to play Clarke Prep. I haven’t been to a “Grove Hill Academy” game since ’82. A lot of memories have come back since I have been working with Tuscaloosa Academy, writing this book. I have learned a lot about myself in being around the sport again. I worked some with Jackson High School even after I had stopped teaching and working as an athletic trainer. I really have missed the sport and being part of a team. That was one thing that I was determined to do again; be a part of a team. We all, men in particular, want to be a part of something that is bigger than us. I have a desire to be part of a team. I love the concept of teamwork and accomplishing a common goal. The same is now coming true in my marriage. I am seeing that even more now, than ever before, that I want to be a part of something awesome and great. Marriage without a doubt is teamwork. It is crazy how we can’t see the obvious; right in front of my face. The old saying, ‘can’t see the forest for the trees,’ is so true in my life. There are things that have been right in front of my eyes and I just didn’t see it. Thankfully, the blinders have been taken off and now I am beginning to see things. As the Psalmist said, “I can see clearly now the rain is gone. Gonna be bright, bright, sunshiny day.” I am thankful for my sight!!

wins and loses

August 27, 2009 Thursday
I just want to thank each of you that have sent notes of encouragement through the past year. I really do appreciate each one of them. Even those that aren’t positive notes, I still take it as encouragement. We can learn from the positive as well as the negative. I know that I learn more from adversity than I ever do from winning. I rarely learn much from a win, but from a loss I learn volumes. It is good to have wins though, it means we are learning from our loses. Wins are good but loses teach us more about ourselves. I am thankful for what I have learned about myself in the past few weeks and months. I didn’t like it, but I am glad that I learned it. Now the key is don’t make the same mistakes over again. Once we have learned something, put it in to practice.

Oil change

August 26, 2009 Wednesday
I got to thinking about being drained and how it’s not always a bad thing. I feel like I am due for an oil change. I have oil in me, but its low and not any good now. It’s time to change the oil in me, just like in your car. It is way past due in life for a good oil changing and cleaning up on the inside. So you see, all in all the drained feeling, although it isn’t a great feeling, is not bad at all. Now it is time to put in the fresh new oil to replace the old. It’s the oil that reduces the friction of life. The saying is that as iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another. When you sharpen something there is friction and sparks are flying everywhere. So you got to have the oil to keep it from getting too hot and messing up the iron.
I want to thank you for taking the time to read my daily posts. I know it can be overwhelming at times, especially if you don’t check your facebook each day. If you had rather get this by email we can arrange that too. Starting Jan ’10 I won’t be doing a daily blog on facebook but rather twice a week. I may continue to add to the blog each day but not mailing it out on facebook. I think this is better, but since I have committed to a daily blog for a year I will do so until Dec 31. Thanks again for sticking it out with me.

Drained

August 25, 2009 Tuesday
I have sit here for what seems like hours and I have nothing. I don’t know what to write. I feel drained in every aspect of my life. I really don’t think that is such a bad thing. There have been things in my life, things that had a strong hold in my life that needed to be drained out. I am thankful that those things are being drained out and being replaced with a new thing. I apologize for rambling and not making much sense, but in my heart I know exactly what I am trying to say. Thank you for being so supportive and putting up with me and my rambling.

Calming Peace

August 24, 2009 Monday
One of the things in life that I want is to be a peacemaker. I have said before that I hope that one day when I walk into a room that no matter what someone is going through that they know that everything is going to be ok. Not because of me, but because of who I am and who’s I am. The fact that I carry the Peacemaker inside me is more than enough. I so desire to have a calming effect on people. To be like the bomb squad and defuse the situation and not blow up people is my desire. We either carry a bucket of water with us or a bucket of gasoline; it’s one or the other. I am tired of being the cause of people’s pain and causing situations to be worse because of me. Peace is the key. Security that comes from the peace we carry. Security in knowing that I have the Peace of God.

Peace Infection

August 23, 2009 Sunday
There has been a lot of talk about swine flu and all that stuff lately. People being infected and carriers of the strain of flu has been the talk. When it comes to peace, I would love to be a carrier of peace. To be one who has so much peace that the peace I carry calms others, I infect other people with peace. Don’t misunderstand, I know that I don’t have that peace yet, but I am working on it. To be a peace keeper is one thing but to be a peace maker is something completely more. It’s not so hard to keep the peace, but can you make peace where there is turmoil? Only if you have more than enough peace inside you can you be a peacemaker. I have to get the stuff that is un-peaceful out of my life before I can replace it with peace. Peace is a key to so many things in our lives.

Peace Out

August 22, 2009 Saturday
I was thinking yesterday, what is it that we want from life? The answers to that question are endless I suppose. I have thought about this often, especially when Melissa was pregnant with Gloria. What did we want, what do I want from life, what do you want from life, and so on and so on. I finally have come to the conclusion that peace is the main thing in life I desire. My reasoning being that if I have peace then no matter what is going on around me, to me, to you, to my family, I know that all is well. Peace is the umpire of life. Peace will call you out or safe, may even have to throw you out the game for a period of time. But when we have peace, we know that we will walk through whatever life hits us with. When things are good and we have peace we can enjoy our family, friends, and others. Peace keeps me sane, keeps the joy in my life, and keeps hope alive in my life. Without peace nothing will work out for you. You will not have joy no matter how good things are going without peace. Peace is what I desire most in life. So peace must be what I bring to the table.

show courage

August 21, 2009 Friday
I think I will wrap up the courage aspect of this blog for awhile. I will let this be the last courage talk for now. What I have learned so far is that when scared; show courage. When you are unsure of yourself; show courage. When you don’t know what to do; show courage. When you make a mistake; show courage. When you fail; show courage. When you are done wrong; show courage. When you are threatened; show courage. When you are tempted; show courage. When decision time comes; show courage. When you fall; show courage. When opportunity knocks; show courage. In other words always show courage. Courage will be a faithful friend when you exercise it in your life. Courage is from the heart, so keep your heart clean and strong. Let’s all be the cowardly lion and search out courage until we find it.

baseline courage

August 20, 2009 Thursday
As I mentioned earlier, courage is the first characteristic or quality in the book project that I am working on; Playbook of Champions. I see the need for courage in my life, in so many different aspects. When I find myself hiding it is because I am scared and don’t have courage. I see now that I have spent my entire life hiding. Whether it is mentally, physically or spiritually, it is the same. I have lacked courage in all aspects of my life for all my life. Only now am I starting to develop the courage necessary to come out of hiding and face the world as it is. There are so many variables and so much that is unknown, but hiding is not the answer; courage is the answer. Courage to come out of hiding is hard for me but I am doing my best.

real me courage

August 19, 2009 Wednesday
School starts today for my 6 yr old daughter. She is starting the 1st grade at Tuscaloosa Academy. The previous two years were easy because it was Pre-K and then K-5, but not “real” school. But today the real deal starts. It was harder on me than I thought it would be. I know it was on Melissa too, the past two years were on her as well. But that letting go… Gloria loves school, she loves to read and learn. She makes friends so easy. She has never met a stranger. My God I have so much to learn from her. I have so much trouble with relationships. I have never invested in a relationship all of myself, that is changing as we speak though. My parents, family, wife, daughter, friends, no one has ever had all of me as a friend. No one has ever gotten to know the absolute “real” me. All of that is about to change, actually it is already changing now. All this talk about courage to do this and that, well it is time that I have the courage to be me; the absolute real me. The thing is, I don’t think I know the real me either. So it is a learning experience for me too. I may lose every friend I thought I ever had, but that’s ok. It’s way past time that I remove every wall, barrier, and defense mechanism from my life and establish well defined boundaries. Courage is a must for me now!

decision courage

August 18, 2009 Tuesday
We are still on the courage thing today. It takes courage to have hope and to change, but too it takes courage to accept responsibility for your actions. One way to look at it is to say that it takes courage to not make excuses. When we make excuses for what we do, we stop ourselves from change. I had a slogan on my board when I was at Open Door; Excuses stop Change. What I was saying is that when we make excuses we will not change our actions, mindsets, and such. When we have the courage to stop making excuses for why we do what we do, then and only then, will we change ourselves. We have to take responsibility. We want to blame our parents, our DNA, and society for the way we are. We are the way we are because of the decisions that we have made. Those other things are definitely influencers in how we are, but they aren’t the determining factor; we are the final say so in that. Have the courage to accept responsibility and stop making excuses, then we will become who we are supposed to be.

Courage of Hope

August 17, 2009 Monday
Having courage to hope is essential to reaching your destiny and to just living day to day. So many people have given up on hope, that’s because it takes courage to believe that tomorrow will indeed be better. I know it seems in my own life that it will only get worse; can it get better, can I change, can I grow, stuff like that. It takes courage to have hope that tomorrow will be a better day. Without hope what’s the use in even getting out of bed? Hope is the key to day to day life. Courage to have hope is so important to living a life of destiny. Without hope you won’t be able to reach your destiny. We have to have the courage to hold on to hope.

To be real

August 16, 2009 Sunday
The more I write about courage the more I realize that it is involved in just about everything we do. It takes courage to be real and be who you really are these days. I know I have been so guilty of not being my real self too many times. But with the courage that can only be from God, those days are over. We must be real; we must be who we really are. The courage to love yourself, not to have self-hate, which I have lived with for all my life basically has to go if we are going to be real and difference makers. The courage to accept ourselves, not as we are so much, but to accept ourselves and make the changes necessary, to grow. This courage is innermost and only is for those that are serious about destiny and making a difference in the world around them. This is the courage that I am striving for, not there yet, but striving for daily.

Difference Courage

August 15, 2009 Saturday
August is half gone today; this year is escaping so fast. This means that our lives too are moving so fast. I have been talking about courage a lot here lately and the more I write about it the less courage I find that I have today. If I had courage I would have done the right thing more often in my life. If I had courage I would in turn have more integrity in my life. However, I believe that we can build our courage just like anything else. The more we practice courage the stronger it becomes in us.
I don’t know about you but I want to make a difference in the people around me. I want to make a difference in the world. I want to make a good and a positive difference in people. I know that I have made serious mistakes and I apologize for them all. I want to be transparent and live my life open and honest; with no walls. I know this takes courage, but I am determined to overcome the mistakes and sins of my life to make a stand for courage and to make a difference

Standing Courage

Courage to stand… There are so many different things going through my mind it’s impossible to write them all, so I will just do one a time. I have done things to hurt people, disappoint people, anger people, and so on… I have learned that there is freedom in having the courage to stand and say that I have made wrong choices and I am learning to change and to become the man that I was created to be.
The courage to be repentant of things I have done and choices I have made will enable me to be the man I am supposed to be, the husband and the dad I am supposed to be. The courage to say I am wrong and I am repentant is an awesome thing.

Mistakes

August 13, 2009 Thursday
It takes courage to admit your mistakes. I have made so many mistakes in my lifetime that it boggles my mind to think about it. But one thing I have realized is that I would rather admit when I am wrong, which takes courage, and make things right to the best of my ability, which again takes courage. I have not always taken this approach but I know that has to change. To always take the courage route and not what appears to be the easy way out. The peace that comes from taking the courage route far outweighs the mental and emotional torture we put ourselves through when we don’t do the right thing. I continually ask for mercy, grace, and forgiveness for my mistakes knowing that I am not perfect nor do I pretend to be, but I will strive for courage and take the courage route.

Equalizing Courage

August 12, 2009 Wednesday
It takes courage to overcome disappointment. When you have been hurt or disappointed by someone, it takes courage to overcome those feelings and still demonstrate the love that we are to show to folk. One thing to remember is that we too disappoint and hurt others as well. We are not the victim and should not act like one. People of courage do not have a victim mentality. There is a time of recovery from being hurt and disappointed but there is no time to feel sorry for ourselves and/or have that victim mentality. Courage is the great equalizer to those feelings. When those negative emotions try to control us, we muster up the courage we have developed to stop them. So courage isn’t developed in the hard times, but it is exercised during the hard times. In other words, courage is developed and exercised all the time.

dream courage

August 11, 2009 Tuesday
What about having courage to dream? The courage to be a person of vision is important. I used to teach, or at least try to teach, my kids at OD about being a person of vision. I would share vision with them. We sometimes try to turn vision into a spiritual word, but it is more than that. It is spiritual but it also carries over into the natural. You must have courage to dream and be a visionary. Don’t be scared to see things as they can be and as they will be. Things are very rarely as they seem. You have to take a chance and see them as they could be. See people as they could be not just as they are right now. It does take courage to see past the right now and look into the what will be.

lion courage

August 10, 2009 Monday
Courage takes on many forms. We have mentioned a few of them during the past week. Take heart and have courage. It will take courage to fulfill your destiny. It will take courage to help others fulfill their destinies as well. Courage is a vital part of our lives. Living a lifestyle of courage means that you never give up. You persist without end. No matter what comes against you giving up is not an option. Courage will keep you going when you don’t feel like you can go another day. When nothing seems to be going right in your life; it is courage that will keep you going. Courage is of the heart and from the heart; we draw life from it. Like the lion from the Wizard of Oz; “Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot?

comfort zone

August 9, 2009 Sunday
We all hear about our comfort zone and getting out of our comfort zone to do one thing or another. With the same courage we have been talking about the past few days, this is how we get out of our comfort zone. “Be of good courage” is what God told Joshua in the Bible. He was telling Joshua to get out of his comfort zone and go and move in his destiny. Only with courage; good courage, will we move out of our comfort zone and into our destiny zone. You have what it takes already inside you. Activate your good courage today!!

Army of Encouragers

August 8, 2009 Saturday
To be an encourager we must have courage and then give that courage to others. The en means to make or put in. You can’t make something unless you have all the ingredients. You must have courage to make or give someone else courage; to encourage. Maybe this is why we find it hard to encourage folk; we don’t have the courage in ourselves much of the time. Being an encourager takes a lot of courage on our part. Let’s begin to develop the courage necessary to be an encourager. Where you are strong encourage others, and where they are strong they will encourage you. We make an army of encouragers; which can’t be defeated!!

My Encourager

August 7, 2009 Friday
Today is Melissa and I 10th Anniversary. Just seems like the other day I was waiting at the altar with Bro Pat and my dad, for her to make her entrance. A day that I will cherish forever and ever, our wedding day!!
Melissa has been an awesome encourager to me, especially in the past 2 years. We have gone from one extreme to another in several areas of our lives. We were in debt up to our eye balls this time last year and she would keep on telling me, “Everything is fine, we got each other and that’s more important than money in the bank.” Today we still have each other and we got the money in the bank. When I knew it was time to leave OD and start writing she was right there encouraging me to do it. I know it has been a stretch for her in so many ways. Putting up with me is enough to discourage anybody, but she is still by my side. Not behind me and not out in front, but right by my side. She is the ultimate encourager to me!!

Courage to Encourage

August 6, 2009 Thursday
I am seeing more and more that it takes courage to Encourage folk. To tell someone that they are doing a great job does in fact take courage. To stand with someone when they are going through a tough spell takes courage. You have to have courage though if you are going to encourage others. You can’t give someone something that you don’t have. So then, in order to encourage someone else, you too, must have courage. To encourage someone else means taking putting your attention on them and not on yourself. For some of us that takes courage. Or just the opposite, to encourage someone, by telling and showing them that you too have gone through something similar takes courage. To be able to bear yourself and expose yourself takes courage. To humiliate yourself, which just means to humble yourself for the sake of others, takes courage. Be an encourager to others!!

standing courage

August 5, 2009 Wednesday
What about the courage it takes to make a difference in the people around you? The courage to be a world changer; even if that world is just one or two people, is needed. The courage to be different, knowing that you will stand out, because you don’t conform to what everyone else is doing. The courage to make a stand for what is right, to do what is right, because it is right, and then do it right. It takes courage to do these things. Maybe that’s why we don’t have a lot of people making a difference. Do we have a lack of courage? If you don’t have this courage, find someone who does and learn from them, support them, and you will begin to develop life changing courage. We all have the capability to have courage; we just don’t all exercise it.

life courage

August 4, 2009 Tuesday
Courage is the first topic of my book Playbook of Champions. It takes courage to be a champion, not just a football champion, but a champion in life. It takes courage to be able to stand when stuff around you in falling apart. It takes courage to stand when everyone else has run away or abandon you. It takes courage to take the punches that life throws at you. As Rocky Balboa said, “It isn’t how hard you can hit, but how you can take a punch from life.” It definitely takes courage to be a champion in life. Take heart and you will have courage.

types of courage

August 3, 2009 Monday
I think we all have courage of one kind or another. There isn’t just one type of courage, but like the courage to change, the courage to grow personally. It takes courage to look at our lives and say, “I am tired of living like this,” and then make the changes necessary to live the life we were intended to live. It takes self courage to make life changing changes. It isn’t easy to change, to grow, to do the things necessary to live out your destiny. The courage that it takes to live your destiny doesn’t come from making excuses but from taking responsibility for our lives and the decisions we make.

Courage

August 2, 2009 Sunday
I have been thinking a lot about courage here lately too. I know that we hear the word a lot but what all does it mean? I know that courage has to do with having heart. I have heard that without the presence of fear; we would not have courage. We all have to summon our own courage at times in our lives. To begin to write and share myself for me has taken courage. I know full well that what I share about myself can easily be used in a negative way, but that’s when courage kicks in. Once I realized that the past really can’t hurt me because I had disarmed it, I had the courage to do what I needed to do. Without personal self security I don’t think we can have personal self courage.

Defining Trust

August 1, 2009 Saturday
Wow July is gone! School is getting ready to start back up; which means one thing; Football Season!!!! Won’t be long now, practice has started and it getting so close.
Trust is a strange thing sometimes, to many people. I have gotten many notes over the past few days about trust. I appreciate them all too. I have really had my eyes opened to the issue of trust. I don’t have the issues that I did at one time, but we all have some issues with trust. It is a very valuable and sensitive thing. I call it a thing, because it’s not an emotion, it’s not an object; it’s not really a thing, but what else to call it. Trust is fragile but at the same time it holds marriages together, teams together and even countries together.
I am looking into my own working definition of trust; what trust is or what is trust, so that I can eliminate any issues that I may still have regarding trust.