Friday, August 14, 2009
Good Night 08/14/09
Dear Father, thank you so much for living inside me through your Holy Spirit. Thank you for the assurance of your love, your presence, your power, and your guidance as I try to make the decisions and face the challenges of my daily life. Dear Father, as I yield my heart and my will to your Spirit's transforming grace and power, please help me develop more of your character and more completely display your grace today, and every day, as I face the tasks before me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Test Your Discipline
Aesthetic Performance Nutrition Quiz
#
Questions:
1.
I wake up every day with a smile
--I go off to a private room to praise God for His excellence, and thank Him for His continual mercy.
--I stretch and meditate in His Word every morning in preparation of every day..
2.
I eat breakfast every morning
--I eat vegetables and/or fruit with each feeding
--I eat 4-6 times per day.
--I eat my meals with good posture.
--I praise God before every meal.
3.
I endure at least 1hr ½ of physical exertion daily.
5.
I drink enough water to have 5 clear urinations per day – two of which are after games/practices/training
6.
I have high-quality, complete protein with each feeding
Ex:
--fish
--poultry
--cheese
--eggs
--yogurt
--milk
7.
I consume junk food (e.g. pop, chips, donuts, candy, fries) 2 or less times per month
8.
I recognize God’s significance within my life.
--I pray before I travel, eat, sleep, practice, or play.
--I am consistently reminded of God’s undying excellence.
--I seek and find joy in every day.
--I work hard towards all of my goals, in constant repentance for my mistakes.
--I read the Bible every day.
--I record a daily testament of God’s grace.
9.
I bring my post-training meal (e.g. chocolate milk) with me to the gym/games/practices and consume it immediately after.
10.
I work hard every day to remain in the Spirit
--I work at my own pace, seeking wisdom in all my practices.
--I hear my thoughts in His voice, and speak Truth.
--I recognize imposing spirits (i.e secular music/foolish conduct/etc.) and remain humbly alert
--I am currently progressing towards alleviating of ALL my bad habits.
11.
If Jesus were to appear, and join me at my last meal, he would have been pleased.
Scoring:
9-10
You are a Superstar! It’s either that, or your need to be more honest. If you are the former, keep up the great work, set an example for the rest of your team and help hold your team-mates accountable for their aesthetic performance nutrition.
7-8
You are doing well. Keep doing what you are doing and gradually make the changes so you can move your score up.
6-5
You have some things going for you, but need to work on getting more “yes” answers. At this rate, you likely not see any improvement in your health, body composition or your ability to excecute.
3-4
You are currently enduring through your life far below your physical and spiritual potential. You will see some great improvements in your health, body composition and aesthetic performance once you start getting more “yes” answers.
0-2
Your lack of discipline is severely hindering your health, body composition and performance. You need to decide if you are really ready to commit to doing what it takes to serve God.
#
Questions:
1.
I wake up every day with a smile
--I go off to a private room to praise God for His excellence, and thank Him for His continual mercy.
--I stretch and meditate in His Word every morning in preparation of every day..
2.
I eat breakfast every morning
--I eat vegetables and/or fruit with each feeding
--I eat 4-6 times per day.
--I eat my meals with good posture.
--I praise God before every meal.
3.
I endure at least 1hr ½ of physical exertion daily.
5.
I drink enough water to have 5 clear urinations per day – two of which are after games/practices/training
6.
I have high-quality, complete protein with each feeding
Ex:
--fish
--poultry
--cheese
--eggs
--yogurt
--milk
7.
I consume junk food (e.g. pop, chips, donuts, candy, fries) 2 or less times per month
8.
I recognize God’s significance within my life.
--I pray before I travel, eat, sleep, practice, or play.
--I am consistently reminded of God’s undying excellence.
--I seek and find joy in every day.
--I work hard towards all of my goals, in constant repentance for my mistakes.
--I read the Bible every day.
--I record a daily testament of God’s grace.
9.
I bring my post-training meal (e.g. chocolate milk) with me to the gym/games/practices and consume it immediately after.
10.
I work hard every day to remain in the Spirit
--I work at my own pace, seeking wisdom in all my practices.
--I hear my thoughts in His voice, and speak Truth.
--I recognize imposing spirits (i.e secular music/foolish conduct/etc.) and remain humbly alert
--I am currently progressing towards alleviating of ALL my bad habits.
11.
If Jesus were to appear, and join me at my last meal, he would have been pleased.
Scoring:
9-10
You are a Superstar! It’s either that, or your need to be more honest. If you are the former, keep up the great work, set an example for the rest of your team and help hold your team-mates accountable for their aesthetic performance nutrition.
7-8
You are doing well. Keep doing what you are doing and gradually make the changes so you can move your score up.
6-5
You have some things going for you, but need to work on getting more “yes” answers. At this rate, you likely not see any improvement in your health, body composition or your ability to excecute.
3-4
You are currently enduring through your life far below your physical and spiritual potential. You will see some great improvements in your health, body composition and aesthetic performance once you start getting more “yes” answers.
0-2
Your lack of discipline is severely hindering your health, body composition and performance. You need to decide if you are really ready to commit to doing what it takes to serve God.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Quick Shout
wishes nothing but the best for you; though, many of you may not trust in my new found spirituality. I praise God for His immediate response to all of my prayers. If you have something you need to pray about, let me know. I'll be more than happy to pray with you. It amazes me, how fast God is moving for those who show faith within their prayers. Congrats On The House G-ma!! GIG!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Persistence Pays Off
How many times have you been backed so deep into a corner, and the Lord pulled you out?
Countless times, we humans face adversity within our lives to the point where revival seems impossible. Then, in the midst of our struggle God performs a miracle, while we look around in amazment, failing to acknowledge Truth - that He is able no matter the circumstance.
When the worst of our troubles attack us, there should only be one name that we call on for help; and, that is Jesus. Still, intoxicated by worldly enticement, many of us tend to put our faith in family, spouses, and peers, among many other things, which can not save us. We forget about God in the midst of our struggle, when it's the hard times that should draw us nearer to Him.
The Syrophoenician woman knew where to place her faith. She knew what Jesus was capable of doing. Imagine a small woman, nothing notable, just hot and tired with lines of worry deeply etched in her face. She walked miles to get to Jesus, and the disciples had the nerve to try and send her away because she was bothering them! Though, the disciples failed to recognize that the Syrophoenician woman was on a mission. It did not matter to her that Jesus was trying to rest, or that the disciples did not want her there. She refused to leave -- she couldn't. Scared for her daughter, she would not tolerate obstacles put in her way.
The woman's child was ill with spirits of anger, rage, and disobedience. When she faced Jesus (as recorded in Mark 7:24-30; Mathew 15:21-28), He responds to her request negatively, comparing her to a dog.
I know what you might be thinking, these don't sound like words from a very gracious God; however, Jesus used this lack of love and compassion to try and provoke the Syrophoenician woman to see how she would respond. Jesus could clearly recognize her good faith; thus, he tested her faith to show His disciples that non-Jews could also be faithful.
Jesus' harsh words did not deter the Syrophoenician woman from her goal. She was respectful to Him. Jesus threw out a crumb at her, and she said she would gladly take the crumb. The Syrophoenician woman had heart! She was not going to let cruel words, negativity, or haughty attitudes deny her daughter new life.
We cannot allow mere words set our faith off track. We must continue to trust and believe in the Lord that He has everything under control.
The Syrophoenician woman was persistent. She was determined within her faith in God's perpetual grace. Impressed with the Syrophoenician woman's great faith, Jesus relented. She possessed a faith that was so great that she could withstand disparaging remarks. She did not yeild, placing her trust soundly in Christ.
Like her, we cannot give up, turn around, or turn away--no matter what. Like her, we must have strong faith in Christ, Jesus.
We must persist and move obstacles out of our way!
~T$ God Bless
Countless times, we humans face adversity within our lives to the point where revival seems impossible. Then, in the midst of our struggle God performs a miracle, while we look around in amazment, failing to acknowledge Truth - that He is able no matter the circumstance.
When the worst of our troubles attack us, there should only be one name that we call on for help; and, that is Jesus. Still, intoxicated by worldly enticement, many of us tend to put our faith in family, spouses, and peers, among many other things, which can not save us. We forget about God in the midst of our struggle, when it's the hard times that should draw us nearer to Him.
The Syrophoenician woman knew where to place her faith. She knew what Jesus was capable of doing. Imagine a small woman, nothing notable, just hot and tired with lines of worry deeply etched in her face. She walked miles to get to Jesus, and the disciples had the nerve to try and send her away because she was bothering them! Though, the disciples failed to recognize that the Syrophoenician woman was on a mission. It did not matter to her that Jesus was trying to rest, or that the disciples did not want her there. She refused to leave -- she couldn't. Scared for her daughter, she would not tolerate obstacles put in her way.
The woman's child was ill with spirits of anger, rage, and disobedience. When she faced Jesus (as recorded in Mark 7:24-30; Mathew 15:21-28), He responds to her request negatively, comparing her to a dog.
I know what you might be thinking, these don't sound like words from a very gracious God; however, Jesus used this lack of love and compassion to try and provoke the Syrophoenician woman to see how she would respond. Jesus could clearly recognize her good faith; thus, he tested her faith to show His disciples that non-Jews could also be faithful.
Jesus' harsh words did not deter the Syrophoenician woman from her goal. She was respectful to Him. Jesus threw out a crumb at her, and she said she would gladly take the crumb. The Syrophoenician woman had heart! She was not going to let cruel words, negativity, or haughty attitudes deny her daughter new life.
We cannot allow mere words set our faith off track. We must continue to trust and believe in the Lord that He has everything under control.
The Syrophoenician woman was persistent. She was determined within her faith in God's perpetual grace. Impressed with the Syrophoenician woman's great faith, Jesus relented. She possessed a faith that was so great that she could withstand disparaging remarks. She did not yeild, placing her trust soundly in Christ.
Like her, we cannot give up, turn around, or turn away--no matter what. Like her, we must have strong faith in Christ, Jesus.
We must persist and move obstacles out of our way!
~T$ God Bless
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
A Time To Grow
Why is everyone in such a bad mood?
I mean, don't get me wrong, I understand that times are hard. Everyone is searching for a job, or a house, or this or that, and no one seems to care enough to listen or lend a hand; but, honestly, must we complain SO much?
I hate to be the one to say it, but I'm tired of hearing about everybody elses problems. I would be cliche and say, "I have enough of my own"; however, that is not even the issue...
What ever happened to Faith? We have to BELIEVE in God in the midst of ALL of our circumstances. If you don't believe in God, believe in your dreams because, believe it or not, your dreams are illustrative of what God has in store for you. And, if you can't do that because you "can't remember what you dream"; then believe in yourself! Either way, we have to start believing in something!
Times are hard for everybody. Trust me, you are not alone. My only question is, how long are we going to continue to feel sorry for ourselves before we begin to wake up and start working towards our blessings?
I recently read an article that criticized society within America for its support of, what was referred to as, the "Good Negro" -- A page long exculpation on how the white man flatters and adorns the good (educated) negros of today's society (i.e. Jay-Z, Magic Johnson, or Barack Obama) to control and manipulate the temperment and actions of the average negro... To me, it all sounded like an author's humdrum response to a really bad day.
It's like, we all want to sit around and point fingers all over the place in reference to who is to blame, as if continually acknowledging what we see to be the source of our problems is supposed to bring about some miraculous solution.
Sure, Bush might have single-handedly ruined the American economy, and you might be more "broke" than you trully deserve to be; but, we we have to pick this economy up together. If this economy is going to see any sort of progress, each of us is going to have to, individually, do our parts to become more disciplined within our minds and our spirits. We need to spend less time complaining about our situations, and more time learning about ourselves as well as others so that we may help each other out of these hard times. This comes with being deeply rooted in God, and holding on to faith. Take a tree for example, if a tree is not nurtured in the right way so that there is growth on the inside, there cannot be any on the outside. It will suffer and die out.
Part of the reason why the stuggle seems so impossible to overcome is because many people have lost all sense of morals. We don't know what it means to be faithful to God, and have no choice but to complain.
We have grown so fond of this world that we have allowed our obsessions to make us weak! Helpless, worthless souls, lounge around in front of the television praying for some microwaved blessing to pop up at their front door...like, "I should write a letter to the Home Makeover people so they can come and do my house"
..Get off your glutes bros and bras!
Prov 6:6-11 says, "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?....So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man."
We must stop treating God like some sort of genie, and getting mad whenever we don't receive what we wish for. Sure, we can always tell God what it is that we want. As long as we take steps in setting goals and remain diligent, faith will see to it that your prayers will be answered in due time. However, it starts with spiritual discipline. Without spiritual discipline we will not be able to remain true to God's vision/ purpose for our lives, which will eventually cause us to allow the Devil to distract us with worldly fascinations.
We must always remember, we are just passing through this wonderful and beautifull earth. God has given us every possible opportunity to live abundantly; to look upon every fresh impression; to develop every latent capacity; to grow as much as ever with His energy at work in us...
Times may be hard in the midst of these recessionary times, but growth is still within our grasp!
Let God shine within your heart, and be the light of this world.
~T$ God Bless
I mean, don't get me wrong, I understand that times are hard. Everyone is searching for a job, or a house, or this or that, and no one seems to care enough to listen or lend a hand; but, honestly, must we complain SO much?
I hate to be the one to say it, but I'm tired of hearing about everybody elses problems. I would be cliche and say, "I have enough of my own"; however, that is not even the issue...
What ever happened to Faith? We have to BELIEVE in God in the midst of ALL of our circumstances. If you don't believe in God, believe in your dreams because, believe it or not, your dreams are illustrative of what God has in store for you. And, if you can't do that because you "can't remember what you dream"; then believe in yourself! Either way, we have to start believing in something!
Times are hard for everybody. Trust me, you are not alone. My only question is, how long are we going to continue to feel sorry for ourselves before we begin to wake up and start working towards our blessings?
I recently read an article that criticized society within America for its support of, what was referred to as, the "Good Negro" -- A page long exculpation on how the white man flatters and adorns the good (educated) negros of today's society (i.e. Jay-Z, Magic Johnson, or Barack Obama) to control and manipulate the temperment and actions of the average negro... To me, it all sounded like an author's humdrum response to a really bad day.
It's like, we all want to sit around and point fingers all over the place in reference to who is to blame, as if continually acknowledging what we see to be the source of our problems is supposed to bring about some miraculous solution.
Sure, Bush might have single-handedly ruined the American economy, and you might be more "broke" than you trully deserve to be; but, we we have to pick this economy up together. If this economy is going to see any sort of progress, each of us is going to have to, individually, do our parts to become more disciplined within our minds and our spirits. We need to spend less time complaining about our situations, and more time learning about ourselves as well as others so that we may help each other out of these hard times. This comes with being deeply rooted in God, and holding on to faith. Take a tree for example, if a tree is not nurtured in the right way so that there is growth on the inside, there cannot be any on the outside. It will suffer and die out.
Part of the reason why the stuggle seems so impossible to overcome is because many people have lost all sense of morals. We don't know what it means to be faithful to God, and have no choice but to complain.
We have grown so fond of this world that we have allowed our obsessions to make us weak! Helpless, worthless souls, lounge around in front of the television praying for some microwaved blessing to pop up at their front door...like, "I should write a letter to the Home Makeover people so they can come and do my house"
..Get off your glutes bros and bras!
Prov 6:6-11 says, "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?....So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man."
We must stop treating God like some sort of genie, and getting mad whenever we don't receive what we wish for. Sure, we can always tell God what it is that we want. As long as we take steps in setting goals and remain diligent, faith will see to it that your prayers will be answered in due time. However, it starts with spiritual discipline. Without spiritual discipline we will not be able to remain true to God's vision/ purpose for our lives, which will eventually cause us to allow the Devil to distract us with worldly fascinations.
We must always remember, we are just passing through this wonderful and beautifull earth. God has given us every possible opportunity to live abundantly; to look upon every fresh impression; to develop every latent capacity; to grow as much as ever with His energy at work in us...
Times may be hard in the midst of these recessionary times, but growth is still within our grasp!
Let God shine within your heart, and be the light of this world.
~T$ God Bless
Friday, July 24, 2009
A Testimony
For all of those who don't believe in God, here is a testiment to how REAL He is:
My entire summer has been focused around different things that needed to be done to ensure that I'd be able to attend school next semester. There were things that I needed to do to ensure that I received the proper scholarship to cover my tuition costs. As well, I needed to, somehow, earn $5000 to take care of my housing costs.
Though I had been blessed with the scholarship that I needed for tuition, I have only earned about $3000 for room and board. About a week ago I was stressing to figure out how I was going to come up with the rest of the money. I had no clue. Frankly, the task seemed pretty impossible in my eyes.
...That is, until I began to grab onto faith and put it in God's hands.
I prayed about my situation for about 10 days. Whenever I began to have doubts I prayed that God would release those spirits of negativity off of me, constantly reminding myself that my enrolment within this school was promised to me in a vision; thus, God had it all under control.
I leave in August, and up until last week I had earned no more money. Yet, day by day, my faith in God continued to grow. And, on that tenth day, I received a phone call from a lady in the housing department at TWU, where I am to attend school. She said, "We have some good news for you in regards to your housing next year. Due to the economic situation, we have decided to give all transfer students from California free economy-style housing for the 2009/2010 academic year."
At that same moment that I received that phone call, I fell to my knees and began thanking God. I prayed so hard and long that I damn near shed a tear! I got up from my knees and ran outside around the house screaming, "THANK YOU JESUS!" until my neighbors had to come outside and ask what was going on. And, all that I could say to them was, "God is Good..."
you better believe that God is Good.
~T$ God Bless
My entire summer has been focused around different things that needed to be done to ensure that I'd be able to attend school next semester. There were things that I needed to do to ensure that I received the proper scholarship to cover my tuition costs. As well, I needed to, somehow, earn $5000 to take care of my housing costs.
Though I had been blessed with the scholarship that I needed for tuition, I have only earned about $3000 for room and board. About a week ago I was stressing to figure out how I was going to come up with the rest of the money. I had no clue. Frankly, the task seemed pretty impossible in my eyes.
...That is, until I began to grab onto faith and put it in God's hands.
I prayed about my situation for about 10 days. Whenever I began to have doubts I prayed that God would release those spirits of negativity off of me, constantly reminding myself that my enrolment within this school was promised to me in a vision; thus, God had it all under control.
I leave in August, and up until last week I had earned no more money. Yet, day by day, my faith in God continued to grow. And, on that tenth day, I received a phone call from a lady in the housing department at TWU, where I am to attend school. She said, "We have some good news for you in regards to your housing next year. Due to the economic situation, we have decided to give all transfer students from California free economy-style housing for the 2009/2010 academic year."
At that same moment that I received that phone call, I fell to my knees and began thanking God. I prayed so hard and long that I damn near shed a tear! I got up from my knees and ran outside around the house screaming, "THANK YOU JESUS!" until my neighbors had to come outside and ask what was going on. And, all that I could say to them was, "God is Good..."
you better believe that God is Good.
~T$ God Bless
Monday, July 13, 2009
Greater Is Later...Just Do You
It was such a lovely day today that I decided to sit by the pool and read. It was probably one of the most relaxing things that I have done with my summer. I felt such peace, and such satisfation within my spirit that, after a while, I stopped reading and just began to basque in the sun, in a sort of meditative state.
I started thinking about God, glorifying how amazing he is for creating such a peaceful, perfect moment in time. Often, we become so distracted by our own flesh that we take for granted all of the natural beauties of this world that are, likewise, God's creation.
Then, as I continued to conjure thoughts about all of the little things about God that we take for granted, He suddenly imparted a revelation upon me in regards to those similar gifts that God has bestowed within each of us. All of us are given spiritual gifts to aid us in the fulfillment of our God-given assignments in this life. However, many of us fail to tap into what it is that God has individually called us to do because we don't nurture the gifts that God gives us.
You may be gifted with an articulate voice, unknowingly blessed with a calling to be a great motivational speaker, or preacher, or politician; however, every time you turn on the TV to catch up on the latest on BET's top 10 list, suddenly you want to be the next Chris Brown.
WE can't just go through life trying to trade our gifts for whatever WE feel might be more fun, or "suitable" in attaining everything that WE want for our lives. It is this same selfish, disloyal attitude towards God... this lack of faith in His vision, which leads to false disciples within the church, shameful politicians, and disturbing contestants on American Idol. Stick to your calling! have faith in what God is doing within your life; and, in due time, through the diligence of your practice, God will present you and your gifts before great people.
In most cases, God will start you off with a small task in order for you to prove your faith and loyalty to His calling. You may be called to be a coach in the NBA. However, God may start you off as a volunteer coach of a youth team at the local YMCA. "Bloom where you are planted!" you must treat your task as a volunteer coach no differently than you would that position within the NBA. Like those toddlers on your youth team, God may see you as an infant in the spiritual form; thus, you must prove yourself loyal to His vision through hard work and humility. You must always keep God first, and never doubt the path that He has charted for your life.
The Devil will try to trick you into believing that there is an easier way, tempting you with promises of money, fame, and other worldly pleasures. But, the Devil is a liar. Remain persistant on God's righteous path. Believe in your dreams at all times, and remain loyal to God's vision for your life. Hold tight to your faith, and stand firm within your prayers. God would not have kept you here in this life if He didn't, still, have something great in store for you.
~ T$ God Bless
I started thinking about God, glorifying how amazing he is for creating such a peaceful, perfect moment in time. Often, we become so distracted by our own flesh that we take for granted all of the natural beauties of this world that are, likewise, God's creation.
Then, as I continued to conjure thoughts about all of the little things about God that we take for granted, He suddenly imparted a revelation upon me in regards to those similar gifts that God has bestowed within each of us. All of us are given spiritual gifts to aid us in the fulfillment of our God-given assignments in this life. However, many of us fail to tap into what it is that God has individually called us to do because we don't nurture the gifts that God gives us.
You may be gifted with an articulate voice, unknowingly blessed with a calling to be a great motivational speaker, or preacher, or politician; however, every time you turn on the TV to catch up on the latest on BET's top 10 list, suddenly you want to be the next Chris Brown.
WE can't just go through life trying to trade our gifts for whatever WE feel might be more fun, or "suitable" in attaining everything that WE want for our lives. It is this same selfish, disloyal attitude towards God... this lack of faith in His vision, which leads to false disciples within the church, shameful politicians, and disturbing contestants on American Idol. Stick to your calling! have faith in what God is doing within your life; and, in due time, through the diligence of your practice, God will present you and your gifts before great people.
In most cases, God will start you off with a small task in order for you to prove your faith and loyalty to His calling. You may be called to be a coach in the NBA. However, God may start you off as a volunteer coach of a youth team at the local YMCA. "Bloom where you are planted!" you must treat your task as a volunteer coach no differently than you would that position within the NBA. Like those toddlers on your youth team, God may see you as an infant in the spiritual form; thus, you must prove yourself loyal to His vision through hard work and humility. You must always keep God first, and never doubt the path that He has charted for your life.
The Devil will try to trick you into believing that there is an easier way, tempting you with promises of money, fame, and other worldly pleasures. But, the Devil is a liar. Remain persistant on God's righteous path. Believe in your dreams at all times, and remain loyal to God's vision for your life. Hold tight to your faith, and stand firm within your prayers. God would not have kept you here in this life if He didn't, still, have something great in store for you.
~ T$ God Bless
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