7 Key Points Received at Night of Hope

KEY POINTS from Night of Hope

Night of Hope Miami 2013

My beloved and I ready to serve at
Night of Hope Miami 2013

Beloved, this was written April 21, 2013 at 1:19am. These 7 key points I learned and was refreshed by from Joel and Victoria’s: America’s Night of Hope in South Florida at Marlins Park on April 20, 2013. I was most blessed to serve as an usher at Night of Hope on behalf of Potential Church and receive a free ticket to enjoy and receive the blessing of witnessing many people give their lives to Christ. Amen. So, I wanted to pass on this blessing to you as well, as I know you will not only gain insight into the heart of God, but you will be refreshed by them as well. With that being said, I now invite you into my HEART...

My Book Report (Chapter 20): Every Day A Friday

The Healing Power of Laughter

Here’s my first actual joke I’ve written

A squirrel and a chipmunk were standing on the same branch and someone past by and said, “look at the two squirrels, how cute!” The squirrel and chipmunk both looked at each other and said, “I don’t look like you.” The chipmunk then said, “I thank God for that! Squirrels are not meant to be movie stars.”

My Book Report (Chapter 12): Every Day A Friday

Chapter Twelve

Don't you just loooove when someone approves of you? Your outfit, your body, your work, your home, your car, your spouse, even the kind of scent your perfume or cologne has. It makes you feel good. It makes you feel loved. It makes you feel valuable— someone who carries worth in the eyes of others.

There's something to approval. It can be dangerously appealing. It can cause us to invest ourselves completely into what others say or think about us. In essence we buy into their willingness to shake there heads up and down in approval at our lives.

Why is this a very dangerous thing? When we have invested everything into others and we decide to do something else, say something unlike we said before, even change the way we act and what we believe in, those who once approved start to disapprove and we don't see a return on our investment. All we're left with is an empty heart depleted and void of everything because we gave it all to those who no longer care to be for us but now are against us.

In Chapter 12 of Every Day A Friday, Joel speaks about not being people pleasers who are with us one moment and the next they're against us; they leave us...as if they forgotten we exist.

The very title of this chapter already gave away what it's about without me even sharing with you all the above. It's titled, “Don't Live for the Approval of Others.” 

I have known what it is to have God speak to me and place a big dream in my heart that He is asking me to walk away from other things, then He can build me up for the amazing things He has in store for me. But those who were for me as long as I did what they thought was best, we're now against me. 

Joel speaks many times about how it was to transition from his father leading the church in Lakewood, TX to Joel leading it after his dad went to be with the Lord. Many people were with him, but there were a few who were against him, or wanted to tell him how to lead the church, how to do ministry, etc... Joel even says that one man actually told him ‘you're making a big mistake. And I just want to let you know if you move the church, I'm not following.’

Sadly, this man wasn't willing to understand and stand with Joel with the big dream God had placed into his heart and was building Joel up for. This is inevitable, just as it was with Jesus and HIS VERY OWN Family and close Confidant . Although at times we may have the best intentions and often times not so much, just as Jesus' family and close friend, we too, may experience others not agreeing with what God has called us to do and other times, people may very well not understand our God-given destiny. But, let not this misunderstanding deteriorate your resolve to bring glory, honor and praise to God in doing as He has called you to accomplish. Amen. 



My Takeaway:

If God is calling you to something bigger and better, know that it is He who has approved you, and as long as the Creator of the universe approves of you, you will be alright. Praise God Almighty that we have His approval which stands forever in Christ Jesus. As it says in His Word, ‘I will not leave you nor forsake you’ and again ‘Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’ Amen! 

Thank you Lord!

As always...YOU ARE LOVED.

My Book Report (Chapter 6): Every Day A Friday

Chapter Six
“An Attitude of Gratitude is not a catchy slogan. It's an untapped resource.” – F. Lugo

I am amazed! I repeat I am amazed! How amazing it is to receive such wonderful blessings from words in a book. Words on a screen. Words delivered through a social networking site. Words from someone who cares. When these words are filled with goodness. When these words are uplifting, and never aimed to bring you down, I write to you all, be amazed! And thank God!


Chapter six from those words above you can probably put together in your amazing mind that it's a chapter that will have you thankful and amazed. By the way did you know one of my favorite words in the English dictionary is Awesome! Why do I let you know that? Because the word amazing is AWESOME!


"The Right Perspective" would be an awesome way to describe chapter six. In fact, that's the title of chapter 6: "The Right Perspective." Throughout this chapter there is one underlining truth that is amazingly awesome. We are so blessed, the mere fact that all of us at some point or another think we aren't blessed is staggering. Therefore, let me take the initiative and let you in on a little secret. I have often thought I wasn't as blessed as I should have. Are you in shock? I hope you are, because chances are high, you too, have thought, felt and expressed in your life more than once that you were not blessed. Maybe you didn't use those exact words, but maybe these sound more familiar,"Nothing good ever happens to me," or better yet, "Why me?"


Here's a little snippet of something Joel mentioned, shedding light on The Right Perspective to have in his book Every Day A Friday. "I read recently that more than a million people die every single week. Think about it. You made it another week! You're better off than a million people. You can thank God you're alive."  (Here) is where you can find some sobering statistics.  


Joel goes on to share this as well, "The article also said that if you have a roof over your head, you are better off than 75 percent of the world's population. And if you have fifteen dollars to your name, you are in the top 8 percent of the world's wealthiest people- fifteen dollars!"


How's that for the right perspective? There is so much to be thankful for, and as Joel shared a great exercise to gain the right perspective, I share it all with you. Make a list of everything God has blessed you with, and by the end of it, you'll have gained The Right Perspective.


Here's a bit of direction for you when writing your list. Joel mentions a man who complained he had 'no good shoes,' then he met a man without feet. In that very moment and from then on, that man had The Right Perspective.



My Takeaway:

The Right Perspective comes from the heart that praises and thanks God. The more I praise God the less I see room to complain. If I develop a spirit of continual thanks and praise to God while meditating on His goodness, I wont have time to focus on what's wrong or to complain about what I don't have or what I can't do, because I'll be to grateful to God for what I DO have and what I CAN do. Just as King David wrote, and knew the secret to The Right Perspective, I share this secret with you. "I WILL bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." (Psalm 34:1 AMP) and apparently the apostle Paul knew this secret as well, as he wrote, 'give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.' (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV)




Beloved, I leave you with these words. They are my words to God as soon as I finished reading chapter six and reflecting on His goodness in my life.

Father, I want to apologize for not appreciating everything I have been blessed with as if it were the first time I received it. Thank you for your friendly reminders. Thank you for personalities like Joel Osteen. Thank you that the smiling saints belonging to your kingdom have been here on earth gracing us with their demeanor and amazing perspective. Help me to always have The Right Perspective. Amazed by You, my God!

My Book Report (Chapter 5): Every Day A Friday

Chapter Five

"Enjoy The Journey." These words are synonymous with anything that puts a smile on our faces and contentment in our hearts. But why do so many of us fail to experience a life that would have those words as a banner of accomplishment in all our endeavors? One word- Busy. 


As I read chapter five of Every Day A Friday by Joel Osteen, I was amazed to be reminded of something so simple I shouldn't have to be reminded of it. That's to stop and smell the roses. Joel shares many incidences were he was caught up on the excitement and grandeur that is, to be busy. Yet Joel is quick to inform us of a lesson to be learned in every moment he passed on enjoying his journey for being busy. That although being goal-oriented is a good thing, never allow it to supersede spending time with those of whom matter most as they are here one day and gone the next. Joel further displays that sentiment by these words from the Bible, 'you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:14 NIV). There is one thing I desire more than anything for my life. That is to experience it with enjoyment.


My Takeaway:

I myself am extremely guilty of looking to be so busy to feel as if I accomplished something, that I just blow right past the roses and trample them underfoot. Enjoying life should be easy but our unwillingness to slow down and our stubborn willingness to speed up has made enjoyment something to work hard at. If what we're doing is wrong, let's do the opposite.

Beloved, I am not the worlds smartest man, or the worlds most handsome man. I do not have tremendous influence on many and I make a ton of mistakes. But this one thing I know. Unless you and I desire enjoyment in our lives, we won't experience it. As chapter five is so appropriately titled, as I started with them, I'll leave you with these words...Enjoy The Journey.


As always...YOU ARE LOVED

My Book Report (Chapter 4): Every Day A Friday

Chapter Four

"Bloom Where You Are Planted." These words certainly spark curiosity. I always find it absolutely amazing where God will lead an individual who is looking to be lead. Therefore, allow me to lead you to the meaning of the word bloom.

Bloom: to flourish; to glow; to produce; to thrive; to prosper; to achieve- To invest oneself. 


As I read through chapter four of Joel Osteen's "Every Day A Friday" I was challenged tremendously. Joel goes on to write in this chapter about being the best you can be where you are at in life despite situations, circumstances, peoples attitudes or even our ability to not see the best in ourselves or others for that matter.

You may be thinking, why the metaphor of plant growth? Joel starts this chapter with a personal experience of his own. He was walking through a forest and came to a large opening that was full of  'dead, dried-up, brown, ugly weeds.' As he continued walking about a hundred yards in he saw a beautiful flower. Joel goes on to describe, "It was so bright, so colorful, so refreshing. It had bloomed right there in the middle of the acres and acres of old, ugly, dried-up weeds. And I thought. Really, that's what God wants us to do. Just bloom where we're planted."


If you are anything like me, you may tend to beat yourself up when you can't do better than you are doing. You want to be more. You want to know more. In essence you want to be someone you aren't at the current moment. But that is the good news. Just as I may not be certain things yet! Doesn't mean I wont be these things in the future. That goes for you too! Therefore, as I am comforted yet inspired to do better, I will use these blessings that God places in my life, in my path, such as this book by Joel Osteen that I am reading, to do my best where I am at, and constantly look to God to strengthen me to reach and achieve better and never settle for where I am at.

As I have mentioned to many people, I certainly look to challenge myself to reach higher than my present lot in life, as my lot is what God has made for me and that is Victory. Amen.


My Takeaway:

It's always a tough thing to break barriers in your life especially when you lacked the upbringing of victory. But as my pastor, Pastor Troy Gramling has shared and is successfully modeling, 'Although it wasn't modeled for you doesn't mean YOU can't model it' I am encouraged to lead out by example despite the model not being there for me.

I'm looking to God to do just that. The strength to break barriers; to be the best I can be where I am at yet never settling to stay where I am at, and to bloom even when I'm surrounded by weeds. Amen.

Beloved, I leave you with these words of encouragement and truth, ‘Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”’ (Matthew 19:26 NIV)


As Always...YOU ARE LOVED

My Book Report (Chapter 3): Every Day A Friday

Chapter Three

I'm absolutely thrilled to be writing a book report on this amazing book. Joel Osteen hits the matter of the heart in this chapter. "Express Your Joy" is the title and I believe the very essence of making the most of every moment. In joy we can witness great turnarounds in a person's life. I've heard others say, "I won't let them steal my joy," and I too have uttered such words in many situations, and I'm sure many more situations will arise to keep my joy and better yet! Share my joy.

Not to sound to prolific but joy is a building block for character. It certainly is needed in dealing with challenging people. I'm sure a raise of hands is warranted right now in how many people want to experience joy when dealing with knuckleheads (did I just write that?). Joel points out something interesting. He refers to a verse in scripture that speaks to joy being a great and thick fragrance if you will. "God has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions." (Hebrews 1:9 NKJV). Now this verse is speaking of Jesus Himself but it's the very blessing we all can have in Jesus. Such is to say that Joel was onto something when he used this verse. We too, can have an aroma that is inviting and doesn't fade away if we as Christ are anointed with joy (gladness). That's an amazing and descriptive way of showing how joy is something sweet to the senses. Amen.

Here's a quote my day was blessed with. "Joy is the serious business of Heaven." - (CS Lewis). To that, I have witnessed, experienced and modeled these very words. "Modeling Heaven doesn't start in heaven. It starts everywhere your joy is seen." - (F. Lugo)


Although chapter 3 has much more to share, I'll leave it up to you to purchase this book for yourselves and enjoy the blessings that it holds.



My Takeaway:

Joy is something that is contagious. Sometimes the best way to reach someone is to share the joy you have. Just like a water well, many times people will need to work at experiencing joy, but just as a geyser, others have joy that's seen from afar and it's explosive!


Beloved, I leave you with these final words the Lord just put into my heart to share with you in closing. Although it's a challenging principle, it's worth praying and believing, God will work it into you that you may not lack it at all. "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." (James 1:2-4 NKJV)




As always...YOU ARE LOVED.