Curtis Martin Speech-Praise

“Out of all the things that I have achieved, one of the things that I have learned, is its not necessarily what you have achieved in life that matters most, but it’s who you become in the process of those achievements that really matters.” – Curtis Martin

If you have about 30 minutes to spare. I highly recommend watching this speech by NFL Hall of Famer Curtis Martin.  It truly is an inspiration. 

http://youtu.be/eCYpF1OsklA

He talks about his life growing up, the struggles and what caught me is that he never really liked football.  The speech gave me some great motivation and perspective on my life. 

I believe we all face a lot of adversity in our lives, lots of failures and disappointments, but instead of allowing those things to get us down and beat us up, lets try and find the positives. 

I want to take a moment and give praise for all the things in my life.  I am fortunate for everything I have been blessed with.  Last night as I stopped by my parent-in-laws house, I left saying that the life I have been given,  the struggles, the battles, the achievements, etc truly are all a part of God's plan.  Each and every day I wake up, I am reminded that God has a plan that is greater than anything I could ever imagine.  I feel so unworthy at times and I think we all lose sight of the many blessings that we can be thankful for. 

So if you have not done it lately or maybe never done it at all, take a moment and thank God for the position He has placed you in good or bad, because at the end of the day He knows what He is doing.  Do not make it generic and say Lord thank you, place a little authenticity to it.  Be specific.  List out the things you are thankful for: your family, job, home, etc.  Also, take the time to ask Him to assist those around us who might be going through things that we know nothing of. 

Remember when life is going great, its easy to praise Him for the things we have been blessed with.  Its even easier to forget the struggles we have faced at points in our life.  Still praise Him for that too.  Because as I said He has a plan for each of us.

Blessings to each of you on this Friday.   

 

  

Chick-fil-a Appreciation Day: Imagine what could happen if we took another stance

Mark 8:34         
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Today marked an interesting day in American Society.  Millions of individuals flocked to Chick-fil-a to show support for our 1st Amendment Rights.  Dan Cathy spoke out against homosexual relationships, but at no time did he express hatred towards homosexuals.  He simply stated that he believed marriage should be between a man and a woman.  The great thing about American is we each are entitled to our opinions.  Many people and groups have tried to turn this into a religious matter.  This was not a question of a religious matter as much as it was about people supporting their rights.  Don't get me wrong, I am sure some people went to eat there, taking a religious stance, but the main point was to defend our right to free speech. 

My issues is not about 1st Rights or religion.  My biggest issue with all of this is as follows:  If we can rally around a company who has religious faith and beliefs, or take a stance towards our rights then why can we not come together and express and take a stance about our faith and beliefs about God? 

As I sat in Chick-fil-a with my wife, mother-in-law and father-in-law, the discussion came up about what could happen in this country and in this world if people came together and took a stance towards their Christian beliefs and said enough is enough.  Imagine if millions of Christians came together and started to take a stance.  How would things change? They say change is slow and I am sure it would be slow.  Still we have to start some where.
In Mark 8:34 it says "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his[her] cross and follow me. 
Can you imagine what could/can be done if we started denying ourselves, stopped worrying about the backlash and criticism of the world and started to stand for what we believed in, what our founding fathers established the country upon.  I mean taking a strong stance not a so-so stance. 
Its obvious that in the world around us things are not what they once were.  The economy is slowly going into a stand still, jobs are being lost, homes going into foreclosure, families being ruined, shall I go on. 
The answer is simple, we started to allow people to remove God from not just a part of life but from every part of life and look where it has gotten us.  Go and read the Old Testament and you will find that when God was involved things went well, when God was removed the outcomes were different. 

So today could potentially lead into something more.  But it can only lead into something more if we stand united.  If we can take a strong stance for our 1st Amendment Rights then imagine what could happen if we came together and took a stance on placing God back into the world around us.  Just a thought to ponder.