Lesson Learned from that Stupid Dress!

What color is this dress? That was the biggest question going around the internet last night. It captured all of our attention. And when I woke up… It was even on Fox News!
Gold and White.
Blue and Black. 
Blue and Brown. 
It sparked a debate all over. 
But it goes to show that we… People of Earth. Can all be looking at the same thing, yet see things so different. And naturally… What we do is separate ourselves based on the way we interpreted what we saw. 
Religion does it. Schools do it. Society does it. 
We let some of the stupidest things drive wedges in between us as people. And it’s time to stop. 
Let’s all stop focusing on the things that separate us… And let’s focus on the things that unite us!
BTW… I saw Blue and Black! Ha!

Chris Kyle, PTSD, and You

American Sniper was an incredible movie. It was tremendously moving from beginning to end. And I have seen many movies like that before. Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, We Were Soldiers, etc… All of those bring a real awareness to his horrible thing we have here on earth called war.

But American Sniper was different. It brought something bigger to the table. An issue that most of us had no idea existed. I mean we may have heard of it, but we really didn’t know what it meant.

PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And this is a very real battle that is being fought right here in our own country. These soldiers are going overseas to protect the rights that we enjoy as Americans. They are having to see and execute things they would have never imagined. 

And then they are sent back home after their time is done. Like everything is supposed to go back to normal. 

Only it can’t. It will never be the same again. 

I didn’t understand this concept until recently. I hired a guy to come on my staff who was an Army Ranger. He fought multiple times in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of his stories he shares with me are even to intense for me to hear. I go home and have nightmares. And I’m just the one hearing the story. I wasn’t there!

Rarely can he get through a story without tears coming to his eyes. I have been on the phone with him late into the night walking with him through some issues. 

 
The war ended for him physically in 2007… But the war mentally is still raging on! 

We saw this a little in the movie American Sniper. Chris Kyle came home and had a hard time adjusting back to normal life. He even dedicated his life to help guys get through this tough issue. And it ultimately cost him his life. 

While the movie brought a little light to the issue… It goes much deeper then that.

These guys who are true American heroes need our help. They need to know that they are loved and that they belong. 

 
Lets get together and give back to the heroes who have given so much for us!

Give here!

What’s Your Oscar Moment?

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It’s Monday a.m. The Monday after the Oscars. And I have to be honest… I watched the Oscars again pretending I knew most of the movies… But the truth is I didn’t.

I think the Oscars are only slightly more entertaining than the WNBA!

But it did get me thinking about your own “Oscar Moments!”

Moments when you had to act a certain way. Or pretend to be something you’re not.

I have many!

One of my greatest works: I had been telling my parents I was spending the weekend at a friends house down the street. We were all close so it really never raised any suspicions. The truth was, we were spending nearly every weekend down in Panama City Beach, Florida. 3 1/2 hours away from home. Just sleeping wherever we could. We would all come back just in time for church. We would see our parents and all was well. But I was always tired… all of the time.

I knew why… But my parents didn’t. And I sure wasn’t going to tell them. They wound up taking me to the doctor…They thought something was wrong with me. They put me on all kind of natural substances trying to boost my energy level.

I never let on.

It was truly a work of art! I just acted like I had no idea what was going on.

Oscar worthy!

I finally came clean to my parents years later.

Dad laughed.
Mom didn’t.

So… What is your “Oscar Moment?”

What did you have to do? Act like you loved a gift? Act like you liked a guy/girl to be a good “wingman?”

Do share!

God WILL give you more than you can Handle!

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Hard times are inevitable. Sooner or later we all find ourselves in tough situations. And life can dish out some pretty incredible things.

I learned a phrase at some point in life that was always supposed to help me. I’m not sure if I got it from home or Church or somewhere else. And I’m sure it’s a phrase you learned as well.

“God won’t give you more than you can handle!”

And that sounds awesome. It was something I would say to myself over and over when times got hard. I thought God sure must think a lot of me because of all the crap I’ve dealt with.

But I’ve learned something since then… That awesome phrase… It’s FALSE! It’s not even Scriptural!

God WILL give you more than your can handle.

That phrase we learned as kids is all about how strong you are and has nothing to do with how strong God is.

Tiff and I went through a crazy hard time period from 2007-2010 which include: being forced out of a job I loved, house fire and lost everything, loss of a baby, etc… It was hard. I was done.

But I kept telling myself “God won’t give me more then I could handle!” Yet I was at a breaking point.

I was praying early one morning and I remember saying to God… “I know you won’t give me more than I can handle…” But in that moment I felt God say back to me.., “Says who?”

It got real right then and there.

I felt God say…
Could David handle a Giant… Or did he need me?

Could Daniel defeat the Lions or did he need me?

Could Jesus have handled the pressure of crucifixion… Or did he need me?

It shook everything I thought I knew about God. It sent me on my own spiritual journey.

I came to the realization that God WILL allow things to be more than you can handle… But that’s when God is at his greatest!

If I am constantly trying to handle every situation that life throws at me like I have enough strength to get through…. Then what would I need God for!

This isn’t a strong man competition!

It’s in admitting that I am weak. That I can’t take anymore. That I’m at the end of my rope. That’s when God tends to take over.

Life is hard! God is greater!
I am weak! God is strong!

There will be moments when the weight is crushing. And in those moments… Who am I going to trust? God’s strength… Or my own?

I choose God!

If you’re going through a rough season…. You are not strong enough to get through. But God is! Lean into him during this season!