I Am NOT Just a Number

 Advent is a time for great hope. As we look towards Christmas, many of us anticipate the great memories. Others, however may dread this time as meandering family dramas can be an overdose of emotions that we avoid at all cost. Micah felt our pain. This minor prophet lived during a time where "sons treat their fathers like fools, daughters oppose their mothers, and young women quarrel with their mother-in-law; your enemies are the members of your own family". Micah 6:6 Sound familiar? But Micah doesn't throw in the towel and never speak to them again. He doesn't give up on his children and go serve in Christian ministry abandoning his own responsibilities to take on someone else's easier load. No, the weight God gave Micah was the weight God knew Micah could bench. Micah will not answer for his family's decisions, but he will answer for his response and so his response is this. "I will watch for the Lord: I will wait confidently for God who will save me a...

​ As I ran on the treadmill learning about trail running, I was encouraged on my Nike Run Club guided run to turn off my music and listen to the environment instead of Drake. Due to the strenuous obstacles one can face on trail runs, it was suggested, that I focus on the trail ahead with little distractions. I of course was on a treadmill so I continued to listen to my Spotify playlist while watching Drone TV portraying motorcyclists, skateboarders, wakeboarders, and skiers top out at their peak performances. I kept trudging away at my pace of 11.30 which I determined would not qualify me for a NYC marathon but I stayed on task as to my goal of running for 40 minutes. As my coach spoke to me about the dangers of trail running and watching the trail at all times for any shift in sediment, loose brush, or rocks, I began working on the focus of running and looking to the path ahead. Proverbs 4:25 warns "Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead,...

  Proverbs  27:21:  Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.   We have all heard of people "changing" when they get promoted or "power getting to people's heads", but here we have a verse that says that "fame" is just a test. This is meaning that when you get a like, recognition, a compliment, praise, accommodation, a promotion, or an award, it's actually a test to see how you respond. Do you take the glory and become prideful saying to yourself "Look what I have become and done on my own."? What do you do with accommodation? Many of us keep on the path of trying to get more likes and validation from employers, forgetting to take a step back and make sure the team around us also gets accommodation since we already got ours. We also forget sometimes the team who got us there because we get centrally focused on ourselves. How do you handle praise? What do you praise? Musicians? Athletes? Beauty? L...