P's Picks for the Week of July 23-29

Sorry this is a late post this week, we have had a week at our household: new jobs, doctor appointments(both children yearly check-ups) and other stuff like getting ready for a 1 year olds birthday party. so here is my picks of the week:


Deal of the week: Dickie's BBQ on Sunday Kid's Eat Free

We have Dickie's BBQ in Dallas and loved it.  The one in Cool Springs is smaller than Texas Dickie's but just as good.  Kids eat Free on Sunday and Oh by the way! everyday for kids and kids at heart, they have free Ice Cream cones.

8113 Moores Lane, Ste 1900
Brentwood, TN 37027

Every Sunday at every Dickey’s Barbecue, kids eat free. One Kid’s Meal with $10 purchase per adult. Dine-in only. 12 and under.  


Video You Should Watch: Youth Sports, INC.

This video is eye opening in a lot of ways.  I love youth sports but I do think this is a video makes you reevaluate the way we do youth sports.  I can't wait for the day to be at the ball fields.  But youth sports has become more about the hope of striking it rich. Instead of enjoying the present time we have with the children we coach or parent and teaching those valuable lessons that only sports can teach us.

Youth Sports = Big Business


Person You Should Know: Eric Thomas

I listen to a podcast of him while cutting grass this week.  I finished cutting the grass and then try to run through a brick wall.  His story and his speeches are amazing.  Visit his website and search Youtube for his speeches.

Twittier handle: @Ericthomasbtc

Website: http://etinspires.com

Clip of one of his talks


Something I Love: Enneagram

What is the Enneagram? Here is what Wikipedia says Enneagram is a model of the human psyche which is principally understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types.

My favorite book on the Enneagram Road Back to You   Also, You can find a link to the Podcast is great on that website.

New book about relationships The Path Between Us

Here where you can take the test to find you number:  TEST

This is how it has blessed my life.  First of all it is help me to know my trueself in order to be the person I was fully created to be.  One of the best things you can do in your marriage is know your number and your spouse's number.  Than google "a marriage between a ___ and a ____ Enneagram. " This has help Heidi and myself out a bunch.  I am a 9 by the way and Heidi is the poster child for a 1. Look up 1's in the dictionary and you will see her picture.  I believe if you spent time with the enneagram, you will begin to love it too.  Warning it takes time!

This is a older book on enneagram but it is the next book I have on my wish list to read. The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective


Birthday of the Week: Wrigley Blaze Peters  July 27, 2017

I might be a little bias but my only son turns one on July 27th.  He has brought so many joys, smiles, laughs, clean ups and messes to our life.  He really has come in like a wrecking ball but he is a happy 100mph wrecking ball.  Happy Birthday Bubba!!!!  

This is him eating Black Beans at Blue Coast yesterday.


And, as always, please give me feedback on Twitter or Facebook. Which Pick above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Let me know! Just @mikep11 and put #P'spicks at the end so I can find it.

P's Picks of The Week For July 16-22

P's Picks of The Week For July 16-22


Deal of the Week: Nashville Burgerweek, July 16-22 in Nashville. Restaurants are offering $5 burgers. If you click on the link below you will see the places that are participating in Nashville Burger week.  Also click on the logo for address, the burger offered and hours of operations.  One of my favorite burgers in Nashville Rotier's the frenchbread burger is on there and I had my one today.  


Nashville Burger Week Places




Ted Talk You Should Watch: This Ted Talk is under 10 minutes but words I need to hear. The world needs to be a little more "Childish".  

What Adults Can Learn From Kids



Bible Verse I Am Thinking About:  1 John 4.4 
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  


Podcast I Am Listening Too: Read to Lead Podcast by Jeff Brown.   This podcast is good and bad.  Good in the sense that it will enlighten you, make you grow and become a valuable resource. Bad in the sense that I now have a book wish list a lot longer since listening to this podcast. 

Read To Lead Podcast



My Picture of the Week:

A view of the sunset from 42nd street is seen during "Manhattanhenge" on July 12, 2018, in New York City.

Atilgan Ozdil / Anadolu Agency / Getty

This Week in History:  July 20 1969  
Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin become the first men to walk on the moon.



Birthday of The Week:   Robin Williams        Born July 19, 1952- Died August 11, 2014

Patch Adams is still one of my favorite movies,  just like everyone Robin had some demons and a sickness in his life.  It caused him to feel hopeless.  Robin took his own life way to soon. 

Patch Adams Movie Trailer



And, as always, please give me feedback on Twitter or Facebook. Which Pick above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Let me know! Just @mikep11 and put #P'spicks at the end so I can find it.

P's Picks of The Week For July 9-15

Mike P's Picks of The Week For July 9-15


1) Deal of the Week:  Every Tuesday at Toot's you can get 1/2 lbs Bacon Cheeseburger and side for $4.99.  To top this deal off every day at Toot's, Kids get a free Hot Dog basket includes a side and a ice cream treat.  YES! Free.

Locations Link: http://www.toots.com/locations5.php


2) Video of the Week:   UNREAL!!!

Video link:  Bet you can't do this!

Challenge:  You try this shot, film it and post it to my page.  


3) Someone on Twitter You Should Follow:   @inkyjohnson

Make sure you watch a couple of his videos.

@inkyjohnson


4) What I Am Reading:  Captivate: the Science of Succeeding with People by Vanessa Van Edwards

Just started reading this book but I heard her on Donald Miller's Podcast.  I thought the subject and content was fascinating.

The books website here


5) News Article You Should Read:  Opioids are causing havoc on many families and communities all over the US.  Here is a article to help sport warning signs so they can get the help and accountability they need.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sponsor-story/blue-cross-blue-shield/2017/01/13/bluecross-how-spot-signs-opioid-abuse-loved-one/96408318/


6) Sermon You Should Listen Too:

"Even That 1 (Seeing the 1 that Every 1 Else Misses, Part 1)" Rick Atchley

To Woodbine Family With Love

I left Nashville one year ago last week to move to Dallas to be with my love Heidi, for the rest of our time here on earth.  It was hard leaving Woodbine Family Church, I love preaching at that church. Sometimes I think I can't preach anywhere else because it would never add up to Woodbine.  In the past year, marriage has been great and I would do it all over again, but I still miss Woodbine.  My next 3 blog posts counting this one is about what I have learned in a year since leaving preaching.  This post i just wanted to share my last sermon at Woodbine with you.  Before this letter, I read an overview of a proposal for funds we wrote for a church in Nashville 9 years earlier. That proposal contained a history and vision of Woodbine Family.  Then as best as I could with tears flowing out of my eyes and cracking in my voice I read this letter to Woodbine Family with LOVE!!!! 

May 2012

Dear Woodbine Family,

Nine years ago on a hot July afternoon, you were born. The AC was out that day. As I look back, a lot has changed. The name(we use to be McIver Church of Christ), some people have came and gone, I will have come, gone, come, gone, come and gone again. What a surprise! Some things have remained the same. James Eubank’s height, our close partnership with YES, and our mission to be Jesus to the people of Woodbine. From the outside looking in: Most people see this lady being crazy and trying to feed and take care of everybody. A Wednesday night church service that gives the minister gray hair and tons of character. I don’t know what most people think when they see Michael Patrick, Robert Sutton, Jovian Hudson in a V-neck with his bike, Pede and Turtle. Toby Keith’s song about a bar might be the best way to explain us: We’ve seen short skirts, high-techs, blue collar boys (Josh McKenzie) and rednecks (John Schmidt). But on the inside, you see heart, love, grace. You see people that pray every day for their own kids and their church kids to become more like Jesus. You’ll see sacrifice and you’ll see people who give and give, sometimes without return. I am amazed at my church family, proud to be a part of them. About 7 years ago, a kid (Shane Schutt) left a picture in my car of him and a volunteer. I look over and saw this girl who caught my eye. I said man! It took about 15 months to wear her down, but I finally did. Then it took her 5 ½ years to ask. Just kidding! I am kidding. I really did ask her. So I have to leave to go see about a girl and her dog. But I believe you are in more capable hands. I knew when Greg and Kim became available, we had to have them here at Woodbine Family, even if it meant firing Kevin. Just kidding! But with Greg, Kevin, and now B-nell on staff, you will be just fine. They have a heart like yours. B-nell is more than a replacement; he is a brother. I wouldn’t leave my kids to just anyone. 

In close, I have two things I want to remind you of: 1) Fight for your dreams. Since the beginning, you have been a part of a dream. The best dreams are those that you are a part of, even when they are way over your head. A dream like eight college students starting a church. If I could give every kid and college student something, I would give them dreams that matter. We dream at Woodbine Family of college degrees, of kids breaking cycles, but more than those things, we dream of you becoming the person God intended you to become. We dream of drug-free neighborhoods. We dream of a world where nightmares only come while people are asleep and not while they are awake. We dream that you fight for your dreams. Satan will try to rob, steal and destroy your dreams. Fight for them! When I was 15, at the Urban Ministry Conference in Dallas, we sung a song called “One More Time” and in it, you would fill in the blank with a word that you were thankful God let you do “one more time”. I chose the word “dream”. God allows dreams for a glimpse of a better world. Growing up, it is all I had sometimes, those thoughts to be someone who mattered. When you’re a 7-year-old boy, running around the projects pretending to be a football star or a basketball star, in order not to have to face the way things are, the demons are reminders of a fallen dark world. But on May 22nd, 1996, I began to understand dreams differently. Not through the lens of hoping for a way out, but hoping for the life and world God intended. That is what we at Woodbine Family fight for. If you would ask me what I’m thankful for, it would be to dream one more time for the world he intended to create. Woodbine Family continues to dream, dreams like Carpenter’s Square. Carpenter’s Square is a dream about dreams – dreams of turning our teens into productive young adults, dreams of college degrees and making the neighborhood a better place. 

The second thing I would tell you is to follow Jesus. My life changed when I met Jesus. I knew of Him. I’d been to VBSs and maybe a couple of church services. But when I met Jesus, my life changed. In following Jesus, there are a lot of perks…forgiveness, which I need every day, is my favorite perk. Another perk is that it really is the best way to live. But when you follow and try to be like Jesus, that is when you are really living. But following Jesus is like a roller coaster ride. It is messy, because sin is messy. But it is nothing to fear. You actually look forward to your days. I know I fail miserably, but I try to follow Jesus. I believe Woodbine Family tries to follow Jesus, where love and grace are the rules, not the exceptions. I was really struggling with life at 21. My grandmother just died. I was heart-broken. I met up with someone and they told me if I wanted to succeed in life, you have to make everything about Jesus and make every day about a better relationship with Jesus. And on my best days, I do that. On my worst days, I do not. If you remember anything about my three stints here, I hope that my love and grace flows out of a love for Jesus and his people. My prayer for you is that you realize Jesus is closer to you than the blood in your veins. 

To Woodbine Family with love.

Michael Peters

Noodles Aren't The Real Problem

You want to see something sad?... Go at the end of the month to your local supermarket and look on the aisle where they sell Ramen Noodles.  Chances are the shelves will be empty.  One might think, "Man, these items are popular!"  But when you look deeper into this issue, you will see that the cause is a little more worrisome.  People buy this because that is all they can afford at this time of the month. At the end of the month food stamps are low. If you get a monthly check, it is running out.  So for 39 cents you can satisfy your hunger.  The bad part is that Ramen Noodles are not healthy. Don't get me wrong! They are not like eating pure lard or anything. But in no way are they good for you.  They are high sodium and low in nutrients.  I am happy that people with low funds have a choice to eat.  Really what I am trying to say in this post is that the church and God's people need to be aware of things like this. Here are a couple of things that will help you serve your community.


1) Check the shelves in your community for one whole month to see if you can see when the greatest needs for food drives are.  Some states release food stamps all at once.  Some states issues food stamps based on the letter of your last name on a certain day of the month.  See if you are in tune with your community flow.  What if your church knew that from the 25th until the end of the month is when the hardest times for the people of the community. Won't that change things for you? Then instead of having a pantry full of processed food, you could have a food drive with fresh fruit and veggies for those days only. The rest of the month, you can give away the usual stuff.


2) The goverment has spent a lot of time to determine how much each family needs. So if families are running out then there is a problem.  The problem is usually mismanagement of funds or abuse of funds.  While there is not a whole lot you can do about the latter,  you can equip people regarding the first one.  Most people in my expereince who get food stamps will go to the store when they get their food stamps and try to buy all the food they need for that month all at once.  Some do this because that is the way their parents did it.  Generational poverty has a way of passing down those little habits.  Some buy once a month due to lack of transportation.  They don't know the next time they will get a ride.  If they could be taught to budget weekly and had a means of transportation, this would go a long way.  Families who seem to shop once a month will blow the leftover thinking they surely got everything they need.  They don't take into account for a visitor at dinner time, growing kids or food going bad.


3) Open your eyes - I wrote a couple of years ago about Jesus being a noticer. (http://mikep23.blogspot.com/2009/11/noticer.html)   Many times, caring for those less fortunate is all about caring enough to open your eyes and walk in their shoes. Recently, I attended a luncheon of an organization and during the lunch I heard all of the bad things that will happen to the people they are serving, if this organization does not help. Meanwhile, there are two tables of people that they serve hearing the outcome of their future, hearing the words of hopelessness that are coming across as pity, and hearing that the people they serve are a step below them.  If someone who had the power would have opened their eyes and noticed that even if this stuff is true, it might not be best for them to hear this.  Just have them outside for this part.  That's all it would take.  Step in their shoes. Don't prostitute the people you serve and the good you do just for a buck.

SO WHAT??????? Do we do with this!

Here are a couple of things:

Have people whose only role is to be a noticer. They walk the supermarkets. They walk streets. They walk the places that people in the neighborhood walk.  Their only job is to ask the question, "What would help people achieve heaven on this earth?  What can restore the kingdom of God to these people and this place?"

Be close enough to people that need budget classes that you can actually offer budget classes.  Be close enough to people that actually need a ride to the store in your community that you can hook them up with a person who could give them a ride.  Most churches/Christians would do these things in a minute  but the sad reality is that our churches are not in touch with these people.  This isn't a field of dreams where you can just program it and they will come.  You have to be in people's lives.

Train people to love and be with people not part of the church.  The church has attempted to be the police of the world's behavior instead of the light of the world.  We try to police people by our laws.  The Bible made it clear that we are foreigners in this world. Our kingdom's greatest laws are to love God and love people.  If the people of God would live by their own laws, our lights would shine brighter.  Which light will the people of God choose to be? Police lights flashing or a light house?  One goes a long way.

Carpenter Sqaure

I have been doing research on what it takes for a first generation urban college student to succeeded as an adult in college or trade school.  Would love to hear your thoughts........

The movation behind the research is for a non-profit I am trying to help get started called Carpenter Square.  It is a big dream but it takes something big to change the world.

 Here is our promotional video:

Carpenter's Sqaure Video




Here are some quotes from my research so far:

The greatest gains in retention rates will result from focusing not only on the selection

process, but also the student-environment interaction after college entry (Thayer,

2000).

Some Student Support Services programs are implementing “learning community”

type strategies. These learning communities help students form supportive peer

groups that extend beyond the classroom (Thayer, 2000).

Effective programs affirm and help students understand that academic success is not

attained through individual achievement alone, but through an axis of support (Gullatt

and Jan, 2003).

From interviews Richardson and Skinner (1992) found that first-generation students

who attended community colleges typically attended part-time and were more likely

than their classmates to have significant work and family responsibilities (Hsiao,

1992).

In terms of enrollment, beginning students who are first-generation students are more

likely than their non-first-generation counterparts to: attend part-time (30 percent vs.

13 percent), live off-campus or with family or relatives (84 percent vs. 60 percent),

not be in a bachelor’s degree program (88 percent vs. 43 percent), delay entering after

high school graduation (46 percent vs. 19 percent), receive aid (51 percent vs. 42

percent), or work full-time while enrolled (33 percent vs. 24 percent) (Nunez and

Cuccaro-Alamin, 1998).

First-generation minority students in one study expressed a need “to find places to

study, meet friends, or seek support … spaces that provided some measure of

‘comfortability’” on campus (Hsiao, 1992).

I AM A CHAMPION!!!!!

Best part of this?  It was for a JV championship game.  I bet you the high school coach said "Man we could have least used this for a 1st round varsity playoff game."

Get ready to want to fight hell with a water pistol!!!

Urban.

I was ask to write an essay on defining a word in my own tems. I picked the word urban; some of it because the word is close to my heart. As most of my life I have lived in placesm most people would call urban. Some of it was because most people would consider the kids I work with to be urban. Some of it is growning up in the setting I did, I learn to see words assoicate with the poor and the city a little different. to this day I dont see black and white as race but more of a mindset or a way of living. So this was a short essay; it had to be only 250 words on me trying to define what the word "urban" means in 2011.

URBAN

Over the last five years in the United States, there has been a shift in the meaning of the word “urban”. In the past, urban meant that you were from the city or a place where the population was high and near a city center. Now the word urban is more of a lifestyle. Urban in the last five years has turned into a term that has come to mean cutting edge.

You can be urban these days and still have a 15-25 minute drive to work. Urban is no longer about location but style. Urban is about clothes, types, and being up-to-date. A term that just a few years ago was tied to mostly inner city poor seems to have emerged overnight to mean a young person who owns something made by Apple. I have a friend who does urban missions, which brings to mind pictures of ghettos, poor people and crime. Now the group of people he works with are predominantly white and middle class. Being urban is being “in the know”. It is how Starbucks is out of style because a couple of rad dudes opened up a bar down the street where you can surf, chill and choose between coffee or beer, as long as they both are fair traded.


Now with the world at our fingertips, urban will continue to be about products, fashions and style. I think we live in a world that is evolving. As that happens, stereotypes and words that conjure up certain images will change. The word urban is changing, but it is changing for the better. It means new, united, and fresh. It is a word that draws up images of black, white, brown, and Apple.

The Duke Way

Sorry for the ones who read this earlier: I copied and pasted the un-edited essay to my blog. This one should read much better!


So I love my class, I get to write about things that I love. This essay's assignment was to write an evaluation essay. So I pick why Duke's men's basketball team has been the best college basketball programs over the last 20 years. It was written before Coach K 903rd win. Now I have even more to support my case. But then again we all know Duke Basketball speaks for itself.

The Duke Way!

On November 15th, basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski will attempt to break the NCAA record for most wins by a Division I coach by getting his 903 wins, 73 wins came at Army. Coach Krzyzewski said in an interview on ESPN this week that a record like this is not a coach thing but a program thing. Duke Men’s Basketball has become the premier program in the NCAA over the last 20 years. Due to Coach K’s leadership, the program is committedto recruiting good players who are good students, and to upholding their unwavering standards to do things the right way have set the program apart from their competition.

In 1980, Duke Basketball hired a little known coach from West Point University with a funny-looking last name - Krzyzewski. For 31 years now, Coach K has been the head of Duke Basketball. Coach K has won 4 NCAA Championships, been to 11 Final Fours and 25 ACC Conference Championships (conference and regular season). Coach K has done it his way. Coach K’s offense and defense styles are great but they are nothing special. It has been Coach K’s leadership that has lifted Duke to the top of the basketball world. Coach K has an uncanny ability to motivate his players to be their best every day. For example, one year during Midnight Madness, the program announced that they were going to take a team picture. In order to let Duke's student body (known as the Cameron Crazies) know how much he appreciates them, Coach K came over the PA system and said, "That's right, and you guys are a part of this team." He invited the whole student body to be in the picture, and Duke's team picture that year was an overhead shot of a couple thousand "teammates". Coach K’s leadership also has gotten a lot of attention in recent years because of his work with the US Olympic team. Coach K had a tough job ahead of him trying to make all the NBA superstar egos become a one unit. Coach K did a beautiful job of having those players buy into the team concept. Now Coach K is a gold medal winner. Coach K’s leadership resume is a testament to the level of Duke’s basketball.

“Duke’s basketball players” over the last 20 years reads like a who’s who list. Duke players are some of the most notable names in college basketball; they are known on a one-name basis. If you say names like Laettner, Hurley, Hill, Battier, Williams, Redick, and Wojo; people won’t say “Who are they? People would know you are talking about Duke basketball players. Duke rosters are filled with All-Americans but those rosters are also filled with academic All-Americans. Duke has more players in the NBA than any other college currently. Many of Duke's players have chosen to graduate early so that they could pursue their NBA dreams. But they did not quit before receiving their college degree because it was important to them. When a GM boss met a 17-year-old Shane Battie,r he came home that night and told his wife he met a future president of the United States today. Coach K is quoted as saying he only recruits players who he would want his daughters to marry but who were smart enough to know that he would kill them if they would tried. Duke players who don’t go on to the NBA have been very successful in life. Duke does not lower their expectations for student athletes. Duke tries to put them in a position to succeed. According to a U.S. News and World report “College Sports”, “Duke Succeeds by first admitting students who stand a decent chance of graduating and then providing them the academic support they need”.(U.S. News and World Report March 2002) On and off the court, Duke puts their players in position to succeed in basketball and in life.

Two major issues for NCAA basketball are graduation rates and coaches breaking NCAA rules in order to get the better players. Duke refuses to let these issues describe their programs. During the NCAA tournament in 2010, while much of the NCAA basketball was being rack over the coals for their graduation rate, but not Duke during last year NCAA basketball tournament. Arne Duncan wrote in his “The Blind Side of March Madness” article points out when talking the graduation rates from school to school. “Discrepancies that large have to have a connecection to a program’s practices and an institution’s priorities. In last year sweet 16, Butler, Duke, Xavier and Cornell all graduate more than 80 percent of their men’s players.” (U.S. Department of Education news March 2010). Duke has never had a major NCAA violation during Coach K tenure. Duke’s commitment to doing things the right way is a solid rock to the foundation that has built Duke into a major force in college basketball.

When Coach K was asked where the ball would go when he wins game 903, he said it would go in a Duke Basketball room at the University where it belongs. He credits the players, the fans and the school's commitment for winning those games. Coach K turned down 40 million dollars to coach the L.A. Lakers to last summer. Coach K said that when you work for a place that stands for the same standards that you want to live by in your personal life, you don’t leave places like that. When you’re the best, why would you leave?

My Inner Teenage Girl

So I had to write an short evaluation essay for class about a song, singer or band. So I choose Natasha Bedingfield's song "Strip Me". It was a moment of weakness, I felt rushed and figured most of the music I listen to like all my manly music would not cut it. So I found my inner teenage girl and wrote this essay about the song. DONT YOU JUDGE ME!!!


Strip Me


Natasha Bedingfield’s song “Strip Me” is written for the female audience mostly, I would assume. From the “La,la,la,la,la” opening line, to the girly undertones, You see that the song is written for females. Even the title “Strip Me” after hearing the song brings to mind a woman who is stripped of her self-worth due to the fact that she is taken likely for being a pretty women. This is a problem from Mrs. Bedingfield’s own perspective as she is easy on the eyes. I have no reason to like the song. I am not a girl, in fact, some would call me a man’s man. I have been voted most likely to not shower or shave for days at a time because I was too busy doing manly things like watching T.V., playing sports, grilling meat and burping. But I love this song because of the redeeming message of self-worth and the anthem that cries out for you to never give up.

The line in the song that says ”and if you strip me, Strip it all away what you would find? If you strip me, Strip it all away, I’ll be alright.” is a great line. If you take everything that we hang our self-worth on and remove it, we are still someone. We are still ok. The song proclaims that we are worth more than our titles. This is a message for me, a 30 year old male, whose ego is fluffed up by salary figures, flirting girls, and three-pointers just as much as it is for a struggling teenage girl who has self-image and daddy issues. It is a beautiful reminder that even through our flaws we have redeeming qualities.

You could get caught up in the fact that the song lyrics could get old in a hurry from the repeating of words, the repeating of lines. But I think this isn’t a song sung for the lyrical hall of fame. It is a song to remind people to keep going, even when you don’t feel important. The lines are made to be catchy like a creed or anthem. It is made to give hope for those dreaded steps that some of us have to take daily. The lines are easy so you can march to the beat of “I’m only one voice in a million but you ain’t taking that from me”.

I understand the song may be too girly and some guys just can’t get by the voice of a girl. Some guys can’t get by the image of “Strip Me”. It might ask some guys to be too emotional, or get in touch with their feelings. But if you strip all that away, you will find more than a catchy feel-good song. You will find power in the words. The power to know that when pink slips comes, bad days happen and your feeling like a nobody, there is hope. Rob Bell says “Sometimes we speak to change the world, and sometimes we keep speaking so the world does not change us.”

Define: Leadership

Here is an essay I wrote for class on Leadership. I try to define Leadership with my own terms. I only had to write 700 words(But I went way over) so it is not all my complete thoughts on leadership but i believe it is a start.



What if I told you that the people who can teach you the most about leadership; Their titles were titles like nun, teacher, newspaper owner and a shoe marker from California is were you can find some of the best leadership principles. It might come as a surprise because surely CEO’s of billion dollar companies or the people running the nation should lead the way in leadership, but they are not. Leadership is more than a title: it is the ability to influence by creating a compelling vision, striving for relentless consistently, and by asking the question what can we do better than anyone else in the world is doing.

An old proverb says “Where there is no vision, people will perish” in India that was the case, in fact, children, the mentally disabled, and the handicap was dying until Mother Theresa came along an inspired people with a vision that would change the world. Mother Theresa's vision was to let her and her people take care of those who could not take care of themselves. The vision caught on, so money, food, clothes, shoes and some of the most influence people in the world came to India to see what she was doing. As result people started caring. In leadership you can’t do it by yourself, many have tried and burned. You have to learn how to multiple yourself so other people can help. The best way of doing this is casting a vision. A vision so big that people will sign on the dot line; to commit giving their all to this cause. Visions are compelling when people say this is worth my time, treasures, and talents. Since these are the things that people hold dear. When Steve Jobs was starting Apple he needed a partner, so he went to the CEO of Pepsi and ask him to join him. Steve Jobs pitched this idea of selling personal computers in the garage of his house. He ask Steve why would a man with a penthouse office that over looked the city of New York, making hundred of thousands a year, leave? So he told Steve, No! As Steve Jobs was leaving he turned around and ask the CEO one more question, “ How long are you going to be satisfied with selling sugared water, I am offering you a chance to change the world”. The next day the CEO of Pepsi was starting a company called Apple. Leadership is casting a vision that will make you give up the things we hold so dear, for a chance to be apart of something bigger then ourselves.

At the age of 24 I started running a youth community center, one of the first lesson of leadership I found in running the community center is that more then the stuff you teach, how you decorate, or even how delicious your homemade cookies are for snack. The lesson would be that the consistent structure to your program from day to day is the most important part. It is the leaders job to make sure that day in and day out your area of influence is the same. The Oxford English dictionary points out that the word leadership is “The action or influence necessary for the direction . . .of effort in a group undertaking”(“leadership”). True leadership is you making sure that the group or area that you have been put in charge of is the same everyday. In my center you can come in on a Tuesday during the school year and you would see the same structure everyday. I call it my 20-mile hike; it is the goal I have to reach my destination. There are days that I could do more and there are days I could do less. But I do the same so the kids, staff and volunteers know what that get from me as a leader. It helps establish, set and maintain healthy boundaries. Jim Collins says, “the number one factor in business being mediocre is not lack of Innovation, but it is chronic inconsistency”. Leadership is being faithful day in and day out to the ones you lead and what you do.

If a leader is not trying to be the best in the world at something related to what they do, then something is wrong with the mission that the leader is in charge of. If Burger King chooses today to accept the fact that they will always be second to McDonald’s then you would see a decline at Burger King. Burger King mission now is to be the best costumer service fast food place in the world. It is in fact why I can have it my way at Burger King. Sometimes in leadership you have to face the reality we can't be the best in the world at this one thing. But your mission should be to be the best in the world at something. The nonprofit that I work for, is like a Boys and Girls or YMCA. When we first started putting our mission together, we realized we would never be able to offer the programming that the Boys and Girls Club or YMCA could because of staff, budget and building space. But we did decided that we could care for the group of students that walk into are doors better then anyone else in the world. So we get the question a lot “what are you doing here?”, when we show up to ball games, birthday parties, and band concerts. The answer is always the same of we are here to see, you can fill in the blank with one of the kids name from the center. But what we really are doing is trying to care for our students more then anyone else in the world.


Leadership is not about titles but it is about the testimonies of changing lives and outcomes. It is changing the world you live in or the area you are in charge of. The title leader is flawed because with the same word we talk about MLK JR., Abe Lincoln, and Winston Churchill. Also with that word we can use to talk about Gaddafi, Bernie Madoff, and whoever is the manger of the Yankees. Leadership is different it is changing the world that you apart of even if that world is only a 10,000 square foot office, a 3 person team with a dream, or a group of 8 year girl soccer players. The titles of boss, coach, mom or president are nice but in the end it is the fact that you left the world a better place. When you take what you have leftover long after the title of leader is gone, then what you have left is leadership.

You'll Be In MY Heart

(This is the last of the articles I wrote for LNF Newsletter. My next post will be back to normal whatever that means.)



One of my first Bibles was given to me by my youth minister when I was in high school. The Bible was an Easy-to-Read version that I liked because I could understand it better. I think the Bible was given to him and whoever gave it to him wrote this on the inside cover: “To be in a child’s heart tomorrow, you have to be in their life today.” I remember those words a lot when I think about the type of person I want to be. One of the things I see in the life of Jesus is that he was always in people’s lives today, so he could be in their hearts tomorrow.


If I could give advice to people who would like to be mentors in the lives of kids, I would give them this advice:
1. Remember the quote from above. You have to be with them today, to impact their tomorrow. One of the most underrated things about mentoring is not what you do, but simply that you are there. You do not have to come up with great games. You don’t have to be the coolest person in the room. It is as easy as showing up. Everyone comes in and out of their lives, from mom’s boyfriend to their father or even their own mother, in this day and age. They don’t need the people who are supposed to be a positive influence to come in and out of their lives.
2. Keep it simple- the level of your impact is not based on the complexity of your input. The message only has to be “Jesus loves you this I know for the Bible tells me so.” One of my favorite quotes about impact is this: “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Let your message be simple with words and deeds. “I care about you!”
3. Interested is interesting – (If you know where this quote comes from, don’t judge me for loving chick flicks.) The quote is so true. The more you show kids that you care and you are there for them, the more they become engaged and tuned in to you. Come ready for fun and have intriguing questions for the student.
4. The last thing I would suggest is to be prepared to improve their lives, not fix them. Mentors get overwhelmed sometimes at how big the problem seems. It is not our job to fix them. Leave that to God. We are here to help God show them and prepare them to be the best possible version of themselves.


Mentoring at LNF is a life-changing thing for the students and the mentor. It does not take a superhero to be a mentor. It just takes a person who wants to be a kid’s hero. Here is a list of tasks that I have witnessed that have made a significant impact on our kids’ lives.: Working though 20 sight word flash cards and multiplication flash cards, teaching a girl how to bump a volleyball, sitting with a child and working though every detail of his math homework, letting a girl beat you in checkers to see her eyes light up and confidence soar, and just showing up to things that matter to them to let them know you care i.e. soccer games, baseball games, school assemblies. All of these things are done in the name of Jesus to show the students of LNF that we care.

We Pray for the children!

One of my favorite pieces of literature about working with children was written by Ina J. Hughes. In this poem, she does a wonderful job capturing all the joys, beauties, blessings, heartbreaks and heartaches that go into working with children.

A Prayer for the Children… by Ina J. Hughes

We pray for the children

who put chocolate fingers everywhere,

who like to be tickled,

who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants,

who sneak popsicles before supper,

who erase holes in math workbooks,

who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those

who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,

who’ve never squeaked across the floor in new sneakers,

who never had crayons to count,

who are born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead,

who never go to the circus,

who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children

who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,

who sleep with the dog and bury goldfish,

who give hugs in a hurry and forget their lunch money,

who cover themselves with Band-Aids and sing off-key,

who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink,

who slurp their soup.

And we pray for those

who never get dessert,

who watch their parents watch them die,

who have no safe blanket to drag behind,

who can’t find any bread to steal,

who don’t have any rooms to clean up,

whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser,

whose monsters are real.

We pray for children

who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,

who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,

who like ghost stories, 
who shove dirty clothes under the bed,

who never rinse out the tub,

who get visits from the tooth fairy,

who don't like to be kissed in front of the school,

who squirm in church or temple or mosque and scream in the phone,

whose tears we sometimes laugh at and 
whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those

whose nightmares come in the daytime,

who will eat anything,

who aren't spoiled by anybody,

who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,

who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children who want to be carried, 
and for those who must.

For those we never give up on,

and for those who never get a chance.

For those we smother with our love,

and for those who will grab the hand of anybody 
kind enough to offer it.

At Love Never Fails, we work daily with children whose lives, personalities, and struggles will make you cry one minute and the next make you laugh like never before in your life. One of those kids for me is Marcus. If I have ever seen a million-dollar smile, Marcus has it. He is a bright kid, but to be honest he is deeply troubled. Marcus is the youngest of 6 kids. His mother is way too young to have 6 kids. Marcus is a born leader, and I am so glad LNF is in Marcus’ life. The abilities Marcus has are seen all over the inner cities in our country. The sad fact is that most of these males turn out to be leaders of gangs and big-time drug dealers, rather than successful businessmen. The way of gangs is already in Marcus’ bloodline. Marcus’ dad was a former gang member that was killed execution-style by gang members. During a recent Principles To Live By, Marcus told the story of his sister’s birthday party where a drive-by happened. The result left him as a 9-year-old boy witnessing his grandmother’s and a cousin’s deaths. It is easy to see why Marcus has his moments of darkness and despair. Marcus has more bad weeks than good weeks. But make no mistake, Marcus is one of the most resilient kids I have ever seen. I think of lines in the poem like “we pray for those whose nightmares come in the middle of the day” and “whose monsters are real.” Kids like Marcus are the reason why LNF heads into dark, hard places to share the love of Christ. Because of LNF, kids like Marcus are prayed for and loved. And his picture is not only on our dressers. His picture is stamped on our hearts and his name is lifted to the throne room of God. Because we want Marcus to know the God who loves him and that love never fails or dies.

It is A Whole New World!

The next 3 post are article written for the Love Never Fails newletter.



Recently, a research study was conducted by a non-profit organization that looked at a couple of kids the same age and living in the same city. The differences between the kids were easily recognizable. Even though their houses were less than 3 miles apart, their skins were different colors, and their parents’ pay scales were on opposite ends of the spectrum. There was a night-and-day difference between the boys. In the first 10 years of life, the research was amazingly different. One of the differences that struck me as significant is the difference in exposure. The boy from the wealthy neighborhood traveled about 35,000 more miles in his first 8 years of life than the other boy. Also, the boy from the wealthy neighborhood heard about 10,000 more words than the other boy his age, in the same city.

This study has motivated me to make sure this is different for the kids that I work with. Love Never Fails makes sure that the students in our programs experience and are exposed to a fullness of life. We intentionally make sure that our students experience a variety of things. Some opportunities are obviously great exposure for kids from at-risk neighborhoods - things like college campuses, the ins and outs of local business, and other trips designed to make sure that our students get a chance to view the world of possibilities. Other outings may not seem as important, but are equally important. This year we exposed them to things like Dallas Mavericks’ basketball games, baseball games, and trips to the military base (where they were privileged to sit on a plane that can fuel up other planes in mid air), just to name a few. While focused on fun, these events can be life-changing and inspiring. At Love Never Fails, we want to make sure that we make lasting imprints on the hearts, minds and lives of our students.

I recently had the chance to take two boys from Love Never Fails to the Harlem Globetrotters game at American Airlines Arena. The two boys are 6th graders and had never heard of the Globetrotters before. One boy had never been to AA arena before, and the other had been only once 2 years earlier, also with Love Never Fails. We had a grand time. We laughed. They laughed. They wondered if the game was real or fake. They told me they could dunk. I told them donuts do not count. We had a blast, and what a surprise - the Globetrotters won! On the way home, one of the boys told the other boy to keep his ticket to save so he could remember the trip. He told the other boy that he saved his Mavs game ticket from 2 years ago and still has it. Now this was head-turning for me. This kid cannot keep up with his homework for more than 30 minutes but somehow kept up with a ticket for over 2 years. Why? Because that trip was special to him.
Students at LNF might not like the Globetrotters, college campuses, or airplanes that fuel up other airplanes. But now they know if they do or not because they have experienced these opportunities in their own lives.

Protect Them From the Evil One!

Blogger's note: (I always wanted to say that) My next 3 or 4 posts will be a series of articles I have written about the non-profit after-school program I work for in Ft Worth. So they will all have a theme around the way I see God moving in the people of the FWISD LOVE NEVER FAILS PROGRAM. Here is the website to learn more: http://loveneverfailsinternational.org/

Anytime you work with at-risk youth from neighborhoods where the crime rate is through the roof, the dropout rate more than doubles the national average, and breaking the vicious cycles of poverty seems like towing a car with your teeth. There is a constant battle going inside of you for what is best for them. The tendency for me at least is to wish for them to move out of that place. To a place where families stick together, where it's safe to play in the front yard, and where it does not matter what color of clothes you wear. To move to a place where houses are big and nice cars are the norm. Sometimes I catch myself having a goal for them to have more things, for them to have a nice, quiet normal life or just to move far away from that neighborhood.

Then I start thinking, "What is God's will for them?" I know that if a man gains the whole world yet loses his soul, he gains nothing. (Matthew 16.26) I know that Jesus prays for his followers not to take them out of this world but protect them from the evil one. (John 15.13) There has to be a balance, right? I think I have found a good balance in some of our mentors in the FWISD centers. When we kicked off Love Never Fails International (LNFI) in the Fort Worth school system at the beginning of 2010, at first our main source of volunteers were the Poly Tech Key Club students. During the volunteer training, I was amazed at how many of these students grew up going to the schools where we were now opening a center. I was also amazed at the number of high school students living in an at-risk neighborhood that wanted to serve and give back. The Poly Tech Key Club has been great for the students in LNFI. In 4 months, the Poly Key Club has volunteered over 175 hours. The students are not only great with the kids, but the example they are setting will hopefully become contagious. The Poly students are thriving in service and in the classroom. A lot of the Poly volunteers are in the top 10% of their class. On more than one occasion when they have to miss volunteering, they will give me the typical teenage excuse like: I did not come yesterday because my teacher asked me to go feed the homeless with her, so we did! Or I got this one last week, I can’t make it tomorrow because I have to go to a banquet to receive an award.

So when I dream of how the current LNFI students are going to be, I think of a Poly Key Club student. One who is thriving in school and life. I just know our students are going to remember the example of our high school mentors and give back in their neighborhood, like someone did for them one day. I pray daily for the students at LNFI. A lot of times it goes like this, ”Lord, I pray that you do not take them out of their neighborhood, but protect them from the evil one. And Father, help them turn out like a Poly Key Club student.”

It Is a Lifetime Commitment!

I am writing this on the eve of Coach K's 11th Final Four appearance. I am a Duke lover and I am proud of it. I am proud to follow a team that does it the right way. As a small white boy growing up playing point guard, I got to watch players like Hurley, Collins, Wojo, Redick (Yes, J.J. Redick is still the wallpaper on my MySpace page), Paulus and now Scheyer. I love lines like this on the Internet, "Under Krzyzewski, 90% of Duke's scholarship basketball players have graduated, among the highest graduation rates of any NCAA Division I program." I wore the number 11 my whole life becuase of Bobby Hurley. One of my favorite books is Coach K's "Leading With The Heart."

The day I heard the story about Coach K recruiting Tommy Amaker was the day that I knew that I would be a Duke fan for the rest of my life. Duke was playing Michigan where Amaker was coaching, after being at Duke as an assistant for years. (Still today all the assistants are former players). The TV guy says, "Coach K called Coach Amaker this week just like he always does." See, when Coach K was recruiting Tommy and he sat by his mom at one of his high school games, he was selling Tommy's mom on Duke and said, "You know, your boy will look good in a blue Duke uniform. (Trust me, Coach K's recruiting skills have come a long way since that line.) Mrs. Amaker looked at Coach K and said, "I don't care about how my boy looks in a uniform. What I care about is whether you are going to take care of my boy." He looked at her and said, "It is a lifetime commitment!" I still get goosebumps when I tell that story. That's why Coach K called Tommy. Not because he was about to play him but because it's what he does all the time. Because Coach K promises more than just playing time, making kids into lottery picks, a chance at the NBA, or bending the rules to get a better team. He promises more. He promises to teach them hard work, commitment, trust. Not for one year or four years, he promises it for a lifetime! That is why, win or lose Saturday night, Coach K is my guy and I will be proud of Duke no matter what a scoreboard says. Because I know the four letters on the jersey stands for something! Something that I am proud of!

History of Connecting!

A couple of months ago, I heard a report on NPR (that's National Public Radio for those of you who are not as cool as me!) about a study of cell phones in the last 10 years. How far they have come and how they have improved. You didn't have to hear the report to know that cell phones have come a long way. Of course, one phone (made by a company that is named after a fruit) has changed a lot of that. But even before the Iphone, cell phones from their size, function, and features have improved leaps and bounds in the last decade. But what caught my attention about the report (and I have chewed on for the last couple of months) was the only thing that the report said had NOT improved dramatically over the time. Yep, you got it: the hearing and speaking quality. The report said that while some improvements have been made, by far the worst function of a cell phone is the sound of the conversation you have on it. Which is the whole purpose of the cell phone. The one thing it was made to do, it does not do very well.

I feel this way about the church sometimes. The churches in the last 10 years have gotten really good at time management, energy production, programming, and marketing. The church can make a sermon series on Ezekiel sound hip and relevant, when we all know it is not! Some churches are machines. They run well, are smooth and are very polished. But is that what CHURCH is about?

I have a friend who has moved a couple of times over the last few years. She says that she thinks her calling is to teach churches how to make people feel apart of the church. She says churches are bad at it. When she goes to a new city, she has to jump in herself in order to feel a sense of belonging. Maybe that's the reason people can attend worship services for years and never be connected. We are great at making them feel it is important to be there but not so much at making them feel like they belong. Isn't being a part of a community high on the purpose of the church? I am sure that the networking plans of the church are so good that every visitor in the last 15 years knows about everything that the church has on its calender, everything it has to offer, and they have been emailed and snail mailed about them. My question is who would be there to make them feel welcomed or would they sit in the back and feel distant?

I know that some people are really good at making people feel a part and others are not. But we have to do a better job at connecting with people. I don't want the church to be a well-oiled machine that does everything but the one thing it was made for. That is connecting members with Jesus and his people. Let's do our part of making our churches as inviting and welcoming as the God we live for. To people looking for the best possible way of living, do we offer a radical way of living in a community of people who know, love and look out for each other? Or do we offer an hour of produced energy one day a week that has a lot of bells and whistles but ultimately fails at its purpose?

Here is a couple of things that I want to think about: Of the people who join your church, what percentage actually stays active? Years ago as a freshman at Harding, I heard Rich Little say this,

"The number one reason people become a Christian is because they met a Christian. The number one reason why people don't become a Christian is because they met a Christian."

What do the people we meet ultimately decide to do?

Everyday Justice

So for my birthday my buddy got me a great book, Everyday Justice by Julie Clawson. In the book, Ms. Clawson walks us down the paths of how we can make choices everyday to life a life that is mindful of Justice. In the first chapter, she starts off saying that the problem with justice is so big sometime it overwhelms us, so we give up. Making choices about clothes, water, coffee and other items that may or may not be involved in slave labor. We are so unsure of how to change this we choose to do nothing out of being ovewhelmed. So far it is a good read and is great at giving small ways and choices to live for Justice everyday.

So while reading this book at the laundromat a week after my birthday, I ran into one of those small problems that drive me crazy about businesses. While I was reading a middle age male came over and ask to borrow a quarter because the dryer had taken his last quarter. So I gave him one...and minutes later he was back. I guess he heard my deep pockets full of the quarters I had, but he came back over and asked for another quarter. Because another dryer had done the same thing.

After the man left I checked for the return policy the laundromat had. To get a refund, you had to fill out a paper with your name, address and phone number then slide it under the door. And no one was working that night. So what happens if you were like this guy? This was his last money and he's not just washing his own clothes, he's washing clothes for his family. Do you go home with wet clothes? In this case he had to borrow money from a total stranger. I did some research in prices, and it costs about 22 cents to wash a load of clothes and it costs 14 cents just to dry them. Making the total price somewhere around 1.50 for a load at this laundromat. the mark up is almost 4 times per load. Not to mention the horrible customer service (which is typical at Laundromats).

Harold Shank pointed out to me once that you never see any naked people in the inner city. But every time a church has a clothing give away people line up at the door for more clothes. Why? because a lot of times they stock pile clothes because they cant afford to wash clothes for the whole family because of the huge mark up per load.

So WHAT IF churches built low cost laundromat in their neighborhood. What would be the benefits of it? First the church could provide jobs for church members and community members and the customer service would be better immediately. That is, after all, the business that the church is in. How much would it save the customer in the community? If you could have the loads cost half (only 75 cents). Let see how much that would save a family of 4 that uses the laundromat.

Example:

Say a family does 6 loads a week. That adds up to about 312 loads of laundry a year. That means we would be saving families $234 a year.

Which might not seem like much...unless you are that family. Say you have 40 loyal families that come to your laundromat. You are developing relationship with 40 families, not to mention you've saved them a total of $9,360.

And that is a great start for living justice everyday.

Log it down!

One verse in the bible I try to put in my life because I am so bad at it is Philippians 4.8
It is a reminder that all God created is good. I already told you I have a hard time with this as you can tell by my other post I can quickly tell you what wrong with world. But I have to stop and make myself be reminded of those beatuiful, good and lovely things about life.

The Greek word for the English where we get the phrase out of the verse "think about such things" means to take account of, or "log it down". The word means to report, track or to write it down so you will have a record of.

I have done this from time to time it my own life to help me be reminded of these things. I would write down or log all the good things in my life that Paul wants us to think about in this verse.

So I thought it would be cool to do this together. To log down a list of the things that are true, right, lovely and pure in our lives. So please add to my list the things in your life by leaving a comment thus, adding to the list. I would love to hear these things in your life.

Here is my list of Philippians 4.8 things.

Philippians 4.8- Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

1) The church I attend in Texas raised over 1.4 million in one weekend for missions all over the world
2) Victory Temple church thanksgiving meal. You would not believe the love and people that poured into that church on thanksgiving
3) the might men of Como
4) Libby house prayer meeting on Wed at 2:30 for the city of Como.
5) Rick Atchley's preaching
6) Rick Warrens' tweets
7) Woodbine family church in Nashville for being such a light in a dark place
8) For kids like James Eubanks who breaks cycles and walks the walk
9) movies like The Blind Side- as reminders of what love can do
10) People like Josh Mckenzie and Cindy & Rick Betts. Who takes in kids that will never be drafted in the NFL and books/movie will not be made about them. But they do it because they are Christ-lovers
11) People like Adam & Sara Bryson for the love and better life they are going to give Natalie Bryson
12)Larry James for his commitment to make Dallas on earth as it is in heaven
13) Katie Beth & Patrick who by opening up thier hearts and home have adopted 3 boys who are all different races. Thank you guys for letting us see what heaven going to be like. In case we ever forget!
14)A family I know that always uses their Christmas bonus on adopting another family for Christmas. Whether times our good or bad.
15) Christmas songs that can take your heart back to that silent night(sorry had to!) with it's words no matter how many times you hear the song
16) The 5 people who prayed for 11 hours why their pastor was have brain surgery
17)the faithful pastor who used his tumor to lift God up-- what have we to fear
18) Great Writers like Max, C.S., N.T. Wright, Donald Miller who always make me closer to God
19) Whatabruger 12 days of Christmas where they give you food for free
20) all the people who are fighting for AIDS in Africa (Bono&the Gates& how about millions of others)
21) Tim Tebow & yes, even Colt McCoy for being great role models for us all
22) Amazing stories like Jordan Shipley telling his kicker a bible verse with 1 sec on the clock to calm him down.--you know it real to that kid!
23) Crowder- need I say more; ok espically the song: oh! How he loves me!
24)Rusty Peterman ministry at RHCC. No one knows all the stuff this man does.
25)Babies like Eden Storment who is the smartest/cutest baby to ever live!(some how she takes after her fake uncle Michael)
26) the little boy who on black Friday in the middle of the fighting for things and spending gave his mom 1/2 of his sandwich when he saw her without food. My guess is the mom was going without so her kids could eat. He noticed her with nothing and slid his sandwich over to her.
27) Taco Bueno
28) Football & Basketball
29) New water wells in the places that had none before and the saints that build them
30) D-groups who give up saturday's to be outside in the cold for a cookout in a neighborhood that nothing like their own.
31) fanstay football
32) all the ladies that make quilts year around so people don't get cold this time of year.--I know there are tons of ladies who do this but I know a couple personally Mammaw, Nana and Mrs.Wendy
33) Larry Bird
34) Today I went to Wendy's and card would not run. So I was in my car about to leave and the manger came out and said I could just pay him for it later.
35)
Here is the start of my list. I will add some to this week as I think about such things. Please add your. Nothing is more powerful then hearing what God's people are doing to be him to this world. Join in telling his story..........


Sorry I got off track last week because I was sick most of it. But I will now be back on schudule for posting once a week.

Care

For me, one of the hardest things about moving is finding a new place to get my hair cut. I miss my barbershop in Nashville. It was not like the movie(Barber Shop) I did not go in there for the conversations. It wasn’t like a family with all my boys hanging around. I actually never talked that much. I did not understand a whole lot of what was going on. See, the TV would always have ESPN “Deportes” on. And at the taco stand outside, you could get $1.00 off a combo if you just got a fresh fade. The place is called Oscar’s, and it is an all-Mexican barbershop. But I liked to get my hair cut in the same place that the kids from church did. About a year ago, they quit going to Cecil’s because he tried to cut someone’s hair when he was drunk and cut their ear. So now the kids go to Oscar’s. I loved it there! They had great steak tacos outside, and they used a straight razor for your edge up. Their fades are the best, but you better point to the type of fade you want on the picture of the wall and understand the Spanish word for the number of guard you want. Trust me, I made that mistake once and walked out with a skin tight fade and skinny sideburns. I looked like the fat white version of Oscar de la Hoya. But I loved that place and the $1.00 discount on the combo.

So I needed a haircut here in Fort Worth. I like my fades. I drove around and saw this place called Scoop’s. It is new since the last time I lived here. But it was my kind of place. It had been a year since I watched SportsCenter in English at a barber shop. John Clayton speaking Spanish just is not right. They had the same fade chart on the wall as Xavier’s, so I knew I was in a safe place. It had only been open for 2 months, he said. Scoop is from North Carolina, so we talked about how bad the Titans and Panthers are. While I was talking in the barber shop, hinting that a $1.00 off combo to Taco Casa would make me feel at home, I noticed on this pretty chilly day that people where locked out and lining up next door. Most, if not all, of the people in the growing line (which had to be about 30 by the time I left) were women and children. I asked what was going on next door. He said that it was a line for flu shots and other shots, and that the health department locks their doors during lunch so they can eat in peace and not be bothered. Children sit out in the cold waiting to get into a place that is going to give them something that will help them not get sick.

Question: Would those people be standing outside if they were from the city 15 minutes down the road in Southlake? Can a health department run by the government not find a way to stagger one person’s lunch so little kids don’t have to sit in the cold? I know government health care workers are overworked and underpaid and a nice quiet lunch is probably the only thing that keeps them from replacing the joke going postal to going pubic health care worker on you. But we have to lock the people out? There not $15.00 a day in the budget or $75.00 a week to pay some security guard to come in for the lunch break to keep the peace and order and give out numbers.



Lou Holtz said it best when asked what his plans were to change the South Carolina football when he took over. They were like 1-22 in their last 23 games. He said the same way the state of South Carolina interstate is going to go from dirty to clean. Lou Holtz said, “If enough people care!” If people care enough to not throw it out in the first place and if enough people care to go out and work hard and pick up the trash that has already been thrown out. Then we will have a successful football team here at South Carolina. I need players who care! You know what he got? Players who cared! After only winning 1 game his first year, South Carolina won 8 games and beat Ohio State in a bowl game the next year. Lou Holtz said later he knew it was going to happen, because he had players who cared. He said, “Look at the interstates. They are beautiful now. I knew they would be when I saw that over 2,000 showed up to pick up trash off the interstate the next day after the press conference.”


That is what we need. How lights start shining is that people care enough to be a light, that people care enough to shine! It is bigger than the problem that little kids get locked out in the cold. Do enough we care to do something about evil? Do enough people care to shine?! Because when lights start to shine, then mercy starts to live, and hearts start to care! Little kids get to drive their parents crazy inside a nice cozy building while the healthcare workers (who have care in their name and signed up for this job) will eat their lunches in peace and noise. When we care, others seem to matter a little more than our comfort.

One line from a song that Mercy Me sings just kicks me every time I hear it says "How can I care about your kingdom, when I am so wrapped up in mine". This line is my eats at my soul because I am so guilty. But I pray that I care enough about his kingdom to see like Him. I hope you do to.