Service

This week I went on a christmas vacation with Ella and Chafik. Didnt do anything. I really enjoyed my time this week. We did have some devotions through out that week. God has really been speaking to a lot. To be honest being patient and focusing on him was a main topic. God speaks to us in the strangest ways, but when we listen no matter how crazy it is things will always be better in the end. Just to add little side note, "No matter what your STORM, God is in control."

As I served, So should you

Mark 10:45 says, for I did not come to be served but to serve. The act of being a servant is from the heart. This week at home for the Christmas break has been pretty good so far. On Tuesday we helped Ella, Chafik and some of the youth leaders to plan, set up and clean up for the IMPACT youth group Christmas Party. On Wedensday Eleesha and I helped Chafik with his middle school gathering that is held in the evenings during the same time as the Wedensday night bible study. I really feel  that God has been calling me to invest in middle school kids and it was an awesome experience to see first hand a group session with middle school kids. This is a class that Ckafik is putting together so that when I come from school I can fall right into a group of middle schooler and begin to impact their lives the way that God wants me to. On Friday Jevon and I had the honor of spending the whole day with the After School kids by taking them to the Moon Bounce. Jumping, having fun doing what they love to do. Lastly I have been put in charge of planning for the South Hill Church of God 2013 Summer Camp, and have been working on this a few days out of the week. With this camp I decided with the approval of Chafik and Ella I was able to make a Camp Flyer that we would take to the elementary and middle school to advertise for the coming summer camp. This week's hours consisted of about 8 to 9 hours of service. One of my main observations was that in ministry if you want to be successful preparation is the key Another thing is that when you have a team that is willing to work together you can get things done and done right with excellence. Although I stay with Chafik and Ella, and they are my spiritual parents, I found myself most beneficial when I took on the challenge of preparing foor summer camp. I found myself least beneficial in working with the pre-school kids. Even though I didn't mention it earlier my favorite aspect about this week was that i was able to feel out my Exhorters Application  so that I can prepare for taking the test to get my ministry license after school. Through out this week God has been telling me, no matter what happen or what the world may throw at you, just remain focus, and continue to listen to My voice.

Merry Christmas to you all, Be Blessed and continue to have a great break.

Little Lord Jesus

Sometimes we allow things in our life to hender us from seeking God to the fullest. This past Sunday the youth pastor at freedom church preached a message on how Jesus came to this earth in humility. He mentioned three points that really spoke to me that I would like to share with you today. The first is "humility activates the grace of our King and unlocks the truth of His Kingdom. The second is " pride creates the illusion that you are king. The last one is "humility restores what pride destroys." The past few weeks I have been working on controlling my pride in situations. This message taught me that when you allow pride to get in the way of what God is trying to do in your life, things will be destroyed. As a fellow christian and leader pride is something that I don't need in my life. It is one thing to sometimes be a little aggressive, but prideful , that is just something you can't be in any given situation. Have you taken a look at your own life and wondered if pride is the very thing that could be keeping you from moving to the level that God want you to be.  

Born 2 Lead

Everyday is a challenge and how you handle it will determine your future. Sometimes we wake up and go out into the world and just dive right in to whatever there is to do. What I have realize though is that what God want us to do is for more important than what we want to do for ourselves. See John 15:5 says, " I am the vine, you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing." It is very simple that without Jesus we can do absolutely nothing on our own. I think as Christians we loose sight of how God speaks to us; He speaks through our circumstances, the word, prayer, and the church. Allowing God to only speak to you through some of these ways is just as doing things on your own without God. We must be in God's word everyday and allow it to speak to us in ways that we don't normally do. We must watch the way our life goes and be careful to examine our surroundings so that we can hear from God in our everyday life, step by step. The average Christian prays 8 mins. a month. If we start in our own lives to develop a intense personal prayer life with Christ, then will our life begin to be guided the way God wants it to.

Trust and believe in Christ, and let Him lead the way. Phil. 4:13 " I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me."

SERVICE

So this week was a short one, but I was still able to serve the church. So this week I was able to help the church with some yard work, helped a widow with some few things around her house, I helped the Little Lambs Preschool with the set up for their Thanksgiving lunch, and then to finish it up I took the before/after school kids to the Moon Bounce all day. Within those three days I did about 15 hours of service. It is so good to know that you can be used in the church as long as you are willing to be used. One is that when dealing with children you have to be very patient and fun. Another thing is that it is important to take care of the widows in your church to let them know that you care. James 1:27 says, " Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." This week I found myself most beneficial in just the simple act of serving, what they wanted done I tried my best to get done. As far as least beneficial, it had to be besides do what I did I am sure that I could have done much much more. My favorite aspect about this week was spending time with the kids at the Moon Bounce. My least favorite was just the weather being cold because I don't like the cold. I think the main thing that God was saying to me this week was that when all else fails, just serve and know that I will be with you every step of the way.

Serving the local church

Serving the local church is definitely a great experience. Doing this shows you what a true servant is. This week I did a lot of interesting things. Even though my passion is counseling and preaching, I can say that I was able to do other things that the church needed, not only because I knew how to do them but also because it is what servants do. Now this week at the church I had to paint 4 tables, clean to cloests, clean 2 booths, rake leaves, and my favorite getting to speak to the youth on Tuesday about Growth and Commitment. Also the other mission students and I helped with a class that Chafik the youth pastor started on Thursday.  This week I put on 20 hours of service at the church. Do these things gave me two observations about this ministry is, 1. In a church your job is not the only job that need to be done, 2. Also in ministry it is important to be flexible and adjustable to the things to come in ministry. Within all this I found myself most beneficial in the position of just being there right for the youth pastor whenever he needs me. There really wasn't nothing that was least benefitting. My favorite aspects about this week was working with my youth pastor and his wife, they are like my mother and father. ( spiritual parents) My least favorite thing was, well I didn't have one. In all this God has really spoke to me this week. He has been telling me that it is time to stay committed and grow. If I truly want all that God has for me then I need to step it up another level, because he has great plans for me and I don't want to miss out.

Ministry

When Jesus came to this world, He didn't to be serve, but to serve. If He can do just that, then why can't we as christians just simply do the same. It's fall season in the month of October and it has really been a great month. I love cooking and feeding people, so early in this month I went to one of my favorite ministries to help out for 4-1/2 hours, Feed My Sheep. As you know it is where we go and cook a hot lunch ,then feed seniors who can't afford to make ends meet each month. Over time I have build a great relationship with the other worker and the seniors eating lunch. The IMPACT that I leave on them is having them know that I care and that I really enjoy spending time with them, even if its just for one friday a month. Also this month the leadership students and I helped Pastor Tim with some spotting, clock runner, and video recording at his son Issac's school foot ball games. We went to the games every friday for about 2 hours each game. It didn't matter if it was rain or shine we were there. even though we were no relation to Issac, we still took time out of our friday's to go and support him and the team. It's not the enjoyment of the game that matters, it's the fact that the kids understand that there is someone at the game cheering you on and care about your success in whatever you do.

 

The Wake-Up

This weekend I saw something great. I saw and went to this Wake up event that the city of baltimoire had down in the city. There were a lot of people, but not just any kind of people. These people were people who had made a decision to take a stand and publicly pray for hours and hours for the city of baltimore and the world. The reason I 'm saying all that is because what I learned that day was something that I will never forget. On that day of the Wake up I learned that when you are really pursuing God and complete Lord and savior over your life than doing radical things for God becomes like second nature. As christians thats the way we should be all the time. Now is this something that just happen in a day no, but as I have also learned in my leadership class here at Mission Baltimore, Leadership is developed daily not in a day. This same thing apply when you are following God and want to do things that seem impossible. Just another thing that I have learned at the Wake up was that it doesn't matter what your denomination is, who your pastor is, how many people attend your church, or mostly what color you are. The way God see it, is the way we as christians should see it also; one God, one body. The thing that sadden's me is that the church is lacking the act of prayer. My buddy Josh said sunday that, God is bigger than your problems. A lot of times we focus so much on the problems that we forget who the solution is. Remember God wants His people be united as one and all serve Him. I really enjoyed the Wake up, but I pray that the people really woke up and have came to a decision to develope a daily prayer life to stay in complete contact with God.

The Power of Prayer

Well this we learned that Prayer is the greater work. Sometimes we spend so much time in our busy lives doing a ton of other things besides praying. As Pastor Tim talks about how we should develop a daily prayer life, I think doing this would even out many lives. Now is this saying that life or everything will be perfect, absolutely not, but it will allow you to allow God to be at His correct place in your life. Pastor Tim said one Sunday that if you can talk, listen, then you can pray. The problem with this generation that I live in is that, it’s not that we can’t talk or listen, it’s that we don’t take time out to do it. We don’t make it a priority in our lives. We would much rather devote our time to facebook, twitter,  and all kinds of other social media networks, then take at least 1 to 2 hours a day in prayer. When we prayer we not only communicate with God, but our relationship with God will continue to grow. Now as a leader I am working toward building a better prayer life, not just because I need it but because as a Christian I should want prayer for my life. No more waiting until church to pray or when a prayer meeting is held, but rather practice privately what can show corporately. Another important piece to prayer is listening. The reason we don’t have effective prayer lives is because we spend most of the time talking instead of just listening and allowing God to speak to us. Remember even the disciple’s ask Jesus how then should we pray, and He told them that they should follow the model prayer. Take time out and read Matthew 6: 9-15

Your Life is a Witness

So this week the school of ministry went to South Hill, Va.,to do a youth revival  at the South Hill Church of God. Many times people go to different events or churches like that and think that they are only there to impact the lives of the people, but through this revival I have come to learned that even at another place besides your own you too can be impacted. The South Hill encounter was really good and God showed up and lives were changed, not because he just did it, but because people made a decision within themselves to drop everything, forget the past and give all they got to follow the one and only true King,, Jesus. Is it easy to make this transition, No, but when you allow God to be in your life the transition becomes how he wants it, not how we want it. Many people want to change a serve God, but they say well Ill change, just let me keep this one thing or that thing, I’ll get rid of my friends that are holding me back, but just let me keep the one friend who sometimes tell me it’s ok to do wrong. For God this doesn’t work, he wants us to get rid of it all to be with Him. Over the course of four nights we have learned about many biblical examples of people who decided to put their past behind them and press toward the prize of God’s plans and purposes for his/her life.

Paul persecuted many Christians, but on the road to Damascus he encountered God.

Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and had just been mistreated by a lot of people, but he decided to understand this, what the enemy meant for evil, God meant for good. Also Joseph could have destroyed them all, but instead he choose to forgive them and move on with the plans that God had for his life.

Peter was one of God’s disciples. Although he denined Christ many time, which after lead him to going back to doing what he was doing before he meet God, God showed Peter grace and allowed him to continue in the plans he had set out for him.

Lastly the challenge is are we going to stand firm and be the impact or are we just going to let it all go to waste. The question is are you willing to radically pursue Christ Jesus, forgetting those things which are behind you and pressing toward those things that are ahead.

 “13. Brethren, I could not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, 14. I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. ---- Philippians 3:13-14

Do you lead or are you a Leader

The Law of Priorities: Leaders understand that activity I not necessarily accomplishment.

What I am learning from this that as leaders we must have our priorities in order. Also I learned that as leaders we must order our live according to the following question: What is required, what gives the greatest return, and what brings the greatest reward. It is also important to allow your strengths that God blessed us with to be priority in our lives.

The Law of Sacrifice: A leader must give up to go up.

I believe that this is a big thing that we as Christians deal with in the now times. It is hard sometimes to sacrifice certain things in our life so that we can grow more in Christ. One of the important things that I am learning about this law is that there may be things in your life that you think is ok to have, but when we step aside and allow God to show us what should be in our lives and what shouldn’t be there, then will we get the full understanding of sacrifice.

John Maxwell said “The longer you wait to pay the price, the higher it becomes.

The Law of Timing: When to lead is as important as what to do and where to go.

This Law is for sure one that is a daily process, because it is how and what you do with your time that will determine your success. Just on a personal note I could use my time a lot better than I am. I believe that through the Law of timing your true priorities that you have set for your life will show.

These three Laws work really well together because It is in timing that our priorities are set and in order to have the important priorities in order, we as leaders must look at our lives and make major sacrifices to see that will happen.

Just remember as the song says: You got to know when to HOLD them, you got to know when to FOLD them, and you got to know when to WALK away.

Leadership is Influence

Hey guys glad to be back with more interesting things about what I have learned this week.

 Law of Magnetism- Who you are is who you attract.

I have learned so far that this law is so true. You see it throughout your everyday life. Just stop and look at the people you hang around or look at who comes around you when you go out somewhere. This is why it is very important to examine your own life because you don’t want to grow up attracting the wrong people or even people that are good ones, but have some bad tendencies.

 

 

Law of Connection- Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.

I have learned that this law isn’t easy to grasp. The reason I say this is because I believe that in order to touch a heart, you as a leader have to get the people to trust you and believe in your motives before you can touch the heart of the people. I have seem on many different occasions where a leader is more concern with asking for a hand rather than touching hearts. The thing is that with this law there’s a little work to do before it come in full affect, so you have many people today who call themselves leaders that are lazy and wants to go the easy route. They end up asking for a hand and realize that it only works for a little while, but when you put in the work and touch a heart as a ,leader those are the people that you will do without waiting for you to ask for a hand.

Well guys that’s all I have here for this week. Remember “Who you are, is who you attract” and not only is it the law, but it is a million time better to touch a heart than it is than to just ask for a hand.

God loves you, I love you. Have a Blessed day and week

See you next week…….

 

Ministry; God's Way

Hey guys,, I know it's been a long time since I have ckecked in with you all about how things was going with my personal ministry stuff, but I am back.

 So this month on two seperate friday mornings, I went to Feed My Sheep. This is a place where different groups of church people take turns fixing a hot lunch for some elderly people in the local community who can't make ends meet for the month. So Feed My Sheep is there for those peopl eto at least get a hot meal a few times out of the month. So a couple of students from my school and I went to feed my sheep to lend a hand in making lunch for the elderly people. The first friday we went it was just for 2-1/2 hours  with Mrs. Betty being in charge that week. Then the next friday we wen tfor the full time which was four hours with Mrs. Pippa. Now the lives that were affected was the lives of the elderly men and woman at the lunch. This happens because we take time to go out there and fellowship with the people to get to know them and learn about them so that they will know who we are and know that we don't come our just because, but to invest in their lives and be the example of chirst to them as well. I personally think at the local church we need more of this. All we need is some few people to want to step out and get involved with the people outside of the church because that is where the true ministry is.

Well that's all for this month, see you next month for more exciting personal ministry updates.

Be Blessed!!

Want to be a leader, Ask me how ?

So last week I mentioned four of the 21 laws of leadership. This week I am going to share with you four more of these laws that I have learned.

 

Law of E.F Hutton- When the real leader speaks, people listen.

Looking at this law I’m sure you are thinking that the person this law is talking about is the speaker, but it isn’t. Sometimes this person can be the one with the most influence in the room.

Law of Solid Ground- Trust is the foundation of leadership.

This law is one of the key laws to all the laws of leadership. Without trust nothing that you’re leading will stay together. This is the glue that holds everything together.

Law of Respect- People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.

 As leaders it’s important to be able to follow leaders stronger than yourself. This is how you grow to become a stronger leader yourself. John Maxwell has the top six ways that a leader can gain respect and they are: 1. Leadership ability, 2. Respect for others, 3. Courage, 4.Success, 5. Loyalty, and 6. Value Added to others.

Law of Intuition- Leaders evaluate everything with leadership bias.

This law is all about the leader not who finish, but is about the leader who starts the quickest. Also leaders are readers of the following: 1. Leaders are readers of their situation, 2. Leaders are readers of trends, 3. Leaders are readers of their resources, 4. Leaders are readers of people, and 5. Leaders are readers of themselves. Also here are the three levels of leadership intuition: 1.Those who naturally understand leadership, 2.Those who can be nurtured to understand leadership, and 3. Those who will never understand leadership.

Well that’s all for this week, so I’ll leave you with this: “You can’t make changes in your setting of leading unless you have change in your pocket.” John Maxwell  

The Mind of a Leader

The life of a leader isn't for everybody. It has been almost a month since I have been a leadership student in ministry school and I am enjoying this journey of learning to become a great leader. So far we are learning the 21 Laws of Leadership by: John Maxwell. Let me take you into some of what we have learned so far.

1. The Law of The Lid- Leadership determines the level of effectiveness.
                 - This means no matter how high your effectiveness is, if your leadership doesn't match then what you are doing is pointless. " Remember their are 2 kind of leaders; Good ones and Bad ones" ( Which one will you be?)
2. The Law of Influence- Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.
                  - In the study it says " I rely on influence rather than on my position or title to get others to follow me or do what I want. You know if you have to get people to follow you just because of your title or position then you are a leader for the wrong reason, because at the end of the day it's not about your title, it's about the influence that you show through your life
3. The Law of Process- Leadership devlops daily, NOT in a day
                  - Now a days we think things are just to suppose to happen quick. I got news for you, they don't. Everything you do that is going to benefit your life in a postive way will take time. So if you want to become something great or become bettere at something, just know it will take time.
4. The Law of Navigation- Anyone can steer the ship, It takes a Leader to chart the course.
                  - Not everybody can steer you into the direction that you are suppose to go in, reasone being because they themselves don't have direction in their own life. With these laws you will not be a expert at all of them, thats why it's important to develop a team because there just might be someone else who is a better navigator than you are.

Every Hand Counts!

So this year I was able to do many different types of ministry opportunities, including my favorite one, Feed My Sheep. Now to finish it off I decided to do some local helping hand ministry stuff. So last month Stacey was talking to me about her mom needing some help painting and doing some things around their house that they are fixing up so that they can live in it and call it their home. I took the opportunity and told her that I would take some time from my Sabbaths on Fridays to go and help her. So Staci, Josh, and I went to help her mom on a Friday and due to our schedule end up going on that Saturday as well. That Friday for 5 hours, the three of us went there and first we did some yard work raking up leaves; about 4 to 6 pick- up loads, then we started painting Stacey’s room. We did the first coat of paint that Friday night. Now on that Saturday evening for 3 hours, Stacey didn't go, but Josh and I did. We went over there and put on the second coat and did the ceiling in Stacey's room. Also we started the bathroom. To some people this is might have seem like much, but it’s those random acts of kindness that allows people to see the kind person you are, and it show God that no matter what it is you are, can and will serve. This kind of serving can definitely be used in the local church. Now days everybody want to do the big stuff, but it’s the little things that make the difference. The bible says: If you can be faith in the little things, I will make you ruler over many." Just think about the number of people in your local church that you know needed or needs some help. As a child of God and a servant we should be the first to jump when something needs to get done, not because if we do it we will receive something in return, but because it is what God commands us to do, “Be Servants to His People."

-Your act of servant hood could well right lead you to witnessing to someone so that they may come to know and accept Christ in their lives.

“Be a servant out of love, and not one to do just to receive.”

Body Shop

This week we went to piney run and did a trail run and had about 2 to 3 intense basketball games. Its inportant work out on a daily basis because when you skip some time you will feel it the next time you decide to excerise. Then today we did a 20% growth physical fitness test and boy it was tough. we had to grow 20%  from what we did at the beginning of the year. We did push ups, wall sits, chrunches, sit ups, jump ups,  and the mile run. For the most part I can say I did pretty good. Even though this is the last school body shop taking this away from school will allow you to maintain you being healthy through the summer into next year. Go hard and be more intense.

Cleansing Stream

So on Friday I was headed to Pittsburgh to a retreat that express cleansing from God. They had a topic about Trauma which means the result of hurtful and wounding tragic events that we experience. I may or may not involve physical injury; but almost always has an impact or effect mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. These events can cause profound fellings of fear, confusion, loss, hopelessness, despair and anger. This really spoke to me because when I lost my dad at 48 years old of MS, I just felt blank; just me and my mother, but God allowed me to find comfort in some leaders that he placed in my life; my youth pastor and his wife. With that I began to understand that the Lord was there the whole time and reminded me that he will never leave me or forsake me. Trauma can be something that can mess up your life or put a hold on it if you don'tallow God to feel that void in your life. Now this does not only acure from death in the family, but many other things and situations that people go through in life. The thing is that we hold on to these things for a long time and just forget aabout them and then we wonder why we aren't growing in Christ, because we haven'
t dealt with the past things in our life that we have decided to let sit and place a hold on our livs.

REMEMBER: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

Your story do make a DIFFERENCE

It was my first time out of the country. I went to Abaco, Bahamas for a mission’s trip with my school and I was awesome. Now as you are reading this your thinking the Bahamas, He had a blast. I did have a great time, but a time of Impacting lives of young boys and girls whose lives are not so good. I grew up in a single parent home and sometimes we didn't always have, but we made it through. So ministering in Abaco allowed me to learn how to use my story to understand the level of hurt and pain that the children were going through over there. Sometimes we treat our story like as if it is some think that we just lived through and one day forgot about it, but as followers of Christ he give us opportunities to use what we went through to change someone else’s life.

In Matthew it talks about going out into the world and making disciples and sharing the gospel, I can truly say that this past week we have done just that. It was a long, busy, tough, dirty, and crazy week, but we didn't do it to glorify ourselves but the Lord God himself. Just because you don't have the same story as someone doesn't mean that you can't be used by God to work in one's life. We went out and did the work of God and so can you. Just have God be first in your life and when he tells you to go be obedient and GO.

WHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! You Can Do It!

Everybody need somebody to cheer them on. This is one who will cheer you on no matter what way life is going. When things are going good I'll be there to cheer and when things are going bad i'll be there to cheer encouraging words to help you to continue to move forward. In my Disciple's Mission book it says, " One reason Christians do not perform the ministries God has given them is that they have not been commissioned." Just like Saul and Barnabas was commissioned and affirmed by the church pledging that they will support them in their particular ministry, we also need to have our churches do the same for us or find some good righteous people to support us in all that we do as well.

Now This support thing is not only just the idea of giving money, but it's supporting with first of all your prayers then your time and your words. The bible talks about being a cheerful giver and just as I talked about, about giving from your heart all of you just like Christ gave all of himself for us we should do the same in our support for others.

As Christians we need to model behaviors and characteristics for other disciples to imitate, beginning another cycle of discipling.

Teamwork make the Dream Work

Every time I begin to start talking about body shop it brings joy to my soul knowing that even though getting up at 5:45am a couple days a week is sometimes crazy, the benefits of this is that I am taking care of my body and health for the future. So Tuesday at 5:45am we had an awesome work out. We ran a lot and we did the 45 sec. 10 session circuit work out.

Also on turesday for about 2 1/2 hours, me and some of the students, we all went down to Piney Run and played 3 intense games of full court basketball.

It's Thursday at 5:45am in the morning, we did our warm -up mile, then we did the two team 100 meter relay. Before you know it, we had done over 5- 100 meter laps a piece between all of us seperately. After we got done with the stuff, we got into our teams again and had a race to do 200 push-ups as a team. Then we all ran 6 laps which is a mile and a half.

You don't have to work out for hours and hours just to get a good work. You can just simply take a little time and push yourself all the way. Doing this will give you just as of a good workout then you will get from and workout for hours.

The Grace of Giving

A lot of times we give, but we give wanting something back and that is noit how things work. As a Christian we are to give as Jesus gave to us, not looking for anything in return.
Why should you give?
1. You should give because the god of this world, Satan, has blinded unbelievers' minds.
Satan is out working all the time and he is the giver of all givers. The thing is not that he is giving, it is what he is giving. Just simply giving our time to others to have the opportunity to witness to some one will for sure stop them from taking what the devil has to offer them which is nothin gbut the bad things .
2. The second reason you should give is that you have experienced God's grace in salvation. You give from gratitude for God's gift to you.
3. You give because God's love compels you.
The bible says in 2 Cor. 9:6-7 "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver"

Come on MAN> Moving Like Pond Water

So on Tuesday at 5:45am for one hour, we first did a warm-up mile, then we did these Lap- push up- bleacher run relays (4x). We also did the four team relay, the two man step hops and the two team 100 push-up competition.

On Thursday at 5:45am for one hour, we first did the warm- up mile, then we did the weight hold competition. We also did 200 meter intervels.

On Friday at 5:45am for one hour, we did the warm- up mile, then we ran some 200 meters and some 100 meters.

One IS 2 SMALL

Sometimes in life as individuals we think we can do it all by ourselves. This may be true but, when you develop a team you get things done a lot easier. Just as I decussed in my bodyshop blog we all work out together every day at 6am. What we did out there couldn't have been done with just one person. One of the things that I learned was that there is no I in  TEAM and Quiting is not an option. Just as one of the 17 Laws of Teamwork states: One is to small of a number to achieve greatness. This means that with a team you can and will achieve more then you will by yourself. Also Law of the chain: The team only move as fast as the weakest person on the team. You know this was design to not leave anyone behind no matter how long it take because as Law of the Big Picture says: The Goal is more important than the role. I would rather for my team to finish as a whole than to finish leaving someone behind. All this does is lower the strength and confidencec of your teammate.

With a Team we can do it. By youeself you might fail and give up; their will be no one there to encourage you to keep going like a Team would.

I WOULD TAKE THE TEAM ANY DAY ANY TIME.

Leave It All on the TRACK!

So on Tuesday morning at 6:00am it all began. For 1 hour we ran a warm up mile. Then we divided into 2 teams and we did relays by the mile; someone from each team had to do 25 push ups before we were able to start the relay.We also did a relay running the bleachers where coming down the last set of steps I fell and messed my knee up, and also threw up. " Can we say, "INTENSE"!

Then on Wedensday at 6:00am we did another hour. This time we started just like normal, the warm up mile. Then we did the mile relay, but this time we had to carry a 10 pound ball while running and at every quarter mile we had to pass the ball off to another teammate. The push ups were done on the ball this time. O, but it gets better, then within that hour we had to do ball toss in a circle with our teams and then we did the bleacher relay, just this time instead of run we had to hop up the steps with the ball and then run down back to the line to pass it off to the next team member in the line.

The last and final hour, Thursday at 6:00am we did the warm up mile again. Now the relay mile got a little different this time. Now we still had the balls, but instead of one lap break, one lap break, we did the mile all the way through with everybody running the whole thing and we still had to pass the ball off at the points. Now the only time we got to stop in between was the push ups on the ball. By this time we were doing 35 push ups at a time. After this we did this 8 station/ 45 sec workout ( dips, inverted push ups, hops, jump overs, dumb bell curls, lunges while holding weight bar, and 2 stations of the bleacher step hops with the 10lb. ball in hand.

This body shop was really intense, but it taught us how to become and work together as a team. cause we all needed each other.

Remember God is the captian and you can either do it yourself or build a team. "THE TEAM IS BETTER"

Romans 8:28

All things work together for the good of those who are in Christ Jesus.

The things people say

Well sometimes in life we feel ask if we can say what every we want, when ever we want and get away with it. Now everybody has the " Freedom of Speach," but just because we do, does not mean that we can say what ever we want. Now the bible says:

      James 3:9-12
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with the same tongue we curse human beings, who were made in God's likeness. 10 Out of the mouth comes praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters should this be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a salt spring produce fresh water.

I don't know about you but when I read this it made me think just a little. Ask yourself are you living by these scriptures. If so you need to ask God to help you and began to allow your tongue to only be used for good. The problem is that we spend to much time talking rather than listening to what god has to say.

" Let God be in control, Not the world, not you, but HIM"

The JOY of Helping Others!

So this month the personal ministry time was pretty cool. I went to a voluntary training meeting so that I can be able to voluntary at different schools just to serve. I went to Feed my sheep. The first time was a little different cause that time ben and I just went at lunch time and then just served in cleaning up after the lunch.(2hrs) The second time Ben, Stacy, and I went to serve there for the full time.(4hrs) Then to finish up my ministry time on saturday I went to help Elder Dale move his house into storage.(4 to 5 hrs)

Its amazing how God blesses you when you just simply take time out of your day to serve others.

How strong are you? -I'm to STRONG

Body shop was great this time around. So for the first hour, Ben, David, Katie, Sam, and I went to Piney Run Park to play basketball. It was pretty intense playing full court with five people, but 2 aganist 3 will allow you to build great teamwork skills and it gets you to work harder.
The remainder of my time I did a little walking and running. For 1hr & 15mins. I took a walk one morning from the house to oaklahoma middle to the Merritt gym pass walmart all the way back to the house. For the last 45mins I did a little running. I will tell you when you miss sometime in body shop you will be able to tell the next time you run.
Remember work hard, give it your all, stay focus and be strong!

Walk in the Spirit

If we live by the Holy Spirit, let us also WALK by the spirit. If by the Holy Spirit we have out life in God, let us go forward, walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.-Galatians 5:25

This week I will be sharing from what I learned, The 4 components of walking....

So first of all when I was learning about this I was thinking about actual walking, but as I continued to go more into the class the real walk was about the spiritual walk. 

Purpose- our conduct pleasing to the Lord- In this life you must know where u are going and why your going in that direction.

Observation- watching for distractions, obstacles, assaults- The bible says in Luke 17:1   " Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. Know that you will face some things in this life and that this walk will not be a walk in the park, because if it was then everybody would be doing it.

Balance-going forward with discernment, determination- Jesus said I rather for you to be hot or cold, then to be lukewarm or I will spit you out of my mouth. If this is truely the life that you want to live then lets start showing it and give Him everything we have to offer.

Action- step-by-step, decision-by- decision, choice-by-choice- Sometimes we get so caught up in the technical things that we forget the little things that makes the difference. we have to go one day at a time. We need to allow God to handle every situation one by one, day by day.

EX of how we should walk: " We need to walk in the spirit just as military walk in formation"

See you next time on What I Learned This Week

Body Shop:Bring Your A Game

Bring Your A Game

So this week  I took body shop to the black top. Man it was a lot of fun and a great work out in both days. So Tuesday, me and the guys: Ricky, David, Ben, Justin, Josh, Nathan, and Karla, we all played a hour and a half of basketball. It was really hitting me about around game three. The main  thing is that we all had fun and a good work out playing full court. Through we will stay healthy and fit if we keep it up, also if we can manage to play as a team on the court then we should also be able to play as a team off the court, where the real teamwork comes in at. 

3 of the Greatest Basketball Players of  All-Time

 My other hour and a half was spent on Friday at 3:30 playing a NBA jersey basketball game. Ben, David, Josh, Justin, Ricky, and myself played 3 to 4 games of intense basketball. Very hot week, but for sure worth the sweat.

Thanks, See you next time on the Get-Fit station

It's the Bike- work out

Man Body shop this week was different but cool. 

the first Hour and a half I played basketball a little and then I walked and I also rode a bike.

This really worked out my legs, I'm glad I  got to do this, It has been a long  time since I rode a bike and I was truely a work out.

For my other hour and a half I went on a 4 mile bike run. Heart racing, legs pumping, and body tired. Even though I was tired, as I keep this up I will become greatly healthy and it will benefit my life in  a very good way.

Stay tune for body shop next week: The bike might be coming back.

Nobody Likes Principles

I just want to share with you guys the five principles of Spiritual Warfare.

1.The Seeking- God Principle: When you realize that you are at war, seek God, just as the people of Judah did when they realized that the three armies were coming their way.
A lot of times we only go to God when something is wrong or when something good happens. We as Christians have to go to God all the time. Doing this will not only make you a stronger Christian, but will grow your relationship with God.

2.The Knowing- God Principle: It is very important to know God. For someone who knew you before as Jeremiah 5:1 says "before you were in your mother's womb, I knew You", at least we can to is grow to Know Him also.
Knowing God can allow you to base your prayers on His Person; His Promises; His Purposes; and His Previous acts.
Just simply because we know God, we have access to all these things to make our prayer time more effective.

3.Depending-on-God Principle: Depend on God to show you the way. God is in charge even in a desperate situation when you base your prayers on Him and His revealed will.


4.Believing-God Principle: One way yo know that a person has believed God is when he or she begins praising God for what He has promised.
The most important point in this section is that: When God gives you a Word, claim His promise and believe.

5.Worshiping-God Principle: The secret is that the battle is won on your knees.
When I think about the worshiping God principle I think about Romans 12:1- I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, for this is your spiritual act of Worship.

I want to leave this scripture with you all: John 4:23-But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshiper will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him.

Be Protected At All Times

Ephesians 6 talks about putting on the full Armor of God. Sometimes we only use the spiritual one or two ways which is 1. we only use the Armor when things are going bad to protect ourselves, 2. we only use the Armor when things are going good and the minute things get bad we put that stuff down and try to fight the battle ourselves.  The bible says that the battle is not yours.

I just want to briefly talk about the Armor of  God.

 
The Helmet of Salvation- This is to show that Christ saved you.
         - We must thank God that we are his children. John 4:4 says, " The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." We must remind ourselves of this everyday that Christ is in us and no thing or no man is greater than he is.
         - Two more points is that we must praise God for eternal life and claim the mind of Christ

The BreastPlate of  Righteousness- This is used to protect your heart the the evil one an dis evil desires.
          - Keep the breastplate firmly fastened in place with upright character and righteous living.
Psalm 66:18 says, If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

The Belt of Truth- this is probably the most useful piece to my knowledge. The belt of truth is used to hold everything else together. God don't care weather or not you wear a belt with your pair of jeans, but when you put on that Spiritual Armor it is a must that you have that belt.
          - ALERT!!!! Please Master your EMOTIONS. You need to allow the spirit to guide you and not the flesh.
         - If the belt of truth is not in place, you cannot expect your prayers to be answered.
James 4:3 says -- "When you ask, you do not receive, because what you get on your pleasures"

The Gospel Shoes- This is the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, meaning that you are ready for . Just some quick points are: Be prepared-seek a boldness from Christ, Share the Gospel-  be able to go and spread God's word to all people, and most importantly, Intercede for the lost.

1 Timothy 2:1,3-4 says: "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone. This is good, and places God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and  to come a knowledge of the truth."

Put The Armor of God on everyday, no matter what. Lets not only put it on when something is going wrong in our life but lets also wear it when things are going good. Wear God's Armor everyday all day, it is to protect your whole life from the devil and his evil desires of this world.

The devil has come to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come to give you life and give it to you more abundantly.

Body Shop

Man you know it hurts when you push yourself , but in the end the results will be great. After hour of basketball with ricky, David, and Justin i was pretty worked up, but my teamwork skills is building by the minute. Running for a hour in the morning is cold but man does it get your day going, not as good as God but its good. Then to finish it up lifting weights is getting me ready for the summer at the beach. (Just kidding). All these things will keep me in good shape and in due time if i keep it up i will be good and healthy for the work of the lord.

See you next week for more body Shop and getting in shape.

Show Up & Change A Life

A Servants Heart

Mark 10:45 says: For even the son of man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life-- a ransom for many.

If  Jesus the King of kings and Lord of lords can be just a simple servant , the why can't we. I love to cook and I would love to serve in that area any day. Last thursday two of my school buddies ( Caleb and David) me went to Ms.Nancy Carter house just to fellowship with the serious. Also Caleb got the chance to lead those guys in worship. It is amazing how when you are being used by God who you can touch, no matter how young or old when God is in control somebody will get touched or a blessing. We spent about two hours with those men and woman of wisdom.

Feed My Sheep

 Friday I went to Feed My Sheep and had a great time serving the elderly people. It was Ben, Sasha, and I, went to be servants and help any way we can. We were there for 4 hours. We cooked and then served the people at 12. Then the fun part, we got to fellowship with the people and build relationships. Us taking time to go there and serve those wonderful people made a big impact on there lives because they now know that there are some young people who are willing to serve and that care about them. It gives me great joy to have spend time with them. 

With the ministry projects that I did, they can so be carried to the local church. There is always someone who needs or can use a little help. Be who He called you to be and SERVE, SERVE, SERVE 

A Record of Our Conversations

Prayer Journal's are for Christ-Followers

Sometimes we talk to God and he talks to us "if we let Him", and then later we forget the conversations that we had with the Father. I want to share with you something that I learned recently.

How To Develop Your Personal Prayer Journal

Purpose of your personal prayer journal

                    To remind you of what to pray about. Sometimes we get stuck on what to pray about, then we end up praying about stuff that doesn't make since. Now you see the importance of the Prayer Journal.

My Disciple's Victory workbook tells me to design and use a prayer journal that fits your particular needs and personality. So I encourage you to do the same. Not only is this a good way to be with God, but also you will be able to go back later as lie goes by and read what you and God was talking about sometime ago.

Another point that I want to touch on that I learned is: Using Your Personal Prayer Journal

Use your prayer journal every day:Lets not get side track and forget about our prayer journals in our busy little lives. It is important to use it everyday. Doing this will allow you to plan annual evaluation time, just to look back and see how you are growing spiritually.

Stay in the word and use your journal every day. Allow Him to be in control.  

Great Followers equals Great Leaders

So last week I went to Winter Fest and somethings happened that shoudnt have happened. Know sometimes its hard to listen to people younger than you but, when God place those people in your life its for a reason. It is all to build you up s o when the day comes for you to be a good leader then u will be prepared. It takes a great follower to be a great leader. I have the ability to be great leader, but if I don't learn how to keep my mouth close sometimes and just do what im told even if its not what i like, then will i become a great leader someday.

Work baby Work

The Workout

So this time for body shop, I played basketball with my boys Joshua, Nathan, David, Ben, and Justin. We played for an hour. It was  a great workout. Teamwork was the biggest thing learned. Then on another day i worked out in the weight room for a hour, lifting and other floor exercises. Then finished up in Rochester at the Raddision in the Workout room. 20 mins on the treadmill, then 20 lifting, then 20 mins on the bicycle. " body shop was great this week. The more i go hard the more healthy i get.

See u next week. Bye- bye

BE STRONG

So 6 hours of body shop is a lot , but when you got to do it then you just get it done.

Running and working out in the weight room is tough, but not bad. Its very sweatie and smelly, but for your body its healthy.With is body shop in my agenda a week it keeps me feeling good and it is making me healthy, also a better person. I'm hurting but someday I'll be healthy like I should be.

See you next time after Body Shop.