“Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant.”
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
We Wear the Mask
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
By Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Father’s Love
What makes you a man is being there for your children and grandchildren, not just on birthdays but every day possible. You must be unselfish and willing to invest your time not just your money to enrich their lives. Above all else, being a true model of the Father’s love in the home by sacrificing yourself daily for the well- being of those you love.
I’ve spent countless days fighting against the ghost of an absent father, thinking that I could perform my way out of hurt and pain. But now I realize that by God’s grace I don’t have to go through the pain to truly be healed. I just have to be willing to release what I truly feel inside over to Him and rest in His love.
I love my biological father and I commend him for doing the best that he could do with the knowledge he was given on fatherhood. Although I didn’t have a true example of what a real father should do or be, I know realize that my Heavenly Father has given me a blueprint in His Word. Because of His love for me I don’t have to fumble around in the dark trying to figure out what I should do to gain the love and respect of my family.
I’m not perfect by any means. I‘ve made several mistakes in my past and I’m sure I’ll make more. However, I won’t let that stop me from pressing to leave a legacy of love and accountability for future generations of the Hamilton family.
The Generational curse that has run through my family stops with me. When it’s all said and done my children aren’t going to remember the material things and fun times that will eventually fade away.
What they will remember is the time I invested in their lives and the life of faith that I walked out on a daily basis right before their eyes. Time for sowing seeds of death and destruction is over; the time for love, peace and togetherness is at hand. It’s time to leave a Legacy of Faith that will long out live me.
Who Are You Feeding?
“Two natures beat within my breast
The one is foul, the one is blessed
The one I love, the one I hate.
The one I feed will dominate.”
-Anonymous-
A Meaningful Life
“Life is not meaningful to us unless serving an end beyond itself, unless it is of value to someone else.”
— Abraham J. Herschel –
Felicity
Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes, and seeing them gratified. He that labors in any great or laudable undertaking has his fatigues first supported by hope, and afterwards rewarded by joy…
To strive with difficulties, and to conquer them, is the highest human felicity
Samuel Johnson
Take a Stand and Set Your Standard
He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
Isaiah 28:6
How can I expect God’s strength if I do not embrace God’s standard. How can we expect God to give our nation unity if we do not embrace His standard of equality? He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment. When we allow inequality, prejudice, stereotypes and oppression to go unchecked and then ask God to make us one we are violating the very principle that will create unity.
Then we come up on a weekend where we celebrate Dr. King, rightfully, but we celebrate him at the wrong level, because we celebrate his speeches, but Dr. King’s life was not about speeches, it was about standards. We want God to be our mascot. Kind of like a stuffed animal that produces quotes or a cute saying when we pull the string. Quotes like, “love your neighbor”, and “love your enemy”, but we don’t want His standards we just want His sayings.
We listen to speeches like “I Have a Dream”, but a dream without action, a dream without process, and a dream without justice is a delusion, so we’ve got to raise the standard and declare that some things are not alright. There has to be a standard that we as people of God must set. We can’t wait for the world to set our standards. We are the church. We are the light of the world. We are the ones in the gate.
God can’t be the source of our strength if He is not the source of our standards. We can’t poison the well and complain about the water. We’ve got to stop it (racism) at the source. We have to draw a blood line in the name of Jesus and say, “This stops here.” These are my standards. I may not always live up to them, but I am pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. I will not live with low standards.
God is looking for somebody to turn back the battle at the gate. We have to get in the gate strong and take ownership and responsibility for our attitudes. He will be the spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to the one who turns back the battle at the gate. The gates of change start with our standards.
Who set our standard of what it means for you to be a Christian? Pray once in a while; show up to church when it’s convenient; try not to cuss too much. The devil is a liar. There’s a higher standard. This thing (walk of faith) is meant to consume all of our life. The way we see, the way we speak, the way we think, the way we treat your brother and sister.
God is looking for people to raise the standard. He’s not asking us to reach the standard, He’s just asking us to raise it and He will give us the grace to draw a line in the sand and say, “This stops here”.
(Excerpt from sermon Save Your Strength by Pastor Steven Furtick)
True Nobility
Who does his task from day to day
And meets whatever comes his way,
Believing God has willed it so.
Has found real greatness here below.
Who guards his post, no matter where,
Believing god must need him there,
Although but lowly toil it be,
Has risen to nobility.
For great and low there’s but one test:
`Tis that each man shall do his best.
Who works with all the strength he can
Shall never die in debt to man.
Edgar Albert Guest
Success Is Never Ending, Failure Is Never Final (excerpt)
“Fear not that you might make a mistake believing in your dream . . . Fear rather that if you don’t go for it you might stand before God and He’ll tell you that you could have succeeded if you had just had more faith.
Fear not that you might fail. Fear rather that you will never succeed, if you never try and are unwilling to take risks. Fear not that you might be hurt. Fear rather that you might never grow if you wait for painless success.”
-Dr. Robert Schuller-
Indispensable Man
Sometime when you’re feeling important;
Sometime when your ego’s in bloom
Sometime when you take it for granted
You’re the best qualified in the room,
Sometime when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul;
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining
Is a measure of how you’ll be missed.
You can splash all you wish when you enter,
You may stir up the water galore,
But stop and you’ll find that in no time
It looks quite the same as before.
The moral of this quaint example
Is do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember,
There’s no indispensable man.
-Saxon White Kessinger-