Leaning Forward

 This not a political endorsement (not that it would matter at this point anyway), but in a speech that Sarah Palin made in PA, she said, “The true measure of society is how it treats its most vulnerable.” This past Saturday at the Baton Rouge Dream Center we, Healing Place Church, held a community wide Christmas  blowout. There were scores of people, free food, games, and hundreds of toys given away to kids who may not otherwise have a Christmas. I am so blessed to be part of a church that is committed to reaching the poor, disadvantaged, and hurting. Our pastor, Dino Rizzo, has been bold in leading and answering the call to be courageous and dangerous when it comes to reaching, serving, giving, and building. HPC has shown me and the world what it means to serve men and women regardless of skin color, ethnicity, or socio-economic backgrounds and with no strings attached.  This was a tremendous opportunity to give back and deposit life into individuals who feel as tough there is no hope. Our vision is to be a healing place for a hurting world, and Saturday I saw that demonstrated in deed not just words.

I attempted to research the number of different phobias just to see how many there are? I was blown away! There are a countless number of phobias out there. Everything from enclosed spaces to musical instruments. I suffer from acrophobia, which is a fear of heights. The word fear probably doesn’t accurately portray how I feel about high places. I am literally terrified, no more like petrified of anything that is above 8 feet.

Last month I was in TN on vacation and decided that it was time to confront the fear that had paralyzed me my entire life. I was determined to do something that would get me over my paralyzing fear of heights. First, I decided that I would do indoor skydiving, that was fun but it didn’t help me to overcome my abnormal fear of heights.  I decided to bungee jump! It didn’t look all that high from ground level, but that quickly changed with each flight of stairs that I climbed. When I reach my jumping point (80 feet),  I honestly couldn’t breath and my knees got weak. I thought I was about to pass out. It was too late though I had to do it. As the man counted down 3, 2, 1… I don’t know if I jumped or my legs just gave out and I fell, but I went for it. It seemed like I was free falling for hours. When the jump finally ended, my legs were still weak but there was this overall sense of accomplishment. Yes … I did it!

Why would I do something like this, and no it wasn’t a mid-life crisis? Fear will drive you to dark places. Fear will keep you from those you love the most at their most critical moment (I.e. Joseph of Arimathea in John 19:38). I know that fear establishes the boundaries in your life, and it keeps you from enjoying the life you were intended to live.  I know that love and fear cannot co-exist (1 John 4:18), and I know that God will call us into the danger. Somewhere we have adopted the idea that if I’m in God’s will, then everything will come easy and it’s safe. The truth is that the dreams that God has placed in us will not come to pass until we conquer our fears. I don’t want to miss that! In order for me to be moving in the direction of the person that I want to become, I must be leaning forward and that means that I must chase down my fears. If I don’t, they will chase me down and paralyze me for life.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to have lunch with my boss, Mark Stermer. I’m not one to turn down food, especially when it’s Albasha. As much as I love Greek and Lebanese food, that wasn’t the main reason why I accepted his invitation. Each time I meet with Pastor Mark, he’s always teaching and pouring into me. It’s in opportunities like this, that I want to be a sponge, absorbing everything he has to say. The Scriptures tell us that there is “safety in the multitude of counselors.”  On this particular day, Pastor Mark was telling me that things always change and because of that I need to constantly be redefining myself. In short, I must be changing!! If I want to find my purpose and destiny in this life, then I must always be evolving. I must acknowledge my weaknesses and never stop working on those weaknesses. I titled my blog Leaning Forward, because I always want to be leaning in the direction of the person I want to become. If I want to see change (regardless of where I want that change to take place) I must be willing to change. I challenge you to find those closest to you, those that love you, and have your best interest at heart. Ask them, what area(s) of your life do I need to work on? We all must redefine ourselves.

I realize that destiny is not the most appealing topic people like to talk about much less read on another person’s blog. Destiny requires dreaming, and well that’s something that lives in the world of Walt Disney. Dreaming is make-believe, it’s what we do when we’re kids, but now as adults we have “matured” beyond that. How tragic!  The life you have always wanted to live, your destiny, begins with dreaming, and if you don’t dream that life will never happen. Your destiny, lies not ahead of you somewhere in the future, it lies within you, and we are responsible for finding it and living it out. God will not do that for us.

Your destiny already exists

Every Tuesday morning, I go and speak to about 95 men inside East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. These men are from all different walks of life. Some have committed violent crimes, some non-violent. Some of the men are white and some are black, some are rich and some are poor, but the one common denominator that they all have is that they have stopped dreaming. They can’t imagine a different life because they never dreamed of anything different or they have chosen to give up on the destiny that God placed inside of them. I wonder how the lives of these men would have turned out differently had they decided to dream and embrace their dreams. Think about the pain and hurt that their victims felt because they did not dream and pursue their destiny. When I leave that prison every Tuesday morning, I’m motivated by a sense of urgency to dream big and live large not just for me but for those that are closest to me. Don’t stop dreaming and don’t stop pursuing. You were created on  purpose, with purpose, and for a purpose. Have you found yours?

 Erwin McManus … Destiny

For the last week and a half, I’ve had my 4 year old nephew with me. He has worn me out. He is like the energizer bunny … he just keeps going and going. Where does he get all that energy? I wish there was a way that I could bottle it up and save it for my less than motivated days. He’s at the age where he’s learned his ABC’s and he’s putting the letters together but he doesn’t know what the word is. Everywhere we go (I mean EVERYWHERE), he wants to know, “uncle William what does O-P-E-N spell, what does C-L-O-S-E spell? what does B-U-R-G-E-R – K-I-N-G spell? what does W-A-L-K spell?” Honestly, the first thing he says when he wakes up is, what does E-X-I-T spell”. It’s been somewhat annoying, but at the same time I see something in him that I’m lacking. I see something in him that speaks to the question of why am I here? He’s curious! He’s asking questions because he wants to know. In order for all of us to find the life that we were intended to live, we have to be curious. I wonder how many of us are not living the life we were intended to live because we’re just not curious, we’re not asking, we’re not seeking. Aren’t you in the least bit curious as to why you are a morning person and someone else is a night person? Why you’re interested in math or science and others despise it, or even why you like the outdoors while others are indoor people? Your pupose and destiny lie in the answers to these questions. I think some of us are looking, but we’re looking for answers to the wrong questions. We want to know why … but it’s why did this happen or why did that happen. It’s the wrong question! Many of us are like Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James who went to the tomb of Jesus. and were asked by angels, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? The question we should be asking is where God, where are You in all this? What do you want to become for me in this situation?

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” If you study that passage in the original Greek you will see that the best translation reads, “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened for you.” The life that we were created to live doesn’t just happen, we must be pursuing it and we must be persistent in our search. Aren’t you curious as to why you are here, and what you were created to do? What’s on the inside of you that’s haunting you, telling you that you must do this? What good awaits you, that if you don’t start exploring may never come to pass.

As annoying as it was sometimes to hear him ask all these questions, I was reminded that “unless you change and become like little children” I may never find my why. Aren’t you curious as to why you like the things that you do? Why youy’re good at somethings and not so good at others. All of these speak directly to your purpose. You and I must be curious, if we’re ever going to live the life God intended us to live.