History Repeats Itself

For my birthday my amazing friend Candie got me a set of the History Channel's series on the Presidents of the United States. It's something so magical about that office, it demands  attention and respect and is known in the least of countries. You could go to Kazakhstan and they would know of the office of the President of the United States. The amazing thing about history is that you can revisit it time and time again and you will find something new about it that you missed the first time and it also tends to relive itself. Tonight I went to the Governor's debate/Gubernatorial debate and I left it feeling lost and empty, not just because I don't see any of the candidates fixing the problems that overwhelms our great state, but more because of some stuff I read in a blog. I found myself in my amazing intern Virginia's car completely confused and lost for no reason. Then from those little cute lips she said "it's not about you?" then she finished,  "Why are you trying to carry the whole world on your back?" Well it didn't all connected until later that night when I realized that President Lincoln was my favorite President and not Jefferson. When Lincoln took the office of The President of the United States, he had no intention of freeing slaves or giving equal rights to black men. Lincoln was an ugly man who was found attractive by his wit. From childhood he was driven to make something of his life, to climb from the poverty of the log cabin he was born in. The thing that no one knows about the 16th president is that he was complex and a depressed man. He was very enjoyable in public but suffered  from prolong sadness and upsessed over matters. What I suffered from in Virginia's car was the fact that I felt useless to God, I felt like I had done nothing with my life. I have realized after tonight that the reason history is repeated is because God proves himself over and over again to men, that no matter what you are he will use you, it's the way he proves he is real. God used Moses whom was a murderer to split waters, turn rods into snakes, and become one of the most revered figures of the Bible. God used discples who were nothing and Paul who hated him. The lord used Washington whom was a poor farmer's son with no college degree to start this country, and used Abe who also had no college degree to fix one the most complex problems between bothers in this country. I'm not trying to call myself Abraham Lincoln but I will say God has prove through this subject I love so much that a man's name nor face, skin color or past, matters, not when he is changing the world because he fills our empty souls and moments of longing with missions of greatness. We should all know the Lord is our sheapard and we shall not want for he maketh us to lie down in green pastures, he knows our wants and desires and has never left us empty even though we feel like it. For if we didn't feel this way there would be no priorty to achieve the greatness set before us, we would be content with where we are in life. God reveals himself through history through repeativeness. On  April 12 1861 when Fort Sumter went down to the Confedrate Army. It's tattered, rip flag was brought to New York and hung from a building as a battle cry much like the flag that was displayed across New York that was from the two towers that fell on 9/11. In 1861 the northern citizens began to wave their flag proudly,just like we did in 2001. Abe's mission was given when he was born but wasn't realized until the war had already began, and wasn't assured until he was re-elected when he wrote, "Malice towards none and Charity towards all!" God didn't make Abe the Great Emancipator but God developed the Great Emancipator and eventually made him the lover of his brothers to the south. So if you feel like you don't have the ability to push humanity forward, or change the world in which we operate, don't worry for the Lord's ability isn't limited to any face and History repeats itself. God Bless You, God bless These United States of America, and may God continue to repeat himself in the history of humanity.  

Win in Auburn Before You Win in Arizona

I feel as if my previous blogs have been a bit gloomy and dramatic so hopefully I can put more of a positive spin on this one and evoke some feelings of hope rather than despair. The other day I was driving back from class as usual and I looked out to my right and I saw a man around the age of 50 with a bulky knee brace on moving at about the speed of muddy water rolling uphill. I have probably seen this gentlemen a total of 100 times in my college career whether it's been at Wal-Mart working at the front door, on College Street climbing a steep side walk slowly, or walking past ACF on Gay Street, I see this guy all the time. Every time I see him I wonder the same thing, why doesn't he just order a ride from a taxi or take any of the offers nice people give to him? It must take him at least two hours to get to Wal-Mart from where ever he lives on Gay Street. Then it occurred to me, maybe it's not about the time to get to where he is going, but maybe it's about the journey. Maybe with every slow limp he encounters on his long walks he intentionally enjoys them. Taking my time is something I'm painfully bad at, while hanging with my great friends Leah and Eric, who will be a beautiful married couple next year, I realized I'm not ready for the life they are about to ensue. I rush into relationships when I find them usually because I know what I want when I find it, but the truth is I may have what I want but I have no idea where I'm going with it. For example, when my parents bought me my first 4-wheeler at the age of nine, I thought from watching all the older kids I knew how to ride my new ATV. In my usual rush I jumped on my machine thinking I knew what I was doing but in the few seconds after my attempt to push the gas as hard as possible I found my self up under my uncles house disconnected from my 4- wheeler. I wanted to go fast but I had no clue what I was doing. Too often in life we overlook where we are and look to the future for our hope, we move-on or move too fast. We've never been a patience people, whether it motivates us to correct the wrongs of slavery or motivates us to kill the savior. When our current situation consumes us we look to our dreams of what our future will be like to save us. When the truth is we don't need to trust in what our future holds when we have a lord who is willing to be our battle axe in our times of war in life. We don't need to huddle under our dreams when we have the lord who is willing to be our shelter in a storm. We need to find refuge in the saviors arms and have the patience to look to the hills for which that's where our help will arrive. I heard Coach Rocker (our Defensive Line coach at Auburn) say, "You have to win in Auburn before you win in Arizona."( where the national championship game is) We have to win the battles of today before we dream of the successes of the future, we must enjoy every step like the gentleman with the knee brace, and we must not rush or we may find ourselves discounted from more than our 4-wheelers. At the end of the day we must Win in Auburn Before You Win in Arizona.

May GOD bless you, May GOD bless these United States and may he bless us all with patience.

Rise Like Paul

As I rode through the mounts and peaks of the mighty Appalachian foothills of Northern Tennessee and Southern Kentucky. I started praying, lord save my soul, please lord save my soul. I wasn't asking the lord to save my soul as in the sense of allow me into heaven, let me walk through your gates and see your face. I was praying that God would save me from the misery that I try to inflict on my soul by believing in the things of this world and finding my hope in this world. This world has done nothing for me beside destroy me and the people I love and the only hope I want to find in this place is the majestic sites written by the hand of God and the moments in which he shines through people and situations. Those moments give me hope, those moment where God energizes me to continue to fight to change this world for him. Moments when, this world denied my good friend a landing place when he had none, as his airplane engine sputtered and went crashing to the Earth, God steadied his hand and allowed Ben Price to avoid killing an interstate full of people and his passengers. When the world strongest Air Force promised my close friend the opportunity to fulfill his dreams to fly for this nation he loves, but he was denied after four years of service to them because of a slight shade of green. His smile that he still wears is why I persist, it's why I continue to seek a way to do something big even though I have failed at my attempts for 23 years and 364 days. It's amazing what a person can do after finding the right reason to do something. It's amazing what Abraham Lincoln wrote in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania because of the dismay he had for the practices of owning another human being. It's amazing the strength Nelson Mandela found in the walls of an iron prison because of apartheid taking place in his country. It's amazing what we continue to do as this world throw blow after blow and we continue to turn cheek after cheek. We must take on life as Paul did, Paul took more beatings than any follower of Christ and he continued to get up time and time again. I believe as the rocks pounded his bones and the rods landed upon his body, Paul saw past this world, he didn't ask why this world did this to him. He persisted because as the packs surrounded him and the dust stirred as they all lined up to take their shots. He saw Jesus in the background, He saw him carrying a cross that ripped his shoulders from it's sockets. He saw Jesus skin being ripped from his bare bones by whips. He saw the savior of the world being hung and eventually giving up life for the love of a world that hated him and continues to beat us. RISE LIKE PAUL continue to fight for what we believe in, for it's not of this world. We are the salt of this place that taste so bad to God but it's edible only because of us! God bless You, God bless these United States of America, and may god continue to bless us as we find hope in him.

Annuit Coeptis

If you have ever met me once then you would know that my so called love language is touching. Whenever I enter a room I usually don’t just say HEY, and sit down. I walk around and give everyone I know a special hand shake and hug the ladies. Last week was no different when I entered ACF’s main student room and hugged a little cute Texan by the name of Andi, then I realized that I had lost my eagle from my necklace. My father gave me this eagle when I was in 4th grade and it’s never left my side since then and I plan on giving it to my son and I hope my son gives it to his son and so on. I could feel the tears come to my eyes as I looked in desperation to find it: upstairs, downstairs and through couches, it’s like I felt my father’s memory slipping away from me as I searched each painful second for it. Those feelings fled as I seen the shine of that eagle charm come from under the couch cushion I had laid on earlier. After this whole scramble I asked myself, if I would have lost that eagle forever, would I have seriously lost all of my memories of my father. Would I had lost the moment I first remember seeing him as my father, would I had lost the vision of him when he would stand in the window and watch me run from end to end pretending to score touchdowns or, the memory of him smiling as I opened Christmas presents. No, those memories aren’t attached to anything physical, those memories can’t rust or pass away as this earth does, those memories will never leave me. For the Lord says in Matthew 7: 24-27 what men build on the foundation of sand will be washed away as the rains descend and the winds burst, but if you build your foundation on the rock of God, on the hope of God, on the strength of God, our foundations shall never shake nor find rust or be destroyed. I remember when people swore the end of America was at hand when President Obama was elected, some even thought that President Bush was leading us to death of our nation. I preached it then and forever more will I continue say that no one person can destroy These United States, No one session of Congress can destroy this nation of immigrants, and nothing can destroy this foundation but US. The founding fathers built a nation among the foundation of God that survives war after war, cowardly attack after cowardly attack, depressions and recessions alike, and natural disasters in any shape or form. If you have a dollar on hand right now flip it over and read the Latin above the pyramid with the all Seeing Eye. It says, “Annuit Coepits.” which means He approves! He approves of what was done many years ago when we named Theses United States as one under him. We need to look deep into our souls as a Christians and ask ourselves what is our hope built in, what is our foundation made of? Is our faith sitting on the beautiful beaches of life that are great until the hurricane spins at the edge of our shores and brings a torrential downpour that leaves us with nothing and no foundation to restart our life. If we build our attention towards God and not towards the desires of this world,and avoid looking towards looks that will turn to wrinkles with time, don’t look towards money for it will rise and fall with interest rates and the crashing of markets, and don’t look at people for we fail each others “Great Expectations”, then we will find the foundation of God . Annuit Coepits, God has chosen and approved us, now let’s choose to make him our foundation and build a spirit that is not afraid and of him, not needing to be braced or supported by things that will rust, wilt to rushing waters, or be toppled by great winds. God Bless You, God Bless These United States of America, and God Bless our foundations made of him.