Through this journey called The Opinion of the Minion, I have had the privilege of putting my opinions out there for people to read. I continue to be baffled by the support you, the reader, have shown. Again, I can't say thank you enough. Today, my opinion is only two words but they are extremely powerful.
Don't Quit!
Don't quit what you ask. Well I can't answer that question. Only you know what you are going through. But I know this. Tough times don't last, tough people do. Whatever you are facing in life, you can make it through. Even if no one believes in you and even though I don't know most of you personally, I do believe in you. How can you believe in someone you don't really know? Well that's an interesting question. I believed in God and His son Jesus before I knew them and my life has never been the same. Also, sometimes it's easier for me to believe in someone I can't see than it is to believe in someone I know. So from the bottom of my heart, that I do believe in you.
I want to tell you two stories. The first is about my friend Al. Al and I have known each other since middle school (for almost 30 years). Now Al is one of those guys. You know the type. He's the guy that everyone likes. He would literally give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. I know because once I asked for a car (we called it the Tank) and he practically gave it to me. He was a much better friend to me than I was to him growing up.
Now if you are in the mood to run someone into the ground verbally or when you get that real urge to gossip about someone, we all know the people who will pitch in and run others into the ground with us. Al is NOT one of those people. I think he would find something nice to say about the devil. It's just the way he is. So it shook me to the core several months ago when I found out that he had throat cancer. We were only 39 at the time he found out and we are both only 40 now. So Al went through the treatments and we hoped it was over. But unfortunately, it wasn't. We recently found out that there was more cancer to deal with and this stuff is really serious. I won't share the details to protect his privacy but I will tell you that he has a beautiful wife and two great kids.
So last Saturday, I called Al. After all, I write the Minion and the Lord uses to cheer other people up sometimes. He uses me to help people feel better and if there was anyone I wanted to feel better, it was Al. When I finally got him on the phone, I was totally shocked at what happened. I called to tell him to hang in there and try to encourage him but I never got the chance. He was encouraging me and blessing me. That's not the way it was supposed to go but Al's attitude floored me. He said he had too much to live for and that he was planning on seeing his grand kids, etc. I wanted to tell him, don't quit. But that thought never entered his mind. He started telling me stories about the other people he had helped. Can you believe that! Here this man is facing a very serious cancer situation and he is more concerned about helping others than what was going on with him. It was a truly humbling experience. I hope my heart is as big as Al's one day.
I posted on FaceBook about this a couple of days ago and the response astounded me. Many of you are praying for Al. I saw people from literally all over the world who were and I have no way to express my gratitude to you all.
So if you are in a hard place, don't quit. God can see you through.
But maybe you aren't having it real tough right now. So you look at this post and say, it really doesn't apply to you. Not so fast. Look around you. There are people who need your encouragement. If you are emotionally full, find someone to encourage. Don't be discouraged if they don't receive it immediately. Just keep at it.
I have a very special friend who is writing a book. Now I have went so far as to day dream about the time when I will go to this person's book signing. I can see this person's book published and this person receiving royalties for the book (no it's not my book). I went as far as telling this person about what I say for them. Now at first, I don't think this person could see what I saw and I got push back about thinking too big. But then something amazing started happening. This person is starting to believe that this will happen. It's baby steps but it's going forward. Watching confidence grow in this person is so rewarding.
So take a look around you. Who needs your help? Find some way to encourage them. One day, you will be on the other side of this and need some encouragement yourself. If you are on the other side, DON'T QUIT. You can make it through the struggle. God believes in you and I believe in you. If you will decide to believe in you that makes three of us! You can accomplish what you set out to do.
I have said it before and it's true again. I have blogged myself happy.
That's another Opinion of the Minion
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
The Greatest Men I Ever Knew
Hi Everyone,
Today I want to talk to you about someone who was very special to me. He was one of the greatest men I ever knew. His name was Thelbert Sanford Rawle and he was/is my grandfather. I say was/is because he was my grandfather while he was here on earth and he is still my grandfather. He is in both my future and my past but not my present. Confusing? Well that's a different opinion altogether. Let me tell you a few things about my grandfather. He left us a few years ago and while he was here, I really didn't understand how great he was.
Well let's start with what he was not. He never owned a large company, never wrote a best selling novel, never went to law school and never had a lot of money. See, when most of us consider what success looks like - fame, power, money, etc., Sanford Rawle would not have been considered all that great. Notice I didn't call him Thelbert. No one did that I know of. He didn't like his first name. So why is he the greatest man I have ever knew?
Well, its funny that the older I get the more I realize why. While Granddad didn't do things that would put his name in the paper, he did something that most people don't do enough. He impacted other people's lives.
This Labor Day, we had a gathering at my cousin AB's house. They were so gracious to have us and I really enjoyed it. But while we were sitting around telling stories and laughing and getting extremely loud (that's what Rawle's do), I could see him there. He would have been telling stores and laughing harder than the rest of us. If you looked closely into his eyes, there was always a sparkle but more importantly, there was always love. He was the image of what I think love should look like. He wasn't flashy, he wasn't always trying to get attention, he just went about living life and loving his family. He was married to one woman, my grandmother, Margie, for 68 years. I can't even imagine that.
When I look at what he was able to accomplish, I am astounded. See I have a lot of formal education, he had a lot of informal smarts. He didn't have people to teach him how to do stuff, so he taught himself. If something needed to be fixed, they didn't have the money to get it repaired so he figured out how to fix it himself. I never in all my life saw him ask for a handout but he always had hand out to help someone else.
I remember one time my house needed a new front door. Granddad heard about it and came over to help me put one on. Now I didn't just need a new front door, I needed a new door frame and the whole works. Granddad was in his seventies at the time and he just showed up for work one Saturday ready to help his grandson. Well, we got the door jam and all out and it was laying in the front yard. Since I had never seen him fail at fixing something, I just knew he would be able to help me fix this. So I asked him, how many of these he had done before. After all, he had 70+ years experience at fixing things. This shouldn't be any big deal. I was shocked to hear him say that this was his first time. True to Sanford Rawle form, we got the door put in right.
Here are some things I learned from him.
1. Laugh often and laugh a lot - It didn't take much to get him started and once you did, he would laugh for ever. If you look at pictures, he almost always had a smile on his face. I learned something about that smile. It was contagious. You didn't get around him for very long before you were smiling too. As a matter of fact, if you were around him for a very long time, your jaws would hurt from laughing so hard.
2. Love isn't a language or words, its a life. Granddad loved his family and almost everyone he came in contact with. He didn't just say I love you, he lived I love you. He was the type of man who was there for you when you needed him. We all know people who say, call if you need anything and then always have an excuse why they can't help. He wasn't that man.
3. Your family is important. This is something that most of my generation has lost. His brothers, sisters, and wife were his best friends. They went on vacation together, the spent holidays together, they played games together. Not only that but he loved his kids and grand kids. He was always patient with us. I only hope and pray that one day I can be more like him, especially in the area of patience. He was always giving to his family. While he didn't spend large amounts of money on us that I remember, he gave me things that are far more valuable. He gave me a joker (this is a card and marble game) board that he made by hand. He gave all of his children wagon replicas of the one he used as a kid to all of his children. Mom, Unc and Unc, how much money would it take to buy that wagon from you? They may not read this so but I feel pretty confident I can answer - The wagon isn't for sale at any price. I still have a tool box that we built together when I was probably six or seven.
3. Granddad taught me a lot about gossip. He didn't ever that I remember. Enough said.
4. Mind your own business. My granddad never got into my personal business unless I asked him. Because of this, when I did ask, I was much more apt to listen to what he said.
5. Don't eat your own. Too many times in a family we have a tendency to talk badly about each other. We think we know what everyone else should do and how they should do it and we aren't afraid to tell them exactly what we think regardless of whether or not it helps or hurts. My grandfather wasn't like that.
6. THIS ONE IS HUGE - Have a tender heart. I often saw my grandfather's heart touched. He hurt when his loved ones hurt and he was happy for them when they succeeded. It didn't take much to touch him and I desperately want to be more like that. As he got older, he knew that his time here was running out and I can remember many times that he would tear up while praying over a meal. Those tears were almost always for the family that he loved so dearly.
I could go on for many pages but I will finish with one that is very close to his family.
7. "Make us ever mindful that there are people in this world who have need and have less than we." - When Granddad said the blessing, he finished each prayer that I ever remember with those words. The funny thing is, he meant them every time he said them. Now he meant this when it came to material things - ask anyone who didn't finish their meal about those Ethiopians. But he also knew something that it took me 40 years of life to understand. True riches aren't measured in what you have, they are measured in who you know. While he will not go down in history as a man with much material wealth, he will go down as one of the most wealthy people ever because he knew how to love and realized early on what the real treasures of life were - people.
Granddad, I don't know if you can read this in Heaven or not but I want you to know that you are one of the greatest men I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I can only hope to measure up to the standard you left. I love you very much and hope to make you proud one day by being more like you.
To everyone else, I want to leave you with the lyrics of a song -
I've lost loved ones in my life
Who never knew how much I loved them
Now I live with the regret
That my true feelings for them never were revealed
So I made a promise to myself
To say each day how much she means to me
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance to tell her how I feel
Cause if tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
So tell that someone that you love
Just what your thinking of
If tomorrow never comes
The Opinion of the Minion
Today I want to talk to you about someone who was very special to me. He was one of the greatest men I ever knew. His name was Thelbert Sanford Rawle and he was/is my grandfather. I say was/is because he was my grandfather while he was here on earth and he is still my grandfather. He is in both my future and my past but not my present. Confusing? Well that's a different opinion altogether. Let me tell you a few things about my grandfather. He left us a few years ago and while he was here, I really didn't understand how great he was.
Well let's start with what he was not. He never owned a large company, never wrote a best selling novel, never went to law school and never had a lot of money. See, when most of us consider what success looks like - fame, power, money, etc., Sanford Rawle would not have been considered all that great. Notice I didn't call him Thelbert. No one did that I know of. He didn't like his first name. So why is he the greatest man I have ever knew?
Well, its funny that the older I get the more I realize why. While Granddad didn't do things that would put his name in the paper, he did something that most people don't do enough. He impacted other people's lives.
This Labor Day, we had a gathering at my cousin AB's house. They were so gracious to have us and I really enjoyed it. But while we were sitting around telling stories and laughing and getting extremely loud (that's what Rawle's do), I could see him there. He would have been telling stores and laughing harder than the rest of us. If you looked closely into his eyes, there was always a sparkle but more importantly, there was always love. He was the image of what I think love should look like. He wasn't flashy, he wasn't always trying to get attention, he just went about living life and loving his family. He was married to one woman, my grandmother, Margie, for 68 years. I can't even imagine that.
When I look at what he was able to accomplish, I am astounded. See I have a lot of formal education, he had a lot of informal smarts. He didn't have people to teach him how to do stuff, so he taught himself. If something needed to be fixed, they didn't have the money to get it repaired so he figured out how to fix it himself. I never in all my life saw him ask for a handout but he always had hand out to help someone else.
I remember one time my house needed a new front door. Granddad heard about it and came over to help me put one on. Now I didn't just need a new front door, I needed a new door frame and the whole works. Granddad was in his seventies at the time and he just showed up for work one Saturday ready to help his grandson. Well, we got the door jam and all out and it was laying in the front yard. Since I had never seen him fail at fixing something, I just knew he would be able to help me fix this. So I asked him, how many of these he had done before. After all, he had 70+ years experience at fixing things. This shouldn't be any big deal. I was shocked to hear him say that this was his first time. True to Sanford Rawle form, we got the door put in right.
Here are some things I learned from him.
1. Laugh often and laugh a lot - It didn't take much to get him started and once you did, he would laugh for ever. If you look at pictures, he almost always had a smile on his face. I learned something about that smile. It was contagious. You didn't get around him for very long before you were smiling too. As a matter of fact, if you were around him for a very long time, your jaws would hurt from laughing so hard.
2. Love isn't a language or words, its a life. Granddad loved his family and almost everyone he came in contact with. He didn't just say I love you, he lived I love you. He was the type of man who was there for you when you needed him. We all know people who say, call if you need anything and then always have an excuse why they can't help. He wasn't that man.
3. Your family is important. This is something that most of my generation has lost. His brothers, sisters, and wife were his best friends. They went on vacation together, the spent holidays together, they played games together. Not only that but he loved his kids and grand kids. He was always patient with us. I only hope and pray that one day I can be more like him, especially in the area of patience. He was always giving to his family. While he didn't spend large amounts of money on us that I remember, he gave me things that are far more valuable. He gave me a joker (this is a card and marble game) board that he made by hand. He gave all of his children wagon replicas of the one he used as a kid to all of his children. Mom, Unc and Unc, how much money would it take to buy that wagon from you? They may not read this so but I feel pretty confident I can answer - The wagon isn't for sale at any price. I still have a tool box that we built together when I was probably six or seven.
3. Granddad taught me a lot about gossip. He didn't ever that I remember. Enough said.
4. Mind your own business. My granddad never got into my personal business unless I asked him. Because of this, when I did ask, I was much more apt to listen to what he said.
5. Don't eat your own. Too many times in a family we have a tendency to talk badly about each other. We think we know what everyone else should do and how they should do it and we aren't afraid to tell them exactly what we think regardless of whether or not it helps or hurts. My grandfather wasn't like that.
6. THIS ONE IS HUGE - Have a tender heart. I often saw my grandfather's heart touched. He hurt when his loved ones hurt and he was happy for them when they succeeded. It didn't take much to touch him and I desperately want to be more like that. As he got older, he knew that his time here was running out and I can remember many times that he would tear up while praying over a meal. Those tears were almost always for the family that he loved so dearly.
I could go on for many pages but I will finish with one that is very close to his family.
7. "Make us ever mindful that there are people in this world who have need and have less than we." - When Granddad said the blessing, he finished each prayer that I ever remember with those words. The funny thing is, he meant them every time he said them. Now he meant this when it came to material things - ask anyone who didn't finish their meal about those Ethiopians. But he also knew something that it took me 40 years of life to understand. True riches aren't measured in what you have, they are measured in who you know. While he will not go down in history as a man with much material wealth, he will go down as one of the most wealthy people ever because he knew how to love and realized early on what the real treasures of life were - people.
Granddad, I don't know if you can read this in Heaven or not but I want you to know that you are one of the greatest men I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I can only hope to measure up to the standard you left. I love you very much and hope to make you proud one day by being more like you.
To everyone else, I want to leave you with the lyrics of a song -
I've lost loved ones in my life
Who never knew how much I loved them
Now I live with the regret
That my true feelings for them never were revealed
So I made a promise to myself
To say each day how much she means to me
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance to tell her how I feel
Cause if tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
So tell that someone that you love
Just what your thinking of
If tomorrow never comes
The Opinion of the Minion
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Why Minion?
Today, I want to talk about something that is extremely important - Why we do things. I don't want to focus on what motivates you to go to work or school or do clean up after yourself, although all of those things are very important. I want to focus for a few minutes on what why we do things for other people. What is our motivation? I can already hear some of you thinking, I don't really do anything for other people. But I think you probably do and don't know it. The question I have today is why?
Is our motivation for helping others just purely to help them or is our motivation for helping other people so that we can get something in return from them? Sometimes it is very difficult to distinguish why we do things.
Let me illustrate. Part of the time I was growning up we lived on a street called Sherwood in River Oaks, TX (Mom, it's definitely not Tulane as you will see). Now my brother is about 4 years younger than me and it just so happened that we had friends who lived down the street who were the same age as us. We played together a lot. When the weekend came, we always wanted to spend the night and basically asked my mom to do a kid swap. One weekend, I would go to their house and my brother's friend would come to ours and the next weekend, we would switch. So we would try to con our mother into letting us do this. How did you con her you ask? (Disclaimer - we were not exactly the world's smartest con men in those days.) We decided that if we cleaned the house top to bottom to "bless" mom that she would be in a better place to let us go. Notice that our motiviation was never really to bless mom but to get our way. Little did we know that all she wanted was for us to help and she would let us go anyway. As I said, we weren't the smartest cons and mom laughed at us all the time.
That's really cute because we were little kids right? Well, let's grow things up a little and you will see that this manipulation can really be a problem. As I have said before, I am a giver. I really like to give to others of my time, money, etc., and this is a very good thing to do. But what would it look like if I was "giving" something to someone with the expectation that they would do something for me in return? That is a really bad place because it's no longer a gift but a tool used to manipulate someone to get my way. I constantly have to check my motives to make sure that I am just giving to help. Does that surprise you? It shouldn't. We are all that way. We all have a mind that wants what it wants and it can be very easy to get off track with why we do things.
As a matter of fact, I caught myself doing this several weeks ago. It wasn't intentional on my part and when I figured it out, I was more than a little bothered. There was a situation that I really wanted to see go a certain way. Now my way wasn't a bad way to do things and ultimately I might get what I wanted all along. But during this time, I recognized that I was putting a lot of pressure on the situation and might have caused someone else pain because of it. I didn't even really understand what I was doing until I stepped back and took a look at the situation from a distance. Once I did, it was pretty easy to see what I was doing and I immediately put a stop to it.
Worse than that, I hear people tell me that their motivation for doing a certain thing is to get even with our hurt someone else. This type of conduct is terrible. I know of a certain situation where a guy says hurtful things to this other person just so he can humiliate, intimidate and manipulate them. Folks, that type of behavior just shouldn't be.
So let me ask you this. What is your motivation for the way you treat other people? Are you doing things strictly for their good or is there something inside you that is trying to get what you want from them in return? You may not even know that your motivation is wrong. When is the last time you took a step back and looked at your motiviation for the way you treat others? I bet you don't think about it much but it's important.
And that's another Opinion of the Minion
Is our motivation for helping others just purely to help them or is our motivation for helping other people so that we can get something in return from them? Sometimes it is very difficult to distinguish why we do things.
Let me illustrate. Part of the time I was growning up we lived on a street called Sherwood in River Oaks, TX (Mom, it's definitely not Tulane as you will see). Now my brother is about 4 years younger than me and it just so happened that we had friends who lived down the street who were the same age as us. We played together a lot. When the weekend came, we always wanted to spend the night and basically asked my mom to do a kid swap. One weekend, I would go to their house and my brother's friend would come to ours and the next weekend, we would switch. So we would try to con our mother into letting us do this. How did you con her you ask? (Disclaimer - we were not exactly the world's smartest con men in those days.) We decided that if we cleaned the house top to bottom to "bless" mom that she would be in a better place to let us go. Notice that our motiviation was never really to bless mom but to get our way. Little did we know that all she wanted was for us to help and she would let us go anyway. As I said, we weren't the smartest cons and mom laughed at us all the time.
That's really cute because we were little kids right? Well, let's grow things up a little and you will see that this manipulation can really be a problem. As I have said before, I am a giver. I really like to give to others of my time, money, etc., and this is a very good thing to do. But what would it look like if I was "giving" something to someone with the expectation that they would do something for me in return? That is a really bad place because it's no longer a gift but a tool used to manipulate someone to get my way. I constantly have to check my motives to make sure that I am just giving to help. Does that surprise you? It shouldn't. We are all that way. We all have a mind that wants what it wants and it can be very easy to get off track with why we do things.
As a matter of fact, I caught myself doing this several weeks ago. It wasn't intentional on my part and when I figured it out, I was more than a little bothered. There was a situation that I really wanted to see go a certain way. Now my way wasn't a bad way to do things and ultimately I might get what I wanted all along. But during this time, I recognized that I was putting a lot of pressure on the situation and might have caused someone else pain because of it. I didn't even really understand what I was doing until I stepped back and took a look at the situation from a distance. Once I did, it was pretty easy to see what I was doing and I immediately put a stop to it.
Worse than that, I hear people tell me that their motivation for doing a certain thing is to get even with our hurt someone else. This type of conduct is terrible. I know of a certain situation where a guy says hurtful things to this other person just so he can humiliate, intimidate and manipulate them. Folks, that type of behavior just shouldn't be.
So let me ask you this. What is your motivation for the way you treat other people? Are you doing things strictly for their good or is there something inside you that is trying to get what you want from them in return? You may not even know that your motivation is wrong. When is the last time you took a step back and looked at your motiviation for the way you treat others? I bet you don't think about it much but it's important.
And that's another Opinion of the Minion
Friday, September 9, 2011
A Minion's Good Judgment
Today I want to deal with the subject of judgment. Don't you just love to be around people who are always judging you or someone else? Those are my favorite types of people. Well not really. I very much dislike being around them. But let's talk about judgment for a minute. If you have ever been to church, you have heard the quote from the bible, "Judge not lest ye be judged." We have taken that to mean that when I am around someone who hurts me or does bad things to me, that I can't judge them right. I think this is very true. I cannot judge a person period.
But what I can do is judge their actions. It's OK to judge a person's actions. But what I think we really like to do is use judging a persons actions as a spring board to get to what is really fun - judging people. See I caught myself doing that here recently and honestly I didn't really even know I was doing it. But before I get to that, let me talk about some things its OK to judge.
Sometimes we are around people who use this don't judge people thing as a way to manipulate us and hurt us. All the while, they are saying that you can't judge them. What they are really saying is they want you to continue to allow them to treat you badly. That's not OK. If you are around someone who is constantly hurting you, their actions are wrong and that is what I am judging. I am not saying they are a bad person. However, don't let people manipulate you into doing what they want if it is wrong.
While I am at it, let me step on a few more toes. If someone comes up to you and tells you in a loving and kind way that they think you are behaving wrongly, consider what they say. I know some people who are very difficult to correct because they cannot take someone telling them they are wrong. I personally like to know when I am wrong (this is not an open invitation for you to correct me). Let me say that I only trust a few people to tell me I am behaving wrongly. Most of the time, I listen to my heart and the Lord will correct me where I need correction. Be thankful when someone does that for you, if you know they really love and care about you. For me personally, I don't want to go around being wrong. Have you ever had that dream where you are walking around in your underwear or worse and everyone is laughing at you? Well that's a little drastic but I think when we walk around constantly behaving wrong in an area, that is exactly what we are doing.
So let me tell you about the wrong kind of judgment. I know this guy who was extremely judgmental to certain people in his life. As a matter of fact, he really didn't like having them around. Why, because some of them did do things that hurt his feelings. Some of them did nothing to hurt his feelings. He was just judgmental. Now I don't know if he was ever judgmental outright to these people's faces but he certainly was in his heart. He didn't really do it on purpose but he couldn't separate judging a person and judging their actions. See some of their actions needed to be understood. In some ways they used him but didn't know it. So what did he do in return. He got mad and judged them personally. He considered himself a pretty humble guy. He didn't go around openly telling everyone that he thought he was smart or successful. He didn't go around showing off how much money he made or what he had (although many people thought this was the case). As a matter of fact, he quit showing people the cool stuff he got and he quit telling people about the cool things that happened to him because some people got jealous.
Regardless of what they did to him, he began to judge himself as better than them. Now here is where it gets a little strange. He didn't judge himself smarter, or more successful, or more educated than the people around him. That would have been too obvious. He judged worse than that. He began to see himself as nicer than them. He would look at his wife and see all the times that she did things that were not nice toward him and only consider the nice things he did for her. He is to this day a giver and began to feel that people took advantage of that. So he judged himself to be a nicer and therefore better person than many of the people around him.
OK let me give you three guesses on this guy's identity. Do you really need three guesses? Yup, you know it. This guy is me. It is a very humbling experience when the Lord shows you that you aren't really all that. Now I quit judging people before I started writing for the most part but I didn't realize that I was doing it. It's easy for me to hear people saying nice things about this blog and some of the other stuff I do. I even have a good friend who told me she thought I was a great guy. She didn't mean it as one of those blow off things. This girl really puts me on a pedestal. She sees things in me that I didn't know were there. As a matter of fact, there was a certain thing about the Minion that happened that shocked me. She said that she was surprised it took as long as it did. So guess what, the Minion isn't all that. I have already done this in private but I want to go on record in front of you and ask God to forgive me for being judgmental. That is truly a terrible thing to do and I am ashamed of it. If I have judged you wrongly instead of just judging your actions, please forgive me.
So let me ask you a question? Where are you being like I was? Where are you judging people? I bet that somewhere you are judging them instead of their actions. That has to stop. Do you like to sit around and talk about other people? That's called gossip and it's very judgmental. We have to stop that.
That's another Opinion of the Minion
But what I can do is judge their actions. It's OK to judge a person's actions. But what I think we really like to do is use judging a persons actions as a spring board to get to what is really fun - judging people. See I caught myself doing that here recently and honestly I didn't really even know I was doing it. But before I get to that, let me talk about some things its OK to judge.
Sometimes we are around people who use this don't judge people thing as a way to manipulate us and hurt us. All the while, they are saying that you can't judge them. What they are really saying is they want you to continue to allow them to treat you badly. That's not OK. If you are around someone who is constantly hurting you, their actions are wrong and that is what I am judging. I am not saying they are a bad person. However, don't let people manipulate you into doing what they want if it is wrong.
While I am at it, let me step on a few more toes. If someone comes up to you and tells you in a loving and kind way that they think you are behaving wrongly, consider what they say. I know some people who are very difficult to correct because they cannot take someone telling them they are wrong. I personally like to know when I am wrong (this is not an open invitation for you to correct me). Let me say that I only trust a few people to tell me I am behaving wrongly. Most of the time, I listen to my heart and the Lord will correct me where I need correction. Be thankful when someone does that for you, if you know they really love and care about you. For me personally, I don't want to go around being wrong. Have you ever had that dream where you are walking around in your underwear or worse and everyone is laughing at you? Well that's a little drastic but I think when we walk around constantly behaving wrong in an area, that is exactly what we are doing.
So let me tell you about the wrong kind of judgment. I know this guy who was extremely judgmental to certain people in his life. As a matter of fact, he really didn't like having them around. Why, because some of them did do things that hurt his feelings. Some of them did nothing to hurt his feelings. He was just judgmental. Now I don't know if he was ever judgmental outright to these people's faces but he certainly was in his heart. He didn't really do it on purpose but he couldn't separate judging a person and judging their actions. See some of their actions needed to be understood. In some ways they used him but didn't know it. So what did he do in return. He got mad and judged them personally. He considered himself a pretty humble guy. He didn't go around openly telling everyone that he thought he was smart or successful. He didn't go around showing off how much money he made or what he had (although many people thought this was the case). As a matter of fact, he quit showing people the cool stuff he got and he quit telling people about the cool things that happened to him because some people got jealous.
Regardless of what they did to him, he began to judge himself as better than them. Now here is where it gets a little strange. He didn't judge himself smarter, or more successful, or more educated than the people around him. That would have been too obvious. He judged worse than that. He began to see himself as nicer than them. He would look at his wife and see all the times that she did things that were not nice toward him and only consider the nice things he did for her. He is to this day a giver and began to feel that people took advantage of that. So he judged himself to be a nicer and therefore better person than many of the people around him.
OK let me give you three guesses on this guy's identity. Do you really need three guesses? Yup, you know it. This guy is me. It is a very humbling experience when the Lord shows you that you aren't really all that. Now I quit judging people before I started writing for the most part but I didn't realize that I was doing it. It's easy for me to hear people saying nice things about this blog and some of the other stuff I do. I even have a good friend who told me she thought I was a great guy. She didn't mean it as one of those blow off things. This girl really puts me on a pedestal. She sees things in me that I didn't know were there. As a matter of fact, there was a certain thing about the Minion that happened that shocked me. She said that she was surprised it took as long as it did. So guess what, the Minion isn't all that. I have already done this in private but I want to go on record in front of you and ask God to forgive me for being judgmental. That is truly a terrible thing to do and I am ashamed of it. If I have judged you wrongly instead of just judging your actions, please forgive me.
So let me ask you a question? Where are you being like I was? Where are you judging people? I bet that somewhere you are judging them instead of their actions. That has to stop. Do you like to sit around and talk about other people? That's called gossip and it's very judgmental. We have to stop that.
That's another Opinion of the Minion
Sunday, August 28, 2011
A Minion's Hope
Today I want to talk to you about hope. I belive the single most devistating thing that can happen in your life is to loose hope. Hope is one of the most important parts of our lives but how often do we hear someone say, "Don't get your hopes up." That is one the of the dumbest things I have ever heard. I want you to get your hope sky high. OK, I can immediately hear people saying, "He has flipped out. I hoped that this would happen or that would happen and it didn't. When I hoped for that situation to work out in my life and it didn't, that hurt me deeply and I would have been better of not to have gotten my hopes up at all."
Let me say, I certainly understand your point. I have done the same thing. I got my hopes up that a certain area of my life would change and it didn't. A few months ago, I got my hopes up about a certain relationship and that didn't work. I used to get my hopes up all the time that I could go on a diet and loose weight. I used to get my hopes up that I would be in a great relationship with a woman and that didn't work. Even recently, I got my hopes up about a situation that didn't work out like I wanted. So I should have just let it go. I should have not hoped at all. Think about it. Wouldn't it have been better if I hadn't hoped. If I had just expected failure. That way I wouldn't have felt the disappointment and in some cases pain of the failure. I can see what you mean by your question above. Maybe you were even right.
Well, not so fast. The critical question about hope is in what or where do I place it? If I place my hope in you that you will do something or you place your hope in me that I will do something, at some point we will both be disappointed. Why? Because we aren't perfect. Also, sometimes we put our hope in a person who isn't capable of doing what we want anyway. Think of it this way, if you put your hope in me that I will be able to dunk a basketball. I can 100% gaurantee you that you will be disappointed. I am 5'7" tall and my verticle jump won't get me there. That's not really important in the grand scheme of life but what if you put your hope in a friend or relationship to make you happy?
What if you looked to a girl or guy as the thing that was going to make you happy in life? That other person is going to make a mistake somewhere and disappoint you. It will probably hurt when they do. See, they weren't made perfect so they are not capable of being perfect. Everyone is going to make mistakes and when the mistake involves you, it is going to hurt. "OK," you say, "if you want me to have hope and hope is so critical to my life, who or what do I put my hope in?"
Some of you who read this are ahead of me and know exactly where I am going. That makes me smile. I will tell you where I put my hope. I put my hope in God. He isn't just a train ticket to Heaven. He is what keeps me going here. I know that he cannot fail. If I put my trust in him, there is no area we cannot conquer. I desire with all my heart to have a godly mate. I want a woman I can cherish, protect, care for, and grow with. I want one that I can talk to. You know my personal feelings from reading the Box. So when I get around someone who I think is a good candidate, do I put my hope in her that she will be what I am seeking? Nope, I put my trust in God. He said He would provide all my needs so I put my hope in Him that He will provide what I need. I don't hope in the woman, I hope in God. When I do this, there is such great peace because no matter what comes up, my hope is in God. If I have a good night or bad, it doesn't matter because my hope stays where it belongs. Guess what, as I have done this, I have seen deliverance and help from God in every area where I put this to work.
Recently on Facebook there was a person who stated that they were Wiccan (sp?). My response was, Why? I certainly respect their right to be Wiccan. That wasn't really what I was asking. Then someone else posted that this person was Wiccan because they chose their religion just like I did. Well I appreciate their response as I do believe they were honestly trying to help me out but what I wanted to know is why did you chose to be Wiccan? I can tell you why I choose to be a Christian. It's because God still helps me everyday. It's because when I call on Him, He answers. It's because when things seem like they are coming apart, I can go to Him and He makes me to be at peace even though it looks like I am in deep trouble. When I place my hope in Him, it centers and grounds me. All of the sudden, my world turns right side up and things look good again.
And that's another Opinion of the Minion
Let me say, I certainly understand your point. I have done the same thing. I got my hopes up that a certain area of my life would change and it didn't. A few months ago, I got my hopes up about a certain relationship and that didn't work. I used to get my hopes up all the time that I could go on a diet and loose weight. I used to get my hopes up that I would be in a great relationship with a woman and that didn't work. Even recently, I got my hopes up about a situation that didn't work out like I wanted. So I should have just let it go. I should have not hoped at all. Think about it. Wouldn't it have been better if I hadn't hoped. If I had just expected failure. That way I wouldn't have felt the disappointment and in some cases pain of the failure. I can see what you mean by your question above. Maybe you were even right.
Well, not so fast. The critical question about hope is in what or where do I place it? If I place my hope in you that you will do something or you place your hope in me that I will do something, at some point we will both be disappointed. Why? Because we aren't perfect. Also, sometimes we put our hope in a person who isn't capable of doing what we want anyway. Think of it this way, if you put your hope in me that I will be able to dunk a basketball. I can 100% gaurantee you that you will be disappointed. I am 5'7" tall and my verticle jump won't get me there. That's not really important in the grand scheme of life but what if you put your hope in a friend or relationship to make you happy?
What if you looked to a girl or guy as the thing that was going to make you happy in life? That other person is going to make a mistake somewhere and disappoint you. It will probably hurt when they do. See, they weren't made perfect so they are not capable of being perfect. Everyone is going to make mistakes and when the mistake involves you, it is going to hurt. "OK," you say, "if you want me to have hope and hope is so critical to my life, who or what do I put my hope in?"
Some of you who read this are ahead of me and know exactly where I am going. That makes me smile. I will tell you where I put my hope. I put my hope in God. He isn't just a train ticket to Heaven. He is what keeps me going here. I know that he cannot fail. If I put my trust in him, there is no area we cannot conquer. I desire with all my heart to have a godly mate. I want a woman I can cherish, protect, care for, and grow with. I want one that I can talk to. You know my personal feelings from reading the Box. So when I get around someone who I think is a good candidate, do I put my hope in her that she will be what I am seeking? Nope, I put my trust in God. He said He would provide all my needs so I put my hope in Him that He will provide what I need. I don't hope in the woman, I hope in God. When I do this, there is such great peace because no matter what comes up, my hope is in God. If I have a good night or bad, it doesn't matter because my hope stays where it belongs. Guess what, as I have done this, I have seen deliverance and help from God in every area where I put this to work.
Recently on Facebook there was a person who stated that they were Wiccan (sp?). My response was, Why? I certainly respect their right to be Wiccan. That wasn't really what I was asking. Then someone else posted that this person was Wiccan because they chose their religion just like I did. Well I appreciate their response as I do believe they were honestly trying to help me out but what I wanted to know is why did you chose to be Wiccan? I can tell you why I choose to be a Christian. It's because God still helps me everyday. It's because when I call on Him, He answers. It's because when things seem like they are coming apart, I can go to Him and He makes me to be at peace even though it looks like I am in deep trouble. When I place my hope in Him, it centers and grounds me. All of the sudden, my world turns right side up and things look good again.
And that's another Opinion of the Minion
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
My Greatest Failure
Today, I want to talk about failure. Now, most of the time I try to write positive and upbeat blogs. When I read what I write, it challenges me to be a better person. I have always said that if what you see from me is the best you ever see then that is a tragedy because I should get better every day. But failure is inevitable in life. We all go through it at some point. So how do we deal with it? Does it hurt? Absolutely. Do I wish I hadn't failed? Sure. Did I fail? Yes. Let me use one of my favorite lines from the movie Dirty Dancing, "When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong." You have to own your failures and successes.
See, I am recently divorced. I made a commitment before God to stay married to a woman for the rest of my life. It was a covenant that I couldn't keep. Now I won't go into all the reasons behind the divorce itself because they aren't important. Some of my readers know me personally and thus will know my now, ex-wife. Let me say something about her before I go forward. I wish her only the best and most happy days in life. I have done my best to walk through this divorce with integrity and honor. Have I always been successful? No. But this lady, deserves to be happy. She is a wonderful mother to our three kids and I am very sorry things didn't work out between us. I want to publicly forgive her for any wrong doing toward me and I ask the same from her. This is my greatest failure in life.
Do you want to hear all the juicy details of what happened? Would you like me to blame my wife for our marriage falling apart? Well, I won't tell you because those things are personal. Let me just use an old saying, "It takes two to Tango." We both made mistakes and here we are.
So now let's deal with how it made me feel. Last Friday was one of the hardest and most rewarding days of my life. Although we have been separated for over a year and I knew the final divorce decree was coming, I still didn't really believe it. So when the pressure of the week was over, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized that I gave my word to my God and to that lady and I didn't keep it. I hope you cannot imagine the deep pain I felt. For a little while, I felt like a complete failure. What things in your life have caused you to feel this way? Was it a relationship that ended badly? Was it a failure at your job or at school? Regardless of where it comes from, it still really hurts.
When you get that sinking feeling in your gut because of something like this, doesn't it make you just want to run away and hide from everyone? I mean who would want to be around someone that was a total failure like me? I told myself that I was the biggest loser ever. That I had wrecked my life, the life of my kids and my ex-wife. I was well on my way to beating myself senseless because of my failure. I threw a world class guilt party. I was the guest of honor, the entire guest list, the guy who trashes the guest of honor and the guy who throws him in the dumpster at the end of the party. I invited a very special guest to this party and He wouldn't come. Can you imagine the audacity of being invited to the Destroy the Minion party and not coming? That was certainly rude don't you think? Do you know who the only guest that I actually invited was? It was God. I wanted him to condemn me just like I was doing to myself. I wanted him to tell me that I was worthless and no good just like I was telling myself.
Now, I asked him to forgive me and I knew that he would at some point maybe a few months from now after I really got a thrashing.
When I finally listened to his still small voice, all I could feel was his love for me. It is a love that I will never, ever deserve but it's there. I can't escape it. Do you know when he actually forgave me for my greatest failure? When did He finally forgive me for breaking a covenant that I made in front of Him? The instant I asked for it. I didn't have to wait three weeks. It was instantaneous. He knew before the foundation of the world that I would make mistakes and he forgave me as soon as I asked. That is the reason Jesus shed his blood on the cross. It was to erase my sin. If I asked God to forgive me now, he wouldn't know what I was talking about because He is a forgive and forget God. He doesn't hold these things against me. Guess what, when you ask Him for forgiveness, He does the same thing toward you. He loves you unconditionally, no matter what, all the time, forever and ever with every fibre of His being. He only wants good things for your life and He can take our bad mistakes and turn them into something good. He doesn't want the bad mistakes because He hates to see us in the pain that they cause but He has a million ways to make things OK.
Back to the Guilt Party - It's fine that God forgave me but I am still at this party. After all, if he won't have the decency to show up, I will do his job for him. I will beat myself silly. I can call myself all kinds of ugly names. I mean I know all my deepest, darkest secrets and who better than me to dredge them all up and use them against me now. Here is my major problem with this. If God won't condemn me and trash me out, what right do I have to do it. If he is willing to extend forgiveness to me what right do I have to keep holding the grudge against myself? So here's what I did. At 4:24 on Friday, July 29, 2011, I forgave myself. When it happened, it was like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. I felt so light and good. I felt like it was OK for me to be happy again. All of the sudden the world turned right side up. God totally wrecked my party and I am so glad He did.
Have you ever felt this way? I have watched many people do this to themselves so I know that I am not alone. I think most of us have. What are you refusing to forgive yourself for? If someone who did you wrong came to you with an honest and sincere repentance on their face and asked you to forgive them for something they did wrong, would you do it? I think probably you would. So why can't you forgive yourself? If you ask God for forgiveness he gives it to you instantly. All I am asking is for you to extend the same grace to yourself that he did. I know this is a process and I want to encourage you to keep at it.
Well friends, I intended this blog to talk about my greatest failure which it did but I can honestly say that I have blogged myself happy again.
And that's another Opinion of His Minion
See, I am recently divorced. I made a commitment before God to stay married to a woman for the rest of my life. It was a covenant that I couldn't keep. Now I won't go into all the reasons behind the divorce itself because they aren't important. Some of my readers know me personally and thus will know my now, ex-wife. Let me say something about her before I go forward. I wish her only the best and most happy days in life. I have done my best to walk through this divorce with integrity and honor. Have I always been successful? No. But this lady, deserves to be happy. She is a wonderful mother to our three kids and I am very sorry things didn't work out between us. I want to publicly forgive her for any wrong doing toward me and I ask the same from her. This is my greatest failure in life.
Do you want to hear all the juicy details of what happened? Would you like me to blame my wife for our marriage falling apart? Well, I won't tell you because those things are personal. Let me just use an old saying, "It takes two to Tango." We both made mistakes and here we are.
So now let's deal with how it made me feel. Last Friday was one of the hardest and most rewarding days of my life. Although we have been separated for over a year and I knew the final divorce decree was coming, I still didn't really believe it. So when the pressure of the week was over, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized that I gave my word to my God and to that lady and I didn't keep it. I hope you cannot imagine the deep pain I felt. For a little while, I felt like a complete failure. What things in your life have caused you to feel this way? Was it a relationship that ended badly? Was it a failure at your job or at school? Regardless of where it comes from, it still really hurts.
When you get that sinking feeling in your gut because of something like this, doesn't it make you just want to run away and hide from everyone? I mean who would want to be around someone that was a total failure like me? I told myself that I was the biggest loser ever. That I had wrecked my life, the life of my kids and my ex-wife. I was well on my way to beating myself senseless because of my failure. I threw a world class guilt party. I was the guest of honor, the entire guest list, the guy who trashes the guest of honor and the guy who throws him in the dumpster at the end of the party. I invited a very special guest to this party and He wouldn't come. Can you imagine the audacity of being invited to the Destroy the Minion party and not coming? That was certainly rude don't you think? Do you know who the only guest that I actually invited was? It was God. I wanted him to condemn me just like I was doing to myself. I wanted him to tell me that I was worthless and no good just like I was telling myself.
Now, I asked him to forgive me and I knew that he would at some point maybe a few months from now after I really got a thrashing.
When I finally listened to his still small voice, all I could feel was his love for me. It is a love that I will never, ever deserve but it's there. I can't escape it. Do you know when he actually forgave me for my greatest failure? When did He finally forgive me for breaking a covenant that I made in front of Him? The instant I asked for it. I didn't have to wait three weeks. It was instantaneous. He knew before the foundation of the world that I would make mistakes and he forgave me as soon as I asked. That is the reason Jesus shed his blood on the cross. It was to erase my sin. If I asked God to forgive me now, he wouldn't know what I was talking about because He is a forgive and forget God. He doesn't hold these things against me. Guess what, when you ask Him for forgiveness, He does the same thing toward you. He loves you unconditionally, no matter what, all the time, forever and ever with every fibre of His being. He only wants good things for your life and He can take our bad mistakes and turn them into something good. He doesn't want the bad mistakes because He hates to see us in the pain that they cause but He has a million ways to make things OK.
Back to the Guilt Party - It's fine that God forgave me but I am still at this party. After all, if he won't have the decency to show up, I will do his job for him. I will beat myself silly. I can call myself all kinds of ugly names. I mean I know all my deepest, darkest secrets and who better than me to dredge them all up and use them against me now. Here is my major problem with this. If God won't condemn me and trash me out, what right do I have to do it. If he is willing to extend forgiveness to me what right do I have to keep holding the grudge against myself? So here's what I did. At 4:24 on Friday, July 29, 2011, I forgave myself. When it happened, it was like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. I felt so light and good. I felt like it was OK for me to be happy again. All of the sudden the world turned right side up. God totally wrecked my party and I am so glad He did.
Have you ever felt this way? I have watched many people do this to themselves so I know that I am not alone. I think most of us have. What are you refusing to forgive yourself for? If someone who did you wrong came to you with an honest and sincere repentance on their face and asked you to forgive them for something they did wrong, would you do it? I think probably you would. So why can't you forgive yourself? If you ask God for forgiveness he gives it to you instantly. All I am asking is for you to extend the same grace to yourself that he did. I know this is a process and I want to encourage you to keep at it.
Well friends, I intended this blog to talk about my greatest failure which it did but I can honestly say that I have blogged myself happy again.
And that's another Opinion of His Minion
Friday, July 22, 2011
What is the Definition of You?
Hi Guys and Gals,
While DD and I are working on the next part of Friendship vs. Dating, I wanted to take a few minutes to discuss who defines you? I was asked by a friend of the Minion, MW, to write about this subject. MW, thank you so much for your encouragement on FaceBook. I really appreciate it.
So lets talk about it. What is the definition of You? One definition is "used to indicate a specific individual." This is from The American Heritage Dictionary. That doesn't tell me anything about you so it's not very helpful. Since the dictionary can't help where do we turn? Should we turn to the people around us? How about our parents? How about the people we work with? Can they give us a good definition of who we are?
I think we look to the people around us a lot. And while they may know some things about us, I don't think they are the best place to look. This article was started based on "The Football Player Who Couldn't Play." In it, I talked about wanting to play football but being a terrible player. I thought that I would be in the right crowd if I was a player. Why did I think that? Because most of the popular kids in school were football players. I was letting the people around me define what I should be. In that case, it was a bad thing. What if people say that to be in the right crowd, I have to do drugs or have sex? Then I can only define myself as "good" if I am doing drugs and having sex. Does that sound crazy? It should because it is.
Now, lets move forward a few years. When are parents talk about being successful, many times they want us to be doctors or lawyers and it seems like that is a good standard for defining whether or not you are a "success." So maybe, we can look to the world's standard to define us or at least who we should be. So let me tell you something personal about me. I am a lawyer. At least I have a law license. I have passed the bar exam in Texas. So the good news is that based using worldly standards, I can define myself as a success right. Absolutely wrong. Being a lawyer, doctor, janitor, policeman, or a dentist doesn't define me or you.
So we have looked at the crowd we hang out around and "the worldly standard" to define us without finding a good place. Where should we look next?
As you can probably guess, this is where I was headed all along. Especially if you are a Christian, you should look at that book we carry to church on Sunday. I can tell you some things from that book about you.
1. You are loved. God has an intense burning love for you. He isn't sitting back trying how to knock you down, he is sitting back waiting for you to take him up on his promises. His love is more passionate for you than words can describe. Did you know his heart aches just to spend time with you and tell you much he loves and admires you?
2. You are headed to Heaven when you are done here. I have never been but the Bible describes it as a pretty cool place.
3. You can overcome every trial. The bible says that we overcome the world by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
Well, you get the point. I could go on for pages defining you from the bible.
"OK Mr. Minion, that's fine," you say, "but how do I know who I am and what I am supposed to do here on earth? How do I know what I am supposed to like and not like, etc.?" Who defines that part of us? The answer is a little hard to swallow. It's not your parents, your family, your friends or anyone else. Who defines you? - The answer is You should define yourself and no one else. Why? Because no one can truly look inside your box and see all that is there besides you. Even if your family and friends have your best interest at heart, they cannot define you. The don't have the ability to do that. Who you are is something between you and God. Just like me playing football (or at least being on the team) you are the only one who knows what you really like.
I can't tell you how often I have heard a boy or girl say they liked something their boyfriend or girlfriend did just to get approval from them. You cannot define who you are to get approval from someone else. If you do that, you miss out on so much of the great potential God as deposited in your life. Guess what, no matter how hard you try to be liked by doing what other people like or saying what they say, some peole won't like you. This past weekend, I ran into a guy who has hated me for 10 years. No matter what I say or do, I can't change that.
When I went to law school, most of my family didn't believe that I would make it through. I am not saying that they didn't have a reason to believe that. Because based on my performance at college, they were expecting me to do the same thing and I would have failed. If I had listened to them, I would never have even tried to go to school, much less graduate has high in my class as I did. Am I saying that to brag? No. I am telling you this to say, don't let anyone else define you because their definition will be incomplete at best and completely wrong at worst. They will miss some of the great things inside of you.
Let me close by saying, dare to step outside of the shadows of what other people think. Dare to step outside of what society thinks. Step up and be what you want you to be. You will be much happier if you do.
And that's another Opinion of the Minion
While DD and I are working on the next part of Friendship vs. Dating, I wanted to take a few minutes to discuss who defines you? I was asked by a friend of the Minion, MW, to write about this subject. MW, thank you so much for your encouragement on FaceBook. I really appreciate it.
So lets talk about it. What is the definition of You? One definition is "used to indicate a specific individual." This is from The American Heritage Dictionary. That doesn't tell me anything about you so it's not very helpful. Since the dictionary can't help where do we turn? Should we turn to the people around us? How about our parents? How about the people we work with? Can they give us a good definition of who we are?
I think we look to the people around us a lot. And while they may know some things about us, I don't think they are the best place to look. This article was started based on "The Football Player Who Couldn't Play." In it, I talked about wanting to play football but being a terrible player. I thought that I would be in the right crowd if I was a player. Why did I think that? Because most of the popular kids in school were football players. I was letting the people around me define what I should be. In that case, it was a bad thing. What if people say that to be in the right crowd, I have to do drugs or have sex? Then I can only define myself as "good" if I am doing drugs and having sex. Does that sound crazy? It should because it is.
Now, lets move forward a few years. When are parents talk about being successful, many times they want us to be doctors or lawyers and it seems like that is a good standard for defining whether or not you are a "success." So maybe, we can look to the world's standard to define us or at least who we should be. So let me tell you something personal about me. I am a lawyer. At least I have a law license. I have passed the bar exam in Texas. So the good news is that based using worldly standards, I can define myself as a success right. Absolutely wrong. Being a lawyer, doctor, janitor, policeman, or a dentist doesn't define me or you.
So we have looked at the crowd we hang out around and "the worldly standard" to define us without finding a good place. Where should we look next?
As you can probably guess, this is where I was headed all along. Especially if you are a Christian, you should look at that book we carry to church on Sunday. I can tell you some things from that book about you.
1. You are loved. God has an intense burning love for you. He isn't sitting back trying how to knock you down, he is sitting back waiting for you to take him up on his promises. His love is more passionate for you than words can describe. Did you know his heart aches just to spend time with you and tell you much he loves and admires you?
2. You are headed to Heaven when you are done here. I have never been but the Bible describes it as a pretty cool place.
3. You can overcome every trial. The bible says that we overcome the world by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
Well, you get the point. I could go on for pages defining you from the bible.
"OK Mr. Minion, that's fine," you say, "but how do I know who I am and what I am supposed to do here on earth? How do I know what I am supposed to like and not like, etc.?" Who defines that part of us? The answer is a little hard to swallow. It's not your parents, your family, your friends or anyone else. Who defines you? - The answer is You should define yourself and no one else. Why? Because no one can truly look inside your box and see all that is there besides you. Even if your family and friends have your best interest at heart, they cannot define you. The don't have the ability to do that. Who you are is something between you and God. Just like me playing football (or at least being on the team) you are the only one who knows what you really like.
I can't tell you how often I have heard a boy or girl say they liked something their boyfriend or girlfriend did just to get approval from them. You cannot define who you are to get approval from someone else. If you do that, you miss out on so much of the great potential God as deposited in your life. Guess what, no matter how hard you try to be liked by doing what other people like or saying what they say, some peole won't like you. This past weekend, I ran into a guy who has hated me for 10 years. No matter what I say or do, I can't change that.
When I went to law school, most of my family didn't believe that I would make it through. I am not saying that they didn't have a reason to believe that. Because based on my performance at college, they were expecting me to do the same thing and I would have failed. If I had listened to them, I would never have even tried to go to school, much less graduate has high in my class as I did. Am I saying that to brag? No. I am telling you this to say, don't let anyone else define you because their definition will be incomplete at best and completely wrong at worst. They will miss some of the great things inside of you.
Let me close by saying, dare to step outside of the shadows of what other people think. Dare to step outside of what society thinks. Step up and be what you want you to be. You will be much happier if you do.
And that's another Opinion of the Minion
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