Make a Difference

I read somewhere recently that sometime around 40 years old, something happens on the inside of many of men.  They begin to evaluate their life and there is a deep desire to make a difference in the lives of the people around them.  As many of you know, I am 40 years old and I know this is the case in my life.

There comes a time in many lives where we sit back and wonder what mark we have made on earth.  For some that might mean being the best mom they could.  For others it might mean being the best friend they could.  For me?  Well, I don't know the complete answer yet.  Part of what that means to me is being the best dad I can.  As many of you know I have three really great children and they are certainly a blessing.  But yet, I know that with blessing comes responsibility.  It's my responsibility to make sure they have a house to live in, food on the table, and clothes on their back.  It's also my responsibility to make sure they go to school and get a good education.  Now by the grace of God, I have done this so far.  That should make me a good dad and I could sit back and feel like I've made my mark.  But as a dad, I recently got a true revelation of my real responsibility to train them up in the ways of the Lord and to be/do all the intangible things.  Because of that, I have recently read several books on how to be a true Godly man in front of my children.  If I can impart this to them, I will certainly have made a mark on the world because they can carry this forward.

But while being a great dad is very important, it will not be enough to satisfy me.  I want to do something that will say I was here many years after I depart for Heaven.  So what else should I do?  I want to be a great companion.  There is a song by a group called the Crabb Family called Ellsworth.  This particular song is about an elderly woman who has started to mentally slip to the point where she doesn't know a lot about her day to day activities any more.  But if you bring up her husband, she clearly remembers how much she loved him and how much he loved her.  It's similar to a movie called "The Notebook."  Yes, I've seen the movie.  I want to make that type of mark on a woman's life.  I want to be so good to her that 50 years from now, if I'm gone before her she still remembers how much I loved her.  I want to make a difference in her life.  I think I may be at the beginning of that opportunity now and I am really enjoying it.  There is something very special about a good woman.  Did you know Solomon said he looked through 1000 people and found a real man but he had never found a real woman.  Well I guess I am more blessed than Solomon.

Where else can I make a difference?  I can make a difference in the lives of the people who work for me.  On of the greatest privileges in my life is to have the opportunity to be part of God blessing other people with good jobs.  This is certainly a place where I can make my mark in the world.  I can grow my company to the place where I can continue to put people to work and help them feed their families.  Will this make me a lot of money in the process?  Yes.  Is money my motivation for growing a business?  In part I suppose it is but the though of making a difference in some one's life is a bigger motivation.  I recently added a full time employee to our company and I can tell you it was a good feeling knowing that I gave someone else an opportunity to succeed.

I guess I am certainly pleased with the difference I have made so far in the people around me.  And guess what.  Many of them have made a big difference in my life.  In the last several weeks I have become very content and my heart has filled to overflowing because of one person in particular.

But I still want to be able to touch more people's lives in a positive way.  As I am sure most of you know, that's the reason for this blog.  Thank you for reading them and I hope they do make a positive difference in your lives.  Let me stop for a second and say that setting out to make a difference in other people's lives may seem like a strange thing to do.  After all, aren't we supposed to make sure that we are happy?  Well the answer to that question is partially yes but let me tell you what happens when you set out to make a difference in someone else.  You will get happy in the process.  Giving unselfishly to others will produce more happiness in your life than you could have ever imagined.

So let me challenge you with this.  If you are younger than me or older the time to start making a difference is now.  Start with those closest to you and then expand your horizons.  Before you know it, you might be touching people literally around the world.  You can even do it from a small place like Fort Worth, Texas.

That's another Opinion of the Minion 

The Love Tank

I am not sure if today's blog will be something truly meaningful to anyone but me.  However, today I want to reflect on something interesting in my life.

For the first time in some time, I am actually content.  Today I sat for a little while and thought about why.  What I came up with actually startled me a little.  There is an author named Gary Chapman who wrote a book called "The Five Love Languages."  It is a very good book and if you haven't read it, you might consider it.  Now in this book, he says that we all have a love tank inside of us and that we all have different things that fill our love tank.  While I'm not sure his list is all inclusive, I can't think of anything that would not fall into one of those five categories.

Also recently, I was talking to a very special person in my life and she made in interesting observation.  She said that her heart was full.  I remember at the time this struck me as something interesting.  She recently told me that she ponders things in her heart and I guess that I have been pondering that statement ever since. 

I think she was saying that her love tank was full and since I had read a copy of Gary's book that was directed at children, this concept really stuck out in my mind.  I don't believe in coincidences and I believe that the Lord was trying to show me something but it took me a little while to understand what.  See, I think for years that I have been running on a love tank that read - empty.  There are a many reasons for this and I certainly won't try to address them in this post but suffice it to say that is the way I have felt. 

Now have you ever heard the saying, what goes around comes around?  Well, I believe that is a true statement.  Some people call it karma but in all reality, it's a principal that comes from the bible.  The bible describes it as sowing and reaping.  In other words, what you sow, you are going to reap.  Most of the time we all think of this as doing something bad.  A while back, I played a little joke on my mom that we both laugh about and recently someone else played the same joke on me and we both laughed about sowing and reaping.  Have you ever hear of something bad happening to a bad person and then heard someone else say that person got what was coming to them?  Well, I think that can be true at times.

But what if the opposite was true?  What if when you do good things for people, that same type of stuff happens to you?  I almost find this hard to believe for many reasons but I know the bible is true and so it must be true that when I sow good stuff, I eventually reap good stuff.  For years I have tried to be someone who sows good stuff into other people's lives and didn't really see the results I thought I would see back.  I remember writing a blog this summer where I talked about breaking the cycle of being hurt and hurting other people.  In that blog, I talked about how Jesus was hurt by John the Baptist's death and how he helped people even though he was hurting.  I hope this doesn't come across as bragging because I am not.  This is just a point that needs to be illustrated.

As I sat here today, I realized that I truly was at peace.  I'm not restless, not in a hurry, not trying to figure out what to do tomorrow.  I'm just content.  Why am I content?  Because that love tank or my heart, however you want to classify it, is full.  Now I have always tried to be a giver but I can tell you that when your heart/tank is full it is much easier to give than when it's on empty and you are doing it out of obligation.  There is someone who will read this and know that they are one of biggest reasons my tank is full.  To that person, let me say thank you from the bottom of my heart.  That wasn't the only source that filled my love tank but it was the biggest.

So what can we learn from this?  Well there are a few things that I can think of.  First of all, keep doing good things for people.  If you do that, sooner or later things will start coming your way.  They used to sing a song in church and one of the lines was, "You've gotta keep on casting your bread upon the water.  Soon it's gonna come back home on every wave."  This is true in life.  Second, don't quit.  My mom sent me a link to a blog by Pastor Bob Nichols and the first line said, "Don't quit on your first day and don't quit on your worst day."  I like that a lot.  Sometimes, you will wonder what's taking so long for the good things to start happening in your life but don't quit.  They will come if you keep at it.  Lastly, for now, it's OK to be happy.  This content feeling bothered me because I was so used to not feeling it, it took a couple of days to get used being content and understanding that it was OK to feel this way.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Ask the Minion

Hello Everyone,

I decided to do another round of ask the Minion because I have had fun with the first couple so here goes.  Before I start, I think most of you know this but I want to be clear on one thing.  I am in no way associated with the movie Despicable Me.  I just liked the character so I put it on my page.

BA - Why do I call my blog the Opinion of the Minion - Originally, I was really just joking about writing a blog with some of the guys in the office.  While on a trip to Houston in February, a friend of mine asked me where two people were who should have been with us working.  He asked me where the minions were.  I thought it was funny at the time.  When I decided to start writing my own blog, I knew it was basically going to be my opinion and minion just rhymed so the name stuck.  What I didn't see happening was the number of people who would actually read what I write.  It is still very difficult for me to wrap my mind around all the people who are fans of this blog.  Thank you all.

ANH - Have you ever resolved the problem with the anti-gravity serum? - I'm not associated with the movie.

EW - What's my Opinion on gay people - Wow.  This is a loaded question.  First of all, I love people period.  Gay, straight, black, white, green, purple, or orange.  I know some people who are gay and they are really nice people.  However, I think what you are asking me is do I think being gay is right?  The answer is - What I think isn't important.  What the bible says is.  If I look in the bible, it says that same sex relationships like that are wrong.  Please don't send me any hate letters.  I didn't write the book.  I'm just telling you what it says.  Now before you gay bashers start chiming in on how wrong you think homosexuality is, let me tell you something else.  Jesus told people to work on themselves before they got into other people's business.  He said that people are walking around making a big deal out of someone elses' sin that is little while they have massive sin in their lives.  What does that mean, mind your own business.  It's not my place to judge a gay person.  It's not my place to judge anyone.  When they get to heaven, they can take it up with God.  It won't matter to me at that point because I will have plenty of areas where I am wrong to discuss with God.  He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.

RS - Why can't you give me $10? - RS, many people in my life have asked me for money.  You are the first one to do it on the Minion and that's funny.

MMDM - Do you think aliens are real?  If so, why? - I think there is life that is not on earth.  After all, God is a real person and he is in Heaven.  We know that Heaven isn't on earth.  It is a real place and it is somewhere so there must be life outside earth.  I don't know if God put other life forms on other planets though.

SB - Why did you pick that as your profile picture? - When I was setting up my FB page, I needed something to go up as a profile picture and I wanted a picture of a minion because of the name.  I really didn't know what to expect but I knew I didn't want anything that looked scary or bad.  When I googled pictures of a minion, the one I used came up and I liked it.

ZKR - What language do you speak? - I don't know much about the movie characters but I speak English.  I can speak very very little German and even less French.

TM - If you choked a minion for an experiment, what color would it turn? - That's cute.  No clue.

JC Part 1 - Explain to me what the real definition of success is in today's society? - JC is a good personal friend of mine so let me start by asking JC something.  Would you consider me a success?  Why?  The definition of success in society is how much wealth you have and what you have been able to achieve like college degrees, etc.  Unfortunately, that measuring system has nothing to do with success.  Success in life is really measured by the number of lives you touch and how you touch them.  Are you a good dad, friend, husband, wife, mom, etc.?  Do you help people when they are in need if you can?  Do you have good relationships?  Are you trying to make a positive difference in the people's lives around you?  If so, then I would call you a success.  Success is measured in the quality of your relationships not the value of your bank account.

JC Part 2 - What will break the cast system we currently need to overcome today for everyone to be able to thrive and prosper together peacefully? - OK you will definitely not like my answer on this one.  The answer is the second coming of Christ.  The bible says that in this life you will have trouble and that there will be wars and rumors of wars.  So the live together peacefully part won't happen until then.  As far as breaking the caste system, I think people have to wake up and want out of it.  If you look at many people today, you will see apathy.  They simply don't care about what is going on around them enough to make any kind of change.  Let's take politics for example.  If enough people don't like someone, they can get together and have him or her voted out of office.  Does that happen normally?  No because it takes a lot of a four letter word - work.  When I was at my heaviest, I was always telling your brother that I was going to lose weight.  Finally one day he told me that I was a liar.  He said that when I got tired of being fat, I wouldn't be fat anymore.  I think it applies to breaking out of the caste system as well.  People have to get tired of it but most don't.  They are more interested in watching TV than changing things.

IR - What's a question?  -That's funny.

IR - What would you do in case of a Zombie Apocalypse? - No clue. Again, that's funny.

WH - How can you recover from a broken friendship? - This is probably a good question for a completely separate blog.  In short, it takes time to heal from a broken friendship.  They are the hardest because typically it's someone you trust.  To start with, find someplace safe.  Because you are a guy, I will give you a piece of advice that applies to everyone but we guys don't do this much.  Let it hurt.  It's going to and when you feel pain, it's your body and spirit telling you something is wrong.  I tried to shut all painful emotions out of my life for a long time and it made me very callous which is a bad place to be.  Next, own up to anything you did in that relationship that was wrong.  Here's another thing I see a lot today, people are afraid to be wrong.  It's OK to be wrong.  Guess what, there was only one man ever to walk this planet who never made a mistake.  You and I are going to make them.  After that, ask God to forgive you of anything you have done wrong.  These next two can be hard.  First - forgive the other person.  You shouldn't be around them if they are going to continue to hurt you but forgiving them will help you heal.  Second - forgive yourself.  After that, it takes time.

JC - lotto numbers - If I knew, I would have already bought my own ticket.  :-)

SS - What is the name of the minion in your picture? - I don't know.

TK - Do you like pie? - Yup.  My favorite is my grandmother's homemade pecan pie fresh out of the oven with a scoop of ice cream on top.

MS - Why can't minions talk? - I don't know.

BP - Why are they yellow and not, like, purple? - Again I don't know.

EM - Do you think the world will end in 2012? - Probably not but I don't know.  Here's why I say that.  The world will radically change when Jesus comes back the second time but from what I have read in the bible, I will be around for a few years after that.  The bible also says we don't know the day or the hour when Jesus will return.  So if everyone says 2012 then I doubt it will be then.

MS - How can the force of gravity come together from mostly the sun and make the world end in 2012? - No idea.

BA - When are you going to answer all these questions? - Today.  Sorry it took so long.

BM - What's a minion bible story? - It's a story from the bible that I try to tell in my own words.  Several weeks ago a couple of people asked me if I would write them so I thought I would give them a try.

SS - Can you rap anything? - Nope

DP - Are you a glow stick? - Nope

JB - What's your girlfriend's name? - I don't have one yet.

JB - Have you cheated on her and what's your dad's name and your momma's name? - I don't have one and so I can't cheat on her but I wouldn't anyway.  If she isn't the girl that I can't stand to be without then I won't stay with her anyway.  I want the girl that looks fine dressed up but is more beautiful to me in blue jeans and a tee shirt with her hair in a pony tail.  I want the girl that I cannot stand to leave.  Someone that I just need five more minutes looking at her and talking to her.  I want her to be physically attractive certainly but that's not enough.  She has to be attractive as a whole person.  If I find that, there will never be any need to cheat on her.  My parents names are John and Donna.

GD - Republican or Democrat? - Hard to say.  Neither party has a clue about fiscal responsibility, neither party seems really accountable to the American public and I am not convinced that either of them has the best interest of the country at heart.  That said, from what I know in extremely broad terms, the Democratic party tends to want bigger government and that is just a mistake so I typically vote Republican.

JWG - How is cooler:  Pon or Zi? - I don't know.

SDJ - Why are minions yellow? - I don't know.

AR - Why can the minions only say ehhh and ahhhh? - I don't know.

SG - Does this page have a contest? - Sort of.  I like to give out "The Box" awards.  What are they?  I will try to write a post but I like to give out an award to someone who does things for others.  If you know of someone, let me know and we can talk about getting them an award.

AA - How small are the minions in inches? - I don't know.

JH - Who does the voices of the minions in the movie Despicable Me and why do they talk in an alien sort of language? - I don't know

And those are answers from The Minion

Christmas Blues

Today I want to try to address what I like to call the Christmas blues.  Do you ever find yourself getting down at Christmas time?  If you are a child, it might not be as big a problem as if you are an adult but I even heard my friend KS say something about it in her blog.

For the last couple of days this has been my struggle.  I know the holiday season is here and I really look forward to Christmas until it gets here.  Does that makes sense.  In some ways it doesn't to me.

See right now I should be happy.  I have direction in all the major areas of my life, work is going fine, I feel like I am growing as a father and as a friend.  I have opportunities every day to help other people and I am entering the holiday season but I find myself more and more these last few days struggling to really get excited about Christmas.  Now I want to continue to help people, I want to be around people, and I look forward to giving them gifts.  I recently discovered that I am really a people person. But I find myself looking forward to January 2nd more than almost any other day of the year.  Why?  Because the holidays will be over.  Don't get me wrong, I don't get ba humbug but I just don't get as excited about the rest for some reason.

Part of the reason I think the holiday season can be difficult is because of what seems to be important these days.  Everything seems to be about the commercial aspects of the season.  At Thanksgiving it was a big meal.  Now we turn to Christmas and it's all about getting and giving gifts.  The whole thing has gotten a little twisted.  Giving of gifts was the first thing that happened on the first Christmas.  God gave Jesus, his son, to the world so that the world could be eventually be brought back in to right relationship with him.  We all know that Jesus eventually gave himself for our sins on the cross but did you know that on the first Christmas he gave up being in Heaven where everything is perfect.  We know he gave it up for us but he gave it up for someone else.  He gave a Christmas gift of his life to his Father so that He could have right relationship with His creation.  I bet you never looked at it that way right.

So what's the common thread in the giving?  Neither God nor Jesus gave a financial gift to the world, the both gave something infinitely more special.  They gave Jesus to the world.  With God is was always about relationships.  That was what was on his mind the first Christmas.

Now don't misunderstand me, I think giving gifts is a very good thing to do but I think there is much more to the season than just stuff.  If you don't get what you want, it's OK because if you got anything, you should be thankful that someone was there to give it to you.  Again, it's about relationships.  If you are a parent that doesn't have enough money to give your child everything you want to, don't worry about it.  There is someone in your life for you to give to and that's really important.  If you don't have enough money to give everything you would like to people, remember this - even though you don't have a lot of money, you do have something to give.  Let me tell you about a few very special gifts that I know of.

A few years ago, a friend of mine told me about getting things for her family at Christmas.  She is a really nice lady but was working a job that didn't pay very much money so she didn't have a lot to spend.  I think she gave her parents a framed picture of her but she made some part of it.  I guarantee that her parents will cherish that gift so much more than a new car.  See, she put herself into the gift.  She gave part of something special.  She gave her a small part of her life to her parents.  If you are the person who I am talking about and you are reading this, I bet you never thought of it that way.  :-)

Another person I know gave her daughter a gift for her birthday.  She was the first person to receive the Box award.  Here is what the person who received the gift had to say:

     “My mother cant afford a lot and I don't ask anything of her. This year for my birthday I said no presents.. just let me cook you dinner. Mom surprised me with the newspaper clippings and cards that came from my actual birthday. This was the most rewarding birthday gift ever. It made me feel like she was truly proud of me. “

I will tell you of another gift that shocked me.  I few months ago, I wrote an Opinion of the Minion about my grandfather.  Now I didn't really think this was one of my best blogs but I put it out there to pay honor to TS Rawle.  What shocked me was the response I got.  I wrote that particular blog because it was what I felt.  Comments on Facebook and e-mails came in from all over the family and everyone was touched.  I couldn't physically give them all a hug but I was able to give them something.

Do you ever find yourself coming down with the Christmas blues?  Well you are not alone, most people have to battle it at some point in their lives.  But know this, as you focus on the true meaning of Christmas and what the real gifts are supposed to be, you will see things differently.  You definitely have something to give and people will really appreciate a gift that comes from the heart much more than one from the wallet.
Well, I have done it again.  I have blogged myself happy.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Christmas Part 1

OK.  We are now officially in my favorite time of the year in Texas.  It's Christmas time.  It's not X-Mas, etc.  It's Christmas.  What do I like so much about Christmas?  Is it the tree, the lights, all the parties and food?  Is it Santa Claus or decorating the house?  Nope.  My favorite part of this year is carrying on the first Christmas tradition.

See, because God loved the world so much, he sent his son, Jesus to earth so we could reconnect with him.  Jesus came because he wanted to give this gift to God, his Father.  What's the common thread?  God gave Jesus so that the world would be blessed.  Jesus gave himself so that God would be blessed.  That's what this season is all about.  It's about giving, not getting.  I am not sure where but I heard somewhere that it is more blessed to give than receive.  At least in my life, that's really true.

Now we have a lot of traditions and I am thankful for them.  I used to enjoy decorating the Christmas tree.  That stopped when I was a young child though.  Apparently we were making a popcorn string to go around the Christmas tree when some part of the light fixture fell from the ceiling and hit me in the head.  Now my parents were renting that place and I don't know if we had to pay for the fixture after it broke from hitting my hard head or not.  OK - I still enjoy decorating the tree and the story above is true or so my parents tell me.

I love to go looking at the Christmas lights.  One of my favorite memories was going with my cousins in the back of my Uncle's suburban when we were kids.  We went to a place called Interlocken (sp?) in Arlington.  What fun we had that trip.  I can also remember the parties and the family fun.  My Aunt Pat used to have a platter that was shaped like a Christmas tree.  She would fill it with this fancy candy and I loved to get into that platter.  That was something I looked forward to every year.  But the older I get, the more I focus on the only real tradition that matters - giving.

As a matter of fact, I like to think about who I can bless and how.  There have been many times when I did something nice for someone and I could hear God inside me (my Dad) saying how proud he was of me.  Now don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting stuff and getting stuff for Christmas.  After all, someone will get blessed by what we do and it's OK to let someone bless you - even though I get really uncomfortable when people bless me.  I must admit, I would really prefer to be the blessor than the blessee.  For me, I am much more concerned with whether people will like what I got them than if I will like what they got me.

So I want to encourage you as you go through this season.  It's good to make your Christmas list and while you look for things for parents, family, friends and that special someone, look around for someone outside your ordinary box to bless. Remember that's the first true tradition of Christmas.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Letter to Matthew

This is the last in the letter series to my children and this one goes out to Matthew.

Dear Matt,

You are the most amazing young boy.  There are things that are different about you from a lot of boys.  One thing I notice is that you hate to play games that match one person against another.  This is something that I certainly understand.  When I was growing up, I never liked to play a video game where it was me against another person.  Do you know why?  Because that meant there had to be a winner and a loser and I hated the idea.  I would much rather play a game that would put me on a team and our team would play against the computer.  Why is that?  Because I wanted everyone to win and I was always searching for a way to make that happen.  In life, I still do that to this day.  Do you know why we do that?  Because we are made like our Dad in Heaven.  The only person he intends to lose is the devil.  He created a system that allows everyone to be happy and have the things they need and want in life.

So don't be frustrated by this son.  The reason you are like that is because God made you that way.  Matthew, God has a purpose for your life and I think it is much like the purpose he has for mine.  There is a special anointing from God on your life.  Now I know at age 7, you probably don't understand much of this but I want you to remember this because there will come a time in life when it will be very important to you.  See Matthew, you are a person who likes to build relationships and not tear them down.  You operate in that area just like God does.  Pretty cool huh.

I also notice what a big heart you have.  You don't like to see people hurting.  This is another characteristic of the calling that the Lord has on your life.  Did you know when you were little that I used to play a game with you.  You would do something funny and I would pretend that it hurt my feelings.  I wasn't upset; I was happy but I would pretend to cry by covering up my eyes with my hands and making crying noises.  As soon as that happened, no matter how mad you were, you would come over and put your arms around me and hug me.  You didn't like to see people hurting.  Matthew this characteristic of you is something that is embedded deep within you and it will play a part in what the Lord has for you later.

There is another thing that I consider special about you.  You are one of the best story tellers that I know.  I am constantly amazed at your ability to retain a story after only hearing it once or twice.  After that, you can tell me the whole story, word for word.  It's pretty amazing.  There are times when I get tired of hearing about Thomas the Tank Engine, Jakers, Kipper and Spongebob but know this that your storytelling ability will be another big part of you when you grow up.  Some people might get tired of hearing it (like Katherine and David) but one day, they will be really impressed with it.

Also, you have the most beautiful voice for a kid your age.  I really love to hear you sing.  As a matter of fact, I want you to sing more.  Son, don't be embarrassed by this.  You and I are a lot alike in that we don't want to draw attention to ourselves and that is a good thing.  But you have a gift.  That gift was put inside you by God to bless you, Him and others.  Please understand that when I ask you to sing it is because your voice is so good, it blesses everyone who listens.  I want you to continue to develop this very special gift.

Lastly Matthew, I want you to know how much I love you.  Son, you are that kid that everyone likes and it's easy to see why.  You are caring, you do your work when asked, you very rarely get into trouble, and you always have a smile on your face.  But I don't love you for any of those reasons.  I love you simply because you are who you are.  You are my son.

Love,

Dad

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Somebody Like Me

This morning I am sitting listening to a song called, "Somebody Like Me" by Jason Crabb.  This song is about a homeless man that walks into a church and no one sits next to him, no one ministers to him and when he leaves no one goes after him.  Yesterday a friend of mine and I were listening to this song as we drove to lunch.  He said something that was true but it didn't sit right with me regardless.  He said that he had never seen this happen at his church and that people would have reached out to this guy if they were at his church.  I agree and that would probably happen at my church as well.  The problem is we get all emotional at church and then what happens when we walk out the door?  If we are Christians, what does Christ look like to the rest of the world?  Will Christ stop to help someone?  Will Christ give to someone in need or will Christ make some excuse about why he can't help.  Understand this - The only Christ that some people will ever see is you and me.

Let me tell you about a couple of places where I faced this situation.  One was in the church lobby a few weeks ago.  There is a lady at my church who I have sort of known all my life.  I have been to basically three churches in my life and her family has been at the same three.  The funny thing is we don't know them all that well.  This particular lady has such a sweet spirit.  She loves God and you can just tell.  On this particular morning, she was a Christian and I wasn't.  The interesting thing is that this particular lady has some type of mental disability and while older than me, she acts much younger.

As she walked toward me that Sunday, I didn't want to talk to her.  I buried my head in my phone pretending to be doing something but really I was just hoping that she would pass me by so I wouldn't have to talk to her.  All she wanted was to talk to someone and have them talk back to her with some amount of interest in what she was saying.  I however was too caught up in myself to be Christ.  As someone walked up and diverted her attention, I quickly got up and walked off.  Oh how easy it is to write this blog and have people from all over the world read it but when it came to actually being a member of the body of Christ I failed that morning.  When the reality of that set in, I was ashamed of myself because I know I am better than that.  Have you ever experienced a situation like that?  If so, you know how it feels to have an opportunity to do something for someone else and miss it.  My Father still loves me but He certainly couldn't have been happy with me that morning.  I know I wasn't.

But the Lord had a special way of telling me and showing me how much He loves me.  I don't speak with this person very often but the next morning as I was rounding the corner, here she came again.  This time was different.  I was excited.  I got an opportunity to talk to her and really more let her talk to me and I took it with gusto.  It didn't last very long but I know she enjoyed talking to me and I really enjoyed talking to her.  This particular Sunday, that somebody was me.  It felt great.

Now let's get outside the church walls.  What does Christ look like at Starbucks on Wednesday morning?  Please do not take the rest of this story as bragging because it isn't.  I constantly deal with the feeling that I don't do enough for other people.  It seems like no matter how many people I help, I never feel like I do much and certainly not enough.  Anyway, as I was sitting in Starbucks working this morning, and a man walked up to me who looked dirty.  He handed me a laminated piece of paper that said he was mute and looking for money for food for his family.  He showed me tatoos on his arms with the names of his parents and the dates of their deaths.  I really didn't want to deal with him because I was enjoying what I was doing.  Before he got to me, he stopped at another table to ask for help and they turned him down.  But here's the difference.  This time I purposed in my heart to be someone God could use.  I decided that God could count on me to show this man Christ.  I wasn't going to be relegated to the side lines this time.  I was going to get in the game.  He was going to see Christ give.  I am thankful that Christ gave me the ability to bless him.

Please don't take this wrong.  I, above all people, know that I'm nothing special.  But I do know that I serve One who is beyond special.  As we get closer to Thanksgiving, I want to challenge you to look around you.  If you are a Christian, what does Christ look like to the people who are around you?  Are you helping?  When was the last time you helped someone who could do nothing for you in return?  When was the last time someone saw Christ in you?  In my own life, people don't see Christ enough.

That's the Opinion of the Minion

My Oldest Son

In keeping with my theme for this month, I want to send another letter.  This one is to my oldest son.  I am so thankful for him.

Dear David,

As I write this, you are going through a hard transition in life.  Some of this is just part of life and some of it is because of your mom and I.  You are adjusting to 6th grade, changes in your attitude toward girls and unfortunately mom and I's divorce.  It is a lot for one kid to handle and I think you are doing such a good job.

As I look back on my how I have done as your father so far, I am a little sad because I know that I could have done much better.  I was just recently that I realized how little I knew about being a Godly father.  It is my whole heart's desire to teach you to be one in the few years we have left before you step out on your own.  I want to prepare you to be a Godly man.  If I can do that, I have succeeded beyond my wildest imagination for you.  The strange thing is I think in spite of all we have done, you are already becoming a very Godly young man.

I am so very proud of you.  Whether you know it or not, you started school when you were three years old because you had speech issues.  This was due to a hearing problem you had as a little tyke.  Now when I was in school kids in those classes were sort of looked down at and made fun of.  When I was in school, those kids barely made it through.  But not you.  You went from needing help with speech to all honors classes.  You are a really brilliant young man.  I also see things in you that I never could be at your age.  I look at you and see courage.

How?  Well, it took courage to ask that girl to the homecoming dance.  I would never, ever have done it because I would have been too afraid.  When we talked afterwards, you told me that your heart was pounding in your chest pretty hard and that even though when you asked her the dance had already passed, she was nice to you with her reply.  Son, I want you to remember that feeling and what you did.  There will be many more opportunities in life for you to feel that way and make a decision.  You are going to be in places where you risk rejection in your life.  It just happens.  But you possess that special quality called courage.  Don't ever change that.  Take risks because if you don't, you won't have rewards.  I know you didn't see it that way then but that's what you did and I am extremely proud of you.

Son, you are growing up so fast and it seems like it will only accelerate from here.  As you get older, I want you to understand something.  I heard a story about the head of the Salvation Army.  You know those guys who stand ringing the bell at Christmas time asking for donations.  Well they take those and use them to help people who need it.  One year, the head of the Salvation Army was going to send a telegram to all his offices around the world.  He wrote it out and then went to send it.  When he got to the telegraph office, he realized that it was too long and he had to cut it down.  So he trimmed it down to one sentence. Again, it was too expensive to send.  He finally trimmed it down to a single word - others.  Son, that's what our life is all about.  We are to help others.  You have to let the Lord show you who and how but always remember that's what life is about.  As you get older, you will see people who define success by how much education and money you have.  I thought the same way for a long time.  Don't get me wrong, money and education are important but not as important as people.  Think of others and ask the Lord to show you who you can help today.

Lastly, I want to talk to you about what you are going through in school today.  I know some of the kids make fun of you.  That really hurts your feelings and quite frankly, it just plain sucks.  When I was in school, kids did the same thing to me.  Grandma and Grandpa did they very best they could but I didn't wear brand name clothes like the rest of the kids and some people made fun of me a lot.  I also got made fun of because I had big ears and I had a lot of pimples.  It really hurt my feelings.  Son, as you go through these times, know that you were not alone.  Guess who else was made fun of and people talked bad about? - Jesus.  I guess that puts us in pretty good company huh.  You may not see it now but this will pass.  Just keep doing the right thing because it's the right thing.

I cannot begin to express how impressed I am with you.  You are smart, handsome, loyal, you love God, you aren't afraid to share your faith, you know how to build stuff, you always try to help your brother and sister, and you are a really respectful young man.  No matter what you do, know that I will always love you.

Love,

Dad

That's another letter from the Minion

Running

Today I want to talk to you about something I hated, then wished for, taken for granted and then became thankful for - running.

I can already hear many of the people who read this blog saying something along the lines of, "I could never be thankful for running.  I hate that stuff and having to run is a curse."  I can certainly understand how you feel.  While I have mentioned this in earlier blogs, I think, it's worth repeating.

When I was in high school, I was on the football team and I "played" offensive lineman.  For those of you who don't know, that means we didn't run very far.  We only ran 10 or 15 yards at most normally.  Even during practice, we didn't have to run very far.  We did have to run sprints after practice and I hated them with a passion.  They were supposed to be the conditioning part of our workout and I can tell you I was in no condition to do them.  We only had to run across the field for each sprint and I hated it.  I was in the slowest group and I came in dead last in that group.  Running was definitely not something to be thankful for.  Then I went to TCU and my hate for running continued.  We had to run longer and I still hated it.

Then the day came when I was 350 pounds.  Now at this point, I couldn't run 50 yards if I had to.  I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without being out of breath at the top much less run.  Now back then, I was my own worst enemy.  I went on many diets without any success.  My favorite was the seefood diet.  I was quite successful on it.  It was pretty simple.  I see food.  I eat it.  A lot of it.  I managed to stay on this diet until I got so big that when I stepped on a weight scale instead of a number it read, "To be continued...."  At that time I would go into Starbucks and order a Carmel Frappucino to drink in the morning.  For those of you who don't know, it's a fancy word for milk shake.  I would go into Starbucks and see people I despised.  You know the type.  They were fit and they stood there ordered all those coffee drinks.  What made it worse was they wore workout clothes.  They had on running shorts, running shirts, and during the winter even running tights.  Many times they were laughing and talking among themselves about running and how this part was hard or that part was easy.  I really hated it.  In reality, I was just extremely jealous.  I was in shape if you consider round a shape.  Literally, I was 67 inches tall and 58 inches around.  I knew I would never be able to do that and it hurt because it reminded me of just how far out of shape I have become.  At this pace, I was killing myself one pepperoni pizza at a time.

Let me stop right here for a minute and tell you a bible story.  See one time Jesus was walking through a city.  As he was going through the city, he came upon a funeral procession.  I don't know much about the Jewish culture but apparently they carry the body on their shoulders from point A to point B and this is what he saw.  This was a young man they were carrying and he was certainly too young to have died.  His mother was walking with the procession full of grief.  Jesus saw this and told the procession to stop.  That must have taken guts and I bet many of the people were furious because he was being very insensitive, or so they thought.

Think for a minute about some of the crazy things that have went on in this country.  There is that nut job church that goes around protesting funerals of our dead heroes who gave this country the ultimate sacrifice - their lives.  I certainly think you have a right to protest anything you want and the worst part about this type of protest is that the man or woman in that coffin took an oath to defend this country against all enemies foreign and domestic.  They were like so many others who died to protect those people's right to protest.  I can feel my blood starting to boil and maybe I will save this for another post but remember this.

So now we have this preacher stopping a funeral procession to do what?  Well much to the surprise of everyone, he raised that young man from the dead.  All of the sudden, these people got a brother, a son, and a friend back.  Mom went from grief to joy and the funeral went from death to a party.  When Jesus touches your coffin, your life and those around you is changed forever.  That's exactly what happened to me.  Jesus touched my life and I went from 350 pounds to 190.  I went from a life headed for an early grave to a celebration.

Part of this change involved running.  I became and still am a runner.  It started during my weight loss period.  At the end of the weight loss period, I ran my first marathon.  It is a moment I will never forget.  Jesus had literally turned my life right side up.  The marathon was in Fort Worth, Texas.  I was under trained for my first one and it was a cool, overcast, drizzly day in February.  The race started and ended in downtown Fort Worth.  As I turned to corner and started the last quarter mile, it was one of the most difficult and easy of my life.  The run wasn't hard but I was overcome with emotion.  I had tears in my eyes as I crossed the finish line because I knew how far I had come because of what God did in my life.  Thank you Lord, I will never forget.

After that running became pretty routine and I got pretty good at it.  I ran one more marathon and have done a bunch of 5Ks and 10Ks.  I have even managed to win my age group a few times.

Then one day, I was going into Starbucks again for tea.  This time was different from the time above because I was one of those people who was in shape.  I had lost a lot of weight and generally felt great.  This particular morning, I was frustrated about my run.  I think I ran slower that I would like or something and I was complaining on the inside about it.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man sitting in a wheel chair and part of his legs were missing.  I didn't think much of it at first but then the Lord arrested me.  He said to me, "Do you see that man?  He would almost kill someone to be able to do what you are complaining about doing."  That humbled me.  It made me really appreciate my legs and being able to walk/run.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Impact

Today I want to talk to you about something important - impact.  Impact what you ask?  Not what but who.  Who's life do you impact?  Some people you know, some you would know if you thought about it and some you may never know this side of heaven but you do impact people's lives.  The question is how do you impact them?

We have all had situations where we did something we regret and it might have impacted someone in a very negative way.  While that is certainly unfortunate and we should all strive to avoid hurting people, I want to discuss how we impact people in a good way.

The first group of people we impact are people we impact their lives and we know it.  I recently found out that a friend of mine was having a really bad day.  I was able to do something for her that really cheered her up.  It was really cool because I knew she was hurting and I got to help brighten her day.  I also got to brighten two of her friends day at the same time.  It was a really fun thing to do.  So let me ask you, when was the last time you did something nice for someone?  When did you do something for someone just because you wanted to do a nice thing without hope of any type of payment?  Can you think of exactly what you did and when?  If it was longer than a week ago, you are long over due to help someone.  I apologize right now if this sounds like bragging.  If you know my heart, you know I don't ever want to brag on myself.  However, it is fun to be the person God uses to bless someone.  I had one day last week where I was able to bless several people on the same day.  It was really neat.  I even had the opportunity to do something nice for someone today.  That came with a huge payoff though.  The smile on that person's face made the whole thing worth while.

The next group of people are ones that you can impact in a positive way if you will just look around and pay attention.  I struggle with this group sometimes because I don't pay as much attention to others as I should.  Now everything you do for someone doesn't have to be a big thing.  Maybe its something small like seeing someone walking out of Starbucks with their hands full and opening the door for them.  I did that today.  Was it a big deal?  No.  Was it something nice for someone I didn't know?  Sure.

See, we all know what our friends and family need.  In many cases, because we are so close to that group, that we are intimately aware of what they need.  When we get a chance to help, we should.  But what about other people around us?  What about the guy in the wheel chair struggling up a hill.  I recently watched a guy go up a hill near my apartment.  I should have helped him but I didn't.  Look around you, there are people everywhere that need help, we just have to open our eyes and watch.

There is another group that we should pay close attention.  Unfortunately, we will never know who this group is.  Well, how can we pay attention to them if we don't know who they are?  We can pay attention to how we treat people in general and the example we set.  Whether you know it or not, people are watching you every day to see what kind of person you are.  Do you help people or do you hurt people.  Let me ask a question.  If you were the only Jesus someone ever saw, what would they think of Him?  That's a pretty sobering question and if you take it the wrong way, you can wind up in condemnation.  I don't want you to go there.  What if someone looked at the way you acted and said, "That person is just a great person.  If that is what Jesus is all about, count me in?"  That would be pretty cool huh.

Well, sometimes we can say a word of encouragement to someone and we will never know that they were encouraged.  Not too long ago, I was talking to a close friend of mine who happens to be my banker.  We were talking and he was telling me about a mutual friend of ours who now lives in Houston and is doing quite well.  Apparently several years ago, I was sharing with our friend about tithing and how it changed my life.  I learned that the true way to increase was to give.  That doesn't make sense right?  But it works.  Anyway I don't even remember talking about this with our friend but apparently he was inspired by what I told him and started tithing himself.  Now he is very successful and he told my banker friend that he remembered our conversation from several years ago even to this day. If I remember right, that pushed him over the top in the right direction.

So let me leave you with this.  You impact people around you all the time everyday.  It's up to you what you do with that opportunity.  You have the ability to do something nice for someone that will bless them and encourage them.

In this life, making a million dollars isn't important, making a difference is.

That's the Opinion of the Minion

Don't Quit Minion

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

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

A Message from the Lord of the Minion

Dear Friends,

This will be a different type of post for me but I know it is right.  If you are a minister, I ask that you read this with care and make sure I am hearing correctly.  I believe today, I have a letter from the Lord that is in my spirit that must be let out onto this blog.  Below please find that letter from the Lord.

My Dearest Child,

Long before you were born, I created this world and I gave it to my son Adam.  It was completely his and I intended for us to grow it together.  But Adam made a bad mistake.  He gave the authority over this world to a fallen angel you know as Satan.  Let me say, I have never stopped loving Adam.  I care about him as deeply today as I did back then.  It grieved me that he gave our authority to Satan but I still love him.

I deeply loved Satan before he fell from Heaven.  Both Satan and Adam are my creations and I had to let both make decisions that would hurt Me even though I loved them with all that I am.  Jesus was there with me when these things happened and I see love so deeply in him.  I love him.  It grieved us both to see our creation hurt and see where we knew things were headed.  But We don't quit.  Our love for you would never allow us to.  That separation that Adam caused between Us and Our creation was something we desperately wanted to close.  Our hearts yearned for Our creation even more than before the fall because of the separation that took place.  We couldn't be one with Our creation like we were before that day in the garden.

I had a plan all along to bridge the gap.  The problem with the sacrifices that took place before this was that Satan still had authority in the earth.  That was what happened when Adam ate of the tree I told him not to.  He gave authority I intended for us to share to Satan.  I needed something to take the authority back so that I could be close to you and live with you.  Before the cross, I could be around you and I could be close but I could not live inside you.  It's like Tommy said about the box.  I could admire and put things in you but I want to live in your box.  I want to get as close as possible to the inner part of your box.  I want to get so close that what's inside your box and I become one.  If someone looks inside your box, I do not want them to be able to distinguish between what is you and what is Me.

I want to give you everything I have.  I am constantly looking for ways to bless you.  Sometimes you reject my offers but I never stop offering.  You are still my most prized possession.  If you look in awe at the majesty of the mountains or the depths of the oceans or the stars of the heaven, they are nothing compared to the way I look at you.  You are all that I long for.

Before I could become one with you again, I needed to get the authority back to do so.  If I had tried to change things without doing this, it would have destroyed the world and I would have lost you forever.  The three of us (Jesus, the Holy Spirit and I) could not bear the thought of loosing you.  You are too precious to Me.  You are all that I want.  The only way to put that bridge in place so that I could live with you and love you the way that I really wanted was for there to be a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world.  They included the ones that I knew you would commit after the cross and all the ones before.  For this to happen, We knew that We would have to send Jesus to as final payment for all the sin of our creation.  He decided He would go through great pain because of His love for you.

When We sent him to the earth, immediately some of his creation sought out to kill Him.  Imagine what it would be like for your son or daughter to be so misguided that they tried to take your life.  That's what was happening then.  Our creation didn't know Us.  I protected him because We all knew what He had to do.  I sent him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  I had to make sure he faced every opportunity to sin that the rest of Our creation has faced.  And he did.  But he held fast to me and blocked every temptation.  After that, he got to do what he loves more than anything.  Even though they didn't know they were his creation, We blessed Our creation through him.  We got to give out little glimpses of our love.  And we enjoyed it.  We got to heal the sick, proclaim liberty to the captives, provide food for people that needed, we got to give dead people back to their loved ones.  We got to give money to people that needed it.  We got to spend three years walking the earth in human form and blessing it.  It was such a joyous time for us.  Jesus loved his time on the earth with his creation.  We waited until the time was right and then set about redeeming Our creation and putting the bridge in place that would allow Us to come live in your box and be one with you.



Many will say that I am an angry God looking for ways to hurt my creation but I am not.  I love my creation too deeply to do anything that would harm it.  It is all I love.  Many of my sons and daughters are anxiously awaiting my son Jesus' second coming.  That will be a sad day for me because many of those that I love more than anything will have made a choice not to live with me and be with me.  I love them enough to let them decide but it hurts Me when they don't want Me.  I want you to know that I love you today.  I have always loved you and I always will love you.  I am God but I want to be your Father.  I want to spend time with you.  I want us to enjoy your life together.  I want you to be successful and fulfilled all the days of your life.  I want nothing but the best for you.  Bad things happen in this life to people but I don't do bad things to my loved ones.  Little children, you are all I care about and desire.  I have gold and beauty you haven't seen yet but I seek after you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great fear and trembling that I submit this letter from the Lord.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life.

Tommy Oswald (The Minion that God so passionately, deeply and committedly loves)

Game On, Mr. Minion

Today I want to talk to you about being ready.  Being ready for what, you ask?  Well you will have to answer that question, I can't.  But let me explain what I am thinking.  Are you ready for the opportunities that cross your path.  If you met that special someone, are you ready?  If someone gave you the dream job of a lifetime, are you ready?  If someone was going to send you to the college of your dreams, are you ready?  Lastly, and most importantly, if you died tonight, are you ready?

See I think we spend way too much of our time complaining about our circumstances or pushing too hard to make things happen the way we want.  We are so focused on us that we aren't ready for the great opportunities that God places in our life.  Now let me say, that I don't believe that we should just sit around and wait for everything to fall in our laps.  That's not smart.  That's being lazy.  I'm talking about being ready when something comes along.

Let me illustrate this with a story of mine.  Sometimes God has divine appointments that you don't expect.  If we aren't ready when they do, we can miss the whole opportunity.  I go to Starbuck's at least once a day (please no comments about the actual number from my friends).  For several month's there was a certain lady that I wanted to talk to but never did.  This was primarily because I am a pretty shy guy most of the time.  I like being around people and most who know me are very comfortable around me but talking to a total stranger is not something I normally do.  Well, I always liked this girl's face because it looked so kind.  (To the girl who I am talking about - I know you will read this and yes you have a very kind face.  Turns out the personality matches the face.  Don't even think about arguing with me on this point!)  I saw her at Starbuck's for several weeks and never talked to her.

One day, I realized that I was never going to say anything to her because it really isn't in my nature to do this so I just forgot about it.  Well, two days later, I walked into a restaurant by my apartment and saw a guy I knew.  Guess who was sitting at the table with him?  Did you figure it out?  Yup, it was the girl from Starbucks.  Over the last few months, we have become good friends.  She is someone who's opinion I really value and she has really helped me through a tough time.  I think I have been able to do the same for her.  Just think, none of this would have happened if I hadn't walked into that restaurant that day.  That connection was the Lord's way of saying to me, "I've got a million ways to bring people into your life," and it really blessed me to hear that from Him.

When I would see her, I thought about trying to break the ice and say hello but I never did.  Then when I finally decided to let it go, things worked out on their own.  Now this is about a friendship but it applies in all areas of our life.  Where are you pushing hard to accomplish something.  Where are you getting so worked up and stressed out?  Is it possible that while you are trying to figure out how to make something happen in your life that you can't see God setting you up to bless you?  Where are you so focused on someone who is a negative influence in your life that you can't see that amazing person who wants to be part of your life?  Stop and look around.

While I try very much not to preach in these Opinions, I must ask this one thing.  If you were do die tonight, are you ready?  Well, you might say, "I go to church."  That's not what I asked.  You might say, "I'm a good person."  Again, that's not what I asked.  What I am asking you is have you ever met Jesus and made him Lord of your life.  He is a very close personal friend of mine.  He is a real person that you can touch.  Guess what - No matter what you have done in this life, He deeply passionately loves you.  As I write this, I am thinking about His love and it brings tears to my eyes.  He's out to get you but not in a bad way.  He wants to love on you.  He wants to help you.  He will never give up on you and never quit you.  He knows your secrects and His love sees right past that to the inside of the Box He created.  I am not asking you to join a church or become part of a denomination, I am asking you if you have met my Jesus.  If the answer is no, would you please consider praying this simple prayer.

Just say, "Jesus, I ask you to come into my life.  I ask you to be my friend and show me your love for me.  I ask you to be my Lord and Savior."

If you prayed that prayer with your heart, you just became my brother or sister.  Welcome to the family!  Please let me hear from you.  Knowing you made that decision will be the best thing I hear today.

If you didn't pray that prayer, know this that God loves you very much and because He first loved me, I can honestly say that I care about you too.

That's the Opinion of His Minion

What is Love?

What I share today may not be anything new to you but I want you to consider for a moment what is Love.

Is it a state of being?  We say we are “in love” with our spouse.  What does that mean?  Does that mean that we are content to live in the same house, share the same responsibilities, enjoy having that person as company to share life.  Is he or she someone who gives you stability and someone you want to mother/father your children?  Are we happy to have a companion?  Of course marriage goes much deeper but you get the point.

Is it an emotion?  We say that we feel loved or we feel love for someone.  Who doesn’t like that first kiss if it is a good one or the feeling we feel when we hold someone’s hand and take a walk?  How great does it feel when you take her in your arms and dance a slow waltz (or just hold her) while you stare deeply into her eyes and you see that twinkle in her eye that says she is totally yours.  The smile on her face, touches your core and you wish you could stay in that exact moment forever.

Is it something higher?  Why is it we “love” our children when they are first born.  They can’t do anything for us.  As a matter of fact, they are really just a drain on us as newborns.  The constantly require attention – feed me, change my diaper, change my clothes, bathe me, I am going to sleep when I want and when I am tired of sleeping, I am going to wake you up regardless of whether or not you have gotten any sleep.  Yet, we love these little people.  We protect them, we cloth them, we play with them.

Is it a catalyst that causes us to do something?  When you truly love your kids, your spouse or your significant other, you are motivated to do something for them.  For those of you who have children, what happens when your seven year old comes up to you out of the blue and says, “Mommy or Daddy, I love you”?  When that happens to me, my first thought is how can I bless you?  What can I do for you? 

Is it something else?

The answer goes a little deeper.  All these things are the effect of love.  The bible says that God is love.  It doesn’t say he is in love (state of being), he loves (a verb) or he feels love (an emotion).  It says he his love.  While he does the things I listed, they are outgrowths of who he is.  The bible also says we are made in his image which means we are made like him.  That means love is who we are.  It is the genetic matter of our spirit.

Because I am love:

1. I can be "in love" with a spouse.

2. Seeing that look in her eyes, holding her in my arms and feeling the brush of her lips against mine causes me to feel warm all over.

3.  I care for and about my children.

4.  I am motivated to do things for others.

Now some of you may be saying, I really don’t feel or do those things you listed.  Let me tell you – that’s OK just don’t stay that way.  Think for a second about your physical body.  The first day you were born, could you run a race?  Of course not!  Your body had to develop and strengthen to the point where you could.  The potential was in you but that potential had to be developed.  If you don’t act in love the way you should, understand that you have to grow and develop that potential just like anything else.

We should constantly look for places to develop ourselves (love) today.  Show the real you (love) to someone else today.

 

And that’s the Opinion of the Minion.