Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Turn the Page....

At this time of the year, most of us begin to look back and reflect on our lives over the past eleven months, in an effort to determine what we have achieved.  But often times, we look back and feel that we are living the same story over and over, just on a different day.  Why is that?

That is because, most of us were afraid to step out and try something new. Most of us have been stuck in our comfort zone, loving the idea of being complacent with where we are. But it does not have to be!

It's time to turn the page! Over the last thirty days of this year, I encourage you to break out of your comfort zones. Don't wait until January first to set new goal, set them today, and then shatter them tomorrow. And it's easier than you think. Take a different way to work, try some place new for lunch, or pick back up that thing you put down months ago, and take the first steps needed to make it happen. Because while it's great to sit back and often reflect on your life, it's insanity to see the same thing occur over and over again and not do something different to change it.

Today, I challenge you to turn the page, and make a change because today God is going to do a new thing. (Isaiah 43:19). But in order to complete it, he needs you!

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Hear My Cry....

Passage: Daniel 10:12

Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.

Hear My Cry....

Often times for most, we only tend to cry out to God, when we are facing challenges or surrounded by trouble, but did you know that you don't have to wait until you are in trouble?  God always pays attention to those who call on him. 

The Bible says, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them." (Daniel 10:12)

It is true,math at God will always continue to offer a way of escape in times of trouble and need, but rest assured, that  the moment you fix your eyes on him, you can be certain, that not only does God hear your prayers, but that he also acts on them according to His plans for your life!

Be Blessed.

#TheOriginalGMW
#TheGoodMorningWord

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

What is it for....

What is it for?

This morning, a young elderly couple living on Etting Street, woke up to go get their prescription from the CVS on the corner two blocks away from the house, only to find that it had been burnt to the ground as a result of yesterday's events.  An elderly man living just off Westwood Avenue headed out to the corner story to get some milk, only to find out it was also closed, because of yesterday's event.  It took a young, latchkey kid, from the other side of town, four months to get used to catching the bust through Mondawmin Mall just to get over to Digital Harbor, where he enjoys going to school everyday, verses the previous school he attended, where he felt left out like an outcast, and today he is waking up with no where to go!

These are some of the challenges that Baltimore wakes up to today, in the aftermath of what took place last night, but I ask you, what was it all for?  I mean granted, I understand we all want justice for #FreddieGray, but can someone please tell me how rioting and looting a CVS then setting it on fire, along with a corner carry out store, and then breaking into Mondawmin Mall to steal clothes and shoes bring justice to Freddie Gray's memory and his family.  CVS had nothing to do with the incident, in fact they came into the area and build an affordable and accessible pharmacy and retail store that did not other wise exist, and good luck trying to get the developers back if the building was a total loss.  The small business owners of the corner carry out, I am sure, probably put their last into opening that store at the end of the block, for the local area to use, but now that is gone, and I am sure that insurance will only cover a portion of what they really lost.  But what was it all for?  To get a few bags of toiletries from CVS, some lunch meat and bread from the store, and a few shoes and clothes from the mall, none of which having anything to do with Freddie Gray.

I can remember back in the day, while attending Woodlawn Middle School​ (1989-91) the cafeteria raised the cost for lunch and snacks, and the student body got together, and organized a strike and a walk out at the school, and it was very affective. However, we would never have even though about destroying the school, the teachers and staffs auto, or even dare consider doing any harm to the police.  But the kids today, and the generations today, have a lack of respect for adults, and authority, which gives them a rebellious spirit of no fear, and causing them to cross lines that previous generations would not even dream of.  But what is it for?

The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:15, "Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out." 

But what is it for? Right now, all the attention and the spot light is on the City of Baltimore, and everyone is watching, so what that means, are people are now going to flock to the area to push and promote their own agenda claiming to be for the good of the city and the people and have their best interest and that of the Family of Freddie Gray at heart but they don't. You see in my experience, you have to learn the actual condition of the people in order to offer the proper solution, and that ca not be learned in a weeks time in front of cameras and the media.  In this case, as in many others, you cannot effectively help until you know the problem.  I mean, its just like asking the doctor to call in a prescription for your sickness, without visiting the doctors office to get a diagnoses and as a result, we have lost a generation, and its continuing to die as we speak, and yesterday that was clearly evident. 

You see, for me, yesterday did nothing more than to shed a light on the lost generation stating nothing more than, where are our leaders?  Where are those who would teach right from wrong, and respect and discipline?  Where are those to show how to effectively get your voice heard, with out offensively causing a problem or being a part of the issue?  We have too many of our leaders chasing after the spotlight, and not enough of them on their knees praying to God on what direction to go.  Let's face it, this city has been building up to this point for years, and it did not happen over night, or with the Freddie Gray incident.  But long before and our God has been calling this city as well as this country, back to becoming a nation of prayer, as it was built upon in the beginning, but just like Mosses, God has told our leaders to speak to the rock, with prayer and fasting, and instead, some of them have chosen to strike the rock instead, and maybe that is why so many of them are being exposed, because just like Mosses, you can not go into the promise land with disobedience. 

Life and death has always been in the power of the tongue, and until such time that we learn to use it properly, we will continue to have these issues.  We need to fall back and begin to speak to our youth, but moreover, we need to listen to our youth because they are crying out for leadership and guidance, not for attention as some would have it be, because if not, what is it for.  So my call to action today is for the true leaders in this city, that have a voice and a platform to use, I simply ask you this, what, is it for!

Be Blessed


Read: 1 Thessalonians 5:15-28

Monday, April 6, 2015

God is Love

The things I have learned since running my own business are amazing. what God has taught me about people, you can not put a price tag on, and what this business has showed me, I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

I say this because, I find in my business, often, strangers are more receptive to what I have to say and offer then those that have known me for years, who are more then just friends, they are family and loved ones.  At first it was strange that strangers and guest would be more hospitable then family and friends, but my mentors, Mr. Aaron​ and Mrs. Chanelle Burt​ said it would be like that from the beginning.

Isn't it funny how in business and moreover, in life, strangers seem to get the best parts of us, while we reserve the worst parts of us for friends and family!  The say "Familiarity breeds contempt, " but why is that when God has called us to love one another, and cherish each other in kind?

The Bible says, My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God. (I John 4:7-10)

Today, I challenge you to give you best to your friends, family, and loved ones, realizing that in doing so, you are showing the love of God, which for some, maybe the only expression of love they get to see today!

Be Blessed.

Friday, April 3, 2015

Rejoice in the Lord...

Philippians 4:4
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again --rejoice!

Rejoice in the Lord

Man, I can remember a time in my life, not long ago, where I woke up everyday, just saying to my self, "I just want to be happy." But what is happiness, and what do we really mean when we are trying to say we want it in our lives.
For me, I believe that happiness often gets confused with joy. Maybe not for you, but I think, most often, we confuse joy with happiness, and what we are really after is the Joy and the fullness of the Lord, but seek it with the happiness in things or people of the world. 
Most often, if we are feeling good, if everything is going right with our job, our relationships, and other things, we tend to say we are happy, but when all that fades away, we are sad, and then begin to make choices and decisions based on the feelings of sadness, because we believe that we are supposed to be happy ALL THE TIME. But the fact of the matter is LIFE, is not like that at all! You go through your ups and downs, your good times and bad times, but through it all, the one thing that you can have, that will always remain, is the JOY of the Lord! 
The Bible says, "Always be full of the joy of the Lord. I say it again -rejoice!" You see, HAPPINESS comes and goes from the PERSON, PLACE, OR THINGS of this world, where as OUR JOY comes from GOD. So, today, if you want to see a SHIFT in your life, seek the Joy of The Lord, and then I promise you, He will add happiness to your life, as He did with my life!
Be Blessed!