Only God can judge me. You’ve probably heard that phrase. You may have even said it yourself. People live their whole life around that idea. Rappers write songs about it. Others have it tattooed across their shoulders, likely anticipating those that will judge them behind their back.
But is it true that only God can judge me?
Justice is Blind
Our legal system is broken. On a regular basis we hear of criminals set free, innocent charged for crimes they did not commit, celebrities getting preferential treatment and even corruption in the courts. In our culture, lawyers are thought of with contempt. Judges do not garner the respect they once had. Many have lost faith in justice.
But what is justice? If you ask around, most people will give you very similar definitions (just, righteous, fair). However, justice is executed quite differently from person to person. What one person sees fitting is in fact unjust in another’s eyes. The reason is because we tie justice to our emotions. Continue Reading…
I love traveling! Last week I had the opportunity to go to Columbia, MD for a week of training for my job. Katie’s brother lives nearby so we got to spend the evenings and weekend together.
If you remember the last time I went to a training, I came back with 5 lessons learned. This time I added 2 more and a special bonus announcement that I’m sure will make you do a Michael Jackson leg kick.
I manage a technical helpdesk for ADT. My department supports IP-based (network) equipment remotely. It’s all very new to the retail world so I’m constantly learning new technologies and how to support them. That means I do training…a LOT.
Many times while sitting there listening to someone lecture for hours on the intricacies of hardware of software, I check out pretty quickly. This trainer finally got it right. It was the perfect mix of about 40/60 lecture to hands on.
I mean, I even stayed awake after lunch! This guy deserves a medal or a trophy…or maybe a pizza trophy. Continue Reading…
Today my friend Jason Stasyszen is featured on the blog. I met Jason soon after I started blogging last year. He’s one of the coolest guys I know. We definitely are kindred spirits when it comes to heart issues and ministry. I’m happy to have him featured today. He crushed this post. So without further ado, I’m going to let him brag on himself a little.
"It was all God"
There is a diplomatic term that many may have heard of, Persona non grata. It’s Latin and literally means, “an unwelcome person.” Basically, it means a person who could have a say in diplomatic matters is no longer able to participate and is usually recalled to his home country.
I have a persona non grata that I’d like to deal with today: false humility. At times, it speaks so loudly that it’s all I hear. Other times, it appears so spiritual and pious, but it’s ultimately a nuisance and hindrance to what God has for me. Continue Reading…
Your wildest dreams will come true!
Are you a blogger? Are you using StumbleUpon? If not, you should be.
On Tuesday, Jeff Goins published a great write up on Why You Should Use StumbleUpon As a Marketing Tool. If you need some direction on how the site works, go there first.
Based on great conversation sparked in KC’s blog on Thursday, I realized that a lot of people either weren’t using StumbleUpon or didn’t really understand how it works. Let me just say that if you use it correctly, it will make your wildest dreams come true (Vote for Pedro).
Spud "Don't Call Me McKenzie" Webb
I could have been a professional basketball player. I was sure it was going to happen when I was a freshman in high school. I played basketball every day. I was on the high school team. I was good. My coach told me that I could possibly skip JV and go straight to Varsity as a sophomore. Then we moved to Florida.
I didn’t know the coach in my high school in Florida. I didn’t know any of the guys already playing. I didn’t know where there were good pickup games. So during that summer, I sat on the couch feeling sorry for myself. I was disappointed and frustrated. There was nothing I could do about it.
The beginning of the school year came around and I tried out for the team. I was horribly out of shape. In the middle of a drill, I ran out to throw up in the bathroom. It was not pretty.
Supernatural Love
Every once in awhile you have a serendipitous encounter with an incredible person. A like-minded friend. A brother from another mother. That would be my boy Justin Falls.
Jus knows music (East Coast hip hop love from a left coaster), funny (Anchorman quotes for days), grace and justice. I discovered him last year when he wrote a guest post for POTSC. He shared his testimony and I was completely rocked by what God has done in his life. He knows grace. He’s not just talk. He’s the real deal.
Today I have the pleasure to hang out at his place and share my thoughts on love. I’d love for you to check it out, tell me what you think and show some love.
Get your own piece!
I love cheesecake. If I go to the Cheesecake Factory, you can guarantee that the one thing on my mind is dessert. Please don’t ask me to share. This is for your own safety. If you want cheesecake, I’ll buy you a piece. If I see you lean in toward my plate, I will tense up, tightly grip my fork and use it to stab you in the hand.
As you begin to build your dream, the temptation is to hold it close to the vest. You have a specific vision and you don’t want others to get involved. I’ve had conversations with people about my dreams and when it seemed like they wanted to be part of it, my first impulse was to be like the seagulls in Finding Nemo screaming “Mine, Mine, Mine!”
The biggest vehicle towards building my dream is this blog. It is my platform to launch the seeds of ideas for my dream. As I grow the platform, the temptation would be to make this all about me. But the very essence of my dream is about others.
Jon Acuff wrote about sharing your platform in his new book Quitter:
“If you’re afraid to share the platform with someone else, you’ll eventually be afraid to leave it at all. And that’s really the definition of a prison, a place you can’t leave.”
I never want this blog to own me. It is a tool, not an idol. As I grow my influence, I want to be able to offer others the opportunity to share their ideas.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to let any and everyone be involved in what I’m doing. I was approached this week by someone I don’t know about guest posting. She sent a link to her blog…about nursing. Her guest posts were all about health-related issues. I politely declined, indicating that it would not be a good fit for my audience. I’ve actually received a number of these types of requests that I’ve had to decline.
I do know that I’m not the only one out there with a passion for us finding our identity in Christ, finding practical ways to live intentionally and exceptionally and dreaming big. That’s where you come in.
I want to open my blog regularly for guest posters. Not just for the Awaken The Dreamers series, but for writing about identity and exceptional living. Maybe those topics don’t fit into your blog and a guest post would give you the freedom to explore it in better context. Maybe you are just getting your blog started and only your mom is reading it right now. I want to give you an opportunity to share on this site.
This is my way of being intentional about helping others achieve their dreams. I may not be able to give you money, but I can share what I’ve worked hard to build on this site.
I’ll be posting a page outlining some ground rules for guest posts. I may not accept every submission but if you follow the guidelines, I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about. Until then, contact me if you are interested.
I also realize that this isn’t a magazine so I’m not going to let guest posts overtake the site. It will be something done periodically based on the response I get.
This is my way of releasing the fork and sharing the cheesecake. I hope you’ll take a bite one day. It’s delicious.
Have you ever written a guest post? Would you be interested? What can you do to share your own platform?
What is Awesometown, you ask? Pfft. Surely you jest!
Official Resident of Awesometown
I’ve been invited to do an interview with mayor of Awesometown, the honorable Knox Mccoy. I came across Knox’s fantastical site through Katie. The first couple of posts I read were his Monday Morning Meatloaf which is one of the funniest post series ever. He recaps the previous week with his favorite reads, blogs and general tomfoolery around the Interwebs. I seriously don’t know where he finds the stuff in his posts.
Knox is one of THE funniest guys I read. I don’t say that lightly because although I laugh a lot…I’m a humor snob. Just trust me when I say he is awesomenicity. See what I did there?
I did my very first interview replete with questions concerning my laser tag dream team and a fight to the death with my doppelgänger. You may even learn something about my gleeking skills!
Pride or Unworthiness?
I am terrible at receiving gifts. In a way, I’ve taken pride in that. If you give me a gift it’s not enough for me to be thankful, I’m going to pay you back. I don’t struggle with actually accepting gifts but I can’t leave it there. I always feel that in the back of my mind, reciprocation is required.
I was raised to be a thankful person. I am grateful that this characteristic was ingrained in me from a young age (see there!). There are few things I find more discouraging than a thankless person. But the thing is that thankfulness doesn’t always require reciprocity.