You Don't Have To Worry

Today, you may be struggling with doubt. Have you heard about the 3 men named Shadrach, Meshach and Abnego being thrown in the fiery furnace? Here's a quick rundown. These three men were thrown into a furnace for worshipping God and not a king. Not only did the men not burn up, a 4th figure appeared in the fire and the king was amazed and forbid anyone to speak against God. 

David Dunn referenced it in his latest album, "Deadly flames were made powerless when they heard Your name." Remember the song He's Got The Whole World In His Hands that you sang when you were growing up? Well nothing has changed. He holds the world in His hands and that includes our circumstances! We don't have to worry because He's using all things together for good. Allow yourself to have childlike faith and know that all things are possible.

Your life will only be as great as you allow it to be. If you think negative things always happen to you, that'll only continue. Know that God has a blueprint for your life and it's all going to work out. This rough patch in your life is only temporary, hang in there. 

Be Blessed

A Different Perspective

My son is 1 year and 5  months, son of you say 17 months.  Regardless of how you want to state his age, we as adults can learn a lot from toddlers in our lives.  I've learned what it's like to see the world through the eyes of someone who doesn't know any better.  He sees life from a different perspective.  He gets excited about the little things.  We sing thanks to Jesus before our meal, he grins from ear to ear.  He sees a cow from the backyard and lets out a loud "moo".  When a song comes on that he likes, he dances without care of who's watching. He walks into the living room, dunks the basketball and claps for himself.  (Yes, we have a basketball goal in the living room.) He lives life through new eyes.  He hasn't been told what life should give him or what he is owed, he takes it day by day.  This summer, he met his nemesis, the beach.  He absolutely hated it.  We couldn't get him to touch the sand.  We went back the next day and it got a little better.  The next day was better and then before we knew it he was running around chasing birds.  Today, he was checking out the neighbor's dogs through the fence and our 100 lb Great Dane ran him over.  He got up crying with a face full of mulch, came over to us to get cleaned up, and went back for more.

I give you these examples because sometimes God throws us into situations that may be uncomfortable at first.  We have to realize, just as my son did, that all new things aren't bad.  Sometimes God is going to place small obstacles in our way just so we have to depend on Him.  Don't worry about the little things and realize how BIG our God is.  He can move mountains...you just have to have faith.

Love life.

The Approval of One

Sometimes I do it...I think "How many likes will I get on this Facebook post?"  Whether it be a status or picture, I like for it to be liked.  Who wants to post something and only get 1 or 2 likes on it?  People don't post "We're pregnant!", "We're engaged!" or "Here's my progress, I can see a change!" without the expectation that there's going to be over 100 congratulations and likes...that's just not how we are.  Heck, right now I'm typing this with the hopes of this post being shared among Facebook & Twitter with the hopes that maybe one day someone finds out about this blog and asks me about some of my posts.  It's just the way we are...we look for instant approval.  Well what if we lived the same way?  What if we lived for just one like...the like and approval of the Lord God Almighty.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect, I will never please God to the fullest but I try every day to better myself and become more like him.  Some days I'm more successful than others, some days I fall flat on my face.  But what if everyday we lived for just one like?  What if we lived all day with the hope that at the end of the day, God would speak to us and either click the "like" button in our lives.  If God typed "dislike" in the comments for the status of the day, would you live that way again?  Would you do the same things that you know dissatisfied Him?  Knowing that what we did last weekend wasn't up to the liking of the Man upstairs KNOWING that he was judging us at that time...would we do it again next weekend?  If we had an instant answer every day, we may just change the way we live.

Thank God that we don't have to live a perfect life every single day or we'd all be destined for Hell.  Jesus died on the cross so that we can ask for forgiveness!  God sent His Son for us!  What better gift do we have than that?  At the end of the day, instead of answering to God, we get to ask for the forgiveness of ALL of our sins!  What good would this do if we didn't use it every night?  We text all day, watch television, listen to music, work ALL DAY...will you give him 5 minutes of His time and say a quick prayer just thanking him?  I'm guilty of it as well: some days I just to get in the bed...then I lay down, feel guilty for being lazy and get on my knees and pray.  (I know you're laughing in your head because you've done it too."  The ultimate gift is useless if we never use it!  I challenge you to use the gifts that He's blessed us with.  Try and live every single day for the approval of one...I guarantee you that your life will change.

Be Blessed

Be An Overcomer

In life, we all have hardships.  Some of us more than others, but we all have them.  Those hardships have the ability to change our lives, for the better or for the worst.  Those hurdles that we come across can be anything: deaths in the family, job difficulties, health issues, but it's the way we handle those hurdles that determine who we are as a person.

I've encountered some pretty amazing people in my lifetime.  I've had the ability to work with expert coaches, teachers and just amazing people in general.  I've heard from incredible preachers with unbelievable testimonies.  I have friends that have gone on to do big things.  But some of the most inspiring people I've encountered have been in my family.  I've been blessed with so many different personalities and professions in my family: from college graduates, counselors, doctors, teachers and even preachers.  But one person continues to stand out to me...my sister.

Now she doesn't have a fancy job, house, car or even college but she does have one thing, experience.  She's experienced far more things in life than myself.  She got in some trouble in her last couple of years of high school and ended up going to a juvenile detention center.  Instead of using that time to shut down and feel sorry for herself, she used it to better herself.  Not long after she was released, she endured what could have been another trial in her life...she was pregnant.  She decided to get her life together and be the best mom she could possibly be.  She welcomed in a handsome baby boy into the world.  A few months later another hurdle came up, she was pregnant again.  A lot of young teens would have chosen to take that child's life before it was even born but she didn't.  She took on the challenge of being a mother of two before the age of twenty.

I admire her for that.  She's truly given her life to Christ and has given Him all of her.  You see, sometimes you have to hit bottom before you can get to the top.  She now has a job with plans of going back to school, plans to get her own place and plans to make a name for herself.  Through her I see that it's not how many times you fall down but how many times you can stand up and dare the world to hit you again.

With the power of God, we can overcome anything!  The Devil has no power as long as we trust in Him.  He will give us the power to break every single chain that the world has tried to put on us.  Sure it won't be easy but if you lay down yourself and let God pick you up, everything will be so much easier.  He gives us trials so that we can learn from them, not bow down to them.  He puts weights on us so that we can become STRONGER in our faith and our trust in Him will continue to grow.  Do not be discouraged, ask for strength from God, join the army of the Lord and take on whatever the Devil has to offer.  Again, it won't be easy but it can, it will, it has been done.

Be Blessed

This post is dedicated to my sister Angelica.  I love you and I'm so proud of you.  Keep it up.

"I know you're feeling like it's falling apart and it can't go on anymore.  But God is a God who knows how to heal so just give it up to the Lord and He will restore." - Chris August

Life's Not Fair

How often do you hear someone say  "Life's not fair!"?  It's probably one of the most overused phrases that I can think of.  When I hear someone say it we want to quit being so dramatic, but who knows how good or bad their life is.  Everyone has their days, some more often than not but is it really fair of you to say that life's not fair?  Do you think you deserve better?  What would make life fair?

We complain about what we don't have and most of us don't have a lot.  You may not have a nice house or a nice car.  You may not be able to eat out at the luxurious restaurants.  You may not have both parents or even one parent.  You may not have a lot of friends.  You may not have nice clothes or name brand shoes.  For some, this list is longer than others

But take the time to think about what you do have.  For most of you, you have a roof over your head at night.  You have a car to drive.  You have money to pay for gas for your car.  If you don't have a car, you have legs to walk or you might even have a bike.  You have food in your refrigerator.  You have water to drink.  You have a cellphone.  You may not have the highest paying job but you have one.  If you don't have a job, you are getting food stamps.  You have the opportunity to get an education.  You have people that love you.  You have air to breathe.  You have more things than you can even imagine that we take for granted every single day.  This list could go on and on.

For those of you that may not have any of the above, we all have one thing.  It's free and all we have to do is accept it.  We have the opportunity to get to know God.  That is the one thing that no one can take away from us.  We can screw up over and over again and He's still going to forgive us.  He has the greatest love for us, all we have to do is accept it.  When we aren't having a good day, we can look to Him for comfort when there is no one else around.  He can give you everything that you need, all you have to do is ask.  He's a doctor that can provide us strength.  He's the one and only God that can do these things for you.  With Him, you need no one else.  He has ALL power.

So with all of this being said, life truly isn't fair.  All of us sin, we all judge, we all do things that we're not supposed to.  He forgives us.  We deserve so much worse but He gives us many opportunities.  The next time you hear someone say "Life isn't fair.", tell them that they're right and that they deserve much less than what they have.  We are blessed!!!! When you feel that nothing is going right for you and you don't know how you're going to make it...speak to Him, look towards Him and ask him for direction.  He's never going to steer you wrong, trust Him in all that's going on in your life.  He has the power to do whatever you need.  Humble yourself and He'll see you through it.

Be Blessed

Being The Change

"Be the change you want to see in the world."  I saw that quote and I thought to myself... "How can I make a difference?"  Going into college I randomly chose General Business as my major and after that first semester, I knew it wasn't for me.  I came back home and coached my old high school's spring league basketball team and we went undefeated.  I felt at home on the sideline, although my team was much better than the others I was really enjoying being there.  I had never really thought about becoming a coach or a teacher before but I was always a good student in school and was always the one that everyone copied off of lol.  I had always heard about how teachers didn't get paid much, were overworked and so on.  Again, I wasn't too sure about what I was going to do.  All I knew is that coaching was fun and that I loved being around basketball. I ended up changing my major to Mathematics and although some people thought I was crazy, I graduated four years later.

Two years into teaching, I know that this is my calling.  Everyday I go to work knowing that I can make a difference.  Regardless of what people think about the money educators make, we are able to change kids lives.  I see situations that I could have never imagined growing up in but yet these kids come to school with a smile on their faces.  It's astonishing to think about what they do everyday.  They go to school for eight hours, go to work for eight hours, go home and do homework, feed their family, sleep, wake up and do it all over again.  Although some days are better than others in the classroom, it still amazes me at what they do. It took me being a teacher to realize how much work students put into their lives during those four years of high school.

After I realizing that I make a difference in their lives, I realized something more important.  The script flips and I realized that these kids make a difference in my life.  I come to work with a smile on my face knowing that I'm about to work a thirteen hour day.  Although the hours I work are crazy, I love it.  There is nothing better and I honestly believe that.  It's the most rewarding feeling knowing that I am the "change" in some of these kids lives.  In the classroom, hallway, on the football field, basketball court, track, cafeteria or wherever it may be, I'm making a change and I wouldn't trade this job for anything else.

This is dedicated to all of the educators all over that dedicate their lives being the change.  I also dedicate this to my Quitman and Ellison kids...wouldn't trade you for anything else.

Be blessed.

The Power of One Point

One year ago I was testing to receive my Mathematics certification, May 31, 2011 to be exact.  Needing a 240, I made a 239 and to say I was crushed would be an understatement.  I would have to wait 60 days before I even had an opportunity to pass the test.  While I was waiting, I went to countless interviews knowing in the back of my mind that there was no chance that I would receive a job.  I received a call early July from Ron Callahan, the athletic director at Quitman High School.  He asked for me to come out for an unofficial interview so I got in my car and drove 25 miles to meet him.  As I was talking to him, there was a woman filing some paperwork and he asked her to show me around the school.  She had an accent that I wasn't accustomed to hearing and she was glowing, this girl couldn't be from here.  It turns out she was from San Diego, CA...how in the world did she end up as the athletic trainer in the small town of Quitman, TX?  I was eager to find out more about her but more importantly, I needed a job.  He told me that if I pass my math test, I was hired.  That was amazing but also overwhelming news.  Now I had even more pressure on my shoulders to pass this test.  On August 2, 2011, I retook the test and I had no clue whether I passed the test or not.  However, this time I felt like the test was much easier.  Although it may sound crazy, it seemed like God threw some easy questions in there.  That Friday, I received the news that I'd passed with a 257!  I didn't know what to do with myself.  I had a job!

When I was hired on, I was told that I'd be teaching 3 different math classes and coaching 3 different sports.  I knew it'd be a lot of work but I was so excited about getting started.  I also knew that my social life for the next few months would be gone.  A month went by and I knew that this was my calling in life.  I loved my job and everything about it.  I got to work with kids, be around sports and most importantly, be a positive impact in students' lives.  I had found my comfort zone and I finally had time to breathe.  While I was catching my breath, I was able to have some down time.  I wanted to get to know the my coworkers and there was one coworker in particular that I wanted to get know...the trainer for California.  Her name was Marissa Bonine and had all of the things that I wanted in a woman.  However, I wasn't sure about getting involved with someone at school.  Coming back from a volleyball playoff game, I asked if it would be okay if I pursued a relationship with her.  To my surprise, he was excited and gave me permission.

From that day forward, it has been nothing short of spectacular.  She has been a blessing to me and my family and I'm excited to say that she is the future Mrs. Washington :)  We are now together in central TX with 4A and 5A jobs within 40 miles of each other and getting married on June 29, 2013.  Look at God!!

The reason behind this blog is to show you that even when you feel completely powerless of what's going on in your life, God has a plan.  God will deny you, you will doubt Him, but never forget that He is in complete control.  He failed me by 1 point so that I would not get hired by a school that I wanted to be at but to place me where He wanted me to be.  I was able to work on a staff of Christians and work for an amazing athletic director.  I built relationships with people that I will never forget, had the privilege of teaching amazing kids, got lots of teaching and coaching experience and most importantly I met my future wife.  Trust in Him and he will bless you beyond your wildest dreams.

Be Blessed