God's Man

I have been a complete fraud this November.  I have been telling anyone who would ask that I was having a miserable time getting my novel done.  I hope that those of you who have been praying for me and trying to motivate me to get back to it will find it in your hearts to forgive me because today this is what appeared after uploading my novel for validation.  There was also this text to greet.  Y ou did it, writer. Pitted against a merciless deadline and battling hordes of distractions—including the most tempting fall TV season that's been unleashed upon novelists in decades—you kept at it. Now you've arrived at a place that very few NaNoWriMo participants ever see: The winner's circle. Overhead, the November sky is bursting with fireworks celebrating your victory, and the entire NaNoWriMo staff joins me in applauding your creative achievement. You did something amazing this month, novelist. We couldn't be prouder. We

Psalm 78:1-4   O my people, hear my teaching;          listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables,          I will utter hidden things, things from of old- what we have heard and known,          what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children;          we will tell the next generation          the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,          his power, and the wonders he has done.  

Proverbs 18:22 - He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.

Who Are We See this is what we are called to be. We are to be the light that points people to God. We are the seasoning that reminds people to look outside of themselves for the answers. Take a look at Matthew 5:13-16 : "Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? … "Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. Questi

Because There Are Needs All Around Us So now that we know what we should be giving and why we should give, the question remains “ who do we give to? ” I once told the story of Al Hafed from the speech Acres of Diamonds. In the story Al Hafed wanted to posses s diamonds so much that he travelled to far off places and ultimately died penniless, never fulfilling his quest. The next person that owned the property that Al Hafed lost discovered one of the biggest diamond find right in the back yard. The Bible shares the same thing in Matthew 10:5-8 Don't begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously. Family You should begin living a generous life w

Because God Set the Example Time, talent and treasure… Yeah Carlton I know. You talk about it every week. Why is it so important? Growing up I wanted to be like my Dad. I still do in some respects. I was his shadow. I followed him around and wanted to be wherever he was. I tried to follow the examples that he showed me through his actions. My dad the comedian… My dad the friend… My dad, Mr. Fix-it… God is my Heavenly Father and I do the same thing with him. I am following the example that He set. Everybody knows this one, John 3:16 . "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God Gave God has been giving to us. In Genesis 1 we talked about verse 27 but if we examine the rest of that passage down through verse 28 we see how God gives. God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our

Because Everything We Have Is His Why would anyone in their right mind give right now? Because everything is God’s anyway. We are just the managers of it. 1 st Corinthians 10:26 says this "The earth," after all, "is God's, and everything in it." The creator is the ultimate owner and has final authority so what do we do with the things he has entrusted to us? Treasure Whenever I talk about giving one of the first things that I hear from people is I can’t give right now because things are just too tight . My first response is to ask why is it so tight? I would never put anyone on blast but I will tell you that in my own life I have been very irresponsible with money. But I got better. Let me share this scripture with you that my FPU folks will remember. Psalms 6:1-5 Dear friend, if you've gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger, If you've impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourse

In times of Economic and Emotional Uncertainty and Transition We are living in an amazing time right now. I know it sounds strange to hear someone characterize what we are going through as amazing but that is how I see it. We are living in historic times. Years from now we will be telling our children and grandchildren stories about this time. What will your stories look like? We want to live lives sold out to God I hope that the stories that my children and I will tell will be tales filled with examples where God power exploded . I want to tell them about how God stopped me in my tracks when I was footsteps away from disaster. I want to recall how when I didn’t listen and fell that God was there to pick me up . But most of all I want to tell them that I saw a nation that had grown lukewarm began to blaze again. In order to do that we have some things we need to overcome. Fear makes us cling to what we can control One of the things that is slowing us down right now is uncerta

Today was the first service at  Ebenezer Faith and Grace Tabernacle.  The pastor is Judy Austin who is the mother of one of my wife's best friends.  We wanted to be there for the inaugural service. Educate ->   Grow the people's knowledge and understanding of God's Word. Elevate -> Elevate the people's Faith. Empower -> Empower the people to answer God's call.  The church's founding scripture is 1st Samuels 7:12 Stone of Help = Ebenezer The rest of this are my notes from today's message. Esther 4:4-9 Chosen for such a time as this. We are chosen because we are valuable to God. God created the circumstances that allowed His people to be chosen.  He does the same for us. Psalm 27 Whom do you fear and why? 1. Esther learned to count the costs. - what people and things need to be cut/change d for what God is preparing to do. - what are our priorities.    There are some things we cannot have. 2. How Do you determine your priorities?

He Is Your Life - Colossians 3 (MSG) 1-2 So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ —that's where the action is. See things from his perspective. 3-4 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. 5-8 And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death : sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It

Notes from today's sermon... Don't forget to be a friend Happiness comes with interdependence. John 15:15-?? - You are his friend and have access. You needs friends who will walk with you. Matthew 4:19 -  Come follow me... Proverbs - iron sharpens iron. Generational lessons.  Adam was alive for 9 generations. It is safer to travel with friends. It is smarter to travel with friends. You will travel further walking with friends. Friendship os the answer to loneliness. Psalms 68:9 - God sets the lonely in families. Exchange 4:10 pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up. You need friends who will work with me. Eph 2:10 -  God Friendships are God's answer to fatigue Gal 6:10 - work to the benefit of all. I need friends who will fight for me. Who has your back spiritually? Proverbs 17:17 Ecc 4:12 Friendship os God's answer to Defeat... Ecc 4:10 I need friends who will cry with me... 1 Peter 3:8 - One Big Family... Friendships are God'

I thought of you when I came across this verse. Matthew 20:1-16 "God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. "Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. "He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o'clock. At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, 'Why are you standing around all day doing nothing? "They said, 'Because no one hired us.' "He told them to go to work in his vineyard. "When the day's work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, 'Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.' "Those hired at five o'clock came

I thought of you when I came across this verse. Ephesians1.4 Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.

Went on my daughter's  field trip to the Baltimore Zoo.   This is the result.

More to Come Soon...

Hi All, I just got a new HTC Hero phone from Sprint. I must say that it has taken some getting used to. After a couple of days I am very pleased with it.

My daughter Zoelle is participating in her school's fundraiser between now and October 21, 2009.  They have partnered with Claire's Gourmet which has some great treats.  I think that they are low calorie (wink, wink).  I hope that you will be able to help support her school and help her win one of the prizes.  You can see me for the order form, or you can go online to http://www.clairesgourmet.com  and enter in participant code 002689.   This will make sure that she gets credit for all of your online orders.  If you place an order with me the monies will be due on October 21, 2009 and will be delivered on or around November 11.   Thanks for all your help, Carlton and Zoelle

Well we made it through another week and I am grateful to be sharing my Not Me Monday Space with my awesome wife the Green Goddess .  Hat Tips to MckMama over at My Chaming Kids , for starting the NMM madness, and my friends Momo of Keeping Up With the Halls and MamaGrim of Not Quite a Fairy Tale  for keeping me in the game.  (MamaGrim where have you been?)   Here are some things that we did not do last week... From the Green Goddess I did not have a heavy dinner WITH dessert the night before my 5K.  (I can attest to this because I always prepare healthy meals - G.M.) I also did not train all summer for this 5k so that I could beat my friend to the finish line, only to find out that she has slowed down a bit over the last year. J .         I am not SUPER excited that my hubby signed up for a triathlon, and got a family membership to his triathlon club.  (I can confirm that this didn't happen either.  Everyone knows that I enjoy sitting

Well I am throwing this out there because my friend Marlen from Hall Family in Maryland threw down the gauntlet earlier today on twitter asking where my NMM post was. You don't know what Not Me Monday is? Check it out over at MckMama's blog My Charming Kids . Since it is late I will not keep you up with a long list. I will share only two items that I most certainly didn't do today. I most certainly did not step in to complete a demo that my team was doing only to use the wrong application link and not be able to show the expected functionality. My boss and her bosses were not at the same demo. I am definitely not praying for some alone time with my awesome wife tonight. My prayer life, like any Godly Man, is all about the lofty things. I would never make these types of petitions known to the Lord. Well hopefully this wasn't TMI for my loyal readers. Hopefully I will make a better showing next week. While you are looking at other Not Me Monday Posts check out G

Well It seems that we have added another face to the LHC Not Me Monday Crew.  Welcome to MamaGrim from Not Quite A Fairy Tale .  Along with my friend Momo from Hall Family In Maryland  we are making quite the blogging team.  Thanks, as always, goes to MckMama from My Charming Kids  for creating this blog carnival.  So without further ado I give you what I certainly did not do.   I most certainly did not wonder why my phone has been acting stupid only to learn that it was running out of memory due to my inability to delete anything.  I am a complete master of technology and I always clear out my pictures and applications.    I was not amazed by this old corn cob that I saw at the Dunkin Donuts some time back.  I mean it is perfectly reasonable to a corn cob to be at Donut shop.   I am not easily distracted...  Oh Look Something Shiny   I did not hit the wall after being alone with my daughters, while mommy was away, and send everyone (including me) to their room

Well National Novel Writers Month is coming up this November and I am looking forward to winning this year.  In order to do that I decided to challenge myself on the days that I do not do my workouts at lunch to have what I am calling the nanoLunch.  The rules are simple, see how many words you can crank out on your lunch break around whatever setting you find yourself in.  I had lunch at Ban Thai in Baltimore, MD today and cranked out 1,013 words in 45 minutes while eating my spicy string beans.  I present in all it's rushed and imperfect glory "The Organizer"   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Sitting in a familiar place always relaxes me.   The clink of the glasses as people drink their beverages.   The sounds of forks clacking.   The gentle murmur of voices close enough to be heard but far enough away to be distinguishable.   It is amazing to me how it is to relax in scenarios like this.   I mean I should really be nervous and full of angs

So I have been less than diligent in getting out my Not Me Posts.  I am asking for forgiveness from McMama who started this Blog Carnival and my friend Momo who got me started on this Not Me Path.  So without further ado this is what I didn't do. I did not breathe a sigh of relief when my wonderful bride stood in the gap for my Not Me procrastination . I did not not stand in the lobby of my church drinking an IBC root beer and get embarrassed when someone said it looked funny for a church leader to be drinking during service. I certainly didn't get heckled during my church announcements on Sunday.  Our Church is the definition of quiet reverence. I was not blown away by my wife's laughter during our guest speakers sermon on Sunday.  I wonder if anyone knows why we found his comments about a particular pastor in TX so funny.  But since it didn't happen no one would even be curious? I did not sleep in on Saturday

I spent an entire week on vacation. I know for some that will not seem like much but for me it is quite the endeavor. I often find myself moving at such a pace that even thinking about slowing down, let alone stopping, seems impossible. I wish I could say that all of this is time invested. Sadly I must admit that much of it is time wasted... but that is a different post. Earlier tonight I sent this txt to my god daughter, "You need a Job 29 Man". I know that she is used to my very random text messages. Here is the text of Job 29 for your reading pleasure. I have spoken on this scripture in these posts "Portrait of a Godly Man" , "Agent of Change" , "Servant Leader" and "Thoughts For Today" . I will be back later to flesh out this letter to my daughters. 1-6 Job now resumed his response: "Oh, how I long for the good old days, when God took such very good care of me. He always held a lamp before me and I walked through the

As a Coach , as a Leader , you must constantly review “ Everything ” You are doing and get better! Never, Never stay put! Either you are Growing and Getting Better , or you are dying !

Your goals are NON-NEGOTIABLE If you don’t have what you said you wanted: You really didn’t want it bad enough, or You were attempting to negotiate the price. MAKE SURE YOUR GOALS ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE!

Job 29 (Message) When your focus is on God it Changes Your Perspective.   1-6  Job now resumed his response: "Oh, how I long for the good old days,     when God took such very good care of me. He always held a lamp before me     and I walked through the dark by its light. Oh, how I miss those golden years     when God's friendship graced my home, When the Mighty One was still by my side     and my children were all around me, When everything was going my way,     and nothing seemed too difficult.  When Your Focus is on God it Increases Your Service.   7-20  "When I walked downtown     and sat with my friends in the public square, Young and old greeted me with respect;     I was honored by everyone in town. When I spoke, everyone listened;     they hung on my every word. People who knew me spoke well of me;     my reputation went ahead of me. I was known for helping people in trouble     and standing up for those who were down on their luck. The dying blessed me,     and t

When I was young I used to read a lot of video game magazines.  One of the magazines was called GamePro .  GamePro was full of reviews and guides for the games that I enjoyed but what I ignored the general guides and looked for what they called ProTips .  The ProTips were little nuggets or ideas that would kick your skills into high gear.  It was a trick that would shave time off of a race or the button combination that would result in a winning match.  So today I want to share some ProTips that I have given to clients and friends on how to make the changes below.   act now   60 Second Decisions   I will probably hear from my wife about sharing this with you.  She doesn't like these but they have served me well.  It requires that you be proactive and know what want in any given situation.   When confronted with a big decision boil all of your questions down into 4-5 yes or no questions.  After that find a person that can answer these yes or no questions.  W