Helping you become the person God wants you to be
The most important type of friend in my life is Not the friend who is rich or popular. It is Not the person who wins lots of awards.
The type of friend that is most important in my life is the encourager. The encourager is the person who take the time to make a phone call to say “How are you? Or just takes the time to Pray for me.
The most important type of friend in my life has always been and will always be a friend
like you.
When I was 7 years old I came home from school one day and said
Dad, I wanna play Baseball!
Thinking that I only wanted to play catch, my dad said something like,
I’ll put you in your chair in a little bit and we’ll go outside.
No Dad, I really want to play Baseball!
I handed him a broucher that I got in my box at school. It was information about the
Of our local little league
Playing Ball on Saturday Morning was the best, and my dad turned out to be the most amazing coach.
My dad wasn’t originally our coach, but long story short, the man that was our coach let us all down and my dad was there to keep things going. He stepped in as our coach, and all was awesome again!
Our team was one team but split into two; The Dodgers and the Angels. At the end of every game we would always ask
Who won the game?
Even though no one actually kept score. My dad made up a motto for our team
He would say
What are we Here for?!
And we would yell back
To have Fun!
I played ball from the age of 7 til 13 and I was my dad’s assistant coach for a season when I was 14
It was one of the best times in my life!
20 years ago tonight I graduated from high school The journey was a long and difficult one but I did it and I want to share some of the lessons that I learned from that time in my life.
One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them.
Matthew 5:1-2
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Matthew 5:3
“But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!
Matthew 5:20
It begans with an awareness of your spiritual bankruptcy in comparison to God’s Holiness
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer : ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9-14 NLT
When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Mark 2:17
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:33
Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord . Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
Psalms 5:3
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.
Matthew 7:24
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Hebrews 10:25
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Matthew 6:19-21
Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored—and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 14:23
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40
Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.
1 Peter 3:15
Yesterday I spent time watching the Movie
The story of Brian Stevenson, a young lawyer who worked with inmates on death row in Alabama. All of the men that he worked with were Black men, most of whome were profiled because of the color of their skin and humiliated.
The movie centers around a group of men on death row who Mr Stevenson tries to defend by getting them brand new fair trials. Many of the men featured in the movie either did not commit the crime they were accused of, which was the case for the main character that the Movie was centered around.
Another man who was put to death did commit the crime he was accused of, but did so because he was suffering from PTSD, and was given a court appointed lawyer who did nothing to assist him, or find out that he was a war vet who had seen horrific battle.
This may sound way to simple, but this movie drove home the truth that in these modern times people are still judging each other on outside appearence and it needs to
On Another note I am very proud of the Accomplished actor that Michael B. Jordan has become! I had the privilege of meeting him back in 2003, when he played Reggie Montgomery on All My Children.
I believe that the church should be the most welcoming group of people. One of our group members brought up something that should be the Corner Stone of what we should be doing and how we should be carrying ourselves as followers of Christ. We need to put into action John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he Gave his only Son, that Whoever believes in him should not Parrish, but have entermal life.
The church is not a building it is a group of people that need to speak the truth about Jesus Christ in a loving manner.
I am a follower of Christ , but I will not hit you over the head with my Bible, or scream at you on a street corner, but I’ll always be ready to tell anyone who asks me about the hope that I have And how they can have it too
In the midst of all the protests and mistreatment of the African American community, there has been unbelievable disrespect to the elderly.
It began with the gentleman who was pushed by a police officer on the side walk and left bleeding from his ear, in addition to that, 45, the man who is supposedly the greatest leader since Abraham Lincoln said of that man, he didn’t fall like he was pushed.
Are you freaking kidding me?!
The second incident that got under my skin happened a few days ago, when a man who was walking down the street pushed an elderly woman to the pavement.
It makes me wonder how all these people including 45 would feel if it was their grandparents were pushed.
When I was in high school I remember having an elderly gentleman as a substitute teacher for Choir on a few occasions. I also remember that some of the boys in our class used to be disrespectful to him, and when our instructor would come back, the entire class would be in for a scolding lecture in which he would say
What if that was your grandpa! Would you stand for someone treating him the way you did?
Our society has come to the point where people in leadership needs to go to finishing school
If I one a million dollars I would buy a bigger house and have it made completely accessible. I’d want my own bathroom with a walk in shower, no barriers to coming in or going out. A sound proof room so I could make videos.and take phone calls with the people I work with, and an open floor plan so I can be a host home for my Bible study.
This time of year the things that I miss most are going to Summer camp and concerts with my friends from youth group.
Our youth group used to go Home Lake, in kings Canyon. We would go for a full week. The first year I went was when I was in 9th grade. I’d never had been away from home before, but thank you to one of my youth group leaders, I was able to go, because she volunteered to help me with my personal care nerds.
The first year I went I took my everyday manual wheelchair. Our cabin was accessible, but it was at the top of a hilly path, it took the help of all of my friends, and occasionally the help of a guy from another cabin to make it up that hill.
The second year that I went my pastor asked what it would take to make it easier for me to go, and with the help of Lantermen Regional center we were able to rent a power chair and an accessible van for the week. It made getting to the cabin so much easier and when we had free time I was able to hang out by myself if wanted. My favorite things to do were visit the snack shop to.get a strawberry cheesecake milkshake and go go the gift shop a browse for a bit.
This was my final year of going to camp.
Concerts make up my other fond memories of this time in my life. We would go to a festival called
That took place either at Magic Mountain or Knott’s Berry Farm. There would 5 to 10 bands at these festivals, and it was awesome to run around the park going from show to show. I got some of the best seats at these concerts.
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7
Don’t Feed your Fear Feed your Faith
But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.
Psalms 56:3
Fear sees a threat and reacts, Anxiety imagines a threat and can’t move
Pastor Rick Mandl
“Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”
Esther 4:16
Esther spent time in prayer before making this statement. She fed her faith.
Don’t Feed bitterness Feed forgiveness
Don’t Feed despair, Feed Hope
Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”
Lamentations 3:21-24
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
Corinthians 4:16-18
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8
Encouragement Notes Podcast 