Saturday Edition: The Sinking Ship

I've been reading a lot about what's going on our beloved nation. The break up of Defense of Marriage Act. The great city of Detroit filing for bankruptcy. The "I told you so" verdict of the Zimmerman trial. Congress' failure to make a deal to prevent the rise of student loan rates. The now rebuttal to "double jeopardy" because of the Zimmerman verdict. The lowered standards of education, especially in Texas, my new home state (but I'm a Wolfpack N.C. man at heart, Lol). All these things and more have sort of got me in meditation mode, you know. I'm trying to figure out, how in the world did we get here? Where did all of this chaos come from? For most of us, we can say the old catch phrase, "the devil made me do it." Yeah, the so-called "prince of the power of the air" does have a lot of influence in this world. Even in the garden of Eden, he made Adam turn a blind eye while Eve made a deal with him to become "a god." But do you want to know what I really think, my friends? It's the fragility and darkness of men's hearts that has orchestrated this chaos. How could Detroit, once the premiere city for music, big business, and sports turn into a real life version of "The Walking Dead?" How did a man who knowingly shot a young boy out of prejudice because his appearance rather than his heart get away with murder? How did the "powers that be" influence the jury's decision find him innocent, now opening the door for the Department of Justice to one day decimate "Double Jeopardy" (remember, they couldn't get OJ for the '94 murders so they had to frame him)? How come now everybody is on the bandwagon supporting gay marriage when it's not only the divine law of God but the working of nature that marriage is between a man and a woman (even the people of Mesopotamia knew this-do your research)? Why is it that our now generation is being lied to in their history classes and made to take tests that even their teachers can't pass (hello Texas State Board of Education)? All of these things and many more are the product of allowed chaos? Where is the voice of reason in all this? Where is truth? Where is real justice? Where's the standard? These past few weeks, I've been dealing with a lot of "indecisiveness" in my own life. All of these things happening around. I feel like sometimes, I'm in a sinking ship, sot of like the Titanic. I remember my 9th grade History teacher Mr. King (Enloe High School '95, Raleigh, NC- YayYay!) told us that by the time we get his age, things in law, education, finances, and morality would change. Wow, was that man right. By all means y'all, I'm not a "holy roller" who has an "inverted view" of things. I'm very cultured and I do believe America is that sinking ship. Just like Rome. Just like Ancient Egypt. Just like Babylon. I guess Lecrae was right, "everything is falling." When the world is off course, somebody, just one person has to shake themselves and go back to the One who put things back on course. You know the name. And it's by it that we can be saved, from the sinking ship.

Til next time, Love, peace, and soooooouullllll!  - dgwo

References:
Psalms 82
Acts 4:10-12

Coming Of Age: Prioritization

I've been thinking a lot lately over my life. About a couple of weeks ago, I turned 32 and at that moment, life hit me. You see, I've been going through changes, a whole lot of changes. A lot of things I would allow or condone, I don't anymore. A lot of things I used to do, I don't do them anymore. There have been many people I used to hang with, well, we're not that close anymore. It's the natural order of things. Changes. Coming of Age. Now, I've reached a point in my life where I want more out of life. I'm not saying that I'm going to sell my soul over money, things, or fame. I'm saying that it's time to start building an inheritance for my future children, building up my household, investing into other people's lives who are younger than me. It's time for me to start traveling a whole lot more and live a full life. It's time to do all that God has put in my heart. I'm pretty sure you guys feel the same way but many of us wonder how we can get to that place of ultimate fulfillment. It's all summed up in one word, prioritization. For the past couple of days, I've been researching a lot of information through studying the Bible, reading professional comments on certain topics, and talking with my wife. I've come to realize that we Americans and even abroad lack in the skill of prioritization. We love to multitask; meaning, we love to plan out all these lovely ideas and think to do them all at the same time. We love being "busybodies" because we feel like we have something to prove to others (and maybe to ourselves to rid thoughts of regrets/unforgiveness of misdeeds). We love "overstuffing" ourselves (our time) with things so we can feel important or "fulfilled." In all actuality, at the end of the day (a common saying on Love & Hip-Hop - Lol), we feel torn, abused, wrecked, tired, and scattered in our thoughts. We feel worn down, confused, regretful, and lastly unfulfilled. These feelings and more are the result of lack of prioritization. Many of us,  to be honest with ourselves, have no priorities. That's why we're going no where in life. Many of us are multitasking, over-filling our time with things that don't matter. Maybe we've got all these great ideas but do them out of time. We focus on things and people that don't matter. We try to be Superman, saving the entire world or the world of people who aren't trying to save themselves. We try to salvage things that need to be scrapped. We hustle and bussle to the point where we're on the side of the road because we didn't put gas in our cars (let that marinate). We're killing ourselves and keep deceiving ourselves that we're living. We're shaving off years of our mental health and it's going to be one event that will cause us to blow up. Many of us don't even spend time with our family and loved ones because "we have to do this." We abandon our kids, our parents, or a project we know that's really important we continue to neglect. We lack priorities. And most importantly, God is out of our life's equation altogether. Jesus, who is the chief cornerstone is now laying in a field somewhere waiting to put in place to hold our building. Without a foundation built on the rock, the house will crumble. Since He is not number one, all of these other things have taken His place and we wonder why our lives, governments, churches, families, businesses, and communities are in ruins. Today, He's allowing all these crazy laws, environment catastrophes, and relational breakups to happen to get our attention (but many of us have yet to read to text message - Lol). He's telling us, "hey dudes and dudettes, put Me back as first in your life." Once He's first, we should take care of ourselves by cleaning our houses, getting our finances in order, taking vacation time, and treat yourself to video game or something. Then we need to take care of our families as we take care of ourselves. Then it's our job, which is a source of income, and the list goes on. Prioritization is knowing what's the most important, most essential thing that needs to cared for or attended to. Prioritization is nixing those things or people that are time wasters, unimportant, and distracting. Prioritization is realizing we only have one life on this earth and how we need to walk in wisdom more than ever. Yes, others are not going to roll with you when you begin to prioritize your life because many people love "out of course" living. That type of living is for people who'll never be nothing or ever achieve greatness in life. You my friends, are called for greatness and it takes prioritization to achieve it. King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, achieve many great feats. He became rich without measure. He had it all and he kept getting more and more. However, all of his doings put a heavy weight on his mind. His life was spinning out of control. It got to the point when he was becoming more of a pimp than a husband. He started to put more taxes and other burdens on his people because of his ambition. His once blameless life became the hall of shame. He lost the essence of what life is all about and lost himself in the process. His life's tree withered. Then he realized, wow, my life's in shambles. How can I get it back on track? Then he learned one word, vanity. Vanity is more than the love of money and things of this world. It's chasing after something or someone not meant for you. It's something that's going to do more harm than good, even if it is a great benefit for others (but not for you). Solomon learned that his decision to chase after vanity brought misery to his life. That's when he smelled the coffee and started to prioritize his life from the ground (read Proverbs, you'll see). I know I've said a lot here and maybe went on a tangent but that's because I'm tired of living a life without priorities. I hope after downloading this, you'll feel the same way, too. It's unfulfilled and full of regrets. My friends, let's do better. Let's be better. Let's grow up by prioritizing our lives the right way.

Til next time, dgwo

References:
Ecclesiastes 1-3
Proverbs 4
Matthew 6:33