This explains itself. Enjoy!
“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”
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There’s a scene from the movie Facing the Giants, in which coach Grant Taylor tells Brock Kelley to do the death crawl with a teammate on his back. The kicker is that he had to do it blindfolded, and the only direction he would received was the voice of the coach, not the sight of his eyes. It is a very inspiring scene. It represents life in many ways, yours and mine. We go through life many times crawling, because that’s the only way we can advance. And we also we find ourselves crawling blindfolded with extra weight over us. A perfect combination for a quitter.
We have all had these seasons in our lives. Moments that make us question everything. Times when our sight is clouded, blindfolded, and we have no direction whatsoever. Times in which we have an extra weight on our backs that pushes us down, reviving the idea of quitting every second. It’s in moments like these that I appreciate the coach Taylor’s of the world. Those that push us harder and inspire us to continue to move forward, even when we can’t see where we are going. That voice that leads us to the end zone, and helps us realize that we can do more, be more, achieve more. That voice that will not accept a no for an answer, and will expect the best of us, no matter what.
We need those voices. We all need from time to time; a firm voice that will acknowledge the pain, the struggle, but in spite of that will inspire and push you to the end zone. Just when Brock says, “its hard”, coach Taylor responds, “I know its hard, but you can do it”. And louder and louder he shouted on, “Don’t quit, Don’t Quit, your very best!”.
The same I tell you today. Don’t Quit. I know its hard, I know you can’t see anything in the horizon, but trust the voice, even if it is your own, that tells you; Don’t quit! Don’t quit on your family, it might be hard, but you have to give your very best! Don’t quit on your passion, I know its frustrating some times, but you have to give your very best!, Don’t quit on your children; there are many disappointments, but they are full of potential and they deserve your very best. Don’t quit on your God, He is the ultimate voice that leads you to the end zone, that pushes you further, beyond your limits, because He knows you can do more.
You can be a coach Taylor to the Brock Kelley’s in your life. Or maybe you feel like Brock, and just want to give up. I know, I’ve been both. Just follow the voice, push hard. If you do I promise you one thing; You will get to the end zone and everyone, even yourself, will be amazed of what you will achieved.
So above all, DON’T QUIT!
Enjoy the clip!
“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”
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© Copyright Danny Maldonado, 2014
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible: Today’s New International Version. 2005. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Listening to the tunes of Agnus Dei and How Great is our God, I wonder of your majesty and love. You have made me yours, even when I wander through this world and ignore your promptings to my own peril.
In the moments where our soul is sober and clear, questions flow and are inevitable. How can we elevate our thoughts and soul to the stature of whom God wants us to be? How can we honor you with the life you have entrusted us? It is for us to look at my own life and ponder where we are. We should not live a life of the likes of chicken, meddling in the earth and always feeding from the ground, scared of everything and tossed around by even the most minuscule of provocations. We should be living a life of the eagles, soaring high and elevating our lives above the circumstances and hitting it’s target with precision. Why? Why is the pull of this earth so strong in the soul and mind?
I can’t conclude definitely what are the facts that contribute to this, but I know that in part is what we let our lives be fed by. We let distractions, well, distract us. Can this be changed? What do we have to do to make life more focused and significant? What are the pressures that need to be alleviate from our life so the “right” food feeds the soul and mind?
I ponder this myself. I should understand better what is it that makes me act and react the way I do. Why the wandering? Why the unfulfilling pursuits and self flagellating journeys? How can I, in the pursuit of happiness, ignore the inclinations of the world and have the right sight of The Most High? How do I shift from the “I” to the HIM? Can it be done? Can I conquer this fallen state of mind and life? Is there a way where the focus of life runs away from the present state and passing satisfactions to the future prize of eternal joy, rest and fulfillment?
HE is Holy. I am not. He is the Most High, not me. When this heart focuses on him and realizes what he has done for it, it melts and drops. The stance is of adoration and prostration. Can this life be lived with that inner stance everyday? Is it possible to fulfill His purpose in life?
God is faithful, We are not. But we want to be. Knowing that never once He has had left our side is comforting, convicting and humbling just because it has not be reciprocated. Shame is the word that best describes the sentiment. Shame of walking away from the path that was made for us at the cross. Shame is the feeling that comes from a life that has wandered many times over. We question; I question. Can you give us a new heart? Can you change the way we respond to life? Can you respond to us when we plea as David plead? Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. – A pure heart, a steadfast spirit. – If I want something in this life is that. This is where I could dare to put my “I” first. A heart that kneels before the Creator and a spirit that longs nothing else but Him!
A pure heart and a steadfast spirit focussed only on that which HE wants. This is what I want in life. So I ask and pray, for a cure against wandering: A pure heart and a steadfast sprit. You should ask the same.
“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”
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© Copyright Danny Maldonado, 2014
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible: Today’s New International Version. 2005. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
I can just imagine the dialogue between them. One said to the other, “Hey what if he can help?” “You think he could?” The other responded. “I hear that he does it all the time, it’s natural to him.” He replied. “Well, let’s do it. Call the others.” Four men that showed the world the power of friendship. Four men that would risk their own reputations and social standing in order to help their buddy. Each took one corner of the mat where their friend was, and lifted it because he was paralyzed.
When they got there, a huge crowd separated them from the miracle. There was no way through. One said to the others, “Now what? It’s impossible to go through.” One replied, “Yes, it’s impossible to go through, but not impossible to go over.” Wow! Everyone needs friends like these. There is no question of their commitment and faithfulness. There is no question that the interest of others came first.
What about you?
Will you stand still and submit to the circumstances and the obstacles or will you go beyond your duty? Which friend are you? The one that sees what needs to be done and does it, or will you close your heart and hands in the cold name of convenience? Real friends walk two, three, four miles and more to see the miracle happen. They don’t need to do it, but they want to.
Which corner will you lift? What role will you play? How strong will you lift? Are you deterred by the seemingly impossible in front of you? Do you say, in any event, I did what I could why push it further? Why go through so much inconvenience? Why bother?
Books, and stories that are worth saying and emulating are not written of those that stood still and did nothing or just did what conveniently came their way. The stories that stir our hearts and move us to actions are those in which we see those who were daring enough to break the norm. The stories of those that decided to be bold in a world of mediocrity. History remembers the deeds of those that decide that good is not good enough, but being great is a way of life.
We do not know the name of these four men that carried their friend to the presence of Jesus. Yet a story was written of what they did. This tells us that our name is not as important as what we do. They carried someone to their miracle without prevention or asking for attention to themselves. Let us do the same.
What story are you writing? Which corner are you lifting? Who are you carrying to their destiny? What are you doing for others that they cannot do for themselves? You and I can be part of a select few if choose to do so. A band of brothers that will change the world. Let’s do it!
“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”
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© Copyright Danny Maldonado, 2013
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible: Today’s New International Version. 2005. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide
“…You have stayed at this mountain long enough. It is time to break camp and move on.” – Deuteronomy 1:6b-7a
Change. A word many of us dread because it represents an uncomfortable state in life. It is uncomfortable because it was in one of those changing times were we made our biggest mistake. Change has become an enemy and we have bunkered into our comfortable place of “status quo,” giving fear an undeserved throne. So unknowingly we opt for change; a change of masters. Change has become so difficult for us to handle that we are paralyzed in places that by our own admission are the wrong places. But we remain there because at least we know where we are. We don’t do good with change. Yet change is constant in every one’s life, even when we don’t want to admit it.
Moses was told by God himself to move. To leave the familiar for the unfamiliar. To trade the comfortable with the uncomfortable. To change the easy for the difficult. Every stage of life has a place and people for them. When we reflect intently into our past, we see a trend of who, what, when and where, and the results of those associations. There are places and people that might be a fixture in our life, and there others that are just for a season. There are places that are to remain part of who we are, and there are other places that are just a staging positions of our lives and a springboard for the future. Moses was told this clearly: “It is time to break camp and move on.” And probably this is what you need to do today.
Moving on is fearful and exciting all at the same time. There is hope in change. A sense of better and greater things ahead, even when we have no foresight of what that might be. We press on because hope fuels us. Hope is the oxygen of humanity. The children of Israel were urged to start moving so they could start growing. The familiar was good yet the unfamiliar was best. It would be costly, but worth it. In hindsight, a tipping point in history for a nation and the world.
This might be the inflection point you were secretly hoping for. This uncomfortable, blurry and messy situation might just be the place and the moment to thrust you into a new dimension never thought possible. This change, this decision, this direction, might be the one that defines the entire ending of your story. The truth about this story is the same truth about yours and mine. Because even when we might not acknowledge it every time, God is and has been walking with us all along and will continue to do so in the midst of change. “There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place,” and this should give you and me the assurance, that even when it might not be easy, we will get to the place God has promised us.
You can decide to stay put, to remain in the mountain even longer because it is comfortable and known to you. And your life might go well. Or you can dethrone fear from your life and raise the banner of hope that is branded in your heart. You can become the catalyst that ignites a chain reaction that creates a movement, a brand, a church, a family, a new future that will be traced back to your action. Because action begets expansion.
The message is clear; it’s time to move.
“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”
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© Copyright Danny Maldonado, 2013
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
It was a physically draining pain. Her body was aching and her spirit was tired. Twelve years had past already and there was no sign of anything getting any better. To top it off, there was no more money left, it was all gone. There was no doctor that could help her, and since she was now broke, the desperation grew bigger and bigger while her hopes dwindled down even further. Her physical condition meant that she was ceremonially unclean in her culture. To better say it, she was an outcast because of her illness and it made no difference to the religious leaders, whether she’d had financial resources or not.
Who knows what she was thinking. In her last attempt to get healed she would do whatever was necessary, even public ridicule. At this point there was no other option. There was nothing more left. And as her frail body and even more broken spirit made her way to the road, she gasped when she saw the multitude. “How will I get to Him?” she said to herself. But in that same moment of an apparent disillusion, an even greater hope emerged in her spirit. A determined woman with an unexplainable faith made her way through the crowd. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”
And as she was shoved back by those in front of her, determination grew in her soul. As the path continued to narrow in front of her eyes, faith created a highway for her to cruise. She was not deterred by what she saw or felt, the promise of a healed body and for the same means, a healed soul was bigger than the obstacles in front. Her condition was nothingness but she was walking towards the One who fills everything.
The women in the story not only got healed instantly, but Jesus himself felt it. It was that evident that he stopped and asked, “Who had touched him?”, virtue had come out of him. When your faith is in the right place and you’re down to your last effort or your last cent, there is something about nothing that moves the hand of God. You might be facing a similar circumstance. A broken body, a financial disaster, a disrupted relationship or even shattered dreams. What you see in front of you is just closed doors and many obstacles that even those that are around you are telling you, stop and take another route. They have lost hope in the name of reality. But just as this woman faced the unavoidable obstacles in from of her, you can do the same. When reality tells you, “those doors are closed, there is a wall in front”, faith screams, “I will open doors or make them if I need to.”
Regain a new hope, walk towards that which seems impenetrable. The One that has the virtue to change everything is waiting. You might hear those same words this woman received, “…your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”
Remember, there is something about nothing, that moves the hand of God.
“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”
Want this inspiration of coffee by email every morning? Enter your e-mail to subscribe at the top right of this page under the box for “Subscribe”. Like this writing and want share it? Just add your comment below on “Leave a Reply” or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or by email using any of the buttons next to “Share this:”
© Copyright Danny Maldonado, 2013
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Have you ever had one of those days? The ones that start with a “no” and even when it has not ended yet, you think that it will end the same way? They are very interesting days to say the least. I had one not so long ago, and those that know me well, know that the word “No,” does not resonate well with me.
Every time I am confronted with this I react in a many ways, the most persistent one is me being more resolved, sometimes a synonym in my language, to be more stubborn. What drives this in me? Why do I react this way? Often times I get confused when any opposing situation comes my way. How should I react? What should I say? Should I try harder or let it go? Should I take a different route or state my case more vigorously? What do you do when your daughter or son gets home and says, “I didn’t make the team,” or “I failed the test I studied so hard for”. Or your spouse comes and tells you, “the banker said, that our application was denied”. Day’s, weeks, months or even years of No’s, can definitely become very unsettling and discouraging.
Recently I read a phrase that said: “Trust God completely and let your feelings catch up later”. This is so true. We tend to react on the basis of what we feel and comprehend with our natural senses. That’s the way God created us so we could perceive the world around us. But Paul tells us in the letter to the corinthians a new paradigm; walk by faith and not by sight; believing not by seeing is the key. It’s hard sometimes, because we have conditioned ourselves to regard as true only those things we can prove, see or touch. We often sustain these arguments by statements, like “I have to be a good steward,” “it is a good example to be an example”, and many more. And yes, these statements are true and I don’t mean or imply to minimize the importance of them, all the contrary, but what I am saying is that we should have the kind of faith that amazes God. Wholehearted faith in God’s word for us.
Every promise, every word, every direction his word gives us is true, dependable and strong, regardless of where we are or what we are facing. I know, I have no idea what you are going through, and it’s true, no one can process the events in your life the same way you do. But what I can say is that I have experienced the days, the weeks the months and even the years of “No’s” in my life. And it is in those moments that the only sustainable, dependable place for me and my family has been God’s word and promises.
Call me childish or even ignorant if you will, but we have decided to have the kind of faith that would amaze even God. Believing in those things we cannot see and trusting that everything that has been created, even our own senses, will catch up later. I encourage you to do the same. It’s ok to acknowledge that you are not there yet. But get up and admit it to Him and ask in prayer for greater faith, that’s the first step to greatness.
His promises are true, His word is real so we have decide to walk by faith and let our feelings catch up later. You can do the same.
“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”
Want this inspiration of coffee by email every morning? Enter your e-mail to subscribe at the top right of this page under the box for “Subscribe”. Like this writing and want share it? Just add your comment below on “Leave a Reply” or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or by email using any of the buttons next to “Share this:”
© Copyright Danny Maldonado, 2012
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
While running some errands, I was listening to a radio station of a religious nature. It wasn’t very appealing or interesting, but just out of curiosity I continued to listen to get a grasp of what the point would be in the message, maybe something good could come out of it. I also listened from the perspective of someone that had no knowledge of the Scriptures. After ten minutes I stopped listening, because all of his message was just filled with, and it is not intended to cause any disrespect, but it was “christian language”, and had no point at all. I mean, I know he meant well but there was no message. Someone listening for the first time and was trying to get any knowledge of who Jesus is, would have finished even more confused. But the point that struck me more than anything else was the lack of structure and therefore the lack of planning from the presenter. It was that obvious.
While I was still driving I questioned myself: Should we as disciples and followers of Jesus, make any plans or just rely on our spiritual instincts? I was thinking of the example that I had just experienced. The presenter was definitely trying to use his head knowledge but had not defined pattern of what he was presenting. Examples in the Bible started to come to me. Each and every one expresses a God that is a master planner. Planning is his specialty, to plan is not only needed but it is required. I would go further and state that it is demanded. Albert Einstein said it well, “I am convinced that He (God) does not play dice.” in other words, He does not leave anything to chance or to randomness. He’s a master planner. And you can see it in everything created.
Some think that to plan is to show lack of faith. I would say that planning is showing your faith in action. Relying on your plans alone is another issue altogether. The first one is a complete act of trust in God and the latter is a complete trust in yourself. Not planning says to the world, “everything is random there is no logic nor purpose in what I do” and I would dare to say that it is a praise to mediocrity. To plan is to walk in the nature that God himself created us to be, because we were created in his image.
The creativity and the gifts you and I have been given, are not to be taken lightly. It would be easy to just let things happen, but that would be a waste of time, and talent. But if we acknowledge that God created us for excellence, we should be the example for the world to see. In our finances, our studies, our work and our home. We should be recognized as those that plan ahead and trust in a Master Planner that shows his love and mercy. From the moment his precious creation fell, he started planing his redemption through the sacrifice of his son Jesus. What a great plan!
To plan or not to plan? That is not the question. Why would you not plan?, would be a better one.
“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”
Want this inspiration of coffee by email every morning? Enter your e-mail to subscribe at the top right of this page under the box for “Subscribe”. Like this writing and want share it? Just add your comment below on “Leave a Reply” or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or by email using any of the buttons next to “Share this:”
© Copyright Danny Maldonado, 2012
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE boldly 