Heaving up a Prayer

My twitter background quote reads "Don't give up, don't ever give up." I took those words from a man named Jim Valvano, who is an inspiration to me. He coached basketball at NC State, and one of his most famous triumphs was winning the 1983 National Championship over powerhouse Houston. In case you don't know how the game ended, here is a video clip that truly symbolizes March Madness.

During the tournament, NC State was nicknamed the "Cardiac Pack" because of all of their close finishes. Even when NC State was losing, Jim Valvano would find a way to win. For instance, he was the first coach to tell his players to foul the other team towards the end of games, a seamlessly absurd strategy at the time. Today, this tactic is what causes the end of basketball games to take forever! If you are unfamiliar with this strategy, it prolongs the end of a game for the losing team by forcing the winning team to shoot free throws. This in turn allows the losing team to catch up or even take the lead if the winning team misses their free throws. Below is the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary titled "Survive and Advance" that you can watch if you are more interested in Jim Valvano and NC State's classic run through the 1983 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Although Valvano overcame many roadblocks during the tournament, one more appeared in his life that took a much greater effort to defeat. Ten years after hoisting the trophy, Valvano was diagnosed with cancer. If his national championship journey wasn't evidence of his magnificent perseverance, his battle with cancer sure was. One of his most prominant moves in his fight against cancer was creating the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. He announced it's establishment at the 1993 ESPYs, while giving an acceptance speech for the Arthur Ashe award. Below is the speech. I urge you to listen to all of it because it is very inspirational. If you don't want to though, you can click around the 9:25 mark to hear some familiar words.

All in all, Valvano's famous line, "Don't give up, don't ever give up," has been a mantra for me in my life. It took me a long time to realize though the difference between giving up and quitting.

Throughout my life, I have found that quitting is the hardest thing for me to do. I have always strived to give everything 110%. My "don't quit" mindset was probably engraved into my head through athletics. I played three sports in high school and quitting was something no coach tolerated. Whether it's not finishing a sprint through the line or giving in to fatigue, quitting was a no-no in sports. One of my coaches used to say, "Good enough isn't good enough." I translated this mentality into everything I did, whether it was exercising or doing homework. After graduating high school, I realized I had taken the "don't quit" mindset too seriously. It created an enormous sense of pride within me, and this affected my relationship with God.

Instead of listening to what God wanted me to do with my life, I chose what I wanted. I didn't give him any control. He probably was trying to tell me that I needed to spend more time with my friends. However, my pride blinded me. I had a better relationship with my sports and homework than I did with God and my friends. I now realize how important friendship is. A good analogy of what I am trying to talk about is Jesus. Jesus knew he had to stop living at some point, but he never gave up on God. Jesus could have been selfish and told God he wasn't going to die for humanity. He could have followed his own ambitions instead of what God wanted him to do. However, his relationship was so strong with God that he trusted God's plan for him to die. I shouldn't have been so headstrong about succeeding in sports and doing well on homework. Those were good goals, but God had other plans for me as well that I just couldn't see.

Now that I am in college, I am trying to trust God's plan more instead of my own. Jesus says in John chapter 14 verse 1,

               "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me."

While college can be stressful trying to balance academics and a social life, I feel at peace when I trust God. Therefore, I challenge you to build your trust with God. This can start by just talking to him by yourself, whether it's during breakfast, walking to class, or before bed. While we may think we know what we want in our lives, God has greater plans. We just have to talk to him and listen for an answer. Who knows? Maybe one day you'll heave up a prayer, and God will dunk it home for you. Just don't give up. Don't ever give up.


Hopefully the song for the week will make you happy. Have a great day!

Judge Not

On Sunday February 2, at 6:30 p.m., Richard Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks will run into Metlife Stadium to take on the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. To get there, the Seahawks had to beat the 49ers in the NFC Championship. After a thrilling game, few could forget the post game interview with the victorious Richard Sherman.
Take a listen:

My initial reaction was, "Man you are cocky." While surfing on social media, I realized many people were also expressing their opinions about Richard Sherman, although rather strongly. The most notable label people were giving him was "thug." After all, he is a black football player from Compton, California, one of the gang hubs of southern Los Angeles. He was almost suspended four games in 2012 for supposedly violating the NFL's performance enhancing drug policy. This is certainly enough evidence to call him a thug, right?

Honestly, my first opinion of Richard Sherman was that he was a thug too. When he was a rookie, I didn't like his cockiness, and he seemed to be a loud mouth trash talker. My opinion changed when I read a Sports Illustrated article about him two years ago on an airplane. Little did I know that Richard Sherman was salutatorian of his high school. And little did I know that he chose to go to Stanford instead of power house USC because he wanted to be a role model for kids in his crime ridden hometown. Now kids from Compton know it's possible to go to an elite college, if they work hard enough. Hard work seems to be a notable trait of the Sherman family. Every day, Richard Sherman's dad gets up at 4:00 a.m. to collect the trash of Los Angeles residents. After reading that article, I was humbled. I should not have judged him so harshly.  

If you're more interested in the specifics, take a look at what Richard Sherman wrote about himself in the column he regulary writes for Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback (MMQB) site: http://mmqb.si.com/2013/07/18/richard-sherman-introduction/

I'm sure a lot of other sports fans would be humbled too, if they gave some effort to actually get to know Richard Sherman instead of judging him on his post game interview. After all, he has a right to call himself the best cornerback in the NFL. In his young career, he has a total of 20 interceptions. That is the second most interceptions ever for any player in someone's first three seasons. In order to get to know Richard Sherman on a more personal level, I encourage you to check out this Buzz Feed list: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjkiebus/23-reasons-richard-sherman-is-quietly-one-of-the-most-likabl

To me, Richard Sherman is a compassionate person who has an extreme passion for playing football. Instead of living like a cocky superstar, he leaves his emotions on the field and is charitable off it. He is involved with the Blanket Coverage foundation to help kids have adequate school supplies and clothes. Hopefully you watched the video associated with number "22." on the Buzz Feed list. All in all, Richard Sherman is not a thug. It is a shame that myself and others judged him to be.

Jesus says in Luke 6:37: 

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 

It can't get more straightforward than that.

  

Even though God says do not judge, I believe it is humanly impossible not to judge. The trick is how permanent you make your judgment.  

Jesus goes on to state in Luke 6:42:

"How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." 

In my mind, Jesus is telling me to take a step back before I judge and to reconsider what facts I am using to label someone. One of my favorite ways to do this is to start a conversation with the person. Often, I discover that my initial perception was way off.

As Richard Sherman sprints onto the field this Sunday, I hope that people will view him in a new and more accurate light. When negatively judging others, take a step back and consider what the truth really is. If possible, maybe open your mouth and start a conversation. I'm sure Richard Sherman will be jawing his plenty this Sunday night.

The song for the week deals with not judging. Take it away Bob.

 

What is real?

In this day and age, it is hard for me to determine what is real and what is fake. Life is getting too fast and too technologically advanced. Here are a couple of examples where the "real or fake" question pops in my head.

Have you ever looked at any juice labels lately? One might read something like this: "Made with real fruit juice." I wish I didn't have to be told that what I'm drinking is real or 100% natural. Shouldn't I expect everything to be made with real ingredients? Sometimes they cost too much money though. So instead, I must consume chemicals that taste like real ingredients. Are drinks real or fake?

Another example in my life deals with advertisements. I'm told that fast food is made fresh, that cars can prevent crashes automatically, and that my insurance agent magically appears if I sing a jingle. Obviously I don't believe everything I hear during a commercial. I just wonder if any of what I hear is true. It's scary how commercials manipulate our brains. For example, complete this jingle: Five dollar, five dollar ___________. Are commercials real or fake?

Also, music these days is tricking my mind. When I listen to the radio, I always ask myself, "Is that his or her real voice, or is that autotune I hear? I wish more artists would stop manipulating their voices. I can't even tell what notes are humanly possible to sing anymore. Is music real or fake?

Here's the big question. Is God real or fake? It is very easy for me to say God is not real. I've never seen God. Nobody has ever taken a picture of heaven for me to see. If God was real, why does He let war occur? The arguments could go on and on.

The reason I know God is real is because I can feel His spirit. If you don't believe that I can feel his spirit, consider this scenario. Let's say someone comes up to me and asks,
           "How do you know your parents love you?"

My first answer would simply be,
          "They've told me they love me."

Let's say the person follows up by asking,
          "How do you know they aren't lying?"

My answer would be,
           "Because I can feel their love daily."

God is a lot like love. You can't explain it. You just have to believe that it exists. You have to share it with others and seek it for yourself.

The song for the week deals with believing. Hopefully we can all believe that God exists somehow in our lives. The lyrics "don't stop believin', hold on to that feelin" remind me to never stop believing in God and to always feel his love. Happy New Year everybody!

Love Does

The inspiration for my blog's title, Dream or Do?, comes from a book my friend gave me as a graduation gift this summer. It is titled Love Does. The star of the book is a man named Bob Goff who has some of the craziest stories I've ever heard. For example, he sat outside of a dean's office for two weeks just to get in to law school. He also randomly became the Ugandan consul.

Check out his website below if you are more interested:

http://bobgoff.com/aboutbob/

Each chapter of the book is a story about his life and what that story taught him. Ultimately, his main message is to "do". What does that mean? What I got out of the message was that Bob trusts God to provide for him in his life. He doesn't sit around and wish things happened. He follows his passions and isn't afraid to try new things. In the end, he comes away with amazing experiences he would have never dreamed could happen. That really opened my mind. Here I am planning out my life, when all I need to do is trust God and do what I love in the process.

What do I mean when I say I plan my life? I think most of us plan out our lives. I have a general idea about what I want/wanted to do as a high school student, college student, adult, and as a retiree. I think it goes something like this:

• I'll play sports in high school and get good grades
• I'll get a college degree and have the time of my life
• After graduating, I will get a well paying job
• Once I have that, I'll have/raise a family
• After working for about 40 years, I'll retire and travel everywhere in the world
• Then one day I'll die of old age next to some serene lake or other peaceful place. 

Granted, that is a pretty good life but it's boring. The point I am trying to make is that my life could be so much richer if I stop being afraid of what the future holds. In high school, I had a pretty good idea about what was going to happen. I was going to play three sports, do well in school, go to some proms, go out on Purdue's campus for lunch, etc. Especially being a college student now, I have no clue what the future holds. Reading Bob Goff's book resolved my fear of the future. I don't think God wants us to go through life with a check list. He wants us to trust that he will provide for us and bring us happiness. All we have to do is live our passions, try new things, and remember to love others in the process. The book made me realize that love multiplies. Every good deed you do, can multiply into something amazing.

I challenge all of you, as well as myself, to try new things this upcoming year and stop dreaming. Of course dreams are important, but procrastinating is not. LIVE your passions and love others while doing them. Then, I believe we'll be able to say we lived a happy life.

Here is a video I took from Joel Reinhard's blog. Yes, my West Side friends, The Mr. Reinhard. I randomly read his blog on facebook a while back and dreamed of writing one myself. But of course I put it off. So now, to coincide with the theme of this post, I am going to start doing something about it. He inspired me to start sharing my stories and God with you. Check out the video if you're interested. I think it has a good message.

 

Also, I'll try to include a song for the week with every one of my posts. What better way to start off than with a holiday classic. Merry Christmas everybody!

Introduction

I always love a good story. There is nothing better than listening to a friend's adventure or laughing about my mom's comedic day. Stories are meant to be shared, yet are personal. They are suspenseful, yet relaxing. It seems every time I hear one, I learn something. For example, I might get insight into someone's personality. Or maybe I'll learn an important lesson that I should implement into my life. Whatever the case, stories are a great way for people to share their thoughts with one another. I decided I would like to start sharing some of my stories with you and also incorporate God into them. To me, God is amazing. Some of you might not like God though, or even know him. One of my goals in this blog will be to help you know God better through events that have happened in my life. Maybe together, we can learn from my mistakes, laugh from my failures, and be motivated by my triumphs. But hopefully, we will be able to grow closer with God too. Because in the end, it's not about me. God wants us to share life with one another, to love one another. So let's begin. Let's share some stories.