THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE THAN NO RANCH SAUCE IN YOUR BAG!

     It's never a dull moment at Chick Fil-A or in any business where you deal with the general public. I am not writing this blog to bash people or the business I work for. This is all just an observation and how we can apply life situations with our own lives. There is a lot of comedy in working with the general public but I also see a lot of entitlement and attitudes. I do meet many nice people who are grateful we are serving them with a smile. For me it's a job and I appreciate the paycheck. My heart does break for how people my own age treat our young workers who are out in the sun working real hard. They don't deserve to be treated harshly. Okay, my rant is over!

     With our dining room closed at Chick Fil-A for probably quite some time, we are only doing drive thru and mobile orders. Our lines are long and people are impatient. I discovered a new oxymoron. Patient New Yorker!! A few weeks ago I had the job of delivering food to cars who placed mobile orders. I would have to say people are somewhat patient and some offer tips. It is always our job to put our guests first which is what I personally try to do. If you know me, you know I give 100& in all I do. One particular guest had a reaction that really stood out to me. He ordered a few meals and asked for ranch sauce. Our baggers do a great job making sure everything is in the right bags. I walked up to his car, said his name and handed him his food and beverages in a basket so we have contactless deliveries. The man looked at me and said "Wait, before you go. Let me make sure there is ranch sauce in the bag." He went through the bag and saw his sauces. I didn't say a word and waited for him to look. He then looked at me and said "You know, the last time I was here you forgot to put ranch sauce in my bag!" He wasn't rude, just very direct. My first thought was "I forgot? I don't ever remember seeing you before, sir?" I smiled at him and said, "We do our best, sir." His response was "Well, you did forget." Again, he wasn't being mean but I could tell he was upset about the fact that the last time he was at our Chick Fil-A, "we" forgot his ranch sauce. Who knows, it could have been last week, last month even last year. He certainly didn't forget about it. When I walked away, I could hear that voice in my head say "There are more important things in life than no ranch sauce in your bag!" 

     This got me thinking (I know that's very scary when I think!), if our life was a bag, do we expect God to constantly fill it with what we want? Do we expect God to give us our every desire like a magical Genie? I also thought to myself, what is important to me? What God does for me or what I do for God? Do I wave my "Bag of Life" at God and say "Okay God, it's been a while since you have blessed me. When is it my turn?" That man at Chick Fil-A was only concerned about his food and what sauce he wanted for his meal. I'm sure if he was inside the store, he would probably want 10 more ranch sauces. My question for all of us is simple. Are we holding out the "Bag of Life" expecting God to only bless us with what we want? Or are we asking God to hold out his bag and say, "Hey God, how can I bless you today? What can I do to make a difference in this world?" For me, I want to strive to bless God and be used by him. Whether I'm selling chicken to New Yorkers or lawn mowers at Home Depot to people who want it half price. There are important things in life! I pray you discover how amazing God is and put him first in your life!

HAVE A BLESSED WEEKEND!!! 

❤

     

     

LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM "ROCKY"

     One of my favorite movies of all time is the movie Rocky, by Sylvester Stallone. I realize it is very bloody and violent but I always appreciated the storyline. Ironically the one sport I have never been a huge fan of is the sport of boxing. The thought of 2 grown men beating the tar out of each other in a boxing ring is not my cup of tea. When I was very young I did want to know the results of an Ali/ Frazier boxing match but as I got older boxing was not my thing. I don't even like when the fight during a hockey game!

     The Original Rocky movie was a low budget project and was an idea that Sylvester Stallone had watching a previous boxing match where an unknown boxer Chuck Wepner fought Muhammad Ali and gave him a run for his money. It became a huge box office smash and won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1976. Without going through the entire movie, I just want to focus on a few things. There is a scene where Rocky and Adrian are in Rocky tells Adrian "I can't win." He then tells Adrian he just wants to "Go the distance" which means he wanted to last all 12 rounds of the fight without being knocked out. We see Rocky train real hard, going for long runs, punching raw meat in a meat factory and training real hard. Apollo Creed, the heavyweight champion does not train and is looking at this fight as a "great show." He only chooses Rocky Balboa as his opponent because he likes his nickname "The Italian Stallion." During the fight Rocky does the impossible and knocks out the Champ, something that has never happened. If this fight were to take place today, it would have been stopped in the first or second round. But, of course this is Hollywood! As the fight goes on Rocky takes a beating and refuses to be knocked out. My favorite part in the movie is when Apolo knocks out Rocky, Rocky gets up and motions to Apollo "come on." Apollo looks at Rocky in disbelief and the announcer says "Apollo can't believe it!" Both fighters are badly beaten, bloody, both have swollen faces and the fight ends. Apollo wins the fight but Rocky's goal was set. He went the distance!

     This movie is only a movie but it has always inspired me to "Go the distance" with various areas of my life. I am not the kind of guy who likes to put all my "dirty laundry" on my blog. I do wear my heart on my sleeve. I was told when I was a pastor that you should never be too transparent. I disagree. I believe people need to see that pastors are not perfect and are people too. Of course you don't want to share every intimate secret of your life! There are too many pastors who want you to believe they have it all together. They don't. I want to share with you areas in my life where I want to continue to "Go the distance" and never "throw in the towel." As I share them, it is not my way of complaining or whining, but they are areas I want to grow in and see changes in as I "Go the distance."

1. WITH LIFE DECISIONS

 

     Ever since I resigned from SGT, I have been trying to figure out what career path to take. I have tried everything from limo driving, sales, restaurant management, Home Depot and Chick Fil-A. If you know me, my heart is ministry. It has been since I was 17 years old. I am presently working 2 jobs. I am full time at Home Depot and part time at Chick Fil-A. Both jobs are very physical. I do try to stay in shape but I realize I do need a new career path in order to survive living on Long Island. I will "Go the distance" and see what plans God has for me. 

2. WITH FORGIVENESS

     Since 2013, there are a number of people I need to forgive. People who have hurt me. All of them hurt me by different ways and they all have a story. Some of them may not even realize they did me wrong but I realize I need to forgive them. I have just started a personal study on what the bible says about forgiveness. There are days I feel like I have forgiven. There are other days I want to get even. I'm not going to lie. So with all that said, I hope to one day have 100% forgiveness in my heart. I am willing to "Go the distance" in my forgiveness. It will not be easy but it does need to happen.

3. WITH MY TWO OLDEST CHILDREN

     I am the father of four kids. I do get to spend time with my two youngest kids who are 19 and 14. My two oldest kids will not speak to me. To say it's heartbreaking and painful is an understatement. It has been a wound in my heart that is beyond painful that I wake up to every morning. I even hate writing this because all I want is reconciliation and to see a healing in our relationship. I want to one day sit down with them and find out what I did that is so terrible. I have sent letters to them that have been ignored with no response. They are 27 and 25. Both work jobs and live with their Mom. I am not giving up and I will "Go the distance" when it comes to reconciliation. I have asked God many times "Why is this taking so long?" but I also know as the enemy has tried to pound on me and tried to knock me out, I am still taking the punches but I refuse to go down! one day I look forward to my blog that will say "Reconciliation." I know God is in control!

4. IN MY WALK WITH GOD

     

     I have been a Christian since 1977. I was a shy 8th grader when I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. For the past 42 and a half years I have tried my best to live the Christian life. In my high school years, as a bible college student, as I have worked various jobs, in my 22 years as a pastor and through good times as well as bad. The bible says in 1 Timothy 6:12 to "Fight the good fight of the faith." I have tried in all my years to live the Christian life the best that I can. I have made mistakes simply because I am human and I am not perfect. Only Jesus is perfect. So as I "run the race" I continue to "fix my eyes on Jesus" and "Go the distance" when it comes to my walk with God. As the enemy tries his best to knock me down, I will stay on my feet and "Go the distance" knowing one day when I die, Jesus will say to me "Well done good and faithful servant."

     I hope after you read this, it will encourage you to "Go the distance." To conclude, I want to quote Rocky Balboa who famously said "I ain't no bum." Don't be a bum!! Go the distance!!

 

 

        

     

     

  

 

     

 

WE, LIKE SHEEP

     Yes, I know. Another blog about animals two weeks in a row. If you know me, you know I love animals. i own two pets. A cockatiel and a fish. Lately the subject of sheep has caught my eye. I recently read about them in a devotional book I try to read every morning called "Daily in Christ" by Neil T. Anderson. In his devotional he discussed the topic of sheep. Sheep are interesting creatures. Truthfully, they are extremely dumb. They have been known to stand five feet away from a barn door in the pouring rain and have no sense to just walk into the barn. They have also been known to eat so much as they are grazing a field that they can eat themselves to death. Truth be told, sheep need something or someone in their lives to direct them. We call it a shepherd!

     I have never met a shepherd or seen one in action. I have been told that they are important in the life of every sheep. They know how to control a flock of sheep. When they stand up and walk away, the sheep follow him. They might whistle and the sheep will run to them. If sheep have no shepherd, they become disoriented and scatter. Many times a ram will arise from the flock and butt heads to determine who will lead. Sheep need a shepherd. Someone who will lead them. I think it's amazing how all a shepherd needs to do is walk away or call his sheep so that they will quickly run to them and follow immediately. A shepherd's staff is used for two reasons. Sometimes to poke the sheep who tend to wander but also as a hook to pull the sheep towards them who try to wander away.

     If you look at this from a biblical perspective, it all makes sense. One thing does bother me but I do find humor in it. That one thing is that Jesus refers to us as His sheep. Of course He is the Great Shepherd who leads us. But in reality, Jesus is calling us dumb if you think about it. Truthfully, many times we are dumb. We do our own thing, we wander away, we think we have all the answers. Like the sheep who is standing in the pouring rain five feet away from a barn door, we allow worry and fear to pour down on us without running to the Lord for shelter. We wander away like sheep doing our own thing and losing our way. We need a shepherd to guide us and give us direction. That is why Jesus is truly the Good Shepherd. We need to follow Him and not wander away. But, we are human and we make mistakes. It is not God's will for us to be lost or wander away. We do have a free will but we do have a choice. Follow the Good Shepherd or wander away. When sheep wander away, they can be devoured by other hungry animals such as coyotes, bobcats or mountain lions. When we wander away, the enemy, the devil would love to devour us. Of course we know that scripture says in 1 John 4:4 - "Greater is he that is in me, then he that is in the world." Satan has no rule over us and cannot devour us because we have not only a Good Shepherd but a Great Shepherd Jesus who will do everything in His power not to allow one of his children to wander!

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!!

 

 

     

 

    

WHY DID THE TURTLE CROSS THE ROAD?

     No, I'm not about to tell a corny joke. If you know me, you know I can be a real jokester. This time I'm going to be cereal, I mean serious. What I am about to share is real and did happen on Sunday, June 28th! It all started on my trip to my job at Home Depot. I was scheduled to be at work at 8:00 a.m. and was on route heading north on Nichols road. Nichols road is a busy road that runs between Stony Brook and Blue Point heading north and south on Long Island. The Home Depot I work at is maybe ten or fifteen minutes from where I live. The speed limit is supposed to be 55 MPH but as you know in New York that's only a suggestion. As I approached the intersection of Nichols Road and Hammond road I noticed something in the road. At first I thought it was a baseball cap but as I got closer I thought it might be an injured bird. As I got really close I discovered it was an honest to goodness turtle. I passed over the turtle (no, I did NOT run it over!) and continued on my route to work. I said a quick prayer for the turtle praying no one would hit him. During the day, I thought a lot about this turtle and how it applies to us. That is my point in this blog!

     I have not seen very many turtles lately where I live. Turtles are interesting creatures. We all know they move slow. When I think about the turtle I saw crossing the road, he obviously was in no hurry. He was taking his sweet old time crossing a very busy road. Thank goodness it was a Sunday morning and their wasn't a lot of traffic. I'm sure if you got into the head of this turtle, he was probably concerned about getting food. He didn't notice he was crossing a busy road with cars zooming by. He didn't realize he was walking on an asphalt pavement to a median strip pf a busy highway. He wasn't nervous he was going to possibly get run over. He had one thing on his mind....FOOD! There weren't other turtles on the other side of the road yelling "Hey, Tommy the Turtle! Shake a leg dude. Move faster. You are in danger!!" 

     How many of us are like this turtle? We are living in danger but don't realize it. We think it's okay to live in danger, maybe cross the line and don't realize the results could be damaging. What comes to mind is always drug use, alcoholism or other addictions. Once we are hooked we are hooked. How about other things we do like telling lies, gossip or being extremely arrogant or prideful. The turtle didn't know he was in any danger whatsoever. We are much smarter, at least we think we are but we are human and we do make mistakes. We all have needs and wants and we desire to get what we want. Without realizing the danger we might face, we take a huge risk or gamble. I pray you will not be like this turtle and will always do the right thing!

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!!