Believers + Conversations About Faith
Six months ago today, I put my kids on the school bus for the first time. Yesterday we began a new school year, unlike anything anyone might have ever imagined. Just a few op-ed & meme’d words that have resonated with me…
A few years back, I was blessed with the opportunity to have met Eric Kellum. I was going through some tough times, and God saw fit for Eric and I to connect. That connection played an integral role in the birth of this platform. Fast forward to an unprecedented time, an age of social distancing, and an era of a new that most might have only thought possible in movies. It was a pleasure to catch up with Eric, share a little about his new book Sexual Healing, and the upcoming Virtual Locker Room series he’s kicking off May 23rd.
As this will likely be one of the most notable #GivingTuesday‘s in the #NotForProfit community this year, Burden & Purpose’s Will Lewis had a #GreatConversation with Eshauna Smith, President & CEO of Urban Alliance. Urban Alliance is a national youth development nonprofit that provides economically-disadvantaged young people with access to the exposure, opportunity, support, and training needed to prepare them for lifelong economic self-sufficiency.
On this #GivingTuesday, please consider sharing your resources with this historic nonprofit that is making an impact in cities across the country.
What Makes a Great Dad
One of my buddies on social media recently shared that he had asked his kids during this #COVID19 #HomeSchooling experience, to write about what makes a great dad. And as I read the shared responses he got from his kids, I was reminded, kids aren’t looking for someone that is perfect in character. They aren’t looking for someone that is amazing in sports. They aren’t even looking for someone to buy all of the toys that they THINK they want.
What they are looking for is time together.
“What makes a dad great is a dad that will go play basketball. A great dad is a dad that will play video games with you. Now that’s a great dad” – My homie’s 11 year old son wrote.
One of the most cherished gifts we will ever have is time. As adults, the one thing that we can never seem to find enough of is time. It will be the best gift we can ever give to the ones we love. Today was a reminder that we have have to make time together a priority.
Looking back at how my wife and I, my friends, family, and co-workers do this well with their kids, from taking them to the movies, to including them in special projects around the house, I can also see that there is always an opportunity to improve and do more.
Great Dads Spend Time Together with Their Kids
Its in those moments, the learning and teachable moments, that we’re able to SHOW them what it means to live as God intended. That’s when the questions about life will be most personal and “real talk” will happen
Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. – Deuteronomy 11:19
Dads remember that simply being present and spending time together is one of the greatest gifts you can give to your children. It’s a long-term investment into their lives that you will never regret.
Let Me Know
How do you try to spend more quality time with your children, especially in the midst of the social distancing and shelter-in-place restrictions? We’d love to hear from both the working and non-working moms and dads, about how you focus on carving out time in your busy lives.
In 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that 49.1 million Americans lived in “food insecure” households which is the official measurement of food deprivation in America. Seven years later, in the midst of a global health and economic crisis, those statistics have more than doubled. Food insecurity is defined as not having adequate or consistent food supply for an active, healthy life for all members of the household or a limited uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods throughout the year. Simply put, they are hungry or at-risk of hunger. Poverty and resources such as transportation are the leading causes of food insecurity. Unfortunately, people in the U.S. go hungry every day. Unfortunately, Prince William County will see about 14,000 children go hungry every day if the resources aren’t there to feed them.
As a response, Dr. Vanessa Gattis and the Prince William County Community Foundation launched the C.H.O.W. Initiative and put the C.H.O.W. Wagon on the streets. Aiming to help eradicate hunger in the Prince William County area for minors ages 18 and under, they’ve partnered with the Prince William County Public Schools system and set up a haven for children to receive meals, up to two times a day and on the weekends.
Burden & Purpose’s Derreck Smith caught up with Dr. Gattis for another #GreatConversation
“How do you hear God’s voice?” Have you ever asked yourself that question?
At some point, I’m sure you’ve heard people say, “God told me such-and-such”, and your inside voice says, ‘How’d you know that was God?’
“I heard God say”, for me has been one of the most misunderstood phrases I’ve ever had to deal with. Creating misunderstanding, confusion, hurt, rejection, jealousy, pride and plenty of other negative emotional responses.
Watching the facial expressions, body language, and behavioral responses of others in the presence of someone who often says ‘God told me’ might lead me to believe that some might as if they don’t understand how to hear God’s voice, or even feel inferior, thinking that God never speaks to them.
For me, the ability to discern the leading of the Holy Spirit as my prayer life became more active and powerful. Hearing the Spirit speak in my heart and mind as my relationship with God got stronger. Strengthening my active listening skills with an expectant spirit is a constant working progress; for me anyway.
I’m sure that I’m not alone in the struggle with distractions and busyness, in addition to emotional stresses, like exhaustion, depression, fear, anger, grief, and anxiety. Watching the enemy turn up the emotional chaos in my life, I found to be one main barrier that kept me walking in fellowship with God. Jam packing my day with distractions in an effort to get me to tune God out.
So what’s the addition to activity and noise?
Those closest to me have asked, “are you afraid to be alone with your own thoughts?”. Am I? Are we? Afraid of quiet and solitude? Are we avoiding peaceful fellowship with God because we’re afraid we might not be good enough with all of our baggage? Are we afraid of what God might say to us or ask us to do if we sit still long enough to hear Him speak to us? Or are we just unsure of how to handle the responsibility of being still and knowing that He is God?
Throughout His word, God spoke clearly, and audibly. In Job 40:6 God spoke out of a whirlwind. Habakkuk could distinctly identify the sound of God speaking to him Habakkuk 2:2. And Elijah said that the sound of God speaking was as, “a still small voice” 1 Kings 19:12.
Beyond His Word, God will also speak to us by other means, like books, movies, videos, sermons, conversations with other people, and our personal experiences.
Having been fervent in prayer, asking God for an answer, I’ve heard Him answer in the most unexpected ways and times. Some times at the most strangest and out of control moments, or through someone that I least expected to hear that answer from. His “voice” cutting through the noises and distractions of the world, and deep within our souls, He will make His will and His message clear. And sometimes, it’s not what I/we want to hear.
Honestly, I’ve never audibly heard God’s voice, but I’ve heard and felt Him speaking to my heart, and its been undeniable.
Hearing God, for me, has been when I’m in a storm, or in deep constant prayer about something important in my life, or in the lives of those I love, or in a very comedic fashion, leveling up and transitioning from one chapter of my life and moving on to the next.
Today, I encourage you to pray to God to speak to you regarding His will for your life, marriage and family. “Father God, help me to hear your voice. Please give me wisdom and discernment over my own spiritual life, my marriage, and my relationship with my kids. Father God, please stamp and confirm any behavior that might be hurting my family’s relationships, and teach me to listen carefully without being judgmental. Amen.
Make time for the quiet moments, as God whispers and the world is loud. —author unknown
You Tell Me-
Have you ever heard the saying, “Build it and they will come”? Welp, sometimes God will ask us to step out on faith and obedience, and THEN he’ll show us the next step we should take.
How do you block out the noise to hear God’s voice?
To look back and reflect on the season of divorce, for me, is still surreal. Deeply rooted in the belief that my testimony will help another avoid some of the mistakes made, or heal through the hurt is truly part of what birthed Burden & Pupose.
A sound bite that I’ve recently heard that’s resonated with me has had me run through a number of my experiences growing up, “More is caught than is taught”.
When there aren’t a temendous amount of positive examples of what marriages and relationships are supposed to look like, for me I can honestly say that my “true north” was misguided.
A mentor of mine shared an article with me recently. Hannah and Fard Bell. The “Happily Divorced Couple”. After spending 13 years together as life partners, they celebrated their divorce, and shared 5 lessons they learned in a penned letter…