Closer

This week was one of the busiest weeks in a while.  Rochester Winterfest gave me the opportunity to just become closer to those that are always around you.  I honestly don’t know why I was chosen to be in the room with the kids from the youth group, and it doesn’t matter.  I made the best of it, Brenan and Jeremiah.  To key students in the youth group, I had the chance to spend the weekend with them this weekend.  Truly getting to know them for who they are as a person, which is something that I haven’t been doing as much because I would allow everything else to get in the way for helping people right here.  You don’t have to be a super hero or spend lots of money on them to impact them.  Time is key find out what they like, what they listen to, what they don’t like.  Whether or not they snore, or talk in their sleep.  It’s the little things that leave an impact on a persons life.  But I felt like I accomplished something and I appreciate the little bit of time I did get to spend with them.  Within a short amount of time you are able to influence people.  Even though it was a busy time, I was still able to accomplish that, and I encourage you to encourage, influence and engage with others that are close to you, yeah sometimes those are the people we overlook the most.  God Bless and much Love

My Recap

                                     Throughout this school year I tend to just sit back, and recap the year; but I have found being a leadership student to be stressful at times.  Sometimes a bit overwhelm but overall pretty good.  But sometimes the first impression is the only impression that matters when you come down to it.  Things rise and fall on leadership and when something is broken it falls on leadership.  But when you first meet someone the first thing they realize is your face, your personality and your first conversation.  Therefore you have to be careful on how you come off to people.  Sometimes people mistake your kindness for evil and that’s a leader the only thing that you can protect is your integrity.  But throughout life you will face a lot of things and honestly that’s just how it goes.  But how you respond truly determines your character.  Leadership students are to be the example in integrity excellence, and honor and lead in relationships faith and culture.  To be honest it isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do.  But as a leader is anything truly easy?  Especially when it comes to those that you love and or close to you, doing the right thing is all that matters and if you do that then everything else will fall into place.  Becoming the bad person for the right reason! The betterment for yourself, for others and God’s kingdom; I realized that I have a lot of points this week, but it’s just a recap of everything I have learned this year and things that can maybe help you out along the way.  

Set a Fire

This week was awesome, seriously it was Winterfest weekend.  Leadership is influence and you have heard me say that on numerous occasions.  As many of you know last year I had an internship as youth pastor at Owings Mills Church of God and one of the things that I tried to instill in them was teamwork, unity, ultimately togetherness.  Now I haven’t seen these kids since the end of April in 2012.  But who would have thought it, that they would have honestly held on to my teachings, and God’s word the way they did.  Grant it, it was a bumpy journey and is far from being completed but just the fact that they have grown so much over a short span means a lot to me and a lot to them.  The first night I was bum rushed by the kids, while I was working the Mission Booth, and it brought me happiness.  It was one of the greatest moments if not the greatest moment of Winterfest this year.  Wait, altar call Saturday night did it for me.  When I saw them wanting to pray with each other and pray for each other they reminded me of a little family.  Because from the first time I met them, they said that that is what they wanted to become, and at the beginning that didn’t trust one another neither did they really like each other, and when you see them turn into what I saw this weekend it shows that as a leader, you never give up on someone no matter how long it takes.  That as you constantly pour into people eventually they will catch on, people just catch on at different times.  If you’re a leader, you can’t allow yourself to become a “Starving Baker”.  A person who is so worried about pouring into others, that they forget to pour into their self and nothing gets accomplished.  So as you go throughout your day I challenge you to stay strong in Christ and never give up on people.  Continue to pour and one day the fruit will show. 

God Bless