Achuckallen

Instigating Better

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The Good Stuff from Sunday

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thegoodstuff

The Good Stuff:

Mondays. For many folks, it’s the toughest day of the week. For me, it’s an energizing day. It is that start to a new work week. It’s the day after and awesome Sunday. It’s the day before everything for next Sunday is set in place. And it is a day to get the week off to a great start. 

But this Monday is special. It followed a day when I was preaching to a mirror and hundreds of others that have felt the sting of self-doubt, insecurities, and fears as they looked in the mirror. But fresh off of yesterday’s teaching, I’ve chosen to look back into the mirror with my chin up, my chest out and my soul in tune with the Divine. I’ve chosen to receive the value that the Divine has placed on my life as His creation. I’ve chosen to let Him go before me, and make a way. To let Him go within me and give me peace, joy, fulfillment, and contentment. And I’ve chosen to confidently trust that when my way becomes difficult, He will come behind me and carry me through whatever this life can dish out. Why you ask? Because He has proven to me over, and over, and over that He loves me.

But I have better news for you than He loves me.He loves YOU!!!! As a reminder…

Jesus, when asked, “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Before we can love others, we must first love ourselves.  The Bible teaches us that we are to love ourselves. Love ourselves through the lens of the Divine.

— Loving ourselves doesn’t mean we become self-centered.
— It doesn’t mean we become arrogant and prideful.
— It doesn’t mean we think that we are better than others.

Loving ourselves means that instead of having a poor self-image, we have a healthy self-image.  We think positively about ourselves because God created us, and He doesn’t create anything poorly.  

But, like many of you, I can fall into the trap of condemning ourselves.  We say things like:

  • I am a failure.
  • No one likes me.
  • I am a terrible parent.
  • I’m just stupid.
  • I am just ugly.

And when we feed our minds with these condemning thoughts, after a while, we start believing them.  And before you know it, we experience low self-esteem, social withdrawal, a lack of inner peace, security, and depression.

Here is some incredible news – The faster you chase the Divine’s best you, the faster you can leave your past behind! And you can start by embracing the value that the Divine has placed on you!  He loves you so much, that He created you in His own image. In the story of creation, we read that: “God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Since we are created in the image of God, we are highly valuable in His eyes.

Great Chuck, but what do I do with my “real world problems” on this fine Monday? Well, remember what I said yesterday. There is a three-part prescription in your name, written for you and signed for by the Divine.

  • Ephesians 5:18-20 18 Don’t be drunk with wine because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

Here is the “Chuck notes” version: Don’t let anything control you but the Divine.
If you do, you are ruining your life. Let Him take control. How? Oh yeah, 

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    Philippians 4:6-7 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Again, “Chuck notes.”: Stop fretting, start praying, and again…say thank you!
Be grateful and seek peace. Peaceful souls have guarded hearts
and live in the presence and protection of the Divine.

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    John 15:16 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

Last “Chuck note.”: Like children on a playground, the Divine drafted you
number one. So play like it! And when you do, the Divine will give
you what you ask for…when we ask in His Son’s name, Jesus. 

LIVE IN GRATITUDE – When you are grateful for what you have, you’ll find that what you have is always enough!

TELL THE DIVINE ALL OF YOUR NEEDS – When we bring needs, wants and wishes to the Divine and leave them at His place, when we sit in His lap and speak directly to Him, when we finish our lists with “in Jesus’ name,” we are saying that I trust you with this so much that I will trust your decision and your answer to be for my good and for His glory!

LET YOUR GRATITUDE AND PRAYERS BECOME DAILY HABITS – When we turn our routines into sessions of Gratitude, Needs, and Trust, the Divine will always hold us, direct us, and lead us. He will straighten our path, He will always be for us, and He will love us with a never-ending love!

Let your life be filled to the point of running over with gratitude, with a healthy view
of the how and the who He has created you to be, and bring your praise, your needs,
and your wants into His presence…and just watch what He will do in your life!

Run to Him…Every single Day – Run to Him. He is ready for you to take a flying leap into His arms and catch you with a love that will never fade – Run to Him!

–AChuck

Let’s Run!

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In October 2016, USA TODAY reported on what Americans are most afraid of.
People are afraid of a lot of things, ranging from terror attacks to identity theft and deaths within the family, according to the third annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears.

Here are the top 10 fears of 2016:

  1. Corruption of government officials (same top fear as 2015) — 60.6%
  2. Terrorist attacks — 41%
  3. Not having enough money for the future — 39.9%
  4. Being a victim of terror — 38.5%
  5. Government restrictions on firearms and ammunition — 38.5%
  6. People, I love dying — 38.1%
  7. Economic or financial collapse — 37.5%
  8. Identity theft — 37.1%
  9. People I love becoming seriously ill — 35.9%
  10. The Affordable Health Care Act/”Obamacare” — 35.5%

Is that not fascinating to you? Seriously? My greatest fear is that I will have died and never actually lived! I’m fearful that I will not have left any significant dent in the planet by which someone could look back on and say, “this world is really going to miss Achuck.”

I’ve been a part of some very cool things in my life, but I don’t think that I’ve ever truly pushed all the chips to the middle of the table, and gone for broke. 

Well, it’s time. At 57 years of age, most folks are ready to settle in and ride it out. Maybe mail it in for a season. Avoid causing a stir or upsetting the apple cart. 

No! It is time to put the hammer down and go for broke. I may crash and burn. It’s possible that I will swing big and miss. But I am more confident than ever that this is the time to trust the Divine and Run! As my favorite TV preacher, TD Jakes would say, “somebody make a path, I gotta run. Get in the race or get out of my way, it’s time to run!” 

I hear the waves splashing against the side of the boat as Peter steps out on the water. I see the boldness as he says to the beggar  at the Gate Beautiful, “look at us!” I feel the presence of the Divine as He speaks “Peace be still” to the universe, and she answers. And I sense the Divine welling up inside me saying “RUN AChuck, RUN!”

Wanna run with me? It’s gonna cost us something.

It’s going to be a significant risk. It will require great faith. It will challenge our assumptions and question our sanity. But I hear Him saying to me, “AChuck, let’s run!”

I will not look back one year from now and have to utter the saddest words in the English language – “I WISH I WOULD HAVE!”

Are you with me? Then let’s run!

WATCH TD JAKES RUN IN THIS VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE!

–AChuck

Sticks & Stones

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The guy that originally said, “sticks and stones will break bones, but words will never hurt me,” must’ve been delusional. Maybe he never attended high school, or maybe he never played ball. 

The truth is that our words can destroy people, ruin relationships, and leave a trail of charred and broken bodies in its wake. 

James 3: 9-12 has a unique way of calling out our voices. The Scripture says, “but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.”

It’s odd how folks want to honor God with their lips, while verbally abusing and insulting others in the same breath. Far too often we can find bitter, angry, slanderous words coming from the same mouths that sang Amazing Grace last Sunday in church. 

James gives us a pretty harsh warning by saying, “this isn’t right!” We must remember that we will be required to give an account  to the Divine, for all the words we speak here on this earth. 

The things you say to others today can and will affect your tomorrow. It is important to the Divine how we speak to others and it should be important to us as well. 

Our words cannot be both good and evil. We simply cannot tell God how much we love Him and then spew hate and slander at His creation.

Before you check out on me and think this is simply preacher talk, take heed. When we pop off with harsh, critical words, we are setting ourselves up for an inevitable fall. How do I know this? I know this from a deep and painful path of displaying my pride and my ignorance in being critical of too many people and of things I didn’t even take time to understand. Read the warning from Proverbs 16:18

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.

We are told to “love our neighbors, as we love ourselves.” (Mark 12: 31). We are to “do unto others, as we would like for others to do unto us.” (Luke 6: 31). 

I guess the question that remains is – how would you like to be spoken to? Remember this question when you speak to others. Most especially when on social media! 

There are a lot of things we can gripe, criticize and argue about, but anybody can do that. Why be anybody? 

I’ve mentioned, several times on this BLOG that I grew up in a home with a critical spirit. I learned at an early age how to find and speak of a grey lining in every silver cloud! 

At some point, we all must choose to break that foolish habit. We must all determine that we are not just anybody. We are image bearers of the Most High God. To criticize His creation is to be critical of Him. 

May your heart lean into the ways of the Divine and your words follow in the path of His graciousness. 

–AChuck

Just Dance!

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Years ago, actually decades ago, I can still remember attending Junior High School dances every Saturday night at the Seabreeze Recreation Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. I loved dancing. When no other dude would step out in the floor and ask one of the already dancing girls if he could join in, I would! The way I saw it, there was no possible way that I could be as bad of a dancer as those dudes! As I grew older, the more self conscious I became. Eventually, I was on the sidelines with my fragile ego in tact and yet not safe. Until…Until I would build up enough courage to JUST DANCE. And then the fun returned. 

I read this a few months ago and thought you might enjoy this quote on AMBITION from CS Lewis. 

“What we call “ambition” usually means the wish to be more conspicuous or more successful than someone else. It is this competitive element in it that is bad. It is perfectly reasonable to want to dance well or to look nice. But when the dominant wish is to dance better or look nicer than others – when you begin to feel that if the others danced as well as you or looked as nice as you, that it would take all the fun out of it – then you are going wrong.”

It’s true isn’t it? Human ability at its worst is a sin of comparison.

It’s not enough to be a strong leader; you have to be strongest leader.

It’s not enough to be a pretty woman; you have to be the prettiest woman.

It’s not enough to climb the ladder; you have to be at the top of the ladder.

It’s not enough to be a good parent; you have to be seen as the best parent.

It’s not enough to be a good provider; you want to be known as the best provider.

You have to constantly see yourself as better, more deserving, and more right than everyone else.

This is disturbingly too close for comfort. In the battle of comparisons, we will all lose. 

The Divine made no mistake when He created you and breathed life into you including a plan for you to prosper. So Just Go Ahead & Dance!

My advice? Should you choose to dance – Just dance. Don’t worry about everyone else on the floor. You’ll be so much happier for it!

—AChuck

Lovers Spat

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Spat! What an unusual word. It does, however, depict what two people that love each other feel like when they are in a lover’s, well, spat! I know when Jenny and I are in an argument, or feelings are hurt, or disappointment has happened, neither of us feels connected as we usually are and all of life is a bit out of sorts. I can honestly say that I hate it when we aren’t on the same page.

So, what do you do when you and your lover are “out of sorts?” Great question. Thanks for asking. Here is what seems to work for us, and might just work for you.

  1. Identify the REAL problem at hand. We often pile on in fits of anger or argument. What is the actual cause for the squabble?
  2. Why did it finally push the button to get to this point, to begin with? Most often, we don’t have lover’s spats over the big things. Those are too obvious and should be too easy to spot and avoid. And yet, I see plenty of folks with big issues. I do see far more couples that have a dozen little things that finally boil over into big deals and feuds.
  3. What is the solution that can get us to forgiveness or understanding?
  4. Somebody has to take the high road and be the grown up in the room.
  5. Try to remove the emotion and settle the problem. You can’t fix a problem while fixing blame. They don’t fit together.
  6. Agree to a solution and seek consistency so as to not have to travel that road again. I think that Jenny is incredibly patient with me, but if I continue making the same mistake or action, she grows less and less patient. Learn after one take. Stay consistent in your actions and reactions.
Marriages are made up of micro moves. The sum total of those micro moves equals the condition of your marriage. It takes two people to keep a negative, argumentative cycle going, but it might just take one person to stop it! Step up and stop it!
Here’s what I mean, if you are arguing about who does what around the house, like dishes, laundry, vacuuming, etc., change your roles and see if that makes it better. But here’s a thought – choose for seven days how you both wish to have your lives function. Agree on it, and test-drive it for seven days. Then either rinse and repeat or change again.
Here is an even better idea – Since you both choose how you will act and react to each other every single moment of every day, choose a lover’s attitude and:
  • If your lover likes gifts – buy a gift. Jenny likes flowers. What is your lover’s version of flowers?
  • If your lover likes sex more often that you do (what?) then choose to get your hanky-panky on tonight.
  • If your spouse loves words of encouragement, leave them a love note with encouraging words.
  • If your lover likes and craves affection, hold their hand, kiss them, and get all fresh with them, even where it might seem inappropriate – (just sayin)
  • If your lover wants, as Jenny calls it, full-faced-attention, put the phone or tablet down and give them your undivided attention.

I know this seems so elementary, but it truly is. When we love our love, even when they are irrational, and maybe even when they seem unlovable, it’s a powerful season in your relationship. 

Please hear me! I have not mastered this by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know this – When we all stop in our tracks and ask ourselves, “What am I doing to make this relationship work?’ and then act on those answers, it’s like the old song; “Love is a Many Splendored Thing.”

May You & Your Love be at Peace,
AChuck

That One Thing!

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I believe that everybody has that one thing that they know, or eventually figure out that motivates them, inspires them and pushes them through tough times. Everybody has at least ONE THING that the Divine has called and equipped them to do.

I remember it like it was last night. I was at Youth Camp in the summer of 1975. Somewhere between Lubbock and Amarillo, Texas I was neck deep in puppy love with DeAnna Johnson and knowing deep in my soul that the Divine was prompting me to respond to His nudging to surrender my life to the ministry of the Gospel. I didn’t yet know that pastoring a local church was what the Divine was preparing me for, but I did know that He was done prompting, and was now shoving me toward a decision that would rock my world, and the lives of the family I couldn’t yet imagine.

I responded to a call for any young men or women that felt God calling them to vocational ministry. Before I knew it, I was praying with my youth pastor and promising the Lord that I would give my life to preparing for the work of ministry. WOW! It seemed like such a passionate respond to the Divine and truly it was. But I didn’t act on it. I ran from it.

After years of watching my Dad surrender everything he had to serve the local church, including being my dad, I determined, NO THANKS to that life. I had seen my Dad give and serve and sacrifice his all, only to watch the same men and women he was serving, backstab, gossip and berate him. That’s why I put my ministry calling on the shelf until 1988, twelve years later.

My early days in ministry were some of my best. I discovered that I enjoyed building programs, facilities, and followers. I loved serving children and their families. I was then “promoted” to the Family Pastor over all the discipleship ministries of a large and rapidly growing mega-church. And then a few months later to the role of Executive Pastor. That’s when things started going awry. I stepped into a role that was way out of my league and capacity. I allowed pride and power to rule my thinking and I lost sight of the ONE THING that I was confident in – I was called to serve and shepherd folks, not administrate them.

But having come out of a business background, it seemed natural that I would be comfortable in that role. And I was, so much so that I left that church to join one of the world’s largest mission organizations, only to become their Chief Operating Officer. I was now, deeper into administration and more frustrated as I was getting further and further away from the one thing that I knew the Divine was lassoing me for – shepherding and serving people. The money and perks were great, but I never, not one single day, in that role felt a sense of peace or contentment. I was an ugly, angry bull in a dainty little china shop. MY BAD!!

I knew what my ONE THING was, but I was convinced that I could just simply be around what I was called to. I somehow believed that I could give in to 50% of the call to my ONE THING and God would say atta boy! But I was miserable and growing further and further from my ONE THING.

In 2011, Sugar Hill Church took a chance on a then 50-year-old pastor that had yet to serve anyone, anywhere as a lead shepherd. I’ll never forget the joy I sensed in stepping into my ONE THING. It’s been a fast-paced, bumpy ride over the past six years. I’ve had some awesome seasons and a few terrible seasons, but I’ve never lacked the knowledge that I was living out my ONE THING. As a result, I’ve never been more grateful, more fulfilled, or more contented than I am today. This is what it feels like to live, breathe, and serve in the ONE THING the Divine calls us to.

  • So, what is your ONE THING? 
  • Are you serving and leading in your ONE THING?
  • Is there a sense of wonder in you as you see God work in and through your daily life?
  • Can you name and claim your ONE THING?

If not, I want to encourage you to do three things.

  1. Simply ask the Divine to make it clear to you what His ONE THING is for your life.
  2. Start writing down the things you know that you are blessed and gifted with, including the joy you sense when functioning within them.
  3. Let friends and family pray for and with you as you search for your ONE THING.

I’ll promise you that God is not playing games with you. He promised that he has plans for you to prosper, so why wouldn’t you want to know your ONE THING. He wants you to surrender to serve in the ONE WAY, for your ONE GOD, in your ONE THING! Don’t throw away all the years that I did before you act on your ONE THING! Don’t look back and have to state the saddest words that any Christ-follower could ever utter; I wish I would have. Allow the Divine to show you your ONE THING and then act on it. You can take it to the bank – You’ll be blessed and grateful you did, I promise!

Find Peace in Your ONE THING,
AChuck