Achuckallen

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These are Superpowers

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These Are Superpowers by ACHUCKAllen

I grabbed a Delta jet to my hometown, Daytona Beach, Florida Sunday afternoon to officiate a friend’s son’s wedding. It was a rainy afternoon with thunderstorms strong enough to sweep the beach of every vacationing family. I thought that we would definitely be having an indoor wedding. This is a young couple that needed a wedding to happen on the beach, just outside the condominium that the groom has been vacationing at for 20 plus years. It wasn’t looking good as the skies grew darker.

But at 7:00pm, just thirty-minutes before the wedding, the clouds blew out and the sun started peeking around the now white and fluffy clouds. By 7:30, there was a nice breeze and it was a beautiful evening for a wedding on the beach.

What was the superpower that moved that storm away? A daddy that loves his boy and a couple that has chosen the path of grace and kindness over judgement and legalism. The answer the groom’s daddy gave every person regarding the weather was simple. To every person, whether they were Followers of Jesus or not, his answer was, “well, the Lord is good and He heard our prayers.” Was the prayer the superpower or the kindness? And the answer is YES!

Here is what I know with great certainty: When you openly speak about the things of God, good things happen.

On Monday, I was on my way from my room to the hotel elevator when I met Kadian . Kadian is a young mom from Jamaica. I said the usual “good morning and how are you today” remarks and she seemed timid and a bit distracted. I was hungry and hopped on the elevator and hit the button for the lobby. It was at that moment the Lord spoke as clearly to me as I was hoping a server would when I ordered my breakfast. The Lord was clear. “Chuck, stop the elevator, go back and give that girl some money.” He was specific about the amount and the action. I responded like I often do, “Lord, I’ll find her after breakfast.”

Here’s a life lesson. The Lord doesn’t desire His kids to delay in acting on His directions.

So, I got off the elevator at the Lobby, smelling the sausage, bacon, French toast and biscuits (sorry). And I got back on the elevator and road back to the tenth floor. I found Kadian and told her that the Lord told me to bring her this money. She teared up and asked me to stop in the middle of the hallway and pray for her. I did and decided to pray big. When I said amen and finished, two separate couples had joined in the serendipitous prayer meeting and we were all crying. Kadian looked me in the eyes and said that she told her son, as she left their apartment early Monday morning that “God would provide today.” Well, how bout that?

Was it the money or the act of Kindness the Lord directed me with. The answer is YES!

Again, When you openly speak about the things of God, good things happen.

You have superpowers at your disposal every single day. Prayer, Kindness, Graciousness and Obedience. I wonder what our world might look like if we were to lay down our egos, logos and personal preferences and replaced them with Prayer, Graciousness and Obedience? Imagine a day that you choose the superpower of openly speaking about the things of God…and good things happen? Would we really make a dent in this planet for the betterment of mankind? The Answer, YES!

Go in Peace,
AChuck

Why We Should Care…About the Border

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Why We Should Care by ACHUCKAllen

I’ve been stirred deep in my soul that whatever the truth is regarding our immigration crisis on our southern border, that the faith based community must become part of the solution, not just another mouthpiece of strife.

I’ve read through so many statistics and so many differing opinions on this topic and I’ve discovered one commonality among every party, person and platform. That one commonality? It’s a mess no matter what your thoughts are or party lines that you prefer. Honestly, you can do a simple Google search and discover every possible position that you can imagine.

There are folks firm in their belief that we should build a wall…a massive wall…a wall worth billions or dollars. There are folks that think we should open our doors and become a sanctuary nation. There are folks that want us is to bus, fly or pixie-dust the folks awaiting entry or asylum back to wherever they came from. There are folks that want a new bill that will ease entry and folks that want a new bill that will stop all entry.

I know we should care about our borders and our national security, but the one thing that seems to be lost in this political hot potato are the people in the MIDDLE. The folks that have left their countries to seek a new life in this great land that I was blessed to be born in. PLEASE HEAR ME! I am not suggesting that the US Customs and Border Control are or have been the problem. These hard working folks are undermanned, underfunded and under extraordinary scrutiny. I’m not even sure about whether the laws and legalities of acquiring US citizenship should be changed. BUT! But I do know that while folks that must be smarter and better equipped than me determine how to settle the political battles, people in THE MIDDLE appear to be in a mess. A big mess!

I started praying about this situation and honestly want to run from it. I told Jenny, “I have no way of making a difference in this issue, what could I possibly do. I’m praying that the Divine would raise up a leader that could stir a movement in the modern, evangelical community. Someone that could do something significant for the folks that seem to be trapped in the middle.” Her answer? “Maybe you are who the Lord might want to use you to make a big difference.” YIKES!

“I’m just Chuck. I pastor a great church, but honestly, really? Lord, I do not have time for this. I’m almost sixty-years old and my calendar is already out of control. Lord, I’m over committed and often stressed about how to get everything done already. How about you ask somebody else to make this their fight?” And then I started poking around the issue some more and discovered that discovering the truth about what is going on isn’t as simple as it might seem.

In my writing, research, phone calls and prayers I was completely out of the blue invited to join a couple of other folks on a tour of a few detention centers right on the border with the Deputy Director of Homeland Security. I know, right? Mind blown and stomach queasy. The trick, I had to find a way to get to El Paso by July 11, meet up with this small group and make a day of seeing the real deal most of the day July 12. Now remember, my plan was for the Lord to open this kind of door for someone else. Someone with a voice that carried great weight and urgency. And then the Lord said, “Chuck, GO!”

And so, I trust that you’ll be kind enough to pray for my trip and for eyes and heart to be opened to the truth about the folks in THE MIDDLE.

Why should we care about the individuals and families in the middle of this mess? Because they were created in the image of God and He loves them and has called us – the Body of Christ – to care about them and for them. If I were from Venezuela, or any of the other countries the folks are fleeing from and I were stuck in the middle, I’d be praying that God’s People would show up in force to love me, help me and serve me in the name of Jesus the Lord.

I promise you that this isn’t a political trip with some right or left wing agenda. I am biased. I am biased with a heart to serve and love people with a gracious heart and helpful hands.

I’ve heard so many stories that are on the ridiculous edges of reason, from both sides that I have now trained my brain to ask this question about every picture and every opinionated article: “But is it a true representation?” And each picture that I see, I question it’s authenticity. We should care about this because the only way that we can care for and love these folks caught in THE MIDDLE is to see firsthand the needs and issues that truly exist.

Will you care along with me and start praying about how to serve the folks serving in our Customs and Border Patrol and the folks that seem to be stuck in THE MIDDLE? One thing has become radically apparent to me in this quest. God cares for everybody in this crisis and He has a plan for how He will fix it. We should care because He cares and His plan to fix it is us…me and you!

Thanks for your prayers and thanks for caring.

Peace, AChuck

If You Want a Great Day

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HAVE A GREAT DAY!

IF YOU WANT A GREAT DAY by ACHUCKAllen

We’ve all had “those days.” You know what I’m talking about. The days that you feel like everything just explodes on you with the foul stench of negativity. The kind of day when you aren’t sure why, but you just can’t get over the roar that you hear in your head that is screaming for you to lose it with whoever is the next person in front of you. I’ve had plenty of those days as well, but I’ve also learned a few things that minimize the number of the gross days significantly.

Here are three ways to minimize the number of days that kick you in the hind parts and maximize the number of days that you kick the world’s hind parts. Come on, let’s do this!

  1. I know you are tired of reading these words, but I will promise you that if you will start your day off by writing down 2-3 things that you are grateful for, it will change your life. If you are a regular reader, you know that I started a gratitude journal a few years ago. I KNOW that it has had a radical impact on my life, in every good way!
  2. That’s not an overstatement, that’s a scientifically proven fact. Every study, including Harvard Medical School, says that gratitude has a huge impact on our lives.Here is a quote from the Harvard Med Study: “Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power. In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”
  3. Limit the number of tasks on your to-do list, but get the biggest, most challenging task out of the way first! If you are like 99% of Americans, you like the feel of checking your to-do’s off, so you tackle the easiest tasks on your list out of the gate. If you limit the number of tasks to ensure that you stay focused on what matters most, you will rest better, sleep better and remain energized by your accomplishments and success. Mark Twain once said; “Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” One of our most powerful emotions is the sense of accomplishment. There is nothing quite like slaying your badest, nastiest dragon first thing!
  4. Learn to take 10 minutes and meditate! I know what you are thinking, “Chuck, dude, you are killing me. If I have to swallow the big frog first, I don’t have time to meditate. Abraham Lincoln said; “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.”Given his task, it seemed to have served him pretty well. Meditation is sharpening your ax to slay the dragon, or eat the frog! In my world, meditation includes four elements, over 20 minutes. You can start with 10 minutes and add to that as your habit forms.
  5. Here is my meditation plan:
    1) Write down three things that I am grateful for. Over the past three years, I have never run out of things to be grateful for.
    2)     Read a short piece of a Bible reading plan (I enjoy He Reads Truth or the plans in YouVerse).
    3) I pray out loud. I know that may not be your thing, but I am distracted easily and I’ve found that praying out loud and with my eyes open helps me “feel like me and the Divine are in a friendly chat.”
    4) Quietude. This was the step in my meditation maturation that took longer to learn. I had to learn the discipline of quietude. It doesn’t take long, but about 3 minutes of quietude can settle your soul to the degree that you can actually “hear” the promptings of the Divine. Just a thought, but I think this is why we have two listening ears and one talking mouth.    The key to having far more days that are great, rather than gross is to learn this discipline of meditation. Maybe your faith system never saw meditation as part of wholeness and health, but you can trust this ancient and biblical meditation habit to set your soul on a course for peace, fulfillment and even happiness.

Sharpen your ax, my friend and see how consistency in the art of meditation changes every aspect of your life for the better!

–AChuck

Why?

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A few of life’s greatest questions:

  • Why should I give?
  • Why should I serve?
  • Why should I sacrifice?
  • Why should I volunteer?

These loaded questions should be pretty simple to answer. Yet somehow they seem to be lacking in our lives. WHY isn’t clear any longer when it comes to things like serving your country. The illusive WHY seems to be non-existent in most of our churches. And WHY has left the station when it comes to the American culture and workforce. I am abundantly confident that WHY is dead in the land of politics and the governance of our republic.

This world is in desperate need for a few courageous leaders that might dare challenge the status quo with a truthful, clear, common and compelling WHY.

Example: Why should we be grateful? Because we haven proven in both faith based and for profit organizations that when we are grateful, we are more productive, more gracious and more truthful. Not to mention that we are far more content. The bonus cherry on top of the sundae is that when we are grateful for what we have, what we have is more than enough.

Here’s another: Why should we volunteer with organizations that are focused on helping people? Because we know that people who volunteer to help people in need are more aware and open to offer life-altering hope for others. And by doing so, they discover a contented life themselves. Who wouldn’t want that?

And just one more: Why should we sacrificially give our financial resources to help others and organizations that help others? Because when we give in such a way that we feel both the sacrifice and the blessing, we recognize that our sacrifice is the single best emotional return on our investment – PERIOD.

WHY also screams out to us in big bold words, written across the sky, THAT YOU NEED A WHITE-HOT WHY! If we want a WHY to what we give away, we must also be capable of answering WHY you do what you do.

Take a few minutes and attempt to write you WHITE-HOT WHY. Then ask yourself, with ruthless truth — Are you living your why?

In a rather transparent moment, let me say that I found this exercise more challenging than I ever imagined it would be. So, here you go…

  1. I am overwhelmed with the power of the Divine when my heart is surrendered to Him. As a result, I want to help folks know that because of what Christ has already done — they can do this. They can love God with all of their heart mind and soul, and be a normal person. Why? Because Jesus never complicated living for Him, we did.
  2. I want to help shrink the high school dropout rate to 0% in our city. Why? Because better equipped students can continue their education and stop the cycle of ongoing poverty in and around our city.
  3. I would love to provide transitional housing and life skill training for single moms in our region. Why? Because the government cannot meet this need. If we want to effectively change the nature of our communities, we will take a quantum leap in doing so by assisting single moms become emotionally, spiritually, and physically healthy. As our moms go, so will much of our cities go. And who doesn’t love a contented, loving and peace-filled mom.

I think you get it. We set a course for a better universe when we can simply answer WHY?

Go Find Your White-Hot Why and chase it like you’re life depended on it.

–AChuck

11 Lessons in 11 Years with Jenny

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11 Lessons in 11 Years with Jenny by ACHUCKAllen

I was a widower, a single dad and a ministry leader that traveled most weeks Monday thru Thursday. What in the world was I to do? I mean, a single dad is tough, a widower at age 47 was tougher and to do that along with traveling was not an option.

I asked Jenny and her four daughters to marry me and my two daughters in 2007. Trying to find a date that worked with daughters, moms, and travel was not looking too promising. So, like intelligent adults, we decided to get married the next day, March 6, 2007. We checked the girls out of school, Jenny left work, I left work and Charlotte and Mona Rose came to meet us in the Chapel at Sugar Hill Church. We all said, “I Do,” and went back to school, work, and life. That was eleven years ago today.

In my eleven years as Jenny’s husband, I’ve learned a few hundred things, but here are eleven. See what I did right there? Eleven learnings in eleven years?

Here You Go:

  1. Just say it – Don’t avoid the tough conversations.
  2. Trust is the most powerful language of love.
  3. Don’t get swept up in drama. It’s the fastest way to get sidetracked from what matters most.
  4. Love is a gift from God. Keep Him in the center of your marriage and you can overcome anything.
  5. Always be willing to dig deep and find the artist within all of us.
  6. Never be afraid to fail. Go for it!
  7. Stay inquisitive. It’s more fun to try something new than to grow old and stop learning.
  8. When dealing with a problem, get to the heart of the matter as fast as you can.
  9. Love is always forgiving. Always.
  10. Read your Bible and talk with God – every single day.
  11. Tomorrow, tomorrow, there’s always tomorrow. Stay positive and stay humble. When you do, great things happen.

Jenny rescued me in so many ways eleven years ago. I could never say enough HAPPY ANNIVERSARIES to convey how grateful I am and how very much I love her.

Here’s to the next eleven as we grow old together.

–AChuck

10 Ways to Ace Valentines Day

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56bc23645e0b5.image10 Ways to Ace Valentines Day by ACHUCKAllen

Most of us need tutorials in the way of expressing our love and dare I actually say feelings? We all have them and we all struggle to manage them! Here are a few ways that you can get on the autobahn of love and cruise as fast as you wish!

If you are thinking that I may have missed the correct date for Valentines Day, the answer is nope! I am keenly aware that today is Thursday, February 8. And knowing how many folks wait until lunchtime on February 14 and have a huge swing and a miss, I thought you might appreciate a bit longer on-ramp to your big day with your love.

Before you read these brief nuggets of gold and cubic zirconia, please know that these are fail-proof. These choice pieces of wisdom have been dropped from the heavenly’s and provided for you to prove your sincere and undying love.

Here are TEN WAYS TO ACE Valentines Day

  1. LEARN TO LISTEN WITHOUT INTERJECTING. This, my friend, is the real deal. It takes patience, which can be learned. It takes deep, abiding love, which you already possess. And it requires you to genuinely value your sweetheart. Proverbs 18:13
  2. TALK. I MEAN ACTUALLY TALK TO EACH OTHER. Not in mumbled “whatever grunts” but talk. It’s a very cool part of life. Don’t miss it – especially when you talk without condemnation. James 1:19
  3. GIVE GENEROUSLY & GRACIOUSLY. Simply give your best, without sparing. Proverbs 21:26
  4. PRAY FOR THEM WITHOUT CEASING. I think this one is pretty self-explanatory. I will say this. The times when Jenny and I are most in sync is when we pray together – out loud. Colossians 1:9
  5. ANSWER WITHOUT ARGUING. I am so bad about this. I love to immediately respond in a defensive mode when it is never helpful. Proverbs 17:1
  6. SHARE & SHARE MORE. When we leave no room for doubt, it is always because we have spoken in truth. Pretending to share what you think they want to hear is simply deceit. It always reveals the pretender. Ephesians 4:15
  7. ENJOY THEM AS THE GIFT GOD INTENDED THEM TO BE. The Divine broke out the gift baskets and gave you to each other as gifts. Enjoy each other without complaining. Philippians 2:14
  8. TRUST THEM. Trust is a fragile element to healthy relationships. It is high octane fuel when a marriage is cruising well. It is oil sludge when it’s broken. Keep this in mind. You are one small step away from losing trust. 1 Corinthians 13:7
  9. FORGIVE WITHOUT KEEPING SCORE. If you’ve been on my BLOG for more than a month, you’ve heard this before, but forgiveness is the magic elixir in a healthy relationship! Colossians 3:13
  10. PROMISE & KEEP THAT PROMISE. If you need reminders, build them into your time management system. If need them and do not have a time management system, well, I can’t help you. Promises kept are rocket fuel for trust! Proverbs 13:12

I’ve got some work to do on all of these and I’d imagine that you do as well. Flowers, candies, jewelry, and dinners out are great and I strongly urge you to remember those things. But if you want Valentines Day to be 365 days a year, take these lessons and live them to the fullest.

Peace,
AChuck

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