Letting Go

As a 40 year old African-American male and single dad (Dad not Father) I have seen and done many things in my life. The majority of my life I can look on and be proud of my actions and accomplishments (my relationship with God, being a good dad, graduating from college, helping my family, and having in career). Then there is the part of my life; that while I regret nothing, I am not proud of some of my actions or some of my behaviors (having children out of wedlock, toxic relationships, and poor judgment). While some people grow up and mature into productive citizens without hitting many obstacles, I have run into my share. Many of the obstacles I ran into were placed there by me. Looking back on my life I can see where and why I went in a certain direction. My choice of direction right or wrong was determined by what I thought was best for me at that time. This is where most people get caught up. While looking back on their life, they tend to concentrate on the past and their decisions. You know the “woulda-coulda” type of thinking. Trust me when I say this, “Let the past go and move forward!”

Now while some may say, it is easier said than done and who is this dude telling me to release my past and move on. This person doesn’t understand what I have done or what I have been through. I say this to you. I never said it would be easy, what I said was, “LET GO and MOVE FORWARD!” I’m going to share some of the steps that have helped me move forward.

Step One – Pray for Guidance

As you move forward pray for guidance. The guidance you are seeking should benefit all parties involved. Remember by being true to yourself, and helping others the guidance you seek should be selfless. In the bible there is a scripture which pretty much guarantees success. Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (NKJV)

Step Two – Be Thankful and Count Your Blessings

It is important to remember that whatever you have been through and whatever has been done, you are still able to make the situation better. Today is the first day of your future; you are blessed to have a future in front of you. Think about it like this; if you are reading this, you are alive and have a functioning brain. You are better off than some people.

Step Three – Be true to yourself

Own up to what you have done. Whatever has been done is just that, done. In life there are no undo’s only fix it’s and move on’s. Some time the only option is to move on. You can not control other people, only yourself. Own up, apologize (if needed), offer to fix it, and move forward.

Step Four – Help others

Always help others through situations that you contributed to. There is a condition to this step, and that condition is help when your help is wanted. Again, you can not control other people only yourself. If you are trying to help better the situation and your help is refused and not wanted. LET GO and MOVE FORWARD.

Step Five – Make each day your Masterpiece

My friend, remember Rome was not built in a day. It takes time and each day you have the opportunity to make yourself better. Be an example for others to emulate. Each day strive to better yourself (become a man of character not reputation) and those who surround you, by doing this you are creating an atmosphere that breeds healthy relationships, and a successful future. LET GO and MOVE FORWARD. Get better everyday!

Remember no one is perfect, so do not think you can not make a change for the better. Let no one tell you who you are. Know who you are and whose you are. Life is full of obstacles, some created by ourselves and others by life itself. FIX what you can, what you can not LET IT GO, and MOVE FORWARD to a better future.

Until Next Time

Long Live The Kane

What A Blessing

Well here I am again, blogging sharing what has been placed on my heart. First of all I would like to thank all of you who actually read my blog. When I first started blogging, I did so because it was soothing to my soul. However the longer I went on the more I started to believe that I was sharing my faith with my friends. I can honestly say I did not really know if what I was sharing helped anyone but I did know that I was supposed to share my life experiences. Well to make this short I have recently been asked to join a group of men, who intend on sharing their experiences on being African American Fathers. This is quite an honor for me, because the founder of this group said that, he thought of me because of my blog. It is amazing how God works; what began as a therapeutic outlet for me has been blessed into being a tool to help others. I believe, God knows all and his master plan is so big that we could never understand what is really going on. I thank God for the opportunity he has afforded me to share His word by using me as a vessel to communicate it with others.

Unitl Next Time

Long Live The Kane

Continue Growing

Today I want to talk about character and maturity. I read in the book " 100 Days of Character for Men" that character building never happens overnight. When it comes to building our character and maturing, it is a life long journey. As a Christian I believe I should continue to grow in love and in the knowledge of my Savior as long as I live. It sounds easier than it really is. Our lives and our characters are developed by the countless thoughts and choices we make everyday, we make decisions that can strengthen our characters or not. In my life I have made horrible choices as a child, as a teen, as a youong adult, and even as an adult. The thing which I am thankful for is the understanding I gained from each choice I made. The Bible states, "when I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does but when I grew up I put away childish things. (1 Corinthians 13:11 NLT)" When you look at the Scripture and break it down it shows a progression in the maturation process. Simply put, as we grow physically we should also go mentally and spiritually; the maturation process of our mind, body and soul. Some people never grow and continue to make childish decisions as adults. My friends that is not a good thing! God has commanded us to grow spiritually and to get understanding. In (2 Peter 3:18 NKJV) the Bible states, "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." In (Proverbs 4:7 NKJV) the Bible is very clear when it comes to getting wisdom and understanding. It is here the Bible states, "Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding." There are a couple of things I'm trying to share today. The first, I believe is that we are all maturing whether we want to or not; and maturity is not achieved overnight. Second, the choices we make help us to mature and build our character or retards us and tears down our character. Third, while we are going through the maturation process we are to gain wisdom, knowledge and understanding. My friends when we go through tough times and situations that seem impossible, understand it is part of the maturation process learn from it. The wisdom and understanding you gain from your trials will become the knowledge you share with someone else. Remember the old saying, "Each One Teach One!" We are here to share with one another and encourage one another. There is a song that I recently put in heavy rotation in my CD changer. It talks about growth and the hook goes like this: "I'm not perfect but I'm trying. When you needed me there's a few times I didn't come running. I'm not perfect but I'm working. When you wanted more I would give you less and Lord I'm sorry. I'm not perfect but I'm getting closer the more I know you. Please give me another chance. I'm not perfect but I'm better than I was on yesterday." This song is by J. Moss and it is called "Perfect". This describes the spiritual maturation process to a tee. Remember, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.(Romans 3:23 NKJV)" We have all fell short of God's glory, no one is perfect but, we should all keep striving to be better than we were the day before. My friends I encourage all of you to share your experiences with those in need and continue to mature and build your character. I will do the same. Remember character is what you do when no one is looking. Try to do the right thing all the time.

Until Next Time!

Long Live The Kane

Choices And Relationships Go Together

Today I want to focus on Choices and Relationships. I am focused on this because I have had to make some critical decision in the last couple of weeks. For the longest time I believed good people bring good situations and bad people bring bad situations. I still believe this is true. Today I read, "Your associations empower you to succeed or fail. Choose godly friendships so you’re empowered to reach your God-given destiny." I thought man how true this is. I then read the scripture that was assocaited and it made me really think about my life and some of the things I was trying to do. Forcing relationships that needed to be severed and severing relationships that needed to be fostered. The scripture read, "Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces." (Proverbs 13:20 The Message). It is just that simple! My friends if there is someone or something that you need to let go, please release it. God has something better for you. Choose wisely in everything you do. We make choices everyday, basically all day long. The Bible says, “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster." (Deuteronomy 30:15 NLT) The choice is ours to make. It sounds easy, choose life and prosperity! To make it even easier the Bible then instructs us why we should choose life and details the benefits of choosing life. "For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy." (Deuteronomy 30:16 NLT) SOUNDS GREAT! Then why is it we choose death and disaster? Not speaking to or about anyone specifically, but some of the decisions we make are not wise and lead to death and disaster. That is where the wise counsel comes into play, PICK YOUR FRIENDS WISELY. Anyway God commands us to choose life but so many people ignore this command leading to disaster.(I have ignored it before) In verse 17 the Bible states, “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods(money, material things, basically anything but God), then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. (Deuteronomy 30:17-18 NLT) Well Thank God for his grace and mercy. I along with a lot of other people would have been destroyed if not for God's grace and mercy. All and all my friends this post is simple and to the point. Choose God and His Way, life will be a lot easier.
Until Next Time!



Long Live The Kane

Rude or Real

Today I want to address the concept of being real and being real rude. Some of you may think this is directed at you, but please don’t take it personal because God loves you and so do I. This is on my heart, and I am trusting God to inspire my words. In our society today people think it is okay to hurt people’s feelings if they are telling what they perceive as the truth about the situation. I don’t think that is what Jesus had in mind when he said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32 NKJV) You see if you go back and read this scripture in context, Jesus was talking being free from sin. Interestingly enough people have taken the John 8:32 and interpreted it as being real or telling others how they see the situation at hand. After all perception is reality, right? Wrong perception is not everyone’s reality; just yours. It is time that we realize that offending a person with the truth is not right. As believers in Christ Jesus we must understand the power of our words. The Bible says, “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” (Proverbs 18:21 NLT) Words in truth may hurt but they should not be offensive. I think the key word is tact. When you use words that are offensive, it puts the receiver of those words on the defensive and the message you were trying to convey is lost. When we are trying to win souls for God, we are very careful not to offend the non-believer with the truth about God. However we will quickly offend someone about their physical features, financial decisions, and anything else we think isn’t the way our perception tells us it should be. This is simple the Bible states, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being “. (1 Corinthians 10:23-24 NKJV) Edify and well-being, how can something be edifying and well-being if it offends a person? When we edify one another we instruct, benefit one another morally and spiritually; uplifting the person we are speaking to. The bottom line is we should be tactful in what we say to one another. We should speak the truth but speak life into one another. I heard someone once say that they were just being real. What they said and how they said it was real rude. The next time you feel the need to tell someone your perception make sure you think about the tact that maybe required to get your point across without offending the person you are trying to help. Remember this, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” (Proverbs 27:17 NLT)


Until Next Time

Long Live the Kane

Change versus Temporary Adjustment

Today I want to talk about change versus temporary adjustment. People try to adjust their lives to fit in a certain place, whether it is to fit into a loved one’s life or maybe to fit into a crowd, it could even be at the workplace. Where you are temporarily adjusting yourself you are masking who you are in order to fit in. This can be very dangerous and extremely hurtful. With all that said people do it every day. You have adjusted your being to fit in, but at some point in time you will revert to who you truly are. Let us look at the definition of the word adjust; to settle or bring to a satisfactory state, so that parties are agreed in the result. Now let’s look at the definition of the word change; to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone. Is one better than the other I ask? Let’s dig deeper and really breakdown Change versus Adjustment. First off let me say that if both adjustment and change take place and the adjustment and change are for the better; well that is a blessing. If you are able to make permanent adjustments before change takes place you are blessed. However the reality is that adjustments are usually made after change has occurred in our lives. There is that old saying, “Hind sight is 20/20”. The Bible talks about wisdom, and getting wisdom. That in itself is another topic to be addressed later. Back to my point, the book of Proverbs sates, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding”. (Proverbs 4:7 NKJV) When we (no one in particular) should make permanent adjustments we make temporary adjustments that will satisfy, or bring about an agreed result. In my opinion a temporary adjustment just means that, you temporarily adjusted your behavior or mindset to reach a satisfactory state. Once that state is reached just like American culture after a certain amount of time we tend to forget why we made the adjustment and revert back to what caused the dissatisfaction in the first place. Think about it how many times have we adjusted our behaviors or thinking to make things better and then later find ourselves doing the very things that we had adjusted. This is being human so no one should feel bad. Proverbs 24:16 says, “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.” (Proverbs 24:16 NKJV) The thing to take from this is not to feel bad that you made a temporary adjustment, but recognized that in order to keep the satisfactory state you have to change. What we (again no one in particular) do as people is make temporary adjustment in order to get what we want whether it is to stop or spouse or significant other from fussing, or just plain quick conflict resolution. Change is needed not temporary adjustment. I wanted to address this with you all because God has shown this to me. I had made temporary adjustments to my life only to revert back to the very behaviors and mindset that I adjusted. I now see that CHANGE was needed. My friends please do not be like me and wait until something tragic makes you change! Please I know I have been long winded with this, but God allowed me to be stripped of almost everything before I could see and understand what he was trying to show me. Again if you are in this same situation don’t feel bad. Jonah had to be swallowed by a whale before he learned the error of his ways. Samson lost his strength, his eyes and his life before changing his ways. Well I guess you can’t change after you’re dead. Anyway, my point is not to wait for tragedy to make you change. Change because it is the right thing to do. The other thing if you have lost something or someone because you made a temporary adjustment. Seek the Lord first, and he will give you strength, ability and guidance to change. Once you have change and have the counsel of God. You will truly know what to do to take back what you once had. This does not mean that you will get it back (God gives people free will). However if you have truly changed it will show, and if God wants you to have it you will. Pray, Pray, and Pray some more.

Until Next Time

Long Live The Kane

Take A Strong Stand On Behalf Of What Is Right!

In the Bible it states, "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1: 7) What happens to those of us who know the Lord but slide back and forth between right and wrong? I mean some days I feel like I can conquer the world for God and then there are days when I just feel like doing whatever. In one of my earlier post, I mentioned being a man is doing what a man has to do. Well some days I guess I'm not much of a man. I try to be the best I can every day, but some days I fall short. Before I fall now that I truly know Christ, the internal battle within me is crazy. Knowing you are going doing the wrong thing and then actually doing it causes some serious identity issues. Once you have done the wrong thing you immediately know that you were not doing anything to bring Glory to God. That is the most disappointing part of this cycle. Knowing that I'm a child of God I'm always disturbed when this happens. Thank God for Jesus, because as it is in the Bible "We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (Romans 3:22-24 NLT) This does not give us a license to sin, but it does offer peace of mind. Peace comes from knowing that God loves you even when you fail him and you are not headed to hell. I read something that applies to all of this:

But a man cannot act like the devil, and at the same time be a disciple of Christ Jesus. Let us not serve or indulge what the Son of God came to destroy.

To be born of God is to be inwardly renewed by the power of the Spirit of God. Renewing grace is an abiding principle. Religion is not an art, a matter of dexterity and skill, but a new nature. The renewed person cannot sin as he did before he was born of God, and as others do who are not born again. There is that light in his mind, which shows him the evil and malignity of sin. There is that bias upon his heart, which disposes him to loathe and hate sin. There is the spiritual principle that opposes sinful acts. There is repentance for sin, if committed. It goes against him to sin with forethought.

It goes against him/her to sin with forethought. The mind is where the internal battle is waged. We as Christians should always try to fight the good fight against our flesh. When we fail do not run from God because he knows our failures before we do. He is there and loves us. Understand that there is correction and sometimes it may be painful, but God corrects us just as an earthly parent corrects their child. With that said; when the battle is strong that means you are getting closer to God, because where there is no struggle there is no relationship with God. Just remember we can find peace in our father.

Until the next time.
Long Live The Kane!

KNOWING WHEN NOT TO SPEAK

In the past I have been quick to say things that I would regret saying later. Since then I have learned sometime silence is golden. The Bible states, "A man may show himself to be a wise man, by the good temper of his mind, and by the good government of his tongue. He is careful when he does speak, to speak to the purpose. God knows his heart, and the folly that is bound there; therefore he cannot be deceived in his judgment as men may be." Pretty simple keep your cool and remember Cooler heads prevail. The next time you are in a position where your emotions take hold you and you feel angry, take a step back remove emotion from the equation and please Try again. Short but to the point today!

Until Next Time

Long Live The Kane

INTEGRITY

Here is something that came up! My heart aches because for the first time in my life I truly feel like I have lost a part of my life. The bad part about this is I am at a point where I want to risk everything to regain that part of my life. I have been in several relationships in my life some good and some bad. However, when you realize that the one relationship you needed the most has gotten away from you, you have to do everything in your power to get it back. If it does not work out so be it, but at least you did everything in your power to get it back. (Ask God for guidance and He will direct your path) For all of you who have not experienced this type of loss consider yourself blessed and do everything in your power to never have to go through this. One time a person asked me, “How would it be different if they gave me another chance to be with them?” Honestly, I did not know what would be different other than I would try harder than before. Well trying harder does not cut it and you will fail. You have to change; not want to change, not try to change but you actually have to change. You have to change your thinking, your actions and reactions because if do not you are destined to repeat the same unhealthy trials that will cause you to lose. I have learned from my past mistakes, and from this very minute my integrity will never be in question. The Bible states, “Let me be weighed on honest scales, That God may know my integrity.”(Job 31:6 NKJV) If God knows, you have integrity imagine what others see. I want to make something clear many of us have integrity, it is sometime we tend not to display it depending on the circumstances we maybe facing. My integrity came into question because I was afraid of losing what I lost. No matter why I did some of the things I did, my integrity should have been intact. What upsets me more is that I had never had a problem with my integrity. My integrity has gotten me far in life and I let fear of losing what I lost change that. Ironic that I would lose the very thing that helped me gain the relationship. If there is anything you get from this post, please get this. INTEGRITY does not come in degrees – low medium or high. You either have it or you do not. There is a saying and it goes something like this, “It is easier to do the wrong thing, but it’s always better to do the right thing.” That is integrity. The choice between what is convenient and what is right. I have done some foolish things in my life, non as foolish as allowing my integrity to be subject to questioned by a loved one. Oh yeah, the person who asked me the question, well I finally have an answer. Things would be different because I see and feel what it is like without you in my life. People it is simple DO IT RIGHT ALL THE TIME. Character not reputation!

Until Next Time

Long Live The Kane

Remember – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)

Bowed Over, Upright, Bowed Over, Upright – Keep Trying

You ever want to do the right thing, but just seem to do whatever you want? In my lifetime and more importantly as of late, I have found doing the right thing is hard. Doing the right thing is hard when it’s not the popular thing to do or when it is not what I want to do. It is much easier: not to mention the right thing, usually more fun to not do the right thing, and do what everyone else is doing. It is some time safer also. Think about this, there usually is no danger of looking stupid, preachy or offending people. Seriously, let’s be real about this most of the choices we make on a day to day basis, most of the things we do, aren’t exactly life-shattering choices. Nobody dies and nobody’s soul is lost. Is that true? Every day I wake up with the intent to be the best person I can, however in some way or another I miss the mark. I may say the wrong thing (curse words aren’t good), I may break the law (speeding is breaking the law), or I may lust for a woman (this one usually gets me) being a visual person I’m naturally attracted to beautiful women. Anyway my point being no one was hurt by anything I just mentioned. No one was hurt, but me. SO WHY IS IT WRONG? Here lies the problem. The Bible states, “For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.”(2 Peter 2:21) OUCH! You see I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was in the 11th grade, so I know better. I was saved before I went to college (parties, women, and other things), and before I had children without being married. This troubles me, because now I don’t make as many mistakes, but I still have thoughts and act on some of those thoughts knowing it isn’t right. The good news is I know that God loves and forgives me. The Bible states, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-16 NIV) I’m sure He’s not happy with some of things I sometimes do. Thank God for Jesus! I used to tell myself, I may not always do things that are exactly right, but they’re not exactly wrong, either. That was and some time still is me justifying my falling. I used to tell myself that I was trying to resist doing the wrong things when in fact I was only choosing to do lesser things. The fact is most of us have not even made an honest attempt at resisting temptation. Some of us cave in immediately without much of a fight. "Well, I'll quit doing that next week." "Why struggle now when I know I am going to do it again anyway?" "It is just a matter of time, and now is as good a time as any." But temptation feeds on our weakness and bent desires. You see temptation is only the beginning. It is like a progression you start off small knowing that you’ll be forgiven, but if you aren’t careful things can get out of hand quick. When thoughts of doing something that is not right enter my mind I need to start seeing it for what it is, THE WRONG THING. I thought I had been putting up a noble fight looking for a pat on the back. Then I read this: In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Heb 12:4 NIV) I guess I haven’t been trying hard enough. I do know this and I say it not as an excuse but I offer it as a reality to all. GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH ME YET! I know this because in the Word, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6 NLT) Now if he’ll do it for me, he’ll surely do it for you.
Until next time
Long Live The Kane
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Cor 10:13NIV)

Instant Replay

When I think about the journey I have been on in my lifetime, I am always reflecting on the decisions I have made. Unfortunately, hind sight is twenty-twenty. While I have no regrets, I could have handled so many situations differently. Looking back on certain behaviors or acts that I committed, I have no clue as to how that has helped me grow. Then there are other behaviors or acts that I can see their direct affect on my life. Now my life is not perfect, and by no means am I a guy who thinks he has it all under control. I just know that with God things are going to be alright. The Bible states, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”(Romans 8:28 NIV) When reading the Bile some people only read part of the scriptures. Let us look at Romans 8:28 carefully. I have heard this scripture quoted many times but hardly have I heard it quoted in it’s entirety. The key part of this scripture is the last part. “According to his purpose” Things do not always work out good for those who love the Lord. I believe the reason things do not work out, is because we (no one specifically) have made decisions that do not line up with God’s purpose. Now understand me please things will workout because God is a loving God, and all you have to do is ask for his help. We will endure a certain amount of hardship because of a decision made that do not line up with His purpose. As I see it, one of God’s greatest gifts can be our greatest weakness. God gave us the ability to make decisions for ourselves. I some time think, WHY LORD? Why will you not just tell me what to do. Life would be so much easier. I mean can you imagine just living in God’s purpose. Imagine the amounts of peace, joy and happiness that we would have. Well God will not take away our free will. It goes against His law, and that would make God fallible and He is perfect. With all that said, I have made some decisions that I thought were not even close to God’s purpose, but have turned out to be blessings in my life. Then there is the other side where I thought I was making Godly decisions. WAIT!!! I just said something that was crazy. Thank you Holy Spirit. I cannot make Godly decisions because I am not God. We can try make righteous decisions based on our knowledge of God. Read your Bible. Whoa, that was something serious. I am still amazed at the download I just received. I honestly never thought I was making Godly decisions. I was trying to make Godly decisions without having God’s abilities. We are humans, destined to make bad decisions, the key is the older you get and the more mature you become. The less bad decisions you should be making. The Bible tells us, “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:7 NKJV) From my experiences, (three children, one ex-wife, the different mothers) I have found that God will allow you to repeat the same test over and over again until you get it right. One other thing to remember is that just because you are repeating the same test does not mean that you will not fulfill God’s purpose. When you try to do the right thing, but make mistakes along the remember this: The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful. (Proverbs 12:5 NIV). My friends if you are trying to make righteous decisions and it is in God’s purpose things will workout. Maybe not the way you expected but who truly knows God’s ways. Be Righteous God sees your heart!

Until next time

Long Live The Kane

To Do or Not To Do

Okay day two of my new found therapy. Hmmmmmm is this working? Well as life goes on you learn that the trials never really stop coming, but you learn to deal with them, and as you mature you are suppose to make better decisions. I think that is true for people experiencing different crisis one at a time. My question is, what do you do when it seems that multiple trials come crashing down at the same time? Let me first of all thank God for allowing me to be here to experience the trials. I thank God because without God the other alternative isn’t very good. Now that I have thanked God for the opportunity to grow, I now petition Him for the strength to go through these trials without compromising who I am in Him. The Bible says, “God will bless you, if you don't give up when your faith is being tested. He will reward you with a glorious life, just as he rewards everyone who loves him.”(James 1:12 CEV) I’m holding on to my faith but I’m hanging on by a thread. When I was younger and didn’t know better my life seemed easy. I did whatever I wanted, when I wanted and with whom I wanted (sometimes with people I didn’t want to). Knowing better and trying to live the right way is painful, and tiring. Puffy, P Diddy, Diddy or Sean Combs once said “Mo Money Mo Problems” I never understood that or maybe I did understand, I just had no idea because I had no money. I have recently had a revelation on this concept. Without God money means nothing because there is no peace. Without God, life really sucks. So with all the money you can have it will be just money without God. My life is nothing like I thought it would be, but I have God and He keeps me from just losing my mind. People say let go and let God; I have a question for all, why do we wait for God to give us a blessing? Doesn’t the Bible state, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it”? (John 14:14 KJV) Once you ask, aren’t you supposed to go on with your life knowing that it is done? I mean all my life I have been taught: To read the Bible, To pray, To trust God for every need, To obey God, To be forgiving, To be persistent, To live by principle, not feelings, To have a servant spirit, To live an orderly life, To be an encourager, and To love unconditionally. I want to break these down and share where I have experienced issues.
I read my Bible daily– Not a problem
I pray every day – Not a problem
I trust God for my every need – Not a problem
I Obey God – I try, but I need to obey his word always
I am forgiving – I am truly forgiving – Not a problem
I am persistent – I don’t quit and keep trying and sometime this is a weakness
I live by principle, not feelings – While not a problem I think I should elaborate on this. My belief is that emotions are unreliable; I don’t let them dictate my actions.
I have a servant spirit – I’m always trying to help someone- Not a problem
I live an orderly life – Not a problem
I am an encourager – Not a problem
I love unconditionally – My heart hurts because I love unconditionally.
If you look at this you would think I would be on top of the world, but I believe this is exactly why my life is the way it is. When you try to live right life becomes very specific, there are very few gray areas. I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me I just need to vent about life and just how if I didn’t read my Bible I would be lost. Doesn’t mean I’m not getting tired of the trials, it just means I understand.
I leave this today in hope that my trials and sharing them with you all will in some way help someone.
Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. (1 Peter 4:1-13 NLT)
Until next time
Long Live The Kane

Someone told me that blogging is therapeutic; I pray that it is. My mind has been racing for the last three months with situations arising one after another. I don’t know who will read this but I thought I would attempt to release some of my frustration. Within the last four months I have lost the woman I love, accepted a promotion on my job, felt the strain of my family relationship, met some interesting new people only to realize that they are simply steps on the ladder and not meant to remain in my life, I have come to grips with my failed relationships and accepted responsibility for my actions; only to have the woman tell me she hates me, and to top it off I found a childhood friend after sixteen years only to realize that I can not have that friend in my life. Now all this is going on while I raise my two children as a single parent. I’m not sure were I’m going with this but I think I will feel better once I get this out. They say that God won’t put anything on you that you can’t handle. I haven’t broke yet but I’m struggling to remain upright. People also say that right before you have a breakthrough things look there darkest. Well things aren’t dark, I’m just not comfortable. I know I’m not the only person who feels like they have almost everything they want. I mean everything except that one thing. My one thing is a wife that is perfect for me, granted I had her and at that time didn’t know how to deal with my flaws, her flaws and her reactions to my issues. The bible says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect”. How is this possible? Everyday life stares you in the face, you deal with it go home pick up your bible and read the Word of God, then go back at it and face life again. This cycle never ends and is very tiring. Job had everything, lost it and regained it. I don’t feel like I have lost everything, not even close, but I do feel stripped of some things and I want them back. Well as you probably can tell I’m conflicted I know God loves me and will protect me. But He also promises to bless me beyond my wildest dreams. As I remain obedient to his word and try to live a righteous life. I pray that my struggle will be used to help someone understand that they are not alone. Until next time
Long Live The Kane