She Preaches! -- "Tebow's Passion"

I have a confession to make. As much as I detest the Gators I cried when they lost to Alabama. It was only for like half a second -- I promise. Please don't revoke my FSU alumni card. I couldn't help it. For a small moment, something in me identified with Tim Tebow -- it was his passion.

I approach everything I do with passion. It determines what kind of jobs I take. It determines who I CHOOSE to love. It dictates what direction I will take in any given situation. If I don't have a passion for something, if I don't have a burnng desire to work as though my life depends on what I'm doing, then I won't be doing it long.

If I am not committed to a person or a relationship, you will know because anything I commit to, I commit to it wholeheartedly. I don't know how to give half of myself to anything. Either I'm in it or I'm not. Anything else is a waste of time.

Passion is vital to one's success. Without it, you will never know what it is to be successful. Passion will make you stay up late and study.

Passion will make you fight for a marriage or a relationship that others tell you to walk away from.

Passion will make you stand by your wayward children.

Passion will make you pray for your enemies.

Passion made Jesus go to the cross and die for sins He didn't commit.

Passion will make you play hard and leave it all on the field.

I don't understand why but it was always Tebow's dream to play football for the University of Florida. And when he got the opportunity to do just that, he didn't approach it like some others often do. He didn't have a sense of entitlement. He didn't behave as though the University owed him something. No. He played as though he owed the University something. He sacrificed his time, his talent and even put his body at risk just to gain a few more inches so that he could get his team closer to the goal line.

Tebow always played with passion. Yet on the night of December 5, 2009, despite how devoted he was to his team and to Gator Nation, and despite his desire to lead them to victory, he failed -- miserably. I understood his pain.

I know what it's like to love and lose.

Iknow what it's ike to give my all and come up with nothing.

I know how it feels to fight so hard and still suffer defeat.

That is a pain that is indescribable.

But passionless people don't get it. They laughed at Tebow. They ridiculed him. They posted pictures of him on Facebook making fun of him. (Though even Gator nation must admit that the "CRYING" Tebow pic is funny!).

Show me a person who lives life without passion and I will show you a person who is doomed to a life of mediocrity. They will never be great. They will always be average. Average makes me itch.

Passionless people won't work hard for anything because they don't care about anything.

Passionless people can't sustain relationships because they won't invest themselves into them.

They will never live life to the fullest because they would rather sit on the sidelines where it's safe. They won't have to take a hit and no one will blame them for any failures.

Not caring about anything or anyone is a defense mechanism. If you don't care about anything then you can't get hurt if things don't work out. The problem with that mindset is that you won't take a risk for something or someone you don't care about. No risks, no returns. That kind of life is BORING!

Tebow still gets on my nerves though. Mostly because he didn't go to FSU, but also because I think he's one of the most overrated quarterbacks in the history of college football. He doesn't have the strongest arm in the world and he's not that accurate of a passer. The absence of Percy Harvin revealed who the real star of that team was. But there was something special about ol' Timmy. He had two things going for him. He had passion and the favor of God is on his life.

Favor is what made him a star before he ever played a down for the University of Florida.

Favor is what gave him the opportunity to win the Heisman Award even though he really isn't all that.

Favor is what allowed him to play for and win two National Championships back to back. (Though Chris Leak had a lot to do with the first one...Gators ought to be ashamed of themselves for how they treated Chris. Make me sick....but I digress.)

Favor is what makes people love Tebow while others hate him because favor ain't fair!

Oh, Timmy! It's okay to cry. Even with that horrible defeat you suffered at the hands of Alabama (and boy was it bad...lolllll), you still accomplished more than your critics. I don't think you'll be that successful in the NFL but you will be successful at something. Keep living your life with passion. Your passion, your prayers, and your love for God will take you further than you have ever imagined.

For the rest of you, if you aren't passionate about something you need to ask God to give you something to be passionate about. A life without passion is a life that isn't worth living.

Til next time, may the Lord God bless you real good!

She Preaches! -- Positioned For Purpose

Judges 11:1-11

In Judges Chapter 11, we read about a named Jephthah. The Bible says he was a mighty man of valor AND he was the son of a harlot. His father married another woman and had children from her. Those children, Jephthah’s half brothers, thrust Jephthah out of their father’s house and said, “You will not inherit in our father’s house because you are the son of a strange woman.” In other words, they didn’t want Jephthah to inherit with them because his mama was a ho.

But that’s not the real reason they put him out. The real reason they put him out was because they were jealous. Though his mother was a woman of indiscretion, Jephthah still managed to become a MIGHTY man of VALOR. He overcame his questionable lineage and family history, pulled himself by his bootstraps, worked hard, refused to be a victim, and turned himself into what the Bible calls a MIGHTY man.

And that’s why people don’t like you and that’s why they can’t stand me. You and I have overcome trials, tribulations, persecution, bad credit, unemployment, traumatic relationships.

And it seems like no matter what life throws our way, we keep getting up. Sadly, the people who keep knocking us down is not always strangers in the street. Sometimes, it’s people who should have our backs. People we grew up with. People we’ve known all of our lives. You know...so called FAMILY.

Jephthah was rejected by the ones who should have accepted him. And the Bible says that Jephthah fled to the land of Tob. Tob means good. So when people reject you, it causes you to flee in search of better surroundings. And the place that you flee to is the place of good. In the beginning, it may not feel good. It may not look good. It may not sound good, but before it’s all over, God is going to make it good.

Later, we find that Jephthah’s brother’s got in trouble. They were being threatened by an enemy. So they sent for Jephthah and asked him to help them fight. LOLLLLLLL…I love how God does things.

Jephthah got smart with them. He said, “Didn’t ya’ll hate me? I thought y’all didn’t like me. So why are you coming to me now when you are in distress?”

His brother’s replied, “Yeah, yeah, yeah…we need you now. We need your skills, your expertise, we need your favor. And if you come and fight with us, we will make you our head and our captain.”

Now, his enemies have become his footstool. Now, Jephthah is the head and not the tail. The very thing they thrust him out over is the thing that positioned him for his purpose.

Can I tell you something? The thing you are crying over. The thing that is keeping you up at night, that is the thing that is going to propel you into your purpose.Stop running behind people begging them to love you and begging them to see the gift in you. I wish I would -- after everything I’ve been through – I wish I would spend my energy trying to change people’s minds about me. If you don’t want to be bothered with me, I been didn’t want to be bothered with you. It’s just not that serious.

What people say about you may or may not be true, but what God says about you, that’s what matters.So if you’ve got some haters that don’t want you in their little clique or their little club, REJOICE! It means that they are too low for you. It means that you were not meant to be in fellowship with them. It means that God is taking you to higher heights, deeper depths and to places where they can not go.

If you’ve got haters this morning, wave at ‘em and say, “Hi haters. I sure do appreciate everything you’ve done to me. You meant it for my evil, but God has made it good!” ‘Til next time, may the Lord God bless you real good!