The Food of Friendship

Giving that which they have been freely given- food and smiles!

 

On December 5, 2007, a friend of mine gifted me with the book: "AS A MAN THINKETH" by James Allen. I have read this book many times over and I would strongly suggest, for your own character growth, that you read it too! My friend Trey Randle exemplifies the character of a true and real friend. One of the highest compliments that we could bestow upon somebody is calling them "The Real Deal!" Trey, his wife Suzy and their son Simon are the real deals. They spend their lives being spent for other people. Having a meal with them is like someone feeding you the broken bread and poured out wine of Jesus. They are generous and compassionate in their display of loving God and loving their neighbor.

We serve hors d'oeuvres called love.

Here is the personalized inscription in the book, written by Trey:

 

12/5/07

 

Bob,

May God continue to guide you in your work and on your journey.

 

"Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be dismayed. Therefore, I have set

Thanks Trey for helping me set my face upon a Stone.

my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will triumph." 

Isaiah 50:7

 

"Trust, pray to be given the strength to accept what is in God's plan for us." 

Mother Teresa

In Jesus name I pray for you always my brother,

Love, Trey

College students receive food for thought.

I have shared this little book with countless numbers of students in elementary schools, high schools and colleges as well as youth groups in churches and on wilderness treks with Youth With A Purpose. A godly character is a cup overflowing with goodness and kindness, there can be no containment of such character. Gratitude for what they have been given is spread about as seeds of eternal life. Trey, Suzy and Simon are already in God's hall of faith. They inspire others to live lives of generosity through faith. This small family is leading multitudes on a journey called: "The Way, the Truth and the Life." 

 

Today's Wise Saying is from Proverbs 23:6-8 

 

Proverbs 23:6-8

New International Version (NIV)

Saying 9

⁶ Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,

    do not crave his delicacies;

⁷ for he is the kind of person

    who is always thinking about the cost.^[a]

“Eat and drink,” he says to you,

    but his heart is not with you.

⁸ You will vomit up the little you have eaten

    and will have wasted your compliments.

Proverbs 23:6-8

The Message (MSG)

^6-8 Don’t accept a meal from a tightwad;

    don’t expect anything special.

He’ll be as stingy with you as he is with himself;

    he’ll say, “Eat! Drink!” but won’t mean a word of it.

His miserly serving will turn your stomach

    when you realize the meal’s a sham.

Proverbs 23:6-8

Amplified Bible (AMP)

⁶ Eat not the bread of him who has a hard, grudging, and envious eye, neither desire his dainty foods;

⁷ For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. As one who reckons, he says to you, eat and drink, yet his heart is not with you [but is grudging the cost].

⁸ The morsel which you have eaten you will vomit up, and your complimentary words will be wasted.

Proverbs 23:6-8

King James Version (KJV)

⁶ Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:

⁷ For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

⁸ The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.

 

I know what it's like to spend time with somebody who only wants a relationship with you to benefit their own life circumstances. They could not care to be around you otherwise. People who manipulate others for personal gain are stingy people. Spending time with a manipulator leaves one with a queasy stomach.

Here are some aphorisms that came to my mind after reading today's Wise Saying:

 

A miserable soul is distasteful food.
A tightwad and his money soon choke on each other.   
Character is not built by chance. 
Our lives should be meals of encouragement for others.
You never exhaust the giving of God.
 Fill your mind with good things and your heart will hand them out.

How do you build your character?

Do you teach good character by your actions?

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.

Jesus loves you and so do we. 

P. Bahp Dizzle - Drinkin'

This is the latest song from Ohld Skool Rapper - Mr. P. Bahp Dizzle. 

 Drinkin'

My mood is sinkin'

I'm sittin' here thinkin'

My red eyes keep blinkin'

back the tears,

All that I been drinkin'

Runs out my eyes.

Can't get back the years.

Drownin' in a flood of boozin,

Been doin' nothin' cept losin'

My life shoulda been cruisin'

Instead I got tears

All that I been drinkin'

Runs out my eyes.

Can't get back the years.

Washin' away the hurt

Memories, fear, soakin' my shirt

Shame on my soul like dirt.

I got more tears

All that I been drinkin'

Runs out my eyes.

Can't get back the years.

I hear about God's grace.

He can't know my disgrace

Goodness in me - ain't no trace.

Just more tears

All that I been drinkin'

Runs out my eyes.

Can't get back the years.

God loves even me?

He sees more than I see?

Will He listen to my plea?

And stop the tears

From all that drinkin'

Dry out my eyes

And give me some more years?

Can I be forgiven

For the life I've been livin"?

A new story about me I'm believin'

No more tears

A renewed kind of thinkin'

Dry out my eyes

Restored for some new years!

On a cross, my sin, Jesus was drinkin

About ya'all and me, Jesus was thinkin'

Blood, sweat & tears Jesus was blinkin'

He died in tears,

from the sin we were drinkin

Clear in my eyes

Sacrificin' His life, we got eternal years.

Forgiven, believin' and livin'

New life, new vision I'm seein'

Second chance life I'm not wastin'

Tears of joy

From all that He's given

Clear in my eyes

My life's about praisin and thankin'

Jesus, yeah Jesus,  is sweet.

 

Money Wings

The tree looks like it has a head hanging down with arms stretched heavenward.

 The young tree had a yearning to be recognized and feel valuable.  She grew for many years through storms and weathered countless seasons of defoliation. Some of her branches were lost in wind and rain storms. Winters were particularly harsh. Her roots wouldn't grow in the frozen earth below. The weight of the snow on her branches

The cold snow seems to grow on the tree.

ripped limbs from her trunk. As a sapling, she had struggled to find sunlight in the shade of the adult trees towering overhead. As she matured, her roots grew deeper and her uppermost boughs grew heavenward. With each passing season, the young tree knew deep in her core that she was valuable. In the summer, her leaves seem to clap in the warm breezes as if to cheer her on to grow stronger.

 

Alas, the seasons passed and then came her final Fall, the tree was standing leafless after being deleafed in the Autumnal Passing. There were men with machines in the forest. The loud noises scattered the forest creatures and sent soil shivers of fear into the roots of the trees. A man walked up to the tree and stared up at her strong trunk and lofty barren branches. He smiled and said: "This tree will sure make a whole lot of money. This is probably the most valuable tree in the forest!" The tree was elated, someone finally recognized her value! This was her season of relief from a life of constant deleafing and releafing! Then she heard the man say: "Let's cut her down!"

A Jesus Tree?

The next thing the tree knew, she was in pieces and being loaded onto a logging truck. Her beautiful branches had been pruned away and discarded. She could smell diesel fumes as the truck rumbled out of the forest, her sap was draining unto the trailer floor beneath her. At the factory, she heard men talk about how valuable this load of trees would be after the process. The tree sighed, she wanted to be valuable but did she have to change this much? The logs were unloaded on to a conveyor belt where they would be debarked. The tree felt very exposed. After the debarking, the logs were then cut into small chips. The tree felt very small and insignificant. The chips were then stored until they were dried, their lifeblood of sap no longer flowed within them. The tree's life had gone to pieces. She was a dried up shred of her former self.

 

The tree was washed, bleached, beaten to a pulp, refined, screened, pressed and more. This would eventually become the most valuable of all trees, this tree would become money! The tree was now only a miniscule remnant of what she once was, but she was valuable. She thought her value would cause people to grasp her and recognize her importance. Everyone wanted her but few held her for long. She noticed how folks would labor long hours just to hold her briefly. Then they would exchange her for  meaningless trinkets of  pithy pleasure. The tree knew they might as well be chasing after the wind.She remembered the beautiful songbirds who used to land in her branches. They would alight for a song and then be aloft with wings in the wind and fly away. The tree thought maybe she should have wings, yes money wings! She was here one moment and gone the next. 

Money is a good thing. It's just not the most important thing. If you chase money at the expense of your family, you might end up with all the money and without a family.

 Today's Wise Saying is from Proverbs 23:4-5

 Proverbs 23:4-5

New International Version (NIV)

Saying 8

⁴ Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
    do not trust your own cleverness.
⁵ Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
    for they will surely sprout wings
    and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

Proverbs 23:4-5

The Message (MSG)

^4-5 Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich;
    restrain yourself!
Riches disappear in the blink of an eye;
    wealth sprouts wings
    and flies off into the wild blue yonder.

Proverbs 23:4-5

Amplified Bible (AMP)

⁴ Weary not yourself to be rich; cease from your own [human] wisdom.

⁵ Will you set your eyes upon wealth, when [suddenly] it is gone? For riches certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

Proverbs 23:4-5

King James Version (KJV)

⁴ Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
⁵ Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

I find it interesting that we make money out of trees that grow roots and the Bible says that:

^"For the love of money is the root of all evil:
 which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, 
and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

1 Timothy 6:10 King James Version (KJV)

It's all about focus. 

What should be your primary focus?

 

^"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
 and all these things shall be added unto you."

Matthew 6:33 King James Version (KJV)

Relax, focus on God and your family.

 You do need to make money and sometimes you will struggle,

 so be it.

How can you spend more meaningful time with your family?

If you are a coach for your child's team, this does not count as family time. 

Your child needs one on one time with you.

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.

Jesus loves you and so do we.

Eating With Envy

  (This is from Chapter 7 in a soon to be released book called: "Wisdom of the Hood.")

A neighborhood in unity outside the UCM Ministry Home.

A neighborhood sharing good words and good actions.

Magic the referee mentoring during the game.

Urban Christian Ministries is what I call the premier ministry in the City of Buffalo. I'm not trying to put them on a pedestal above many other servant organizations, but I see their fruit producing mass quantities of greater fruit. One of the men who has been a large part of UCM is Will Coplin. I first met Will through one of UCM's programs called Block Club Basketball.

All over the City, neighborhoods form basketball teams and play in the street. The game features a positive - life changing message at half time as well as sideline events for the whole family. The street is closed for almost 3 hours to host a community event of good neighborliness. Technical fouls are assessed for foul language and displays of anger are not tolerated. The referees are decent, especially a guy named Magic who seems to mentor and coach in between blowing his whistle. It is beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the most powerful life changing methods of mentoring that I have ever seen. As the Founder of a youth mentoring organization called Youth With A Purpose. Inc. that's been around for over 10 years, I've got some experience to make that call.

Is Will sitting on a bench or dancing?

 I have worked with Will for many years. When I first met him, I was in awe of what he did with young people. I thought: "Here is the real deal - this dude really cares about these kids and nothing will stop him from sharing his life with them. I wanted to be like Will, I envied him! Envy can be healthy or destructive. My envy of Will was a good thing. I asked him to go to lunch and tutor me. When I arrived at lunch, I had a notebook and pen ready to take tons of notes. I was about to learn all there was to know about a successful youth mentoring organization in the city. After we ordered and before the food arrived, my anxiousness to learn caused me to start asking him questions. "What's the secret to your ministry?" I asked Will. His response was very simple: "Talk to God." I said "Okay Will, I understand that part, but how did you get started, how do you know what to do and how to plan?" I waited for this wisdom filled guy to give me enough material to write a book with and he repeated: "Talk to God."

Will is the servant guy everywhere he goes.

I never wrote anything in my notebook. The wisdom gained from going to lunch with a servant of God was simple: "Talk to God." I'm now more than 10 years down the road in our youth ministry on the streets in one of the poorest and most violent cities in America and I: "Talk to God." Things are changing in Buffalo in large part to a guy named Will Coplin. Young people are leaving gangs, going to college and becoming contributing members of society. Most importantly, they are beginning to understand the unconditional love of Jesus through a man named Will Coplin.
 Thanks Will, Jesus loves you and so do we.






Today's Wise Saying is from Proverbs 23:1-3.

Proverbs 23:1-3

New International Version (NIV)

Saying 7

23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
    note well what^[a] is before you,
² and put a knife to your throat
    if you are given to gluttony.
³ Do not crave his delicacies,
    for that food is deceptive.

Proverbs 23:1-3

The Message (MSG)

Restrain Yourself

23 ^1-3 When you go out to dinner with an influential person,
    mind your manners:
Don’t gobble your food,
    don’t talk with your mouth full.
And don’t stuff yourself;
    bridle your appetite.

Proverbs 23:1-3

King James Version (KJV)

23 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:

² And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
³ Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.

Proverbs 23:1-3

Amplified Bible (AMP)

23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider who and what are before you;

² For you will put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to desire.

³ Be not desirous of his dainties, for it is deceitful food [offered with questionable motives].

Envy can lead to covetousness. My enthusiasm to know what Will knew was driven by the envy of impetuousness. The experience he had was not the experience I would have but he knew what I needed to focus on which is talking to God. We should seek out the wisdom of successful people only if their success has been built upon godly principles. Envy can become a food of destruction fed through ill gotten instruction. I ask God for the wisdom to understand His lessons of life. I ask for Him to surround me with godly people so that I might partake of the same digestible wisdom that they have consumed.  

Reflection questions:

Do you know when to end a conversation with an influentially deceitful person?  

Do you seek out conversations with positive role models?

How do you become a better role model?

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.

Jesus loves you and so do we. 

Anthony has smiled more in his heart because of the love shown by a man named Will Coplin.

Skilled Diligence

 

Upon reflection, most athletes who never made it to the professional level believe they were only one lucky bounce away from becoming a pro.The memory of our skills seems to supersede the reality of how our playing days ended without accomplishing any high level of competence. Sometimes our diligence pays off in rewarding us with high levels of accomplishment. It's very rare that someone becomes a star at anything without a lot of focus and perseverance. Sometimes we work too hard in the wrong arena of life.

 

The dreams of many hard working people are deflated in the end.

A successful businessman would not be hanging out with drug dealers and homeless people. Or would he? How do you define diligence?

 Here is today's Wise Saying: 

 

 Proverbs 22:29

New International Version (NIV)

Saying 6

²⁹ Do you see someone skilled in their work?
    They will serve before kings;
    they will not serve before officials of low rank.

Proverbs 22:29

The Message (MSG)

²⁹ Observe people who are good at their work—
    skilled workers are always in demand and admired;
    they don’t take a backseat to anyone.

Proverbs 22:29

Amplified Bible (AMP)

²⁹ Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Proverbs 22:29

King James Version (KJV)

²⁹ Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

A man or woman who has diligently prepared themselves by studying the Bible would do spiritual business with everybody. I'm sure the proverb writers for this Wise Saying were pointing towards a hard work, due diligence and perseverance pays off kind of teaching. I agree, but I'd like to go deeper. Does someone who is martyred for their faith become an obscure person? How do you define spiritual obscurity?

Please understand that it is not my job to persuade you to believe as I do or think they way I do. My goal is to give you something to chew on. Examine the Proverb and soak on it. The most important thing you can ever do is accepting God's love and showing that acceptance by loving other people. To become skillful in business is a good thing. To stand before kings and wield influence in a positive way is a good thing. To be a skilled worker in demand who is admired is a good thing.

I went to a funeral once of a man who was a very respected businessman. He died too early. He had long neglected his family during the diligent pursuit of excellence in business. He was just starting to learn how to be a father when he died. Balance between God, family and business will help you stand before God beatifically (rapturously!)

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody
Jesus loves you and so do we.

Womb Boundaries

The sun has a boundary in the sky.

 
A friend of mine was having trouble with her neighbors on both sides of her property. At issue was a disputed survey and the markers of the property boundaries. A survey done many years ago was supposedly wrong according to a new survey. The neighbors wanted a fence moved to accommodate the new survey and they asked the town inspector to help. The town eventually forced my friend to give up the rights to what she had been using as her property for many years.

I was there on the day that a bulldozer came to move a shed back from the new property line. The neighbors acted as if it was a celebration. They stood by the fence with a camera and beverages in a gleeful and celebratory mood. The bulldozer got stuck in the mud which caused a greater happiness for the neighbors. It was a taunting kind of happiness that made me feel shame in watching it. Eventually the shed was moved and the neighbors went back into their home. I was amazed that people could be so nasty over a boundary dispute. Somebody either made a mistake or moved the boundary marker. It was not a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Today's Wise Saying is taken from Proverbs 22:28

Proverbs 22:28

New International Version (NIV)

Saying 5

²⁸ Do not move an ancient boundary stone
    set up by your ancestors.

Proverbs 22:28

The Message (MSG)

²⁸ Don’t stealthily move back the boundary lines
    staked out long ago by your ancestors.

Proverbs 22:28

Amplified Bible (AMP)

²⁸ Remove not the ancient landmark which your fathers have set up.

Proverbs 22:28

King James Version (KJV)

²⁸ Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.

Some boundary movers are imprisoned with new boundaries.

It seems pretty cut and dry doesn't it? A boundary marker defines what you own and you have no right to covet what what you neighbor has. How about a baby in a womb? Well, now there's a highly charged question.  The boundary for a child in a prenatal state is the womb of the child's mother. There is a safe boundary that keeps the child in a place of nurturing until the baby can live outside the boundary of the womb. An abortion moves the boundaries of the baby into destruction. The womb boundaries are moved causing the death of a child.

A boundary of self respect can be moved by someone who desires love. Almost delirious with wanton desire, a love sick soul will set aside personal boundaries out of loneliness within those boundaries. Marital infidelity is a broken boundary. The Ten Commandments are God's boundaries for our lives. If we break His laws, we are moving boundaries aside to commit sin. That's a good ending for this chapter.

What boundaries have you broken? Who so you see moving boundaries? How can you teach children about staying true to the boundaries of God?

Debtors Prison

We sold millions of stickers and temporary tattoos. Our sticker vending business was the largest company of it's kind in the Buffalo, N.Y. area. There was lot's of money to be made and we had a blast making that money. One of the stickers we sold was an "Alien Head." I put a sign on the front of the sticker machine that said:

 "If you hold an Alien Sticker up to your ear,
you can hear the sound of space.
If you hold an Alien Sticker up to both ears, 
you can hear the sound of space between your ears!"

For several years business was good and then we financed the purchase of additional machinery. The opportunity for expansion was alluring. Other vendors saw our success with sticker machines and the competition began. It was either grow or lose business. We financed our expansion and business grew. Then the bottom dropped out. A nation wide company came in and purchased most of the major bowling alleys in the Buffalo area. They brought in a nationwide vendor. We were told to pack up our newly financed equipment and leave. It was catastrophic financially as well as devastating to our family. Several years later, what remained of the business was sold at a great loss - nowhere near enough to pay what we owed. We had become incarcerated by credit or a servant to the lender. The wisdom gained through that failure is:

 "Whenever  possible pay cash.
Be patient, plan and save until you have enough to make a purchase.
Do not spend yourself into a position of financial insolvency." 

Today's Wise Saying is from Proverbs 22:26-27.

Proverbs 22:26-27

New International Version (NIV)

Saying 4

²⁶ Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge
    or puts up security for debts;
²⁷ if you lack the means to pay,
    your very bed will be snatched from under you.

Proverbs 22:26-27

The Message (MSG)

3

^26-27 Don’t gamble on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,
    hocking your house against a lucky chance.
The time will come when you have to pay up;
    you’ll be left with nothing but the shirt on your back.

Proverbs 22:26-27

Amplified Bible (AMP)

²⁶ Be not one of those who strike hands and pledge themselves, or of those who become security for another’s debts.

²⁷ If you have nothing with which to pay, why should he take your bed from under you?

Proverbs 22:26-27

King James Version (KJV)

²⁶ Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.
²⁷ If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

In a sense, we shook hands with the bankers who lent us the money to expand our business. I gave them part of my life in exchange for money. I've seen many other people become slaves to the need for money. Addictions cause people to sell their soul. Prostitutes - both male and female walk the streets of our city. Human traffickers sell human beings for money. Children are bought and sold as slaves.because the love of money has caused an erosion of compassion. People have become pledges for debts. What is our responsibility as a compassionate people in regards to those who have been enslaved by lack of money?

You have lost everything and you now live on the street. This is the front entrance to your home. There is no need to shovel your sidewalk and there is no driveway. You don't bother with gardening because you won't live here long enough to see anything grow. Your new bed was found on the side of the road in a pile of trash and it doubles as the wall of your home. Your windows have lights behind them and offer little illumination into your dark home. You don't have a garbage can so your own garbage is littered around and in your home. You do not have a bathroom. You do not bathe and you relieve yourself wherever. You hear the sound of laughter coming from behind the windows with light. You don't remember what laughter is or maybe you never did.

 Our government routinely creates more opportunities for addiction that leads to a type of debtors prison. Casinos are being built all over the country beckoning gamblers into a potential addiction. The New York State Lottery advertises: "A Dollar and a Dream!" We are told to avoid debt and yet our government leaders provide a step ladder into a financial hole. Make a plan to pay off debt and stay out of debt. Don't be afraid to ask for help through financial counseling. Ask God to help you with a financial plan. If you already are in healthy financial standing, can you help somebody who is not? A gift from God is meant to be reciprocal - share it! We may not all be called to be financially wealthy but I believe that God does intend for us to have enough provision to focus on loving Him and our neighbors.

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
Jesus loves you and so do we.