Days 5 and 6 - No Super Sermon Here.

Yesterday was kind of a slow day for me waiting for a long weekend. It becomes lethargic and even boring at times when you are constantly in something you are not passionate about doing while pursuing your passions in hope that the passions will one day pay your bills. Your hope lies in obedience to where you are that God will hear your prayers, that once you have stood the test you will be somewhere you like or even perhaps with someone you care deeply about. That is the road post I currently face....taking one step at a time hoping I will get to an arrived destination that brings promise and fulfillment on an eternal mission in a ministry of some kind.

If I have not had a perfect day in this twenty-one day challenge, I have not beaten myself up - I truly think that is a source of the enemy. I have just tried to stay the course to do better tomorrow, focusing on becoming a master of the little things so the big things take care of themselves.

I have my first 5K EARLY tomorrow morning. All of today's goals were attained even in the midst of super chills in the low 30's with a walk in preparation, reflection, and prayer for tomorrow's big day.

I also had an amazing phone call with a good friend who could be possibly writing the foreword to my big book and hopefully big break. That was an encouraging step in the right direction.

Perhaps My Last Letter and Gesture To My Friend

You never knew that I was planning on running a marathon in February 2011 - I was training and planned discussing the matter with you during my supposed visit in early December 2010 - perhaps you would have enjoyed having someone rise to the challenge with you. It would be a little exaggerated to say I trained for a girl but better said that I wanted to enjoy the experience with a good friend together. I even registered for the race, but when things bottomed out between us, I let it go. Like this instance, there is ALOT of things you do not know about me. There are many things I wanted to say but never had the chance. There is an eternal reason why our friendship never made it. I believe that friendship is worth the good fight through gesture, kindness, and perhaps a turn of the cheek. No thank you's for the nice thoughts, and good byes, and no explanations - just deafening silence... that is okay if you are okay with such a response. I pray for you almost every day. While we may never talk again, I am at peace with that, however I did not you to forget your birthday. More importantly, I wanted you to know that I had not forgotten. I took the picture on this card in Italy. My included art project seemed appropriate for Floridian beaches. Perhaps for the last time, Happy Birthday! -James L. Cartee III

Not Separate But Rather Together – Days 3 and 4

So yesterday was not my most successful triumph in terms of my 21 day goals. I needed some time to have fun – I exercised bowling seven games alone (kind of took a sabbatical to spend a few hours by myself) and thoroughly enjoyed the leisurely activity of reflection and the sound of pins falling. Before my fast to exercise twenty-one straight days, I certainly would have exercised much less with no movement on the front side whatsoever….just settling for the desk duties of a cubicle each day. So bowling as a legitimate sport was legitimate exercise in my mind. I did however forget about the blog entry or my daily discipline to write. So I decided to combine two blog entries into one here. I have stayed on track and committed to The Big 3 in terms of my spiritual disciplines. I have a logical manner in which I memorize Scripture through note cards day by day working through different verses for each day of the week. Slowly the scriptures start adding up as you continue to add different passages of memory.

While I was at my desk reading through another scripted conversation with yet another student, I was thinking about my New Year Happiness Project goals and how I was going to accomplish all such tasks and things by myself, and then the titled subject entered my mind, “Not separate but together.” How many times do you imagine trying to achieve goals by yourself without God like I can actually publish a book with a major contract or get a promotion without God in the picture? That almost sounds ridiculous just writing such a thought knowing the love I have in my heart for Jesus Christ. As believers, we do not exist alone as individuals. We exist together as Christ enters us when we confess to believe in His Name accepting in the faith that we stand in. Christ within us gives us the ability to become great! Everyone at some point in their life needs the assistance of someone to do something. Even if you lead a team, you depend on the team to follow your instructions as you lean into members to commit to whatever transpires. As Christians, we commit to each other to assist in whatever ways possible, but it is Christ in us that compels, gives strength, motivates, inspires, and ultimately leads us to succeed, to never back down, and to finish the race strong.

We measure success and triumphs on individual measures, but while God tests me in the immediate moment within the present, He reminds me that to move on it is not by my own measure and earthly efforts but rather us together through His infinite blessings and His Grace. In the end, we all end up in the same place anyway, together with Christ – again to die is gain! For if you believe (another friendly reminder here), you might find that together nothing is impossible with Christ. Dare to believe, and dare to achieve together in relationship.

Are We Wasting Time? – Day Two

I heard an incredible story through a friend’s testimony today when she asked for certain materialistic wants in faith through a simple prayer while shopping on the Internet, and within twenty-four hours God delivered ALL her desires (like enough to furnish an entire new house). Now the last thing I hope for is more stuff, but there are ambitions I hope God notices.

When you or I ask how would that happen to her and not yourself or myself, I think blind faith may have something to with it. We become jealous by those whose God’s provisions seem to divinely bless over our own. Passionately with conviction, are you wasting your time with meddling matters? My worst fear coming out of college was working a dead beat job to pay bills – while I am grateful for money in my pocket, I want to serve in a capacity where my passions are not lingering and my interests are divinely appointed to follow in suit with eternity.

Twenty-one days of prayer is not just about a proclamation for me to say, “I ran two 5 K’S, one 10 K, and twenty-one days straight in preparation for a half - marathon.” I am in some ways tired of wasting time watching television or quite frankly just doing things that have no significance. I realize God has us appointed to individuals in our place wherever we are settled, but it becomes discouraging when applying, inquiring for opportunity after opportunity only to be turned away without almost no great justification from a potential decision maker on whether you can join up or not. Many do not even bother to send you their sincere wishes in a letter format on your search to better yourself. In addition to more positions than I can really count, I have applied to churches in my own circle of faith and nonprofits who advocate for the fatherless. I want to serve God in an occupation where I do not wake up each day wondering, “Does this matter?” I do not believe that such a wish is a ridiculous thought or too much to ask God for. I often sit in prayer asking God, “What are You doing? What am I supposed to be doing?” I am looking for a sign here….something simple….not thousands of dollars of stuff to furnish a house or new apartment but somewhere doing something where I can serve God and be fulfilled doing so, using my outgoing personality traits to build relationships and somehow harness my creative genes. That is my prayer so that day in and day out I do not feel like I am wasting my/your time, my spiritual potential, and my spiritual gifts.

Again I am glad to be paid but sincerely feel that I have maxed out my potential to answer telephones, send emails, and input data entry. I surpass expectations daily with where I am in life, but the question that consumes my thoughts and cognitive processes is whether I am having an eternal difference in those lives I am supposedly changing every day. I am a great salesman, but the frank problem is that I am not selling something I even believe in. I would much rather be selling out to Jesus, saving people’s souls, and using my gifts with people to convey how much adoption is needed to save children around the world.

Do you personally feel that your life is wasting away doing something that has no significance besides a pay check? If so, ask God to open a new door, maybe He will. I know that I am begging that He does soon in my own life.

As for the goals of Day Two, Check!

Nothing is Impossible with God – The First Day

I am in a year of transition I feel sometimes every day. I continue to explore my interests in writing, photography, and different facets of ministry. As I was running about three miles today, I felt as if God was pulling the anxieties and worries off my mind. Sometimes I love to run. Sometimes I really hate it. I always like the feeling that I have accomplished exercise; the afterwards feelings are always feelings of triumph. There is just something engrossing (feel bloated like a big bouncy ball) about eating a whole box of Cheezits or pizza. I have some pretty ambitious dreams if I continue to pursue the direction I am going, and I felt God’s Spirit consistently assured me the last mile and half of my jog, “Nothing is impossible with me,” (meaning God in the first tense). That thought came across my mind at least 60 to 70 times….that question was so potent I could feel God’s Spirit as my thoughts melted in the path behind my feet. While running is often a pain, there is something about the cleansing of the body that is just healthy.

I love to sleep, but I also believe that the Devil uses this desire against me to take a quick nap rather than spend an hour with God. I just read a verse of warning in Proverbs that if a man does not work he does not eat and therefore remains hungry; the writer of Proverbs encourages us to wake up! Often times the feelings (speaking of emotions) of motivation do not seem potent within my heart for the purpose that I know God has bestowed upon my dreams….or at least in the direction I am seeking in Him. If you truly believe that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD, don’t you think that would be enough motivation for you? Sometimes I get caught up with whether I can run 21 days straight, finish my book, and accomplish the Big Three while spending valuable time with God unlike I have many years past, just getting by at times. But as I jogged, God constantly showed me a movie scene from Facing the Giants. You can view those scenes in the YouTube videos below. But I must ask myself and you as the reader, “What is impossible with God?” Is anything truly impossible with God? Just the thought of the reality send chills up my back. Nothing, absolutely nothing is impossible with God in your heart and your dreams to touch lives for his eternal purpose for your life. First and foremost, we live in the United States. Many of us have been given the blessings to accomplish dreams (great educational institutions, supportive networks, an income of some kind even if minimum wage, transportation public or private, medicine, etc.). We have been given the blessings and tools to change lives and perform God’s work on national and international scales. So I ask you repeatedly, “What is impossible with God?” What do you hope to spend your life doing? What do you believe God will have you to accomplish? What is impossible with God?

Regardless of church affiliations, ethnic differences, and/or personal blockades on how you feel about someone, nothing is impossible with God. Whatever appears in front of you as impossible, know that through God anything is doable.

No matter whether we win or lose for 2012, let’s remember that our intentions should be to glorify God. No matter what happens, let’s glorify God! And as you point your hands to the sky in praise, you will realize that nothing is truly impossible in Jesus’ Name.

So as God asked me during my jog over and over and over again,

What is impossible with God?

What is impossible with God?

What is impossible with God?

What is impossible with God?

What is impossible with God?

With the faith of a mustard seed, I finally said in response, “Nothing.”

Raising Up – 21 Days of Prayer and Good-Byes to This Blog

I have been working with Nate Johnson from Level Two Design (http://www.level2d.com/home.html) on redoing a new blog. With a new blog will come a fresh new look. These next blog entries will create in finality the end of this journey we have shared in the last several years through Short Circuits.

New Year’s Day is usually my favorite holiday of the year – there is just something refreshing about a new chance to begin again. Church of the Highlands is launching a twenty-one days of prayer focused on seeking God to new levels and higher heights. I have decided to transition to a new blog after these twenty-one days. Blogspot and the original Short Circuits blog have served me well, but I believe it is time to move on with a more professional look that I know will change lives hopefully by the hundreds and then by the thousands, leading to an eventual book contract.

Over twenty-one days, I have some simple goals. They are listed as following:

1.) To run for 21 straight days getting back in shape and getting my body back to a level that will truly glorify God. I have registered for three races for the next twenty-one days, each subsequent Saturday.

2.) To blog for 21 straight days, updating readers on my status with how things are going.

3.) To do my very best to finish as much as possible on a book I have been working on and off for the last 18 months (a personal memoir about living with bipolar disorder). While the book project and text will continue to be a work-in-progress until it signs (perhaps even for many years to come), the next three weeks will be a focused effort to push and bring the story all together.

4.) And to fulfill the Big Three (part of my own one year Happiness Project, more of this to come) – reading the Word, memorizing the Word, and praying for others (not focusing on my own needs) …. The Big Three is something I have been working on for two or three months now, missing a day or two here or there. I would like The Big Three to become a habit where I do these things every day without thinking about it, like driving a car.

I really believe that this is a great way to start out a New Year….focusing on goals with a Christ-centered focus and feel. Church of the Highlands is exploding. It is overwhelming and almost unprecedented how God is working through the church in the state of Alabama….saving people, serving through community, praising, and giving thanks for ALL He has done. Through the New Year, I will continue to pray that individuals do not fall through the numbers but that somehow and some way Highlands continues to touch lives through the leadership of Senior Pastor Chris Hodges where time is precious and not expedited through so much growth that we forget about the Jesus we love so much, causing some to feel estranged. Availability is imperative, and an invitation beyond a hand shake or hand raised becomes paramount. I believe that through vision for growth we must continue to remember the statutes our body was founded on - equipping experienced believers while bringing new ones to the Lord's table. When so much growth occurs, perhaps the potentiality to do the small things well becomes more susceptible to missing our purpose altogether. Some first time visitors do not become involved unless they are welcomed by friends and family – most do not initiate involvement unless asked by someone of merit to come. My intentions are not to discredit my church home but rather as a writer express my thoughts on recent matters, giving readers something to think about.

This year I am reaching for higher heights. Last year was tumultuous – it was really weird looking back with all the events that occurred in own life, the strange dreams, the mental challenges, and continuously asking myself, “What is going on here?”

I want to believe in hard work, real hard work with my purpose in Christ’s Name. Simply mentioned, that is my focus for the year, that the 21 Day Initiative at Church of the Highlands is for something tangible in the hearts of those involved….that we truly fight for a cause worth fighting for, an eternity for you, an eternity for me, and an eternity for the lost without numbers being the only goal, but rather growth for believers in where they are so through our personal growth in Christ others come to Christ. You might have to read that again. In our growth as experienced believers growth becomes possible in others….if you train soldiers to live and die for His Gain, we must continue to refine our souls in both small group fellowship and friendship but also in congregational gatherings where as a family we come together. As I have heard our pastor say continually through my tenure since the beginning, we are truly “better together.”

And as I focus on the next 21 Days, I hope that these 21 days turns 2012 into a life-changing year where my hands are held in the air raising up like Rocky into a new generation, becoming a the heavyweight champion of the world in union with Christ. Together we can and together we will change lives for Him.

Negativity Stinks – Your Attitude Reflects Your Soul – Our True Christmas Gift

The blog entries have been far and few between recently. I have been caught up in the rat race of the human existence living day to day in the mediocrity of something I do not want to do for the rest of my life, often overlooking the simple blessings that lie before me. I have encountered and survived the burdens of authority with two-sided faces pretending to be something that a position would suggest otherwise often looking places he should not have been. I now face another enemy of sorts: the bad attitude of someone who pretends to walk on water and believe in Jesus from a claimed state of view (claiming to be something other than what is). I do not believe Jesus walked around as Lord with a badge of entitlement for the sacrifice He bestowed for all of humanity. I do not understand when in firm faith believers act as if they deserve what they have because truth be told we all deserve to go to hell in our own selfish ambitions.

I have recently met the true example of selfishness in someone who pretends to be just that good, too good for those who are around, even if performance would accentuate that this individual is in fact not the best. Perhaps one just thinks “I look the best” when one too many diet cokes are drank, but then again for those who have been spoon fed all their lives they tend to think they deserve a title. Entitlement often brings negativity for all those one looks down upon, and when you perform better than those who look down on you, that ergs them all the more because the attention is no longer on their own negative stupidity. You become a target of positive energy, excitement, and enthusiasm that overcomes the stench of negativity.

What stinks most about this predicament is that until I move onto better things for my talents, I am stuck with the negativity of someone who thinks one is better than all that are around, surrounded by pretending with facework to deceive. A bad magic trick has no secret. There is no deception behind a sour attitude and a cold heart that responds that “I do not want to get my hands dirty” when approaches to community service are in discussion. It really is a matter of insecurity. It is also a matter of the heart. Sour attitudes are a window into the soul where insecurity of one’s place remains in jeopardy. Our hearts expose our inner passions. Hence those who are continuously negative (beyond your usual venting from stress) are focused on one thing, ME. One may be too good to even speak with you, but eventually you get what you deserve or what you do not deserve, whichever comes first I suppose. Those who work earn a living and deserve the food they eat. Those who pretend the world revolves around their own orbit may one day find they are alone when no one is there to clean up the mess. They goof off without something to eat because fake wages are no longer extended to those who do not work and who are held accountable at certain times by no one.

I once heard someone say, “The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.” I survived the dictatorial leadership of a fake man in the cloth. I will outlast those with the negativity to drown a team and this number one positive, enthusiastic believer. Come at me with your best criticisms and anecdotes, but when it comes to a bad attitude without true perspective in the spirit of negativity, I will not listen. I will not take part. And I will certainly be nothing like those where the heart is sour and the soul lurks in the darkness of selfishness. I am preparing for the end of the fourth quarter as a winner. I choose to be positive. I choose to be good. I choose to serve. I choose to be different than that person. I choose to glorify Him by rising above because in the end that is all that matters. A bad attitude will certainly always stink. I do not care who you pretend to be. You are not fooling me. And you are certainly not going to fool Him. You may not be the best in talent at what you do, but your attitude will reflect the true nature of your soul. I never want others to question my character in the fakeness of a portrayal for something I am not. I refuse to be that person, and in the example of what I do not want to be, I have learned what not to be.

I will never act as if I am too good to speak to you. In fact, I would treat you as I would hope to be treated because my heart is in the right place, and I therefore also hope my attitude reflects the relationship I have in Christ. This year I will prepare in the fight that I plan to win. Those with negative aspirations can fuel the fire within my heart to chase after Him who loves me more than we will ever know, my Jesus.

This Christmas, I remember the sacrifice of a crucifixion that saved me. Amen.