The Challenge

Life is a challenge and so many times we struggle with sudden change but change can easily become a catapult for something new and exciting. The greatest issue can easily be the fear of the unknown, wondering if that very change I good or bad. You could easily have a 100 people with the same circumstances and yet you will always have one who deals with that set of challenges in an amazing way, they see the change that initially felt fearful and made it into something inspirational, they see it as an opportunity instead of a huge obstacle waiting to crush their hopes and dreams. The difference is in the mindset, in how you approach the difficulties, the unknown.
When I had my stroke I had to learn to read, write, walk and talk again and it was deeply life changing and when faced with every daily challenge I had to decide will I rise above it or will I cringe and hide from life. I chose the the former and the struggle was honestly brutal but in the end I found a much stronger man. I became a deeper person with roots that reached much further into the grounds of courage, faith and hope! We may not have the luxury of an ample amount of ideal choices when dealing with adversity but we can have an amazing perspective and or hope in dealing with adversity and that is where healthy change can occur.

Grace

Grace...

The beauty of grace is far deeper than we can imagine, it's a lifelong journey of seeing and enduring through life's choices, trials, the valleys and the mountain tops. We See things in the moment, maybe even when we reflect on the past but it's always foggy through the eyes of humanity.
God speaks to us profoundly and with depth of love when He tells us to walk in our weakness, endure in our suffering, because in our suffering God is glorified and we are humbled. Pride is buried quickly in our struggles and that lense of cloudy muddy perception quickly fades and we begin to look more fervently at the light when it breaks through the clouds; like a lighthouse we become far more dependant on where God wants us to go and less on where we want to be.
When we see the light with joy and with reliance we begin to celebrate the destination, the journey, God's wisdom is always far better than our own. In the end our weakness is His testimony to a loving Father, an amazingly gracious giver of hope and victory. The light always breaks through the darkest storms...

From This Moment

   There I was, standing before a simple pathway. I had often walked and jogged that same route with ease and not a care in the world, now I was standing there with one leg shaking and quivering and one arm doing who knows what and words and thoughts had melted like wax; I felt a war was going on inside my head. Yes this was the hill that suddenly became my mountain, just after the stroke everything seemed almost impossible to overcome; miles and miles away.

   I quickly looked down at my feet, the very feet that brought me everywhere without any complications, there I was fighting for every step, every moment, every dream and trying to silence every single nightmare. I took the reigns of my worries and doubts and laid them before God and said "I'm here in this dilemma and you are a God of miracles, so make your miracles happen in every fear I face!" I held to those very thoughts and pushed and pushed my way through. Whatever we face, the beautiful thing is this, God is always bigger than our biggest fears, our biggest trials, adversities and our tears. He always has a plan, sometimes it's among a haze, a fog of war but God is the lighthouse and He is ever faithful.

We can have comfort in knowing that whatever was meant for evil, God can make it for His good. Now I'm doing public speaking, demonstrations in martial arts as well as creating art, poetry, photography and much much more. Never let go of God's promises, He is faithful and true...

Without Adversity

Without Adversity

We Can Never Discover

The Treasure Of Courage

The Value Of Tenacity

The Strength In Persistence

And The Satisfaction Of Hope

                              By Ernie Kasper

Your Life, His Glory!

The crayons are the life that God has given you (symbolic) and the blowdryer is the hardships and difficulties you will face but God knew this and designed your life to be a beautiful work of art, a joyful praise to His love and mercy and above all else His victory in your life.

Leap Of Faith

Sometimes a leap of faith is the only direction we can go.

I've faced that very dilemma many times when dealing with my stroke and when I couldn't read, write, walk or talk it took me so amazingly far because I knew that Christ was with me through it all. I began making art, writing poetry, capturing photography and doing things such as martial arts, parkour and so much more. God does the impossible :)

Beyond The Pain

There I was, quivering, shaking uncontrollably...

     I felt a lightening bolt surge through my body and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground shaking. I just fought to walk just a few feet and it took everything in me to do it and then I found out seizures became another battle I would surely have to face on a regular basis. The daily tasks that so many people take for granted, I took for granted, now they were mountains of trials; journeys I never new that would test my determination. I felt often frustrated, taxed by new challenges that would face my life. 

     The stroke took everything from me except one thing, my determination, it simply couldn't find a way to remove that very thing that would lead me to where I am today!

Yesterday was a monumental moment, I ran a huge distance along a winding trail with so many ups and downs and there I was, persistent to the very end. I finished my goal and after 8 long years I came to this very point! VICTORY!!!

God always has a plan and when we feel like He isn't there, He is the very one who is sustaining us, challenging us, encouraging us softly. My roots have grown deeper than ever, my understanding of what really matters in life is far greater than before and my joy for life, thankfulness in the simple things makes me one happy guy!

Thankfulness is an art and its returns are endless...

Laughter Is Good Medicine

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 17:2

I Will Be With You

I can't see how this will turn out...

It's that moment that makes us shake sometimes, especially when we are at our weakest moments, the moments that challenge our worst fears, our silent whispers but it's in those very moments that God speaks the loudest. He begins a good work in us and what He starts, He finishes! That's the comfort we can receive through each and every challenge that begs us to break, to give up, to throw in the towel. The real beauty is in God's perfect plan and His devoted compassionate love that abounds in wisdom and kindness...

For The Call

   

     Today is one of those days, the kind of day that when you wake up you just feel thankful. You wake up and you realize that God in all His wonder and grace, somehow made your life amazing not by what you can do but rather what God can do in it. A moment comes and goes without distinction sometimes but when there is love it soars through the skies of joy and when we suffer pain or loss we drudge through the mud and mire of hurt. It's inevitable, change is always happening but it's when we are in our darkest moments that we see an even greater light of hope, it's because of it's sheer brilliance when in darkness we wander that it becomes so precious, so paramount, so inspiring that it leaves an indelible mark that can spur us onward and upward.
     When I woke up this morning I had that very feeling, that type of praise to a God of wonder and absolute faithfulness. I had realized that through my stroke, my learning how to read, write, walk and talk that God made that mark, that profound statement in my soul that said "I will never leave you or forsake you!" and that is what He did. He prevailed over my suffering, He conquered over my doubts, He triumphantly showed is everlasting love over my hurts and pains and today I am doing things that once were deemed impossible because I have a God of all possibilities.
     No matter what you face you can face it as long as God is the rock by which you stand or crawl or what have you, you are not alone and on His strong promises you are victorious.