Reflections

Greetings,

    As I sit here I'm listening to a song called my worship is for real. The lyrics go as such, "you don't know my story, all the things that I've been through. You can't feel my pain, what I had to go through to get here. You'll never understand my praise, don't try to figure it out because my worship is for real. I've been through to much, to not worship hm."
     This song hits home for me on so many different points. I've been away from playing professional basketball for 6 years, which is something that I absolutely love to do. Now I'm back doing what I love in the Holy Land of Israel, that is a blessing within itself. I know the Lord had me away for a reason, I accept that and embrace that. I stayed with my passion, my desire and love for the game never left. My faith in Lord is so strong and I always knew that He would get me back to doing what I love no matter what it took. I passed my test, which was the Lord asking me to show him My Faith.
    I'm ready to receive his blessings and be a living testimony for those who are at a crossroad in their life and want to give up, I can tell you this stay strong in your Faith and Trust in the Lord with all Your heart. Don't let doubt into your mind because it clouds your judgement, it makes you believe you are doing the right thing by not pursuing what the Lord has brought you to do. Its not an easy thing to do and its painful to be doing something that you don't love to do just to get by. Keep the Faith and know that the Lord is preparing you for a blessing so big that you won't have room enough to receive it. Are you Ready?
    Sometimes we get off of track from what we think is Our Plan but that's merely the Lord saying My Child, come with Me and I will show you the way. So when the time comes ask yourself, Am I Ready? Show him that you are ready and that you mean what you say through your actions and your character. For I am a living testimony that not only do dreams come true the first time around, but its so Sweet the 2nd time around time. When God is your captain, you need not to worry. My boat is sailing on an adventure, I have no clue of where its going, but I will enjoy My Journey, every step of the way.
Thank You Jesus
Achieving is Believing
#SweetRebound

The Sacred Western Wall

Shalom,
 
    Yesterday I visited the great city of Jerusalem. It was quite the experience and I had an excellent time. The highlight of the day was visiting the Western Wall. This is where people go and write out a prayer list and after writing their list, they fold the paper up as small as they can and place it inside the wall. In my opinion this is a very deep and soul refreshing experience for everyone. Think about it, your prayers are your most deep, intimate, secretive thoughts. The Western Wall is a holy place for you to place your thoughts in a secure location and if you believe and have faith, your prayers will be answered. When you pray to yourself or when you wake up or before you go to sleep, you are essentially talking to the Lord. At the Western Wall it just felt to me that I had so much power because I was putting my prayers in a tangible place, that is considered to be the most holy.  Not saying that my prayers when I speak them go unanswered, just saying that the sacred place I put them in, the meaning itself to me is powerful. The wall is so sacred that you should not turn your back to the wall ever. So after you put your prayer list inside and pray to the wall, you have to walk away from the wall backwards, never turning your back to it. Beautiful experience it was.
Achieving is Believing
#SweetRebound

My 2nd Week in Israel

Hello to All,

    My second week thus far has had a very good progression. The first week there was no access to weights or cardio machines to get in some extra work. Now there is no excuse for not putting in the work needed to get better. I'm experiencing the culture of Israel and its very interesting indeed. The food tastes different from what I'm used to eating in America, but its a good thing to try something new. I'm learning a few Hebrew words here and there, I haven't been equipped to hold a solid conversation yet. Slowly, but surely this will come to past. Writing these posts truly makes me reflect on the journey of my life and the road the Lord took me to get right back to where I belong. I feel confident and humble to say that basketball is where I belong and what I was meant to do. I thank the Lord for his many blessings and I also thank him for bringing me into the land of where his Son Jesus walked. When I reflect on that alone, I'm so thankful and my heart is filled with joy.
    We are currently 1-3 right now, so that means there is wrong for improvement. Even if we were 4-0 there still would be room for improvement. My goal is to lead my team to as many victories as possible making contributions in every category that's helpful. To do that my conditioning has to be better, my strength has to be better, my mindset has to be better, and my leadership has to come vocally and by example.
    So as this third week approaches I hope to tell you some more interesting facts and stories about my experiences in this country.  Week by week, day by day, the focus is to get better. As always "To God, Be The Glory". Talk with you next week. Sababa(means cool in Hebrew)
Achieving is Believing
#SweetRebound