In Pursuit of Passion: Leave A Legacy! "Reasons"

Life has become more and more perishable as of late.  It's beginning to seem as if our friends, family members, and public figures are transitioning on at younger ages.  R.I.P. Whitney Houston & Don Cornelius. Just this year, as new as it is, I've experienced the loss of a GREAT friend, Justin Izlar (read his story), who I grew up with in church.  We were on the same church step team as pre-teens.  Justin found out he had cancer at the age of 18, during his freshman year at Coppin State University.  Despite the rigorous and trying trials cancer  brings along with it, Justin still persevered with the help of his family, church family, frat brothers (Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.), and God, Himself.  He accomplished one of his greatest goals before he passed; he graduated college and EARNED his degree while battling cancer.

The reason for this post and the TRUE inspiration behind me starting this blog is ...I DISCOVERED MY PASSION FOR WRITING as a direct result of the LEGACY Justin left behind.  The legacy that this young man of God labored to leave has blessed not only my life but so many other's lives.  To catch a glimpse of the legacy he left behind, please visit the blog I created for him called Justin Touched Me.  Leading up to his homegoing and even after, we had people email us stories and testimonies about how Justin touched their lives.  Before the blog was even designed, people he impacted flooded the inbox.

I'll say this again ...I DISCOVERED MY PASSION FOR WRITING because I witnessed, first hand, how many people Justin touched through out his life.  Not one of the stories were written out of pity because he had cancer.  You could feel the sincerity and fallen tears in their writings.

After 29 years of searching high and low for what some people take a lifetime to discover, I found my passion because I asked myself this question ...IF YOU KNEW THAT YOU HAD A SHORT TIME TO LIVE, HOW WOULD YOU LEAVE YOUR LEGACY? ...HOW WOULD YOU TOUCH PEOPLE'S LIVES IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME???"  I knew right then and there that writing would be the avenue I would take to reach people; it always has been; ever since I started writing in the 1st grade.

I'm a realist ...and I've come to realize that no one is guaranteed a long life.  This is why I've decided to live every day as it were my last...because one day it just might and this blog will be the documentation of the legacy I leave.

"I will...

Write from my heart
Write from my soul...
Make the best of my talent
And won't Ever let it go
Not for anything..."

Until next time...continue to Pursue Your Passion!

Christoph Writes...

Potent Poetry: Not By Myself!

NOT BY MYSELF
by Christoph

I oughta’ be ashamed of myself
How could I go out there and try to change myself
God has ordered my steps and I tried to rearrange myself
I blame myself

Because I knew all along that I could have asked God for help
I was so busy tryin’ to make a name for myself
Out there tryin’ to play the game of life and messed around and gamed myself
I thought I was finally free, but I chained myself
In the world, wilin’ out, now Im tryin’ to tame myself
I believed that I was fit, but I crippled, crutched and caned my health
I received so much money, but yet I still restrained my wealth
There is no way I can even begin to explain my myself
I shamed myself

God, I pray that you help me to see that I can reclaim myself
Wash me clean of all sin because I stained myself
I will give you all of the credit Lord and defame myself
I proclaim myself a child of God

Why I wrote this poem...
This poem was written amongst a self reflection period of my life.  I wrote this poem in my early 20s, during a time when I strayed from the path God had laid out for me.  However, I'm grateful for His grace and mercy because I didn't too far to where I could hear Him saying, "Come back!"  This is when the conviction set in.  And often time we mistake conviction with condemnation.  We start to condemn out selves instead of just allowing the conviction of our hearts lead us back to His presence.  The premise of this poem is simply me being honest with myself and God about how I know I messed up.  I knew that it was myself and not the devil this time.  "I blame myself."  We are quick to blame the devil for the things we consciously screw up on.

All in all, I ran down the list of shameful activities I participated in and, in the end, asked God for his assistance and guidance as it relates to walk upright and in accordance with His will for my life.  Lastly, I made a commitment or a "rededication" to striving to do things the right way.  Notice, I used the word strive ...because I recognize that I will fall short of His glory from time to time.  But I reclaim and ..."proclaim myself a child of God."

Pen and Pad Prayers: I ""Let It Be Written For A Future Generation..."

Question!  Have you ever thought about writing out your prayers?  The benefits of taking your most intimate prayers to God via pen and pad are endless.  For writers like myself, it allows us to incorporate our passion and love for writing with our love and adoration for Christ or our "Passion For Christ."  This manual act of faith adds a NEW dimension to your prayer life.  Writing out your prayers causes you to be able to concentrate better and daydream less when praying.

People, in the past, who came before God to express their hearts and requests, utilized this form of prayer quite often.  For instance, many of the Psalms were written prayers such as Psalm 17, "A Prayer of David."

"Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!" (Psalm 17.1)

 At times when we pray, our minds tend to wander ...writing helps you concentrate and focus on exactly what you want to say to God.  Writing also slows you down and quiets your heart before God while preventing you from praying the same prayers every day.  For me, sometimes internally speaking my prayers has me speeding through them and doing it out of routine.  Writing out your prayers calls for careful consideration for the words you choose and for the thought you have.

One of the greatest benefits I have noticed is having the ability to look back over my written prayers and take an honest inventory of how much and how often God has blessed me.  When I read and recollect the experiences and situations that I've prayed over ...and compare them to where I currently am, it's absolutely unbelievable.  Writing out your prayers allows you to remember and really take a clear look at how GREAT God has been to you through the months and years. 

6 Reasons To Write Out Your Prayers

(Click for source!)

• Continuity. When you write down your thoughts/prayers you know where you’ve been and where you’re going so there’s a cohesiveness about them.

• Consistency. In my case, I journal on YouVersion, so there is a date stamp on each prayer journal entry. So if I haven’t prayed (at least in this kind of intentional way) for a day or two, it is apparent. This helps me cultivate a greater consistency in coming to the Lord with my praise and requests.

• Brevity. We tend to get wordy in our praying, don’t we? Since writing and/or typing is more difficult we will likely say what we mean and mean what we say. Thus we are more direct in our praying and more specific in our requests. That’s a good thing!

• Focus. If you’re anything like me, your mind tends to wander in prayer. However, in writing my prayers I am better able to stay on track and on mission.

• Reflection. As with any journal, writing your prayers allows you the opportunity to go back days, or weeks, or months to see the things you were praying about, as well as how God responded to your prayers.

• Praise. Then, you can offer praise for the answers given. Sometimes we move from one prayer need to the next without expressing thanksgiving for how God has come through on our behalf. Write your prayer and you can also record the answer to that prayer. This will elicit worship and praise!

I encourage you to try it!  As a matter of fact, I'll share with you a written prayer that I took the time to jot down about my finances down, a little over a year ago.  This is me being transparent with you in an effort to inspire you to just try writing out your prayers.  See how much you'll be blessed by it.

Prayer For My Finances

01/23/10

  Lord, I'd like to thank you for my current financial standing.  You brought me a long way.  I thank you for seeing that I went through certain financial storms so that I could value the place where I stand now.  Thank you for keeping during the lowest of the lows.  I bless your name for keeping my mind when I could have rightfully lost it!  I appreciate the lessons I have learned and ask that you bless me with reminders that deter me away from repeating old mistakes and habits.  On December 18, 2009, I made a commitment to tithe faithfully without wavering.  I pray, Lord God, that you keep me gainfully employed so that I may continue to tithe and bring offerings into your store house!  I have plans for my future, Lord, and I pray that you bless me with the knowledge and wisdom to know how to build a financial foundation for my future.  Please, Lord, afford me the capability to finance my dreams and the courage to see them though.  Teach me to become a better steward over my funds so I will be prepared to receive more.  Open doors for me, Lord.  Pour out your blessings on me father!  I vow to be a good steward over what YOU have blessed me with.

Thank you for hearing my cry, Lord!

Amen!

Until next time, continue to pursue your passion!

Christoph Writes...

Source

In Pursuit of Passion: Don't Wait To Pursue Your Passion! Start TODAY!

 

The sooner you start to pursue your passion ...the sooner you will discover it and begin to fulfill your destiny!  Just imagine how it will feel when you finally discover your passion.  It's a GREAT feeling ...so much so ...I started this blog just to inspire people like you to pursue their passion and be on the path of hearing, "Well done!" when it's all said and done.

        

Start TODAY!!!

Christoph Writes...

In Pursuit of Passion: The Discovery of My Passion

On yesterday, my very first blog post, "In Pursuit of Passion: The Beginning of My Journey," received a comment that turned out to be a question...for me.  This question is very significant to the pursuit of my passion.    Notice that I am still saying "the PURSUIT of my passion."  You might ask, "I thought you found your passion?!"  Just because I discovered what my passion is doesn't give me the green light to turn on the red light and stop pursuing it.  For example, I found my future wife, my fiance, but I still pursue her.  The pursuit never ends.  The day you stop the pursuit will be the day the passion will begin to wither and die ...but I digress.

My reader, who is also my friend and co-worker, asked, "When did u realize writing was ur passion?"  Again, this question is so very significant to the pursuit of my passion.  I say this because it is so very important to celebrate the fact that you've accomplished what so many people in this world have been trying to do all their lives.  Yes, it is true that there are people who have been fortunate enough or, better yet, exposed enough to discover their passion at a young.  Remember, what I said in my last post, "In Pursuit of Passion: Exposure Is Key (Video), "One's passion can be found in the unlikely of places."  We must expose ourselves to different things.

I discovered my passion on last week, February 14, 2012, ironically on Valentines Day, ...at the tender age of 29, lol.  I used the descriptive word, ironic, because I found my PASSION on the day ...of LOVE.  Get it? ...passion ...love?  Ah, forget it!  Anyway, I had just received the new issue of the Christian magazine, Optimal Living Magazine, a magazine I have been blessed to write for and have my own column in called "True Confessions of a Saved Black Man," previously entitled "The Diary of a Single, Saved Black Man." I'm engaged now so we had to change the name of the column, lol..  I wrote and submitted this particular article, "Conditioning Myself ...To Love Unconditionally" about a month before.  It's weird because when I'm in the process of writing an article or a poem, I don't really think it's all that great ...but once time has had a chance to breathe on it, when I read it again ...it's like, "Was I the one who wrote this???  This is actually good!"  It's amazing to me.  Not to gloat at all, I look back at old poems from when I was a kid and say, "Wow, I wrote that at that age?"  I have been writing in different capacities nearly all my life.  

To be honest, I think the real reason I've always considered my writing ability to be a mere talent and not my passion is because I thought I couldn't make any money from it.  I've always thought that your passion had to be something that you love doing and will make you a lot of money ...like playing in the NBA, NFL, or becoming a doctor.  Looking up to Michael Jordan and people who make millions doing what they love, I thought your passion had to be something that made you a lot of money.  As I got older, I learned that YOUR PASSION IS YOU DOING SOMETHING YOU WOULDN'T MIND DOING ...FOR FREE!  Also, I truly believe that we were gifted with a passion, not only for us to benefit from, but for others to reap the benefits as well.  How can you change the world or your community with what you're passionate about?  How can you inspire others to pursue their passion?

In the very near future, I'll post why I KNOW writing is my passion.  You shouldn't be unsure about what your passion is.  You don't want to waste time pursuing something you thought was your passion...but was only a talent ...or obligation.  Been there ...been doing that for way too long!  I had been frolicking around my passion and didn't even know it!

Until next time ...keep pursuing your passion!

Leave a comment ...it encourages me to continue to pursue my passion.

Thanks,

Christoph

In Pursuit of Passion: Exposure Is Key (Video)

One's passion can take residence in the unlikely of places.  So many people spend their life searching for their passion in the four corners of the box they confine themselves to.  In this video, Jeff Johnson hits the nail on the head when he points out that many people miss their passion because they can't seem to look anywhere else other than where they are most comfortable; in their box.  One must be open-minded and willing to try new things and go different places; possibly causing a spark that may lead to the discovery of their passion.  Check out the video!

Until next time...keep pursuing your passion!

Christoph Writes...

In Pursuit of Passion: The Beginning of My Journey!

My excitement for life has recently been enhanced by something that I have found and been searching for ever since my age was a single digit.  I found my passion!  I'm 29 now and I am just now coming to the realization that WRITING is my passion.  I have been writing ever since I was in grade school.  It's funny, my memory can be weird sometimes because I don't remember a lot of things that I should remember about my childhood, but the few things I do remember shock people.  My memory shocks people because it is so selective and specific.  I remember the first time I was introduced to writing...it was in first grade.  I do not remember my teacher's name but I do remember that she assigned us a very elaborate assignment.  We had to create and design a poetry book from scratch!  When I say from scratch, I mean we had to build the book from nothing.  Everything that a book possessed we had to include it.  And I remember so vividly how excited I was.  Why was I so excited? I don't know!  I had never constructed a book before...let alone written poetry.  

Long story short, my excitement replaced my fear of failure.  From what I remember, I believe I started writing first but I had never written a poem before.  So guess what I did...I went and checked out one of Langston Hughes' poetry books and went to work.

I utilized a lot of his style of writing and began to write about what children go through.  Looking back at it now, I'm not to sure what we went through ...din't have any bills to pay, lol.  Even still, I think I must've wrote about 10 poems.

Then I began building the book.  I think I cut out one piece of cardboard from a sturdy box and slightly bent it in the middle.  I then took a nice size piece of blue felt fabric and and glued it to the cardboard to cover every inch of it.  It looked good if I must say so myself, lol.  As I was constructing the book, I kept in mind that I had to think of a title.  And I don't know how I came up with it but I played around with the word, POETRY and thought of this title, "The Leaves From My Poet Tree."  To this day, I believe the title alone convinced my teacher to give me an A+.  Well, I take that back because my book was pretty nice.  I included the table of contents, dedication...to my mom of course, lol, preface, title page, that little random blank page in the front, everything!

Needless to say, I was somewhat of a nerd...but a cool nerd, lol.  No, seriously!  I had friends!  BOTTOM LINE! ...that was the first time I ever wrote and created creatively (:.  As this blog progresses, I'll share with you all of what I have experienced and pursued in discovery of my passion.  So I encourage you to encourage me (by commenting & conversing with me) to continue on with my journey...because the journey does not end with you finding your passion.  Actually, the journey just begins.  The pursuit of your passion is simply the preface to your journey.  And you never know, by you encouraging me to carry on with my journey, the laws of reciprocity just might sway in your favor and help you in the pursuit of your passion.

I encourage comments and shares...lets me know I can count on your support of my journey!

Until next time ...I'll holla!

Christoph Writes...