A Happy Rambling Father’s Day

Right now as I hang out in front of the grill with the smell of cooking ribs I think about how thankful I am for my family.  That I have a loving caring wife, a wonderful daughter, these two are the reasons I’m a Father and celebrated today. My Dad and my father-in-law, along with some help(yeah that’s you Mom and Jazmina), did a good job raising me, my wife and sister-in-law. 

Both of these men have given me a Godly example of how to raise my daughter, provide and care for my family. I know I’ve said it numerous times before but I am so proud that my dad taught me things growing up that I still use today. I can build things, I can fix my own car, I can repair things in the house.  Growing up my dad wasn’t the wordiest, still isn’t but, he knew how to get to the point. Most of our must have father and son conversations can be summed up with ” don’t be an idiot.”  He always wanted better for me, and made me know that if I wanted something, I was going to work hard for it. 

Too many times today, we see fathers and families that just have children. It’s a world of I take my kid here and there I go to their games, I participate in their life. Participating in their life is not the same as being in their life. There are too many stories on the news today of young men, going out doing unspeakable things.  As a father, I want to instill in my child that I am here for her no matter what she does. I am also here to provide corrective measures as necessary. 

Too many times we over-compensate for our work schedules, or for the things we feel our dads did wrong. We take the I’ll do it differently approach to the extreme. All kids get a trophy now, everyone makes the team. We set kids up for failure. As kids we had to fight our own battles. If you lost you tried harder next time, you learned what you did wrong and fixed it for the next time. 

So I’ll end with this. Father’s be a great daddy today. Hold your kids tight, let them see you showing love to their mother, and be the daddy that they deserve.  

father in law bday
Be goofy
  
father nails
Be willing to get your nails done
   

by corymcglone

Be above the mix…

This past week, I had one of those moments where the most random thing just sparked an idea that I couldn’t shake.  “You need to be above the mix…”  I heard this in two different episodes of one of our favorite new shows, Empire.  Both times she was listening to a new track, and this was her suggestion, “be above the mix,” “Don’t hide behind the music.”

I just keep thinking of this in real life.  So many times in life we hide behind, what we want others to see and hear.  We are scared to stand out and be different.  To some comparing life to music production and songs, won’t make any sense, to others it’s going to click like it did for me.  When you listen to a number of today’s top songs, you will hear a lot of the same beats, you will hear the beats better than the lyrics, you hear words not lines.  Today songs come out, many sound the same, sale incredibly great, but the meaning is not there.  Songs are made to give people what they want to hear, they give that great beat to move to.

Many of us live our lives this exact same way.  We hide behind what we know others want to see or hear, we spend so much time doing what others want, we forget ourselves.  It’s the people who step up,  go above the mix, those that let their voice be heard, that speak clearly and with meaning and purpose, that are remembered.  These are the people who make a difference.

Are you willing to be above the mix and not hide behind the idea of who you are, but truly be you?  Are you willing to be the parent that says, my kid isn’t going to do that or I’m a parent not a friend?  Are you willing to be that husband that actually listens to his wife, that does the laundry and the dishes to give your wife a break?  Are you willing to be that friend, that slaps your best friend back to reality when they are just being plain stupid?  Are you willing to be that student, that stops the bully, that sets the example for the rest of the team, for the rest of the class?

Take just one day, and put yourself above the mix, put yourself above where others think you should be, and then prove why you should be there.  If you’re stuck in a hole, is up to you to grab the rope.  If your voice is far below the drum machine and the bass, you have to choose to move that fader up.  Others can put the equipment there, others can help only as much as you let them.  It is up to you to make the call to get it moving.

by corymcglone

You can make the difference…

“As I got to know the people of the civil rights movement, I realized I am the hopeful black woman who was denied her right to vote; I am the caring white supporter killed on the front lines of freedom; I am the unarmed black kid who maybe needed a hand but was instead given a bullet; I am the two fallen police officers murdered in the line of duty,” said Common, who portrayed Martin Luther King’s advisor, James Bevel. “Selma has awakened my humanity. … Now is our time to change the world. Selma is now.”

The quote above was from the Golden Globes last night from one of my favorite hip-hop artists Common. We live is a culture riddled by senseless violence in the name of justice or injustice I guess you could say. We live in a society that seems to have move backward, a society that is now seeing violence as the answer. I’m not saying that this is true everywhere, but the tools of power, violence, and fear are running rampant in our world. If you look at the thought changers and world changers of the 20th century, they did things differently. Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. , changed lives and countries using words and love and peace.

The series we are in right now at our church has been starting with the same question each week: “What is the WISE thing to do?” Now there is no blanket answer for everyone, I am in no way saying that there is, but when we actually think about our situations and think before we react, we are more likely to do the wise thing. When you look back at your past, when you look at what got you to where you are today, when you look at where you want to be in the future, what got you here, what do you need to change to get where you want to be.

If you want to stop being a statistic, make a change from the norm. If you want to clean up the litter in your neighborhood, don’t just complain on Facebook, go pick it up. Our nation is built on the backs of changers. Do something today, tomorrow, and everyday to make your life better. If that is picking up the trash in your neighbors yard, paying for the next person in the drive thru line, if it is not getting on Facebook, do whatever it is that needs to be done to change your attitude. Start with yourself, maybe it’s your thinking that is jacked up. Step up today as a leader and make the changes that this world needs.

by corymcglone