The Post-Shift

Okay, so here goes everything...

This morning, I woke up thinking about the previous weekend in Miami, at our Shift Conference. Still reeling over how powerful it was and how many people were affected by it, I sat down for some quiet time with The Father and I heard Him say this:

"I didn't send you to Miami to see my presence but to experience what happens when you purpose in your heart to make a shift to embrace My Grace. All the limits and the constraints are off. Now is your time to move forward in your assignment."

It's been a strong morning for me, filled with crying and just accepting what He has told me and continues to show me in His Word.  I couldn't help but to write this post because, as with all my posts, I speak my heart. And this, yeah, this, is in my heart.

The Shift Conference was more than event. More than just a great get-together. More than just FNFLive.com showing that it can put together an awe inspiring event.  It was an event that I believe prompted the most important decision ever in my life...

...that is, to truly shift.

Unconditionally,

Andre

Categories: change , Christian , motivation , shift

In The Midst...

"Wow!" is all I can say...

I've NEVER written a blog in the midst of an event, but this is and will be the first.

It's all about a shift....

Several months ago, my partner, Jblaze (you can check out his blogs here) and I were talking and in the midst of our normal convo, a monumental statement came from his mouth that I'll never forget.

"Dre, I'm making a shift."

When he said it, I knew with all my heart, mind, and soul that my partner had experienced a sincere and powerful God moment that had changed his life completely and forever.  Never had I heard him make a statement in all of the three years that I've known him. Never had I heard him speak so few words and it be so pivotal and so life changing all at once.  Little did he know that I too, had made the shift as well.  But that's what happens when two people of like precious faith are joined together in business: they are of one spirit.

Here we are...several months later at our first Shift conference. A conference birthed out the heart of God in the spirit and manifested thru two guys from two different geographic locations, two different ethnicities, two different backgrounds, two different cultures, BUT from the same Father.

There has been a sweet sweet fragrance of worship here - an atmosphere that can only be described as "liberating". No big names artists or leaders. Just simply people who have a sincere heart for God, desiring His best to be expressed in their lives. With artists who aren't nationally known, but with a heart for Him (@ryanhortonmusic, @Dunamis305, @AshaalaShanae), the conference displays what happens when people who have a heart for Him - He meets us where we are.

I believe that this conference is just the beginning. Not only for my partner and I, but for everyone here. I just pray that everyone here embraces their shift as well.

Unconditionally,

Andre

Categories: change , Christian , motivation , shift

How Is His Death A Bigger Deal?

I turned on my iMac this morning, opened up Safari, and was "welcomed" to this picture of former CEO and Chairman of Apple, Steve Jobs. I had heard last night about his death and eerily enough, I was talking about to a friend of mine just a few hours before about how he was going to become an "Apple believer" from his Blackberry.

So, as the researcher I am, I wanted to know what REALLY made Steve Jobs tick. What did he bring to the world that made it a better place to live? I went to CNN and read the article. I then went to Fortune to read the 10 ways in which he changed the world and I stopped.  Immediately I said to myself, "Wow, Steve Jobs is heralded at changing the world with a device that doesn't bring anyone closer to knowing God than the invention of sliced bread."

Okay, let me say this. For the record, please understand that I'm not intending to desecrate, demean, desensitize, or downplay what Steve Jobs did or who he was and is as a man.  I agree with the general consensus that he created the greatest product of our time - hands down.

Lemme paint this picture: Suppose three men were in plane that was going to crash into a mountain and there was only two parachutes. One of the men (we'll call him "Bill") was a brilliant scientist - a doctor - on the verge of discovering a cure for cancer. The other man (we'll call him "Ed") was a construction worker with a wife and three children.  The last man (we'll call him "Phil") was retired.  All three men know that there is only two parachutes. Bill says, "I really need to get off this plane. I'm so close in my research to saving the world. I should get a chute." Ed says, "I have a family at home waiting for me. I know my wife wouldn't want me to die. I love my children dearly. My oldest is going to graduate high school and got accepted to an ivy league school on full scholarship. I need to get home to them." Both Bill and Ed look at Phil and Phil says, "You know what? I'm going to give you two the chutes because I lived my life like I should've and I see that you two have much to live for and I want the best for the both of you. So you two take the chutes."

And so the Bill and Ed jump off the plane with the parachutes and watch the plane smash into the sea. They're rescued and true to form, Bill finds the cure to cancer and Ed grows old with his family.

However, the question remains, who was the greatest of the three men? The one who found the cure for cancer? The one who grew old with his family? Or the man who sacrificed himself for both of them to accomplish what they believed they were called to?

That's what Jesus did for Steve Jobs. However, we are focused on the man who was the creator of the innovation rather than on the Creator who created the man with the innovation that He intended for the world in the first place.

My condolences go out to the Jobs family at this time. Death isn't an easy thing and mourning is a part of life. I am praying for them during this time and I do hope that everyone else is.

Unconditionally,

Andre

Categories: change , Christian , death , innovation , inspiration

Why Am I a Hater?

Okay, so a previous conversation with a friend of mine a few months back came back to remembrance this morning. We were having this huge debate about music (FYI: For those of you that don't know me, the subject of music and the business of music is very controversial for me because of my years of experience) and my friend came out and said, "These artists are doing what they are paid to do and people are buying their records. So what? Dre, you're a hater!"

Now, once again, if you know me, I don't get offended easily so I just proceeded to maintain my stance.

That conversation came to remembrance today because I find that I am a hater who has graduated to being so across the board. Yep, I said it, I am now a bonafide OVERALL HATER. Let me list the very things that make me a hater:

1. I HATE anything that is "dummied down" and insults the intelligence level of a person.
2. I HATE anything that is deliberately set up to manipulate and ultimately abuse someone.
3. I HATE anything that is hypocritical in nature.
4. I HATE anything that is pro-division, pro-strife, and pro-rebellion.
5. I HATE anything that is designed to slowly or quickly bring about death.
6. I HATE anything that truly is against God.
7. I HATE anything that you know from the beginning is doomed to fail.
8. I HATE when people hurt because they CHOOSE to and ALLOW OTHERS to hurt them.
9. I HATE ignorance, guilt, condemnation, and sin.
10. I HATE that people reading what I hate would make them think that I'm self-righteous and arrogant.
11. I HATE that people think that the only way to get ahead and appreciate life is to suffer grief, anger, disappointments, failed relationships, heartache, pain, sickness, death, betrayal, abuse, and confusion.
12. I HATE that people are okay with being ignorant - even going so far as to say that it's blissful.
13. I HATE that people are so skeptical, they cannot ever see the good.
14. I HATE that people are unhappy based off of selfish desires instead of being unhappy based off of being complacent.
15. I HATE that people settle for the imitation and never know Christ who is the REAL thing.
16. I HATE that when I speak about Christ, the first thing people think of is the HORROR of religion, being in church EVERYDAY, and last but not least, BEING A HYPOCRITE!
17. I HATE that there aren't enough of the right people doing the right things and representing Christ THE RIGHT WAY!
18. I HATE that people think that because I consider myself Christian, that my mindset is "I've arrived!"
19. I HATE that people let their own dark past dim and extinguish a beautiful present and future they could have in God.
20. I HATE that those of us who serve God continue to give Him THE REST while everyone and everything else gets OUR BEST.
21. I HATE that we complicate "God is love" to the point where we have people saying "God, where is the love?"
22. DESPITE BEING FORGIVEN, I HATE that my past faults, falls, and flaws try to remind me of the people I've hurt.
23. I HATE that people only trust God ONCE, but will trust themselves and each other COUNTLESS times.
24. I HATE that people think that God made experience the best teacher.
25. I HATE that this list is too long already and I have MUCH more to add to it.

Yeah, I'm a hater...

Unconditionally,

Andre

Categories: change , Christian , hate , life , motivation

Feelings, Nothing More than Feelings

Feelings are the worse.

Yeah, I said it.

They take you all over the place and keep you wondering all kinds of questions: "Why?" "How?" "When?" "Who?" "What?"and so on and so on and so on.  They betray you constantly, changing as often as you change your underwear.  They MAKE you THINK things OTHER THAN what is actually the truth because they can be so insecure.  They are untamed, yet constrained; cold, yet warm; intense, yet calm; trusting, yet deceitful.

Let's face it, feelings move like a tree in the wind and all they do is either keep you excited at their spontaneity or frustrated because of their instability.

However, you can't deny them because they make up the very fabric of our being.  They are what give each and everyone of us character, personality, and a smile that is just as unique as our own DNA.  Feelings are what make us beautiful or ugly; moral or immoral; introverted or extroverted; passionate or indifferent.

These things are what makes feelings so complicated. 

However, I have made a decision not too long ago to put feelings in their proper place. Feelings are nothing more than feelings. Yeah, I know, I'm sounding real strange and ridiculous. However, I understand that while I have feelings and they are real, I also know that my feelings shouldn't direct the way I live my life.

Here's something to think about: You get in the car with someone who tells you where they're going, but as soon as they see a street name, they either get angry, sad, happy, confused, or depressed. With every different street name, a different emotion is triggered sending them a different way. As a result, you're not only lost, but you're not getting to your destination any time soon. How would you feel? Would you be frustrated? I know I would.

...but this is what changes our feelings take us through.

So what am I saying? No, you can't get RID of your feelings all together.  That's inhuman and you and I are truly human. I tell you what I've learned. I've learned that I can FEEL a certain way, but what's important is that I don't allow those feelings to direct my life. I've learned that in order to really understand the power of my feelings I have had to keep it real with myself that I really do feel that way THEN make the decision NOT to live my life according to that feeling if it is opposite of what I think.

Whew...now writing this blog made me feel a whole lot betta...

Unconditionally,

Andre

Categories: change , feelings , motivation

Put It Down

So, I'm in the gym at 6am today (yeah, a brother is going in with it fa real nowadays), and there is something that I've been thinking about for a few days already since I've been coming.  It had to deal with weights.

I realize that no one in the gym PLACES weights on me.  I make the conscious decision to PICK THEM UP...

...sometimes I think that the very weight - issues, challenges, situations, and circumstances - are weights that we put on ourselves and/or allow ourselves to deal with because we haven't made the decision not to pick them up.  I know for me, with the weights that I have picked up that I then made myself to believe were put on me, there was a point sometime in the process where I could have decided that I didn't, wouldn't, and can't accept the weight.  I just didn't make the decision, so therefore the weight that I chose not to deal with became a burden.  It left me resentful, confused, hurt, perplexed, angry, ashamed, and disgusted with me - all ingredients that lead to, at least for me, a dark depression.

Funny thing is, I know that I'm not the only one...

...so I decided that I'm not picking up the weight anymore. Don't get it twisted: Weight is not the same as "responsibility".  Weight is clearly that thing you dealing with that you allow to "rent space" in your mind.  The very thing that you struggle with all because you won't say "NO!" to it.  The very thing that leaves you feeling alone, miserable, and angry at God because you feel like He Himself has put it on you...

...I'm done with that...

...and you can be too...

...just as you made the decision to pick up the weight, now you need to make another decision which can be challenging and difficult, but can be done...

...put it down... 

Categories: change , Christian , encourage , inspiration , life

ABC...easy as 123

 

I woke up with this song in my head this morning.  I dunno if it was a combination on hearing it on DJ Hero (by the way, shout out to my nephew Adrian for beating my tail real good last night in 6 rounds of DJ Hero 2...don't matter, I'm still nice...lol) or because I normally wake up every morning with a song on my heart and in my head.

In any event, as I kept replaying the song in my head, I recited the lyrics. Now I know we've all heard the song before, but sometimes, we're so caught up in a song that we forget what makes it - the lyrics.  Check out the hook to the song:

ABC/It's easy as 123/As simple as "Do Re Mi"/ABC/123, baby you and me girl

"ABC" to me is like life: A pattern of events that at some point get us to a destination.  Like all patterns, they are not hard, but require organization, discipline, and most of all, obedience to the pattern.  Life gets real difficult when we don't follow the pattern.  The pattern is there for us to make our lives simpler.

These boys obviously knew what they were singing, but perhaps may not have known the depth of truth in which they were singing it.

ABC is easy as 123, as simple as "Do Re Mi", ABC, 123... 

Categories: change , inspiration , life , motivation

Transition

As of late, I've been hearing folks say that they're are in "transition".  However, I'm finding that to each person, the term transition has a different meaning based on specific situations and circumstances.  At the end of the day, transition is always about movement from one place to another.  The added piece to it though is that in that movement, one can't go back to where they were nor are they exactly where they want to be or see themselves getting to. 

So to most, transition is a very scary place.  It's a place of uncertainty if you take your eyes off your destination and a place of strong fear of being in that place since you can't return to the place you left. 

Yeah, I'm in this place currently and I have to tell you, the very thing that keeps me level headed, excited, focused, and determined is that I know what my destination looks like and knowing that it's reachable. 

The destination is reachable because it's the reason why you moved in the first place: To get to a place that is the result of growth and change.  When you make up your mind to move, be ready for the transition - that place in the water where you can no longer see the land that you came from.

Keep your head up and stay encouraged. The land you've set out to get to is only as far and takes as long as it takes to get there as you take to accept that all you need to get there is in you.

Categories: change , motivation , movement

I HATE YOU!

 

I remember stating in a previous blog that there are times when there are songs that I deem to be "the soundtrack of my life" at various moments in time.  Well, this morning I came across the actual live performance from a very talented artist by the name of Mali Music.  The song, entitled I Hate You, is a powerful song geared toward the devil and letting him know that for all that he's done to folks he's hated.

In watching the video and seeing the performance of both Mali Music and Richie Righteous (a very good friend of mine), I was reminded of two very real truths:

1. The devil wants to see me unproductive, stagnant, and most of all dead.

2. The devil wants to see YOU unproductive, stagnant, and most of all dead.

And this lead me to this very real thought...

Why allow someone who wants to see me unproductive, stagnant, and most of all dead access into my life?

I watched the video some more, and heard Mali Music's encouragement to believers and I was then reminded of two more very real truths:

1. Jesus came to give me life so that we can be productive, grow, and most of all live.

2. Jesus came to give YOU life so that we can be productive, grow, and most of all live.

And this also lead me to this very real thought...

Why don't we have a hard time allowing someone who wants to see us productive, grow, and most all living access into our lives?

...yeah...sit back and think about that one...

Categories: change , Christian , life , motivation

It Takes Time

Well, HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! i would be wrong if I didn't say that.  For some of us, it's like the clouds are separating and revealing the rays of sunshine. Yep, the new year is upon us and now it's time to get it the way we've been talking like we were going to the last two days of 2010.

Yeah, I know, some folk won't find that statement to be cool, but, as always, I said it.  I make no apologies for it.

Why would I say something like that? Well, it's simple. While the new year is upon us, it's very important that we look at this for what it is: TRULY a new beginning. One of the things I've learned about new beginnings is that they take time to plan, but don't get it twisted: Planning doesn't take a long period of time, but it does take time.

So check this out: Even if you DIDN'T talk like you were going to do great things the last two days of 2010, you can plan to do great things TODAY, RIGHT NOW! The beautiful thing about planning is that as long as it's done and can be executed, it can happen at any time.  Just because you weren't quick to make the plan before the clock struck 12 last night doesn't mean that you're disqualified or can't win the race.

The difference between a quitter and a winner is that the quitter can never win and the winner never quits...

So I encourage you today, on this first day of the new year, that if you haven't already had your "great planning session" the last two days of 2010 for 2011, get it in and plan right now.  It's never too late.

Categories: beginning , change , inspiration , life , new

Just Can't Let Go...

I think the title of this blog is quite fitting, seeing that we're mere hours away from the end of 2010.  I must admit that I'm leaving this year with many mixed emotions: happy, excited, a bit of sorrow, feeling like I'm missing something, peace, resentment - yeah, many mixed emotions.

I'm being very transparent. Some folks will read that and bug out, but those that know me know how I am. I think A LOT and very few emotions actually plant themselves in me to the point where they actually have some significant weight.

So, here I sit, thinking of all the NUMEROUS and VARIOUS things that happened in my life and in the lives of my close friends and other loves ones this year. Yeah, I can honestly say that it's been a roller coaster ride, much of which is due to many of us wanting to go back on and ride again while a few of us were trying to desperately look for the STOP button!

Why does it seem like I just can't let go of 2010 yet? Is it because it's still technically here or because I still feel like there are some things that haven't been resolved or maybe still because it was such a pivotal time in my life spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally?  Perhaps it's all three and if it is, that's cool with me because at the end of the day (well, in this case, at the end of the year), it's all going to be defined in a mere three words...

...in the past...

Categories: 2011 , change , Christian , growth , inspiration , life

Nothing Is Terminal...

Nothing is terminal...

..yeah, I said it. Most people don't even know what "terminal" means, and even didn't know its full definition until I obviously looked it up.

Terminal refers to "concluding", "closing", "final", and "end". In other words, it's "THE END, PERIOD". No if, ands, or buts about it. When most people think of something being terminal, it also deals with death.  There's nothing after it. It's like a flatline.  Nothing more, nothing less.  It's just over.

Yeah, I know I'm making terminal sound REALLY horrible right now.  For some though, terminal is what they want.  They want certain situations and circumstances to be terminal - to come to an end.  They want certain relationships that they feel are toxic to come to an end.  They want bad stuff to come to an end.  Who can be angry at wanting that?

But I'm not talking about those things.  I'm talking about the situations and circumstances that seem to be over that we really don't want to be, that we need to be revived, that we desire to be infused with the life that they once had that enabled them to thrive.

I've come to understand this: Nothing is terminal. I've adopted the thought that oftentimes, a "period" doesn't signify "the end", but instead, a continuation of a story that needs to be told.

As we go into this new year, I'm looking at those things that I thought were terminally ill, that I thought there was no way that it would work or could thrive and I'm understanding that nothing is terminal.

...yeah, I said it again...nothing is terminal...

Categories: change , Christian , life , understanding

The Art of Irony

So today as I'm updating our site, FNFLive.com, I came across a tweet concerning JaRule being convicted and sentenced to 2 years in jail for a gun charge in 2007.  Most folks would have sat and thought, "Man, that's typical", but my first thought was like, "Man, this is just straight up terrible."

If you check out our site, you'll see that we posted a story on the new movie called I'm In Love With A Church Girl starring JaRule and Adrienne Bailon. The movie, considered what Hollywood calls "faith based" depicts JaRule as a man who was caught up on the wrong side of the law but now wants to live a changed life. His past tries to keep him locked down, but he meets someone who shows him that there is a better way as he comes to grips with his own soul salvation.

That's the funny thing about change: You can say you've changed. You can even fake that you've changed. However, the world will know if you've really changed on the inside.

Now if Ja could just grab the lesson of the very character he depicted and apply it to his own life, he may not have had to do 2 years for gun possession. Ah, the art of irony, indeed...

Categories: change , Christian , inspiration , life , music