EMPOWERING YOU TO EMPOWER YOURSELF
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Editor's Notes
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4 Steps to Emotional Wisdom
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Dr. Mark Hamilton Stevens
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Where Do We Go From Here: Financial Answers to Our Community L Problems
SEPT/OCT ISSUE 2018
REAL LIFE REAL FAITH MEN OF FAITH
Editor in Chief Cheryl Lacey Donovan Publisher Elissa Gabrielle Senior Editors Hurley Morgan Cee Cee H. Caldwell Columnists Leroy McKenzie Alvin Romer Hurley Morgan Bryant Lewis Contributors Cheryl Lacey Donovan Designer Cheryl Lacey Donovan
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Editor's Note Words from the Senior Managing Editor… Greetings We are progressively headed towards the end of another year. The news continues to be full of stories pertaining to politics, war, racism/race relations, crime, drugs, mental health issues, and most recently, Hurricane Florence and the damage it has caused to both of the Carolinas. I must admit that all of this can be a bit overwhelming and stressful to hear about and witness. America, America, America…we continue to have many issues to face and fix! As we look around the media, outside our front doors for that matter, we are constantly reminded that there is an issue within the borders of this country that continues to lead to division, outrage, and questions surrounding ethics and morals. So men…we have a responsibility to work towards creating some calmness within the many storms, literal and figurative, that this country currently faces. With MOF we seek to talk about these hot topics even when many appear to ignore or turn their backs in attempts to not have to address them. The mindset appears to be if I ignore, maybe…just maybe…it all will go away. We, at MOF, aim to address any elephants in the room, whether it is popular among the people or not. Our feature for this issue is Dr. Mark Stevens, who wears hats that include the minister, supervisor of chaplains at the State Psych Hospital, Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Specialist, and author. Each month we strive to feature an influential individual from the community that reflects our values and goals in the community. We will learn about this man of God and get to know what he is up to as he continues to work at making a difference in his community. Our mission at MOF…is to address an array of topics that men not only want to hear about but also need to hear about. The well-versed contributors of Men of Faith Magazine all write with the goal to educate, uplift, motivate and inspire. As men of faith, we all must do our part in order to make this country a better place. We write with the understanding that men need to be able to do more in order to help rectify the issues that continue to plague our communities. We strive to feed the mind and soul of men while encouraging all men to do their part in supporting the brotherhood of men. We hope that you enjoy this issue! Much Love! Hurley Morgan Senior Managing Editor
4 STEPS TO EMOTIONAL WISDOM
What is emotional wisdom? Emotional wisdom is the collective knowledge and experience that result from having lived a life of emotional diversity. You obtain emotional wisdom by learning from past mistakes and taking that which you’ve learned into the future with you. It is give-and-take - you receive the experiences and decide what serves you the best to remember and use in the future. Our emotions are continually giving us messages about what feels good and what doesn’t, what feels right and what feels wrong, what is acceptable and what isn’t, and the ultimate direction we should be going. Our emotions tell us when things are great, or when they need to be improved. In this article, we’ll examine four steps to help you achieve greater emotional wisdom. 1. Listen - A huge part of developing emotional wisdom is in learning how to listen to and interpret the experiences we have. By listening to your emotions, you can gain a wide understanding of what’s going on inside you. What’s going on inside you can affect your physical health and mental wellbeing, so it pays to listen carefully. Doing so will help you manage stress, which can manifest itself in many negative emotions.
2. Trust - Trust in your ability to feel and be felt, and interpret your emotions accurately. Trust that you can handle whatever emotions come your way - after all, you’re still here, aren’t you? We are all much more capable than we tend to give ourselves credit for, so while you’re listening to your emotions, trust that what you’re hearing is the truth. Never second guess yourself when it comes to feeling. Whatever it is you are feeling is valid and worthy. 3. Reflect - Your ability to look at your emotions realistically in relation to the situations with which they arise is important in developing your emotional wisdom. Notice we said reflect - not react. As you are listening to your emotions, logically examine whether your emotion matches the situation that it came from. Often, we are used to telling ourselves stories regarding our emotions that simply aren’t true - they are just habits. Therefore, honest reflection is a truly valuable skill to possess. 4. Adjust - The ability to adjust your emotion to your present situation is a sign of true emotional wisdom. Like anything, this takes practice, but when you learn to properly interpret the messages your emotions send you, you can adjust as you feel necessary. True emotional wisdom comes from looking within and listening carefully to what we feel to give us clues that help us live healthier, happier, more productive lives.
Stevens
DR. MARK HAMILTON
MOF: We are thrilled to have you
MOF: Being that you touch so many
fathers, I feel that especially in Black
come through Men of Faith. How are
lives and so many people look to you
families this is problem number one. I was
things going for you these days?
for spiritual guidance…what do you
abandoned by my father and watched my
feel is your main purpose in life?
mother struggle to keep me on the path
Dr. Stevens: Very well, and very busy.
of righteousness.
Glad to be a part of this great
Dr. Stevens: I feel my main purpose is
magazine.
to help people find their spiritual
MOF: You are Supervisor of Chaplains
destiny and help them better
State Psych Hospital? It takes a special to
MOF: We see that you have served in
understand Biblical truths. I am a
be able to work in a psychiatric hospital
the Military. We appreciate your
Teacher of the Word first and
let along spread the gospel in that
service. Tell us a little about what
foremost, I hate false teachers that
hospital…what do you find to be the most
that was like for you.
try and merchandise the Gospel of
challenging aspect of being in your
Jesus Christ and His Anointing. I
position there being that many people
Dr. Stevens: I spent 23 years in the
believe every human being has a
have their own way of thinking as it
USAF, 10 Active and 13 as a full-time
Divine purpose, and God is willing to
pertains to the stigmas surrounding
Reservist. I was in a Combat Mobility
forgive and forget our past failures
mental health and religion being said
Unit that deployed world-wide at a
and sins in order to get us on track.
under the same breath?
Turkey, Jordan, Morocco, Somalia,
MOF: When people see your name,
Dr. Stevens: I think the worst stigmas
Egypt, and Saudi Arabia for combat
Dr. Mark H. Stevens, what do you
about Mental Health are sadly in the
operations.
want people to say? What type of
Church, often Mentally Ill people are
man do you want to be known as
“demonized” and don’t get the sympathy
MOF: You graduated from the
especially since you reach so many
or the care they need because we treat
Institute of Jewish Studies, a school
lives?
them like they are possessed. Mental
moment’s notice. I have been to
of the Philadelphia Bible University.
Illness is just that AN ILLNESS. In the Black
You are a certified bible teacher.
Dr. Stevens: That he is a Teacher of
Community it is bad because most Black
You hold a BA in Theology, MA in
the Word of God, and won’t
people assume you are “weak” if you go
Ministry, and a Doctorate in Theology
compromise the truth for self-gain.
to a Psychiatrist or a Counselor. I suffer
from Freedom Bible College and
from PTSD from the war, I refused to go
Seminary. When did you decide to go
MOF: What can we find you spending
see a Psychiatrist for years and finally my
on your path in ministry…was it before
a lot of your time doing today as it
wife convinced me and it was the best
or after you served?
pertain to your calling and outreach?
thing I could do. We all need to talk things
Dr. Stevens: Actually I received the
Dr. Stevens: Of course I study the
Call to ministry when I was about 17
Bible a lot, but I also try to use social
years old. Like a lot of young
media as a way to broaden the
MOF: We see that you are also a Certified
Christians I strayed off the path when
outreach. I have a channel on
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Specialist.
I joined the military, in fact I almost
YouTube that has over 150 sermons
Being that mental health is a major
got kicked out of the military for
on it, and I have subscribers from all
concern in this country and many people,
drinking and partying too much, but a
over the world. Social Media is a
especially African Americans, often
gracious Commander gave me a 2nd
great way to help share the truth of
downplay mental illness or ignore it
chance and I gave my heart back to
The Bible.
altogether…what do you feel needs to
out at times, we forget that one of Jesus’
Jesus (He never left me, I left Him)
names is WONDERFUL COUNSELOR.
occur in order to bring more awareness to
and began to study my Bible intensely
MOF: In the light of all the pain,
and started my path to Bible College
suffering, and hate that you can see,
and Seminary. I was a Deacon at the
nowadays pretty much everywhere
Dr. Stevens: I think ANYONE can have a
age of 20 and I started ministry in
you turn…what is it that you would
mental breakdown, especially Black
hospitals and on the street. Talking to
like to see happen to make things
people, we have suffered more than any
drunks and drug addicts (I still do to
better for not only African Americans
other race in this country. Can you
this day) The Military itself was good
but everyone?
imagine the PTSD that our forefathers
for me because it broadened my
the mental health crisis in this country?
experienced through slavery, Jim Crow,
views and helped me accept
Dr. Stevens: I would love to see more
lynchings, and even today with the Police
different cultures.
men step up and simply be good
Brutality we are facing? We need to not
only pray and go to church, but be more pro-active about Mental Health.
MOF: You are also a published author of 4 books, you last of which is “Why is my Church Dying”. Being an author is a challenge in itself, especially when you are trying to put out good content for your target audience. What inspires you to write and what do you want to accomplish with your literary works?
Dr. Stevens: I think reading is so important and not promoted in our community. My mother was an avid reader. I got books for Christmas more than toys. I loved to read growing up, I feel especially the Black Community suffers more from our OWN ignorance than the ones trying to oppress us. I think ignorance is killing our people. Ignorance of The Bible, Finances, Health, and History.
MOF: You have definitely accomplished a lot up to this point in your life…what has been your biggest accomplishment so far in your life?
Dr. Stevens: Staying married 30 years, my wife is my best friend and my inspiration. She is the one that pushes me beyond my limitations.
MOF: Are there any projects that you are currently working on? What do you have on the horizon? Any new projects?
Dr. Stevens: I am working on a Theological Correspondence School called NJITS (NJ Institute of Theological Studies). I want ministers to be Biblically sound and better trained to help God’s people.
MOF: Outside of your work spreading the Gospel what else can we find you doing? Any hobbies?
Dr. Stevens: I love Jazz and Art, I draw a lot and I write poetry. I also love Martial Arts I am a 2nd Dan in Tang Soo Do.
MOF: Of course you know the title of the magazine is Men of Faith Magazine. With all the challenges that men face, especially men of color, what words of advice can you give any man that may be going through something in their life right now?
Dr. Stevens: Have a consistent prayer life is the best advice I can give anyone. Jeremiah 33:3 say’s “Call on ME and I will show you great and mighty things”
MOF: We would love to be able to keep up with you in order to show support. Tell the readers how they can keep up with what’s going on with you?
Dr. Stevens: I am M Hamilton Stevens on Facebook drop by anytime! https://www.facebook.com/ObiWanKenobi7
Grandma's Hot Flaky Butter Biscuits This is very popular for breakfast in many southern states but has spread to almost the entire country. The trick is to get a very flavorful gravy is to cook the flour and sausage together for a while before adding the milk, totally leaving open for how much browning your prefer. What could be better than to add homemade biscuits for your gravy? They are really easy to make adding a great touch to your meal.
By Debora J. Reckley
What you need:Â
2 1/2 Cup all Purpose Flour (plus a little more for dusting pans) 2 Tbsp Baking Powder 1 Tsp Sugar 1 Tsp Salt 8 Tbsp Unsalted Butter 1 Cup Buttermilk 2 Tbsp Butter melted
NOMADIC
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir all ingredients together then transfer to a food processor. Cut the butter into cubes and add to flour, pulse 6 to 7 times until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Or, cut butter into flour in the mixing bowl, add buttermilk and stir with a fork until it forms a coarse ball, don't worry if it a bit sticky. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into a rectangle, about 1 inch thick. Fold it over and gently roll it down again.
Repeat 6 times. Gently roll out the dough some more, so it forms a rectangle. Cut dough into biscuits using a floured glass or biscuit cutter. Do not twist cutter when cutting, this will crimp the edges of the biscuit causing it to not rise. If you have scraps, form a new rectangle and cut more biscuits. Place biscuits on baking sheet and place in oven. Bake until golden brown, around 10 to 15 minutes. Brush melted butter on top and enjoy. Serves 6 to 8.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9886735 NOMADIC | 24
Dr. Mark H. Stevens
Mark H. Stevens graduated from the Institute of Jewish Studies, a school of the Philadelphia ia Bible University. He is an ETA (Evangelical Training Association) certified Bible Teacher. He holds a BA in Theology, MA in Ministry, and a Doctorate in Theology from Freedom Bible College and Seminary; He has completed four units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Cooper Trauma Center. Elder Stevens is a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Specialist. He is the Supervisor of Chaplains at a State Psych Hospital. He is the author of 4 books, his latest “Why is my Church Dying” is sold on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. He is married to Stephanie R. Stevens and is a retired MSgt and Desert Storm Veteran
Real Life Real Faith | 14
TWITTER USERS
30%
MORE LIKELY TO BE A DEMOCRAT QUOTED REFERENCES CAN ALSO BE HELPFUL.Â
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TAKING OVER THE WORLD RLRF
Hurley's Mental Note What's on Your Mind
Let me educate you. There is a term called cognitive distortions that I want you men to ponder. What exactly is it? Let’s break it down. The word cognitive means relating to cognition, which by definition is the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. The word distortion in this sense is the action of giving a misleading account or impression. Now…let’s put these two terms back together. Simply put cognitive distortions are irrational thoughts that can influence your emotions. Do you experience that? It’s ok to admit that you do…why? Everyone experiences cognitive distortions to some degree. The issue, however, is that cognitive distortions in their more extreme forms can be harmful. Now that we know what the term means….what does it look like? Here are examples of cognitive distortions: Magnification and Minimization - Exaggerating or minimizing the importance of events. One might believe their own achievements are unimportant, or that their mistakes are excessively important. Catastrophizing - Seeing only the worst possible outcomes of a situation. Overgeneralization - Making broad interpretations from a single or few events. “I felt awkward during my job interview. I am always so awkward.” Magical Thinking - The belief that acts will influence unrelated situations. “I am a good person—bad things shouldn’t happen to me.” Personalization - The belief that one is responsible for events outside of their own control. “My mom is always upset. She would be fine if I did more to help her.” Jumping to Conclusions - Interpreting the meaning of a situation with little or no evidence. Mind Reading - Interpreting the thoughts and beliefs of others without adequate evidence. “She would not go on a date with me. She probably thinks I’m ugly.” Fortune Telling - The expectation that a situation will turn out badly without adequate evidence.
Emotional Reasoning - The assumption that emotions reflect the way things really are. “I feel like a bad friend, therefore I must be a bad friend.” Disqualifying the Positive - Recognizing only the negative aspects of a situation while ignoring the positive. One might receive many compliments on an evaluation, but focus on the single piece of negative feedback. “Should” Statements - The belief that things should be a certain way. “I should always be friendly.” All-or-Nothing Thinking - Thinking in absolutes such as “always”, “never”, or “every”. “I never do a good enough job on anything.” Now…I am sure that all of you have experienced one or more of these. If you say that you haven’t it means one of two things. 1. You don’t have a mind that functions or 2. You my friend are lying. What we have to understand today and moving forward in life is that it is okay to acknowledge mental health and the issues that come in all of our lives as it pertains to dealing with it. Understanding that mental health involves more than illnesses such as bi-polar and schizophrenia is vital. Mental health involves the overall health of the brain which includes how we think. Having cognitive distortions, as you can see, can affect how we think and how we respond in certain situations. It is the difference between talking ourselves out of reaching for a goal or confidently taking a chance to accomplish that goal. Cognitive distortions can create illusions in our minds that can feed fear and doubt leading them to grow to these huge monsters that take total control over our lives.
Self-determination, self-esteem, and self-motivation, just to name a few, are ways to shape mindfulness and help guide our thoughts. We must know ourselves in order to truly understand how to deal with the blocks that cognitive distortions cause us. We must know ourselves in order to be able get through the above steps as it pertains to getting past cognitive distortions. We must recognize when we are actually having cognitive distortions or stuck in a mind trap. I say mind trap, because that is what a cognitive distortion is…a way our minds are suddenly trapped to believe or see things in a negative light or to create situations in our minds that are not necessarily true. We must learn to THINK POSITIVE…our mental health depends upon it!
Let’s look at some of the above cognitive distortions and see how you can overcome them. Catastrophizing: Again the idea is to think positive. If there is a delay in traffic, think rationally. Instead of thinking “I’m never going to get there”, think “I may be late, but I will get there”. In the meantime, you could listen to some music that typically calms you. Make the best out of the situation.
Overgeneralization: Everyone has experienced negative events in their lives. That is something we cannot avoid. But the challenge that we have is being able to take those negative events and believe that we can create different outcomes in the future. Change “I wasn’t able to pass the test, I’ll never pass any” into “I didn’t pass that one, but I will work hard and pass the next”. Always remember that situations in life won’t hold true forever.
Personalization: When we personalize things we are actually taking full responsibility for the situation. One must evaluate situations in order to determine whether or not they have any responsibility for the outcome at all. Don’t place unnecessary blame on yourself for the actions and responsibilities of others or situations you have no control over.
Jumping to Conclusions: If you find yourself thinking like this, stop and think about it. You should ask yourself “do I really know this to be true?” We are not mind readers or fortune tellers, so if you don’t know the real answer do not set yourself up for failure by trying to predict something you have no real clue of. But if you just can’t help yourself, instead of saying “I’m going to have a bad day”, say something down the lines of “today may have some obstacles, but I will overcome them and I will have a good day”.
Disqualifying the Positive: To overcome that you strive to embrace the positive; you want to eliminate the negative. Instead of saying “I got lucky”, turn that into “I was prepared” or “I worked really hard”. The idea is to focus on the positives of the situation.
All-or-Nothing Thinking: You must work to not put yourself in the “never-always-every” box. These words come with a lot of pressure and can cause mental anguish. They are not only negative when used in this type of thinking, but can damage your self-esteem. One must challenge themselves to think of times when these words were not true in their lives when they at first thought that they would be. Instead of “I always make bad decisions”, think of positive decisions that you have made. Remember, there are few situations that are absolute.
How do you get past cognitive distortions?
1. You want to identify the Cognitive Distortion: Which one of the above distortions are you currently trapped in 2. You want to examine the evidence: what experiences are leading you to have this distorted thinking. You want to not only look at bad situations but you want to, more importantly, look at positive situations/experiences
3. Use the double standard method: This simply means that instead of having negative self-talk you use more of a compassionate and caring way to talk to yourself. POSITIVE SELF-TALK!
4. Think in shades of gray. Instead of thinking about our problem or predicament in an either-or polarity, evaluate things on a scale of 0-100. When a plan or goal is not fully realized, think about and evaluate the experience as a partial success, again, on a scale of 0-100.
5. You want to use a survey method: This simply means that you get the opinions of others to help rationalize whether your thoughts and attitudes are realistic. Sometimes all we need to hear is the opinion of others to realize that we are putting too much pressure on ourselves or we are looking at things incorrectly.
6. Re-attribution: A lot of the time, we put the entire blame on ourselves. You want to identify external factors and other individuals that may have contributed to the problem. We must always remember that the only person that we can really control is ourselves. We also must remember that we cannot control everything that goes on around us. So to put that much pressure on ourselves where we constantly take on all the blame in something that is happening will only set yourself up for unneeded stress‌and we all know what stress causes!
7. Cost-Benefit Analysis: We must look at the advantages and disadvantages of feelings, thoughts, or behaviors. The use of a cost-benefit analysis helps us understand what we are actually gaining feeling bad, distorted thinking, and inappropriate behavior. What is the cost of feeling or thinking the way we do versus the benefit of it? Is it costing us something (negative stress, loss of sleep, mental anguish) or is it benefiting us (self-gratification, peace of mind, contentment)?
The idea is for you to change how you think. From what you see with the above information on cognitive distortions, the brain can have a lot of control over how we act or on the choices we make in life. We all must be aware of “self�. Words such as self-awareness, self-confidence, self-control, s
2018
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WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE…FINANCIAL ANSWERS TO OUR COMMUNITY PROBLEMS LEROY MCKENZIE, JR. jnfenterprises@yahoo.com This year has been a year of purpose for me.
us and in all of us as a whole. The answers are
My mission for this year, or assignment this
nothing new, but what the answers call for is for us
year is to make people better by the end of
to make our financial ails a top priority. In this article
2018 than they were at the beginning of 2018.
I am going to bring to you 3 plausible solutions that
I have purposely targeted my actions that involved me doing or being a part of things that gave me the opportunity to pour into others information, knowledge and resources that would allow others to take their lives,
will begin to refocus our financial mindsets and hopefully impact you in such a way that you take action on these answers and even share them with another brother. I will begin by saying that we must first realize the economic power that our dollars have. This realization has been shown to me in
businesses and organizations to the next
several different ways. In Dr. Martin Luther King’s
level. I was going to use every platform that I
book “Where Do We Go From Here….Chaos or
had at my disposal to ensure that we as
Community”, he gives us a blueprint for how we
people were enlightened, empowered and
need to use our collective financial resources in
impacted in such a way that we all would be
order to effect change. Yes, if we are going to change
better after the use of the platform then
our financial wellness status it is going to take an
before I used the platform. Being a part of the Real Life Real Faith, Men of Faith family has allowed me to bring to you the information that will make you better and hopefully impact you in a positive way.
“ALL IN” mindset. Developing our economic/financial agenda is imperative for us to know where we are and where we need to go to. If we are going to achieve anything it all begins with a plan. A financial plan gives us the strategic way in which we are to achieve our goal.
The financial problems that we have within
Just like at the beginning of the year I decided my
us are crying for answers that we have within
mission/assignment was to make people better by
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MEN OF FAITH CONTRIBUTOR
2018
the end of the year then they were at the beginning of the year, I had to write out what that looked like. We must do the same with this mission of financial wellness and financial betterment. Once the plan is written and we know our objective it is up to all of us to do our part to not only rebuild our financial wellbeing but to make it part of our purpose to do it as a community. The second answer to how we can achieve our goal/mission of economic and financial betterment is by uniformly and strategically investing in our own businesses and those businesses that support us. Two great examples of this is the Tulsa Real Estate Fund (TREF), which is a fund that was created by Brother Jay Morrison. This fund invests in real estate in different dynamics, from commercial real estate, residential real estate, land, hospitals, schools and some others. This fund comes from the mindset of the Black Wallstreet blueprint that was created back in the 1920’s in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, where Black Owned businesses where flourishing and thriving until the community of Greenwood, Tulsa was burned down. Since that time we have not put forth a economic agenda like it until now with Mr. Morrison’s vision and mission to do this kind of collective economic empowerment. The other example of what we can do is getting behind those companies that support us in a positive way. Nike did this recently by making Colin Kaepernick the face of their “Just Do It” campaign. While there will be some that will say that Nike only did this because of financial reasons, I am of the mindset that whether their intent was strictly financial or in part of their support of his purpose to bring focus to police brutality, mass incarceration and the other issues that plague many of our communities, they still decided to back a man who stood up for more than himself and our dollars should back companies like that and even buy stock in them so that we get something from investing in them as well. The last and final answer that I will suggest for us to take into consideration for moving our financial wellness forward is financial legacy building. We must think of generations that are behind us. It is every generation’s responsibility to make it better for the next generation and we can do that by teaching them about financial planning, investments, budgeting and prioritizing your money. When you teach legacy building and planning you must include investing in people and businesses that look like you. One of the great empowerment agenda answers is that we make a concerted effort to buy and support from businesses that are our own and that includes Will drafting and Insurance. We must understand that one of the ways that we pass on wealth is by adequately covering ourself from a Life Insurance perspective. There are too many of us dying without wills or Life Insurance. Both Prince and Aretha Franklin passed away without wills, which is a sad thing to say and we must learn from what they did not do and see what we must do in order to pass on our financial wellness to the next generation. Where do we go from here, we go forward and take the necessary action to move us forward in the right direction…
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THE LEWIS CHRONICLES
2018
Optimum Strength Physical Wellness. Does this mean making sure you’re eating right, working out in the gym, walking or jogging a couple of miles? Of course it does, but for you to be successful in the physical, the mental wellness has to be paid attention to as well. I can only speak from my experiences, and based on those experiences, the physical wellbeing isn’t going to be at optimum strength if you’re not getting the same optimum strength from up top (pointing to the head). Everything works off the brain, from the top down, “mind over matter” as the saying goes. Prime example; if you are thinking about hitting the gym to work on those abs, and there’s a debate raging on whether you’re going to Planet Fitness, or Planet Hollywood, and the latter wins, well that’s the battle I’m sure most of us are dealing with all the time. Do you have that “all you can eat buffet,” or do you stick to your plan of eating light, working on losing the extra weight you’ve been wanting to lose. Being able to work on being physically fit, to walk out to the beach with no shirts on men, to wear a two piece ladies, is work that takes a lot of discipline, a lot of self-preservation, a lot of sacrifice. It takes mental toughness to overcome the lethargy that will try to consume us from time to time. How about getting up early Sunday morning for church, after working 40 hour weeks, and taking your kid to games, going grocery shopping on Saturday? Mentally, you say, “I’ll go next Sunday, I’m exhausted today.” And yes, there will be days that we do need that physical and mental break, because we are not machines, but do you let it take over you where it can be perceived as laziness. The brain must be fed properly, eating right, proper rest, even prayer. When the mind is strong, the determination is there to want to do what’s necessary to be at OPTIMUM STRENGTH. My son just graduated from high school and is going to college on a football/track scholarship. There are a couple of classmates who are just as good physically, and in the case of one kid, even better than my son who is a very good athlete. The other athletes weren’t recruited as heavily as my son was the reason, because he was willing, and very determined to do the work he needed to do to ensure him of reaching that next level. We worked on things in the backyard, he stayed after practice working on his start in the sprints or going to the weight room for extra work. Mentally, he wasn’t going to let anyone with negative commentary deter him, or be too tired to put himself in the position he wanted to be in when he graduated from high school. The other students; well, they didn’t reach his level physically, because they didn’t reach that level mentally. The body feeds off the brain, the brain feeds off the soul of a person. All must be in sync to achieve that OPTIMUM STRENGTH. .
A Word from Bryant Lewis... "The Lewis Chronicles will touch on topics that will cover the spectrum of what's on my mind. Religion/Spirituality, Politics, Black Lives Matter, Fatherhood, Sports. Nothing is off limits, but I will try to inspire, invigorate, incorporate us as men to be at the forefront of making a positive influence in the lives of our families, our communities and most importantly, ourselves. I'm looking forward to this new chapter in my life, and I hope I can make a small difference in yours." .