I’ve just returned from 3 weeks on the road doing one night music and ministry engagements all over the U.S., Canada and Jamaica. Every day flying to a new city, in a different hotel at a different church or concert venue. I loved every single minute of it.
Well… mostly.
I was frisked at airport security, (all that touching from security, but no flowers, no candy, not even a handshake! Where’s the love? LOL)
I ate too many after concert late night dinners. (Jerk chicken in Jamaica…hmmmm!)
Barbecue beef ribs in North Carolina… good and messy. Oh yessy!
Lasagna in New Jersey… the garlic, the sauce…Lord have mercy!
Hotel mini bar peanuts and bottled water in New York… cost me a fortune!
(The mini bar is for the rich or the stupid. I , your humble servant,… I am in the latter category! LOL)
Oh… and I had an apple and a protein shake. ( Just in case my nutritionist is watching or Barbara Bowen is reading this…)
I’m off to Fort Lauderdale today to sing at The Faith Center for National Day of Prayer.
I still have Barbados, Grand Cayman and seventy or eighty more cities to go to before the end of this year.
I do however, solemnly swear to have more protein shakes, fruits and veg… vega… vegetab… Oh man! I can get those words out of my mouth!
What about chocolate covered vegetables? Deep fried vegetables? Vegetables wrapped in bacon, baked in bread crumbs, smothered in gravy and 5 different types of cheeses? Hallelujah!
Come on now! Relax! You know I’m just kidding!!! (…..or am I?) As a matter of fact, I’ve started losing 3-4 pounds a week. (Denzel, look out!) I still have about a thousand pounds to go! LOL
Now I know that traveling around the world seems exciting and fun but that’s not the real reason why I’m writing to you today.
My main reason for writing is to talk about choices.
I made a choice years ago to leave the corporate world and walk through the door of music and speaking ministry. It’s been an amazing journey. Notice… I said I walked through the door. Too many times we are trying to kick down doors that have nothing behind them but empty promises.
As a child of God, I believe in following the path where God is giving me favor. We can’t force people to love us, hire us, listen to us, make us happy, give us money or anything else. I choose to allow God to order my steps…. a lamp to my feet… a light to my path.
I’ve also made a lot of bad choices over the years. I used to be a people pleaser. A worrier.
I’ve chosen the wrong foods, the wrong clothes, the wrong relationships, the wrong job, the wrong church… for me anyway.
So what am I trying to say. In this year of RE-INVENTION, the choices we make today will determine the path that will lead to peace and power in God for tomorrow. I am determined not to cast blame, live in defeat and look for other people to make me happy.
It is an absolute must to get clarity… to know what to and what not to fight for. Some things and some people must be released into their own destiny.
So I’ve made some choices.
1. I choose to continue going to the continent of Africa to encourage and raise up young men and women…young leaders who will someday stem the tide of poverty and disease in their own nation.
2. I choose to be a spiritual father and mentor to spiritual sons and daughters around the world.
3. I choose to make Jesus famous. I’m convinced most people don’t know who Jesus really is. People know preachers, singers, denominations and a whole lot of misinformation.
But if people really knew Jesus… He’s altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me….
You know why I made those choices?
Because years ago, before these ideas ever crossed my mind, I wrote those three things down when I was bankrupt, and feeling hopeless and helpless. The Spirit visited my room and spoke my future to me. I could not see Him. But His manifest presence was there. I fell on the floor weeping. I chose to write everything I sensed in my spirit. I sense His presence even now.
Gotta go! I’m out of here!
May I leave you with a word of wisdom? Bluntly, forget about your plans. Get alone. Get clarity. Be open to something that you probably have never thought of… and you’ll discover what to hold onto and what to let go of. For He knows the plans He has for you.
The choice is yours!
The RE-INVENTION continues!
Love God, love people, live boldly!
Alvin
P.S. This article was originally written last May, but I thought you might need to read this as we go into a new season.
By the way, take 5 minutes and check out the video below. I wasn’t going to include it. But I got a feeling you need some divine inspiration today! So sit back and take 5… you know you need to!
