Never allowing our mind to give up is hope in action. To continually say in our heart that it will when everything around us says it won’t, is hope at its best. I encourage you my friends to dance to the tune of  hope because hope is a good thing. It is the thing that allows us to taste the reality of our dreams.

Rhon Johnson

Power Quote:

Hope is an adventure, a going forward- a confident search for a rewarding life.

Karl Augustus Menninger (1893 – 1990)

I don’t care what it is that has attached itself to our life, we can overcome it. Most of us had things that jumped on board as we grew up in our environment as children, and it is effecting what we are trying to do with our lives right now. The problem with some of these thing is that they have been a part of us for so long that we do not recognize that it is even causing a problem. Here’s what I mean. I grew up with asthma as a child and had some severe flare ups. At other times it would flare up but would not be that bad. I learned to just live with it until I got married and my wife told me that when I’m sleeping at night that I wheeze and it makes her think that I’m going to stop breathing in my sleep. I thought to myself, no big deal,  I don’t even know it. She finally got me to go to the doctor and he informed me that medication had come along way since I was a child and that I don’t have to live like that anymore. He gave me some medications and to my surprise I was able to breath so much better and felt rested when I woke up in the mornings. The point is that I was excepting something that I did not have to live with anymore simply because that’s just how it had always been. Whatever it is my friends, we do not have to except it. Its is our choice to overcome.

Rhon Johnson

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Power Statement:

If you don’t want it, then get rid of it.

Rhon Johnson (1966 –      )

Nothing to deep to say today, or maybe it will be. I just want to talk to everyone from my heart. So many times our heart is primed to do or say something but we often times won’t give it the opportunity to speak. As I look forward at some of the challenges that are before me, I must keep in mind that my heart is ready to respond to people in such an awesome way. We can not allow ourselves to be so consumed with whatever we get consumed with that we can’t stop and let our heart speak through us. God may want to use us to help someone in that very moment that our heart feels compelled to do so. So, just think for a minute about how many times it was in your heart to do a certain thing, but you and your schedule got in the way. Stay balanced my friend!!!

Rhon Johnson

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When the heart is ready, great things are to follow!!

Rhon Johnson (1966 –      )

I know that when it comes to sports that everybody plays to win, and those that come to watch want to see their team win. But we should play in such a way that will allow us to do so. The same goes for those of us that are spectators. I recently encountered a situation at a basketball game where there were two adult spectators for the other team who where just loud and disrespectful to the refs to the point that it was a distraction to others trying to watch the game. At the end of the game I jokingly said to my group sitting with me, ” I think I want to meet those ladies.” Now I didn’t even specify by name nor was I looking in their direction, but when I turned around there stood a lady glaring at me. I was totally caught off guard by her behavior.  She followed up by saying  “those ladies are my daughters, would you like me to introduce them to you?”. How in the world did she know I was referring to her daughters. She knew because it was obvious due to the way they carried on through two ball games in a “Christian” environment. I tried to deescalate the situation by walking down to meet her daughters but changed my mind half way there. It came to that the mother was about to attempt to instigate an altercation. The next thing I know, one of the daughters is tapping me on the shoulders. I turned around and the lady says, “I heard you wanted to meet me.” I responded  “you ladies really have a great competitive spirit.” We went on to talk about where she played college ball, and I thought that was the end of it, but she came back saying that her mother had told her that I was making fun of them. At that moment, I had to start ignoring them., They went on for thirty minutes trying to pull me into a fight with them, but I refused to bite. My son said that he would have had to respond,  and I told him that it’s not worth it because people expect them to behave like that, because that’s what they do, but if we were to respond and match their behavior we would be frowned upon because that’s not who we are. Our reputation can not afford to be involved. We have too much to lose.

Rhon Johnson

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The rules are not just for those of us on the court but those of us in the stands as well

Rhon Johnson (1966 –      )

I was in class today and one of the kids pulled up a video online of the classic Charlie Brown Christmas. I had to stop in my tracks because of the memories from my childhood that flooded my mind that surrounded me watching that Christmas program every year. I also began to remember how innocent I was and how I had no care for the things that we as adults have to be mindful of. The most important thing for me was getting the toys that I wanted for Christmas. If I were to receive nothing for Christmas, I would have been completely devastated.  I would have felt like life just needed to be over. I remember having those feelings over some toys that would be broken or old news within thirty days. Also today in gym class, a young lady was careless and someone stole her I-phone. Most of what she got from everyone was that she needs to be more responsible. Well of course she does, we all do. But she was totally depleted.  Her phone was her prize possession.  I told her that I understood how she feels and that I know how important her phone must be to her being a teenager. I said that to her because I remember being a teen. I believe we fail with our teenagers often because we have just forgotten what its like to be one, but today, I remembered. Do you remember?

Rhon Johnson

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Power Question:

How can we help those that we do not understand? 

Rhon Johnson (1966 –      )

I have written in my blog about people in general before. But I can never say enough about how important people are, and that the only way we as people are going to know how important we are is through other people. We are the most valued of all things in this universe. We are also the most damaged. All of us have wounds that are effecting everything we do. Many of us have not even taking time to inventory the damage that has been done to us by others and even ourselves. This whole thing is progressive. I came to find out that I grew up in an environment that did very little to reflect back to me who I am truly meant to be. I had to tell myself as I went through many of those things to just lock it a way and keep right on pushing. Well as I kept pushing along, the inventory of scars and wound kept mounting up as well. I kept telling myself that I was okay and took pride in the fact that I was not allowing these things to keep me down on the inside. How young and ignorant I was of how these kind of things work. I had no idea that the scars and wounds were not healing and that one day they were going to demand that I pay them some attention, the kind of attention that would allow them the time to heal. When I began to write my book about my up bringing, it forced me to take a look at all the thing that I had placed in the attic of my mind. I found myself beginning to feel what I should have been feeling when a was a child. It was weird, because I’m a strong man and nothing gets me down, or at least that’s what I had led myself to believe. I came to see that I was devastated on the inside and had been so all along . Now I was beginning to experience pain, anger, shock, depression, and total dis-belief that I was having these emotions. The bottom line was that these issue wanted me to finally deal with them. I had to because it was also effecting all of my relationships in a negative way. Knowing that my heart is to truly help people, I knew that in order for me to really do this on the level that is in my heart, that I was going to have to inventory myself and get the healing I needed so that my life can powerfully help the lives of other people. So there it is, people effect other people one way or the other. How we see ourselves determines how we will respond to others. I have shared this story with you because you represent what we all care about the most, PEOPLE!!  I love people, and I want to give them the best possible me!!! So, how is your life effecting others?

Rhon Johnson

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Power Statement:

Look around, everything we  see  and everything we do, is connected to people

Rhon Johnson (1966 –      )

Have you ever heard it said, that you’re so busy focusing on what you think you want that what you have is falling apart? Stop and think about that for a moment. Are there things in our life that are dying from neglect because we have paid no attention to them because we are so busy paying attention to how we think we are going to get that next thing we want so badly.  It’s a vicious cycle that any of us can get caught up in. As soon as we get that next thing then it will soon be the thing that is starving for our attention. Hey, it’s okay to have and want things, I’m just talking to us about being in the middle of the road, especially if one of those things that may be starving for our attention is a child, spouse, or some other person that we may have an obligation to.

Rhon Johnson

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Power Statement:

What a waste for something or someone to never reach their potential because we have just failed to pay them attention accordingly.

Rhon Johnson (1966 –     )

I find myself asking this question often. What’s next for me? What is it that I can do that is really going to make me feel complete and fulfilled on the inside? I’m not rich, and as an adult, I have never been without food or a place to lay my head and neither have my kids. I have not considered myself to be a success by any means until my AAU coach read my book, and made these comments to me one early morning at a men’s meeting. He said, “Rhon, I remember when I met you and I knew that you were coming from a place of low means and a tough environment. But as I look at you today, even in the mist of some of your mistakes, you do not resemble a man that came from where I know that you came from. You have far exceeded what was provided for you and you are giving your kids a much better picture as a father than your father gave you. You may not be where you want to be financially, but you made it out and now you have written a book and using your life to help others. If that’s not success, then I’m not sure what is.” Those words helped me to see that I was in a transitional period of my life. I was spending my time trying to be successful when I had already achieved it. It is now time for me to submit to somethings and realize that because I made it out, that I am extremely qualified and have a huge responsibility to help others do the same. I also recognized that in doing so, I would find the provision necessary to do so as well as provide for my family for generations to come. You have heard me say it before and you will hear me say it again. This life is not about us. My friends I am on the verge of stepping into a place that I have never been before. I place that I have always wanted and prayed to be in, and that is standing before people, allowing them to see me for who and am, and encouraging them with my life to come up higher. I have to admit that I am a little nervous because I don’t have all the answers and I don’t know how I’m going to get some of the things done that need to be done, but what I do know is that this is what’s next for me. What about you?

Rhon Johnson

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Power Statement:

Many times we are found laboring to achieve something we don’t fully understand and as a result we are spending time pursuing that which we may already have.

Rhon Johnson (1966 –      )

I have thought about this a lot through out my life, and how much I have allowed myself to get in the way of what I want. Whenever things go wrong in our adult lives, the first place we need to look is in the mirror. But don’t gaze to long though. We need to do for ourselves what we need to for other when they trespass against us. We need to forgive ourselves, set ourselves free ,and get on with life. No matter what has been said or done, we as people never lose our value. If we can come to understand that as we move along through life, we are more likely to make fewer mistakes and if we do make a mistake it will allow us to better recognize, repent, and recover. I remember once when my oldest son was just in the first grade and he had gotten in trouble at school. I asked him what made him do such a thing, and he told me the devil made him do it. I tried to keep a straight face because I needed to discipline him, but he was already mastering the art of putting the blame on someone else just like all the rest of us have. The truth is, the devil might show you the water well, but he has never  primed the pump and made us drink from it. Thats right, we need to recognize, repent, and recover. This is the first step in getting ourselves out of the way we desire to go.

Rhon Johnson

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Power Statement:

If you’re in your way and you don’t know, then you are not focused on going forward. Look up to see who is in front of you!

Rhon Johnson (1966 –     )

As we go through this life and make strides to accomplish what is in our hearts to accomplish, there are things being lobbed at us constantly with the intent of tearing us down. The bigger the accomplishment, the great the attack. I remember when I was alone. All I thought about was myself. Then I got married, then came children and a house. You know how the story goes. The more I added to my life, the more avenues were created for me to be mindful of. With each milestone came along with it a need to grow and expand in my understanding. Just simply going into uncharted territory is a guarantee that there are going to be problems along the way. Therefore we should expect some. Decisions have to be made as to how to handle some of the problems that present themselves.We can’t get it all right all the time. This is one of the main reasons why I read so many books in attempt to give myself an edge as I enter into some of these uncharted areas of life. Nevertheless, I still make mistake that sometimes feel like its is all over now!! And lets not forget the thoughts that bombard our minds when things don’t go right. Makes us just want to have a big pity party sometimes. Those parties are just too expensive and they add up quickly. I like how Joyce Meyer put it once when she had somethings going wrong in her life. “You can pitiful or you can be powerful, but you can not be both.” Man I absolutely love that! It ‘s a knock down drag out fight to keep ourselves from attending our own pity party. As I sit here today tempted to be pitiful but choosing to be powerful as I follow through on some commitments when it would be so much easier to just sit on the couch and watch football all day and get nothing accomplished. Yes, I fight with it just like the next guy, and I have shared this with you because there is an evil sinister force out there that wants us to think that we are the only ones that struggle with what we struggle with. We must not believe that lie as it comes to our thoughts. Lets keep moving in the face of our thoughts being attacked by keeping our sites on the prize of our efforts.

Rhon Johnson

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Power Statement:

Whether we fight or not, we are still going to be attacked, so we may as well fight!! 

Rhon Johnson (1966 –      )