Dear Family: (Thank you Lord for the gifts you have entrusted in me. I pray those who hear this message receive it as you intended and be blessed in your favor. AMEN.)

Well hello!!
I know, I know. I've been MIA for a few weeks. But there's a good reason for that. Or should I say, "what had happened was…" Lol jk. No, seriously. Sometimes the sea isn't so forgiving when I want to stop and get these letters in the mail to you. At times I find myself in the middle of an unexpected tide. And every so often, luck is on my side as the waves begin moving me in the direction I'm already headed.

Now sure, I could always stop the momentum of that unexpected wave. But I've done that in the past. And I'll tell you this: The momentum that you create from rowing so much, or pushing the engine to its fullest potential for an extended period of time, is great. Necessary. Unavoidable if you'll ever reach your destination. But, when God sends a wave to give you momentum that you couldn't have mustered up if you tried? Well, you ride that wave as long as He allows. And if you're smart, you'll crank that engine to the max and simultaneously row like your life depended on it. Because it does. This, you'll learn, has a lasting effect. It continues you on your journey far after that tide has died down.

Sometimes I'm able to hear stories or meet people who seemingly are better at rowing and creating momentum, and equally as good at finding themselves in the middle of a "lucky tide." Though I'm learning, it's not all luck. There's an art to it. I'm not particularly sure what that looks like in depth, so I'll speak on what I've learned to this point. And it's this: that luck that some people seemingly have constantly, while the rest of us have become life's punching bag; it has a lot to do with what you say and how you say it.

Now, I'm sure once Granny reads this she'll remind you of how worldly and new-age this is and not God-approved. But I'll ask you this: if it was wrong to be direct and very intentional with your words, would the Bible reemphasize the importance in the power of the tongue? Probably not. Again, this is a lesson that I'm currently learning. I consider myself a strong believer in Christ, and even I secure my mouth like a prison guard when it comes to my words. I say less of what I don't want. And more of what I do want in my life.

Actually, when I look back, my life comes down to the things I’ve focused on and later brought to life with my words. I heard it said like this: what you allow in your head will eventually come out of your mouth, and what we repeatedly say and meditate on will show up in your life. What do I mean? I mean, you expect to be let down, sick, broken, or just simply unlucky?

Guess what?

You'll find yourself let down, sick, broken, and generally unlucky.

I watched a show one time years ago, and it explained something that changed how I see faith. When one person prays for something and they truly have faith and truly believe it, here's what they do: they go about their day looking in every crevice. In every conversation. At every chance they get. Expecting God to answer that prayer.

But when a person prays with little faith & still expecting mishaps, they will not receive those blessings. Not because they weren't there. Not because God didn't do it. Simply because of their lack of faith and expectation in God delivering the blessing has cursed them to not recieve it. (Faith is a verb and a heart posture.)

In the example, they took two men. Both walked the same path. Same time. Same day. The guy looking for the blessing found what looked like a $20 bill on the sidewalk. He thought, "How lucky. How blessed. God is showing me favor." The second guy? He thought about how unlucky he was. Even after praying, he expected bad things to happen. Because where he comes from, people that look like him and come from where he comes from never gets lucky, right?...(Go figure, myself and the rest of the world are tired of the victim mentality) So he walked over the same $20. And never even noticed it. But you saw it. It was there. The blessing was.

This made me realize: it's not always that some people are just lucky. Or more blessed. Many times, their belief in what God can do and will do is just deeper than ours. And it causes them to look for the very things they expect Him to answer their prayers with.

So here's the breadcrumb. This week, I want you to do three things: Pray. Be intentional with your words. And simply look for the blessings. Hear me though. Prayer isn't just request. It's listening, mostly, for what you ought to be praying for. I am not telling you this is magic and you get what you want. And no, it's not some way to get money. (Don't misinterpret my example.) Because this is still God's world. And it's still dependent on what He has for your life.

But now go out there and believe:

“Everything is happening FOR you. Nothing happens TO you.”

I love you.

TTYL.
— Cousin Earl