Victory Project Blog

I flew on a company plane while working for a corporate security firm. During this time I learned a little about the inner workings of aviation. VFR (Visual Flight Rules) and IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) were two terms I heard every time we flew. VFR means a pilot has good weather and can generally see where the plane is going. IFR occurs when visibility is very limited and the pilot must use the planes instruments to fly. Pilots who fly IFR are trained to ignore their own senses and instincts and rely on the aircrafts instruments to navigate safely. There are documented cases of accidents being caused when a pilot flying IFR ignored the instruments because their own senses contradicted the information the plane was relaying. Resulting in the pilot flying into the ground. (See JFK Jr Plane Crash Investigation).

When this loss of positioning occurs it’s called, ‘Spatial disorientation’ which means: a condition in which an aircraft pilot's perception of direction does not agree with reality.

I’ve never piloted a plane before; but I know this feeling!

I admit to going thru life using my senses to orientate myself. As you might expect this has resulted in more than one spectacular crash. As a society we may not have bad weather to blame for our poor navigational skills. But our surroundings are absolutely cluttered with an overwhelming amount of distractions which clouds our judgement and keeps us from reaching our true destination.

I believe Christians are especially vulnerable to a ‘spiritual spatial disorientation’. If we rely on what God teaches us in His Word a path can be charted thru any storm. God shows us how to act towards unbelievers, how to treat each other and how to be light in this dark world. But we struggle against what we are taught, relying on instincts when our own perception of direction does not agree with reality, God’s reality. And when we end up in a nose dive, we respond by what we see and feel. So, instead of pulling up, we accelerate, convinced we’re about to stall as the ground is racing to meet us.

Here are three ways I found which helped me trust what I’ve been instructed, rather than what I see.

Talk Dangerously. A few years ago I began a mens group. In the initial invitation to friends I warned this group wouldn’t be a typical Bible study. We would be discussing everything most people say we shouldn’t in public; politics, race relations, sexuality, political correctness, religion, marriage and fatherhood. We met every week for three years, it was by far the most rewarding group I ever attended. By talking dangerously we lifted the vail on many shared struggles which built strong relationships which last to this day. Find A Cause. Our most valuable asset is not money, but time. We can give a long list of reasons why we don’t have the time to get involved with the many needs in our communities. But getting involved gives us perspective or ‘orientation’ to the reality of others. Here are some worthy causes to consider: Big Brother, Big Sisters, Gospel Mission, Reclaiming Futures and The Victory Project Go To The Source. There’s no better way to prepare for the tests in life than to read God’s Word. No serious person looking to pass an important exam for a work promotion or doctoral dissertation, for example, we would never consider winging it. When it's really important to us we prepare by studying, seeking council and practicing. If you truly want help, go to the Source, it all starts and ends there. “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you”. - Matthew 7:7.

Finally, look for opportunities to put these ideas into action. I am convinced by trusting God, you will find a joy which passes understanding. For we live by faith, not by sight - 2 Corinthians 5:7.

For eight years, Kelly, Liam, Quinn, Cooper and I have enjoyed our home in Miamisburg. It's been our very peaceful corner of the world and has provided many great memories. 

When we initially moved there I was working full-time while getting Victory Project (VP) started. We had the resources to take-on the challenges of launching the mission while maintaining our lifestyle. But for the past several years my time and efforts have been fully committed to the development of VP. Which meant my personal income substantially decreased. During this same time, we continued to invest our equity and savings into VP and Victory Landscape Management (VLM), with much success.

In-addition our family needs are also growing, especially for our two Autistic sons, Liam and Quinn. We need to plan long-term care for them. This includes accommodations that will allow them to live as independently as possible while under our care. With this in-mind and after much prayer and reflection we believe the God-honoring decision for us is to be the best stewards with our time and financial resources. So, we’ve begun to plan a move to Dayton, putting us in our mission field while maximizing our financial position. But to be completely honest, while excited, I am feeling very anxious about the whole idea of moving. Not just leaving my comfortable environment, but all that comes with moving. So, I really need your help!

Please look over the list below to see how you may be able to assist us in this HUGE step for me and my family.

• Prayer • Locate potential buyers of our home Virtual Tour  (Near Austin Landing)             • Dayton neighborhood/home suggestions            

We cannot express how much we love and appreciate all of those who are taking this amazing journey with us.

Working with families in the inner city for eight years has taught me a lot, more than I could ever reciprocate. I was recently visited by a VP Alumni who is an adult now; I’ll call him ‘Sam’. Sam has a good job, spends time with his family, and is trying to help his younger brother who is drug addicted. We had a chance to discuss how far Sam had come, and how life could have turned. Sam made a point to mention how much VP helped him in his mid-teens.  

This prompted me to ask Sam what we did that made the biggest difference in his life. Without hesitation he said, ‘Being there’. He could see the confusion on my face, as we were just talking about all VP does through our curriculum.  Sam went on to say he liked working and earning his first paycheck with us, the tutoring helped him with his grades, and that the dinners and trips were comforting and fun. But most of his life growing up was filled with moving from family member to family member, then to friends of family, and eventually to foster care. Every move came with fear, extreme anxiety, and loss. Nothing in Sam’s life was consistent. Family, homes, schools, friends, and even food. The basics of life were being given and taken away with such frequency he eventually ‘checked out’.

As we talked the more sense it made. To Sam, turning inwardly was a way to protect himself, he was rolling up into a little ball inside, with the hardest parts facing out, like an armadillo. By the time Sam joined VP at 14 years old, he already had a felony record. He was so hurt by people in life, it was his turn to do some hurting.

I began to understand why Sam said ‘being there’ was most impactful part of his VP experience. No matter what was happening in Sam’s life, VP provided safety, security, and stability. We’re open year-around, 6 days a week, including all holidays expect Christmas. Having dinner together every night of the week with volunteers and staff who steadfastly share love and accountability, allowed Sam to begin to ever so slowly untangle himself. And over time he took steps, alongside God, that eventually led him onto a path of incredible possibilities, way beyond the dark, cramped world of his hiding space.  

So to all of our past and current donors, volunteers, staff and board members. Thank you for ‘being’ with us.

But if you have not experienced what VP has to offer, we need your support. We have many young men waiting to join VP. But we must add staff so every young man receives the required love and accountability needed for success. And paying off our building will allow us to reallocate those funds to add more program leaders.

We need $65,000; for the price of a luxury car VP would be debt free, we could add additional program leaders, meaning up to 40 more young men would receive the opportunities that gave Sam an entirely new future.

All across America, millions of young men & women are faced with a full spectrum of challenges; poverty, violence, hyper-sexuality and abuse of every kind. Despite this, decade after decade, our country produces loving, caring, strong and industrious adults. We see it, with our volunteer military second to none, in the impressive number of business leaders and missionaries helping all over the world. 

But there is growing competition for the lives of our boys & girls, and it doesn’t come from across the sea, or over the border. This competitor has an almost unlimited amount of resources and resolve. Their plan is simple, to poison the well of this current and future generations, with death being the ultimate goal. And before you think this is hyperbole, let’s look at our own homes, schools, and neighborhoods. 

We worship death, not just in all forms of media, which one can argue is fantasy, but more effectively in our streets. Visit any city in America where poverty has a zip code and you’ll see what I mean. Barely a weekend passes without a street corner candlelight vigil, a rally for peace, or a flood of t-shirt sales with the face of some local young person on it. Inevitably reading, ‘RIP’ or ‘Gone but not forgotten’. In-fact there are t-shirt shops who actually specialize in memorializing products. I’m not talking about ‘In honor of’ stones and park benches, but shirts and stickers with all kinds of ‘rest in peace’ templates to design from. Unfortunately many of these young people were already leading very risky lives, sometimes depicted right on these memorial shirts. A handgun pointed at the camera, or some other picture of bad life-choices.  

There are also entire families who embrace their ’15 minutes of pain’. I’ve talked to people whose family members have been absent for most of a young persons life, only to suddenly appear when the crowds do. Strangely enough, this is not unlike the families of suicide bombers in the middle east. After killing themselves for Jihad, families receive community praise, support and even financial assistance. Going from obscurity and hopelessness, to fame and encouragement, literally in a flash.

On the surface, these tokens seem like harmless gestures of love and respect, but not when you compare to how we recognize those still living in, or from these same neighborhoods. I know young men, raised in very difficult environments, who have chosen to take the high road. These guys have good jobs, are raising families, joining the military, paying taxes and going to college. For example we have an alumni who rides his bike to college 18 miles round-trip, three times a week. When he’s not in school, this same 19 year old man works at our landscape business. Where is his community recognition and music videos? We have teenagers volunteering to participate at Victory Project, committing to tutoring, spiritual growth and hard work. Where are their rallies of support? I know dozens, trying to better themselves, not thru bad choices, but education. And unless one of them is tragically killed, most people will never know their names or see them held up in public praise. Let’s not forget about the moms, dads and grandparents who work overtime, and pray for their children's safety and prosperity. Where are their spotlights of fame and encouragement?

Our local businesses, churches, media, and government institutions must find a large-scale way to celebrate the young people and their families who are winning these daily battles. But first we must recognize, and call it what it is. Celebrity thru tragedy, this whole sale worship of death is poisoning the spiritual wells of our young people, families and communities.

Baptism to the Christian-believer is one of most significant events in life. For me, it was an emotional experience. I had grown up in the church, but when I made that confession of faith at the age of 19, I immediately sensed the newness of the Lord in my heart. The baptism itself was just just my public proclamation of the significant realization that I needed the Lord to heal my broken, wayward heart. Man, has it been a journey since then!

Last week, five of our VP guys had the opportunity to attend The Event, a youth-oriented, Christian conference at Johnson University (Knoxville, TN). During the trip, Tyon, who has been part of VP for about three years, made the bold decision to be baptized. Before an evening worship service, a Pastor felt led to invite Tyon to make this important decision. Tyon thought about it during that evening's worship service, and afterward let us know that he was ready.

All of Heaven is rejoicing with us as we celebrate Tyon's decision. As significant as it is, what really prompted this blog has to do with Victory Project as a whole. For me, Tyon's baptism is one of many manifestations of the continued inward changes in Victory Project/Victory Landscape Management. As a staff member, I see all of us, CEO included, making decisions on a daily basis to let God have control in our lives. You see it in the way we conduct business, always doing our work as unto the Lord. You see it in our relationships with people in the community, loving people as Christ would. You see it in how we edify the young men we serve with a good rebuke and affirming compliments.

We're not perfect, but we do serve a perfect God! Thankfully, in his perfect grace, we have "wiggle-room" to continue to grow as we express those inward changes.

Truly,

I am constantly amazed at how much we can affect one another. If you think about how many people you meet on any given day and then multiply it by weeks, months and years you are reaching upwards of hundreds to thousands of people. And that’s just taking into account average days, and not even considering all the parties, fundraisers, and college seminars that are hotbeds for human interaction. I tried to google “how many people do you meet in a lifetime?”, and came across some figures that reached up to 20,000 people! However, every single source has reached the same ultimate conclusion: it is statistically impossible to calculate how many people you meet in a lifetime. 

We come in contact with hundreds or thousands of different human beings over a lifetime (varying with the level of excitement in your life- I like to think I am probably in the thousands due to my uncontrollable obsession for traveling and attending as many music festivals as I can). It is even crazier to think about the ones that have had the most lasting impressions on you, or most prevalent presence. Who are they? Your family, your first best friend, your college roommate, your girlfriend, your kids? Of course. How about the guy talking to himself on the bus, the cafeteria lady from high school with the crazy accent or the screaming baby in the stroller that clearly needs to be changed? Probably not. Our minds have been trained to process positive memories and relationships over the activities of strangers. But they affect us in so many ways. We just have to discover how to make meaning of it. 

About a month ago a girl who went to my high school died in a car crash. She was doing relief work with children who had the HIV virus in South Africa. I found out one night as I was in my research statistics class and as any proactive grad student does, decided to check Facebook. I saw dozens of photos of her, and people posting beautiful words about her. The more I kept reading and looking at pictures of her, the deeper it sunk into me. This girl was two years younger than I and to be honest I barely knew her, but she was good friends with many girls on my dance team. She was one of those people that clearly had a lot of friends and loved to have fun. I had seen her in the halls of my high school, but in a school of over 4,000 students, it was hard to get to know everyone. I read the words the dance team girls wrote, saw the love letters her boyfriend posted, and admired all the pictures of her extremely radiant smile. 

Days went by, and she was all I could think about. I laid in bed crying every night thinking about the words the people close to her wrote. The more I learned about her, the more she resonated with me. Young, beautiful, extremely intelligent, with tons of friends, and a passion for serving others she was devoting her life to help HIV/AIDS research, and was on her second trip to Africa, which she adored so much. I thought of how much potential she had, and how much she could contribute to this world if she had the chance to stick around. As time went on and I still felt her presence, I tried to make meaning of the situation, trying to understand why this girl I barely knew has left such an impression on me, when numerous other people have died (including some that were very close to me ) and have not effected me in such a drastic way. She is one of over a thousand people I have probably met in my life, yet she has shaken me like I’ve never felt before. That is when it dawned on me that strangers do affect us. And I believe that there a few people out there, whether you know them or not, that can resonate with you more than ever expected. 

Something about her reminded me of myself. Something about the way people spoke of her cut so deeply into my heart. Something about the way she smiled made me feel like she truly loved life and all it had to offer. She taught me that people can have such a deep impact on others. They don’t have to be your family, your friends. They can be the garbage man, the Starbuck’s employee, the girl with the beautiful smile that passed you in the hallway in high school. 

They can be the young men of Victory Project. They have already had such an impact in my life, and I hope to have an impact in theirs. And if everything happens for a reason, then I think that  her death was God’s way of calling up an angel to remind us to strive to affect as many people as we possibly can. To never be a passerby, but to be a presence in as many lives as we possibly can. 

Sincerely, 

Working at Victory Project for the past few months has been a really incredible learning process. I knew coming in that I would be in-over-my-head and that humility was gonna be key. Thank God for that piece of wisdom. Being Program Director has been (again) humbling, affirming, rewarding, and in many ways awakening.

Today, as I was working in the office, the Holy Spirit prompted my attention towards just listening. So I played a little Gregory Porter's smooth jazz, then I turned it off. I listened to the keystrokes as I answered emails and edited curriculum ideas. Then I heard the sound of sirens. I looked out the window as an ambulance passed by. Where is it going? Who's in it? Is it a kid? Being a nosey (I'd call it inquisitive) person by nature, things like this pop in my head often. I don't think it strange. I just accept the fact that A BROTHA'S GOTTA KNOW THINGS!!!

When God is stirring the heart, as many others can probably attest to, there usually comes this anticipatory feeling- like there's more to gain in the given moment. This happened as I listened and asked those questions. Then I began to think of other sounds that this true-to-form, city boy is sensitive to. I thought of weeping, the sound can stop me without warning. I thought of the closing of prison cell doors, though I've been on the visiting end, it's quite weakening. I thought of laughter, good music, wind blowing. Then, as I placed a file of one of the many applicants waiting for a place in our program, I closed the door to the cabinet that will house it for any length of time. BOOM, laaaatch! The sound was deafening to my soul. What are their options? Who's advocating on these young men's behalves? Will we ever have room for them at VP?

  Later this afternoon, I had the opportunity to call a young man's home and speak with his grandmother. She'd recently lost her husband and felt like she was losing her 16 year old grandson as well to bad decisions and choices he has been making. Due to our enrollment being at capacity, her grandson has waited for spot to open up at VP for quite some time. Today, I heard overwhelming joy as I told her that I look forward to partnering with her in helping shape her grandson into an upstanding young man. One that she, I, and God can be proud of. The words she said: THANK YOU. The feeling I sensed: Hope. The God I serve: Able. So as I move forward, I recognize the importance of listening to His voice in each moment. One thing Monnie, CEO of VP, brings to mind often is to leave room for God. Victory Project isn't just good natured people making things happen for a bunch of poor kids. It's God using a village of misfits and sinners in our own right to love on, exhort, and "bring out the God-colors" in the young men we serve. I'm glad I heard the call. Even more glad that because of Christ, I can make a difference.

Truly,

This past week, the Victory Project staff started reading a book together entitled "Jesus>Religion: Why He is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough" by Jefferson Bethke. While often times, literature of this nature can take a while to really get into a good rhythm and absorb readers like myself (slow, lol), Bethke couldn't have started out any stronger. Immediately, I was sucked into his reality. His testimony of  going back-and-forth between legalism and unbelief. You get the background info on how his incredible YouTube video, Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus, reached over 25 Million hits. To say the least, he basically had me hanging on every word.

In that first chapter, Bethke says something that prompted a lot of thought: “I hear a lot of people say that the fear of death and the fear of public speaking are the two main fears in my generation, but I disagree. I think it’s the fear of silence.” Upon reading that, all I could say was "wow." He hit the nail on the head. I mean, look at our society! All of our technological advances, all of which have beneficial purposes, but many of us also use them to escape the silence in our lives. We'd rather appear to be preoccupied with a text than to have a direct conversation at the dinner table. We'd rather look at what's happening in someone else's fictitious reality than to manage and cope with our own. We've become addicted to noise. Why? Because the silence is heavy. The silence is burdensome. The silence makes us vulnerable.

Silence is different for everyone, but how many of us have seen the facebook status updates: "bored... hmu" (meaning: I'm bored. Someone please entertain me) "What's going on tonite?" (Meaning: I have nothing going on so let me join your activities) It goes on and on. What are we so afraid of? I know for me, the silence is where I struggle with whose voice to follow. I can hear "you're not good enough." "You're lazy." "You still don't have this and that." "Does God really love YOU!?" In that silence, I can also hear (if I listen closely and believe it) "you're a son of the King" "You have supernatural potential in you." "I love you, and you'll never earn it." In the silence, I can either believe God voice, the enemy's, or my own. To be frank, mine alone is worthless, and I certainly can't rely on an enemy!

This silence, I believe Jesus knew all too well. Now, don't think that just because he didn't have HD plasma tv's and playstations that his struggle with silence was any easier. It was in this silence that Jesus was tempted by Satan himself. Taken to a high mountain, shown a vast and (I'd add bountiful) land, told that if He bowed to Satan, he could have it. (Matthew 4:1-11). It was also in this silence that Jesus demonstrated the importance of fellowship with the Father by stealing away from the crowds and followers to worship and pray (Mark 1:35). In retrospect, we can see that Jesus wasn't afraid of the silence. In fact, he mastered it. In his commitment to speaking to and hearing from God, He showed us that we too can overcome the void/silence in our own lives.

As we read this book, I'm challenging myself to not let the fear of silence drive me toward meaningless distraction. Rather, I want to use it to stir my heart and make me uncomfortable. Nothing of worth comes with ease. Walking victoriously is going to cost us, but we're going to have to put in the work. But don't worry! The Holy Spirit is an excellent helper.

Growing and Conquering,

It's Wednesday. Here at Victory Project, this means it's Life of a Valor (LOV) night. What is LOV, you ask? LOV is the equivalent to what many would call a "discipleship" class. It's where we instruct our youth in various topics, as well as engage in discussions that relate to "becoming men that God can be proud of." It's also aimed at encouraging the youth to see life's obstacles as just that: something to be conquered.

This week, our guys are viewing and discussing a sermon by Christian, Hip-hop artist, Lecrae, entitled "What Does A Real Man Look Like?" In this YouTube video, Lecrae challenges men, both young and old alike, to "reject passivity, accept responsibility, lead courageously, and invest eternally." What an incredible charge! It hits the nail right on the head as far as encouraging men to be responsible, confident, and God-fearing leaders. This is what we're working to cultivate in the lives of our young men here at VP.

We're proud to say that we have some great young men in our program. Young men who have the potential to change the world for the better, and if given the resources and opportunity, can prove that with God, all things are possible. Please be in prayer with us as we continue the work of the Lord in discipling our guys to be like Christ in all areas of their lives. God is doing some major "undo-ing" here at VP. We're blessed to be part of the journey. :)

When I began this mission over six years ago, many things were still unknown. The only things I was sure of were that I need to be like-Christ for our community and that another church was not needed to complicate the matter.

But like so many things we may be sure of, time and experience had a way of evolving my absolutes into moments of self-revelation.

While you strive to meet and exceed the expectations of the community, and do so in such a way that Christ receives the honor and glory, it is the matter of the church, or lack thereof, which has changed.

It has always been a goal for our youth to get involved with their local churches. We had hoped that they would spend six days learning at Victory Project and then attend a church on Sunday. Although these young men have met their education and employment goals, their lack of church commitment has weighed on me for some time now. In fact, only about 25% of our young men go to church on a regular basis.

This too must change.

On Sunday, November 24th at 3:00 pm, the Victory Project will begin monthly services for our youth, their families and the public. Our first speaker will be Robert Gregory with worship led by Joe Patak, both of whom are from Bellbrook Community Church. We’re planning to have other pastors and worship leaders share their gifts with us throughout the upcoming months as well. Depending on the necessity, and our Lord, we’ll increase Sunday services as needed.

Come, rally at the Million Man March, Million Vet March, Million Muslim March, Million Mask March, or Million Biker Ride.  Assemble for the Occupy Movement, Gay Rights Movement, Anti-War Movement, Climate Change Movement, or Tea Party Movement.  Lets marshal around the Republican Party, Democratic Party, Libertarian Party, Green Party or Constitution Party.  

"A man set out to change the world, but he failed. He set out to change his country, but failed. He then tried to change his state, and failed. He decided to change his neighborhood, but failed.  Finally he just wanted to change his family, but failed there too. Without anyone else to change, he looked for change within himself. This changed his family, they changed their neighborhood, which changed their state, then country and finally, changed the world".

Morpheus: ...“It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth”. 

Neo: “What truth”? 

Morpheus: “That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. A prison for your mind. (long pause, sighs) Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself. This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back”. (In his left hand, Morpheus shows a blue pill.)

Morpheus: “You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. (a red pill is shown in his other hand) You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. (Long pause; Neo begins to reach for the red pill) “Remember -- all I am offering is the truth, nothing more”. 

Many people remember seeing The Matrix in 1999.  What I remember most, was the special effects, and the very cool soundtrack.  That was until I caught it again recently, it was the scene where Morpheus & Neo are discussing the real world and the world manufactured by The Matrix.  In case you didn’t see the film, or Sci-Fi movies are just below root canals, I won’t go into a lot of detail, but here’s the plot.  Morpheus tells Neo that humans are fighting against intelligent machines which have taken control of the Earth. The machines harvest the bioelectrical energy of humans, who are kept docile within the "Matrix" – a simulation of the world as it was in 1999. Neo has lived in this simulated world since birth; in reality, the year is closer to 2199. Morpheus and his crew belong to a group of free humans who "unplug" others from the Matrix and recruit them to their rebellion against the Machines. 

Back to the scene, Neo takes the red pill and wakes up inside the Matrix.  Neo’s literally unplugged from the Machine, which had been using his body as a battery to power itself.  From there he’s carried off by Morpheus and other escapees. The rest of the film follows this small group of people as they try to unplug others, and to ultimately defeat the Matrix. 

Even though I’d seen the movie several times before, it was like seeing it for the first time, but thru very different eyes.  I couldn’t help but see the correlation between the Matrix and my life serving Christ in a very tangible way. I’ve talked to other front-line ministry leaders, and many have had very similar, “Red pill” experiences.  The feeling of waking up in a familiar, but slightly altered reality.  Surrounded by people busying themselves, filling their calendars, without a clue their actually sleepwalking.

One of my ongoing challenges is to find ways to shake people from their slumber, so they can join in the struggle.  But there’s a lot of competition, and sleep comes in many forms.  Sometimes, I talk to a man who can tell me statistics of their favorite football team, the teams history and players.  But don’t know their local lawmakers or what government is doing in their community.  Other times, sleep reveals itself in chasing societal expectations.  This is especially true when it comes to our own children and what school culture requires.  I’ve talked to parents whose kids are in sports or other after-school programs, and tell me their children don’t get to bed until midnight or later. Fast-forward a few years, and suddenly mom and dad look up and their baby has moved on.  Most will say; “I wish I could live those days over again”.  Don’t get me wrong; it’s not the programs themselves, but the distraction, or virtual-unconsciousness, which lulls us to sleep and eventually substitutes the very limited time we have with our families.

There are a lot of reasons to take the blue pill and go back to sleep.  But, once you’re awake, I mean really awake, many of the things which sustained you, loses their narcotic-effects.  You’ll have little to contribute around the water cooler,  popular TV shows become absent of any entertainment value and you will see a growing need of intervention all around you.

Living a "Red pill" lifestyle may sound boring or even scary.  Those feelings are there to keep you plugged-in, so you won't even try to wake up.  While this lifestyle is surrounded with challenges. Once you've awaken, you'll live with a freedom and joy, unequalled to anything experienced in your dream-state.            

Here’s my challenge to anyone wanting the “Red pill” experience:  

Sit down with your friends and/or families, discuss what is really important to you, and then listen to their passions. 

Go old school with your loved ones, hike together, play cards or a board game. 

Seek out a spiritual mentor, a person or group who understands how to communicate Christs love.  

Serve together outside your comfort zone. Volunteer at Hospice, a nursing home or teach an inner-city youth to read. 

Whatever it is, it must cost you some form of comfort, and once you step outside your comfort zone, keep on going.