Randy Eubanks

New Christians Need a Mentor

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 15:05:49 -0800

Christian parents raised me. They made sure my siblings and I learned our values from them. They also sought help by giving us Godly counsel and ensuring other Christians influenced us. As far back as I can remember, I have regularly attended a local church. As a young child, my parents always ensured that my siblings and I were at the church's appointed times. We were there for Sunday School, morning worship services, etc. We were involved in our church youth group. I remember being involved with activities such as going around the neighborhood at Christmas time and singing carols to the elderly. I participated in church summer camps and enjoyed being around my other friends as we enjoyed participating in the group's various activities.

I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior when I was eight during one of our annual revivals. A church revival is when the local church has an outside preacher/evangelist come into the church and preach a series of sermons over a few days. The idea is to build up anticipation and excitement to motivate church people to attend. During the services, the hope is that by the urging of the Holy Spirit, they will rededicate their lives to Christ and go out and live out the great commission, which is sharing the Christian message with others and leading them to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. I got saved, which is to accept that Christ died for my sins. And if I believe that he did this, I can spiritually ask him into my heart, and I can have eternal life and live with him in Heaven and other believers after I die here on earth. What a great proposition! I accepted and became a believer.

One sign or ritual that our church practiced was water baptism. At the appointed time, a few days later, other new Christians who received Christ as their Savior during the revival and I got baptized. Getting baptized is when the preacher dips you in water which symbolizes that the cleansing sacrifice of Christ has washed your sins...Read More

How To Be Successful Socially

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 10:49:30 -0700

It was a hot summer day in Mid-August of 1993. The blistering heat was beaming down on me. The pain was almost unbearable. I was determined to stay for the duration of my 12-year-old grandson’s baseball games.

My grandson was a good baseball player. He has been playing recreation baseball since he was eight years old. I have attended every game. My name is Geraldine Phillips, known to my grandson as “Grammy.” As I was sitting at the ballpark on that hot day in August, I was thinking how proud Grampy would have been of our grandson. Matt had made the all-star team and he was here for a day of baseball. His team started in the morning and kept on playing as long as they kept winning. Matt’s team kept on winning. I had the feeling that Grampy, which is my husband Kirby, was with me that day in spirit. Grampy had passed away a year earlier. He attended most of Matt’s games until he became so sick that he couldn’t. I felt like he was looking down from Heaven. I missed him. He was my soul mate. Enough about me. This is Matt’s Day.

It’s about him. It’s his moment and I was determined to endure it physically. Matt’s team played 4 games that day and won the championship. I had been sitting at the ballpark for over 8 hours. I was shaking and quivering behind my scarf. The scarf helped to keep the wind and heat off my face. I have an advanced case of cancer and it was growing worse daily. Being outside in the weather caused me discomfort. I confided with my friend Becky who was my loyal counterpart at the games. Becky had a grandson who played on the team. I said, “Becky, I’m in severe pain and I don’t know if I can make it for the duration of the games.” Becky offered to drive me home. I said, “No, don’t mention this to my children. I am staying here. It’s not about me. This is Matt’s day.”

Unknowing to her children and especially Matt, this would be the last time that Grammy would see her grandson play baseball. Her health declined rapidly, and she...Read More

What does it mean to be Successful?

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 12:26:15 -0700

There are some parents who base their success on the financial inheritance they can leave their children. My dad felt this way. He always wanted to leave us a financial inheritance. I remember him talking to me and telling me, “You know son, when one of my inventions pays off I am going to buy that brand new pickup truck that I have always wanted. I am going to put $500,000 in the bank to take care of your mother if I die first. I am going to give you kids a large sum of money each. I am not going to wait until I die to give it to you.” He was getting me excited just thinking about this possibility. I said, “I am going to take that money and buy a large home on the water. I look forward to getting up in the morning, looking out my window, and watching the seagulls walking along the sandy beach. That will be the good life.”

In the outcome he was not able to leave us a large sum of money. In fact, it took what he had saved up to pay for his expenses at the assisted living facility along with the proceeds from selling his and mother’s home that they had lived in for years. However, he left his children something more valuable for our inheritance than money. Quoting from the book I wrote My Dad The Smartest 7th Grader on Earth…. “Being average has never caught anyone’s attention. The average person gives up. My dad was not average. He lived a life of significance even though his inventions never paid off financially. His example of pursuing his dreams, not giving up and holding on to hope is his legacy to his children and people who know him. You can create the same legacy starting today by continuing to plug away.” My dad also taught his children how to treat people with dignity and respect. I consider my dad a successful person.

There are some people who think of success as stepping on other people’s toes to move to the top. They use people and cheat them out of what is rightfully theirs to get promoted personally or gain financially from their...Read More

Keys to a Lasting Marriage

Thu, 25 Aug 2022 11:10:32 -0700

Angela and I have been married for forty-four years. We have gone through a lot together. We were young when we got married. I was nineteen years old and fresh out of high school. Angela was sixteen years old and in her junior year of high school. Getting married at such a young age stacked the deck against us. In fact many people said our marriage wouldn’t last. Here we are, forty-four years later and more in love now than ever. It has been tough at times and we have had our struggles. I can honestly say if I had a choice to do it all over, I would marry her again. I made a lot of mistakes and I learned a lot. One of the major things that we did correct to help us was to involve God in our marriage. The Bible says in Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” -NIV

I have always tried to treat her like the queen of my life. I constantly tell her how beautiful she is. If we go to an event where other people are involved, and as we are driving back home, I say to her, “you were the most beautiful woman in the room tonight.” I want her to feel special and important. Because to me she is the most important person in my life. It’s amazing how effective positive affirmations are. If you tell your spouse how lovely and special they are, over time they will begin to believe it. Once they start to believe what you are telling them, magic happens. They have confidence in themselves because they know that they are loved and appreciated.

Early on we made a promise not to embarrass each other in public. If we disagreed on something or were tempted to argue in public, we put it on hold and discussed it in private. We didn’t air our dirty laundry. We have disagreed at times and had our share of arguments, BUT it was done in private. It’s important in marriage not to humiliate your spouse in front of others. That will destroy a marriage. That practice kills all credibility and respect for each other.

One mistake...Read More

Your Only Limit is Your Attitude

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 15:37:44 -0700

There are people who think they can. There are people who think they cannot. They are all right. Henry Ford said it best. “Whether you think you can, or can’t, you’re right.” Which philosophy of thinking do you have? You get to choose. Our attitude tends to be good if we are pursuing our purpose in life even when things do not go well. We keep our eye on the goal. We focus on our mission statement and goals as our road map to keep us on course when things happen to us that discourages our progress. Sometimes we wander or we let unexpected things knock us for a loop. Remember this, terrible things happen to good people and that’s life. In fact, terrible things happen to bad people also. Circumstances are not always going to go your way. Another factor in our mental success is determined by our attitude when things take a turn for the worst in our life. How do we react? Dr. Stephen Covey said, “There is a gap between stimulus and response.” Our success is determined by what decisions or reactions we make during the gap. In other words we need to carefully think out our response before we react to unwelcomed challenges that confront us daily. The first thing we should ponder in our minds is, “Am I going to let what just happened discourage me from reaching my goals?” Have the mindset of looking at the big picture. Keep your goals in mind.

Let us say one of your goals is to be remembered as a person who respected and tried to encourage everyone you met in your life. You are driving your vehicle and someone cuts you off in traffic. Your initial response might be to shoot them your middle finger and cuss them out. Instead of reacting you should pause and think about your response. A positive response would be not to react at all or wave at them and say to yourself no problem. I hope they get to where they are going. If you react this way your mental attitude will line up with your goal of encouraging everyone you meet in your life.

Look at this...Read More

You have the Freedom of Choice, BUT, You don't have the Freedom of the Consequences

Sun, 26 Jun 2022 15:44:56 -0700

There is a universal law that you can bank on which is you have the freedom of choice but not the consequences. This law was taught to me in June of 1976, the summer before entering my senior year in high school. I was bagging groceries at Joe’s Clover Farm in the small town of Trenton, N.C. The owner of the grocery store, Joe Lassiter, told me to come into his office that he wanted to talk to me. As I was walking back to his office, I was thinking what does he want to talk about? What have I done? Mr. Lassiter was not only my boss but a friend of the family. I had a feeling that Mr. Lassiter wasn’t calling me into his office for small talk. As a teenager I was beginning to make some unwise decisions. I wondered if my dad had shared his concern with my decision making with him. I was apprehensive as I slowly walked back to his office. As I took a seat he soon put me at ease with his low-keyed tone of voice. As he spoke I could tell that he truly cared for me and his words were coming from his heart. He gave me some advice that started to change the rest of my life. Mr. Lassiter said, “The choices you make over the next 5 years will set the course of your destiny for the rest of your life. If you make wise choices for the next 5 years your life will be a lot easier when you are in your forties and fifties.” He stated clearly, “Remember this universal truth, you have the freedom of choice, but you don’t have the freedom of the consequences.” He was saying that there are certain consequences that come with certain choices. You can control the choices you make but after you have made the choice, you have no control over the outcome or consequences.

Over the years I have made good and bad choices. I want to reflect back to my senior year in high school and share with you a choice that I was faced with that changed my life. At the beginning of my senior year in high school my best friend and I were contemplating quitting school,...Read More

Learn to Link Work with Money

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 10:44:13 -0700

2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” -NIV

Proverbs 13:4 “The soul of a lazy man desires and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.” -NKJV

My dad taught me the value of hard work when I was six years old. I will never forget that cool Monday morning on June 28, 1965; this was the day that changed my life. My dad walked into my bedroom and asked me, “Do you want to work today picking up leaves behind the tobacco harvester?”

Side Note: This tobacco harvester was a motorized machine that was steered by a driver going down the tobacco rows. The crew riding the harvester consisted of four croppers riding downstairs pulling the tobacco leaves off the stalk and placing the leaves in a revolving clip and chain system that circled upstairs in which a looper assigned to each cropper would pull the leaves off the clip and wrap the leaves around a five-foot-long wooden stick with tobacco twine (string). Once the stick was full of tobacco the driver would remove the stick from a wooden looping horse (container that held the wooden stick) and place the stick on a metal rack hanging on the back of the harvester. The looper would get a new wooden stick and start the process over again. When the rack got full the driver would steer the harvester to a barn and the crew would remove the wooden sticks off the rack and into the barn to be heated in order for the tobacco to be cured-out and eventually the cured-out tobacco would be transported by a truck to a warehouse to be auctioned off to the tobacco manufacturers. It was quite a process.

I said, “Sure, why not?” I had no idea of what I was volunteering for. I looked at the clock; it was 6:00 am. My eyes were open but my brain asleep as per my answer to my dad’s question. I went to work that day. I thought I was going through hell. The big tobacco leaves hit me in the...Read More

Maintaining Balance in Our Life

Sat, 21 May 2022 08:50:01 -0700

I have been enlightened by the many definitions of success. In my upcoming book I am going to share with you examples and stories of how to become successful spiritually, mentally, socially, financially, and physically in your life. I will be sharing with you things I did in these areas that didn’t work and things that did work. Keep in mind that success is many things to many people. One definition of success to many is having more money to buy the things they have always wanted. There are people who base their entire life being measured by how successful they become as related to a certain dollar amount in their bank account. We have read many stories of people who certainly acquired a large sum of money but who also during the process lost the people in their lives who seemed to matter most. They were willing to sell out their family for fortune by focusing too much time on pursuing material gain and in the meantime neglecting to give much needed time to their loved ones. The question arises, in the long run were they successful overall? It appears to me the answer to that question is no.

I am not saying that there is anything wrong with making money. That is one of the elements in my upcoming book that I am going to teach you how to become successful in. We have to earn a living. There is certainly nothing wrong with working hard, making money, and providing for your family. In fact there are certain seasons in our lives as it relates to our career in which we have to work extra hours to pay our bills and get the job done. Unexpected expenses come along which will force us to work long hours for extended periods of time. During this time we should talk with our loved ones and explain what’s going on. My point is we should strive for balance in the five elements of success. We don’t want to sacrifice our...Read More

Getting Along with Friends and Acquaintances

Mon, 02 May 2022 19:24:51 -0700

A few months before getting my butt kicked in bowling by my lovely wife, I was deeply involved in pursuing my associate degree at the local community college here in Jacksonville. I had made friends with some of my professors including my two biology teachers Mr. Easley and Mr. Boyce. I spent time talking to Mr. Easley after class and we became good friends. He was a great biology teacher. He made the class fun. This friend of mine taught me a very valuable lesson in life. Let me paint you a picture of Mr. Easley and myself at the time as it relates to our physical appearance. Mr. Easley was an overweight man with a deep grumpy voice. He had what I called a “pot belly”. He also sported a black beard which I considered ragged looking. He was laid backin his approach to life. He was probably in his late forties. Physically speaking,
he looked out of shape and a prime target for a heart attack. I on the other hand
was looking good and in great shape for a twenty year old. I was slim and trim
and was the picture of someone who was maintaining a healthy body. Mr. Easley
and I were talking one day after class in his office. I said, "Mr. Easley, I think you need to start exercising." My intentions were good. I even offered to help him get in shape. I said, “I tell you what, I would enjoy the opportunity of playing you in a friendly tennis
match to help jump start you on an exercise program.” I elaborated, “It will be
fun.” Mr. Easley said in his deep grumpy voice, “I don’t play tennis.” I said,
“I will show you how and it will be fun.” I was soon to find out that playing
tennis with him was not fun, at least for me. After much persistent persuasion
on my part, I was finally able to talk him into playing tennis with me.

The day finally arrived. This was the day that I was going to help Mr. Easley start his exercise program by playing him in a tennis match. Mr. Easley...Read More

Start Your Day Off Right !!!

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 14:59:56 -0700

You must know in the beginning the benefits you are expecting to receive in the 5 areas of success. Constantly remind yourself and ask yourself, why am I doing this? How will my life be better because of learning and applying these lessons of the 5 areas of success? In the words of the late Dr. Steven Covey “Begin with the end in mind.” In the beginning you will not feel like changing your habits. For example, if you are trying to get closer to God (spiritual) and to know His will in your life, you will be tempted not to get up an extra hour early to do your praying and Bible study. Your mind will tell you to stay in bed. You can do this later. Come to find out later never happens. Over time you say, “oh what is the use, I am never committed to finishing anything I start”. Discouragement sets in and you quit.

Let’s say you exercise (physical) on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It's Wednesday morning and it's cold or rainy outside and you decide to lay in bed and sleep. I admit, there is short term pleasure in laying in that bed an extra hour or so, especially when it is cold and raining. Speaking of it being cold outside, I remember a past Friday morning on January 21, 2022. As normal, I got up at 5:00am to begin my day with Bible devotion, reading in various Bible-based books and studying my Sunday School lesson. After I finished my spiritual time, I was now ready to go on my routine Friday morning three-mile speed walk session. As I took off that morning in 30-degree temperature, fully dressed in a toboggan plus a sweatshirt hoodie, I soon realized the bitter cold from the wind chill caused me to think, what am I doing out here this cold and windy morning? In fact, I was the only walker out that morning. Everyone else must have stayed in bed.

Later that afternoon my coworkers gave me a birthday party at the office. My boss’s 6-year-old son Winston, who loves...Read More