Lord! I'll Shut Up Now.

In my journey to faith I’ve encountered many who have said, “I can’t hear the voice of God” or “God doesn’t answer my prayers.” Have you ever said this?

I’ve come to realize that God does speak and that God does answer our prayers, we just don’t shut up long enough to hear Him.

I’ve come to find out in my own life that I don’t have a problem listening, as much as I have a problem shutting up.  An aunt of mine once said to me, “How could such a little boy have such a big mouth?”  I myself am very guilty of being in conversations with others and responding before they even have a chance of finishing. I know at times I do this with God and I believe many others do the same.

In a hurry with our busy days we rattle off our honey do list to God and run off and then wonder why He didn’t do as we prayed. When I’ve actually shut up and paused in my prayers I’ve come to know that God does in fact answer all prayers. In His still small voice sometimes He says, “Yes.” But God also says, “No, I have something better for you.” And sometimes God says, “Wait, you aren’t ready yet.”

Many of us can’t hear His voice because as quickly as we issue our commands we are off running. We don’t realize that the reason we are on our knees isn’t because it’s a comfortable position. We are on our knees because God is King and we are not

Remember the Lord’s Prayer isn’t: My kingdom come. My will be done, in heaven as it is on Earth.

The Prayer is:
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10

 When we fall to our knees in prayer we are not to aim to bend His will but to be like Jesus and ask Him to bend our own will. “My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39

If you want to hear the voice of God make sure to stop and listen to Him after you pray. But most of all you have to read His book so that you know that the voice speaking in your head is God, because throughout the day I hear two voices and it is only through reading scripture that I can discern the two voices. One leads to life and the other to death.

Today, I choose Life!
The Man of Many Hats, Orlando Javien Jr.

The Truth Will Set You Free Conference - OLMC

Click to watch video

On March 29th I had the great pleasure of sharing the stage with San Diego Chargers quarterback, Philip Rivers.



It was quite an adventure sharing my story to the 500+ men that attended.  I was very encouraged to see men hungry for a faith beyond ordinary.  I received a lot of great feedback from the men.  Many of the guys came to me and told me that I told their story on stage.  It's funny the male species is not very different.  The problem is that most men don't talk about their struggles with one another.  If we would only allow ourselves to be a little vulnerable than we may find solace in knowing we are not alone.  And in opening ourselves to one another we may find friends that would help us up when we fall just like the words from Ecclesiates 4:9-10

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.  For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up."

To a Faith Beyond Ordinary!
Orlando Javien Jr,
The Man of Many Hats

The Devil I Know

The Devil I Know from orlandojavien on GodTube.

Last month I had the priveledge to share with a group of men how I stay strong in the Lord. I share the 5 ways the Devil comes to attack me and the tools I utilize to fight him off. I hope my talk inspires you to live your faith with zeal!

The Man of Many Hats, Orlando Javien Jr.

My Testimony of Faith

Catholic Convert Shares Story Part 1 from orlandojavien on GodTube.

Part 2

Part 3

Signed By CMG Booking

One Step Closer to My Dream

Good morning and welcome back to The Javien Chronicles!  Sorry to be away so long, I've had a bit of writers block but I'm back!

Today I would like to share some Extraordinary news!

It has been a dream and passion of mine to share my story with millions.  Last week my dream got a little bit closer.   After an extensive background check I was accepted into the elite Catholic Speakers Bureau, CMG Booking.

CMG Booking represents some of the top Catholic Speakers like the surfing priest, Father Donald Calloway; the writer of the Bible Timeline, Jeff Cavins; and the Filipino Priest/Chef who was featured on the Food Network, Father Leo Patilinghug.

What does it mean to me to be represented by CMG Booking?  Well now my material that was once only shared within my own circle influence will now be seen by Catholic Churches and groups from around the world looking for diocesan approved speakers.

It is so exciting to see the doors that God is opening in my life.  I have to honestly tell you though it has taken a lot of door knocking, prayer and patience on my part.  You see, I've sent my material to many venues in the past with no success.

The only reason I persevered is because I hunger to do the will of my Father and I remember His words from Matthew 7:7-8,  "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

What do you hunger for?  Are you asking?  Are you seeking?  Are you knocking?  More importantly are your desires and dreams in line with the Father?  You see my son can ask me for a dog all day long and you know what, he's not going to get one.  It's not that I don't like dogs, it's not that I don't want to give my son everything he wants, my son is just alergic to dogs and I wouldn't be a good father if I gave him something that would do more harm than good to him.

If you want God to answer your dreams, align them to His word and remember these wise words from Galatians 6:9, "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

To a Faith Beyond Ordinary!
Orlando Javien Jr., Author
God Made Me Pick Up Underwear

Going through the motions with God

This month I am celebrating two joyous occasions. Today I celebrate my 5 year anniversary with the Lord. On August 14, 2007 I committed my life to Christ on that day my adventure began. In 4 days I also celebrate my 11 year marriage with my beautiful wife Beth who has filled my life with joy and laughter. To celebrate the two joyous events I want to share a new story with you all.

Do you remember the time when you first started dating your spouse? Do you remember the amount of time you prepared to get ready, the amount of time you spent trying to impress them? Then the big day came, they said, “I do!” And then it wasn’t long before things began to change. You didn’t work so hard to impress them. The amount of time you focused on them diminished. You got so comfortable that you felt like you didn’t have to work so hard on the relationship. You just began going through the motions of everyday life.

Yes, sadly I can truly relate to the above scenario in my own marriage. I can also say that most recently I’ve noticed it in my relationship with God.

Today I find myself examining my journey and find that lately I’ve just been going through the motions with Him. I continue to pray and read my Bible daily, I go to church on Sundays, Bible study on Fridays but at the same time my fervency in my time with Him has wavered.

There was a time in my walk with the Lord that I would rise early every day and begin praying and writing out my thoughts. God’s word was doing such a work in my life that I couldn’t wait to share what I had learned.

I look back at the last few months and realize that I haven’t been taking the time to actually sit with God. I would just go through the motions in the morning rushing to get my day started. I would pray sporadically, but I never sat down much to listen.

I’ve learned in my own marriage that I could just go through the motions and remain married. If my goal was to just be married with a subpar relationship then going through the motions would suffice. But I don’t want a subpar relationship with my wife. I want an Extraordinary marriage. A marriage filled with joy, laughter, and adventure. Because that is what I desire than I have to check myself regularly to see if I am nourishing an Extraordinary marriage. One of the main ways for me to feed an Extraordinary marriage is sitting down to listen to my wife. You see by sitting down and actually listening to her; not talking but listening; I can hear her heart. When I can hear her heart than I can win her heart.

In my attempts to get more accomplished in my day I’ve found myself skipping the listening part with God. I would pray and then on my way. I never gave God the opportunity to speak to me. I wanted God to hear my heart but I neglected to hear His.

Just as I am unwilling to settle for a subpar relationship with my wife I will not settle for a mediocre relationship with God. So today as I celebrate my commitment to the Lord I will begin again and make the effort to sit and listen to the heart of the Great I AM, the one who breathed life in me this morning.

I pray that you too choose and Extraordinary life and take the time to examine it, because it’s been said that what you can measure you can improve.

Called to farm not save lives

To this date my journey with Christ has been over 4 years. In my walk, God has asked me to do some small duties like pick up trash, put away shopping carts and even pick up underwear.

He has later asked me to do much larger tasks like pray for complete strangers, share my testimony to a crowd and then share my dirty laundry to the whole world in my book "God Made Me Pick Up Underwear, Finding Faith In Unusual Places."

With all the above activities under my belt one may assume that I've turned many to Christ. To my knowledge I'm not really sure how many have actually changed due to my activities.

In the beginning I desired to see many lives transformed right before my eyes especially the lives of my family and friends. I wanted to see a revival because of my handy work. To my dismay I found myself very frustrated when I led someone to say the sinner's prayer without any true sign of change.

I have come to realize that my job is not to save souls but to sow seed. The seeds that I sow is my witness of a changed life, my smiles, my hellos and my prayers for others.

I've come to realize that it doesn't matter if lives change right before my eyes. It is probably better if it doesn't. If it were than I may think I did it.

I've come to realize that it is not my job to save the world because I am but a farmer. Jesus Christ saves that is why He is the Savior. I am to just continue sowing seed as it is said in Mark 4:26-27:

"The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.... and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know."

The Bible Helped Me Lower Interest Rate

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

The other day I called my credit card company and asked if they could lower the interest rate on my credit card. I got a hold of the customer service representative and politely asked for a manager. I asked for a manager because I’ve learned that the higher you go up the ladder the more likely you can get a positive outcome.

I asked the manager if he could lower my 19.9% interest rate to a rate that would be more affordable. He put me on a brief hold and then apologized because there wasn’t a program available for me. He actually told me that I would have to miss a couple of payments before they could help me. I said, “Thank you” and hung my head in disappointment.

The very next morning I called again and asked them to lower my interest rate. And you know what? They lowered my interest rate to 9.9% for 12 months.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

One thing that I learned in my journey with God is that He wants us to be persistent. The word says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” In Galatians 6:9 the word says, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” And in Luke 18:1 Jesus tells His disciples to always pray and never give up.

God calls us to ask, seek and knock. Not once but multiple times. I can honestly say the things that I treasure most are things that I persistently pursued. So don’t lose heart, in due season you will reap if you pray without ceasing.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

I Learned to Play the Piano

I want to share a story that will amaze you. I learned how to play the piano!
Now for those who don’t know my family history I can say that my family is filled with talented musicians. My grandpa Benito played the percussion instruments masterfully. He would fill his cheeks with air like balloons and exhort wonderful melodies. My cousin Joanne Javien continues to dazzle the stage on Broadway. My older brother Kelvin played the violin and trumpet and my sister Yvonne played the violin too. I would say that my younger brother Joseph’s talent was in dancing.

For me, let’s see, I tried to play the clarinet and was ostracized by my family because I sounded like a dying seal. Then when I broke the reed I told my dad I didn’t want to play anymore. I thought I had broken an expensive piece. Little did I know that reeds where less than a dollar. I’m sure my family was thrilled that I threw in the towel. And for dancing, I don’t think so. That’s why I married Beth. She dances so good that it overshadows where I am lacking.

So what’s the big deal about me learning how to play the piano? It’s not so much that I learned but how I learned. How did learn? My little girl Jennilyn taught me.

Jennilyn’s been taking lessons now for over one year and she is growing so much in her talent. But we have a hard time getting her to practice. Every time we would ask her to practice she would give us an excuse. “I have a stomach ache! I’m sleepy! It’s hard! Or, “My legs hurt!” Oh man the whining would drive Beth and me nuts. Many times I just thought it would be better for her to quit than have to deal with enduring the never ending excuses and frustration it was causing in the house.

Then one day after reading the book “How to win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie I had an” aha!” moment. I realized that yelling and scolding wouldn’t make her want to play so instead I asked her if she could teach me. She was excited. She couldn’t wait.

Did I really want to learn to play the piano? Not really. I had many other things on my plate but if it got her to practice then I would do it. The first day she tried to teach me the notes and I fell asleep and was ready to throw that idea out the door. Then the next day she persisted on teaching me. “Daddy?” she said, “I thought I was going to teach you to play the piano?”

She got me there so I couldn’t weasel my way out. So I sat on the chair with her in my lap, she placed my fingers where they needed to go. Then I closed my eyes and asked her to push my fingers down two notes at a time. After I memorized those notes I would have her teach me another two until I completed the song. By the end of our 30 minute session she got me playing Happy Birthday! And on her 7th birthday I got to play it for my little girl.

Now that I’ve gotten involved with her learning it isn’t a chore. It is actually a moment of peace. I even find myself practicing when I am alone. When I press on the notes with my eyes closed and I can hear every note, I can feel my little girl’s love.

The Gospel According to Batman

Over the weekend I watched Batman Begins with my kids and one phrase grabbed hold of me. I believe it empowered me.

From the words of Rachel to Bruce Wayne after he tells her that he was a good person on the inside, "It isn't what is inside you, it is your actions that define you."

How easy it is to say we are good people on the inside, but it really comes down to our words and the actions that we take that truely define what is in the inside.

The Bible says in Luke 6:44-45, "Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."

Our words and our actions define us. They define our faith and our beliefs. They tell the world what is growing in our heart. We may use obscene language and say it was a slip up. We may look at inappropriate material and say we fell into sin. We may steal from our employers and say it was a small thing. But the Bible says, "out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." Out of our overflow we speak and as we speak we also act.

I admit, I am not a perfect man. I struggle. I struggle as a husband, father, and business man. Because I struggle, I ask my Father to examine my heart. I ask Him to reveal to me where I need to change. I then ask for strength and guidance to change. Because as a man I have no power to change others. I only have the ability to change myself with God's grace. But in the act of changing myself the world around can also be changed.

"Be the change you want to see." - Mahatma Gandhi

Orlando Javien, Jr., The Man of Many Hats