A New GPS

I received an inspiring email at Love > Lust that I was beyond compelled to share. This email just opened up several things - my heart, my eyes, & some doors. I want to share it with you all.

"Hello, Kay Wilson. My name is Jaland Barton. I'm 20 years old and I'm so inspired by your movement with Love > Lust. I wanted to reach out to you and tell my story. I think it is just as important to hear the perspective of a male with the issues of lust and love!

A woman can only teach a boy so much on "how to become a man," and that's exactly what my mom did. She did her absolute best to not only raise a man, but to raise a gentleman, a leader, a WORLD CHANGER. Being raised by a single mother and knowing that she did not have the answers... I searched for the answers myself. Growing up, I was glued to television. I watched TV for hours, from Chris Brown, Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Floyd Mayweather, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, to Mr. happy himself, Pharrell Williams. The list goes on and on. You name him, I watched and duplicated the style and tried to make it my own.

By the time I was in my senior year in high school, I was this cocky, macho kid with a huge ego that wanted to get with every single attractive girl that came across my eyes. As soon as I graduated, it was the summer before my freshman year of college. My goals for that whole summer were 1) make a bunch of money, 2) party, and 3) girls, girls, and, oh yeah, girls. With that being the agenda for the next four months, only one of those goals would be completed.

At the beginning of the summer, I got a job at one of the biggest dealerships in the nation. Working there, I quickly realized that girls and partying would not be an option. It was going to be a long, long, long summer, as I worked 6:45am to 7pm every single day, except for Sundays. I started to make a ton of money for a kid my age. With money, comes a status. With status, comes an ego. In late August, I just registered for my classes for college, and I just got promoted at the dealership. Literally a few weeks after that, something unexplainable happened to me.

On this particular day at work, it was slow, and everyone was at their desk looking at the time. During this time, I was thinking to myself, 'Wow, look what I did. I'm making good money, I have nice clothes, I'm about to start college - girls are going to love this chocolate drop!' Literally after that, I heard a voice loud and clear that said, 'Jaland, when are you going to start loving me the way that I love you?' The voice was so strong, so powerful, so unexplainable. I looked around to see if someone said it to me... no one was around. I realized that it was God.

After that day, I became a follower of Christ. From that day forward, I felt loved, and I knew that I was great... a great sinner, saved by Jesus Christ. I knew from that day forward, not only every man, but every single person, needs to feel that feeling - the feeling of peace and love. I no longer look at women the same... I actually take the chance to get to know a girl and her heart. I now love to listen to a woman's passion, desires, and all that good stuff. All men are called to love, value, and appreciate women. Women are one of God's greatest gifts to us.

I now realize that real men are humble, real men care, real men give, real men cry, and most of all - real men strive to eliminate all of the pride and focus on joy.

I'm almost 21 now, and I have come a long way. I'm still growing. I love this precious gift we have, called life. I'm challenging all of you readers to:

1) appreciate the moment you're in right now. It is an amazing gift, that's why it's called the present.

2) take a different GPS. Get back to the basics of life - love God, love People, love to Serve.

3) Always remember that LOVE will always find a way. Everything else will find an excuse!"

Everyone, I want to welcome my good friend, Jaland, to Love > Lust, as my new business partner. He will be bringing you Love over Lust for MEN, while I focus on bringing it to WOMEN. Jaland will also be bringing his GPS to the table - love God, love People, & Love to Serve. Many of us have used our GPS to get to parties, to go meet up with people at places we shouldn't be. We've used our GPS to get through life, to commit our next sin & feel the guilt that comes with it. Jaland is right - we need to be using our GPS with three things in mind: does where you're going involve love for God, love for people, or any type of service to others? If it doesn't then why do you even need those directions?

What GPS is guiding your life?

Jaland & I have a lot of things coming with Love > Lust... I hope you're ready.