Into the Unknown!
Author Noel Pinnock, B.S., M.P.A., C.A., CCC
www.noelpinnock.com
www.noelpinnock.brandyourself.com 

  Merriam-Webster (MW) defines “mind,” in the noun tense, as the element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and reason. Furthermore, MW defines “set” as to put, lay, or stand (something) in a specified place or position. When you concatenate these words, we arrive at mindset. This compound word is so powerful that it can drive countries as well as individuals, alike, into mass turmoil or elevate them to great prosperity. The interesting thing about mindset is that it vacillates because its nature is predicated on situations and circumstances. We all have internal processes that govern our growth and development. Some may have a fixed mindset; therefore, growth and development can be limited. While others have a learning mindset and adjustments are made along our life’s journey. Whether fixed or learning, a mindset  is a set of assumptions, methods, or notations held by one or more people or groups of people and can also be seen as arising out of a person’s world view or philosophy of life. Our mindset or logic box is our collection of knowledge, attitudes, skills, and habits (KASH) that often limit our perception and acts as a restriction on objective thought and creative expression. What is in your mindset? What are your views and perspectives that have eroded some of your best intentions with unintended consequences?

In 1972, one of the best-known slogans in public-service was “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” The United Negro College Fund ran this slogan in print, radio, and television as an intentional campaign to close a persistent gap between African Americans and other groups in college completion. They understood then as we know today that in a land that is constantly going through entropy only the learned will survive. We can no longer rest on the scaffold of mediocrity and not take the leap into the unknown.

The animated movie Frozen 2 was a mega-billion dollar hit at the box office and the soundtrack was equally successful on the music charts. One song, most notably, Into the Unknown, aligns with the perspectives of this article, in huge part because we fear what we don’t know, and many don’t ever like asking questions because it will make others believe that we don’t know thus the paradox.  Check out the first to verses of the song:

“I can hear you but I won’t
Some look for trouble while others don’t
There’s a thousand reasons I should go about my day
And ignore your whispers which I wish would go away.

You’re not a voice, you’re just a ringing in my ear
And if I heard you, which I don’t, I’m spoken for I fear
Everyone I’ve ever loved is here within these walls
I’m sorry, secret siren, but I’m blocking out your calls
I’ve had my adventure, I don’t need something new
I’m afraid of what I’m risking if I follow you”

These words are very powerful for a seminal audience to comprehend but if you dissect its meaning, you will understand the humanistic nature of individuals whose mindset has been hindered or restricted because they don’t want to leave the porch, get out of the boat, or take the leap into the unknown. The unknown is scary and unpredictable. It isn’t something that we are used to. We prefer routine and certainty but as I have always told my staff, certainty is the enemy and uncertainty an ally. Our 10-year old daughter sang this song so much during the Frozen 2’s hey-day that I became so curious that I woke one early Saturday morning to watch it for myself.

The movie’s plot was rich, and it captivated me. Elsa the Snow Queen has an extraordinary gift — the power to create ice and snow. But no matter how happy she is to be surrounded by the people of Arendelle, Elsa finds herself strangely unsettled. After hearing a mysterious voice call out to her, Elsa travels to the enchanted forests and dark seas beyond her kingdom — an adventure that soon turns into a journey of self-discovery. Synoptically, Elsa discovers that the voice calling to her was the memory of young Iduna’s call; that her powers were given to her by nature because of Iduna’s selfless act of saving Agnarr; and that Elsa herself is the fifth spirit who would break the water dam that would save their kingdom.

You see, the voice calling Elsa (like you and me) into the unknown was challenging her mindset and comfort zone. She was doing just fine after Frozen 1 but there was an agitation that persisted and kept her up at night, trepidatious and reluctant to escape from the comfort the has confined her perspectives. We all get comfortable and enjoy what comfort brings. Many people see comfort as an adjective, describing an attribute or something, when, in fact, comfort is a noun.

Comfort enters your home as a guest, remains as your host, and will eventually become your master. Comfort is a silent killer and has been charged with homicides in careers, families, marriages, and almost every place imaginable where growth and development are quintessential factors to success. Our limited KASH affects our ability to create or solve problems in two important ways: it heavily influences the kind of opportunities or problems that we recognize as being important enough to create (opportunities) and/or solve (problems); and it influences the analysis of the potential (opportunities) and cause (problems) and therefore the proper course of action to maximize the opportunities in life or to minimize the duplication of problems that have been solved in our past. What’s the definition of insanity? There, you got it, doing the same thing while expecting different results or better yet…being fearful of entering the unknown.

Our mindset should be challenged. We should have a desire to grow but that’s not innate in us. Physically speaking, our bodies do this on the regular. When we are hot, our bodies don’t sit there and internally combust. No, our bodies respond to the external stimuli by sweating to ensure we don’t overheat and dehydrate in the process. If the hairs in our nose tickle a bit, we sneeze. In other words, our bodies respond to external forces and are not going to be suppressed by anything.

Like our physical nature, our psyche (not psychic) nature, which comprises of our mind, will, and emotions should, like a thermostat, adjust to the external environment to maintain the proper climate in our lives. To do this we must be committed to the foundational premise of continuous learning and development. Without challenging ourselves, we subscribe to an internal newsletter whose content never changes. Imagine that, picking up a magazine and reading the same articles over and over again. Certainly, the cure to insomnia. So, if you want to challenge your mindset and are daring to enter the unknown to discover and unlock your internal talents and gifts, you must evict comfort because comfort is the enemy of change. Not to mention, we must dismiss the notion that nobody likes “change” but a wet baby.

Apostle Paul, whose mindset was drastically change on the Damascus Road, wrote that we are not to be conformed to the ways of the world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds or mindset. He realized, like we should, that transformation doesn’t end with age or experience, but it continues daily as we invent and reinvent ourselves. If you can agree with this, then you must establish parameters to keep your mind percolating and hungry for more.

Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1926, on her second attempt. 19-year-old Gertrude Ederle swam 21 miles from Dover, England, to Cape Griz-Nez across the English Channel, which separates Great Britain from the northwestern tip of France. On August 6, 1926, Ederle entered the water at Cape Gris-Nez in France at 7:08 a.m. to make her second attempt at the Channel. The water was predictably cold as she started out that morning, but unusually calm. Twice that day, however–at noon and 6 p.m.–Ederle encountered squalls along her route and Burgess urged her to end the swim. Ederle’s father and sister, though, who were riding in the boat along with Burgess, agreed with Ederle that she should stay the course. Ederle’s father had promised her a new roadster at the conclusion of the swim, and for added motivation he called out to her in the water to remind her that the roadster was only hers if she finished. Ederle persevered through storms and heavy swells, and, finally, at 9:04 p.m. after 14 hours and 31 minutes in the water, she reached the English coast, becoming the sixth person and first woman to swim the Channel successfully. Furthermore, she had bettered the previous record by two hours.

Afterwards, Ederle told Alec Rutherford of The New York Times, “I knew it could be done, it had to be done, and I did it.” She went on to say that she was successful the second time around, not because of the incentives outlined by her father but because she possessed a mindset that failure was not an option. She started the journey with intentionality to reaching the English coast. It was in her mind from the beginning even though she felt like giving up and her body became fatigued. She was set on not breaking the record but breaking up the comfort in her mindset that would oftentimes tell her she wasn’t capable, or the feat was impossible.

What has kept you anchored in a position of mediocrity? What has prevented you from going to the next level? I can guarantee you this…that something would be your mind. The richest place on the planet, found in every place across the globe, is the graveyard – filled with so many people who could have, would have, and should have, but for many (not all) were scared to enter the unknown. I am inspired by these words myself, and will likely archive this article because I, like you, will no longer be afraid to enter the unknown, because when we are there, we can unlock some of our life’s greatest experiences and moments.

There I say again, let’s #getatit!

Lord God, I just want to take this moment to say thank you for everything that you have done in my life! In Jesus’ name, amen!!

The MORTGAGE INDUSTRY has evolved dramatically over the last few weeks. You will need at least 700 TRUE FICO to be approved for any home loans. In a nutshell the primary reason we are seeing such a contraction in the market is due to not only the fears of an economic collapse but due in part to the $2 trillion stimulus package that provided mortgage forbearance where borrowers of government-backed mortgages ((Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, VA and USDA) can request up to 360-day payment forbearance without proof of hardship. No additional fees, interest, or penalties can be assessed for the forbearance. Except for abandoned or vacant property, there may be no foreclosure actions for 60 days from 3/18/2020. This means loan servicers would not receive payment for up to a year.

On conventional loans, this is not as much of a problem as the servicers are only required to pay Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac the actual amount they receive from the borrowers. However, on government loans, this is not the case. The servicers are required to make the scheduled payments regardless of whether or not they receive payment from the borrower hence most investors do not want to make government loans at the moment. For example, Chase Bank was pricing a VA refinance loan today at 3.500% with a 16.547 discount which means the borrower would pay almost 17% of the loan amount to get that rate. This is effectively removing investors from the government mortgage market with them being able to say they still offer government loans.

“The markets continue to suffer through major repercussions of the collapse of the economy. With a potential 30 % unemployment rate looming, low fico government (FHA, VA and USDA) has all but dried up. No one wants to lend to a segment of the population most likely to be crushed. Jumbo lending is drying up as well. No one wants to be on the hook for large loan amounts that don’t have a government backstop.

For the next 6-8 months the market is only going to be in high fico government and Fannie/Freddie business and it is important that you prepare your referral sources and borrowers of this. On FHA you will likely have to charge 1-2 discount in all but the best fico scenarios. Realtors, Sellers and borrowers are not used to this expectation, but it is the new realty.

Lenders/underwrites must now verify employment before they fund on government and jumbo loans. This is a further reflection on the rapid decline on the economy.”

Things are getting ready to get really tight real quick!!!

#BraceYourself

Psalm 34:8 invites us to, “Taste and see that the LORD is good…..” I’ll submit to you today that if you taste one sample of God’s Grace it will change the trajectory of your life forever. Ephesians 2:8 declares, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.”

What if I told you, the same grace that saved us is the same grace that is preparing us, guiding us, teaching us, covering us, keeping us, encouraging us, correcting us, helping us, protecting us, and training us.

Titus 2:11-15 explains this concept thoroughly; “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.”

God’s grace is the way we are saved for eternal life, but it’s also the instructor of how we live now waiting for Christ to come.

The gospel of the grace of God is the message everyone needs. The word of grace is proclaimed from every page of the Bible and ultimately revealed in Jesus Christ. The last verse of the Bible summarizes the message from Genesis to Revelation: “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all” (Revelation 22:21). Through Jesus “we have all received grace upon grace” (John 1:16)—the gratuitous and undomesticated grace of God.

We may not have a vaccine to combat the spread of this virus but I have made a cognitive decision to trust God. When I rewind the ‘game tape’ of my life, God has never once failed me and He has always supplied what I needed. When I was sick, He healed me! When I needed a job, He opened a door! When I needed money to pay a bill, He used someone to lend a helping hand! When I needed love and reassurance, He sent words of encouragement! When I was a prodigal, He reconciled me without question. When I attempted suicide as a youth, He sent an angel (my grandmother) to breath and speak life into my spirit. When I was broken, He was always there to put the pieces back together! This is why I STAND on Philippians 4:19, “The same God who takes care of me will supply all of my needs from His glorious riches [limitless supply], which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Before you continue reading this devotional, I challenge you to take 30 seconds to rewind your ‘game tape’!!Yes, I already know, He has always been there for you too! Please don’t get it twisted; God is not shocked by the state of the world right now. His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8) and He is not at a loss about what to do because nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37) and the only thing He can’t do is fail (Joshua 21:45)! So today, choose to proclaim that God will be glorified through this pandemic. That His name will be known and praised throughout the earthGod is able to pierce the darkness with His magnificent light and trust me, His light will forever shine brighter than our fears, uncertainties, and anxieties! THIS TOO SHALL PASS and mark my words, in a year from now when we ‘rewind’ this moment in history [game tape], we will be filled with joy as we remember our revival, hope, resilience, grit, strength, confidence, comfort, and peace that came out of this season! If this doesn’t give you hope, I suggest you re-read this message again! David said in Psalm 37:25, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”

#G>COVID-19!

Who doesn’t like inspiring short stories? We all do and although this short story may be fictional, it’s impact is very real:

One day a very wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country for the sole purpose of showing his son how it was to be poor. They spent a few days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

After their return from the trip, the father asked his son how he liked the trip. “It was great, Dad,” the son replied. “Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Oh Yeah,” said the son.

“So what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father. The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.”

“Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.”

“We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “It showed me just how poor we really are.”

Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don’t have. What is one person’s worthless object is another’s prize possession. It is all based on one’s perspective. Sometimes it takes the perspective of a child to remind us what’s important.

The boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “It showed me just how poor we really are.”

“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.” Ecclesiastes 5:10

If you want to rest in the Lord, you must first cast all of your cares (worries, reasoning, and anxieties) to Him! I Peter 5:7 tells us, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” The author of Hebrews mirrors this by instructing us to cease from weariness. “Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest of God, to know and experience it for ourselves.” Now then, our definition of resting might be slightly different in terms of not doing anything. Resting is not about being lackadaisical. Resting, exegetically speaking, is when an action is taken between you and God. It is a partnership that you develop with Abba Father. It is entering into Abba’s rest and casting your burden(s) on Him. For example when you are feeling discouraged, get still in prayer (Psalm 46:10), and tell Abba Father that you trust Him to move swiftly and strategically on your behalf. Simply put, in order to experience God’s rest we must a.) cast your cares, release your burdens (Matthew 11:28), b.) surrender your will (Matthew 16:24-25), c.) know that you’re loved (I John 3:1), and d.) place your hope in Jesus (Ephesians 1:18). The only thing that supersedes fact is faith! I know some of you are saying, “What does that mean?!” Let me put this way; Fact is COVID-19 is wreaking HVAOC across the globe but my F.I.G. (FAITH IN GOD) reassures me that HE IS BIGGER and HE WILL put this thing to bed within the appointed time! With that said, we have to find balance in what we are feeding our minds! It’s always a best practice to step away from the chaotic noise circulating on social media platforms and through local/national news broadcasts! Beloved of God, in this season you have to stay prayerful and if you haven’t already, install the YouVersion app and start reading God’s word daily. Ephesians 2:8-9 is a great scripture that says we’re saved by grace through faith. And we walk out our relationship with God and His plans for our lives the same way we receive salvation: by grace through faith. This gift is only offered to us because Jesus made the perfect sacrifice for us when He gave His life, taking our guilt and condemnation and paying for our sins. Through a personal relationship with Jesus, we access God’s divine grace and rest so that we can do what He’s calling us to do. Augustine put it this way, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord; and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee.”

Alt Ctrl Del!! CPU users suppress these 3 keys at the same time to terminate an application task or to reboot the operating system (have it shut down and restart itself). Well, in the climate we’re in I believe that’s exactly what God is doing! This 🦠 virus has adversely impacted hundreds of lives and viciously hit all 11 of our stock market sectors: Materials, Industrials, Financials, Energy, Consumer discretionary, Information technology, Communication services, Real estate, Health Care, Consumer Staples, Utilities and don’t forget small businesses, jobs, and churches. I don’t know what your thoughts are, but I believe God hit the celestial alt ctrl del command buttons because quite as it’s kept, life as we knew it a month ago will be forever changed! The Holy Spirit is turning off the regular, routine, and mundane!! He is setting off a reset in our spirits. This reset starts with the heart of repentance and humility. Let all who have ears to hear, let them hear! “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (Matthew 11:15) The Lord is realigning our hearts and minds to the spirit of Truth! God will be stretching our faith during this pandemic crisis. In one way or another we will all be stretched and I’m not only referring to rationing common resources like toilet paper. We are going to be stretched to do things we’re not accustomed to doing. The Lord is making the Church uncomfortable so that she will truly be all that the Holy Spirit wants her to be for the new glory that is steadfastly approaching! As Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand,” (Matthew 12:13) I believe this is what the Lord is calling us to do today. Don’t miss this point of this passage of text. According to Jewish law this man was not supposed to be healed on the Sabbath but Jesus healed him anyway! Just before this man’s withered hand was restored in vv11-12 Jesus responded to the Pharisees who questioned Him regarding working on the sabbath; “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.” The Pharisees was too blind to see that Jesus was stretching their faith by re-calibrating the truth behind the meaning of the Sabbath’s day rest. Ok, look at it from this perspective; over time the weight of life causes us to be misaligned and inaccurate, so periodic resets or re-calibration are needed. You might be feeling like this is a season of loss, but it’s actually a season of gain. Don’t be blinded like the Pharisees! God is moving us back to our original position (who we were meant to be), a correct position (for more healing), and into a new setting (so that the life of God in us can be more easily seen). The Lord is resetting the apostolic and the prophetic to a divine tune-up; to be fully ready and prepared for what is to come.

CDC recommending hospital staff use bandanas when masks run out. Hospitals are asking the public to sew masks. Here is a physician responding:

Please don’t tell me that in the richest country in the world in the 21st century, I’m supposed to work in a fictionalized Soviet-era disaster zone and fashion my own face mask out of cloth because other Americans hoard supplies for personal use and so-called leaders sit around in meetings hearing themselves talk. I ran to a bedside the other day to intubate a crashing, likely COVID, patient. Two respiratory therapists and two nurses were already at the bedside. That’s 5 N95s masks, 5 gowns, 5 face shields and 10 gloves for one patient at one time. I saw probably 15-20 patients that shift, if we are going to start rationing supplies, what percentage should I wear precautions for?

Make no mistake, the CDC is loosening these guidelines because our country is not prepared. Loosening guidelines increases healthcare workers’ risk but the decision is done to allow us to keep working, not to keep us safe. It is done for the public benefit – so I can continue to work no matter the personal cost to me or my family (and my healthcare family). Sending healthcare workers to the front line asking them to cover their face with a bandana is akin to sending a soldier to the front line in a t-shirt and flip flops.

I don’t want talk. I don’t want assurances. I want action. I want boxes of N95s piling up, donated from the people who hoarded them. I want non-clinical administrators in the hospital lining up in the ER asking if they can stock shelves to make sure that when I need to rush into a room, the drawer of PPE equipment I open isn’t empty. I want them showing up in the ER asking “how can I help” instead of offering shallow “plans” conceived by someone who has spent far too long in an ivory tower and not long enough in the trenches. Maybe they should actually step foot in the trenches.

I want billion-dollar companies like 3M halting all production of any product that isn’t PPE to focus on PPE manufacturing. I want a company like Amazon, with its logistics mastery (it can drop a package to your door less than 24 hours after ordering it), halting its 2-day delivery of 12 reams of toilet paper to whoever is willing to pay the most in order to help get the available PPE supply distributed fast and efficiently in a manner that gets the necessary materials to my brothers and sisters in arms who need them.

I want Proctor and Gamble, and the makers of other soaps and detergents, stepping up too. We need detergent to clean scrubs, hospital linens and gowns. We need disinfecting wipes to clean desk and computer surfaces. What about plastics manufacturers? Plastic gowns aren’t some high-tech device, they are long shirts/smocks…made out of plastic. Get on it. Face shields are just clear plastic. Nitrile gloves? Yeah, they are pretty much just gloves…made from something that isn’t apparently Latex. Let’s go. Money talks in this country. Executive millionaires, why don’t you spend a few bucks to buy back some of these masks from the hoarders, and drop them off at the nearest hospital.

I love biotechnology and research but we need to divert viral culture media for COVID testing and research. We need biotechnology manufacturing ready and able to ramp up if and when treatments or vaccines are developed. Our Botox supply isn’t critical, but our antibiotic supply is. We need to be able to make more plastic ET tubes, not more silicon breast implants.

Let’s see all that. Then we can all talk about how we played our part in this fight. Netflix and chill is not enough while my family, friends and colleagues are out there fighting. Our country won two world wars because the entire country mobilized. We out-produced and we out-manufactured while our soldiers out-fought the enemy. We need to do that again because make no mistake, we are at war, healthcare workers are your soldiers, and the war has just begun.

Please share!

According to the Webster dictionary an enemy is a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another; an adversary or opponent. Ephesians 6:12 remind us, “ For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
With that said, COVID-19 is not the enemy rather, the enemy is Satan. John 10:10 confirms, “The thief’s [Satan] purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My [Jesus] purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” We are facing challenges today that are unprecedented and during these times of uncertainty and adversity, it’s important to remember that the darkest of night comes just before the dawn appears. The days ahead for our Nation are destined to shine brighter because God is faithful even when things are spinning out of control! Our mission, while we are sheltering-in- place and/or social distancing is to stay faithful, prayerful, and obedient to God’s word and like Job at the appointed time we will all receive double for our trouble (Job 42:10). We will see God’s promises manifest in spite of this worldwide pandemic! As we watch from the sidelines, our selfless healthcare professionals and first responders diligently work to combat the spread of this viscous virus and formulate a vaccine we shouldn’t stop declaring, proclaiming, and decreeing the power of God’s word over our nation, states, cities, and communities. God will do what He hears us say! Numbers 14:28 confirms, “So tell them, “As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say!!” You see; when we make positive declarations of faith, we are not denying horizontal facts, instead, we are confronting the facts with God’s vertical Word. So don’t think for one moment that God isn’t active in our current situation. What we need to do is continue declaring God’s words, morning and night, with supernatural confidence and authority. Victory, divine empowerment, and breakthrough has already being dispatched and released to each of us because one thing is certain God’s word will never return void (Isaiah 55:11) nor will He allow one syllable to fall to the ground!