Encourage

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new opportunity begins to dawn on the Texas Gulf Coast! THIS is going to be a great day! :)

This "Happy Friday" is not going to be anything new or profound. This is going to be a gentle reminder, perhaps a reawakening of the soul, to rise to be all we were created to be.

Earlier this week I was reading my book, Mentor Leader, by Tony Dungy. He was talking about the things a leader needs to do and on the list was "encourage others." And in that moment I went, "oh, yeah." You see, we all know we should be doing it - it is right and true...more on that in a second - however in the busyness of life, the struggles of day to day living, etc. it is easy - so very easy - to let things fall off the plate. Hopefully, this morning, we will all have an, "oh, yeah" moment! :)

Two things that are critically important before encouraging you to encourage others:
1. Where are YOU getting your encouragement? What things are you reading, listening to, studying to find encouragement? "What's in the well always comes up in the bucket." You can't give what you do not have. If you are not encouraged, finding real, meaningful encouragement in your daily walk, you can want to be an encourager all you want however you will be like the car with no gas. I can sit in that car and want it to go however until there is gas in the tank I will simply sit there and wish.

2. We must be intentional. We can't wait until we feel like encouraging others to do so. We need to act our way into feeling. It is a choice - which again, is something we do intentionally. In fact, doing something or nothing is an intentional act. I pray we will all choose to be encouragers. Yes, this is counter-culture today, sadly. The thing is, you and I were not called to be like the rest of the world. We are called and we were created to be the best we are capable of becoming to lift up and serve others. Let us be encouragers!

So I am going to lay this out real simply. Instead of just giving you my opinion and hoping it speaks to your heart, I am going to share some scriptures with you and then some quotes. Ultimately, you will then have to choose the life you want to live.

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." - 1 Thessalonians 5:11

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." - Ephesians 2:9

"Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up." - Romans 15:2

"And we urge you brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all." 1 Thessalonians 5:14

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." - Galatians 6:2

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works" - Hebrews 10:24

"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." - Ephesians 4:31-31

"What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelations, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up." - 1 Corinthians 14:26

"So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding." - Romans 14:19

Please note what the Bible does not tell us to do - judge, criticize, tear down, etc. In fact, the Bible specifically speaks against each of these things. We are called, and created, to be encouragers! I pray we will honor this calling!

And some quotes to ponder...

"Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be." - Stephen R. Covey

"Instruction does much, but encouragement everything." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"One word of encouragement can be enough to spark someone's motivation to continue with a difficult challenge." - Roy T. Bennett

"The tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body; use yours to lift someone up today." - Terri Ann Armstrong

"God is never a God of discouragement. When you have a discouraging spirit or train of thought in your mind, you can be sure it is not from God. He sometimes brings pain to his children - conviction over sin, or repentance over fallenness, or challenges that scare us, or visions of his holiness that overwhelm us. But God never brings discouragement." - John Ortberg

"Encouragement is like water to the soul, it makes everything grow." - Chris Burkmenn

"When you encourage others, you boost their self-esteem, enhance their self-confidence, make them work harder, life their spirits and make them successful in their endeavors. Encouragement goes straight to the heart and is always available. Be an encourager. Always." - Roy Bennett

"How can you love people without encouraging them?" - Unknown

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.

Kev

Seek to Understand

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn on the Texas Gulf Coast! Early morning is soooo exciting...yes, seriously! :) We don't have to drag the failures, setbacks and challenges of our yesterday's into this day - actually, I would strongly advise against it! No, the dawning of a new day represents the dawning of the opportunity for new hope, new opportunity, the chance to do things differently...if only will choose to do so! :)

On Wednesday I was listening to Focus on the Family. Their guest was Dr. Ed Stetzer. Ed is the executive director at the Billy Graham Center and is also the dean of the School of Mission, Ministry and Leadership at Wheaton College. Additionally, he is the interim pastor of Moody Bible Church and is the co-host of the radio show, Break Point This Week. He was on Focus on the Family to talk about being a Christian in today's society, a society filled with hate, anger, and divisiveness. He has recently written a book titled, "Christians in the Age of Outrage."

I don't think I really have to make the case for us living in an age of outrage. If you have watched TV, looked at your cell phone or interacted with another human being, I am pretty sure you know that there is a lot of outrage in the world today. I am not here this morning to make a case for any cause, to talk about who is right or wrong, etc. What I want to share briefly, what I want to talk about, is what our influence will be in this world we live in. It is a choice - our influence - and we will have an influence, either for good or bad.

Before going on I feel I must point you back to my inspiration for writing this Happy Friday. You can go to www.focusonthefamily.com and you can listen to the broadcast I heard on Wednesday. Ed has some absolutely incredible thoughts and insights.

In listening to the broadcast and then going back and reading the transcript of it, I want to boil this all down to two key takeaways.

1. Ed was sharing a story about one of the issues he outlines in his book, a controversy that is still raging in our country today, and he said, "You know, we should listen to the comments. We should listen to the concerns that [he says the name of the person here which would immediately alert you to the specific controversy. I have edited it because I believe this statement applies to every situation, issue & person] raises. I think there are important things that are actually being discussed. We should listen to why people are responding this way."

Novel concept, right? We should listen and try to understand why people are saying/doing what they are saying and doing. What would happen if we actually did that?

There is so much yelling and screaming going on that nobody hears what anyone else is saying. Look, I am not the brightest bulb on the scoreboard, however I know that I don't know everything. In fact, my perspective is very limited in scope. I have the perspective of, well, me. That's it! Unless I am talking to someone who has walked the exact same path I have walked in this life, with the relationships, experiences, trials, victories, etc., then there is something I can learn from everyone. I can learn their perspective, seek to understand their wants, worries and concerns. But I can't do that if all I am doing is telling them what they are doing wrong, how they should be doing it, what they should be thinking, etc.

I fully realize that I can't make you or anyone else do anything...and honestly, I don't want to. I have simply decided in my heart & mind that I am going to focus on relationships, getting to know people, genuinely caring about them and seeking to understand their thoughts, feelings & concerns. I know I won't agree with everyone and heck, I might not even like everyone - trust me, I know everyone won't like me! This doesn't mean that I can't try to understand them, their thoughts, feelings & concerns. That, the desire to understand, is completely up to me. Perhaps you will join me in this commitment too! :) (Remember, new day - new opportunity!)

2. The 2nd thing I want to share is a scripture that they shared during the radio broadcast on Wednesday. In a world full of thoughts, feelings & opinions, I believe it is wise to go back to the great book of instruction, the Bible, to seek truth. The scripture I am going to share is 2 Timothy 2: 22 - 26. It says,

"Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will."

Just a couple of quick things that hit me:
- "pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace" - Please notice, it does not say to pursue being right, having your way or getting your point across.

- "Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels." - 'Nough said!!! :)

- "must be kind to everyone" - Didn't say to those who agree with you, belong to your political party, are like you, etc. We are called to be kind to everyone. Our kindness is our choice and has nothing to do with the other person.

You and I have a choice each and every day as to how we will live this life. We are going to go through it one way or the other. The thing that we must decide this and every day is "What Will Your Influence Be?"

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.

Kev

Lessons in Leadership

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn on the Texas Gulf Coast! :)

Please be praying for all of those impacted by Hurricane Michael...such an incredibly powerful storm! 

You know, there is ALWAYS someone to be praying for. Storms, of nature & of life, are happening all the time. It is an honor & privilege to come alongside others during their storms, to intercede in prayer on their behalf, to meet whatever needs you can for them and to just be there for them. It is also an honor & privilege when others come to meet you during your storms. The beauty, depth & meaning in this life journey is found in experiencing both! :)

This week I want to share some of the sermon from our church last weekend and then link it back to a couple of leadership lessons. It was an epiphany for me...

We started off by reading from Acts 9:

"Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on his name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in number." - Acts 9:19-31

Did you catch it? Saul was doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. He had found the Lord, he had a vision from Him and was working to fulfill the purpose God had for him. And the immediate outcome? In 11 verses people plot twice to kill him! Oh happy day! :) The reward however is much different and I will talk about that in a minute...

There is a really neat young man at my church who I have been meeting with for the last month or so. In our second meeting he asked me to think about things I wish someone had told me when I was younger, things I had learned, and to share them with him. Maybe it was because this thought/idea, of sharing things I wish I had known, was on my mind and clarity of what these things would be is something I have been praying for since he asked me but whatever the reason, there was a real epiphany for me when I heard this sermon. There are two things I wish I had known about leadership when I was younger, things I want to share with you this morning.

1. Leadership is not the absence of problems. When I was younger, I thought if I was doing a great job in leadership there would be no problems, everyone would be happy and that we would all just work great together...pollyanna stuff, right? :) In my younger mind, road blocks or obstacles were stop signs. If things got real difficult it was a great indication that this wasn't really the right place for me to be, it was time to move on. I wish I had known then what I know now...

In reading, listening and studying leadership, I have learned that all leaders get personally attacked and have problems. If you are going to be a leader or in a position of leadership these things are certain. This does not mean that you are a bad leader, that you are in the wrong situation or that it is time to move on. It simply means you are a leader! :)

There is a great quote by Elbert Hubbard that says, "To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." As our Pastor stated last Sunday, "the question is not if we will face challenges. The question is what we will do when we face them." At that moment we have two choices, we can run & avoid or we can lean in. As he went on to say, "God accomplishes His mission in our world not in spite of the challenges we face but through them." Did you catch that? It is through - going through, sticking it out - that God accomplishes His mission.

Ultimately each of us must decide to run & avoid or lean in. As Pastor Yancy said, "You can avoid the problems/challenges and not have to deal with the pain but you also then have to forfeit the blessings that come along with going through them." If you will go back and read verse 31 you will see, "Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in number." I am pretty sure that Saul would have preferred to not have people try to kill him! :) Regardless, he persevered, following God's calling & leading on his life which lead to peace, strength and increase.

I want to encourage all of us Friends, the next time you face challenges/problems, don't look at it as a stop sign but rather an invitation to something pretty remarkable! :) 

2. From a very young age I was thrust into leadership positions. The thing is, I didn't want to be the leader. I wanted to have someone above me who I could learn leadership from so when I did become a leader - here we go! :) - there would be no problems, everyone would be happy and everyone would work together. I have learned however that this is not how leadership works.

To learn to be a leader you need to lead. Oh yeah, you are going to make mistakes...plenty of them. Again, not stop signs but rather opportunities! You don't learn leadership in books, you learn leadership by living. Please don't hear what I am not saying; I do think reading and learning about leadership is not only good but the right thing to do - I have committed the last 25+ years of my life to it! The point I am trying to make however is we can read & study all we want...at some point we gotta get to living and put the things we learn into practice! :)

I will go back to something we talked about in last weeks Happy Friday; you stand where nobody else stands. You have influence that nobody else has in your spheres of influence. Don't wish you were not there, in that position, but fully embrace it - seeking the Lord, seeking the greatness that is within you, and seeking to service those you are privileged to do life with. You will continue to learn, grow & develop every day...and I promise you, it will be so worth it!

I came across a quote this morning that I want to share with you in closing:
"Every man of character will have that character questioned. Every man of honor and courage will be faced with unjust criticism, but never forget that unjust criticism has no impact whatsoever upon the truth. And the only sure way to avoid criticism is to nothing and be nothing." - Andy Andrews

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families! 

Kev

YOU Matter!

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you having a great day as a glorious new day has dawned on the Texas Gulf Coast!

What a day, what a life! UH had a home football game last night and improved to 4 - 1 with a win over Tulsa! The best part of the night for me? Sitting in the stands about 30 minutes to kick-off I was thinking about & missing my middle Tender Warrior, Gehrig. My Beautiful Bride, Landry & I were there to support Payton and his teammates however Gehrig couldn't come because he is away at school. I sent him a text that read, "I wish you were here Dude." He replied, "I am." Mind blown...I had no idea! You want to talk about a heart leaping?!?! And that hug when he finally got to our seats...the best! Yes, so very blessed! :)

This morning I want to share several excerpts from Tony Dungy's book, The Mentor Leader: Secrets To Building People And Teams That Win Consistently. When I read the excerpts I am going to share with you my spirit soared and I felt a combination of great inspiration and a call to action. Perhaps the same will happen for you Friend...

"Mentor leaders look for opportunities in life to make an impact, because those opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others will always be present. Don't worry about the size of your platform or whether you'll have one - you will. Instead, pay attention to the people around you and the opportunities in front of you, knowing that your chances to make a positive difference will come along in due time. If you pursue mentor leadership, God will ultimately use you for His good; and He is capable of accomplishing more than you ever thought possible. Focus on the impact you can have with the platform God gives you."

"You stand where no one else stands. Open your eyes and your heart and look for opportunities."

"We are surrounded by countless moments in which we can influence others. Ideally, our influence will be for good - but that depends on us. We will choose from day to day, or from situation to situation, what kind of influence you will be. That's the power we have to make a difference in the world around us."

"Understand that we all will leave a legacy. The only question is what kind of legacy we will leave - positive or negative. It's not a question we should put off until our last days on earth. It's something we must think about now, each and every day that we live.

Don't worry about your platform; focus on your impact. One way or another, you will have a platform. God will supply it. How you use the opportunities you're given to affect the world around you will determine the legacy you leave behind. It's up to you to use whatever platform you're given to be a positive influence in other people's lives."

"Every platform is important in God's eyes. Make the most of yours."

"You've been entrusted with a unique set of circumstances, relationships, and opportunities. No one else stand precisely where you do. Your day-to-day relationships elevate you to a singular position of importance in the lives of your family, friends, coworkers, teammates, and neighbors - the people all around you. They believe in you and derive value from your input. No one else can have the same impact in their lives."

"From our limited human perspective, we often esteem one opportunity more than another. But God doesn't see it that way. Every platform He sets before us has a purpose in His plan. Every platform creates a unique opportunity to change the world by changing people's lives."

"So, you never know when your example might be used to build into someone else's life."

"We all need to realize the platforms we have and take advantage of the mentoring opportunities they provide. It's easy to get wrapped up in our own busy lives, but there are opportunities all around us where we can make a difference in someone's life. We just need to look for them."

Please listen to me Sweet Friends; you matter! Your life matters! Please choose to focus on your abilities rather than you dis-abilities...we ALL have both, it is simply a matter of what we choose to focus on! You stand where nobody else stands! You are literally irreplaceable! I pray we will all determine in our minds to be the best we are capable of being, that we will focus on the people right in front of us and we will allow God to work through us in using the platforms He has given us. If you remember nothing else from this Happy Friday, please never forget, YOU matter! :)

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families!

Kev