Faith

Happy Friday Friends!

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

This morning I want to encourage you to pick one word that will inspire you to be your best this year. It is an intentional narrowing of your focus. Jon Gordon, who wrote a book about this concept with Dan Britton and Jimmy Page titled "One Word that Will Change Your Life," explains it this way:

"It's a fun practice and much more effective than New Year's resolutions. In our busy stress-filled world with tons of distractions, the research shows that 9 out of 10 people will fail with their resolutions. But one word sticks. No goals. No resolutions. Just one word that gives you meaning, mission, passion and purpose. One word that represents the essence of who we want to be.

You may not have any idea what your word is going to be this New Year. That's okay. I still don't have my word for 2016 yet. Give it some time. Dan and Jimmy say that instead of randomly picking a word they allow the word to choose them after reflection, prayer and listening to their heart. Your word will come."
[His reference to 2016 does not mean he is 3 years late! :) It simply dates when the article was written.]

And then he offers the helpful hints:

"To help you get started ask a few questions. What do you want to focus on this year? Or what's in the way? What do you need more or less of? What needs to change?"

So, what's YOUR one word? I want to encourage you to have one Friend. Reflect, pray, listen to your heart and then, once you have picked your word or your word has picked you, intentionally walk out the word, study it, pray about it and let it transform your life.

O.K., you can shut this down now and be done if you would like. This weeks Happy Friday challenge has been thrown down! :) For the rest of you, I am going to be completely transparent and share my one word...it is also a moment of accountability for me! :)

The word that picked me this year is "Faith." I am not talking about the noun - Merriam-Webster defines this as "belief and trust in and loyalty to God" - I am talking about the verb. To actually walk out, each and every moment of each and every day, my faith. I feel a conviction to have my life, every facet of it, reflect my belief and trust in God. I believe this will show up in my thoughts, my words, my actions - regardless of where or who I am with. Regardless of the situation or circumstances. Faith...

So, as I am 4 days into my year of Faith, I have been studying, reflecting and praying about what I have learned. Here are some things about Faith that I have studied and shared on Facebook and Twitter.

"What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead." - Hebrews 11:1

"Let your life reflect the faith you have in God. Fear nothing and pray about everything. Be strong, trust God's word, and trust the process." - Germany Kent

"To learn strong faith is to endure great trials. I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings." - George Mueller

"Faith is not believing in my own unshakable belief. Faith is believing an unshakable God when everything in me trembles and quakes." - Beth Moore

"Faith can move mountains. So why are you stumbling on a little rock?" - Jonathan Nettles

"Faith give you an inner strength and a sense of balance and perspective in life." - Gregory Peck

"Faith is not so much something we believe; faith is something we live." - Joseph B. Wirthlin

You get the point. Please know, your one word is not something you have to proclaim from the rooftops and you don't have to share it in a blog, on Facebook, on Twitter or anywhere else. I only did this to encourage you and to give you ideas, to empower you, to walk this out. Ultimately, this is simply something between you and God.

And I also feel convicted to share that I truly believe that the only way I will actually walk out Faith is by the strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. I know Kevin Haslam is to weak to do this on his own...I think that is why the Beth Moore quote above speaks so powerfully to me. Please don't be overwhelmed by your word...let it lead, guide and transform you. So Sweet Friend, what is your one word?

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