You Are Worth It

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my, soon to be, Sweet Home Alabama! Yes, my Beautiful Bride and I are in Alabama to visit with the amazing people God is giving us the honor & privilege to serve with and to find our new home! I am so excited, and blessed, to have this very special time with My Girl! :)

This morning I just want to encourage you in a few different areas.

The first piece of encouragement I want to offer was inspired by a conversation I had earlier this week with one of my current co-workers. She was telling me how she needs to find herself. How she spends so much time worrying about what other people will think of her. How she has no peace. How there is no passion in her life. Sound familiar? We have all been there and, perhaps, you are today.

Sweet Friends, may I please tell you, your life has great value, meaning and purpose. You were created on purpose for a purpose. And please know this, you are perfectly equipped for the purpose for which God created you. I pray you will discover, and then relentlessly pursue the rest of your earthly life, your purpose. I don't know what your purpose is - we all have different purposes - however I know that once you do discover & pursue it, the fire that burns inside of you will burn so brightly that everyone will feel, see & know it! :)

So, there a couple of things to unpack here, in what I consider to be unquestionable truth.
1. How do I know? Well Friends, quite simply I believe what my Bible says. You see, we all believe something. While I cannot tell you what to believe, I am convicted to testify to what I do. After much questioning, prayer, study and, quite honestly, trial & error, I decided I will believe in and put my faith and hope in God. The things I stated above are what He says about you and me in the Bible. So, quite simply, this is how I know.

But what if, like the sweet friend I told you about at the start, you don't believe in God or, as she said, you are "not spiritual." Honestly? At first, my heart broke for her. I honestly don't know how I would make it through this life without God. My faith in Him, my belief in his goodness, has carried me through so many days that I can't imagine going through this life without Him. So, not knowing what to say to her, I prayed for her and about her situation. And in that time I felt a conviction about what I would tell a person who does not believe in God or does not consider themselves spiritual...perhaps you. If so, I want you to know this; having had the privilege to serve others as a college football coach for 16 years and having served others as a development professional for more than 15 years, I have personally met with tens of thousands of people. In all that time I have never met a single person who was not gifted or talented at something, who didn't have some good in their character or who didn't have the ability to make a difference in the life of someone else. Not. One. Single. Person! And, while I do in fact believe you are very special, I don't believe you are so special that you are the only person walking the face of the earth without value, meaning & purpose! :) Ultimately, it is up to you to choose what you believe however you cannot make me change what I believe about YOU!

2. So why don't we just live out our purpose?
Great question! :) Sadly, many of us have been told by other people who we are, who we should be or the life we should live...and we believed them. We valued them more than we valued what we felt in our hearts or what we knew to be true about ourselves. 

At some point in our life, most of us had a passion for something. We found that not only were we good at it, we could spend hours working on it and it felt as only a moment had passed. I am reminded of little kids in kindergarten. Every single one of them thinks they are an artist. They are quite happy to draw and they think they are really good at it. And as we go to 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade, the number of artists steadily declines. People begin laughing at their drawings, telling them they are not good and, just like you & me, they believe them. And so they stop drawing... How good are you at things you don't regularly do? Yeah, me neither! :)

So Sweet Friend, I want to encourage you this morning. The rest of your life, starting with this glorious new day, is a blank canvas. You have the pen, pencil, crayon - whatever you want it to be! - in your hand. Starting today, please, create your masterpiece! Yes, the lines will probably be shaky at first...that's o.k.! Just keep doing it. Whether it is singing, writing, coloring, encouraging, baking, creating...whatever it is, please just keep doing it. Why? Because you are worth it and this world needs whatever it is you have to offer! :)

I also want to share with y'all something I read this morning and make it our challenge for this next week.

"While on earth, Jesus met the people right where they were. Depending on where He was, He adapted to their language and their culture. His purpose and message did not change, but His delivery and presentation sometimes did. He did whatever it took to reach the people. He walked for miles, sailed seas, had dinner - whatever it took. I am sure if it had been possible back then, He would have texted too." - Cheri Teeter

How about you & I? Are we willing to do whatever it takes to reach the people? This world is full of lost, hurting & broken people...including you & me! :) God created us for relationship. We all have a need to have people who love us unconditionally, to believe in us fully and we all need to be encouraged. Will we be those people? We can but it will take an intentional effort to do so. Not everyone will love us, believe in us or encourage us however who they are or what they do does not change who we are or prevent us from doing what we feel convicted to do! You and I get to choose! And, the last time I read the Bible, Jesus knows a thing or two about people not loving Him, believing in Him or encouraging Him! Let's be different, let's be like Jesus! :)

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

Consistency

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!

I came across a quote this week that has rapidly risen as one of my all time favorite quotes. It is profound to me and it inspires me. It holds great truth, I believe. Here it is...

"...the signature of excellence is relentless consistency." - John C. Maxwell

Why, at the beginning of every new year, do gyms require people to sign 30, 60 or 90-day contracts, perhaps a year, to join their gym? Have you ever been to a gym on January 2nd or 3rd? Packed! Absolutely packed! You can't get on certain exercise equipment, there are lines waiting for cardio machines. And then, by February 1st, you can freely move around the gym, do cartwheels between stations if you want...hardly anyone is there!!! :) Why? It's all tied together. We get all fired up around the Holidays, right after we have eaten and drank way more than we should have. We determine in our minds that things are going to change, we are going to get into shape. Gym's know this so they require a long-term commitment. We sign up, pay our money, go like crazy for a few weeks - the really committed might even make a month or two - and then? We quit going. This is how gyms make their money. They don't make their money on people who pay for their memberships and show up. They make their money off of people who pay for their memberships and then don't show up. If everyone who had a membership showed up, none of us would be able to work out! :) And what does this all come down to? Consistency. If we consistently worked out, we would get in shape...simple as that! And yet, a multi-billion dollar industry thrives on our lack of consistency. Let that sink in for a minute!

Now, let's get a little uncomfortable. The workout example is safe, perhaps humorous. What about our marriages? Go ahead, shift in your seat if you must. Are we consistently showing up? Remember when you were dating? You called him or her all the time. You thought about them all the time. You did anything you could do to be with them, to talk to them. You were consistent. And then, once vows were exchanged and life started happening, it got more difficult to be consistent. And then we wonder what has happened to the spark, the love, the marriage. I think most of us want great marriages but what we want and what we get are two separate things. The key is consistency which requires great commitment. 

If you have the honor & privilege of having some precious little soul call you Mom or Dad, how are you doing in your consistency there? That's what kids want - in reality, it's what we all want...someone who will love us unconditionally...consistently. I know it is not always the most convenient but are you showing up every day? For what is important to them? Can they count on you, consistently? There are no perfect parents but again, the signature of excellence is relentless consistency. Whether they say they want you there or not. Whether they talk to you or not. Whether they even acknowledge your presence or not. Keep showing up. Be consistent. Be someone they can count on...consistently!

Again, it goes back to what we want and what we are preparing to receive. You see it all the time in all facets of life. Everyone wants to win, to be the champion, to be the top sales person...whatever it is. Who is consistently doing the things they need to do to achieve these things. This is not hard to understand Friends! I will give you this...while it is not hard to understand, it can be very difficult to actually live. Now we are getting into the territory of another tough word, commitment. This is why it is so critically important for us to truly determine what our priorities are. You and I can't be and do everything. As hard as we might try, we are human and eventually we will run out of time and energy. So we must decide what our true priorities are, commit to honoring those priorities and then consistently walk out those commitments. And one other word of caution...honesty. Be honest. You see, a lot of us know the "Sunday School answers" or the "right answers" however we will always walk out what we truly believe. And when there is inconsistency between what we say and what we do - that's called a lack of integrity! - we leave a trail of brokenness behind us. Though the true answer to your priorities might not be what others want to hear, at least you will be walking in integrity by speaking the truth. 

A couple of other things are bouncing around in my head that I also want to share with you for you to consider - 1 is a quote and 1 is a scripture.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

"So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:9

Whether a quote or a biblical principal, the fact is the same; consistency is the key. And I get it Friends, life is hard. It's hard to get up every day with a recharged battery, ready to roll. This is why I have personally found I absolutely could not do it without God. I can't tell you the number of times I have gotten up without the strength or, honestly, the desire to be the godly man, husband, father, friend or leader that God has called and created me to become. And then, something absolutely beyond comprehension happens. I read my Bible and I pray. And I pray some more. I pray for God to be the Lord of my life. I beg Him to renew my heart, mind & spirit. I surrender my life, my marriage, my family, my friends and my works to Him. And suddenly, I have the faith, wisdom, strength, courage and conviction to be the godly man, husband, father, friend and leader He has called me to be...for that day! And guess what? I have to get up again the next day and do it all over again to have the faith, wisdom, strength, courage and conviction for THAT day. I have to be consistent! :) Y'all see what I did there, right?! :)

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

What A Man Does

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! :)

Last Friday I got to see the perfect picture of what a man, a real man, looks like. In a fallen, broken world that is so desperately trying to define what a man is and with millions of little boys running around trying to prove their manhood, a giant stood and demonstrated manhood without ever saying a word.

I was at a luncheon where several people were being honored. The time came for this man and his wife to be honored. The speaker eloquently spoke of all the wonderful things this couple had done. He then asked the man to come forward and be recognized. While I don't know for sure, I believe he excluded the woman because of the ravages of illness. You see, a neurodegenerative disorder has robbed her of many of her mental faculties. While her body is mostly able, she does not show expression, talk to others, etc. Mentally, she is no longer the sharp, vibrant woman she once was...neurodegenerative disorders are so cruel!

After being called to be recognized, with applause ringing throughout the room, this man rose from his chair and walked over to where he had placed his wife's walker along the wall. He brought it to her and loving helped her rise from her chair. He then escorted her to the front as the room became quiet. The whole thing took probably 3 -4 minutes and taught every single male in that room what a real man looks like, what a real man does.

At an event that evening, thankfully, I ran into this man who I had never spoken to before. I told him what a powerful example he had set for every person in the room at lunch that day. He thanked me for my words and then said, "I have been married to her for 67 years, I could not go up there without her." You see, when Ephesians 5: 25 - 26 said, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless," he took it seriously.

I am reminded of the story of the gentleman who went to a doctors appointment. He kept asking the nurses if he would be done by a certain time. The doctor asked him why he was so concerned about the time. He stated he had to go see his wife who was suffering from the advanced stages of Alzheimer disease. The doctor said, "Why are you so concerned? She doesn't even know who you are any more." The man replied, "She might not know who I am but I still know who she is." A real man! :)

I absolutely love the country song, Drunk Girl by Chris Janson. I have had every one of my boys listen to the lyrics of this song and if you have the privilege of being a parent to a boy, I would encourage you to do the same. There is this one line that always speaks to my heart. It says, "Pick up her life she threw on the floor." Think about that for a moment, Friends. How many times have we seen people throw their lives on the floor? Poor choices, the storms of life, crippling circumstances. It doesn't matter the cause...most of us have been there, when we throw our lives on the floor. What do you and I do then? Do we stomp on it? Kick them while they are down? I will tell you what a man does, a man picks up the life they threw on the floor. We all need someone to pick us up sometimes!

And a lyric that is sung throughout the song? "That's how she knows the difference between a boy and a man." I pray I will be half the man the gentleman I told you about is. He preached a sermon last Friday,without saying a word, that I will not forget the rest of my life.

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

Teachable

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 morning I want to add a few tools to our toolboxes. Some are perhaps a perspective shift or, dare I say, an attitude adjustment, while others are tangible tools. Regardless, I hope you are as blessed by these tools as I have been this week thinking about, studying and applying them.

I am currently reading Leader Shift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace, by John C. Maxwell. I have no idea how that book jumped into my bag during my last business trip! :) (The truth is, I bought it however I am trying to stay out of trouble with my Beautiful Bride...shhhhh!)

Earlier this week I read a section about having a teachable spirit. When I went to search quotes about having a teachable spirit, I as amazed at how almost every single one of them spoke of humility. Without a humble heart, a humble spirit, it is nearly impossible to have a teachable spirit. As I once asked someone I love deeply, "If you already know everything, how do you learn anything?"

In my life I have found that we can literally learn something from everyone. The key however is to truly value people and have a willingness to learn. If I look down upon people, if I don't see value, meaning & purpose in their lives, I have not positioned myself to learn. If I always have to be the smartest person in the room - when you see these people you will know it! - I have left no space to learn. And both tie back to that word...humility! :)

I want to first share an excerpt from Leader Shift and a few tools to develop a teachable spirit.

"Growth begins with having a teachable spirit. What does that entail? It means having a passion to learn, possessing the intention to learn every day, reflecting on what you learn so that you know how to apply it. It's a bit like gardening. A garden doesn't spring to life on its own. It requires planning, hard work, and the right environment. A gardener must do the work: prepare the soil, plant the seeds, water the plants, then feed, mulch, and weed. It's an intentional process, and it must occur every day."

Let's be great gardeners! Let's be intentional! And, let's do it every day! :)

John then offers ideas on how to cultivate a growth environment and maintain a teachable spirit.

• I MAKE GROWTH MY NUMBER-ONE PRIORITY. I am conscious of my need to learn 24/7 because a day without growth is not a good day for me.
• I LOOK FOR GROWTH POSSIBILITIES IN EVERY SITUATION. No matter what I'm doing, whether succeeding or failing, opportunities to grow are there. The question is, do I see it and take advantage of it?
• I ASK QUESTIONS THAT WILL HELP ME GROW. Growth doesn't find me. I must find it. The fastest way to find out what I don't know is to ask questions. The best way to dig deeper and learn more is to ask questions. Are you getting the picture?
• I FILE WHAT I HAVE LEARNED. People forget a lot of what they learn. If they want to recall it, they can't. Or they can't find it. When I find articles of value, I clip them and put them in folders by subject. When I find quotes I like, I add them to index cards filed by topic. I file what I learn so that I can always regain access to it quickly.
• I PASS WHAT I LEARN ON TO OTHERS. Sharing something I learn reinforces growth and prompts me to make it my own. It also allows me to help others.

I hope those tools are helpful to you. Please remember, we must be intentional and we must do it every day! :)

After learning something, I like to go first to scripture and see what the Bible has to say. Here are a few scriptures for you:

"Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored." - Proverbs 13:18

"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning." - Proverbs 9:9

"Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice." - Ecclesiastes 4:13

"Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future." - Proverbs 19:20

And this was in my Bible reading this morning...

"He replied, 'Yes, but even more blessed are all who hear the Word of God and put it into practice.'" - Luke 11:28

And then finally, after studying scripture, I like to look for quotes...things that will make me think about the topic and perhaps shift, or enhance, my perspective. Here are a few for you:

"Be willing to be a beginner every single morning." - Meister Eckhart

"Just be silent, humble and teachable. If you ever think you know it all, that is the beginning of your troubles." - Israelmore Ayivor

"Discipline and diligence are up there on the list, but one of the most important qualities of many really successful people is humility. If you have a degree of humility about you, you have the ability to take advice, to be coachable, teachable. A humble person never stops learning." - Todd Blackledge

"To be humble is to be teachable." - Richard G. Scott

"Be teachable. That is the whole secret." - Vernon Howard

So, my dear Sweet Friends, if you already know everything, how are you going to learn anything? I pray that we will all have humble, teachable spirits and that we will intentionally strive to learn every day! :)

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