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 Sweet Home Alabama!
The Haslam family is so blessed! Our transition to Alabama, and all that involves, could not have gone better. To all those who have thought and prayed for us, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! God is so good, so amazing and we are so very blessed! :)
There are challenges with any change. One of the challenges I faced was nearly two weeks without internet access and thus, there was no Happy Friday last week. Sorry about that however we are ready to roll this morning! And y'all are in trouble as I got two weeks worth of stuff bottled up in my heart this morning! :)
A couple of weeks ago I read an article that was about the importance of sports in girls' lives. Being very fond of athletics, I eagerly read the article. While there is no doubt that athletics can play a critically important role in everyone's growth and development, this is not what stood out to me the most. The article - which I looked for last night and could not find...another challenge of moving! - featured the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. The article, successfully, tied her experiences as an athlete to her success in her career. Still, this is not what was most profound to me. You know what was? In the article, she talked at length about how her parents encouraged her and supported her in all of her endeavors. You could feel in the words on the page how their love, care and support gave her the winds to fly and become all she was capable of becoming.
So, if you have the honor & privilege of having someone call you "Mom" or "Dad" I simply want to remind you of the critically important role you play in those precious souls lives. Nobody can completely fill that role like you can. Yes, others can try to meet the need, however nobody can replace you! And I also want to remind us - all of us, me included! - that their journey's are not about me and you...it is about them and them becoming all that God created them to become! It as very profound in the article that the woman did not talk about her parents supporting her and encouraging her if she did and became what they wanted her to become. No, they simply supported and encouraged her in whatever endeavors she choose to undertake. That, I believe, is our role as parents. To love, care for, support and encourage the precious souls given to us as a gift from God as they find their purpose in life.
Not being able to find the article, and thus, unable to share any excerpts from it with you this morning, I want to share some quotes about parenthood that emphasize the critical, irreplaceable importance, of these honored roles!
"I had a father but I never had a Dad. Meaning my parents never married. He lived across town with his family. Up until I was eleven I thought having a Dad meant a man who came every month and left twenty bucks. My mother was my mother and father. I missed out. That haunted me all the way up to pro sports. Here was Bo Jackson, all-star baseball player, football player, top of the world in my profession. But I was envious of my teammates, because they'd fly in their Dad to have beers in the locker room after games. In all other aspects my teammates envied me for my athletic ability. But for a Dad I would have traded all that in. Just like that." - Bo Jackson
"If kids are always looking to their parents for approval, they're not competing and they're not having fun - they're working on pleasing their parents instead. I don't want my kids to please me. I want them to be themselves. Sitting in the stands and after the game, my job as a parent is to let my kids know that I believe in them no matter how they perform." - Joe Girardi
"Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation." - C. Everet Koop
"Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children." - Charles R. Swindoll
"Affirming words from moms and dads are like light switches. Speak a word of affirmation at the right moment in a child's life and it's like lighting up a whole roomful of possibilities." - Gary Smalley
"If I had my child to raise all over again, I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later. I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less. I would do less correcting and more connecting. I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes. I'd take more hikes and fly more kites. I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play. I would run through more fields, and gaze at more stars. I'd do more hugging and less tugging." - Diane Loomans
You wanna see pure terror and fear in the eyes of teens and twenty-somethings? Try living for nearly two weeks without the internet or TV! Oh, the horror! What are we going to do?!?! This is going to be so boring!!! You mean, we might actually have to talk to each other and spend time connecting with one another?!?! Oh, the horror!!! :)
When is the last time you sat on the front porch? The Haslam family has done this every day for the better part of two weeks now. We have sat for hours, just talking. We have met almost all of our neighbors, said hi to more complete strangers than I can count as they walked by and waved to even more people as they drove by. I genuinely look forward to that time every day! And the best part? Now the twenty-something and even the teenagers say, "Let's go sit out on the porch." That right there my Friends is what I call "Blessed!" :)
If you haven't sat out on the porch with your family and/or friends in a while, or perhaps ever, I want to encourage you to do so. No agenda...just spend time together. Don't worry about what you will say or do...you will figure it out. I promise you, you & they, will survive without the TV, internet, etc. and your relationships with them will thrive!
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
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