Happy Friday Friends!
I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great new day as a glorious new opportunity begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! :)
This week I came across a video of a high school Homecoming. The Homecoming Queen, Trinity Arrington, is crowned and she immediately walks over and gives the crown to her friend, Emily Petty, who has Downs Syndrome. The video goes on to show these two Texas teens sitting together, holding hands. Trinity talks about how Emily is her Queen every day and Emily, smiling with every ounce of her body says, "I love her every day." It is absolutely beautiful! :)
And it got me to thinking a lot this week; am I, do we, share our crowns? No, I am not talking about our crowns as Homecoming Kings or Queens, I am talking about our crowns of life. Most, if not all, of us have them. The blessings we have...do we share them?
I came across a saying a couple of weeks ago that said, "Do you pray to be blessed or to be a blessing?" That will challenge ya! We all want, hope & dream of being successful...however we define that. I am not encouraging any of us to be dishonest and say we don't hope & pray for success. :) And I don't think there is anything necessarily wrong with that. I do think there is great wisdom in carefully determining how we will define success, what we are chasing. But what I am talking about, and what God is much more interested in, is the heart behind the pursuit. Is it so I can be blessed or is it so I can be a blessing? The heart behind the pursuit means everything.
And that is the whole point of this Happy Friday; what are you and I doing with the crowns, the blessings, we achieve? Are they simply for us, to make us more comfortable, to build our egos, to fulfill our desires, etc. or do we take these blessings and use them to bless others? You know, Trinity did not become less of a Homecoming Queen because she shared her crown with Emily...in fact, I would argue she became a great Queen in the moment she gave her crown away!
So what are the crowns that you and I have that we can share with others? What are the doors we can open for others through our affluence and/or influence? What platforms can we share with others? What experiences can we share with others that they would not be able to experience on their own? We all have them...are we praying to be blessed or to be a blessing?
Please Sweet Friends, take a moment first to be genuinely grateful for every talent, gift, ability and blessing you have been given. And then look for opportunities to share whatever it is you have to give to love, care for and serve others. Not only will you be blessing the person you are sharing your crowns with, you will also find that you are doubly blessed. It is funny, we are wired to be selfish. We fight so hard to fill the voids in our hearts. Trying to gather enough [fill in the blank] to "make us feel good." And we find that, in fact, what really makes us feel good at a heart level is when we give away our crowns, when we share our blessings.
Now, a whole lot of people will think I am absolutely crazy, and I am fine with that. I totally get that the concept of sharing our crowns is completely counter-culture. And while I can't change the culture or the world, I can change 2 lives at a time - mine and whoever I choose to share a crown with. And so can you! This is my hope & prayer for all of us on this beautiful, blessed Friday...that we would seek to be a blessing, that we would share our crowns.
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
Friday, October 25, 2019
Friday, October 18, 2019
We Were Made To Be Courageous
Happy Friday Friends!
I hope & trust this post finds you having a great day as a glorious new opportunity begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! I am so excited for this day! As the great theologian and inspirational speaker, Pooh, once said, "I have never seen this one before!" :)
Someone who I love dearly, who means the world to me, is currently dealing with fear. Ever been there? Have you ever felt so much fear that you felt paralyzed? You were afraid to move, try something or perhaps so filled with fear that it was difficult to even get out of bed and face the day. Me too! You see, we all feel fear. I don't think we were created to not feel fear, it can be healthy and protect us from danger. We were, however, created to be courageous when the fear is unhealthy.
I am a product of the 80's which means I grew up with "No Fear" and "Just Do It." When I was a kid, and well into adulthood, I thought that I shouldn't feel fear. As a matter of fact, a number of years ago I wrote a Happy Friday about not being fearful. I have a dear friend, a great man who had served this country as one of our elite fighter pilots in the Air Force, who sent me an email after that Happy Friday. He gently rebuked me, pointing out that we all in fact experience fear but that the truly great one's among us do what we must do anyways, they exhibit great courage.
This morning my hope is to put some tools in your toolbox of life. To educate ourselves about fear and courage and to provide you with some excerpts from lessons taught about being courageous.
Merriam-Webster.com defines courage as, "mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty."
The very definition tells us that danger, fear and difficulty are elements of courage. It is not the absence of these things that make us courageous, it is going on in spite of them that makes us courageous. We were not made to be without fear, danger is very real and life is difficult. But Sweet Friends, you and I were made to be courageous.
In studying, I found an article posted on August 23, 2012 on psychologytoday.com titled, "The Six Attributes of Courage." I would like to share some excerpts with you. All of the information shared below, including the quotes, comes from this article.
Attribute #1
Feeling Fear Yet Choosing to Act
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." - Nelson Mandela
"Being terrified but going ahead and doing what must be done - that's courage. The one who feels no fear is a fool, and the one who lets fear rule him is a coward." - Piers Anthony
Attribute #2
Following Your Heart
"Passion is what drives us crazy, what makes us do extraordinary things, to discover, to challenge ourselves. Passion is and should always be the heart of courage." - Midori Komatsu
"To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself." - Soren Kierkegaard
Attribute #3
Persevering in the Face of Adversity
"When we are afraid, we ought not to occupy ourselves with endeavoring to prove that there is no danger, but in strengthening ourselves to go on in spite of the danger." - Mark Rutherford
"Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them." - Orison Swett Marden
Attribute #4
Standing Up For What Is Right
"Sometimes standing against evil is more important than defeating it. The greatest heroes stand because it is right to do so, not because they believe they will walk away with their lives. Such selfless courage is a victory in itself." - N.D. Wilson
"From caring comes courage." - Lao Tzu
Attribute #5
Expanding Your Horizons; Letting Go of the Familiar
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." - Lord Chesterfield
"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anais Nin
Attribute #6
Facing Suffering With Dignity or Faith
"The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances." - Aristotle
"A man of courage is also full of faith." - Marcus Tullius Cicero
And then I found this post titled, "10 Elements of Courage," at franksonnenbergonline.com. It was written on September 15, 2015.
10 Elements of Courage
People with courage possess ten shared characteristics. They should remain as guideposts in your journey through life:
SELF-CONFIDENCE. Courageous people believe in themselves. They know who they are and what they stand for.
CONVICTION. You always know where courageous people stand. They're passionate about their beliefs and values and have consistent and predictable behavior.
INTEGRITY. Courageous people know the difference between right and wrong. They don't just talk about honor, they live it every day - backing their words with their actions.
LEADERSHIP. Courageous people aren't deterred by adversity or afraid of what people may think of them.
COMPASSION. Courageous people put other people's needs ahead of their own.
OBJECTIVITY. Courageous people believe that people are willing to make tough decisions if the options are presented to them in an open, honest, and objective manner.
STRENGTH IN ADVERSITY. Courageous people aren't afraid of swimming against the tide or challenging the status quo. They stare adversity in the eye - running toward the problem rather than from it.
CHANGE MASTERS. Courageous people step outside their comfort zone to meet the challenges that lie ahead.
EMBRACE THE UNKNOWN. Courageous people follow their intuition. If information required to make a good decision isn't available, they follow their instincts.
ACTION. Courageous people put their money where their mouth is. They know that it's not enough to talk about doing something - instead, they act.
And finally, I want to share excerpts from an article titled, "4 Ironic Characteristics Of Courage." It was posted on blog.np.church and it was written by Jones Bob on April 5, 2018.
4 Ironic Characteristics Of Courage
1. Courage is not something that you already have that makes you brave when tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you've been through tough times.
2. Courage is not being fearless; courage is feeling afraid but facing your fear. Courage comes from acting in spite of your fear.
3. Courage doesn't always roar. Courage is choosing to forgive. Courage is coping with a disability. Courage is being vulnerable, asking for help, or admitting when you feel lost or hurt. Courage is freeing ourselves from the pressure of keeping up appearances.
4. Courage must be renewed. Yesterday's courage won't be enough for today's challenges. Courage must be re-learned and re-earned with each new adversity. That's the nature of courage. So don't be surprised by returning feelings of fear. They need to be faced again and again.
Look Sweet Friends, whoever you are and wherever you are, fear is normal. We all experience it. You and I were not made to not feel fear. We were however made to be courageous. My hope & prayer for every one of us is that we will courageously live this blessed 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
I hope & trust this post finds you having a great day as a glorious new opportunity begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! I am so excited for this day! As the great theologian and inspirational speaker, Pooh, once said, "I have never seen this one before!" :)
Someone who I love dearly, who means the world to me, is currently dealing with fear. Ever been there? Have you ever felt so much fear that you felt paralyzed? You were afraid to move, try something or perhaps so filled with fear that it was difficult to even get out of bed and face the day. Me too! You see, we all feel fear. I don't think we were created to not feel fear, it can be healthy and protect us from danger. We were, however, created to be courageous when the fear is unhealthy.
I am a product of the 80's which means I grew up with "No Fear" and "Just Do It." When I was a kid, and well into adulthood, I thought that I shouldn't feel fear. As a matter of fact, a number of years ago I wrote a Happy Friday about not being fearful. I have a dear friend, a great man who had served this country as one of our elite fighter pilots in the Air Force, who sent me an email after that Happy Friday. He gently rebuked me, pointing out that we all in fact experience fear but that the truly great one's among us do what we must do anyways, they exhibit great courage.
This morning my hope is to put some tools in your toolbox of life. To educate ourselves about fear and courage and to provide you with some excerpts from lessons taught about being courageous.
Merriam-Webster.com defines courage as, "mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty."
The very definition tells us that danger, fear and difficulty are elements of courage. It is not the absence of these things that make us courageous, it is going on in spite of them that makes us courageous. We were not made to be without fear, danger is very real and life is difficult. But Sweet Friends, you and I were made to be courageous.
In studying, I found an article posted on August 23, 2012 on psychologytoday.com titled, "The Six Attributes of Courage." I would like to share some excerpts with you. All of the information shared below, including the quotes, comes from this article.
Attribute #1
Feeling Fear Yet Choosing to Act
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." - Nelson Mandela
"Being terrified but going ahead and doing what must be done - that's courage. The one who feels no fear is a fool, and the one who lets fear rule him is a coward." - Piers Anthony
Attribute #2
Following Your Heart
"Passion is what drives us crazy, what makes us do extraordinary things, to discover, to challenge ourselves. Passion is and should always be the heart of courage." - Midori Komatsu
"To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself." - Soren Kierkegaard
Attribute #3
Persevering in the Face of Adversity
"When we are afraid, we ought not to occupy ourselves with endeavoring to prove that there is no danger, but in strengthening ourselves to go on in spite of the danger." - Mark Rutherford
"Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them." - Orison Swett Marden
Attribute #4
Standing Up For What Is Right
"Sometimes standing against evil is more important than defeating it. The greatest heroes stand because it is right to do so, not because they believe they will walk away with their lives. Such selfless courage is a victory in itself." - N.D. Wilson
"From caring comes courage." - Lao Tzu
Attribute #5
Expanding Your Horizons; Letting Go of the Familiar
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." - Lord Chesterfield
"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anais Nin
Attribute #6
Facing Suffering With Dignity or Faith
"The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances." - Aristotle
"A man of courage is also full of faith." - Marcus Tullius Cicero
And then I found this post titled, "10 Elements of Courage," at franksonnenbergonline.com. It was written on September 15, 2015.
10 Elements of Courage
People with courage possess ten shared characteristics. They should remain as guideposts in your journey through life:
SELF-CONFIDENCE. Courageous people believe in themselves. They know who they are and what they stand for.
CONVICTION. You always know where courageous people stand. They're passionate about their beliefs and values and have consistent and predictable behavior.
INTEGRITY. Courageous people know the difference between right and wrong. They don't just talk about honor, they live it every day - backing their words with their actions.
LEADERSHIP. Courageous people aren't deterred by adversity or afraid of what people may think of them.
COMPASSION. Courageous people put other people's needs ahead of their own.
OBJECTIVITY. Courageous people believe that people are willing to make tough decisions if the options are presented to them in an open, honest, and objective manner.
STRENGTH IN ADVERSITY. Courageous people aren't afraid of swimming against the tide or challenging the status quo. They stare adversity in the eye - running toward the problem rather than from it.
CHANGE MASTERS. Courageous people step outside their comfort zone to meet the challenges that lie ahead.
EMBRACE THE UNKNOWN. Courageous people follow their intuition. If information required to make a good decision isn't available, they follow their instincts.
ACTION. Courageous people put their money where their mouth is. They know that it's not enough to talk about doing something - instead, they act.
And finally, I want to share excerpts from an article titled, "4 Ironic Characteristics Of Courage." It was posted on blog.np.church and it was written by Jones Bob on April 5, 2018.
4 Ironic Characteristics Of Courage
1. Courage is not something that you already have that makes you brave when tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you've been through tough times.
2. Courage is not being fearless; courage is feeling afraid but facing your fear. Courage comes from acting in spite of your fear.
3. Courage doesn't always roar. Courage is choosing to forgive. Courage is coping with a disability. Courage is being vulnerable, asking for help, or admitting when you feel lost or hurt. Courage is freeing ourselves from the pressure of keeping up appearances.
4. Courage must be renewed. Yesterday's courage won't be enough for today's challenges. Courage must be re-learned and re-earned with each new adversity. That's the nature of courage. So don't be surprised by returning feelings of fear. They need to be faced again and again.
Look Sweet Friends, whoever you are and wherever you are, fear is normal. We all experience it. You and I were not made to not feel fear. We were however made to be courageous. My hope & prayer for every one of us is that we will courageously live this blessed 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
Friday, October 11, 2019
The Blessed Life of A Dad
Happy Friday Friends!
I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day on this glorious day from my Sweet Home Alabama!
I absolutely love being a Dad. Next to being the husband to my Beautiful Bride, it is the greatest honor & privilege I have. My life completely changed when my first son was born, it was profound. In that moment, when he took his first breath, I stood in awe of him and his Mom. Today, 23 years after that initial moment of awe, I am still awed by her and I am awed by the 3 Tender Warriors I am blessed to have call me "Dad."
It's funny, each one of my boys has taught me so much more than I could ever teach them and they bless me more than I could ever explain to you. And it is not anything that they say or do, I am truly touched by their presence. I just genuinely enjoy being with them...
So two weeks I had one of "those" days. It was, as I explained to my boss when we talked on the phone as I drove home, "a Monday on a Friday." I was hurrying home to get a quick workout in, shower and head to a work event. As I was changing, telling Kath all about my crazy day, I heard Landry call out, "Mom." It was a panicked voice. I really thought he was seriously injured. I know I had not heard that voice before. I ran toward his room. As I rounded the corner I see Landry with a terrified look on his face, his hands buried in the bathroom sink and I hear this constant hissing sound...of a spray paint can! He is covered in white paint, as is the counter in the bathroom, the mirror, the wood floors in the hallway, the wood floors in his bedroom, the comforter....
Did I mention that we just moved into our brand new house about 7 weeks ago? If you are chuckling right now...STOP IT! And if your mouth is agape...EXACTLY! So needless to say, Kath & I were not real happy in this moment. And if you are wondering what in the world he was doing with a spray paint can in our house - did I mention it is brand new?!?! - well, that is a great question!
In this moment of shock, having had a tough day and needing to be out the door in about 45 minutes, I called a real brief family meeting. I explained that emotions were high for everyone, that nothing we would say to each other in this moment would be beneficial and that we would talk about it later. I then went out for a walk. Please know, I know to the depths of my soul that it was the countless hours of Bible study, prayer and asking God every single day to lead me that created that moment.
As I was on my walk, replaying over and over everything that had just happened, I had a deep conviction in my Spirit. You see, after the moment had passed when I had seen the look of terror on Landry's face, as I tried to get the lid on the paint can, I looked over my shoulder at my boy and I saw a look of complete brokenness. His spirit was broken. He knew he had screwed up big time. He knows the house is new and, of course, he did not mean to do what he had done. He had damaged something that was important to his Mom & Dad and if he could, he would take it all back. Ever been there? Yeah, me too. So as I was walking I had this deep conviction in my spirit to call him and tell him I love him, so I did. When he answered the phone I could hear him trying to hold back the tears. I could hear the brokenness. I said, "Landry, yes I am upset about what happened but what I need you to know more than anything else in this moment is that I love you. You are far more important to me than any house. We will do whatever we have to do to fix it, don't worry about that. Please just know, I love you more than anything else." And that was it. We all survived that night and made the very best we could out of it...in fact, before the evening was over, we laughed about it. And by the way, we are so very blessed beyond measure! Because our house is brand new, we called our builder who put us in touch with the painter. The painter came over and was able to clean every last drop of paint off.
A Few Thoughts:
1. Friends, we all screw up. We all do things we wish we would have not done and would take back in a moment if we could. I pray we will all thoughtfully think through our words and actions when moments come when something goes wrong. As I told my Beautiful Bride as we were talking through this, I don't know if we can get the paint off or if we will have to replace everything however I do know that the words we speak to this boy at this moment can break his spirit for a lifetime. Please, your relationships are so much more valuable than your possessions...please honor them.
2. And along those lines, did you catch the last seven words of my story above? "Clean every last drop of paint off." If I had not told you this story and you came to my home, you would have no clue that this had happened. There are no marks. Now, if my wife and I had not been careful with our words - and please remember that the first reaction was to choose silence - there could be scars in the deepest recesses of the soul of this boy. You wouldn't see those either, on the outside. How many people walk around with scars from mistakes that happened 1 day ago, 1 year ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago...? Still beating themselves up, afraid to make a mistake, simply being alive trying not to get in trouble. How many relationships have been fractured, irreparably so, because of words in those moments? How many families have been destroyed? Oh Sweet Friends, I know it is not easy, trust me I know! But I am here to testify, with God's leading, guiding and direction, you can do it! I pray you will.
3. And I really need you to hear this part. As I was telling the story to a young colleague who has young kids about what had happened he made some comment about how impressed he was by how I responded. And when he said that all I could think of was all of the times I had failed miserably as a Dad, responding nothing like I did with the paint. I can't tell you the number of times I have sat in my living room just waiting for the boys to wake up so I could hug 'em, tell 'em Dad had screwed up and begging their forgiveness. So I told my young colleague, I had screwed this up so many times, this is how I learned to respond the way I responded. I am the farthest thing from perfect you will probably ever find, and I am completely fine with that. I know I need God and prayer. And while I know I am not perfect, I also know that I am fully committed to each of these boys and will be until the day I draw my final breath. I will never stop fighting for my relationship with each one of them, striving to be the Dad they need me to be. I will tell them when I screw up, I will ask for their forgiveness and then I will work to change. So, wherever you are on your journey I just want to encourage you to keep showing up, EVERY DAY! They don't need perfect, they simply need you to be there and to love them.
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
I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day on this glorious day from my Sweet Home Alabama!
I absolutely love being a Dad. Next to being the husband to my Beautiful Bride, it is the greatest honor & privilege I have. My life completely changed when my first son was born, it was profound. In that moment, when he took his first breath, I stood in awe of him and his Mom. Today, 23 years after that initial moment of awe, I am still awed by her and I am awed by the 3 Tender Warriors I am blessed to have call me "Dad."
It's funny, each one of my boys has taught me so much more than I could ever teach them and they bless me more than I could ever explain to you. And it is not anything that they say or do, I am truly touched by their presence. I just genuinely enjoy being with them...
So two weeks I had one of "those" days. It was, as I explained to my boss when we talked on the phone as I drove home, "a Monday on a Friday." I was hurrying home to get a quick workout in, shower and head to a work event. As I was changing, telling Kath all about my crazy day, I heard Landry call out, "Mom." It was a panicked voice. I really thought he was seriously injured. I know I had not heard that voice before. I ran toward his room. As I rounded the corner I see Landry with a terrified look on his face, his hands buried in the bathroom sink and I hear this constant hissing sound...of a spray paint can! He is covered in white paint, as is the counter in the bathroom, the mirror, the wood floors in the hallway, the wood floors in his bedroom, the comforter....
Did I mention that we just moved into our brand new house about 7 weeks ago? If you are chuckling right now...STOP IT! And if your mouth is agape...EXACTLY! So needless to say, Kath & I were not real happy in this moment. And if you are wondering what in the world he was doing with a spray paint can in our house - did I mention it is brand new?!?! - well, that is a great question!
In this moment of shock, having had a tough day and needing to be out the door in about 45 minutes, I called a real brief family meeting. I explained that emotions were high for everyone, that nothing we would say to each other in this moment would be beneficial and that we would talk about it later. I then went out for a walk. Please know, I know to the depths of my soul that it was the countless hours of Bible study, prayer and asking God every single day to lead me that created that moment.
As I was on my walk, replaying over and over everything that had just happened, I had a deep conviction in my Spirit. You see, after the moment had passed when I had seen the look of terror on Landry's face, as I tried to get the lid on the paint can, I looked over my shoulder at my boy and I saw a look of complete brokenness. His spirit was broken. He knew he had screwed up big time. He knows the house is new and, of course, he did not mean to do what he had done. He had damaged something that was important to his Mom & Dad and if he could, he would take it all back. Ever been there? Yeah, me too. So as I was walking I had this deep conviction in my spirit to call him and tell him I love him, so I did. When he answered the phone I could hear him trying to hold back the tears. I could hear the brokenness. I said, "Landry, yes I am upset about what happened but what I need you to know more than anything else in this moment is that I love you. You are far more important to me than any house. We will do whatever we have to do to fix it, don't worry about that. Please just know, I love you more than anything else." And that was it. We all survived that night and made the very best we could out of it...in fact, before the evening was over, we laughed about it. And by the way, we are so very blessed beyond measure! Because our house is brand new, we called our builder who put us in touch with the painter. The painter came over and was able to clean every last drop of paint off.
A Few Thoughts:
1. Friends, we all screw up. We all do things we wish we would have not done and would take back in a moment if we could. I pray we will all thoughtfully think through our words and actions when moments come when something goes wrong. As I told my Beautiful Bride as we were talking through this, I don't know if we can get the paint off or if we will have to replace everything however I do know that the words we speak to this boy at this moment can break his spirit for a lifetime. Please, your relationships are so much more valuable than your possessions...please honor them.
2. And along those lines, did you catch the last seven words of my story above? "Clean every last drop of paint off." If I had not told you this story and you came to my home, you would have no clue that this had happened. There are no marks. Now, if my wife and I had not been careful with our words - and please remember that the first reaction was to choose silence - there could be scars in the deepest recesses of the soul of this boy. You wouldn't see those either, on the outside. How many people walk around with scars from mistakes that happened 1 day ago, 1 year ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago...? Still beating themselves up, afraid to make a mistake, simply being alive trying not to get in trouble. How many relationships have been fractured, irreparably so, because of words in those moments? How many families have been destroyed? Oh Sweet Friends, I know it is not easy, trust me I know! But I am here to testify, with God's leading, guiding and direction, you can do it! I pray you will.
3. And I really need you to hear this part. As I was telling the story to a young colleague who has young kids about what had happened he made some comment about how impressed he was by how I responded. And when he said that all I could think of was all of the times I had failed miserably as a Dad, responding nothing like I did with the paint. I can't tell you the number of times I have sat in my living room just waiting for the boys to wake up so I could hug 'em, tell 'em Dad had screwed up and begging their forgiveness. So I told my young colleague, I had screwed this up so many times, this is how I learned to respond the way I responded. I am the farthest thing from perfect you will probably ever find, and I am completely fine with that. I know I need God and prayer. And while I know I am not perfect, I also know that I am fully committed to each of these boys and will be until the day I draw my final breath. I will never stop fighting for my relationship with each one of them, striving to be the Dad they need me to be. I will tell them when I screw up, I will ask for their forgiveness and then I will work to change. So, wherever you are on your journey I just want to encourage you to keep showing up, EVERY DAY! They don't need perfect, they simply need you to be there and to love them.
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
Friday, October 4, 2019
What's Your Story?
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!
What is your story? We all have one...and every one of them matters. There are stories of great triumph and great struggles, in every life. Our stories do not define who we are however they give us the opportunity to discover who we are. There are countless tests that we all take - some are lessons of success and some are lessons of failure. There are lessons of love and there are lessons of hate. There are lessons of great offense and there are lessons of great forgiveness. The thing about these tests is that they are not in our lives to define us but rather to refine us. Sadly, some are stuck in the tests of yesterday, a week ago, a year ago, and for some, many years ago.
In terms of defining who you are, God did that a long time ago. He says you are fearfully and wonderfully made, created on purpose for a great purpose for which you are perfectly equipped, lacking nothing. That is who you are, the Son or Daughter of God that He created you to be. You are not your job, your relationships with others, your successes or your failures. Those are simply opportunities to grow, develop and become all that God created you to become.
Please Sweet Friends, don't let either your successes or failures to define. Please learn lessons from these great opportunities. There is a lesson in each day, if only we will be willing to learn. Instead of gloating over our successes or insistently beating ourselves up over our failures, let's simply look at each as the opportunity to learn, to grow and to become all that we were created to become.
And, as a guy who beats himself up pretty good when he feels he has fallen short, let me provide a friendly reminder; it is our tests that give us our testimonies. Our greatest purposes to influence this world for good are often born out of our own struggles, challenges and problems. Don't put on a mask and try to hide the scar. Don't continue to beat yourself up over the thing that happened yesterday - no matter how long ago that is! I promise you, the lessons you have learned, the steps you have taken to overcome whatever fault or failure you experienced - provided you have learned and grown from it - will be used to encourage, empower and equip others who are currently experiencing the same thing you have already survived.
Which leads me to my next thing; what are you doing with the platforms you have been given? Have you ever really thought about it? The very first person you see this morning is an opportunity; you will begin influencing them the moment you see each other. Are you using that to lift up, to encourage? Are you valuing them? Are you encouraging, empowering and/or equipping them? And this repeats itself over and over again throughout the day with every single person you interact with this, and every, day. I read a quote once that said something like, "We leave a little bit of ourselves with every single person we interact with." Think about it, what are you leaving? Are you a stepping stone or a stumbling block?
Please know, your family, your friends, you work and every other thing you do, is a platform. You and I will broadcast a message...this is not a question. The only thing we have to decide, we will decide, is what that message will be. If we are still stuck in one of our seasons of life, we may find it hard to be an intentional, positive influence. However, if we have learned and grown from our stories, we will find within us the wisdom, strength and courage to encourage, empower and equip others to thrive on their journey's as well.
Life truly is a great blessing. You and I get to live this new day. As I type this at 4:30 a.m., there have been no successes or failures. Today is a blank canvas, waiting for me to paint. You and I hold this big brush of life in our hands. There is a vast array of colors we can use to paint on this canvas. Wisdom tells us to order our thoughts, determine in our minds that this is going to be a great day, regardless of the circumstances, that we have all we need to thrive through this day and that we will seek the good in every person and every situation/circumstance. The painting of the canvas begins the moment we open our eyes, when we begin taking steps to live out this life. It truly is an honor & privilege. I pray we will all intentionally choose to use it for good.
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
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!
What is your story? We all have one...and every one of them matters. There are stories of great triumph and great struggles, in every life. Our stories do not define who we are however they give us the opportunity to discover who we are. There are countless tests that we all take - some are lessons of success and some are lessons of failure. There are lessons of love and there are lessons of hate. There are lessons of great offense and there are lessons of great forgiveness. The thing about these tests is that they are not in our lives to define us but rather to refine us. Sadly, some are stuck in the tests of yesterday, a week ago, a year ago, and for some, many years ago.
In terms of defining who you are, God did that a long time ago. He says you are fearfully and wonderfully made, created on purpose for a great purpose for which you are perfectly equipped, lacking nothing. That is who you are, the Son or Daughter of God that He created you to be. You are not your job, your relationships with others, your successes or your failures. Those are simply opportunities to grow, develop and become all that God created you to become.
Please Sweet Friends, don't let either your successes or failures to define. Please learn lessons from these great opportunities. There is a lesson in each day, if only we will be willing to learn. Instead of gloating over our successes or insistently beating ourselves up over our failures, let's simply look at each as the opportunity to learn, to grow and to become all that we were created to become.
And, as a guy who beats himself up pretty good when he feels he has fallen short, let me provide a friendly reminder; it is our tests that give us our testimonies. Our greatest purposes to influence this world for good are often born out of our own struggles, challenges and problems. Don't put on a mask and try to hide the scar. Don't continue to beat yourself up over the thing that happened yesterday - no matter how long ago that is! I promise you, the lessons you have learned, the steps you have taken to overcome whatever fault or failure you experienced - provided you have learned and grown from it - will be used to encourage, empower and equip others who are currently experiencing the same thing you have already survived.
Which leads me to my next thing; what are you doing with the platforms you have been given? Have you ever really thought about it? The very first person you see this morning is an opportunity; you will begin influencing them the moment you see each other. Are you using that to lift up, to encourage? Are you valuing them? Are you encouraging, empowering and/or equipping them? And this repeats itself over and over again throughout the day with every single person you interact with this, and every, day. I read a quote once that said something like, "We leave a little bit of ourselves with every single person we interact with." Think about it, what are you leaving? Are you a stepping stone or a stumbling block?
Please know, your family, your friends, you work and every other thing you do, is a platform. You and I will broadcast a message...this is not a question. The only thing we have to decide, we will decide, is what that message will be. If we are still stuck in one of our seasons of life, we may find it hard to be an intentional, positive influence. However, if we have learned and grown from our stories, we will find within us the wisdom, strength and courage to encourage, empower and equip others to thrive on their journey's as well.
Life truly is a great blessing. You and I get to live this new day. As I type this at 4:30 a.m., there have been no successes or failures. Today is a blank canvas, waiting for me to paint. You and I hold this big brush of life in our hands. There is a vast array of colors we can use to paint on this canvas. Wisdom tells us to order our thoughts, determine in our minds that this is going to be a great day, regardless of the circumstances, that we have all we need to thrive through this day and that we will seek the good in every person and every situation/circumstance. The painting of the canvas begins the moment we open our eyes, when we begin taking steps to live out this life. It truly is an honor & privilege. I pray we will all intentionally choose to use it for good.
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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