A Critically Important Question...

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you having a great Friday and that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends. :)

This weeks Happy Friday is going to be short and sweet. And yet, the point behind it is incredibly significant with profound consequences. You see Friends, it is all about you, and me, and about each one of us becoming all that we were created to become! Profound indeed!

On Tuesday my work family and I had a workshop. It was a wonderful workshop that lasted about 4 hours. And at the end, there was this question, this critically important question...

"What are you doing every day to reach your potential?"

There are so many parts of that question that challenge and inspire me. I would like to share a few thoughts with you.

As our facilitator illustrated beautifully, each one of us is made up of four components: physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. Each one is important and you and I, individually, have great potential in each area. Each one of us is born undeveloped in each area and yet for each one of us there is potential in each area. No, our potentials are not the same. Some have higher capacities in one area while others of us have higher capacities in others. That however is not what this Happy Friday is about. No, this Happy Friday is about the potential that is in you, and me, and everyone else! That's what we want, what we need, to chase...and not worry about what anyone else is, or is not, doing.

Did you notice the 5th and 6th words? They say, "every day." There is no "off day" in this beautiful journey we call life! Yes, we get "holidays" and "vacations" - thank goodness!!! :) - but there is no "off day" in our pursuit of the greatness that is within us. Yes, it is true, I did not have to get up and go to work today however that doesn't mean I get the day off from pursuing my physical, mental, spiritual and/or emotional potential today! Every day is a day calling out to us to pursue our greatness! Every day is the opportunity to grow a little bit more into all we were created to become!

Why does any of this matter? Because YOU matter! I matter! Everyone matters! This world is far too full of folks not pursuing their potentials in multiple areas. This, in large part, is why we have many of the problems we have. If we aren't developing ourselves physically, mentally, spiritually and/or emotionally, we aren't going to be healthy and we aren't going to become all that we were created to become. Listen Sweet Friends, this world desperately needs the best version of you that you can develop. You are not a mistake, a failure or any of the other lies you may believe about yourself! You are fearfully and wonderfully made, created on purpose for a great purpose, and you lack nothing needed to fulfill your purpose. It is all there! You've been given it all as a gift! It is now, however, up to you as to what you do with it! I pray, I beg you, to please pursue your greatness! I have no idea where it will lead or what you will do. I simply know that this world desperately needs YOU!

So the challenge I will offer each of us, for every day for the rest of our earthly lives:

"What are you doing every day to reach your potential?"

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

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

Kev

A Few Things

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! :) This one right here is a going to be a great one!

On the spectrum of encourage, empower and equip, this Happy Friday is going to be about encouragement. I want to encourage you this morning, wherever you are. And I am not speaking of your physical location, I am talking about the condition of your heart.

Earlier this week I had a dear colleague rush into my office to tell me of a mistake that she had made. There was panic and brokenness. Tears filled her eyes. She was so upset and my heart immediately went out to her. And, it was a simple, rather insignificant, error. Have you ever been there? I know I have.

Friends, we are not called to be perfect. We are going to make mistakes. It is true that we are called to do the best we can at all times and in all situations however that does not mean perfection. You and I are human. We are going to make mistakes. We cannot live and die with each one...if so, I am going to do a whole lot of dying! :)

I just want to encourage you, and me, to do the very best we can in each and every situation. Sometimes the outcome will be what we want and sometimes it won't. All situations give us the opportunity to learn, grow and become the best we are capable of becoming. When mistakes are made, we would be wise to accept responsibility for them, look at what we can do to insure the mistake does not happen again and then go on. Just as the successes do not define us, neither do the failures. You and I, our purposes, are so much greater than a single event - and that is all that successes and failures are, they are events. On this beautiful journey called life, we are all going to make a lot of both. It is all a part of the finishing and perfecting of who we are, of what we are called to be.

I was also reminded this week of doing what we can do and not fighting for our weaknesses, what we cannot do. Have you ever noticed how often people talk about what they cannot do? Instead of doing the little bit of good they can do, they do nothing because they can't do more. It really doesn't make much sense, does it?

Here is what I believe based on the Bible which I choose to believe; you and I were created on purpose for a great purpose. We lack nothing! We were given the talents, gifts, abilities and passions we have to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. And a couple of real key points:

1. Every single life matters. God has never created an insignificant person. Everyone has something to teach the rest of us. Every single one of us has a great purpose in this life. 

2. Our purposes are all different. We don't have the same talents, gifts, abilities or purposes, thank God - literally! :) Can you imagine what this world would look like if we all had the same talents, gifts, abilities and purposes?! We would be really good at something however I have no idea what that would be! :)

Look Sweet Friends, instead of talking about what we can't do, let's simply do what we can. Whether it is time, talent or treasure, let's honor the calling on our lives by giving the best of it. Don't worry about what someone else is doing or not doing. As my Tender Warriors love to say, "Just do you!"

And finally, I want to encourage you to reflect on what you are using to fill your bucket. What are the things you are pouring into your heart, mind and spirit every day? We would be very wise to consider these things because, as Pastor Ken Whitten once said, "What is in the well always comes up in the bucket." We all want to meet the need when the need needs to be met. We all want to be great when our greatness is needed. However it is not our "wants" that will determine how we respond when we are needed. It is what we have intentionally poured into ourselves day after day that will be pulled up when the greatness that is within us is required.

I want to close with a scripture that sums this all up pretty well.

"Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done and won't need to compare himself with someone else. Each of us must bear some faults and burdens of his own. For none of us is perfect!" - Galatians 6: 4 - 5.

Be encouraged Friends! A glorious new day is here! We have never seen this one before! It is a blank canvas, completely untouched! You have the brush in your hand at this moment! You get to choose what this day will look like! You were created for this! Live your beautiful life to the best of your ability and create your masterpiece! The world needs you and all that you have to offer! :)

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

Fight the Fight

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this beautiful Sunday evening! Additionally, I sincerely hope you have had a wonderful weekend with your family, friends and those you are privileged to have in your life! :)

With this Happy Friday I want to invite you to join me in learning. We have just begun a new series at church titled, "Rivals." Our Pastor, Steve Huskey, has shared some God-inspired, thought provoking ideas the past two weeks that I simply want to share with you this evening. I am working through them - learning and growing. I thought that perhaps you would like to do the same.

Last week he shared a concept he called "position opposition." With this he stated, "we have things pushing us out of what God has for us." The reality is God has created you and I on purpose for a great purpose. We are perfectly equipped, lacking nothing. However there is also another reality; just as God wants you and I to have life and to live it abundantly, Satan is also real and he wishes nothing more than to kill, steal and destroy. For all that God wants for us, Satan equally opposes us. I think we know it intellectually, however do we really know it?

Here is the bottom line, and Pastor Steve's point; we are in a fight! Plain and simple. The problem is, most of us don't even realize it. We can't win a fight we don't even realize we are in. And yet, every single day, the battle rages. Will we rise up and fight? Intentionally?

And, in addition to the alarming wake-up call Pastor Steve provided, the 2 x 4 between the eyes for me was when he talked about our need to be aware of what is at stake in our fight. He gave a very poignant example of when a person fails in their fight. You see, your battles aren't just about you. The battles before us impact our families, our friends, our purposes, etc. The question is, will you and I fight for our families, fight for our marriages, fight for our purposes and fight to keep them? You and I don't have to fight, and many don't. Simply look at the alarming number of broken lives, destroyed marriages and failed purposes to prove the point. Whether you choose to fight the fight or not, just know, it is about so much more than just you. There are lives, literally hundreds as you play it all out, that are impacted by the decision you and I make.

And then this morning Pastor Steve introduced a concept he called "Intimidation Summation." He defined this as, "adding up challenges and backing down from our fight."
Ever been there? Yeah, me too. We look at all the problems or challenges in a situation and decide that these are stop signs. We back down. Fear has won. And in reality? It was probably Satan simply stepping up his game a little bit because we were right where we were supposed to be!

As we are going through this series we are looking at the story of David and Goliath. I tell you that because I want to tell you the purpose of the Goliath's in our lives. Golaith's purpose is to get you and I to back down because we can't win a fight we won't engage in. 

The problem for most of us is we are fighting from our inadequacies, our weaknesses and not from our faith. If you study David and Goliath you will find the David fought from faith, not in himself but in God. How about you and I? How different would the battles we face look different if we fought from faith, if we fought as though we could win?

And Pastor Steve had an excellent point; we are not just fighting against something, we are fighting for something. Whatever or whoever the opponent might be, you and I are fighting for our marriages, for our families, for our friends, and for our purposes! What is on the other side of the opposition? Pastor Steve didn't say it this way but I will; what is on the other side of backing away from the opposition?! There are consequences either way...

You know, nobody can tell anybody else how they should live their lives, what decisions they should make, whether or not they should fight the fight. I am simply grateful that I have been reminded that the fight is real and that it rages on all the time. I am grateful I am reminded that there is so much at stake. Yes, I get tired. Yes, I get discourage. And yes, I get up every morning, surrender this life to God, fervently seek His leadership in my life and then I fight my battles. I will do this with more intentional focus, with more purpose and with more energy. I pray He will continue to teach me and make me more aware. I pray he will give me the wisdom, courage and strength...I will surely need Him and them, 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 week and please cherish your precious families.

Kev

It's Not About Us

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! :)

Our church has been going through a series titled, "Sola Food." It is about the five Solas. I am going to let Chritianity.com explain the five Solas to you, and the specific Sola it is on my heart to share with you this morning.

In the article titled, The Five Solas - Point from the Past that Should Matter to You, Justin Holcomb writes:

"The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century changed Christianity forever. Roused to action by corruption and abuses they saw in the Roman Catholic church of the time, visionary pastors and leaders like Martin Luther and John Calvin spearheaded a movement that transformed Christianity and eventually led to the emergence of the Protestant denominations that exist today.

The Reformers were guided by the conviction that the church of their day had drifted away from the essential, original teachings of Christianity, especially in regard to what it was teaching people about salvation - how people can be forgiven of sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and receive eternal life with God. The Reformation sought to re-orient Christianity on the original message of Jesus and the early church."

He then, briefly, explained the five Solas.

"The Five Solas are:

1. Sola Scriptura ("Scripture Alone"): The Bible alone is our highest authority.

2. Sola Fide ("Faith Alone"): We are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ.

3. Sola Gratia ("Grace Alone"): We are saved by the grace of God alone.

4. Solus Christus ("Christ Alone"): Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Savior, and King.

5. Soli Deo Gloria ("to the glory of God alone"): We live for the glory of God alone."

And finally, I want to share with you what he said about the Sola it is on my heart to share with you about this morning.

"SOLI DEO GLORIA

Glory belongs to God alone. God's glory is the central motivation for salvation, not improving the lives of people - though that is a wonderful by product. God is not a means to an end - He is the means and the end.

The goal of all life is to give glory to God alone: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). As The Westminster Catechism says, the chief purpose of human life is "to glorify God and enjoy him forever.""

Our Associate Pastor, Adam Gooch, was preaching a sermon on Soli Deo Gloria. He broke Soli Deo Gloria down beautifully and shared what he called, "3 Truths of God's Glory." It was when he was speaking about what he identified as the 3rd truth - God called you for His glory - that my Spirit moved and this Happy Friday was born.

We all have talents, gifts and abilities. They are different. Some of us are skilled musicians while others are great athletes. Some have an aptitude for math while others are gifted in the sciences. The talents, gifts and abilities that we possess, and the degrees to which they are developed, are almost as infinite as the number of people walking this earth. The question is not whether you and I have talents, gifts and abilities but rather what are we doing with them and why.

Pastor Adam really got my attention when he said, "Not should I; why am I?" Have you ever been there? I know I have...a lot. Say you are a gifted baker and you love to make cakes. You are aware of someone who is struggling in life. You think to yourself, "Maybe I should bake them a cake." And then all the arguments in your mind start. What if they don't like it? What if they think I am weird? What if... And then slowly, far too often, we talk ourselves out of using the talents, gifts and abilities we have to love, care for and serve others. 

The question is not should I; why am I? Aren't questions like "what if they don't like it?" or "what if they think I am weird?" really questions about us? We are worried we will look stupid, foolish, we will fail, etc. But it isn't about us and it never will be. It is about using the influence God has given you through the talents, gifts and abilities he has placed inside of you to love, care for and serve others for His glory. Whatever those talents, gifts and abilities that you have, please don't ask whether or not you should use them - of course you should! The real question we should ask, and the heart check we should go through regularly, is why am I? Is it about lifting ourselves up, making ourselves look good? Or is it about glorifying God through what He is doing through you. I am reminded of the quote that says, "Your talents, gifts and abilities are God's gift to you. What you do with them is your gift to God."

Pastor Adam then asked the question, "What is the motivation of the heart?" If it is to pure-heartedly love, care for and serve others through the talents, gifts and abilities He has given you, by all means, move forward now. Don't worry about the outcome, God will take care of that. However, if the true desire of our heart is to glorify and honor ourselves, we would be wise to stop. It is not to our name be the glory, but to His name be the glory - alone!

A couple of other thoughts/ideas.

• Every one of us has talents, gifts and abilities. There are no insignificant people or purposes. We may choose not to pursue the greatness He has placed in us, however that does not mean they are not there. Please don't dishonor God and His word by saying you have no talents, gifts or abilities.
• When others recognize and compliment you on your talents, gifts and abilities, simply say "thank you." While you may have developed them, and I sincerely hope you do, they were given to you, you did nothing to earn them. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made, created on purpose for a great purpose, lacking nothing. We all, every last one of us. So let's not fake humility or try to take credit for a gift we have been given, let's simply say "thank you."
• And Pastor Adam shared this last, beautiful thought as he wrapped up his sermon; "When you are recognized, make sure God is in the spotlight of your life." It is then that we will truly be able to reflect the glory of God.

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

The Lucky Ones

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day on this glorious Sunday afternoon from my Sweet Home Alabama!

This week I want to put some tools in the toolbox of your marriage/relationship. I want to do this by sharing an excerpt from the book I am currently reading titled, Happily: 8 Commitments of Couples Who Laugh, Love & Last by Kevin A. Thompson. What I am sharing comes from the introduction. 

"We use lucky to describe a successful marriage because we often can't see the skills and abilities required to make a marriage work. We are a people focused on facades. We assume the outside of something fully defines the inside. We value the appearance of health more than health itself. When we see happy couples, we compare our marriage to theirs. We wrongly conclude they are happy because they have more money or a nicer home or a better-looking mate or a spouse who doesn't nag as much. We write simple conclusions to our complex problems and assume we are unhappy because we are unlucky. We think there isn't much we can do about it, so we long for something different while changing none of our own actions.

What if the lucky aren't so lucky? What if a successful marriage isn't about the forces of fate but the force of choice? What if we control far more of our relationship than we realize?

A good marriage looks like luck because there are few things on the outside that predict success in marriage. But inside a successful relationship, there are some hidden characteristics that lead to marital satisfaction. These are the secrets of the lucky ones:

1. They have right expectations of themselves and others. They don't overestimate their own ability. They know they are flawed and needy. They understand their partner is the same. In the midst of their mutual brokenness, they find meaning and value.

2. They confront the pain. They don't shy away from it or deny it. Instead, they grieve over the fact that they can't be everything they want to be. They name their imperfection and process through it.

3. They operate between apathy and aggression. They find the middle ground, avoiding passivity, which allows issues to grow, and evading aggression, which can blow something out of proportion. They are strong, vulnerable, realistic but not pessimistic.

4. They seek something higher than themselves. While their marriage brings a great deal of personal satisfaction, that isn't their ultimate goal. They pursue something bigger. This pursuit draws them out of themselves and into a greater purpose. It minimizes conflicts and accentuates commonalities.

5. They overflow with compassion. Empathy, understanding, and compassion are reciprocated between the two. They nourish their love for one another so that it impacts every aspect of their daily lives. They have a genuine warmth for each other and don't allow their feelings to grow cold.

6. They create a wholeness as individuals and as a couple. They know who they are. They do not feel divided or torn by individual desires or what is best for them together. Truth is allowed to freely flow without being used to intentionally injure the other. They don't live in perfection, but they so consistently handle their mistakes properly that nothing is allowed to fester. Their integrity drives out any possible hypocrisy.

7. They are continually in the process of making peace. They understand their differences and strive to be united in their diversity. They welcome problems as an opportunity to learn more about each other and to grow closer together. They don't have more or less conflict than others, but they handle it in a more productive way.

8. They learn to take a punch. They understand their commitment to one another will not be understood by others, by a culture that easily attacks commitment. They know marriage can be difficult, but they believe the struggle is worth it. They use both external and internal challenges as a way to strengthen their bond.

These practices aren't readily seen. It's rarely possible to look at a couple and know if they truly have compassion for each other or if they are humble in their understanding of themselves and marriage. But these unseen qualities define a relationship - and create the kind of marriages we all want.

The map toward a better marriage is often unseen, but even if it's found, it's often ignored. The connected dots don't match our expectation of what would make marriage better. It's a contrarian's map. Not only are these eight principles not obvious, but they are quickly rejected by the masses when clearly stated. A few of the ideas aren't just ignored; they are fought against."

I would highly recommend Happily to you. And, whether it is Kevin's book or something all together different, I want to strongly encourage you to be intentional about learning, growing and becoming all that you are capable of becoming within your marriage/relationship. One day is not enough. Most of the time is not enough. We must be intentional each and every day if we are to become all that we are created to become.

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 evening, a wonderful week and please, cherish your precious families!

Kev