What Matters Most...

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 weeks Happy Friday is going to be a reminder, an opportunity to pause for a moment, to sit back and reflect, to perhaps reorder and reorganize the path we are walking. It came about during one of my morning readings earlier this week.

I want to start off by sharing an excerpt from The Seven Laws Of Love: Essential Principles For Building Stronger Relationships by Dave Willis. The excerpt can be found in Chapter 7 which is titled, Love Lives Forever.

"The lesson for all of us is to cherish our time. Even in the little, everyday routines of life, be fully present in the moments together. Be willing to turn off the phones and screens and distractions and make time for each other. At the end of your life looking back, your faith and your family will be all that matters, so please don't wait until then to make them your top priority. Your love will be the only part of your legacy that can last into eternity.

Make a deliberate decision right now to stop wasting time and start putting first things first. Give the very best of yourself to your loved ones, not the leftovers after you've given your best to everyone and everything else.

So many people wait until they're at the end of life before they discover what matters most. They enter into eternity having squandered their time on earth. That's a tragedy I want to help you avoid at all costs.

Life is short, but eternity is long. Make the most of every moment you have on earth.

'Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom' (Ps. 90:12 NIV)."

Anyone shifting in their seat? :) Yes, this morning I want to encourage us to take some time this weekend to really reflect and assess the lives we are living. Are we living out the priorities we profess to have? Or are we being driven by the demands of this world? We are shaping the quality, depth and breadth of our lives by the choices we make. As we look to the direction we are headed, let's make sure we are going to be at peace, grateful for the path we have walked, when we arrive.

I have to pause for a moment and drill down on one line in particular that absolutely convicts my spirit; "Give the very best of yourself to your loved ones, not the leftovers after you've given your best to everyone and everything else." I had heard this line before. Several years ago I was at a conference for Dads. They explained, and it made so much sense to me, that the breakdown in the family began with the industrial revolution. How? Up until that time, everyone worked on their farms and took care of their land. The times when we are at our best would be the times we are with our families. Now? We get up, rush out the door and the times of the day that we are at our very best are spent with our co-workers. When we come home, sometimes after dinner, we are tired, perhaps beaten by the challenges of the day, and before us are the people that matter most to us. And our spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical tanks are empty. Ever been there? Me too...too often.

Look, I can't tell you, or anyone else, what your priorities should be. Every one of us has to decide that on our own for each one of us has to live with the consequences of that decision. I simply want to encourage us to assess where we are, where we are headed and make sure we are willing to live, and die, with the consequences of those decisions.

I also want to share an excerpt from my Bible study this morning. I don't know if it is directly related however when I read it I felt convicted that it needed to be in this Happy Friday. The Bible study is titled The Last Arrow: Save Nothing For the Next Life. It is a 5-day reading plan and it is written by Erwin Raphael McManus. The excerpt comes from day 3 of the plan.

""The forms' heading read 'Proof of Life.' This was the first time in my life I was asked to prove I was alive. This caused me to reflect and ask myself, "What are the proofs of my life?" Is it the car I drive? My last name? My social security number? Could it be that those descriptions are not proof of life but simply proof of existence?

Most of us are not choosing between life and death; we are choosing between existence and death. We actually never choose to live. We are paralyzed by our fear of death and all its relatives such as failure, disappointment, and heartbreak and the fear leads us to trade life for existence.

Of this I am certain; whatever God has for you, whatever promises God longs to fulfill in your life, whatever riches may await you, you will only find them when you choose life over existence.

Regardless of your status or socio-economic background you must stop waiting for someone to make your life count. You must act. You need to act like your life depends on it. What choices you make in life, no matter how much you accomplish, one thing is certain - all our lives will end. The question still remains: will you choose to live or will you lie there until death takes you?"

We all have a choice...I pray we will intentionally choose to live fully alive, determining what matters most to us and giving ourselves tirelessly to our purposes.

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, please cherish your precious families and please stay healthy and well.

Kev

That's too heavy...

 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! Additionally, I sincerely hope you have had a great week - personally and professionally. One more opportunity is here! :)

Earlier this week my Beautiful Bride and I were talking with one of our Tender Warriors. As we talked he revealed that he has blamed himself for a career decision I made about 5 years ago. Tears streamed down his face, he was worn and he was beaten by something that he had told himself, perhaps hundreds of times, was his fault. My almost instantaneous response was, "Son, that is not your burden to bear." I then went on to explain that I have never regretted that decision and pointed out that God had, in fact, affirmed the decision years ago. You could almost physically see the weight of this burden being lifted off his shoulders.

I have thought about that exchange so many times this week. What burdens are you and I carrying that aren't ours to carry? 

As I was preparing for this Happy Friday I came across an article title, "What Burdens Are You Carrying?" It was written on November 19, 2018 by Women's Ministry and the full article can be found at womensministry.lifeway.com. I want to share an excerpt from the article with y'all this morning.

"Physical illustrations often mimic spiritual realities. Years ago, I heard a message reflecting on extra weight that we can accumulate and carry as we move through life. The visual focal point of the story was a backpack. The speaker carefully placed it on his back and began to walk across the stage. Stones of all sizes were located at various points along his path. As he moved from side to side, he stopped occasionally to pick up a stone, read aloud the word written on it, and place the stone in the bag. Moving from stone to stone, he repeated the process over and over. Eventually, he stood still, sighed, and mentioned the heaviness of the backpack.

Recently, this picture came to the forefront of my mind. The inscriptions on those stones were worries that we intentionally and sometimes even unintentionally collect long our journeys. Take a moment and peek into your backpack. What stones are you carrying? Maybe it's a concern for a loved one who needs Jesus, bad health, financial obligations, the success of your women's ministry, a dream or vision, unconfessed sin, broken relationships, the obligations of marriage, career, or motherhood. The list of potential burdens exceeds my ability to name them."

Pretty powerful, isn't it? 

I also want to share a brief testimony, something that I was reminded of as I have pondered the burdens we carry. My Dad and I did not have the relationship I wanted for most of my life. I tried hard to be the perfect son, to win his approval, to have him be proud of me. I had a vision in my mind of what a great father/son relationship would look like and I desperately wanted that...the vision. As I reflect, I realize that I was carrying the burden of expectation and it shaped everything I thought and did. And then, I remember the day so clearly that my spirit convicted me; just love your Dad for who he is. That conviction changed everything. From that moment I simply loved my Dad for who he was and I loved him with everything that was within me. There were times I would go over to his house, work in the yard for hours and we would not speak more than 10 words. I wasn't worried about what he said or did, I was simply loving him the best I could, the best he would allow me to, through my service to him. I had dropped the burden of expectation and it allowed us to develop a relationship and to enjoy many quality years together. What a blessing!

This morning as I was looking for quotes about burdens I came across this one:

"It is impossible to go as high as you are capable of going, if you are carrying the burden of hate, revenge and bitterness." - Zig Ziglar

I agree, 100%! I would however modify the quote slightly: "It is impossible to go as high as you are capable of going, if you are carrying the burden of [fill in the blank with whatever burdens you are carrying]."

I more fully understood the love God has for us the day I became a Dad. I can't tell you how many times God has used a situation that my boys and I have walked through together that He uses it to illustrate my relationship with Him. And, yes, it happened again! :) My immediate reaction when my son poured out his heart to me was, "Son, that is not your burden to carry." And my spirit convicts me; this is what God is saying to you and I, "Son/Daughter, that is not your burden to carry." Oh, Sweet Friends, please let this biblical truth wash over you.

Please, let's take a look in our backpacks and see what burdens we are carrying. Let's intentionally work to remove the stones of burden that we are needlessly carrying through this life. It's critically important, the fulfillment of our potential, the full manifestation of our purposes, depends on it. 

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

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious families and please stay healthy and well.

Kev

Do You Know?

 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 morning I want to share a couple of thought provoking questions from a sermon our Pastor, Steve Huskey, preached a couple of weeks ago. The sermon was titled, The Caves of Compromise.

Pastor Steve was talking about our imaginations and the impact they can have on our lives. You know, when we sit there and imagine if we had that job rather than this job, if I lived in that city rather than this city, if I was married to that person instead of this person...you get the point. When we start looking off in the distance instead of being fully present, and the very best we are capable of being, where we are. He noted that every direction has a destination...wherever we look will lead to somewhere, and then he threw out the first thought provoking question:

"Where are you heading in your heart?"

Ahh, the heart. The Bible teaches us to guard it for everything we do flows from it. We are told that man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. The heart...it determines everything!

So, where are you and I heading in our hearts? Are we longingly looking at some other job, city, person, purpose, etc.? Or are we looking, fully present in this moment, at our purpose and the people right before us that God has placed in our lives? 

Thought provoking, isn't it? I simply want to invite you to join me in making this a daily question we ask ourselves - "Where am I heading in my heart?" Please remember, whatever direction we choose, it does have a destination and we will eventually arrive there.

And, I think I found the second question even more challenging, at least for me. Pastor Steve then asked:

"If you had everything you desired, what would it look like?"

Have you every thought about that? In our world today we are always striving for....something! We are taught from a very young age that we have to do more, have the latest greatest, etc. And so, we often live lives of constantly striving - longingly looking - beyond our current blessings and circumstances. Instead of walking in our purposes, being fully present, becoming the best we are capable of becoming where we are currently planted and loving, caring for and serving those we are blessed to have in our lives, we want something more, something different. But what is it and what does it look like if you got it? 

When he asked that question, I reflected on my life and, I have to tell you, I found myself a little embarrassed about seasons of my life. There were times - a lot of them - where my family was healthy and happy, I had a beautiful home and more blessings than I could ever need or deserve, I had a great job, great friends and yet I could still find something to complain about, something I was longing for, and yet, I couldn't define it. As I type these words I think I was simply choosing to be discontent when I had every reason in the world to simply be at peace, grateful for the the life God has given me to live.

I really want to encourage us to spend some time this weekend really thinking through that question - If I had everything I desired, what would it look like? Let's invite the Holy Spirit to challenge us, to give us wisdom and to, perhaps, change our perspective. If we are going to strive, let us be clear about what we are striving for - and nobody can tell you whether you are striving for the right things or not...each of us must decide that on our own for it is ordering the life we live - and then let's make sure are lives are ordered accordingly.

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, please cherish your precious families and please stay healthy and well.

Kev

A Few Things to Consider

 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 week I simply want to share a few quotes, thoughts and ideas with you, let you think about them and do whatever you choose with them. You know, that is really the whole point behind "What Will Your Influence Be...?" It is the choices that we make in determining 1) what we will allow to be poured into our hearts, minds and spirits, which will influence our thoughts, attitudes and actions, and 2) how, and in what direction, we will influence others. That simple. 

So this morning I simply want to share some things I have come across in the past week that have caused me to pause, think and determine what I am going to do with them. I can choose to listen, learn and grow or I can choose to ignore it, go on doing my own thing and, either way, live with the outcomes of what I have chosen. And, we have to make those choices over and over again. Just had a conversation about that point this week; everyone is looking for the "silver bullet" in finding success in life, relationships, careers, etc. and the simple truth is, there is not a "silver bullet." Success, in any endeavor, is the result of intentional, consistent actions and efforts.

I hope you find some value and/or meaning in these. 

"In a world of advice, be an example." - Unknown

"Every day we have a choice. We can choose to be grateful and see the good in all that we have or we can let anger, fear, doubt, and insecurities rob us of our joy and the life we're meant to live. The choice is yours today." - Jon Gordon

"Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are." - Malcolm Forbes

"And too many overvalue what they do and undervalue who they are." - Jason McNeal

"HOW TO BE A BETTER PERSON

Before you speak. LISTEN

Before you pass judgement. CARE

Before you criticize. WAIT

Before you write. THINK

Before you quit. TRY" - Lolly Daskal

"Assume the good and doubt the bad." - Unknown

"Grow through what you go through." - Unknown

"The one who falls and gets up is so much stronger than the one who never fell." - Unknown

"10 ways to succeed with zero talent:

1. Be On Time
2. Show Up & Do the Work
3. Give Your Best
4. Be Positively Contagious
5. Have an Attitude of Gratitude
6. Seek Solutions
7. Have Passion
8. Be Coachable
9. Do More Than What's Required
10. Believe in Yourself

I have probably already given us too much so I will stop there! :) Please remember, none of us can do everything at once. Wisdom and experience tells me that if one thing above has spoken to your heart, intentionally choose to think about it and apply it to your life. There will be successful moments and failing ones, good days and bad days...that is not only o.k., it is normal. Guess what? God willing, a new opportunity will dawn again the next morning and we will again get to choose! :)

Sweet Friends, let's enjoy this beautiful life journey we have the honor and privilege of living! Let's be intentional and let's relentlessly pursue our callings and use whatever gifts and talents we have been given to love, care for and serve others! :)

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, please cherish you precious families and please stay healthy and well! 

Kev