I Refuse!

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as this glorious new opportunity begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! :)

I am so fired up for this Happy Friday! The heart is full, the conviction is strong! Let's go! (I wish someone else was awake in the Haslam household so I could high-five someone!) :)

Last Sunday our Pastor, Steve Huskey, preached Part 1 of a series that he has titled "No-vember." (I don't know if that is the way he spells it...it is the way I spell it!) :) I want to share a few of the notes that I took...

- We need to say no to our rights and yes to our responsibilities

- "If they could just see it..."

- We are so convinced that what we see is right

- Everybody has a different perspective - we all have different views

- Modern politics is driven by panic and fear

- Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger...anger leads to hate...hate leads to suffering

- First Passion, First Priority = Love God, Love People

- With God's help we can choose to love all people

- He read this scripture: As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy a the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

- Always be humble and gentle

- Be patient with each other making allowance for each others faults because of your love

- Starts in your heart = humble, gentle, and patient

- Be humble because your viewpoint is not the only one

- What I see is not all there is to see

- We need to be humble

- We need to be patient because we might be right

- What closes the gap of division is being gentle

- What unites us is not our political views but our people views

As I have thought and prayed about that message, asking God to search my heart, to make me the man He has created me to become, two words kept coming to my mind over and over - I Refuse! They are screaming at my from the depths of my soul, begging me to live a life worthy of the calling I have received! This morning I will make these declarations realizing fully, that as with any commitment, I will have to intentionally choose to make them again tomorrow, and then the next day, and then the next day, and so on until the moment I see Jesus face to face! And, if I have the privilege of seeing you face to face, or you have my phone number, please love me enough, care about me enough, to hold me accountable! :)

I refuse to hate anyone! We are all flawed, hurt and broken. Just because your brokenness might look different than my brokenness doesn't mean I am right and you are wrong or vice versa. It simply means we are both human.  

I refuse to judge another! Heck, I am having a hard enough time trying to figure out how I am supposed to be the Godly man, husband, father, leader and friend that God has called and created me to become. I don't mean to be selfish or anything but I really don't feel like I am an authority on how you are supposed to live your life!

I refuse to stereotype/generalize anyone or any group of people! There are good and bad people in every race, religion, political party, etc. I refuse to be so weak minded to label a whole group as good or bad. And I just have to say this; I really struggle with the "bad people" label...I hate labels! :) People are not good and bad...they are healing and broken. There is a difference. All of us are created for a purpose, some of us just choose not to live it. The last thing the broken need is for me to be labeling them as bad...they need love, not judgement and condemnation. I refuse to play this game! I have friends, people I love dearly, from every race, religion, sexual orientation, political party, occupation - including the currently unemployed, and from multiple states. 

I refuse to let my circumstances define the depth, breadth, or fullness of my life! I will set the temperature in every room I enter instead of just measuring it. The circumstances might not be what I want or wish they were however I have a choice as to how I respond to those circumstances. With God's mighty help I will be a light in every situation. 

I refuse to live a day without hope! Every day is the day the Lord has made and His mercies are new each morning. I will greet every morning with a hopeful, expectant heart. I will seek the Lord each morning, first thing, and I will live my life fully in the hope of his promises.

I refuse to be single-minded! I want to know what the friend of mine with a different viewpoint thinks. Maybe my friend is right and they are the very person God has sent to alter my perspective. If I am so busy telling my friend how wrong they are, shouting my viewpoint, how in the world am I every going to learn?

I refuse to not let might light shine! If I cross paths with another person, I will smile, be polite, courteous, and kind...I could care less what race, religion, sexual orientation, political party or occupation they are. They are a human being and my Bible tells me to love people. Simple as that and I absolutely refuse to keep any love I might have from anyone. We all need love, a smile, an encouraging word, a helping hand and as long as God let's me stay on this earth, I absolutely refuse to withhold whatever I have to give from anyone.

I refuse to live in fear! I will live a life filled with faith and hope. Oh yes, I need God mightily to live this one out but I refuse to live in fear. I don't care the situation or circumstance, God is still on the Throne and He will be with me just as He has been through every other storm of life I have faced until this point.

I refuse to not live up to all God has called me to be. He has put passions in my heart to love, care for, and serve others. I will exhaust every talent, gift, and ability I have within this body to encourage, empower and equip people to become the best they are capable of becoming - whoever they are and wherever they are!

O.k., a little fired up here this morning but I got a few more things I have to get out of this heart...

I was listening to the radio yesterday morning while working out. The host said something like, "It doesn't matter who is in the White House, they don't decide how we live in our communities. What we are as a community is up to us." I do believe this is true and I fully get the heart of what the host was saying. As I thought and prayed about his words, this little nugget of wisdom came to me...

Who do I, and you, have the most control or influence over? In fact, who is the only person you and I can control? Ourselves...that's it. And, many of us fail miserably in controlling ourselves! And yet, we spend hours yelling and screaming at each other, trying to control one another. Please think about that for a minute.... We can't control ourselves, at least most of us can't to the degree we wish we could, and yet we think we can, should and/or have the right to control another. I refuse to play that game! I am going to simply work tirelessly with God to become the man, husband, father, leader and friend He has called and created me to be. To this point that has kept me busier than I want to be for 53 years. If I can help you, please reach out and let me know...I will always help you any way I can. In the meantime, I am not going to try to control you as I am going to be very busy over here trying to get my rear-end under control!

I now want to put some tools in the toolbox for you...things for you to think and pray about. You can use them, or not, however you want. I simply refuse to keep for only myself quotes and scriptures that I have found helpful to me in my life.

"Nothing is easier than saying words, nothing is harder than living them day after day. What you decide today and commit to today, you must redecide and recommit to tomorrow and each day that stretches out before you." - Arthur Gordon

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22-23

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. - Proverbs 4:23

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. - Isaiah 41:10

This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24

When Mother Teresa received the Nobel Prize, she was asked, "What can we do to promote world peace?" She answered, "Go home and love your family."

"Let your light shine so bright that others can see their way out of the dark." - Uthpai Umesh

"We are all so desperate to be understood, we forget to be understanding." - Beau Taplin

"Your perspective is always limited by how much you know. Expand your knowledge and you will transform your mind." - Bruce H. Lipton

"No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind." - Unknown

"We are not responsible for the circumstances we are in, but we are responsible for the way we allow those circumstances to affect us; we can either allow them to get on top of us or we can allow them to transform us into what God wants us to be." - Oswald Chambers

"Sometimes being understanding is more important than being right. Sometimes we need not a brilliant mind that speaks but a patient heart that listens. Not a keen eye that always sees faults but open arms that accept. Not a finger that points out mistakes but a gentle hand that leads." - Pavithra Ram

"Recognizing my blindness is the first step toward regaining my sight." - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

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 well!

Kev