Its Pretty Simple

 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! 😊

Last week I had the privilege of delivering a message and I stated in part, “My faith is critically important to me, and I truly believe I am to use whatever talents, gifts, abilities and resources I have to love, care for, and serve others. I am simply a vessel trying to be faithful. This is my foundation.” I truly believe that to the depths of my soul however I don’t think I had ever stated it publicly until then and it struck me in a profound way…

Please check out these scriptures…

Romans 12:6-8

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

1 Peter 4:10-11

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 4:14

Do not neglect the gift you have…

Matthew 5:14-16

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Colossians 3:23-24

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

1 Corinthians 10:31

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Pretty cool, right?! Seems God has a lot to say about the gifts and abilities we have and what we are to do with them. So, the question is, what are your doing with yours? Please remember, what we believe determines what we do…do you believe that your gifts, abilities, and resources are to be used to love, care for, and serve others? Or are they simply to serve you? I am not here to judge, just to enlighten. And if your spirit is convicting you, please remember that it is God that convicts, not man. And if it is condemnation you are feeling, that comes from Satan…reject that right now! Boy oh boy it is on this morning!!! 😊

So, what are your gifts and abilities? Have you ever really thought about it? What do you really enjoy doing? What are you really good at? How could you use those things to love, care for, and serve others? What I have seen and found is that these things often come so naturally to us that we never think of them as being a way to bless others. Think again, Friends!

I am going to share a few things I have found in my life…

1. A few years ago, our youngest Tender Warrior, Landry, wanted to make something for his mom for Christmas. We went to Home Depot and ended up buying him a Dremel. We had fun making his little gift. I had so much fun that I kept going back and messing around with that little Dremel. Pretty soon I found that I could carve things like hearts, crosses, scriptures, etc. I loved it and, at a minimum, you could at least tell what I was trying to make! 😊 This has turned into a little ministry for me. I use carvings to encourage, empower, and equip people as they are walking their life journey’s. Had no clue I could carve things and would never even have tried unless Landry wanted to make a gift…

2.     Several years ago, I was struck by something, I have no clue what the original message was, so I sent an email to a whole lot of people that I care about. And then I did it again the next week and the next and the next. Messages kept coming to me, people were telling me how much they enjoyed reading them every week, and so I kept writing and sending them. In 2011 I switched these to a blog – and I still send a whole bunch of people who request it an email – and that is how “Happy Friday” was born. 😊 Just sharing with people I care about what is on my heart…

3.     I figured out several years ago that I was placed on this earth to encourage, empower, and equip others to become the best they are capable of becoming…that is, I believe the significance of my existence. Whether it is a smile, a word of encouragement, a quote on twitter or Facebook, sitting with a friend in a moment of brokenness, helping any way I can…I am simply trying to honor my calling of encouraging, empowering, and equipping. It comes naturally to me – it is what I love to do, and my spirit convicts me if I don’t answer the call.

So that is it, the total of Kevin Haslam – I carve wood, write a blog, and encourage, empower, and equip others whenever I can. These are the gifts and abilities, the heart, that I was given. And as I stated at the beginning, I believe they are to be used to love, care for, and serve others…pretty simple!

I want to close by sharing a couple of quotes with you:

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” – Jackie Robinson

“A person really doesn’t become whole until he becomes a part of something that is bigger than himself.” – Jim Valvano

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