Sharing My Heart

 

Happy Friday, and Happy New Year, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day has arrived in my Sweet Home Alabama! 😊

This morning, on this New Years Eve morning, I want to briefly just pour out my heart. As you hopefully spend this day with family and friends, reflecting on the year that was and look forward with hopeful expectation to the year to come, I hope these words speak to your heart.

You matter and your life has great value, meaning, and purpose.

You, the person reading this right now, matter! You were created for a purpose! You are unique, a one-of-a-kind, 100% original. Please, Friend, accept who you are and relentlessly pursue all that you were created to become. Yes, you have scars…we all do! This simply proves that you have lived. Neither your successes nor your failures define you…they were simply moments in time. Please continue to wake up every day, determined to live that day to its fullest. And then make the same decision the next day, and then the next, and then the next… You matter, the things you do matter, and this world desperately needs what only you can give…the greatest version of you! 😊

Keep showing up.

There will be days in the coming year that things will go your way and there will be days that they don’t…keep showing up! Each new day is a new opportunity – a blank canvas! Regardless of what the previous day brought, please wake up every day, determine in your mind to live that day intentionally, and then strive to learn, grow, and become all that you are capable of becoming in that day! Don’t look to the next day, you don’t yet have the strength to live that day! Just simply live, intentionally, fully present in each moment, each day! 😊

The greatest work any of us will do is in our own homes.

We say it, it looks cute on signs, but do we really live it?! I really want to encourage each one of us to love, care for, and serve those in our own homes first. We are all broken, we all have faults, and none of us where we eventually want to be…that is the beauty of this journey we call life. If you are blessed to have a spouse/partner in your life, if you have the unspeakable honor & privilege of having someone call you “Mom” or “Dad”, please love, value, cherish, and adore them with everything you have within you. They are not a part of your life by accident and yes Sweet Friend, you are the perfect spouse/partner, and/or parent, for them…don’t question it! Please keep showing up and never stop loving them! There are sure to be good and bad days, keep showing up and keep loving! Please keep fighting FOR them and your relationship WITH them! Look for the greatness and goodness in them and call it out! Please don’t quit! The work you do within your own home will touch generations and will reverberate through eternity! 😊

What Will Your Influence Be…?

We all will choose, every day, the rest of our lives…please choose wisely, one day at a time! The things you read, watch, and listen to are influencing your heart, mind, and spirit; the things you say and do are influencing the people who interact – directly or indirectly – with you! My hope for all of us is that we will be intentional and that we will choose positive, encouraging, and life-giving! What we choose will impact the depth and breadth of the lives we live and, yes, the choices we make will impact eternity! You are a pretty big deal and the life you live matters, greatly! 😊

And of course, I want to close with a few quotes… 😊

“You will not always be motivated, so you must learn to be disciplined.” – Unknown 

“What will the new year bring us? 365 opportunities.” – Unknown 

“If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” – Mother Teresa

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, Happy New Year, and please stay well! 😊

Kev

I See You!

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! What an exciting day this is…it is magical if only we will have the hearts to feel it! 😊

Last week I had the privilege of serving as a Salvation Army Bell Ringer! I want to encourage you, if you ever get the chance to serve as a Bell Ringer, please take it. If your experience is anything like mine, it will bless you beyond measure! 😊

From the moment I got there I made up my mind that I was going to greet literally every single person that walked past me, refusing to ignore even one. Everyone received either a “Good morning, Ma’am” or a “Good morning, Sir” and a smile. That simple. And in the two hours I stood there ringing that bell, I had exactly one person that did not reply.

Now, let me tell you what I found. I saw all kinds of different people. Some were old and some were young. Some looked excited and cheerful while others looked like they were having a very bad day. Some had on really nice clothes, and some had worn and tattered clothes. Some had a countenance that was peaceful while others looked as though they were carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. Regardless, each one received a cheerful “Good morning” and a smile to go with it. And you know what I got in return? 99% of the time it was a “Good morning” and a beautiful smile. Not surprisingly, those who looked the most discouraged lit up and offered the most beautiful smiles when they heard my voice and saw my smile. It is really not hard, Friends…😊

As I left, my spirit soaring, I reflected on the blessings I had seen and received. I couldn’t help but think back to the story I had heard, and I believe I shared in a previous Happy Friday, about the struggles of being homeless. A homeless person had stated that the hardest part of being homeless is not being without food or shelter, in wearing tattered clothes or having no place to shower. No, the homeless person stated that the toughest part of being homeless is being invisible. So often people will not look at homeless people when they walk by…they simply look away hoping the homeless person does not talk to them. And yet all they want, all that any of us want, is to be seen. To know that somebody sees us and that we matter. And that is literally all I did as I stood in front of the Wal-Mart, ringing the bell…I saw them. No matter their race, religion, political affiliation, job status, title, etc. I saw them as a person, and therefore someone incredibly valuable, and worthy of a friendly greeting. Again, not hard…😊

And as affirmation that I was supposed to write this message for this Happy Friday, I was listening to Kurt Warner, the Hall of Fame Quarterback and subject of the movie “American Underdog”, on the Ed Mylett Show podcast yesterday while working out. Kurt was explaining that he and his wife have a rule for their children when going out to eat. Their kids are required to look the server in the eye when ordering. And how do they know if they did or not? They have to tell Kurt and his wife the color of the servers’ eyes. I smiled. Such a simple idea, and meaningful habit, that screams, “I see you!” 😊

Tomorrow many of us will share gifts with loved ones, striving to make sure they know how much we love them. Here is the thing, we don’t have to spend tons of money or strive to come up with the “perfect” gift to show our love. If only we will look into their eyes, be fully present, and see them for who they are, where they are – to truly value and appreciate them just because they are who they are! That is the “perfect” gift, it is the gift of you, and it will touch a heart deeper than any shiny new thing that will one day be old, outdated, and fade. 😊 And, this is a gift that can be given – should be given! – to every precious soul you cross paths with today! You can look them in the eye, say hello, and smile…and in that moment you will give that person the greatest gift one human being can give another – you will let them know you see them and that they matter! 😊

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, a Merry Christmas, please cherish your precious families, and please stay well! 😊

Kev 

Prove It! I Double-dog Dare You!

 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 Friday evening I came across a post on Facebook that I liked and shared. It was one of those that when I read it, I was like, “Oh! This is so good!” hit like, share, and then scrolled on. Here is what the post said:

“Do you know why God didn’t allow our pets to speak? To teach us that love and loyalty are demonstrated by actions and not words.”

Boom! Really good, right?! You with me? Like, share, and scroll on!!! Until you really stop and think about it and apply it to YOUR life…😊

So, this weeks Happy Friday is really simple; do your family and friends know that you love them, that you are loyal to them, by your actions? I don’t know about you but there is conviction in this spirit as I type these words. 

There is a great quote, attributed to so many different people that we will simply leave the author as “Unknown”:

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

Yes Friends, this is the point…what we actually do is so much greater than what we say. Let’s not be speakers but rather doers. I talk about – yes, I am mindful of what I just typed as I typed it!!! 😊 – loving, caring for, and serving others all the time! Do my actions demonstrate that I really love, that I genuinely care, and am I sincerely serving others or am I simply talking about it, waiting for someone else to stand in the gap? Do the things I say and the things I do line up? That is the definition of integrity by the way…

We are entering a week when we will spend a lot of time – hopefully! – with family and friends. How will you and I act? What will we say? Do they know that they are loved, valued, cherished, and adored by the things we do? Do they feel safe? Appreciated? It is the things we do, not say, that communicate these things to the deepest recesses of their hearts!

So, there is the challenge for all of us…this, and every, day for the rest of our lives; to communicate to our loved ones and friends - and we are called to do the same to complete strangers by the way…I am aiming for baby steps here!!! 😊 - that we love them, that we are loyal to them, and anything else you truly want to communicate to them, through our actions. Let your actions speak for you! Save the words and let’s really walk out what we profess with our mouths! I promise you; the impact will be much more meaningful! How do I know? My dogs have never spoken one audible word to me in their entire lives however their demonstrated love to me, their loyalty to me, is completely unquestioned! 😊 They literally show me EVERY! SINGLE! DAY! And there you have it; my goal is to grow up to be half as good as my dogs! 😊

A few real practical thoughts racing around in my mind right now, so I am going to throw them down for us right here…

• Might be cliché but 100% true; as we get ready to celebrate Christmas please never forget that what your kids really want is your presence and not your presents! And I am talking about every day…show up and be fully present.
• And that just doesn’t just go for kids…it goes for everyone in your life. What would happen if we really put our cell phones down for the entire evening and just spent time together?
• You can’t make hundreds of days of not showing up all o.k. by showering someone with gifts on one day a year and expect them to understand that this proves you love them. You want to prove you love them? Show up every day! The good ones and the bad ones! You show up at the stuff that is important to them that you really don’t want to go to. Why? Because it is important to them and, if you say you really love them, you will be there because it is not about you, it is about them!
• Love is messy. We get the opportunity to prove, through our actions, that we genuinely love someone when they are most unlovable…true for them, true for you, and true for me! Trust is gained and loyalty is proved in the valleys, not the mountaintops. Keep showing up!
• About right now I feel I need to remind all of us that we cannot change what has happened up until this time however we can change what happens in the next moment…

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, please cherish your families, and please stay well! 😊

Kev

 

A Year Ago Today

 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 day is surely going to be a great one! 😊

A year ago today, right now at this very moment, my Beautiful Bride and I were awake and getting ready to head to the hospital. After years of great pain, and a lifetime of extremely bowed legs, I was going to have both of my knees replaced. By the time most will read this, I was in what would be a 5+ hour surgery that not only made my legs straight and relieved all pain – I have literally not felt pain in either knee for exactly one year today! 😊 – but gave me a fresh perspective on a few things. I would like to share a few of these with you this morning!

Grateful, so very, very grateful! This is my heart this morning! I hope each one of you experiences the depth of gratitude that I feel in my heart this morning at least once in your lifetime. And as I type these words, I realize that the reason I feel such gratitude is because I have experienced great pain that is no longer there! Without the pain that I had previously experienced, I would not have the depth of gratitude that I have. To a person that has never had a knee injury or knee pain, they have no idea what it is like to be in constant pain. And I would be remiss if I did not mention that I am mindful of this same application to life’s journey and the love, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ. Have you ever noticed that those who have walked the most difficult paths are often the most joyful? Or how those who were living lives furthest from the Lord are often those most on fire for Jesus? Once you have known pain – whether that pain be mental, physical, emotional, and/or spiritual – and it is removed, I have found gratitude will chase you down! 😊

So, to my amazing doctor, Dr. Jeffrey Hovater, a truly amazing team of physical therapists, my incredible family and friends who prayed for me, took care of me, and walked this journey with me, and my sweet beagle, Chloe, who would literally not leave my side – and growl and snap at anyone who tried to remove her for more than two weeks! 😊 – from the bottom of my heart, thank you! Each one of you blessed my life more than you will ever know!

I want to share a scripture and a quote with you.

Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” 

There is a quote that goes something like, “I offer you this great gift; I believe in you!”

I remember my first appointment with Dr. Hovater, it was very short. X-rays were taken of my knees, and I was taken to a room. Dr. Hovater came in, I explained my journey and he said, “You don’t have to be a doctor to look at the x-rays and know that you need new knees” and then he showed me. He then asked me how I wanted to do this, and I asked him what he would recommend. And he said something like, “I don’t always recommend this however with you we can do both knees at the same time. You are in good enough shape, and you can do this.” I told him that if that is what he recommended and if he truly believed I could do this, let’s do it. There is a real key here…I believed him! 😊 Now, that might not seem like a big deal to you however his words, his belief in me, sustained me. I can’t tell you the number of times people told me I was crazy, you shouldn’t do both knees at the same time, etc. Including the nurse in pre-op!!! And over and over again I could hear Dr. Hovater saying, “You can do this.”

You know, and I know, that the words we speak have power…but do we always live like they do?! I seriously doubt that Dr. Hovater even remembers the first meeting we had however the words he spoke to me that day, and the belief he had in me, gave me the courage to pursue this path and, because I did, I am living a very different life than the one I was living before. Please be thoughtful and intentional with the words you speak…eternity itself could hang in the balance. We are only talking about knees here, not a big deal at all when you are talking about a precious soul! Please speak life into others and their journeys. You may never know the impact of your words however you can truly change a life forever – for good or bad – by the how you choose to use them!

The final thing on my heart this morning is this: God has given different people different gifts and abilities to love, care for, and serve others…let them use them! So, you are thinking, “Where is this coming from?” It is coming from a business trip about 5 years ago. I was getting on a plane in Houston, and I could barely bend my right knee. I had to almost stand straight up in my seat and then try to maneuver that straight leg into the opening where your feet are supposed to go under the seat in front of me. And as I prayed and talked to God about my life that realization came to me. Basically, something like this, “Hey Kev, you know I have gifted people to be doctors. You can let them fulfill their purpose by serving you and then you don’t have to walk around – or as my family tells me, waddle around! 😊 – and you can get help with your knees. It was a couple of weeks later that I was sitting in a doctor’s office, getting my first steroid shot – it was magical…my knee could bend again! 😊 – and ultimately the first step that led me to where I am today…sitting here typing this Happy Friday, both knees comfortably bent at 90 degrees with no pain whatsoever, feet flat on the floor! I am so grateful!!!! 😊

So, my point, Sweet Friends, is this; whether your pain is mental, physical, emotional, and/or spiritual, God has equipped others who can help you…please let them. This is the beauty, and magnificence, of God…He has given us all different gifts and abilities, passions and purposes, and He has asked us to use them to love, care for, and serve others. And we are all on both sides of this – You have the ability to relieve the pain – whatever that might be – of another and we all need someone to relieve ours. THAT is this beautiful journey we call life! We are blessed to live it and I pray we will all do so, fully! 😊

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

Say No To The Fear Of Failure

 Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having had a great day as the sun has set on a beautiful day in my Sweet Home Alabama! 😊

At my church we just finished a sermon series titled “No-vember.” During the series our Pastors talked about things we should say no to. Last Sunday, wrapping up the series, our Executive Pastor, Adam Gooch, preached an awesome sermon about saying no to the fear of failure. It was such a great sermon! I want to start off this Happy Friday by sharing some of the notes I took from his sermon.

• What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
• Have you ever not done something because you were afraid to fail?
• We have a fear of failure problem in the U.S. (He cited some incredible statistics)
• Society sells us the lie that failure is fatal.
• Failure will define you or it will refine you.
• Failure does change you…it never leaves you the same.
• Refine vs. Define
• The perspective…how do you see the failures in your life?
• Far too often our identity is defined by our activity.
• A failure is an event, it is never a person.
• Believing you are a failure will only keep you from your purpose.
• Your failures fuel your future.
• You need to push and challenge yourself.
• If we never experience failure, we never grow and change.
• Just keep working – obstacles are there to help you.
• You are not what you did.
• If you are still here, the story is not done.

Have you ever been there? Have you had a failing moment? We all have… Here is the real key question though; did it define or refine you? Some of us are stuck in failing moments that happened years ago, afraid to live the life we were called and capable of living because we allowed one brief moment in time to define us. Others, in the moments after that failing moment, allowed it to refine them and are walking fully in their purpose, passionately living life every day. I want to be the refined one, not the defined one…how about you?

 

This is 100% a perspective thing and with this, each one of us is going to have to do our own choosing. I simply want to encourage us to live this life fully, relentlessly pursuing all we were created to become. I get that failing moments hurt…bad! I have experienced more than my fair share! I am also here to testify that if you will get up, keep the faith, be willing to be refined, and never quit, great things will happen. It’s a choice…to live. 😊

I am going to share several things here and I am simply going to ask you to think and pray about it.

“What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?” – John Green

“Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.” – Robert T. Kiyosaki

“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” – Denis Waitley

“You WILL eventually become what you think. Whether you succeed or fail is determined in your mind long before we say it play out in real-time.” – Mandy Hale

“The reason people fail to reach their goals is because they give up too early. They don’t understand that most successes are built upon foundations of multiple attempts.” – Richelle E. Goodrich

“It’s a new day. Yesterday’s failure is redeemed at the sunrise.” – Todd Stocker

“The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.” – Roy T. Bennet

“You may believe that you are responsible for what you do, but not for what you think. The truth is that you are responsible for what you think, because it is only at this level that you can exercise choice. What you do comes from what you think.” – Marianne Williamson

“You always have a choice. Don’t ever imagine you don’t. Whatever you do, it’s a decision and you have to accept responsibility for it. That’s when honor becomes more than empty words.” – Lynn Flewelling

I also want to share the lyrics from the song “All In” by Matthew West. I might have shared it in another Happy Friday…so what?! 😊 Great song and I would strongly encourage you all to not only read the lyrics but go listen to the song!

Matthew West

"All In"

My feet are frozen on this middle ground

The water's warm here but the fire's gone out

I played it safe for so long the passion left

Turns out safe is just another word for regret 

So, I step to the edge and I take a deep breath

We're all dying to live but we're all scared to death

And this is the part where my head tells my heart

You should turn back around but there's no turning back now

I'm going all in

Headfirst into the deep end

I hear You calling

And this time the fear won't win

I'm going, I'm going all in

(I'm going, I'm going...) all in

(I'm going, I'm going)

I believe that one day I will see Your kingdom come

And I wanna hear You say, "Welcome home my child, well done"

So, I step to the edge and I take a deep breath

I'm not turning back around 'cause there's no turning back now 

I'm going all in

Headfirst into the deep end

I hear You calling

And this time the fear won't win

I'm going, I'm going all in

(I'm going, I'm going...) all in

(I'm going, I'm going...) all in

(I'm going, I'm going...) all in

(I'm going, I'm going)

 All to you Jesus, I freely give

As long as there's breath in these lungs I will live

With reckless abandon, my heart in Your hands

I surrender it all, I'm going... (I'm going all in)

(I'm going, I'm going all in)

I'm going all in (I'm going all in)

Headfirst into the deep end (I'm going all in)

I hear You calling [?]

And this time the fear won't win

I'm going, I'm going all in

(I'm going, I'm going...) all in

(I'm going, I'm going...) all in

(I'm going, I'm going...) all in

(I'm going, I'm going)

I believe that one day I will see Your kingdom come

And I wanna hear You say, "Welcome home my child, well done"

Finally, I am going to share a quote from Todd Gongwer that I came across this morning.

Every little choice we make…every word, attitude, and behavior, contributes to who we’re becoming.

The heart is always under construction.

We’re either choosing a path of progression or regression.

Selfless or selfish?

Self-discipline or self-indulgence?

Every choice matters!

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 weekend, please cherish your precious families, and please stay well!

Kev