Enjoy the Highway

 Happy Friday, Friends:

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

You all are in for a real treat this morning! Payton Haslam has written a powerful, inspiring, message! Enjoy!

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

Kev

Good Morning and Happy Friday, Friends!

I am blessed to have the honor and privilege of writing this week’s Happy Friday as I sit in the passenger seat with my dad on the way back from a great day in Memphis, TN. To be completely transparent with you, I did not learn that I would have the opportunity to write this week’s message until a few hours ago when we were leaving Starbuck’s to head to a meeting and my dad asked if I wanted to write the message. Selfishly on his part, he asked if I would in a joking manner because we are getting home late tonight and he didn’t want to have to stay up late to write this. Fortunately for both he and I, I believe that I have been blessed with the gift of writing, and decided to share the message that has been on my heart for a few months.

As I sit here writing this, I cannot help but have a smile on my face and complete gratitude in my heart for the way that my life has transpired the last few months. I won’t bore you with all of the details, but I have been blessed to move back close to family, started a job at the same University that my dad works at, and have been a part of some really cool experiences – such as going on a work trip today with my dad.

I say all that to say this: when is the last time that you really took a moment to appreciate the life that you live, the journey that you have walked, and all of the experiences that have led to where you are in this moment? Surely, we are all continuing to grow and evolve, some of us are at different points in our life, but I can safely say that a majority of us all dreamed of being exactly where we are, right here, right now, at some point or another. Unfortunately, I feel as though most of us, and I will through myself at the top of this list, often forget to truly appreciate where we are, and simply enjoy the highway (life journey) that we are on.

So, with that said, I would simply like to share a few quotes and messages that I have seen recently in different devotionals and readings that I have come across.

“Time is measured in minutes, but life is measured in moments!”

This concept is derived from the Greek words Chronos and Kairos. Chronos is the foundational principle that there is a chronological or sequential aspect of life, and that is time. Kairos is rooted in the principle that there is a qualitative essence to time; that there is a ‘right time’ and ‘opportune moments’ to our lives; essentially, that life is measured by the moments we make.

“Every single moment is your life, so enjoy the moment to enjoy your life fully.”

When I first read this quote, I felt extremely guilty. I cannot count the amount of times where I have played in my head “okay, if you can get through this meeting, this week, this season of life, etc., then you will be able to enjoy your life…” all while realizing that each of these meetings, each week, each season of life, has led exactly to who I am, right now.

The best part about both of these quotes, and hopefully this message that I am sharing is this: we have the opportunity right now, in this moment to choose to enjoy the lives we have been given, to enjoy the journey we are on, and appreciate what we have, right here, right now. None of us are perfect, we all have probably looked around and wished for something different or better, but I can honestly sit here and say that when I have chosen to appreciate what I have in my life, I have found myself to be extremely grateful with where I am at. As the pastor of my church, Pastor Steve Huskey said a few weeks ago in a sermon, “Every day we are writing a small chapter in the book of our lives, with that in mind, how do you want the story to end?”

So, as I sit here in the car, I would just like to encourage you to simply enjoy every moment of your life, right where you are at. I have been working on this quite a bit recently, and can honestly say that taking the time to appreciate every little moment has brought me profound clarity, happiness, and a heart of gratitude for all that I have in my life. Not to be cliché, but as I am doing on this trip back from Memphis, I would encourage you to enjoy the highway – the highway of life, and make the most of every moment you have the opportunity to live.

I hope that you have a great day, a happy Friday, and a wonderful weekend with your families. Choose to find the Kairos in life! Choose to enjoy each moment! They are all making our life and writing each chapter we are blessed to live!

Payton

Potential...Please Fulfill It!

 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 opportunity is going to be special…I feel it! 😊

I am still reading Mindset The New Psychology of Success: How We Can Learn To Fulfill Our Potential by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. I absolutely love this book and would highly recommend it to you. Earlier this week I read the following:

“People with the growth mindset, however, believe something very different. For them, even geniuses have to work hard for their achievements. And what’s so heroic, they would say, about having a gift? They may appreciate endowment, but they admire effort, for no matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment.”

This was such a profound statement to me…I find it both challenging and inspiring. There are a couple of parts I want to break out and discuss briefly.

“And what’s so heroic, they would say, about having a gift?”

What immediately comes to mind for me is a former high school teammate. He was 6’6” tall, he weighed 225 pounds, he was very muscular, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, and he played wide receiver. For those of you who might not know football, he was very big, very fast, and very athletic. He was incredibly naturally gift. To emphasize the point, when he signed his scholarship to play football at Penn State, one of the true blueblood college football programs in the country, Head Coach Joe Paterno referred to him as the most naturally gifted athlete he had ever seen. And what did he do to develop his gift? Well, in high school, he drank a lot of alcohol, he smoked a lot of pot, and he regularly missed practices. In short, at least up until that point, he did nothing with his gift. So, let's ask the question again, what is so heroic about having a gift?

“…for no matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment.”

And the first thing that immediately comes to mind for me is the quote by Michelangelo when he said, “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.” He was clearly gifted however he apparently didn’t find being gifted anything special. What set him apart, what made him special, was that he worked tirelessly to develop his gift.

This morning I simply want to encourage us to develop whatever gift(s) we have been given. Let's not compete with anyone else – instead, let’s compete to fulfill the potential that is within us! And let’s not compare ourselves to others. The chances of you or I having the exact same gifts and potential of another human being are very slim! Instead, stay focused on who we are and let’s relentlessly pursue the men or women we are capable of becoming. This is where our purposes will be found, where life will gain its meaning, and where we are best positioned to make a difference in this world.

I want to close this Happy Friday with a couple of quotes I have shared on social media this week as I pondered what Dr. Dweck had said.

“You can’t expect to be who God wanted you to be if you don’t improve upon your talents, abilities, and actions to the peak of the potentials you carry.” – Israelmore Ayivor

“One thing that I know for certain is that you are untapped potential. But the one thing that I don’t know for certain is if you’re going to un-tap it. For if you don’t, we will all be the lesser for it. And that I know for certain.” – Craig D. Lounsbrough

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say: ‘I used everything you gave me.’” – Erma Bombeck

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

We Might Be The Problem

 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! 😊

You and I might be the problem…

Earlier this week I was listening to a June 5, 2016, podcast from Life.Church with Craig Groeschel. The title was The Right Heart, Part 2:  Love, Love, and Then Love Some More and Joyce Meyer was the guest speaker. She brought an incredibly challenging thought…

Let me share a few scriptures with you:

Leviticus 19:18

18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Matthew 19:19

19 honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

Matthew 22:37-39

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]

Mark 12:30-31

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no commandment greater than these.”

Luke 10:27

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

Romans 13:9

9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b]

Galatians 5:14

14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[a]

James 2:8

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you are doing right.

Joyce’s challenging thought is this; perhaps that is the problem, we are loving our neighbors as ourselves. Now hold on, before you think this is blasphemous, let me clarify her excellent point. Are we accepting God’s love, mercy, and grace for ourselves? Or are we living in guilt and shame, constantly beating ourselves up over our perceived failures and lack? Starting to make sense, isn’t it? Perhaps we are loving our neighbors as we are loving ourselves, which isn’t really very loving at all.

The first step all of us would be wise to take, that we need to take, is to accept God’s love, mercy, and grace in our lives. Yes, you have faults, challenges, and you have certainly had failing moments…there is literally not one human being who has ever walked the face of this earth who did not have the same. But Jesus didn’t die on the cross for us to live in guilt and shame, beating ourselves up, constantly striving to be enough, etc. And if you ever think you are not valuable, that your life doesn’t matter, that you are not enough, please remember that God thought enough of you that He sent His one and only Son to die for YOU. (Go ahead, read that sentence again)

A few quotes bouncing around in my mind that I want to respectfully ask you to remember…

Hurting people hurt people.

What is in the well will always come up in the bucket.

You can’t give what you do not have.

Let’s get our own hearts in order first, then we will be able to love our neighbors as ourselves and have the impact and influence that is intended when the scriptures instruct us to do so.

I want to share the lyrics to the song, Thank God for Sunday Morning by Cochren & Co. I strongly to encourage you to google the song and listen to it…it is awesome!

Thank God for Sunday Morning

Cochren & Co.

Neon lights and stained glass windows

Old bar stools and back row pews

I ran to one more than the other

But I couldn't out-run you

Trying to fill up all the empty

Trying to numb the pain inside

Thinking you'd never forgive me

For all those Saturday nights

But thank God for Sunday morning

Thank God for 316

And the words in red that say you bled

And gave your life for me

Thank God for a choir singing

And the voice saying, "Come back home"

Saturday night looked like the end of the story

But thank God for Sunday morning

Now I know that you're no stranger

To the broken hearts like mine

It's what you do, yeah, somehow you

Bring dead things back to life

And it might look like it's as over

As a stone over a grave

But I've seen you move, I'm living proof

You still roll stones away

Thank God for Sunday morning

Thank God for 316

And the words in red that say you bled

And gave your life for me

Thank God for a choir singing

And a voice saying, "Come back home"

Saturday night looked like the end of the story

But thank God for Sunday morning, oh...

Sunlight through the stained glass window

Feels like freedom on my face

Really is a new beginning

It really is amazing grace

Thank God for Sunday morning

Thank God for 316

And the words in red that say you bled

And gave your life for me

Thank God for a choir singing

And a voice saying, "Come back home"

Saturday night looked like the end of the story

Oh

Saturday night looked like the end of the story

Mm-mm

But thank God for Sunday morning

Thank God for Sunday morning

Friends, if you have read any of my Happy Friday’s you know I like to challenge us to rise up, to make a difference, to choose to be an intentional, positive influence in the lives of others. This week I simply want to encourage you to accept the love, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ. For it is only when we accept the love, mercy, and grace that is afforded us can we then give away the same.

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

Potential

 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 is going to be a special one...I am determined to empty it of its potential! 😊

Potential is defined as, “latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success or usefulness.” There are two really key points in the definition:

The first is the word latent. It is defined as “existing by not yet developed or manifest; hidden or concealed.” And the second is directly related to it – “may be.” The undeveloped, hidden, concealed qualities or abilities that lead to future success or usefulness may be developed but they aren’t yet. And who determines if they will or not? Well Friends, that would be you and me! 😊

Now, before diving into this a little bit deeper, and encouraging all of us to reach to fulfill our potential, I have to share a few excerpts from the book I am currently reading titled, Mindset: How We Can Learn to Fulfill Our Potential by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. I am not yet through two chapters, and I have already learned so much. As one who believes his life purpose is to encourage, empower, and equip others to become the best they are capable of becoming, I have always wondered why some people will push themselves to try new things, to always give their best effort, and others seem aloof and will not even get in the game. Dr. Dweck’s great work and research has opened my eyes. Here are just a few excerpts:

“For thirty years, my research has shown that the view you adopt of yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life.”

“Believing that your qualities are carved in stone – the fixed mindset – creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over.”

“This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others.”

“Do people with this mindset believe that anyone can be anything, that anyone with proper motivation or education can become Einstein or Beethoven? No, but they believe that a person’s true potential is unknown (and unknowable); that it’s impossible to foresee what can be accomplished with years of passion, toil, and training.”

“The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.”

All of that to say I want to acknowledge on the front end that I understand some people have a fixed mindset – the belief that they are who they are, that they cannot learn, grow, and become more – while others have a growth mindset – a belief that they can learn, grow, and become more. With this, I understand that which one you are will determine how you receive this message.

Unfulfilled potential, in my opinion, is a tragedy. As a former college football coach of 16 years, I saw so many people on both sides of this coin; young men with amazing potential who refused to do the things they needed to do to become all they were capable of becoming while others, with far less abilities, drove themselves relentlessly to find the limits of what they were capable of becoming. It is interesting, as I reflect, that those who pushed themselves, had a great peace in their countenance and disposition. Maybe the great John Wooden was on to something we he defined success as, “peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”

So, why will some strive to fulfill their potential while others will not? I believe Dr. Dweck has given us some of the answers. And, for those with the fixed mindset, I do not know what to tell you…I have not gotten that far in the book yet! 😊 With this I simply want to tell you, I BELIEVE IN YOU! The other reason I have observed is we get caught up in comparing ourselves to others.

I am currently reading a Bible Study titled, You’re Not the Boss of Me: A seven-day reading plan on handling emotions. It was produced by Northpoint Community Church. I want to share a couple of excerpts from this morning’s reading.

“There’s no point in striving to compete with what other people are doing. You’ll never experience God’s purpose for your life if you’re distracted by God’s purpose for someone else’s.” – Andy Stanley

“You cannot compete or compare your way to peace. You cannot win by chasing the wind. God has given you a race to run, and He’s given you a lane to run in. Stay there – and thrive there. And change somebody’s world from there, because envy is extraordinarily self-centered. From the lane God has called you to run in, you can do more for other people, because you will be less concerned about comparing yourself to them.” – Andy Stanley

And this has nothing to do with this Happy Friday however it has everything to do with What Will Your Influence Be…? It is from the same Bible Study a couple of days ago:

“Every day, the people closest to you are experiencing the overflow of your heart.” – Andy Stanley

Challenges and inspires me! How about you?! O.K., back on point…😊

Whoever you are and wherever you are this morning, I simply want to encourage you to pursue your potential in all aspects of your life. You have qualities and abilities, they are undeveloped, hidden, and they may be developed, leading to success and usefulness. It is up to you!

I want to close by sharing a few quotes about potential.

“Potential is a priceless treasure, like gold. All of us have gold hidden within, but we have to dig to get it out.” – Joyce Meyer 

“There is no man living who isn’t capable of doing more than he thinks he can do.” – Henry Ford 

“Potential means nothing if you don’t do anything with it.” – Anonymous 

“Don’t squander your potential living a life that amounts to far less than the one you are capable of living.” – Zero Dean

“The big challenge is to become all that you have the possibility of becoming.” – Jim Rohn

“The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.” – Albert Schweitzer

“Success is knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.” – John Maxwell

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