What Are You Preparing For?

 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! 😊

Earlier this week I was reading my Bible Study, A Faith That Works When Life Doesn’t, Part 3 by Rick Warren on the YouVersion bible app. I can’t offer a higher recommendation for the app or this Bible Study! Please remember, what is in the well always comes up in the bucket. Please make time to take care of yourself first! I digress…I read the following:

“Like farmers, we need to wait expectantly. While a farmer waits, he prepares for the harvest. He gets ready. He doesn’t sit around thinking, “I wonder if this is going to grow or not.” He expects it to grow. He prepares for the harvest so that when it comes, he can reap the benefits.”

And then this…

“What have you been waiting for God to do? Maybe you’ve been waiting for him to transform your marriage, solve a financial problem, heal a hurt, or reach someone in your family who isn’t a believer. Whatever you’ve been waiting on God to do, are you really expecting him to do it? If you’re not preparing yourself while you’re waiting, you’re not really expecting anything to happen.

A lot of times we think we’re waiting on God, but God is just waiting on us. He’s saying, “You’re not ready to handle the blessing I want to give you. I want you to grow up first. You’re not waiting on me. I’m waiting on you.”

I have thought about preparation so many times since reading this study. Am I really preparing myself every day for the things I say I want? Am I doing the things that will put me in a position to seize the opportunity when it comes?

What are you preparing for, Friend? What are your hopes, goals, and dreams? Do the things you do every day line up with where you say you are going, with where you want to be?

And how many of you right now are thinking about some vocational endeavor? How about we get real; what kind of marriage do you want to have? Are you preparing to have it? How about your relationship with your kids? Are the thoughts you think, words you speak, and actions you take on a consistent basis putting you in a position to have the relationship with them that you envision? Changes things when you look at it that way, doesn’t it?

Let’s not just sit around with hopes, goals, and dreams, Friends! Let’s do the things on a consistent basis that will put us in the best possible position to accomplish our goals. I realize you and I don’t control everything and thus, we don’t control the outcome. So, if we don’t control something, please explain to me why we would waste our time worrying about things we can’t control and neglect doing the things we can do?! Go ahead, please reread that last sentence. It still sounds ridiculous however many of us live our lives that way…worrying about things we can’t control while forfeiting our true power by not doing what we could freely do but choose not to do.

Let’s take inventory of the lives we are living…all of it! What do you hope and dream for in all aspects of your life? Once we know where we want to be, let’s prepare ourselves every day to be in the best possible position to seize the opportunity when it comes. We will not regret believing in and preparing for what we hope and dream!

I will close this Happy Friday with a few quotes for you to consider…

“What we prepare for is what we shall get.” – William Graham Sumner 

“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” – Confucius 

“Opportunity does not waste time with those who are unprepared.” – Idowu Koyenikan

“Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months, and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character.” – Alan Armstrong

Let’s all become the champions of our own story!!!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time 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

What do you believe? What do you do?

 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! 😊

I have been reading a Bible Study titled, A Faith That Works When Life Doesn’t Part 2 by Rick Warren. I want to share an excerpt of what I read from Day 10 of the plan earlier this week.

“Many people know the Bible, but in order to be blessed by it, we need to do what it says.

You act on what you believe, meaning your behavior and attitudes are a reflection of what you think is true.”

He goes on to say…

“If what you say you believe doesn’t change how you live your life, then you probably don’t really believe it.”

Why are you shifting in your seat?! 😊 Speaks to the heart, doesn’t it?

I love the definition of integrity which states, “the quality or state of being complete or undivided.” So, does what we say we believe line up with what we actually do? Are we people of integrity or are we incomplete, divided?

Nobody can tell you or me what to believe and they certainly can’t make us believe anything. Here is the thing; we can all give the “Sunday School” or what we perceive to be the “right” answer to what we believe however, sooner or later, our actions will scream to the world what we believe. In seasons of peace and calm we can all fake it. When the storms of adversity and challenge come, however, we will all act on what we truly believe.

A few things immediately come to mind that I want to share…

When Damar Hamlin collapsed in Cincinnati, millions of people around the world dropped to their knees and they prayed fervently to God. No matter what they say, how they act, what they look like, where they live, they instantly stopped and prayed. There was no race, no religion, no political affiliation…there were just a bunch of people who believe in God and appealed to Him in their moment of despair. It is in our darkest moments that we find out what we really believe.

One of the most integrous people I ever met did not like many people, he did not believe he was here to serve anyone, and he didn’t believe it was important to be kind to others. Guess what he acted like? He acted like he didn’t like many people; I never saw him serve anyone, and he wasn’t kind. In the 3+ years I was around him, his words, actions, and deeds matched his beliefs 100% of the time…a man of great integrity! Oh, I get it… you don’t like it because you do not like what he believed. Let me ask you this; would you prefer this man or a person who said they believed something but didn’t live it? I will take the person of integrity – whether I agree with this person’s beliefs or not – all the time!

I have two beliefs I will share with you…I have stated them often. 1) I believe that every person has value, meaning, and purpose. And 2) I believe that I was placed on this earth to encourage, empower, and equip others to become the best they are capable of becoming. If I truly believe these things then I will always (my mind was blown the first time I heard this; always is measurable. Either you do or you don’t!!! Please think about it the next time you use the word “always.”) act in a manner consistent with these two beliefs. It shapes and informs how I treat everyone – not just the people like me – and it shapes and informs how I live my life every day – not just some days or the days I feel like it. I can’t separate my words and actions from what I truly believe, at least not on a consistent basis, and neither can you!

I simply want to encourage all of us on this beautiful new day to assess our words and actions – are they always lining up with what we say we believe? Here is something else I have learned; If what we do is inconsistent with what we truly believe, we will have incredible internal conflict…it will not feel good at the heart or gut level as we are violating our own spirit! If we say we believe something and act in a manner inconsistent with it, the relationship we have with others will suffer greatly. It is only when we walk fully in our integrity – our beliefs and actions in alignment – that there will be peace within and harmony with others. Let’s be people that walk fully in our integrity…ALWAYS! 😊

Here are a few quotes for you as I wrap up this Happy Friday…

“If you’re not acting on your beliefs, then they probably aren’t real.” – Glenn Greenwald

“Thoughts always reveal themselves in behavior.” – Unknown

“You always act in a manner consistent with your innermost beliefs and convictions.” – Brian Tracy

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

Because of you...what?

 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 going to be a great one! 😊

This week’s Happy Friday is, hopefully, going to be thought-provoking. It is my sincere hope, based on these thoughts, you and I are inspired to live the lives we envision.

I am reading a simply amazing leadership book titled, Leadership Not By the Book: 12 Unconventional Principles To Drive Incredible Results by David Green with Bill High. Mr. Green is the Founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby and this book is simply amazing! I would strongly encourage you to get and read it!

I want to start off by sharing a couple of excerpts from the book that challenge and inspire me.

“humble stewards, who are keen to learn from the previous leader, and who are more concerned about the organization they’ll leave behind than how it looks while they’re there.”

“Hobby Lobby doesn’t exist merely to sell arts and crafts. Selling merchandise is essentially a means to an end. I’ve always had several purposes in mind for our company, including to provide for my family; to offer a decent living to my employees; to bless the community where we live and work; to introduce men, women, and children to the salvation found only in Jesus; to advance God’s kingdom worldwide; and to glorify the Lord. I want Hobby Lobby to endure long past my lifetime so that the company can continue to pursue all these things.

But allow me to ask, Why do you want your business or organization to endure?”

“Do you want to leave your children and descendants an inheritance or a heritage? There’s a big difference between the two.

An inheritance refers to material resources you bequeath to your children and heirs upon your death. A heritage refers more to the spiritual riches and deep-seated treasures of character that wise parents leave to their children.”

Pretty powerful stuff, isn’t it? Why? Why do we want our business/work to endure? What are we trying to accomplish? What will it look like if we are successful? Not through the lens of profits and margins but through the lens of the lives we touch every day. Will they be better because of the season of life we shared with them? Is it something that we want to endure for generations?

Here is another way I want to ask the question; because of you [fill in the blank]. Let me say it another way; when you are gone, what will have happened because of the life you lived? Will we live a rich heritage of “spiritual riches and deep-seated treasures of character”, or will we leave behind lost, broken souls in need of healing? Will we have lived high character traits that we modeled through all seasons of life or will we leave others wondering what an honorable man or woman looks like. Will this world be a better place because you and I lived in it or will the purpose for which you and I were created, individually, go unfulfilled? Because of you, what happened?

Friends, I want to respectfully ask each of us to thoughtfully consider these questions, answer them, and then order our lives accordingly. My spirit soars as I think of what I want to leave in the lives of my family and every precious soul I have the privilege of having in my life. I am not near the man I want to be however I am committed to being him. It is a journey, a process, that each of us can choose to take. Our lives matter! Our purposes matter! The legacies that we live matter! Let’s be highly intentional with them!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for 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 well!

Kev

Stewardship

 Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! Let’s choose to create a masterpiece with this glorious new opportunity that is before each one of us! 😊

This week’s Happy Friday is going to be short and sweet! I want to offer a couple of things for us to ponder as we head into this first weekend of the new year.

Stewardship has been defined as “the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving.” Now, in full transparency, I cannot find the dictionary where this is actually the definition. Merriam-Webster.com and thefreedictionary.com give me definitions different than this however several companies and religious organizations list this as the definition of stewardship and, well, it fits with what I am thinking so I am going to run with it! 😊

And, when I am talking about stewardship this morning, I am not talking about money…that is not what is on my heart. There are two things that are on my heart this morning:

First, are we being good stewards of the talents, gifts, and abilities we have been given? Are we striving to become all that we were created to become, to fulfill the potential of whatever we have been given? Are we using our talents, gifts, and abilities to serve and care for others or are we simply using them to serve ourselves?

Second, are we being good stewards of the people that are in our lives? Do we give all of ourselves selflessly or do we simply wish to have our wants and needs served by others? Do we unconditionally love those we have in our lives, or do we simply love them when it is convenient or for what they do for us?

I don’t have answers for you…I can’t answer for you! Each one of us will make our own decisions and we will live with the consequences of those decisions. Please, let’s all thoughtfully consider how we are stewarding our talents, gifts, and abilities and our relationships.

I want to share a scripture, an excerpt, and a few quotes as we thoughtfully consider our stewardship…

1 Peter 4:10-11 (The Message)

7-11 Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!

Here is an excerpt from an article titled, What is the meaning of agape love? You can find the full article at https://www.compellingtruth.org/agape-love.html.

“Agape love is a little different. It is not a feeling; it's a motivation for action that we are free to choose or reject. Agape is a sacrificial love that voluntarily suffers inconvenience, discomfort, and even death for the benefit of another without expecting anything in return. We are called to agape love through Christ's example: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:1-2).”

“The world asks, “What does a man own?” Christ asks, “How does he use it?”” – Andrew Murray

“At the end of your life on earth you will be evaluated and rewarded according to how well you handled what God entrusted to you.” – Rick Warren

“Where I was born and where and how I lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest.” – Dwight L. Moody

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