I Don't Feel Like It!

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this rainy Sunday afternoon in my Sweet Home Alabama! Additionally, I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. 😊

“I don’t feel like it.” Have you ever heard this phrase, or perhaps said it yourself? If you are a parent, you have probably heard this from one of your kids around doing yardwork, getting up early, etc. Often, we don’t feel like doing these things. What about as we grow older? Have you always felt like going to work? Have you always felt like taking care of your responsibilities? For most of us, the honest answer is “no,” we don’t always feel like it.

What about things like love and gratitude? Do we always feel like being loving toward another or being grateful? For far too many of us, love has become conditional, and we are too busy counting our miseries to recognize our blessings. What if we changed the way we looked at love and gratitude? What if instead of love and gratitude being things we do, they become who we are? What would our world look like then?

Let’s talk about love for a moment…

Love is not always easy or convenient. We won’t always feel like doing things that are loving toward another person. And this is made even more complicated because those who need our unconditional love the most are often those who deserve love the least. Here is the thing though, Friends; at some point in time, we will be both of those people – the one who needs to give unconditional love and the one who does not deserve love. Hopefully we will not act only on what we feel and those in our lives will not do so either!

I want to encourage us to be people who are loving towards others – all of them! Let’s start in our homes and love our spouses/partners well. Let’s be intentional and make the time to show up and be there for them. Let’s listen to their cares and concerns, their hopes and fears, etc. Let’s go out of our way to do loving things for them…they do not have to be grand gestures, just thoughtful ones. What about if you have the honor and privilege of being called Mom or Dad? I can tell you from experience, you won’t always feel like getting up early in the morning and taking them to band, sports, dance, etc. You won’t always feel like doing what they want to do. I can also tell you from experience that the seasons those precious souls are in your home are short, that the love you show will echo into eternity, and that your child wants more than anything is you…just you!

“Love is a verb. Love is doing, saying, and showing. Never think just saying you love someone is enough.” – Unknown

“If you love someone, you better prove it. Because love is not a noun to be defined, but a verb to be acted upon.” – Unknown

Now, let’s talk about gratitude for a moment…

I want to start this section by addressing a scripture that is often misunderstood or perhaps misinterpreted. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Please note, Friends, it does not say “for” all circumstances but “in” all circumstances. There is a profound difference between the two. Horrible things happen to us, things that God would not want for us, and we are not being instructed to give thanks for those circumstances. What we are being told, however, is that in all circumstances there is something to be thankful for. Again, it is not about a feeling, it is an intentional choice to look for the blessing, no matter the situation or circumstance.

I want to encourage all of us to be intentional about counting our blessings. No matter how much dirt we must move, let’s find them and call them by name! Maybe it is something as simple as seeing another day, a blue sky, or perhaps fresh snow. Maybe it is something more profound like someone loving you when you are unlovable, showing up when you are completely broken, or reminding you of who you are. The point is, Friends, there is always something to be grateful for – regardless of our current situation or circumstance.

“Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.” – Seneca the Younger

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” – W.T. Purkiser

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” – William Arthur Ward

I want to close by sharing a post from Todd Gongwer. Todd is the author of Lead…For God’s Sake! I would highly recommend reading this book and following Todd on “X,” formerly Twitter, if you are on social media.

“Every word we speak (write/tweet) powerfully affects our life AND the lives of those to whom we speak.

We have a choice:

Build or break down?

Encourage or discourage?

Truth or deception?

Belief or doubt?

Life & death are in the power of the tongue…

Prov. 18:21

#ChooseWisely”

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 week, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well! 😊

Kev