Friday, May 31, 2024

Let's Tell Them

 Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as this glorious new day, the last day of May, begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama!

 

Early this week I was listening to the Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast. His guest was Dr. Josh Axe. The title of the podcast was “Cultivating Drive as a Leader,” and it was phenomenal. I would highly recommend you take the time to listen to it over the next week.

 

During the podcast Dr. Axe shares two personal stories. One was about the teacher who laughed at him when he told her he wanted to be a doctor, she told him he didn’t have the grade point average to get into medical school, and she told him he needed to work harder. His take-away was that he wasn’t smart enough. He went on to explain that, believing he wasn’t smart enough, he eventually quit trying and barely graduated high school. He was then given the opportunity to try to gain admission to college by taking summer school classes before his first year. His first class was an English class. When the class was given their first assignment, to write a paper, Dr. Axe really said he tried hard to do good. The next day the teacher asked him to stay after class. He thought it was going to be history repeating itself; the first teacher referenced was also an English teacher. When Dr. Axe went and spoke to the teacher, she asked him what he planned to major in. When he told her he did not know, she encouraged him to major in English, stated what a great writer he was, and told him he got the best grade in the class. Two teachers, two different messages. Both changed everything. After the second teacher spoke words of life over Dr. Axe, he went on to graduate college with a 3.0 GPA, the kid who barely graduated high school, and he graduated medical school with a 3.9 GPA.

 

After sharing these two stories, Dr. Axe shared some great wisdom. He said, “I am a big believer in seeing the greatness in people and speaking it over their life.” It is a different path, one that is not popular in society today. It is easier to point out flaws, weaknesses, and failures than it is to see the greatness that is in others – and let’s be clear, everyone has greatness within them.

 

A few things I want to challenge all of us with on this beautiful morning:

1.      Let’s intentionally look for greatness in others. If we see someone doing something well, striving to do whatever it is they are doing with excellence, let’s take the time to notice. We don’t miss it if someone does something poorly or if they are mean, rude, or nasty. Shouldn’t we be equally diligent to notice when others do something well or if they are kind, polite, and encouraging?

2.     Let’s tell them! Again, if something is bad, we rarely miss the opportunity to say something. Why in the world do we not say something when it is good? Perhaps we have the whole thing backwards; we should hardly notice or say anything when something is bad but never miss the opportunity to notice and say something when it is good. Oh, my goodness, what would our world look like if we really did it? Let’s find out!!!

3.     Please, let’s be mindful of the words we speak…they are so immensely powerful. We might be frustrated, having a difficult day, or whatever the case may be and in one moment, we can alter the entire trajectory of someone’s life with our words. Look at Dr. Axe’s story, it is not unique. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Let’s make sure the words we speak give life. Let’s be a launching pad for someone, not a stumbling block that one day, if ever, must be overcome.

4.     In addition to speaking to the bad and not mentioning the good, I think we have something else backwards. Ever notice how we love to tell people who we are and what we are going to do and at the same time, very few of us notice the greatness in others or speak words of encouragement to them? Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying.” What if we kept our mouths shut and we simply strove every day to become the best we can become in all aspects of our lives? And what if we intentionally looked for the greatness in others and spoke it over their lives? We have it backwards, Friends, and we are all suffering because of it.

 

This is a new day! There is so much opportunity before us! Let’s intentionally notice the greatness in others and speak it into their lives. You never know, your words could be the encouragement someone needs to become a doctor, lawyer, writer, musician, etc. Your words might encourage the single mom to pursue the dream that is buried beneath mounds of responsibility deep in her heart. Maybe your words will be the ones that will make someone believe that life really is worth living. Or maybe your words will bring a smile to someone’s face. Today let’s tell them the greatness we see!

 

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 family, and please stay well!

 

Kev

Friday, May 24, 2024

One Step

 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 am reading a great book by Craig Groeschel titled, Fight: Winning the Battles That Matter Most. I was reading Chapter 4.2 which is titled, One Day, when I came across something that I knew was true, is very simple to understand, and yet, hit me in a profound way. It reads:

 

“Samson didn’t ruin his life all at once. He ruined it the same way men have been ruining their lives since the beginning of time.

He ruined it one step at a time.”

 

He then went on to say something that I want to share with you…

 

“Have you noticed that being in the wrong place never helps you do the right thing?”

 

So, the question on this beautiful morning is this, where are your steps leading you? Each one of us will take a step today; is it leading us to who we want to become, to where we want to go? Easy to understand, hard to live.

 

And something else strikes me; we live in an instant gratification society, and we want everything NOW! Perhaps you answer the questions above honestly and you are not taking steps to become who you want, and you are not anywhere near where you want to be. Guess how it changes? One step at a time. No, you will not be tomorrow who you want to be or where you want to be, however if you take just one step today in the right direction, you will be one step closer. And then we must make the same decision the next day and the next and the next… And then, one day, we will find that we have become who we wanted to become, and we will be where we want to be. Or we can choose the path of Samson…

 

Pastor Craig goes on to refer to Judges 15:20 – “Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines” – and then Judges 16:1 – “one day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.” As Pastor Craig notes, he is on a great 20-year run, leading Israel well, and then one day… And thankfully Pastor Craig did his research. According to what Pastor Craig found, it would take 56,250 steps from where Samson was in Zorah to where destruction awaited in Gaza. 56,250 opportunities to stop and change direction. 56,250 chances to do the right thing. And for those of us who are wanting to take one step in the right direction every day, that is 154.10 years’ worth of choices!!! Overnight success or failure…hardly!

 

So, I will ask the questions again; where will your steps lead you? Will they lead you to who you want to become? Will they lead you to where you want to be? It's one step, one day, one evening, and the consequences are eternal!

 

A few things for you to ponder as we end this Happy Friday:

“Consider this. If you're going somewhere and you're off course by just one degree, after one foot, you'll miss your target by 0.2 inches. Trivial, right? But what about as you get farther out?

·       After 100 yards, you'll be off by 5.2 feet. Not huge, but noticeable.

·       After a mile, you'll be off by 92.2 feet. One degree is starting to make a difference.

·       After traveling from San Francisco to L.A., you'll be off by 6 miles.

·       If you were trying to get from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., you'd end up on the other side of Baltimore, 42.6 miles away.

·       Traveling around the globe from Washington, DC, you'd miss by 435 miles and end up in Boston.”

*Source: Antone Roundy, A Mere One-Degree Difference, whitehatcrew.com

 

“I was an overnight success alright, but 30 years is a long, long night.” – Ray Kroc

 

“To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.” – Stephen Covey

 

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@whatwillyourinfluence.com.

 

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

 

Kev

Friday, May 17, 2024

Every Day

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 Sunday was Mother’s Day. It is such a special day, and it is awesome to see all the pictures on social media with husbands and partners, children, and lives – whether biological children or not – that have been profoundly impacted by these Angels, uh, Moms! Everyone is pouring out praise and thanking these women who have selflessly sacrificed for us and who have loved us unconditionally. Isn’t the unconditional love of our Moms truly miraculous? And have you noticed that seemingly everyone has “the best” Mom?

A quick google search of “What is the meaning of Mother’s Day?” produces the following which sites sources such as history.com, Britannica.com, bbc.co.uk, and readerdigest.ca:

“Mother's Day is a holiday honoring motherhood that is celebrated in different forms throughout the world. In the United States, it is observed on the second Sunday of May. The American incarnation of Mother's Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Jarvis later denounced the holiday's commercialization and spent the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar. The holiday traditionally involves presenting mothers with flowers, cards, and other gifts. The tradition of giving carnations to mothers originated in North America and has since come to signify purity, faith, love, beauty, and charity.”

Several other websites will simply say something like, “A day to honor moms and motherhood.”

I think it is a great day, one we should absolutely celebrate; however, I don’t think it should be just a day! I don’t think we should honor Moms once a year but rather every day of the year. What would our world look like if we truly loved, valued, cherished, and honored Moms, and the mother figures in our lives, every day? I think I understand why Ms. Jarvis supposedly spent the latter part of her life trying to remove Mother’s Day from the calendar.

Have you ever noticed how we will try to make up for our failures and areas of neglect with some gift or grand gesture? No time for the kids because I am too busy with work, golf, or whatever so I try to buy them a toy or something else that will let them know I love them. So busy with life, caught up in my concerns, that I fail to genuinely appreciate the daily sacrifices that those closest to me are making for me. Or how about this one; you made me mad, or I don’t like something you did so, I am going to give you the cold shoulder, not talk to you, etc. That, my Friends, would be conditional love! But hey, don’t worry, Mother’s Day is coming! We will all dress nice, smile for the picture, and I will say all kinds of wonderful things…that makes up for it, right? Hardly!

Let’s choose to be different, Friends! Yes, let’s celebrate Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentines Day, birthday’s, etc. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that…let’s just make sure it is not the only day that we are honoring and celebrating the people we are blessed to have in our lives.

A few things are floating around in my mind, I don’t know exactly where they fit into this message, I just feel they need to be stated here.

“Don’t be so concerned with what you are going to do but rather be concerned with who you are going to be.” Let’s be people who genuinely love (unconditionally!), value, and appreciate all those we are blessed to have in our lives and then, we will know what to do!

Psalm 118:24 “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Lamentations 3:23 “Great is his faithfulness; his loving-kindness begins afresh each day.”

Matthew 6:34 “So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.”

It seems to me, at least according to God, every day is to be a special day!

Ephesians 6:2 “Honor your father and mother. This is the first of God’s Ten Commandments that ends with a promise.”

Do you notice the period after “mother?” It doesn’t say, “Honor your father and mother on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day,” or “Honor your father and mother on occasion.” No, it says, “Honor your father and mother.

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 family, and please stay well!

Kev 

Friday, May 10, 2024

What Do the Conversations Sound Like?

 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 today!

 

On Wednesday morning I was reading Warrior: Equipping Men for Spiritual Victory by Lance Ingram. I am in the section titled, Leaders – Reflect Jesus’ example with excellence, when I read something that was like a bolt of lightning penetrating to the deepest recesses of my heart. It read:

 

“The conversations that take place inside a home are a reflection of its leader’s focus.”

 

That will get your attention in a hurry, won’t it?! Go ahead, read it again.

 

If you are like me, the mind immediately begins replaying the conversations that have taken place in my home recently. Do they reflect a focus on God or some other god? Do they reflect a focus on self or selfless service? Do they reflect a reliance on God, His providence and provision, or do they focus on self-reliance? The list could go on and on however you get the point!

 

As I type these words, I feel both inspired and convicted – in that order. I feel inspired to be the Godly man, husband, father, leader, and friend that God created me to be and at the same time, I feel convicted to run to the cross, to surrender my life to Jesus this day, to seek God’s wisdom, and to let the Holy Spirit lead, guide, and direct every thought, word, and action.

 

What each one of us will decide every day is what we focus on. The choices are limitless and the consequences, and the conversations that flow from them, are natural – we reap what we sow. We would be wise to listen carefully to the conversations and the focus that is driving them. Let us not forget that it is the things that we consistently do that determine the lives we live and that if we continue to do what we have always done, the results will continue to be the same. How this life is lived, and eternity, hang in the balance…let us choose our focus carefully!

 

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 family, and please stay well!

 

Kev

Friday, May 3, 2024

Will You Accept Your Assignments?

 Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a beautiful new opportunity – so full of hope, opportunity, and promise! – begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama!

On Monday we had a terrific speaker at Rotary. Mansfield “Pete” Key III is an international motivational speaker who also serves as the Character Coach for the Athletic Department at the University where I currently serve. You can learn more about him at www.olepetekeyinc.com

During his presentation, Pete told a very poignant story about when he was in grade school. Pete had one teacher who was negative and critical, however he had this other teacher, Mrs. Stockard, who saw great potential in Pete. She took the time to understand him, and she chose to help him. Today he credits where he is because of this sweet teacher who saw past the challenges to the potential, and she gave him hope that he could become who he was created, and had the potential, to become.

Pete then said something that was profound to me. Paraphrasing here, he said, “Whose destiny (or eternity) will be impacted by your assignment?” I have thought about that so many times this week. You and I have gifts and abilities, we are in situations and circumstances where we are given the opportunity to impact lives…will we?

We, at least I, can get so caught up in the rush and challenges of life that I don’t thoughtfully consider the impact of every word and deed. I highlight “every” because I know how easy it is to get caught up in the big, grandiose, moments however I have found that God moves powerfully in the seemingly little ones.

Have you ever been walking into a store, and you felt this strange prompting to say “hi,” to encourage, or to help someone? That is an assignment. Have you ever seen someone hurting and you just felt this compulsion to be by them, to let them know that they are not alone, not with words or deeds but simply with your presence? That is an assignment. You see, there are hundreds of assignments given to us every day. The only thing left to be decided is whether we will accept the assignment and the impact very well may impact someone’s destiny or eternity.

At a previous institution I had the honor and privilege of serving at, we had a lot of alumni who were physicians. I used to love to ask how or when they decided to be a physician and then to listen to their stories. Over and over again it would be something like, “I had this teacher in 4th grade who told me I would be a great doctor” or something very similar. Everything changed because one person accepted their assignment and spoke life into the life of another. And if it were possible to calculate how many people each of those physicians touched throughout their careers, how many lives they had saved, we would begin to understand the true power and impact of one person accepting their assignment.

Maybe, like me, you are blessed to see the direct correlation between what you get to do every day and the impact it has on the destiny of others. Perhaps you don’t and, if that is you, I want to encourage you to look again. There is no “just a” …you know, “I am just a [feel in the blank with whatever job you want].” If you have a job where you interact with only one other person, or you have a job that affects only one other person, you have an assignment. Let us clean off the self-focused lenses in viewing our lives and let us be open to the opportunities to love, care for, and serve others.

Friends, we will be given countless assignments today. If we are focused only on ourselves, our problems, our challenges, and our worries we are very likely to miss them. If, however, we will choose a different path, perhaps we will be used to speak life into a child who will become the scientist that cures some form of cancer, or we will show someone the potential they have to become a great writer, artist, or singer. Here is the thing, we don’t own that ultimate outcome of what anyone becomes – that is God’s responsibility. Ours is to simply honor our assignments, one day, one precious soul, at a time.

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 family, and please stay well!

Kev