Hmmm

 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 do realize that we are never going to experience this great gift – today! – again, right? Let’s make it a masterpiece!

This week I want to share a few things that make me go, “Hmmm.” You know, those moments when you hear or think about something, it strikes you as profound, and you spend some time thinking about it. Yes, that is my hope; to share some thought-provoking things with you and let you think and pray about them.

We talk about “What will your influence be?” all the time. Let me ask you a question this morning; what is influencing you? What are you pouring into your heart, mind, and spirit every day? Perhaps, if you don’t like your attitude, the way things are going, etc., there would be wisdom in looking at what you are pouring into yourself every day.

Every morning, as I eat breakfast, my Beautiful Bride and I listen to Inky Johnson’s message of the day. If you don’t know who Inky Johnson is, I want to strongly encourage you to look him up and make it a habit of listening to what he has to say. A Christian, husband, and Dad, Inky is a former college football player who is an exceptional speaker and inspirational speaker. I love Inky!

To kick off my things that make you go, “Hmmm,” I want to summarize his messages of the last couple of days.

Wednesday

·       “The ability to learn is a gift, even when pain is your teacher.”

·       “Don’t miss the lesson. Get the lesson when you fail.”

Thursday

·      Be grateful for the problems that you have.

·       Your problems are specifically designed for you, your growth, your development, and the things that you need to possess as an individual in order to grow and become the individual you are destined to become.

I was listening to the radio earlier this week and one of the announcers was talking about a conversation he had with his young son. His son asked, “Are we rich?” I remember when my boys asked me that question. The announcer went on to talk about the difference between being rich and being wealthy. If you are a person of character, if you have someone you love and someone who loves you, if you have a place to call home…if you have these things, you are incredibly rich. If you have a lot of money, you are wealthy.

I have been thinking about this one for quite a while. During my prayer several weeks ago, I was thinking about Psalms 37:4. It says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Here is the thing that makes me go, “Hmmm.”

·       Does it mean that if I take delight in the Lord, he will give me the things I desire? He will give me the things I think I want.

Or

·       Does it mean that if I take delight in the Lord, He will give me my desires? That He will give me the things in my heart to desire.

I believe it is the later…I pray for that. That my heart would be pure, that my heart would be broken for what breaks His, that as I allow Him to lead me, He will inspire and convict my Spirit to fulfill the calling He has on my life, not my wish list.

I had an epiphany at my Bible Study on Wednesday morning. We listened to a Craig Groeschel sermon, and he was preaching on Daniel. Real quick summary: the king ordered that nobody could pray to anyone but him. Daniel prayed as he always had – that is a really key point…need to write a Happy Friday about that! – and therefore the king had him thrown in the lion's den. Daniel survived, without a scratch, because, according to Daniel 6:22, “My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions.”

My epiphany was around the fact that Daniel was set-up. But here’s the thing, he didn’t worry about the set-up. I think of how many times I try to play it safe. According to biblestudytools.com, the term “fear not” is stated in the Bible 365 times. According to christianfaithguide.com, courage is mentioned 33 times in the Bible, and, according to multiple sources, “be strong and courageous” is stated 13 times. What would happen if we actually lived fearless and were strong and courageous? What would our lives look like then? As Pastor Craig said in a completely different sermon that I listened to last week, “At some point you have to determine, is He God, or are you?" 

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