My Christmas Wish

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this glorious Saturday morning in my Sweet Home Alabama!

This week's Happy Friday is my Christmas wish – for the gifts we give and receive – for all of us. I hope and pray that you and I will give and receive the greatest gift – full presence for and from the people that we are blessed to have in our lives.

We talk about people being the most important thing in life, that our families are our priority, etc., but are we actually living it? We can physically be in a room with people and not be present at all. It is far more common now to sit around with people, each of us on our phones, checking emails, scrolling through social media, etc. We are there, but we really aren’t.

So, as we are 12 days from Christmas day and folks are scrambling around looking for the perfect gift, I want to encourage you that all of us can afford the greatest gift, that we can bless others more than we had ever hoped or imagined, for the greatest gift is you! Let’s commit to putting down our phones, turning off the TV, and having real conversations. Let’s take this special season of giving to give our undivided attention, to ask others about their hopes, dreams, cares, and concerns, to reconnect and to get to know one another, to care genuinely. Let’s call the friend or family member we have meant to call for years. Let’s play the games, go for the walks, and by all means, eat the pie and cake! Let’s give selflessly of our time, talent, and treasure to love, care for, and serve others. After all, isn’t this what the One we celebrate at Christmas modeled for us?

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 special family, and please stay well!

Kev

Fill Up

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this beautiful Friday morning in my Sweet Home Alabama!

 

What are you doing to take care of yourself, Friend? What are the things that you are pouring into your spirit, heart, mind, and body? None of us can pour from an empty cup, and what is in the well will always come up in the bucket. While your influence on others is unquestionably profound, it all begins with what you allow to influence you.

 

This morning, I want to share three things that I came across that I think are really good. Perhaps you want to print them off and save them for yourself.

 

The first one is titled, “Positive Tip: Ignore the Critics; Do the Work.” It was written by Jon Gordon and was published on September 2, 2025.

 

Ignore the Critics;

Do the Work

(Excerpt from The Power of Positive Leadership by Jon Gordon)

 

Positive leaders don’t lead because they want recognition or enemies. They lead because there is something they must do, build, create, transform, and change. They lead because it’s who they are and what they are meant to do. However, with leadership comes scrutiny, praise, critics, and attacks. A leader could find a cure for cancer and would still have some people criticize them for it. There was even once a leader who transformed the world by feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and loving the unlovable, and yet he was killed for it. If you are a leader, expect to be attacked. Positive leadership doesn’t mean you won’t be criticized. It means you have the grit and belief to overcome it. Positive leaders don’t lead in a tranquil sea of positivity, but through the storms of adversity and negativity.

 

Leadership is knowing that the critics will criticize you while still saying what needs to be said and doing what needs to be done. History doesn’t remember the critics. It remembers the one who withstood criticism to accomplish something great.

 

In our modern social-media–driven world, you will have more fans and critics than ever. The keys are: Don’t let praise go to your head and don’t let critics into your head. Be so invested in your craft that you don’t have time to listen to the naysayers. No time for negativity. You’re too busy creating the future. If I would have listened to the naysayers and critics, I would have stopped working on my craft years ago. I want to encourage you to never let the opinion of others define you and your future. Your identity doesn’t come from what the world says about you. It comes from who you are on the inside. Your work, leadership, and mission are too important to allow others to define your destiny.

 

No matter what anyone says, just show up and do the work.

If they praise you, show up and do the work.

If they criticize you, show up and do the work.

If no one even notices you, just show up and do the work.

Just keep showing up, doing the work, and leading the way.

Lead with passion.

Fuel up with optimism.

Have faith.

Power up with love.

Maintain hope.

Be stubborn.

Fight the good fight.

Refuse to give up.

Ignore the critics.

Believe in the impossible.

Show up.

Do the work.

You’ll be glad you did.

 

True grit leads to true success.

 

- Jon

 

Jon Gordon also wrote the second one. He titled it, “Positive Tip: Be Your Own Greatest Encourager,” and he published this past Monday, December 1, 20205.

 

Be Your Own Greatest Encourager

 

If your best friend was struggling with confidence you wouldn’t condemn them, chide them, or make them feel worse by telling them they will never be successful.

 

You would tell them you believe in them. You would cheer them on. You would remind them of their past successes and their strengths.

 

You would share all the reasons why they will succeed.

 

You would lift them up with your words.

 

This is how you should talk to yourself as well.

 

While we need encouragement from others, we need it even more from ourselves.

 

I want to encourage you to make it a habit to be your own greatest encourager. Don’t let anyone else out encourage you.

 

Let your encouraging voice be more powerful and positive than any of your friends, colleagues and family.

 

When doubt creeps in, trust that you have the power to overcome.

 

When negative thoughts tell you that you won’t make it, tell yourself why you will succeed.

 

When discouragement tries to defeat you, keep encouraging yourself to win the battle of your mind and in the world.

 

When distractions try to derail you, keep reminding yourself why your life and work matters.

 

When your past mistakes seek to condemn you, forgive yourself and tell yourself about the positive future you are creating.

 

When you become your own greatest encourager, failure will not define you, adversity will not defeat you and negativity will not sabotage you.

 

You will win the day and the future!

 

-Jon

 

I am a huge Jon Gordon fan. You would do well to pick up and read any of his books. My personal favorite is “Training Camp.”

 

Six Little Stories With Lots Of Meanings

By William Hall

 

1.      Once all the villagers decided to pray for rain. On the day of prayer, all the people gathered, but only one boy came with an umbrella. That is faith.

 

2.     When you throw babies in the air, they laugh because they know you will catch them. That is trust.

 

3.     Every night we go to bed without any assurance of being alive the next morning, but still, we set the alarms to wake up. That is hope.

 

4.     We plan big things for tomorrow in spite of zero knowledge of the future. That is confidence.

 

5.     We see the world suffering, but still, we get married and have children. That is love.

 

6.     On an old man’s shirt was written a sentence ‘I am not 80 years old; I am sweet 16 with 64 years of experience.’ That is attitude.

 

Have a happy day and live your life like these six stories. Remember – good friends are the rare jewels of life, difficult to find and impossible to replace!

 

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

Sacrifice

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this glorious Sunday afternoon. How is it possible that today is the last day of November?

 

I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My Beautiful Bride and I did, getting to spend a very special time with our youngest Tender Warrior.

 

Before jumping into the message I want to share this week, I want to share my new favorite quote for Thanksgiving:

 

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” – Henry David Thoreau.

 

This week’s Happy Friday is not so much a message I want to deliver as a journey of learning, growing, and understanding that I want to invite you along with me. At some point last week, I was listening to a sermon by Victoria Osteen where she mentioned the word “sacrifice.” I don’t remember exactly what she said; however, it was something along the lines of, “If it were something we wanted to do, it wouldn’t be a sacrifice.” I have thought a lot about what sacrifice means and what it looks like since then.

 

Here is how Merriam-Webster.com defines sacrifice:

1a: the act of giving up or losing something of value for the sake of something else

1b: something of value given up or lost for the sake of something else

2a: an act of offering to a deity something precious

2b: something offered in sacrifice

 

This morning, I wrapped up a Bible Study plan from Impactus Men’s Ministry titled "God’s Design For Men." Chris Walker wrote the plan. The 29^th day of the plan is titled “Loving Men.” I want to share a few excerpts of this Bible Study with you all, and while it is written specifically for men, I am highly confident we can all glean useful information from it.

 

“If we love like Jesus did, we are called to sacrifice for the sake of those we love, even if our ‘dying’ is symbolic instead of literal.”

 

“Biblical love is sacrifice. Jesus died for us, and men need to ‘die’ for those they love, too.”

 

“Men are at their best when they live a life of other-centered, self-sacrificing love. When this love motivates this action, men do tremendous good in the world, and for the right reasons.”

 

“God’s design for men is that we, too, would live our lives motivated by love, putting others first, sacrificing for their sake, and, in so doing, glorifying God and making the world a better place by our actions.”

 

I will close with a scripture from the plan:

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. – 1 John 3:16

 

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@whatwillyourinflruencebe.com.

 

Have a great afternoon, a wonderful week, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well!

 

Kev

What Will They Say?

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as this glorious new day begins to dawn!

 

A friend of mine recently told me about a memorial service she had attended. During the service, one of the children of the gentleman who had passed away said, “Even though dad wasn’t physically there when we were growing up, we know he loved us in his own way.”

 

In Luke 14:28–31 Jesus warns of the importance of counting the cost before becoming His disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

 

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

 

The same thoughtful consideration should be given to all the critical decisions in life. A few Happy Fridays ago, I had written a message about how saying yes to one thing means saying no to something else. Are we counting the cost of the “yes” and the “no?” Do our yeses and noes align with our priorities?

 

So here's where my heart ultimately went when my friend shared that quote with me: What will our kids say about us at our memorial services? Is the truthful answer to that question today the answer we want? So long as we are still breathing, it is not too late to chart a different course.

 

Here is something else that has been on my mind a lot lately: please, think of everything you know about your great-grandparents. For the few that can think of anything, go to your great-great-grandparents. I don’t mean this as a depressing or discouraging thought, just reality. In two to three generations, our own families will know very little about us. So here is the question: what are we striving for? Through this lens, are the extra hours at work, the titles, the bigger house, etc., worth it? We can, however, touch those precious souls we will never meet through the beliefs, values, and example we set for our children today.

 

Look, I don’t want to tell anyone what they should think, believe, or prioritize in their lives. We all have to make our own choices and own the consequences of those choices. It is the things we consistently do that will determine the lives we live, and ultimately, how we are remembered. I want to encourage us, as Jesus did, to count the cost. One day, we will all die. People, possibly including our children, will reflect on the lives we have lived: what will they say?

 

Before closing, I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Please feel free to contact me at any time 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 family, and please stay well!

 

Kev

Are You Limping?

 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 listened to a short sermon by Victoria Osteen. She titled the message, “Break Through The Barriers Of The Past.” As she began the message, she told the story of a woman who had hurt her ankle, undergone surgery, and seen her physical therapist. The physical therapist asked her if her ankle was still hurting, and the lady said, “No.” The physical therapist then said, “I need you to stop limping, then.” The woman explained that she was limping, trying to protect her ankle from further injury. The physical therapist then explained that if she continued to limp, the ligaments would not grow strong, and that, in trying to protect the ankle, she was ultimately preventing it from becoming as strong as it could.

 

Let me ask us all a question, Friends: are you limping? Perhaps it was a relationship years ago that caused you immense pain, or perhaps it was a job loss. Maybe it was a word spoken over you, and now you don’t get too close to anyone, lest they say or do something that will trigger that pain. Metaphorically, we are limping through life.

 

I get it! I totally get it!! As I listened to this message, if I am honest, I can identify areas where I am limping. Perhaps it is true that this limp will prevent that type of pain, hurt, or challenge from happening again. But it is also true that if we are not striving to become all we are capable of becoming – if we are not trying to reach our full potential in all aspects of our life – we won’t. And I would offer the only thing more difficult in life than the pain, hurts, and challenges, is to get to the end of it and realize that there was so much more life that could have been lived had we not limped.

 

Please, Friends, do whatever physical therapy—again, metaphorically speaking—that you need to do. In no way, shape, or form do I want to minimize the pain, hurts, or challenges – they are exceedingly difficult. I am pretty sure we all carry some. Just the same, you, your life, and your purpose are so worth it! There is greatness within each and every one of us. Please, get back up, stand tall, walk straight, and be proud of the person that you have become. Let it be a lesson that strengthened you, not a death sentence that limited you.

 

“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

 

I feel compelled to end this Happy Friday with something my precious Mom used to tell me any time I was having a difficult day:

 

“Now you put a smile on your face, a bounce in your step, and you make this a great day!” – Sue M. Haslam

 

Please feel free 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 

We Have Today!

Happy Friday, Friends!

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

 

How are you doing, Friend? Anything weighing on you? A lot is going on, isn’t it? There is so much divisiveness, a government shutdown… and thousands of other things happening that can cause concern. All this is true. But you know what else is true?

 

You and I have TODAY! With this great gift, this day, we will each choose how we will show up! We can choose to focus on bad breaks or blessings; we can choose to complain or be positive; we can choose to ignore the needs of others, or we can meet them however and whenever we can. Today, Friend, we will choose our influence.

 

While I can’t make people be kind to one another, I can be kind to everyone I encounter. I can’t meet every need, but I can meet the needs of those I come into contact with today. I can’t encourage everyone, but I can encourage someone. The same is true of you, too!

 

Look, this isn’t “head in the sand,” Pollyanna stuff. Challenges and struggles are real – always have been, always will be. As Viktor Frankl famously said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” Please remember, he said this while in a concentration camp after watching other prisoners give their daily ration to another.

 

We have today, Friends! I pray we will choose a positive attitude. That we will choose to smile at everyone, hold the door for others, and help anyone we see who is in need. Instead of focusing on our problems, cares, and concerns, I pray we will choose to focus on our blessings, gifts, and opportunities.

 

You and I have today, let’s make it count. I will close with this poem:

“This is the beginning of a new day.

I can waste it or use it for good.

What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.

When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever,

leaving in its place something I have traded for it.

I want it to be a gain, not a loss;

good, not evil;

success, not failure —

in order that I shall not regret the price I paid for it today.”

Author Unknown

 

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

Our Thoughts + Actions = The Lives We Live

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 week, I asked about what we are doing to take care of ourselves. For all of us, there is a point of diminishing returns. We all have to take time to make sure our cups are full, because none of us can pour from an empty cup. I pray we will all heed that advice regularly.

 

This week I want to ask us a couple of questions.

 

What are you thinking about? It matters…greatly! And it really goes two different ways.

1.      Pastor Craig Groeschel once stated, “You do what you do because of what you think about you.” What do you think of yourself? Are you valuable, equipped, and capable? Or are you worthless, lacking, and unable? I have an opinion, but what I — or anyone — thinks about you truly doesn’t matter. The only voice that matters is yours. 

2.     The other is what we think about our world, others, etc. I want to share two scriptures and one quote:

a.     Romans 8:6

6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

b.     Philippians 4:8

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

And why does it matter what we choose to think about?

“Your beliefs become your thoughts,

Your thoughts become your words,

Your words become your actions,

Your actions become your habits,

Your habits become your values,

Your values become your destiny.”

― Gandhi

 

Let me ask another question: what are you doing? It is the things we consistently do that determine the lives we live. Are we who we want to be, and are we living the lives we want to be living? If not, we would be wise to look at the things we are doing.

 

Life is hard. It can be very easy to let our thoughts wander, to fail to pay attention to what we are doing, and to become undisciplined. We all have bad days. It is those times when we need to give ourselves grace, reflect on the day, learn from it, and be done with it. But what happens if we let the days stack up? What if one day of bad thoughts/actions becomes two, three, four, five, six, seven, etc. in a row? Does it matter? Oh, Friends, the impact is profound. What if we are off only a tiny bit? Let’s look at what happens if we are only 1 degree and stay on that course.

 

 “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.
• In a rocket going to the moon, you'd be 4,169 miles off (nearly twice the diameter of the moon).
• Going to the sun, you'd miss by over 1.6 million miles (nearly twice the diameter of the sun).
• Traveling to the nearest star, you'd be off course by over 441 billion miles (120 times the distance from the Earth to Pluto, or 4,745 times the distance from Earth to the sun).”

*Source: A Mere One-Degree Difference by Antone Roundy https://whitehatcrew.com/blog/a-mere-one-degree-difference/

 

Please, Friends, take some time to reflect on your thoughts and actions. Really be honest with yourself about who you are, the quality of your life, and so on. We are all learning and, hopefully, growing every day. There is no shame in having taken a misstep, having had the wrong thought, etc. It is what we do next that matters the most.

 

You matter. Your life is so valuable. Please take care of yourself and make sure you are headed where you want to go!

 

Please feel free to contact me at any time 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 family, and please stay well!

 

Kev

Please Take Care of Yourself

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this glorious Friday evening!

I have a question for all of us this evening: how are we taking care of ourselves? Knowing that nobody can pour from an empty cup, what are the things that we are doing to renew and refresh our Spirits, souls, minds, and bodies? There will come a point when our best is needed; in that moment, it will not matter what we want to do, what we hope to do, etc. It will only matter what is in our well, for what is in the well always comes up in the bucket.

I get it! Life’s demands are real. I worked for several years as a coach and athletics director, taking no time off because I had so much to do. And that is true; the demands of the job were, and are, absolutely real and relentless. The thing is, everything comes at a cost. Our choice to prioritize one thing always costs us another – saying yes to one thing means saying no to another. And what price was paid for me not taking the time to renew and refresh my Spirit, soul, mind, and body? I wasn’t the best I could be; my family didn't get the best of me, and I wasn't the best man, husband, father, leader, or friend for those who counted on me needed me to be. In my humble opinion, the cost was too great.

I want to encourage you, Friends, please take care of yourself. You are the only one of you there is; you are a masterpiece, and your life has great value, meaning, and purpose. I understand and fully appreciate that your job is important, and this is by no means an attempt to minimize it. It is a declaration, however, that you, your family, and you being the best you can be to serve those who are counting on you is more important!

Albert Schweitzer once said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” And on that note, I am now going to get my Beautiful Bride, walk down the beach to dinner, and enjoy a blessed weekend together.

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 weekend, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well!

Kev

No Caps

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! A glorious day and weekend are before us! Let’s create a masterpiece!

 

Last Sunday, we had a guest speaker, a wonderful woman from one of the ministries our church supports. She told the story about the plan she had for what she thought she could accomplish in fundraising. She met with our Pastor, explained her plan, and he said, “Why are you putting a cap on it?”

 

Let me ask a question, Friends: what are we putting a cap on? If we can accomplish things in our own knowledge, strength, and abilities, we do not need faith. If we know we can do something or know the outcome, we don’t need faith. So, what are we putting a cap on?

 

What would our lives look like, how differently would we live, if we didn’t put a cap on things, or only attempt things that we thought we could do in our own knowledge, strength, and abilities? What if we truly followed the convictions of our spirit, and pure-heartedly gave our best to each moment? What if we let God be God, and we gave miracles the opportunity to happen? I pray each one of us will have the courage to find out!

 

A few scriptures and quotes before closing:

 

Ephesians 3:20-21

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

 

Proverbs 16:9

9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

 

James 2:17-19

17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

 

“Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing.” – G. M. Trevelyan

 

“What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are.” – Anthony Robbins

 

“In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd.” – Miguel de Cervantes

 

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” – Walt Disney

 

Please feel free 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