One Word 2018

Last year, some friends and I read the book One Word and revealed them together.  Because you are the average of the five people you rely on the most, I carefully chose the group that would hold me accountable and refresh my One Word for me regularly.  For 2018, I again did the One Word challenge. 

My One Word for 2018 is RELENTLESS.

In coming up with my Word, the book walks you through a series of steps to have his word revealed to you.  I read the book and worked the work book and came up with Relentless and below will describe it.

For 2018, I will be RELENTLESS in my pursuit to be stronger in my faith.  Last year was a breakthrough year for me in my faith and has opened my eyes to new doors that are opening to me with my faith.  In 2018, I will take it to another level.  I was just reminded of the acronym JOY (Jesus, Others, Yourself).  In our list of priorities, Jesus and our faithfulness to Him, has to be first.  Having Him at the forefront of your life, makes everything and every other aspect that much better.

For 2018, I will be RELENTLESS in my pursuit for impacting others' lives.  I have often stated that I try to impact at least one person's life every day.  In 2018, I will be relentless to make sure that happens.  I have never had to be accountable for doing this.  This year I will hold myself accountable. 

For 2018, I will be RELENTLESS in my pursuit for making myself better.  In 2017, I had a breakthrough in my personal development and started to take classes towards my Master's degree.  I will continue that but I will also make it a pursuit to do personal development each day as well.  The more that I develop myself, the more I am able to impact others lives. 

I will also be RELENTLESS in my pursuit to make the best life possible for my family.  Not that family has not been important, but now again, I will make myself accountable for improving my family everyday.  I will be relentless to make sure that everything I do for them, and the things that they do for themselves, are intended to bring out the best in each of them.

Whatever your One Word is for 2018, make sure that you are accountable with someone for it.  Make 2018 the best yet.

Just Lead

For some time now, I have felt to right a blog on leadership in the family.  Well, today is the day.  This problem is not just our area, but similar problems even occur half way around the world.  I believe that men need to take more ownership in leading their families. 

Now, I will acknowledge that we do a pretty good job leading in some areas, and there are even some men that are just great overall leaders, but I think for the most part men in general take a back seat to some areas of our lives.  We are told in 1 Timothy 3:4, "He must manage his household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive."  He refers to the husband/father and we are commanded, not asked to manage his household well.

Men do a great job leading their families when it comes to discipline, athletics, and some other areas.  But the one area that causes concern is leadership of the family in faith.  I think sometimes that men are uncomfortable with leading their families in faith.  Like I mentioned before, there are some men that do a great job, but there are some that are just not comfortable in all parts, such as, worship, volunteering, and faith in the household.

How can we get better?  First and foremost, we can take care of the household.  Lead a faith reformation in each of our homes.  Take the time to make sure that faith is an aspect, not only an aspect, but a cornerstone that we are building our homes on.  Then we need to take our leadership into our churches.  We need to volunteer within the church.  Each of us has a skill that can be used in the church, but so few are using the skills and talents that God has given us.  And we need to take an active roll in prayer and worship.  If for no other reason, to give thanks for all He has given us.

This message was short and straight to the message but it is something that has weighed heavy on me.  If we all start today, just think, not only do our churches benefit, but so do our families and homes.

Stay Positive

Below is an article that I shared in another publication.  Please enjoy.

Each day that I come to work, I influence others, whether I try or not. It doesn’t matter if you put effort into it or not, your attitude influences others, and attitudes are one of the most contagious influences. Attitudes are also 100 percent in control of each of us.

Many studies have been done on the benefits of a positive attitude in the workplace, and in life in general. Studies have been completed by credible sources, including the Mayo Clinic, John Hopkins Medical Center, Harvard, and others. These studies have found that having a positive attitude has many benefits that not only improve the workplace, but also one’s life.

The benefits of having a positive attitude include an increase in productivity and a more positive work environment where employees are encouraged to participate productively in problem-solving. Through increased productivity, the business runs more smoothly and allows employees to learn from mistakes rather than go through disciplinary events.

Other benefits of a positive environment in the workplace include more cohesive units, better staff retention, fewer sick days, and the ability to achieve more organizational goals. When all these things are working together, studies have proven that there is better retention and recruitment of good staff.

A personal benefit of having a positive attitude is better overall health. Positive attitudes are contagious. Positive minds attract positive events, lower stress, and lead to higher motivation. One of the few things that you can actually control is your attitude. On a daily basis, we all have the opportunity to feed ourselves with positive or negative energy. Knowing that energy/ attitudes are contagious, we need to put the effort (another controllable) into breathing positivity into our lives so that we can be contagious for others.

As far as the workplace goes, I want to share a story. About two years ago, I had the opportunity to meet and listen to Author Jon Gordon, and he shared the following:

There’s a story about when President Lyndon Johnson visited NASA and as he was walking the halls he came across a janitor who was cleaning up a storm, like the Energizer bunny with a mop in his hand. The president walked over to the janitor and told him he was the best janitor he has ever seen and the janitor replied, “Sir, I'm not just a janitor, I helped put a man on the moon.” See, even though he was cleaning floors he had a bigger purpose and vision for his life. This is what kept him going and helped him excel in his job.

So, just like this janitor, our way of thinking changes how we view everything. If we can all work for one common goal, with the right attitude, great things can be accomplished.

The 12 Days of Christmas

As many of you know, Christmas is a very special time of year for me.  I know this is a bit early, but I thought that I would share my version of the 12 Days of Christmas in hopes that we may share these during this Christmas season.

On the first day of Christmas, our true love gave to us LOVE. I start with love because everything, including life itself starts with love.  In John 3:16, possibly the most popular bible verse out there, we are told, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  It starts with love.

On the second day of Christmas, our true love gave to us LIFE.  I feel that life is a great place to go after love.  Most people start dying the minute they are born.  They know that at the end of every life is death and that is their focus.  But the more we focus on that, we stop living.  You see, each day we need to awaken with a plan to live life to the fullest.  As Kirby Puckett told us, "Tomorrow is not promised to anyone." 

On the third day of Christmas, our true love gave to us DREAMS.  You see, dreams develop our goals.  They are two very different things but if we let our goals road map us to our dreams, they are very intertwined; but as long as we remember to let our goals guide us to our dreams, we know that anything is possible.  We are told in Luke 1:37, "For nothing will be impossible with God."

On the fourth day of Christmas, our true love gave to us FREEDOM.  Yes, in America, we have had others fight for our freedom, but even before that, we are told in John 8:32, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  If we accept Christ, we will have eternal life and be able to live that way.  This is one gift that often gets taken advantage of, but if we focus more on the original freedom, things will come together for us.

On the fifth day of Christmas, our true love gave to us GRACE.  Grace is what sets us free. We are told in Romans 11:6, "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."  Jesus' death on the cross guarantees us the grace we need for eternal life if we accept Him into our lives.

On the sixth day of Christmas, our true love gave to us COURAGE.  Joshua 1:9 says, "Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." I have felt this in my backyard, as well as, half way around the world.  As long as we accept Jesus, we can be strong and courageous.

On the seventh day of Christmas, our true love gave to us HOPE.  There estimates that there are over three billion people in the world that have never heard the Gospel.  They have never had the opportunity to experience walking a day with Jesus.  So many take that for granted..  As Charles Spurgeon told us, "There is no hope without Christ."

On the eighth day of Christmas, our true love gave to us WISDOM.  Proverbs gives us so many examples of this, that is is often called the Book of Wisdom.  Ironically there are 31 chapters in Proverbs, one to read every day.  Wisdom gives us the ability to know right from wrong.

On the ninth day of Christmas, our true love gave to us GRATITUDE.  Bottom line, we need to be thankful.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we are commanded, "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  We are not commanded to give thanks in some or give thanks in the ones we choose, we are told to give thanks in all circumstances.  We need to be thankful for the things that are challenging to us because there too, we become stronger.

On the tenth day of Christmas, our true love gave to us JOY.  We have to stay positive and have joy in us.  Proverbs tells us in 17:22, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."  Joy is good medicine.  Right there we are told about the contagiousness of attitudes.  If we can live with a joyful heart, it heals us and those around us.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, our true love gave to us GUIDANCE.  If you use the Bible as a workbook for our lives and let God's instructions in the Bible Guide us we can't go wrong.  When God makes it clear the path that we are to follow, we need to focus on that and not get distracted to those that re guiding us down a different path. 

On the twelfth day of Christmas, our true love gave to us ETERNAL LIFE.  It starts with John 3:16, and it ends with John 3:16.  Through the cross, we have been given eternal life.  Jesus paid our dues for us and we need to follow the path that He has lit for us.

These are the gifts that I give to each of you.  We  don't need to wait until the 12 days of Christmas to start sharing these. Be the light in others lives and share these gifts with those you see during this holiday season.