"Show them you know them; show them you care." Most of life is about people, and people generally "don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." (Quotes unknown)
No matter what we are trying to accomplish; make a new friend, make a sale, encourage or motivate a co-worker, etc.; few care what you can tell them until they know you care. Stories of some of the best teachers have a common thread: they were not necessarily the best at teaching, but genuinely cared about their students. It must be real. We know when someone does not really care. Once someone knows you DO care, then and only then do you have the open door to step into their world, make a difference, and touch their life! So show them...
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There are also times where the most "productive" thing we can do is pause. Pause to think, to reflect, to plan, to dream. Stop and do nothing "particular", just simply pause to see where you've been, notice where you are, and contemplate where you might go in the future. Sometimes there is too much activity, and right then the best thing we can do in order to "do more" and "be more" is to pause and reflect, then prioritize and organize and filter your activities. Many of us often find ourselves waiting and searching. We are waiting for that one thing; that one thing that fulfills us, that opens us up to our purpose, that makes us come alive. It feels elusive at times, but it is out there. God created us for a purpose, and He has gifted us with talents, abilities, and gifts to see our purpose come to fruition, and so it shall. But, if you find you are waiting and searching - do something. Do something! Don't stand idly by, staring off in the distance; do something and that for which you are waiting will arrive before you know it. Never take a knee. As the Denver Broncos prepare for the Super Bowl, as their season and playoff run comes to it’s conclusion this Sunday at the Super Bowl, they continue to prepare. On that night, records won’t matter, awards won’t matter, the regular season won’t matter. In this game, on that night, all that will matter is who has more points when the final whistle blows; and whoever that is; they will hoist the Lombardi Trophy as Super bowl Champions!
The Broncos had an amazing season, and they are playing their best team football now. Last year was a different story. They ended a playoff game against Baltimore soft. They ran three times-when Peyton Manning is your QB; they tried to run down the clock when they should have been putting nails in the coffin. They punt, Baltimore ties it up, and then the Broncos move down the field for a win, right? Wrong! With half a minute left they take a knee. Not for a victory, but to not lose. At the end of two overtimes they had done just that - lost! Then you have Peyton himself. After four neck surgeries and great uncertainty and coupled with future prospects, the Colts released him. He could have retired; it’s safer, he doesn’t need the money, and what team would pick him up anyway? Only a very smart team! Peyton could have taken a knee; retired and left the game, but he refused to do that. This season he had by far the best season, of not only his career, but arguably any career-ever! Peyton did not take a knee on his career. This season, it all comes down to 60 minutes of football. Never take a knee. The goal of this game isn’t just “to not lose”; no the goal is to win! Never take a knee. Regardless of the outcome they must go out fighting, trying to win, being aggressive, playing their game, executing the game plan, and never taking a knee. They can’t throw in the towel; they can’t give up, and they won’t. They must play 60 minutes of football and leave it all on the field. They will not take a knee, and I believe that they have the best components, all around, to win this game; and I think they will. They have what it takes, they have all the components they need, they have the smartest player to ever play the game in Peyton, they have heart, skill, and determination; and they will never take a knee! It’s “Time to Ride” to “Mile High” with the Lombardi Trophy! (But one guy will be walking home…) But you don’t have to be an NFL player in the Super Bowl to “Never take a Knee”! When we are in the midst of the hardest times or events in our life we can't give up. Look to Jesus for strength, wisdom, and confidence and then attack the situation with everything HE has! Don't give in and don't give up! NEVER take a knee!! One thing that really irritates me about my humanness is that there are some lessons that I have to learn over and over and over again; I don't like that. And here is one that I may have learned more than any other... I don't; and I don't believe anyone else does either; like to fail, be defeated, mess up, fall, or lose. But something I realized I do has been detrimental-I define myself; who I am; by my failures and defeats, and that is simply not true. Someone once told me "If you aren't making mistakes; you aren't doing anything." That's true; failure, mistakes, and defeats are part of life-they will come. The test is how we let them affectt us; what we do with them. We can let them define us; and that's when we are truly defeated; or we can learn from those mistakes and move forward. I am NOT my mistakes. I am so much more than that-and the same holds true for you. You may say, "But man I have really fallen flat on my face",or "I royally screwed up." Maybe so, accept it, deal with it, and move on-that failure IS NOT YOU!! Take note of it, decide what you could have done differently, learn a lesson-but THEN after you have gleaned wisdom from it place it in the past and leave it there. When we are constantly evaluating ourselves by our past then we stay stuck in the past, we are slaves to it. It becomes bondage. We are held captive in these past events and are unable to move forward. God doesn't see our flaws, mistakes, or sins once he has cleansed us. If he lets them go, we should not be so high and mighty as to think that we need to hold on to them. Do we think we are wiser than He? He forgets it, and so should we. Like forgiveness, we may mentally always remember these events, but there is a big difference between that memory being there and that memory haunting you. Your mistakes, failures, and defeats are just that-events in your life where you made a mistake, failed, or were defeated. They are not you, so take it, look at it, learn from it and scrape off of it any wisdom or knowledge you can get, and then discard it into the back of your memory pile. Then not as a defeated person but as a wiser and stronger person-move forward and be who the Father made you to be!! Pain. I don't like pain; I'm pretty sure it's unhealthy to like it. But there is a place for pain in our life. Think about physical pain: there are some people with a condition where they don't feel pain. They could stick their hand in a fire and never feel a thing. Cool right? No! They could cause severe damage to their body causing infection and maybe even leading to death-but no pain. Pain warns us of danger, pain alerts us that something is wrong, pain tells us something needs mended, and pain tells us something needs healed. So if we ignore pain or shove it into the depths; ignore it; we are unaware of danger, and the broken and wounded cannot be healed. It will stay broken. Pain is not our enemy, pain is actually our ally. Not our friend; we don't want to hang out with pain; but an ally that can help guide us through the path of war. So don't ignore pain, or hide it. If we do we will remain broken and hopeless. No, embrace it and walk through it; for through that pain Jesus will make you stronger, fuller, and more alive! Christmas is 81 days away. I count down till Christmas all year long because; well I might be a little crazy, and I really like Christmas. For me Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year; and there are many things about the rest of the year I that I love too! But the reason I love Christmas has nothing to do with "shopping days". Now I do thouroughly enjoy the goodies, presents, decorations, music, movies, and snow; but those are the aspects of Christmas, not the reason. The reason I love Christmas-all year long-is because it is the season of Hope. It is the celebration of the birth of The Savior; He IS Hope! Christmas is calm and pure, Christmas is Peace, Christmas is happiness and joy, Christmas is hope-Christmas is Life. That's what Christmas is, that's who Jesus is! Without Jesus we don't have Christmas, and without Christ's birth - His Life - we don't have Him; and without Him, WE don't have life! So Christmas is deep and yet simple; it represents and celebrates, Hope and Life, and all that life entails. Jesus IS Christmas, and He literally and truly came to bring us Life-to the fullest. That's why I really celebrate Christmas-every day of the year! A life lived only for oneself is lonely, selfish, wasted, against the character of the Creator, and dies when they do. But the legacy of a life lived open to God and to others will live on well after they pass from this Earth-in a sense they will live forever. Take God for instance; He gave everything. He gave up the comfort of Heaven, He gave His one and only Son, He gave Himself up on the Cross-and His name is revered across the Earth. His name is not only alive today, but He Himself is alive today. And if we; His creation; give ourselves up to Him and His people as He did-our name won't only live forever, but we ourselves will live forever too. Just like Him! *When I have sought perfection, I have NEVER found it; when I have sought Jesus I have ALWAYS found perfection.
*Satan is full of exuses; Jesus is full of answers! *Someday-will never come. *Our lives are an offering to Christ-how generous are you with it? I wish it were not so; but we have an enemy. A devious, coniving, powerful enemy who prowls around like a roaring lion. We can pretend that Satan is not there or ignore him, but he will still be there whether we acknowledge him or not. And he is not to be underestimated. The Bible says that "the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy"; why do we so often not think he'll actually do that?
We should not fall into the trap of worrying about the devil, or assuming that everything that goes on is chalked up to his doing; we humans can get into enough trouble without his help; or cower in fear. But we SHOULD be on guard! And our focus should be on the only one who can protect us-Jesus. So when things go crazy, especially during times of great joy, be vigilant, be expectant, look to Jesus, and refuse to let satan receive the victory; on this day or any other. Jesus comes to give abundant life, and satan will try everything to take that away. There is only one thing between you having abundant life and the devil taking it away; and His name is Jesus!! So call upon that name-always... |