5 things you NEED to tell your brother

Posted: December 4, 2011 in Inspirational
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The definition of a real brother can be more than
just a blood sibling;  He can be the guy you have
spent your entire life with since you were just a little man, or it can be someone who through the journey of life’s ups and downs, has become as close as a brother. Either way, a true brother in your life is the one who is there for you no matter what the circumstances.
It’s always painful for me to hear a buddy say they haven’t spoken to their brother in years because of something that happened a long time ago that they can’t get over. In the meantime, everyone in their family loses out on that bond, that connection that cousins get from spending time together. Bottom line, when parents inevitably pass from this earth, brothers only have each other. A strong brotherly bond should last forever because brothers have to look out for each other throughout life’s journey. That’s the way God planned brotherhood…you have each other’s back, no matter what the circumstances.
I ran across this list of important things to tell your brother and I thought it very appropriate for this blog. We are all about iron sharpening iron, and brothers strengthening brothers. Next time you see your bro, blood sibling or not, give him a bear hug and let him know you’re thankful he is around…

Remember:

There’s no other love like the love for a brother.
There’s no other love like the love from a brother.

Terri Guillemets

5 important things you NEED to tell your brother

1. Brother, be the kind of man who when your feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says, “Oh Crap, He’s up!”

2. Brother, life is too short to wake up with regrets, so love the people who treat you right and forgive the ones who don’t. Not because you should, because you can.

3. Brother, believe everything that happens to you, happens for a reason. If God gives you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If that second chance changes your life, let it.

4. Brother, always take a few minutes to think before you act when you’re angry. Forgive quickly. God never said life would be easy, He just promised it would be worth it.

5. Remember this Brother; A real Brother walks with you when the rest of the world walks on you.

I end this post with a great quote from one of my favorite baseball players of all time from the past, Harmon Killebrew who said;

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.  Mother would come out and say, “You’re tearing up the grass.”  “We’re not raising grass,” Dad would reply.  “We’re raising boys.”

Until next time guys…

8 Lessons All Dads Should Teach Their Kids…

Posted: November 10, 2011 in Father, Inspirational
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I found this article recently on MensHealth.com and I liked it a great deal. Anytime I can find information that has quality advice about growing up quality men, I will pass it on to you all. Yes, there will be a test at the end. It’s called life. Here’s how to make sure your kids ace it. Enjoy…

Words are Valuable

Speak up: Your kid is listening. In families with two working parents, fathers have a greater impact on their children’s language development by age 3 than mothers do, according to a study in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. Provide a creative, dramatic play-by-play of the activities you’re engaged in and your surroundings. Use big words, even if they’re unfamiliar to your kid. Children learn a lot by context.

Tantrums Earn You Nothing

“When your anxiety visibly rises, you add fuel to the fire,” says Hal Edward Runkel, a family therapist and the author of ScreamFree Parenting. And if you simply hand over a piece of candy, you encourage more bad behavior. Instead, when your kid starts shouting, be calm and attentive. Don’t ignore it. This signals that you will not be rattled and the child won’t win—ever. It may not work for the first tantrum, warns Runkel, but it’s magic by the fifth.

Competition Leads to Confidence

Children as young as 4 begin to compete with their parents—sprinting to the car, wrestling on the sofa, and stuff like that. Roll with it. Let them win a lot, and then slowly ramp it up so they have to work harder for their victories. “It’s a way for kids to develop a sense of strength and to let them test their muscles,” says Justin Richardson, M.D., who teaches psychiatry at Columbia University. They’ll start to walk more confidently and be less of a mark for bullies.

Quitting is Hard

When his son wanted to quit baseball at age 8, Runkel said to him, “Sure, but you have to tell your teammates and coach.” The boy couldn’t do it. He’s played for 7 years since. Show kids the pain of quitting, and they won’t make those kinds of decisions lightly, Runkel says. “If your kid says a school project is too hard and that he wants to give up, that’s okay,” says Runkel. “But say, ‘Tell your teacher you’re quitting and that you’ll take whatever grade is appropriate.’ Trust me, he’ll stick it out.”

Other People’s Feelings Matter

It’s easier to connect with others if you understand their perspective, so nurture that instinct in your child. Start with the child’s own feelings. “Say, ‘Man, it must be hard being 8 years old. What’s the hardest part?’ ” suggests Runkel. Then mention people your kid knows who is having a hard time—say, a friend whose dad lost his job. Ask what he thinks it’s like for that friend. “They won’t always have an answer, but they’re thinking about it,” Runkel says.

Fights Can Be Resolved

Unless one kid is dangling the other out the window, don’t say a word. “As soon as you become involved, they no longer care about a solution. They’ll only try drafting you to their side,” says child psychologist Anthony Wolf, Ph.D., the author of Mom, Jason’s Breathing on Me! The Solution to Sibling Bickering. If they pester you, say your solution will be bad for both of them. They’ll learn that pleading is fruitless. More importantly, they’ll learn quickly to compromise.

Independence is Earned

When your kids ask to stay later at a friend’s house, ask what time would work for them. Then ask why. If you don’t hear a good answer, it’s okay to say no. If you do, try it, says Pennsylvania-based psychologist Janet Edgette, Psy.D. When parents give children freedom and responsibility, studies show, the children develop stronger morals more quickly.

Success Requires Focus

Maybe you don’t wish for a prodigy, but our competitive society suggests otherwise. That’s why so many kids have trouble focusing, says C. Andrew Ramsey, M.D., a psychiatry professor at Columbia University. Make sure your kids know your expectations. Celebrate improvement first. And explain the value of slow mastery. “Whether your kids love Tom Brady or Beyoncé, let them know that these people succeeded because they mastered one skill,” says Dr. Ramsey. “Learn to go through one door and many others will open for you; try to go through five doors at once and you’ll go nowhere.”

Until next time guys…

I am SO Stressed…

Posted: November 8, 2011 in Husband, Inspirational, Tough Times
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I am so stressed….

How many times have you said that statement in the last few weeks or months? With your mortgage payment due and all the never-ending costs that children bring and aren’t the holidays just around the corner? And these are just the money stresses. What about all the problems at work or maybe your marriage is on the rocks? The list only grows…

I know it looks like I’m simply pointing out the obvious but the cold, hard facts are that life isn’t going very well for people right now. Everyday, the news reports what the national statistics echo; we all have less money in our collective wallet’s and that is stressful. There have been more bankruptcies in 2010-2011 than ever before in our countries history. The middle class is rapidly becoming a thing of the past and its becoming harder and harder to put food on the table. If you are like me, watching the nightly news is painful because the only thing ever reported is bad. Frankly, seeing bad news, all the time, adds huge stress to our lives. Anyone checked their blood pressure lately? Maybe you should calm down first.

I am sure about one thing, what the world is pushing down our collective throats is that circumstances really are hopeless although I hear the media tell me to just “ride it out” and someone in Washington will make it better for me. However what it feels like is that if we don’t fall in line, or think the way society would have us think, then we are on our own. We are conditioned over and over to think the only solutions available are what we see on television or the internet. You can take a pill now for instant stress relief or, “become a millionaire in a week” but in the end, none of these solve what the problem really is, THE WORLD DOESN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH STRESS. Aren’t you tired of following the step-by-step “way” the world has to offer? Haven’t we have ALL seen this movie before and we know how it ends…?

Guys, I have an “outside the box” solution for your stress that will change your life forever? I call it outside the box because frankly, you would never see this option on the nightly news. The answer is this; God has already figured out the answer for our stress and He gave it to us, over and over, in His Word, the Bible. The problem isn’t that we can’t read His Word…it’s that we don’t trust His Word…

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV) Philippians 4:6-7

Remember when I said my answer was outside the box? Well when the Bible says “the peace of God will transcend all understanding? That means, we have the ability to tap into something in which we really know nothing about because it’s from God… and I guarantee you, most of us have NOT gone this direction before. What I see is when we are stressed, we react as we are conditioned everyday to react; We try to SOLVE THE PROBLEM OURSELVES and that is NOT the way Christ intended us to deal with our adversity. There are so many verses in His Word about coping with life’s hardships it makes me think He knew a little about what might happen to us? I’m just saying…

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”Matthew 11:28-30

That is Christ speaking in the second verse directly to you and to me. Frankly, I’m not sure I can make this any clearer…Doesn’t “rest for your souls” sound really nice and comfortable? I could use some of that right now..how about you?  If your answer is yes, then stop doing your life, yourself, and give the “doing” over to God. Guys, its that simple…When you commit to Him your life, I am talking down deep in your heart control over your actions, something truly amazing happens…

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

Simply put, when you have the peace of God, you DO NOT have stress! It goes away. And the problems you had before, are more manageable because you have a different perspective, one of heavenly proportions which changes your outlook.

So I leave you with a simple choice; either you choose to see the truths of the Bible and how they can eliminate your stress…or not…

One more thing…correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t you tried the “or not” already? How’s that working for you?

Until next time guys. I wanted to leave you guys with a video from Casting Crowns called Slow Fade that illustrates what happens when we slowly, over time, give into the enemy…resist brothers and sisters…

God is God and I am not…

Posted: October 7, 2011 in Father, Heaven Bound, Inspirational
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I have always enjoyed the carefully worded answers that new coaches give when speaking to the media about how they plan on turning around a poorly performing football or baseball program; “We are going back to the basics” or “We are starting again with the fundamentals of this game, blocking and tackling, etc.” They always say the same thing because they want their players to forget about the past and focus on the present. New coaches don’t want memories of bad seasons to haunt their new message of a new beginning. I understand why coaches speak this way, which is why I think this same method will work for this blog post as well. I believe we need to get back to the fundamentals of how God intended our relationship to be with Him. I think God had a different plan for interacting with humans than what we see in our world today…So let us begin there…

I have always been fascinated by the dozens of times the phrase “Fear of God” or “Fear of the Lord” is mentioned in the Bible. I can say from experience that if the Bible mentions the same subject repeatedly, you might want to pay attention, it’s probably important. As is the case here, the Bible tells us:

The Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom…(Proverbs 9:10)

The Lord has compassion on those who fear Him (Psalms 103:13)

Moses even told us in Psalms “Who knows the power of your anger? For your wrath is a great as the fear that is due you.” (Psalms 90:11)

Now I think we can assume that the wrath of God is beyond anything we can imagine because we have never seen His wrath personally. So if Moses says His wrath is as great as the fear due Him? then I think we humans are extremely “out-of-balance” in our relationship with the Almighty. In other words, do you fear God or even think about fearing Him as a part of your daily life? Has that thought ever crossed your mind before? If it hasn’t, well I am not surprised, because that lack of understanding of who God really is, I believe is the core problem and why I am writing this post now. This is what I meant earlier about returning to the fundamentals of our faith because I believe this society is lacking a healthy “reverent fear of God” (1 Peter 1:17).

I am suggesting that we either have forgotten who God is or we never really understood our relationship with Him in the first place. Unfortunately, I fear the latter is more accurate. To take this thought a step further, when the idea of God is lowered to our human level, then life becomes very hard to live out the way He intended because it is difficult to “Fear Him” if we perceive ourselves to be on the same level with Him…Like He is your “buddy”.

A.W. Tozer, the theologian said, It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. He also said It is my opinion that the Christian conception of God current in these middle years of the 20th century is so decadent as to be utterly beneath the dignity of the Most High God and actually to constitute for professed believers something amounting to a moral calamity.

Now I understand that times have changed even from when he wrote these words in 1961 and I agree our society is completely different from what it was back then, but I think Tozer’s point still resonates…We have drifted our focus from Him to all of the “really important projects” we deal with every day. When we are absent from Him, we are not close to Him. What I am suggesting to you, is going back to the fundamentals. Take a few quiet minutes each day to pause, pray, and reflect on God and who he is. The impact of this time will be mind-blowing and LIFE CHANGING…

You probably think I’m nuts and I can understand that because seriously, how can anyone take the time and do what I am suggesting? I mean who has the time? My answer is this; if you can just slow down long enough to grasp even a microscopic understanding of the Almighty God, how HUGE He is and how small we are…and yet He cares for you, He loves you because you’re YOU…This concept is so very hard to get our minds around because it is NOT what we hear in the world but I assure you, IT will change your life forever…

The overwhelming impact of this knowledge is we realize how selfish we have been for not enjoying our time with Him regularly…the Magnificent Creator who simply wants to hear from us…

I challenge you! Take the baton from me and run with it!

I have never been more sure of anything in my life…your efforts will NOT return void…

Until next time…

Wisdom of a Legacy from a 12 year old girl

Posted: September 17, 2011 in Father, Inspirational
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If you have ever read any of my blog before, then you know I am a guy who lost his only daughter to a heart problem when she was 12 years old. So why do I mention this again? Well, having gone through an experience like this with a child, I can tell you first hand that it changes a man…forever. I do not think in the same manner as I did before. I certainly don’t take family opportunities for granted, I soak them up with my eyes and enjoy every second of them…But why start off a blog post in this fashion? I often think about my daughter Kylie’s legacy having only been on this earth for 12 years. I remember listening and reading to the overwhelming outpouring of love and affection towards her and I was stunned at what people said about her. She made such a huge impact in only 12 years and as time has passed, I almost feel like I didn’t know that side of her. She was impacting people everyday and I never knew. But I can easily say that her life mattered because she made a difference to the people she touched everyday, myself included.

Even now, 7 years removed from her passing, I still marvel at who she was at such a young age which got me to thinking about my own legacy and what I will be remembered for. We have all heard the expression “you only get one chance to make a first impression”. Well over the years I have made many first impressions, some of which I wish I could perform a “do over” because they were so pathetic. But it is because of these missed chances that I began to wonder what I could have given that person about who I am as a believer that they never received from me. For that moment, I blew the chance God gave me and I probably will never see that person again. God intended me to give them something, a kind word, an ear to listen…and I didn’t. These examples are the kind of chances that legacy’s are born from. People like Kylie, who take full advantage of these chance opportunities without any fear as to what others might think or say about them. I believe God continuously brings impromptu moments into our lives for reasons we do not know. He knows you have something this person needs and all we need to do is to be who we are, but we don’t and that person moves on and God assigns the task to another person in another circumstance.

So we have all these chances over a lifetime that will build a legacy of who we are. There is a country song by Aaron Tippin that says “You’ve got stand for something or you’ll fall for anything” which means when you make up your mind to stand for something, that strong stance changes those encounters. Here is my point illustrated; Kylie was only 12 years old, but her relationship with Christ resembled that of an older person. She believed in Jesus Christ and she stood solid for Him so as a result, her daily opportunities to make first impressions revolved around who she was in Christ which meant if you met her for the first time, you knew who she stood for and that became her legacy.

Now I know as guys we don’t go around thinking of things like this much but as I said, I am a changed man as a result of my experience with her. But I am asking you today to consider the wisdom of a 12-year-old girl for your own future. Consider standing strong for Christ in your own daily walk and let Him guide and direct you while you build your own legacy. I can honestly say that I hope my legacy isn’t business or sports but rather how I affected the people I met throughout my lifetime. Did I impact them for Christ? Did I accomplish the task Christ intended with our chance encounter? If I can pull that off, I would be a happy guy…

All of this I learned from a crazy little girl who lives in heaven…Thanks Kylie…

Until next time guys…Live with Ironman Strength…

This is going to Hurt me more than its going to Hurt you?

Posted: September 5, 2011 in Father, Inspirational, Just for Fun
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When I was a kid I had a tendency to get into trouble. Things just kind of happened and I’m not completely clear, even now, why I always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Typically though, I would end up having that inevitable conversation with my father that always ended with his infamous line, “this is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you”…and that is where this story begins…

If you’re like me, and I’m sure you are, you have had to take out the garbage sometime in your life. In fact, for some of you, that particular job may still be apart of your weekly routine. Nevertheless, that job was apart of my chore list when I was a kid growing up in Phoenix, Arizona back in the 70’s. What I remember about doing that job was the long distance I would have to carry the bags just to reach the trash cans. Apparently, my parents enjoyed the daily torture of watching my brother and I make the daily journey across the desert landscape, empty the trash, and then make it back alive before we melted in the summer heat. I remember one particular day when I had gotten home from school and was starting my chore list when I noticed 5 extra bags sitting by the back door. Upon questioning my Mom, she told me “they were filled with glass jars she no longer needed and wanted them gone”. I remember groaning because this meant 2 or 3 extra trips just to finish my regular job and of course my brother wasn’t any where around to help…

Then I got a great idea and decided to use our toy wagon, we kept outside, to carry some of these heavy bags all the way out to the trash barrels which ultimately worked great. On my second and final trip, the real idea (and our story) popped right into my head…To this day I have no idea why that thought came to me, but when it did, it was just too much to pass up.

What I decided to do, was instead of just putting all the bags into the barrels like everyone else, why not throw all of the jars over the fence and try to make baskets into the cans? I mean why not take a daily, painful, chore and have some fun with it? Now I will tell you, that as an adult, I wish I would have maybe considered actually where the trash barrels were sitting on the other side of the fence as well as jar trajectory prior to beginning my glass tossing deluge but apparently I did not think that was important at the time… I began tossing small, medium and monster size glass jars over the fence and waiting to hear them fall into the cans. I should also probably say at this time being only 8 years old, I guess I also didn’t know what glass hitting the trash barrels sounded like because I just kept throwing them over the fence…

Meanwhile, my mother came to the kitchen window and happened to see my, exercise in 8-year-old fun, occurring and she erupted just like a volcano would. She burst out of the house at warp speed hurdling tricycles and the dog to frankly, break a land speed record to get to the back gate where I was. I must also say that before she reached me, her screaming for me to stop caused me to turn around from my game to witness how much of an athlete I didn’t know my Mom was. Of course, there was the proverbial, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” comment, but before I could answer, she moved around me towards the gate. At this point, time seemed to slow down because I remember as she pushed the gate open, being surprised there wasn’t any glass near my target but as my gaze lifted upward, then I was awestruck. All of the glass was not by the barrels, but out in the middle of the street next to our house. At the center point of the asphalt, there was 6 inches of broken glass. It was an amazing sight from my point of view but not from my Mom’s. She immediately kicked into an even faster speed and moved around me before I could speak. She yelled, “stay there!” until she returned. I heard her yell for my brother as she raced back to the house and returning just minutes later with brooms and dust pans. As we started to clean up, my little brother arrived to help. I remember him just standing there totally awestruck at the sight of all that broken glass. But then he said, “ You are in SOOOOO much trouble”, which up until that point, I hadn’t made that connection. I was going to have to face Dad about this incident and it might be bad. I decided to test the water with mom and ask her…her response told me all I didn’t want to hear…”I am so mad at you that your Father is going to have to deal with this disaster”…

We worked for a good half hour and finally got the street clean enough for cars to pass through so when we headed back towards the house, all she said was, “go to your room and wait for your father” Of course that’s just plain torture as far as I can tell because it might be hours before he came home, I mean I was 8, and had no concept of time. Of course shortly thereafter, I heard the distinct sound of his car pulling into our drive way…The car door opening and shutting, the house door opening and shutting..and then my mom yelling…KENNY!!!!!…I knew then I was toast. From my room, I could hear her talking but couldn’t understand what she was saying. I’m sure it was like, “your son did the most despicable thing ever today; he needs to be publicly humiliated or publicly flogged”…I don’t know, I WAS 8! Those are the kinds of things 8-year-old boys think…Then I heard my Dad say something and there was this really…long…pause….For a fleeting second I thought maybe I might get off the hook because the pause was still going on…Then it happened; and I still don’t know how he came all the way from the kitchen to my room with out me hearing him. Was my Dad part Indian or something? All I remember was all of a sudden, my bedroom door opened and in he walked. He was wearing his white shirt and tie. I noticed he had taken off his jacket and figured that gave him more mobility to hit me harder…(I actually thought that by the way). He sat down on my bed and looked at me and just shook his head. “Not good” I thought…not good. I decided I should say something and started to speak but he just waved me off. He said, “son, this one is just too much for excuses…You went too far…You must be punished”…He stood up and started taking off his belt. I thought, “I wish I would have put that book in my pants like my brother did once”… then he said the line, ”Son, this is going to hurt me more than its going to hurt you…” I thought, “really Dad?, really?, Do you want to change places to test your theory?” Ok, Ok, that last line is adult commentary all these years later…and had I said that at the time…well…its a good thing I was a kid and didn’t know any better…

So I went on to take my lumps and paid my dues for that days decision to have fun with my chores but as an adult, I look back on that day with fond memories and because of that HUGE lesson I learned…

;

;

What if I had used the Magic Johnson hook shot instead?e

Would you rather Gain this World…or Live Forever?

Posted: September 3, 2011 in Heaven Bound, Inspirational
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Please truly consider the answer to this question for your own life;

Would you rather gain this world…or live forever?

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?  Matthew 16:26

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?   Mark 8:36

So let me just repeat this so I understand it correctly…you would rather sacrifice living with Jesus Christ for all eternity so you can have a few good years upon this earth?

That’s what these scriptures essentially mean paraphrased yet I am continually confronted with people who think this way. I honestly think that the writers of these scriptures found this life style particularly difficult to understand as well. You may call my statement myopic because it is true, it is YOUR choice, you get to believe what you want…but what happens when the aforementioned scripture is fulfilled and you find out you were wrong? What happens when you begin to see with your own eyes what has been in the Bible since the very beginning? Then what? Can you afford NOT to even consider what Jesus has to say?

I heard this statement recently and I it illustrates my point:

I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn’t, then live my life as if there isn’t and die to find out there is…

So going with simple logic, that statement makes a whole lot of sense. Again, can you afford NOT to even consider Christs offer of salvation as an option for your life? How long do you really anticipate living? maybe 70 years? maybe +/- a few years more or less…? Even if you were the richest person in the world, does that mean you don’t have any adversity in life or any problems to solve? Not at all, in fact I think there is solid proof that money creates a whole new set of problems for people. My point is this; what does the definition of “living a few good years” mean to you? Is it having a never-ending supply of money to do what you want, when you want? Is it surrounding yourself with friends and enjoying a life of leisure? Or may be you are more of a family guy whereby your definition would be to have lots of kids and spend time with your family. Any of these options will work except for one HUGE problem…All of them are temporary. Let me remind you that this life you are living right now isn’t going to last because YOU aren’t going to last. Sooner than any one of us care to admit, we begin to feel the pains of age and the limitations of age. None of us can do what we did as teenagers or in college so even though that may have been a wonderful time in our lives, it is gone now which is exactly my point. How long are you willing to wait before you consider what Christ is offering you? Salvation means a commitment to Him while here on earth and then a reward of an eternity spent in heaven. Remember the verses I mentioned earlier…what good is it for a man if he gains the whole world yet forfeits his soul? This earth is temporary and WILL PASS AWAY…On the other hand, Eternity is a really long time…In fact, I don’t think I can even comprehend how long that truly is but that is what is in our future with a commitment to Him…

Please consider this statement…What have you got to lose?

Or, better yet, Look at what you gain?

Patriotism is alive and well…

Posted: August 23, 2011 in Inspirational
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I would consider myself very Patriotic with the roots of that Patriotism starting with how I was raised as a boy and growing up in the midwest. I was raised to love God and country…in that order. My Father was in the Navy for a while and was ultimately the reason for our family eventually ending up on the West Coast. He had been here before, and he liked California. My brother went into the Air Force and currently serves as a squadron commander on a base in Oklahoma. I chose not to serve but that in no way diminishes my previous statement about Patriotism. I am a very Patriotic guy and the reason I feel so strongly about this subject is my most recent experience with our close friends whose oldest son Zac, went into Army Intelligence and ultimately working with Army Special Forces. My kinship with Zac runs deep. I was present at his birth and stood by his Father as we stared at that 10 lb bundle of goo change color in the Nursery that day. Zac was born before I became a father myself and his birth profoundly solidified how much I desired to be a dad.

Fast forward 20+ years and Zac is headed to Afghanistan for the 3rd time only this deployment was slightly different. To make matters more intriguing, Zac wasn’t scheduled for another deployment. One of his best friends wife had just recently gave birth to their first child and this guy was earmarked for a 1 year deployment in a FOB (Forward operating base) somewhere deep in Afghanistan. To show you what kind of guy Zac is, he decided to perform 6 months of his buddies deployment. Unbelievable…Now, for all you selfish people out there struggling to catch your breath, I will repeat myself…Zac went to Afghanistan, in harm’s way, and covered six months of his friends deployment so he could spend time with his new baby. To make matters even more complicated, Zac works with Army Special Forces, when means he is truly in harm’s way more often than he isn’t. To hear him speak, where these guys operate, it really is, kill or be killed…

Because of this information, For the last six months, I have lived in this perpetual state of fear for Zac’s safety and well-being. Please note however, I am in no way insinuating my fear is anywhere close to what his parents feel. They are on another level. My fear stems from aforementioned kinship with Zac I have had since his birth. Bottom line; living with that fear, as I know many of you do still, is brutal, perpetual, and dreadful. For that, please know I pray for you each day that God would bring your own soldier home safely…But as I said, living with the ebb and flow of phone calls to his parents, or emails or an occasional FaceBook post, to find out status and how he is, was agony for them. One particular time involved a phone call to Mom wherein as soon as she knew it was Zac, she burst into tears and NOT because anything was wrong, but simply because she heard his voice. News of a recent mission or an upcoming one will always make mom cry as well. Dad, well you can see the worry on his face, but his words don’t reflect that. Sometimes, there are the “dad only” calls where Zac can relay some of his experiences that frankly, are like scenes from the movie, Saving Private Ryan. He talks about fire fights, engaging the enemy and survival. He has been attacked personally and had to kill to survive which still is a hard one to grasp because again, I’ve known this kid his whole life. I actually think these conversations help his father because many times Zac will relate his current experiences to games they played when he was a kid or even camping trips. All I see, is that these conversations almost act as therapy for dad. It helps him to relive some of his sons exploits and see how he handled each missions adversity. For me, the reality of understanding a typical day in the life of an Army Special Forces soldier was profoundly moving and my respect for him and our troops has exploded…and so has my Patriotism…

God Bless our troops…and I leave you with this…

Muhammad Ali said it right…

Posted: July 28, 2011 in Inspirational, Sports Stuff
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We have all heard of Muhammad Ali. We know that he tended to be controversial because he was so outspoken. What I find interesting now is when you go back and listen to what he was saying, he knew who he was and what he wanted. Many of these quotes are truly inspirational. Bottom line, don’t let other people make up your mind about what YOU are supposed to do OR become…With Christ’s help, you can become exactly who He wants you to be…exactly who you are designed to be…Enjoy these quotes and a little commentary…

1. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

Life is ebb and flow and most of the time you are relaxed, but every now and then you have to stick up for what you believe in. When that time comes…sting like a bee!

2. “If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.”

Stop procrastinating and live your dream…don’t put off what you can do and be right now!

3. “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

Impossible is a cop-out. Impossible is for people who like to live inside the box…I prefer to think outside that box…how about you?

4. “To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If not, pretend you are.”

Confidence starts with you…What can YOU do and what can YOU achieve…? You get to choose…

5. “What you are thinking is what you are becoming.”

If you are focused on what you can’t do, or the impossible, I can tell you what will happen…focus on your dream…

6. “Don’t count the days, make the days count.”

Life is too short to waste time on pursuits that don’t allow you to reach your mountaintop. Focus energy each and every day on reaching the next level…Every day do just one thing…

7. “What keeps me going is goals.”

Without goals, you are NOT accountable to yourself as well as how do you measure that you are going in the right direction. Goals keep you focused…Goals keep you motivated…

8. “I know where I’m going and I know the truth, and I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be what I want.”

Life is about choices…You can be whatever YOU want…Make the right choices

9. “Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you’re going to be right.”

A friend of mine told me recently” Life is too short, drink the good wine first”…I like that.

10. “Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.”

I have found age to be only in my mind…I work hard to stay young….what do you do?

11. “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, then they can sure make something out of you.”

I am NOT giving up on you…but you have to help…

12. “Silence is golden when you can’t think of a good answer.”

Another way to look at this is “when in doubt, shut up…”

So what do you think? I really liked these quotes and I hope you did too. Yea I know Muhammad Ali was a loud mouth that never stopped talking but he backed up what he said in the ring…and…after reading these quotes, it sounds like I should have paid more attention to what he was saying…

Guys, I included these quotes as inspiration towards facing a new day. I know you all are facing tough times like unemployment, or hours being cut or something worse. My words to you are don’t give up, keep on trusting in Jesus Christ for your life’s direction. He cares, truly cares and the best part, is he will never leave you OR forget you…No matter what your circumstances are, you are NOT alone…believe me…I leave you with these verses…

Psalms 91:9-16

If you make the Most High your dwelling–even the LORD, who is my refuge…then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Seek Him, Trust Him and Believe in Him…only way to go…

Posted: July 9, 2011 in Heaven Bound, Inspirational, Tough Times
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Why is it that some of us think being a Christian is accepting Christ and then walking away and just moving on with our lives without Him? I can’t tell you how many times I see this and I am just stumped. To make matters worse…when we ultimately come to our death-bed, we want to reconnect with God because we certainly don’t want to miss out on the benefits of heaven…I mean eternal life has a nice ring to it, right?…But all the time in between, the life we live, we choose to go the journey alone, living life the way we want…or…maybe you might check in, now and then, and attend church, put on the right face, but go right back to our own way. If that is your plan….

Guys, that life is a total LIE from Satan, and if you fall victim to it, heaven is NOT in your future…

The reason is simple, living your life without a RELATIONSHIP with the Creator, is NOT God’s plan for us. You have heard me say in previous posts that “life truly is all about the journey”. God set up salvation as something we seek everyday of our lives and I can tell you with authority, we ALL need His divine strength to help us persevere and live a life that is pleasing to Him. The Psalmist writes in 105:4, “Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always”…why must we do this, everyday? Because the journey of life is NOT and easy one and without His strength, we will face spiritual weakness and ultimately, defeat.

But this post is really is about a relationship with Him and it cannot all be one-sided. If we put forth effort, by seeking Him with a humble heart, He will reward our efforts with His presence and power in our lives. I do know this, you can’t disappear for a lifetime and then show up and say, “Here I am God!” and expect all to be forgiven, especially if that was the intent all along. Remember, God examines the heart, your heart, and He knows your motivation. If your intent is to reject the Holy Spirit throughout your life and then “make it all better” in the end…not really a good plan…

The choice then, belongs to us, as it always has. Our responsibility is to actively seek God each day in order to have a relationship with Him. I encourage you to get to know Him on a different level. The more we hang out with God, the more confident and comfortable we will be with Him. There is truly no better place to be in this world, than comfortably resting in Gods grace, knowing you are right where He wants you. Conversely, don’t fall victim to Satan’s lie that tells you it is OK to do your own thing for as long as you want because it is way more fun…I assure you whole heartedly…the fun part is only temporary…Trust me, an eternity is a really, REALLY, long time…

Guys…my best advice to you is simply to, seek Him, trust Him, and believe in Him…

We were never promised that our lives would be easy here on earth, but if we persevere each on our own journey, we were promised Heaven…and that my friends, is worth our effort…

Until next time…Let me leave you with this…

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