Who is in your cabinet?

Happy Fourth of July! I really hope that you all have a chance to spend a lot of time with some friends and family today and you really enjoy this day of celebration. The Fourth is one of my favorite holidays because it's in the middle of summer. Not many things beat being at a lake or just spending time with family and friends on a day like this.

I am going to try to make this brief since it's a busy day for so many of you. Whether you are reading this in the car on the way to the lake or sitting at home somewhere, I encourage you to really take it to  heart. The verse that I am going to share with you is one that means a lot to me, based on how important it is to me and my life. I fully believe that it can change your life as well.

"The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools." (Ecclesiastes 9:17)

Think about the people in your life who you know are just overflowing with wisdom. Those folks that you can have a 2 minute conversation with and they have the ability to encourage you and make you feel so special.

I am sure there are times after you have a conversation like that, where you just want more. Like the conversation made you feel so good. Isn't that one of the best feelings?

I am sure that if you have these people in your life, you might have somewhat of a relationship with them, or you know them fairly well.

My encouragement to you is that you surround yourself with those people. Take some initiative and see if they want to grab some coffee/spend some time together. It's all about who your surround yourself with. It's like a cabinet in the white house. Who is in your cabinet? It's easy to think sometimes that there is no way you want to meet up with these types of people because you might think you don't need them or you have fear. I promise you there is nothing to worry about and you need those people. I have been told over and over again that the older generation wants to be poured into. They have so much wisdom, and experience in life and a lot of the times we don't take advantage of it.

Something that has changed my life is spending one on one time with men who I look up to and want to pick their brains and learn as much as I can from them. I have tried to surround myself with a solid cabinet and I am very thankful for the guys I get the opportunity to spend some time with. They encourage me, give me advice, listen to me, and tell me if I am wrong or not.

My challenge to you is to think of one person in your life who you look up to, take some initiative and try to get together with them. It can be anyone, a good friend, coach, pastor, co-worker, you name it!

My one piece of advice, if you are in a relationship or married, try to make sure that this person is of the same gender or talk it out with your significant other. Regardless of gender, people are people and we all have are struggles and things we need help with, but there has to be calculated conversations. Those are huge.

Remember the challenge! I hope and pray that you start filling up your cabinet.

Hear the words of the wise in quiet....

Have a happy fourth!