an intriguing thought

My goal for this post, is for it to be short, yet the most important that you will read today. 

THE MOST POWERFUL IMPRESSION YOU CAN MAKE IS ON YOURSELF. 

Oftentimes, I believe we all forget this, and some of us might not even know this...but it's so true. I believe that there is a misunderstanding that the impression we give your families, coworkers, and our bosses is the most important thing and it's not. The impression we make on those people is incredibly important, but the impression we make on ourself is everything. 

Think about it this way...May is quickly approaching which means most people are trying to complete their April goals. Now if you communicated with your coworker what you're going to accomplish in April, and they've been holding you accountable and you don't hit it, how should you react? 

Well if you gave everything that you had, you worked long hours, completed all the extra small details and came up a little short, we should value our impression on how hard we worked over the impression we left to the coworker that was only tied to the goal. 

Again, I am not saying your coworkers impression on you isn't important...what I am saying is that the belief you have in yourself is the impression we should be taking advantage of. 

God created us all the most amazing, unique and special ways. Everything that we are capable of doing, we should be giving God all the glory, because that is what we were created to do. Praise God and give him glory with all the amazing talents he blessed us with. 

If we aren't making a powerful impression on ourselves, how can we still give God the glory?

quarreling is dangerous

Have you ever quarreled with someone before about something that was really silly? If you are like me, or anyone else in the world, I am sure that you have. I think I have had the unique opportunity to hear more people around me quarreling than what I have done myself, and if any of you really know me who are reading this, you'll understand it's not really my personalty to quarrel. 

I have had a lot of teammates all throughout my life do this...especially back in Ohio during high school when we were playing on the AAU circuit. There was so much time that was wasted just arguing over silly things. Whether it was in the hotel, during our games, or even at meals. So much time was wasted quarreling. 

Now I don't mean to make that sound like it was some crazy negative experience, that I didn't love. I loved every second of it. I just look back at it, and wonder what the relationship with most of the guys would be like today, if the conversations weren't always arguments. (even joking arguments)

I am sure another example could be that one person we know in our lives, who thinks that their opinions are always fact, and you just can't win any argument with them, or even have a decent conversation.

More than ever we need to stop quarreling. 

Quarreling over anything but the truth is dangerous. 

"Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God's presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them." (2 Timothy 2:14)

If you can't have a conversation with someone who disagrees with you, you are dangerous. We spend so much much talking about things that don't matter. When was the last time you spent 20 minutes ranting about covid? Or masks? Think about what you could've done with that time rather than loathe and complain. 

Quarreling is a selfish attitude, because those who do it, aren't accepting the truth. 

Right now, the world needs to hear believers speak up and understand the truth. There is one truth out there and that is all that matters. As you begin this week, if you are faced with moments where you are surrounded by someone who is quarreling, or you think about it yourself, don't do it. 

Stand out among the crowd because of your willingness to accept and stand for the truth. Although, it might seem like we are playing the victim if we quarrel and don't argue, but we have to stand up for the truth. 

standard/feeling

I hope this brief post this morning encourages you to accomplish more than you could ever imagine, and it helps set you on the trajectory you want your life to be on. It's called "standard over feelings." 

I had the privilege to listen to one of my favorite speakers present yesterday, and his name is Ben Newman. Ben is the host of The Burn podcast, a best selling author, and a former financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual. 

I listened to the podcast about standard over feelings more than a year ago and it was one of those things that fired me up and then I quickly forgot about it as life was hectic. Much like a lot of the things we seem to learn over time. 

Anyway, standard over feelings is the idea that you set a high standard for yourself on a daily basis and commit to it, no matter how you feel. It doesn't matter how good or bad yesterday was, and it doesn't matter how good or bad tomorrow will be, what matters is the standard that you set for yourself on a daily basis. Setting a high standard for yourself and then being able to live by it daily is what is going to lead you to your wildest dreams. It's not a couple good days in a row, or a couple good months. It's the standard. 

What is the standard you set for yourself? I will be transparent with you, I have a standard for myself but lately I got away from it. I let how I was feeling drive me all over the map. No matter what plans God has for you and your life, we always have the ability to set a standard for ourselves, and commit to it.

My challenge for you is to put your standard over your feelings everyday. I don't care if all your meetings cancelled, I don't care if you got told no every sales pitch yesterday, it happens to us all and those who rise up, and hold themselves to a high standard are the ones who are going to be the most successful. 

 

never believe the first mile

For those who enjoy running, run a lot, or are trying to get into running more, I am sure if you have ever ran more than one mile, you understand that the first mile is the most difficult. It usually takes a little while to get your body warmed up and your heart rate to increase to a sustainable rate. After that first mile it's smooth sailing, and all seems to be easier. 

I am glad it's that way though. if we felt completely satisfied and like we got a great one mile in, there would be so many opportunities that we would miss out on. 

Much as this life..

If I gave up on the first mile every morning when I run, I am sure that there would be other things I would give up on throughout the day. What happens if I get asked a hard question in a meeting? What happens if I need to pick up the phone and call somebody to have a difficult conversation with them? What happens if my daily meetings kept goal is hard?

I hope you are starting to see the point that I am trying to make. 

Much like the first mile of a 5 mile run is the most difficult, everything we do in life is going to be difficult when we first start doing it. Your career might not be easy to start, the business you have dreamed of starting has a lot of hurdles you have to get through, etc. We grow the most when we do what is uncomfortable. Your character is tested in those moments, but getting through them and fighting to the end is what will get you one step closer to your dreams and the person that you are trying to become. 

Keep on running, because the feeling you get once we make it through the difficult trumps it all. Never believe the first mile. 

a light for my path

"Your word is a lamp to guide my feet

and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105)

We live in a fallen world with many dangerous pitfalls, slippery slopes, and dark foes seeking to destroy our close fellowship with our Lord, but in Psalm 119, we are given a beautiful promise and an eternal truth...that God's Word is a gleaming lamp to our feet that will guide us through the darkness of this fallen world and it is a shinning light to brighten the pathway we take.

Scripture is our secure guidebook to return us into a right relationship with the Lord when we abandon road of righteousness or stray from the path of peace.

The Word of God is an inextinguishable lamp to guide us along the right path, and it is a radiant light that banishes the shadows of uncertainty, by illuminating the next step in this fallen world. 

Opening-up of the pages of scripture will brighten the path we take, re-energize our hope in Christ, and provide understanding for those who humbly walk before the Lord.

Remember where true light comes from, and I encourage you all to dive into the Word of God. 

 

"be still, and know that I am God"

One of the most thoughtful gifts that I have ever received was a bracelet that had Psalm 46:10 on it which says: "Be still and know that I am God." It was such a meaningful gift to me at the time because life seemed a bit chaotic. It was the middle of basketball season, I had difficult classes that semester, and things with some of the guys just weren't clicking. It was a time where I certainly wasn't "still." 

I was reminded of that verse this morning because it was also the verse of the day today, so I couldn't help but share the story about the gift I received. Weeks after I received that gift from my friend, I started writing this blog. I never thought I would have anything like this...and I certainly didn't think a small little bracelet would lead to such a great change in my life but it did. Each time I looked at my wrist and saw that verse I was reminded to be still. It was the subtle daily reminders that it's okay to be not involved in the chaos. It's okay to sit back, to take time to get into the word and seriously commit to a relationship with Christ. 

"Be still and know that I am God."

That verse is more important than ever today. We live crazy lives. We live in a crazy world, one that is ever changing by the minute. Things only seem to be getting crazier, with the enhances in technology, social media, and news outlets everywhere, someone else's crazy experience on the other side of the world can become a part of our lives almost instantly. No matter how hard we try to shut it off, things just seem to keep speeding up, to the point where it becomes harder and harder to "be still" every day.

My hope and prayer for you is that you can find some time to "be still" daily. Whether it's for 20 minutes before you get ready for the day, a brief walk over your lunch hour, or some time in the evening to wind down. We must be dedicated in finding the time we need to understand that God is God! We must "be still" in oder to realize that. 

I hope this was encouraging this morning for at least one person. I know that God really made himself more known to me by a simple loving act from a great friend. Think about somebody that you can encourage today, and you might have an impact greater than you could ever imagine. 

remember him

A thought that has always been on my mind is that I don't want my life to fly by, and when I am older, I start to realize how good God has always been to me. I want to be aware of how good God is being to be always..especially right now.

There are plenty of people that I know where it's clear that they have lived great life so far, but again, just haven't been aware of all God has been doing. The busyness of life, and the hustle and bustle it brings often causes time to fly by faster than what we can keep up with. 

"Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, "Life is not pleasant anymore." Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. Remember him before your legs-the guards of your house-start to tremble; and before your shoulder-the strong men-stop. Remember him before your teeth-your few remaining servants-stop grinding; and before your eyes-the women looking through windows-see dimly." (Ecclesiastes 12:1-3)

How true is that scripture? I am 24, which is young, but I am not as young as I once was. My grandparents are not as young as they once were, my parents are not as young as they once were either. I do believe we all continue to grow into the best version of ourselves daily, but we have to remember God while our lives are still pleasant. There will come a time when our lives won't be pleasant anymore, and I don't want to all of a sudden realize how good God was to me my entire life at that point. 

This all seems easier said than done right? How do we remember God and not forget about the good he is always doing?

Above all else, it's intentionality and discipline. Life only seems to get crazier and faster the older we get. I honestly feel like sometimes when I take time to sit back and evaluate my life, a month will fly by in the blink of an eye. If I never tried to be intentional in my walk with Christ it's something that would be continued to be placed on the back burner. Even when I am intentional, I still place my walk on the back burner sometimes. 

My hope and my prayer to you is that you don't let the excitement of life cause you to forget your Creator. We must honor God before our life's aren't pleasant anymore and we don't know when that time is coming for anybody. Life is simply too good to not honor God and realize that God is good always and is always at work.