Hey all,
Have you ever thought about what kind of "footprint" you are leaving on this life?
Think about a footprint for a moment. Our footprints tell us where we have been. They tell us where we are going. They tell us what direction we are walking. They can tell us how fast we are going. They tell us what kind of load we are carrying. They tell us if we are alone or if we have others walking with us.
Ask yourself this......"What kind of footprint are you leaving in this life?" I read an article this morning that stirred my heart on this. It was a letter from a Dad to his two kids reflecting on his life of over 70 years. In it he mentions that he really wishes that he would have been more "conscience of his footprint on this earth". He wishes he would have been more thoughtful about how he spent his time and the "trail" he left behind. I thought that this was really profound and deserving of some further thought. Maybe it is my age, but there seems to be a deeper meaning to my life when I have a consciousness about the footprint (or trail) I am leaving behind. I just feel more responsible for what I do when I live that way.
What does your trail (footprints) look like? Are you walking the right direction? Do you remember your path? Jesus says that "narrow is the path that leads to life and few find it". Take a moment, like I did, and reflect on your footprints. It just might tell you something about where you are and where you are going.
Strength and Honor,
-S
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Away in a "manger"...
Hey all.
As we celebrate Christmas, let us be reminded that HE is the reason. We celebrate to honor the date that our Saviour, Jesus Christ, came into this broken world to rescue us. HE came fully as man to take on the sins of us all and to ultimately defeat death.
Check this out. As you sing this weekend (for you carolers) the line "....away in a manger"(I cannot remember the exact song but you know what I mean I am sure)....remember that the manger that Jesus was placed in was not a snuggly, warm, clean little basket like most of us envision. No, it was a stone, nasty, dirty, trough that animals ate out of. It most likely had slobbery old feed, feces from rats, and who knows what else in it. It was what the stable animals ate out of.
God came to us in the lowest of low circumstances. Born to young virgin in a cold, dirty stable and then placed in the "manger or feed trough" to rest. Check out the picture. I took this picture in Israel a couple of years ago. This is a manger from the time Jesus was born. Looks comfy huh? I thought you might gain a new perspective from it, like I did.
Lets all remember that Jesus came into this world as humble and small as possible and left this world persecuted and beaten. HE did this for us. For us to have more life.
Merry Christmas.
Strength and Honor,
-S
As we celebrate Christmas, let us be reminded that HE is the reason. We celebrate to honor the date that our Saviour, Jesus Christ, came into this broken world to rescue us. HE came fully as man to take on the sins of us all and to ultimately defeat death.
Check this out. As you sing this weekend (for you carolers) the line "....away in a manger"(I cannot remember the exact song but you know what I mean I am sure)....remember that the manger that Jesus was placed in was not a snuggly, warm, clean little basket like most of us envision. No, it was a stone, nasty, dirty, trough that animals ate out of. It most likely had slobbery old feed, feces from rats, and who knows what else in it. It was what the stable animals ate out of.
God came to us in the lowest of low circumstances. Born to young virgin in a cold, dirty stable and then placed in the "manger or feed trough" to rest. Check out the picture. I took this picture in Israel a couple of years ago. This is a manger from the time Jesus was born. Looks comfy huh? I thought you might gain a new perspective from it, like I did.
Lets all remember that Jesus came into this world as humble and small as possible and left this world persecuted and beaten. HE did this for us. For us to have more life.
Merry Christmas.
Strength and Honor,
-S
Saturday, December 17, 2011
"More Life" at work. Really?
Hey all,
Last night, our company celebrated with our annual Christmas Party. As usual, we had a great time. We don't do anything way over the top, just a nice, casual light dinner and music. It is a great time of fellowship and I really enjoy getting see everyone and their spouses/friends.
Most importantly, it is a great time to recognize our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and to remind ourselves of the true meaning of Christmas. That Jesus came to earth to rescue us.
We are also very intentional about making sure we have someone speak to our company vision. Our vision as a company is "to provide people the opportunity for more life". This is the vision that the company was founded on and we really believe in it as an organization and ownership team. It is not just words to us but rather a journey. A worthwhile journey. Most people don't associate work and "more life" together.......but we think there can be both. We believe one can create the other. We believe it is certainly worth the journey to try.
My friend and Pastor, Derwin Gray, came and spoke to our team last night and did a wonderful job of encouraging us in our vision and reminding us that there really is an opportunity for more life at work. He reminded us that we do on a daily basis is an opportunity to be an artist that paints a great canvas of "life" through our actions and relationships. Each of us is given a unique opportunity to fundamentally, and sometimes eternally, impact someone else by how we do our job. Our work matters. What we do is important. But "how" we do our jobs makes the difference between "life" and just another day at "work". And how you do what you do each day may just "provide life" to someone else.
Think about this at work this week. Think about the fact that you might not be there for the "work" itself.....to just get something done for the day. You are not there to produce another batch of widgets. To produce more "stuff". But rather, think about that you may be there for someone else. Someone who might be forever impacted by how you do your work, or how you interact with them, or just by who you are. Someone who needs you to bring them "more life". Someone who was purposely put in your story for you to make a difference in their life.
Think about that. Wow. More life at work. Really? I think so. If we have the courage to go after it.
Strength and Honor,
-S
Last night, our company celebrated with our annual Christmas Party. As usual, we had a great time. We don't do anything way over the top, just a nice, casual light dinner and music. It is a great time of fellowship and I really enjoy getting see everyone and their spouses/friends.
Most importantly, it is a great time to recognize our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and to remind ourselves of the true meaning of Christmas. That Jesus came to earth to rescue us.
We are also very intentional about making sure we have someone speak to our company vision. Our vision as a company is "to provide people the opportunity for more life". This is the vision that the company was founded on and we really believe in it as an organization and ownership team. It is not just words to us but rather a journey. A worthwhile journey. Most people don't associate work and "more life" together.......but we think there can be both. We believe one can create the other. We believe it is certainly worth the journey to try.
My friend and Pastor, Derwin Gray, came and spoke to our team last night and did a wonderful job of encouraging us in our vision and reminding us that there really is an opportunity for more life at work. He reminded us that we do on a daily basis is an opportunity to be an artist that paints a great canvas of "life" through our actions and relationships. Each of us is given a unique opportunity to fundamentally, and sometimes eternally, impact someone else by how we do our job. Our work matters. What we do is important. But "how" we do our jobs makes the difference between "life" and just another day at "work". And how you do what you do each day may just "provide life" to someone else.
Think about this at work this week. Think about the fact that you might not be there for the "work" itself.....to just get something done for the day. You are not there to produce another batch of widgets. To produce more "stuff". But rather, think about that you may be there for someone else. Someone who might be forever impacted by how you do your work, or how you interact with them, or just by who you are. Someone who needs you to bring them "more life". Someone who was purposely put in your story for you to make a difference in their life.
Think about that. Wow. More life at work. Really? I think so. If we have the courage to go after it.
Strength and Honor,
-S
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Honor
Hey all,
What does it mean to honor someone? I heard a definition at church today that honor means "to bring someone or something esteem". Esteem means "to provide respect and admiration". If you are like me, too often I view honor as an inward thing. I want to be honorable in my thoughts, values, etc.. and that is all good. We should have honor in those things. Inward honor breeds character.
But check this out......our ability to honor is also for others. We are called not only to be honorable......but to honor others as well. When we honor someone, by providing respect and admiration, we are putting our self behind and someone else in front. We are serving. We are giving life to others. Think about that. If we are honorable but don't honor we are missing the chance to instill that in others. As always...I will sign off with.....
Strength and Honor,
-SW
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Influencing a "Better" outcome
Hey all,
I just had a great conversation with a fellow co-worker that was cool I wanted to write about it.
How often during during the course of our days do we get aggravated with a situation or with a person? How often does a circumstance just drive you crazy! Sometimes it just seems like there are so many things that we have swirling around us that don't seem to be going well that it can be overwhelming doesn't it? Or maybe it is a certain person in our life (at work or personally) who just seems to be making one bad decision after another. You can just see that they are heading for trouble. It is really easy to see this at work isn't it. Man, how quickly we can see what other people (or functional areas) are doing wrong at work. Just ask someone at work about another area and they will quickly tell you what they need to do better. Most of you know exactly what I am talking about don't you? Comes to us pretty easy at work doesn't it?
But here is the thing.....why don't we do anything about it? Really, think about that.....why don't we do anything about it?
If it is a friend, why don't we go talk to them. Tell them the truth. Confront them on something....or perhaps share a similar experience we had and the mistakes that we made? Why don't we want to go "there"? What are we afraid of?
Or at work....why don't we talk to that other employee who is making errors or mistakes? Why don't we call a meeting or pick up the phone? Maybe send a email? Or call their Supervisor to offer assistance? What keeps us from wanting to put forth the effort to engage?
The hard truth is that most of the time we don't engage because the world would tell us that it is "none of our business". Just mind your own business and look out for yourself. Look out for number one. Worry about your own area. Worry about your own job. It is sad but it is true. We have been programmed to just stay "out of it". We have been brought up to believe that we have enough of our own stuff to worry about so don't invite in more. We afraid that if we do something about "it" then we will be accused of being bossy, hypocritical, or judgmental. So we usually don't. We just observe....and then secretly.....and most times unknowingly......we judge. We judge. We abdicate to someone else and we judge. We sit back and do nothing. We pass judgement and wait for someone else to resolve it. Whether is another friend or family member or another part of the company. And that typically yields a very negative outcome doesn't it? Generally speaking......these things rarely just solve themselves.
But here is the thing. If we address these things that are upsetting us with a purely servant heart and only one specific objective....which is to "influence a better outcome", then we can guard ourselves from it being selfish. We can put others first. It is not about us. By doing this we can model what it looks like to "champion" something or "mentor" someone. To be a catalyst for something better. A better outcome. For a situation or a person. Don't get me wrong.....I am not suggesting that we run around and get all up in peoples business......but can we provide more life to others when we are not afraid to get involved can't we? Can we help champion synergy and teamwork when we are not afraid to get involved? Can we experience more life ourselves when we take the time to invest in others and be a champion for good? I think we can. I know we can.
My co-worker described it this way during a conversation today and I was blown away by the simplicity of how we can provide more life to others or to a bad circumstance by simply taking our heart to serve and trying simply to "influence a better outcome".
I ran across this story that illustrates some of what I am trying to say.......
"There is a story of a boy who valiantly, but unsuccessfully attempted to move a heavy log to clear a pathway to his favorite hideout. His Dad stood quietly nearby , watching his son straining against the load. Finally he said, " Son, why aren't you using all of your strength?"
Confused and a little bit angry, the boy responded, "Dad, I'm using every last little bit of strength I have!"
"No Son, your're not," his Dad quietly responded. "You haven't asked me to to help".
Strength and Honor,
SW
I just had a great conversation with a fellow co-worker that was cool I wanted to write about it.
How often during during the course of our days do we get aggravated with a situation or with a person? How often does a circumstance just drive you crazy! Sometimes it just seems like there are so many things that we have swirling around us that don't seem to be going well that it can be overwhelming doesn't it? Or maybe it is a certain person in our life (at work or personally) who just seems to be making one bad decision after another. You can just see that they are heading for trouble. It is really easy to see this at work isn't it. Man, how quickly we can see what other people (or functional areas) are doing wrong at work. Just ask someone at work about another area and they will quickly tell you what they need to do better. Most of you know exactly what I am talking about don't you? Comes to us pretty easy at work doesn't it?
But here is the thing.....why don't we do anything about it? Really, think about that.....why don't we do anything about it?
If it is a friend, why don't we go talk to them. Tell them the truth. Confront them on something....or perhaps share a similar experience we had and the mistakes that we made? Why don't we want to go "there"? What are we afraid of?
Or at work....why don't we talk to that other employee who is making errors or mistakes? Why don't we call a meeting or pick up the phone? Maybe send a email? Or call their Supervisor to offer assistance? What keeps us from wanting to put forth the effort to engage?
The hard truth is that most of the time we don't engage because the world would tell us that it is "none of our business". Just mind your own business and look out for yourself. Look out for number one. Worry about your own area. Worry about your own job. It is sad but it is true. We have been programmed to just stay "out of it". We have been brought up to believe that we have enough of our own stuff to worry about so don't invite in more. We afraid that if we do something about "it" then we will be accused of being bossy, hypocritical, or judgmental. So we usually don't. We just observe....and then secretly.....and most times unknowingly......we judge. We judge. We abdicate to someone else and we judge. We sit back and do nothing. We pass judgement and wait for someone else to resolve it. Whether is another friend or family member or another part of the company. And that typically yields a very negative outcome doesn't it? Generally speaking......these things rarely just solve themselves.
But here is the thing. If we address these things that are upsetting us with a purely servant heart and only one specific objective....which is to "influence a better outcome", then we can guard ourselves from it being selfish. We can put others first. It is not about us. By doing this we can model what it looks like to "champion" something or "mentor" someone. To be a catalyst for something better. A better outcome. For a situation or a person. Don't get me wrong.....I am not suggesting that we run around and get all up in peoples business......but can we provide more life to others when we are not afraid to get involved can't we? Can we help champion synergy and teamwork when we are not afraid to get involved? Can we experience more life ourselves when we take the time to invest in others and be a champion for good? I think we can. I know we can.
My co-worker described it this way during a conversation today and I was blown away by the simplicity of how we can provide more life to others or to a bad circumstance by simply taking our heart to serve and trying simply to "influence a better outcome".
I ran across this story that illustrates some of what I am trying to say.......
"There is a story of a boy who valiantly, but unsuccessfully attempted to move a heavy log to clear a pathway to his favorite hideout. His Dad stood quietly nearby , watching his son straining against the load. Finally he said, " Son, why aren't you using all of your strength?"
Confused and a little bit angry, the boy responded, "Dad, I'm using every last little bit of strength I have!"
"No Son, your're not," his Dad quietly responded. "You haven't asked me to to help".
Strength and Honor,
SW
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Not tomorrow......NOW!
Hey all,
I ran across this quote today and wanted to share.......I am not sure who Og Mandino is but they sure "nailed" it with this quote in my opinion!
“Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!”
Og Mandino(1923 - 1996)
Good stuff huh? Life is happening and available now.....today......not just tomorrow! We just have to choose to be part of it instead of a spectator.
Strength and Honor,
SW
I ran across this quote today and wanted to share.......I am not sure who Og Mandino is but they sure "nailed" it with this quote in my opinion!
“Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!”
Og Mandino(1923 - 1996)
Good stuff huh? Life is happening and available now.....today......not just tomorrow! We just have to choose to be part of it instead of a spectator.
Strength and Honor,
SW
Saturday, November 26, 2011
A "Thankful" perspective
Hey all,
Why does it take a weird holiday where you cook more than you could possibly eat in one setting to remind us that we are to be thankful? Maybe there is something in turkey that is supposed to trigger the "thankful" hormone. Maybe it is the pumpkin pie. Maybe the combination of food, fellowship, and football is the combination.
Whatever it is......I suppose that it is a good thing that at least one day a year when we can stop and think about what we have and all that we should be thankful for. If it really is the turkey, then we should eat a portion every day shouldn't we!
I have so many things that I am thankful for. A wonderful wife, a great family, a home, a job, an awesome church, and friends to share life with. But most of all, I am thankful that in 1998, I came to know the Lord Jesus. And it is HIS unconditional love for me that I am most thankful for. Lets face it, without Jesus......we would not have the other things that we say we are thankful for since HE provided it all to us to begin with. Let's not forget what came first.
So we don't really need all the turkey, friends, and football to remind us to be thankful. We only need to remember that HE loves us..........HE provides for us.......and thankfully.....that is all we need.
Ok I will admit, the turkey and other stuff is pretty good too!
Strength, Honor, and more life!
SW
Why does it take a weird holiday where you cook more than you could possibly eat in one setting to remind us that we are to be thankful? Maybe there is something in turkey that is supposed to trigger the "thankful" hormone. Maybe it is the pumpkin pie. Maybe the combination of food, fellowship, and football is the combination.
Whatever it is......I suppose that it is a good thing that at least one day a year when we can stop and think about what we have and all that we should be thankful for. If it really is the turkey, then we should eat a portion every day shouldn't we!
I have so many things that I am thankful for. A wonderful wife, a great family, a home, a job, an awesome church, and friends to share life with. But most of all, I am thankful that in 1998, I came to know the Lord Jesus. And it is HIS unconditional love for me that I am most thankful for. Lets face it, without Jesus......we would not have the other things that we say we are thankful for since HE provided it all to us to begin with. Let's not forget what came first.
So we don't really need all the turkey, friends, and football to remind us to be thankful. We only need to remember that HE loves us..........HE provides for us.......and thankfully.....that is all we need.
Ok I will admit, the turkey and other stuff is pretty good too!
Strength, Honor, and more life!
SW
Saturday, November 12, 2011
More Life
Hello all.
I have been encouraged recently by my friend Viet to re-start my Blog to share my heart for what it means and looks like to have "More Life"in this world that we live in! If you are like me, you have struggled with (or currently are struggling with) what it means to experience the "full" life that Jesus speaks of in John 10:10.
"The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy....but I have come that they may have life and have it to the full".
If you are like me.....some days it seems like there is a heck of alot more stealing, killing, and destroying than there is "life". This world we live in is tough. There is nothing easy anymore is there? Most everything we hear is negative. Some days it seems everything is just too hard. The world wants us to dwell on the negative and take life from us each day. Am I the only one or do you feel that way sometimes? As Pastor Derwin Gray asked today at TC...."How many of us live life and still miss life?" Man, when he said that.......I could relate. I have gone through seasons in my life where I was living life but was not experiencing life! Seasons where life seemed to be a movie and I was just a person in the theater watching, wondering what the heck was gonna happen next.
But I have realized (and experienced) that we all have the opportunity to experience "more life" each and every day. We really can. It is available to us if we choose it. It is there for the taking. All we have to do is choose. We have to choose to live each day instead just "surviving" and being one day closer to dying. We have to choose to allow ourselves to really experience "life" while we live.
So how do we do that? Even though our circumstances and the enemy tell us different, it really is a simple choice. We must choose to show up and allow the Spirit to work through us. We have to choose to be a conduit of life. We have to choose to give our self up and allow the Lord to work through us. We have to choose Life through Him first. When we do this......we allow the God to use us at the catalyst that we are intended to be. We allow Him to use us for His purpose. Not ours. And in return.....guess what....we experience the abundant life that Jesus describes. Today. Not just when we die. And by experiencing for ourselves, we become conscious of it when it is happening around us. My beautiful bride (Lou) described it great yesterday when we were Uptown and walking along the sidewalk towards a coffee shop. The group that we were with (and myself) had walked ahead and were waiting as my daughter Ellie (who is 7) had decided that rather than walking on the sidewalk, she was going to climb the wall next to it and climb along the wrought iron fence, picket by picket, to the end where we were waiting. As Lou and Ellie finally approached (which seemed forever)......Lou said....."Sometimes we are in such a hurry to get to where we are going that we miss the life that there is along the way." Wow....is she right. Sometimes we miss the life along the path that we are on don't we. Thank God my wife slowed down enough to enjoy our little girl climbing along that fence and having a blast doing it. So simple yet so hard. Know what I mean? I was reminded that Life is not complicated.....we just make it that way.
I started this Blog as a way to help all of us see what More Life looks like in this world. Today. Some days it may be scripture, other days it might be stories, other day's it may be best described by what it doesn't look like. Regardless, I hope to instill hope and encouragement for those that might take the time to read it. I know at the least, it will bring me More Life by writing it. And that is enough reason to do it.
Until next time.
Strength and Honor.
SW
I have been encouraged recently by my friend Viet to re-start my Blog to share my heart for what it means and looks like to have "More Life"in this world that we live in! If you are like me, you have struggled with (or currently are struggling with) what it means to experience the "full" life that Jesus speaks of in John 10:10.
"The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy....but I have come that they may have life and have it to the full".
If you are like me.....some days it seems like there is a heck of alot more stealing, killing, and destroying than there is "life". This world we live in is tough. There is nothing easy anymore is there? Most everything we hear is negative. Some days it seems everything is just too hard. The world wants us to dwell on the negative and take life from us each day. Am I the only one or do you feel that way sometimes? As Pastor Derwin Gray asked today at TC...."How many of us live life and still miss life?" Man, when he said that.......I could relate. I have gone through seasons in my life where I was living life but was not experiencing life! Seasons where life seemed to be a movie and I was just a person in the theater watching, wondering what the heck was gonna happen next.
But I have realized (and experienced) that we all have the opportunity to experience "more life" each and every day. We really can. It is available to us if we choose it. It is there for the taking. All we have to do is choose. We have to choose to live each day instead just "surviving" and being one day closer to dying. We have to choose to allow ourselves to really experience "life" while we live.
So how do we do that? Even though our circumstances and the enemy tell us different, it really is a simple choice. We must choose to show up and allow the Spirit to work through us. We have to choose to be a conduit of life. We have to choose to give our self up and allow the Lord to work through us. We have to choose Life through Him first. When we do this......we allow the God to use us at the catalyst that we are intended to be. We allow Him to use us for His purpose. Not ours. And in return.....guess what....we experience the abundant life that Jesus describes. Today. Not just when we die. And by experiencing for ourselves, we become conscious of it when it is happening around us. My beautiful bride (Lou) described it great yesterday when we were Uptown and walking along the sidewalk towards a coffee shop. The group that we were with (and myself) had walked ahead and were waiting as my daughter Ellie (who is 7) had decided that rather than walking on the sidewalk, she was going to climb the wall next to it and climb along the wrought iron fence, picket by picket, to the end where we were waiting. As Lou and Ellie finally approached (which seemed forever)......Lou said....."Sometimes we are in such a hurry to get to where we are going that we miss the life that there is along the way." Wow....is she right. Sometimes we miss the life along the path that we are on don't we. Thank God my wife slowed down enough to enjoy our little girl climbing along that fence and having a blast doing it. So simple yet so hard. Know what I mean? I was reminded that Life is not complicated.....we just make it that way.
I started this Blog as a way to help all of us see what More Life looks like in this world. Today. Some days it may be scripture, other days it might be stories, other day's it may be best described by what it doesn't look like. Regardless, I hope to instill hope and encouragement for those that might take the time to read it. I know at the least, it will bring me More Life by writing it. And that is enough reason to do it.
Until next time.
Strength and Honor.
SW
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