Tag Archives: #influence

Spirituality

Targets

Bullseye! This word is like magic when you’re in a shooting contest. You hit the center of the target.

In today’s world, certain groups have had targets placed on them. Most of them are unwarranted and unwarranted. Tesla owners have seen their cars get keyed or painted with swastikas. What good that could come from this is a mystery, but it’s never okay to intentionally damage someone’s property.

During his time, Jesus had a target on his back. In Jesus’ case, he was targeted by the religious leaders not the criminals. In fact, some of the criminals were followers of Jesus (more on that in a future piece). Jesus didn’t care. He was on a mission given to him by the Father.

People seek attention, thereby becoming targets themselves. That’s fine. If fame is what you’re looking for, make sure that when someone hits the bullseye they are spreading goodness into the world…

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Spirituality

Faking It

Fake people are everywhere. People have lost their souls, doing and saying outrageous things so they can achieve a modicum of fame and notoriety. One guy in the United Kingdom went so far as to film himself licking a public toilet and posting it to his Instagram account. Yuck doesn’t begin to describe how disgusting that was.

Being known can be a really good thing. When famous people lend their name to a great cause, it increases the awareness and effectiveness of the organization. Think about Paul Newman and his “Newmans Own” salad dressings and pasta sauces. Every dollar of net profit goes to charities for children and education. The company got its start because Newman loved to cook and he wanted to leave a legacy.

If fame is what you seek, that’s perfectly fine. Just don’t lose yourself in the process…

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Spirituality

Addition or Subtraction?

Our words and our actions are either helpful or hurtful. Anything we say or do is rarely neutral.

The content of our hearts reveals a lot about us. Pure thoughts create pure hearts, while perverse thoughts bring out an ugly side of people. Most of us steer clear of judgmental, negative people. They suck the life out of you. Change your environment and change your life!

We are either adding or subtracting from the lives of others. At the same time, we are adding or subtracting from ourselves.

My encouragement to you is to become really good at addition. Leave the subtraction to someone else…

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Spirituality

Watchers

I never watch the weather. You see, only old people watch the weather and I like to stay young!

Everyone is always watching something. We watch the road when we drive, watch television, watch the bats (in Austin, Texas), and we watch each other. There are always eyes on us.

God watches over us all the time. He is there when we sleep and He’s here right now. Some believe God is looking to catch us doing something wrong. That’s just not true. He sees those things, but He sees everything else as well. When we do something good for mankind we don’t need to blow our own horn about it. The only one who matters sees it. And He remembers.

The world is watching. Give them something worth their attention…

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Spirituality

Show Yourself

You have read where I said, don’t waste your pain. Don’t waste your talent, either. You were given unique abilities to be used to advance God’s Kingdom on this side of eternity. Everything we have is for God and His purpose, not our own.

You know what you are good at. Something inside of you lights up when you are using your talents. You are the only one who has your ability. My encouragement to you is to work on improving yourself so you can be effective. If you keep your talents hidden, that’s selfish.

You will only find the fulfillment God has planned for you by bringing your talents to the surface. Be fearless. Find your purpose.

I will say it again. Don’t waste your pain. Don’t waste your talent, either…

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Spirituality

Tone

When I was raising my children, I told them they could say anything they wanted to me. I was listening to how they said it. I wanted them to feel free to express themselves. Their tone of voice revealed more than their words.

This holds true in life. An angry tone is usually easy to pick up on. So is a happy tone. When we combine the tone of someone’s voice with the look in their eyes, it gives us an opportunity to connect at a deeper level.

Take the time to listen to others, really listen. Then watch how your communication with others improves…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Your Greatest Battle

Every day we are in a fight for our lives. Good versus evil. Do we choose Gods way or the way the world thinks? The world isn’t always wrong, but it can be seductive. We can be lured into a false sense of security.

God gave us a guide for how we should live our lives. There is structure, emotional and physical health and how we should handle our money inside that book. There are also many self-help books in circulation. We turn to them because if we follow what the Bible teaches us, we might be thought of as weird. No one wants that because then you become an outcast!

The fight is real. Unseen forces are vying for our attention. I encourage you to pay attention to the Spirit that brings light and life into you.

You won’t be sorry or disappointed…

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#inspiration

Literacy

Reading and comprehension are vital for a functioning society. Yet, adult illiteracy is at an alarmingly high rate in the United States.

Currently, around 43 million Americans cannot read at a fourth grade level. They cannot write or do math above a 3rd grade level, either. We can, and must do something about this before it’s too late.

In 1997, President Bill Clinton encouraged us to take on a tutoring role in elementary schools. Helping a child read opens their mind and imagination, too. And literacy has an economic impact. If all adults reach just a sixth grade reading level it would translate into $2.2 trillion of additional income in the United States. Personally, I can’t imagine my life without books.

I encourage you to volunteer to read with children. You will be helping the teachers by being an extra resource. By doing this, you will be making a difference in a child’s life, and you will be helping the country…

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#inspiration

Education

Being educated is important, wouldn’t you agree? In many ways our students have fallen behind. This is not all the teachers fault.

Horace Mann (1796-1859) is known as the “Father of American Education” because of his great impact on education. Mann believed the best way to deal with unruly children was to educate them. Early educators focused on the head, the hands and the heart. In other words, the brain, the application of knowledge and the emotional well being of children.

Fast forward to today. Teachers are forced to “teach to the test.” STAAR testing is their focus. Do you wonder why? Because test scores determine how much funding they receive from, you guessed it, the federal government. Students are memorizing information so they will do well on the test. I know a lot of educators. Not a single one is an advocate for the test. And students aren’t energized to learn, only to regurgitate a bunch of information.

A better approach is to teach kids critical thinking skills and test their proficiency. Teachers can capture their imagination. Kids will engage their minds.

When you reach the heart of a child, he will give you everything else…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Joyful

Romans 12:12 tells us to:

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” How do we accomplish this when the cost of living has skyrocketed, crime is rampant, and people are at each other’s throats over something as silly as politics. There is a way.

Put all your faith and trust in something greater than yourself: God. He is still in control of everything. Keep your focus on Him. Refuse to be distracted.

Your future is in God’s hands, not the politicians. Their futures are in His hands, too…
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