The Fire Within

As we are getting closer to graduation season and my daughters are coming to the end of another dance season it is impossible to ignore the fact that there are some of these girls that we've known for a decade or more are moving on to college and the next chapter in their lives. I just finished reading Tribe Of Mentors   by Tim Ferris and couldn't help but reflect on this transition as I read through the closing statements which talked about how the big questions we ask ourselves in our lives are probably not the right questions we should be asking. We shouldn't ignore planning but asking ourselves, "What should I do with my life?" is a bad practice. How many people know what their plan is getting out of high school and it actually taking that path? How many people in their lives use the degree they went to college for? I am but I didn't decide on my major until my junior year in college, even then my career has taken a few turns along the way I certainly di...

There are opportunities that come along in our life that we have to dare to jump at. There are times that you get a chance to try for something and failure is a possibility. You have a moment to go on stage and perform a solo or give a speech, in front of 100's of people, and yes, it could go horribly wrong. That fear sets in, you don't want to be embarrassed. You wonder what people will think of you if it doesn't go well. It is easy to play it safe and turn down the offer. Take the chance anyway. You don't want to live your life just wishing you had taken the opportunity. Regretting that you didn't take the chance of embarrassment to feel the rush of performing, with all eyes on you. You might not be the greatest ever to do it, but you are one of the few that actually did try. Your first time might not go perfectly, but you can learn from it. Realize that it wasn't as bad as you thought and determine what you need to do the next time to make it better.

It is an exciting time in our house. That time of year my wife and I get super pumped up. Yes, football season is upon us, but that isn't what I'm talking about here. It is the start of school. That magical time when routines return. When the phrase, "I'm bored" is rarely heard. When we as parents start to get some level of sanity back. This year is an especially momentous year in our house. Never before have we had so many new beginnings at the same time. Our three daughters are facing their first year of high school, their first year of middle school and starting kindergarten respectfully. To add on to that, my freshman will be old enough to take her driving permit test in two days. Lots of new beginnings. To go with those new beginnings there are a lot of nerves, lots of excitement and a fair amount of worry. It comes with the unknowns. As adults we are the same, starting a new job or moving to a new city we also can be nervous, excited and anxious. But new...

Recently I was talking to a friend about how there are things that I hesitate in doing because I feel inadequate. There are things that God has placed a fire inside of me for but rather than just going after it I end up talking myself out of things. I put together a list of the things I need before I can accomplish or even start on a goal. Writing was one of those things for me, I would start and stop so many times because I felt like nobody noticed or I would compare myself to others and know that I'm not as talented as they are. My friend simply stated that he believes everyone feels that way. As I reflected on that I realized how much the devil likes to make us tell ourselves we aren't good enough. The more we are called to do something the louder that voice becomes telling us we shouldn't. God sets before us open doors, but He doesn't shove us through them, they are choices that we have to make. We have to make the effort to follow what He has placed in our hearts...

Open doors have been on my mind a lot this year. It started at church when our theme for 2017 is "Year of Open Doors". One of the things I put down for a declaration for 2017 was that God would open doors for me in my work. I have a good job but I still felt like it was not where I was meant to be. I had a picture in my head of where I thought things should go, what the right path was for me. But it felt like every time I thought there was an open door that I should head towards, the door was closed to me. When we find a door closed that we want to go through we often react in a way we shouldn't. We get mad, we ask why the world is against us. It seems like it is the right thing but the devil is trying to stop us. We try to attack the door, kick it in, storm it like a SWAT team. This is the door I'm meant to go through, it has to open! Maybe we need to stop and ask if we really need to be persistent in achieving our goal or do we need to realize that the door is bei...