Tag Archives: motivation

Remember

There is nothing God can’t do. As Richard from Tommy Boy would say, “He could sell a ketchup Popsicle to a woman in white gloves.”

The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is a shrine for elite baseball players. Only those with an elite career magnitude make it in and are honored with a plaque so that a young son can ask his father, “Tell me about what he did, Dad.”

Or when I played AAU Basketball, our team won its fair share of trophies and medals, each one of them a symbol of what our team accomplished at that specific tournament.  The box full of trophies, medals, and awards currently collect dust in my basement but they are still a reminder to those experiences.

We want to remember the good times and preserve greatness from going grey.  And God wants you to remember the good things he has provided as well. In Joshua chapter 4, we read about God bringing the Israelites out of slavery, through the desert, and into the Promised Land. He delivered on his promise to take them from slavery to freedom.

Because of what he did, God did not ever want the Israelites to forget the magnitude of this promise, the miracles he performed, and what a mighty and powerful God he is:

5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”  -Joshua 4:5-7

Think back for a minute. God has done some amazing and powerful things in your life. He may have performed a miracle or healing or taken you from an addiction and into your own Promised Land.  Take some time today to remember the mighty things that God has done for you.

For me, he restored relationships with my family members, delivered me from binge drinking, has blessed me as a husband and also as a father.  All of these things point to God’s incredible love, grace, power, and promise that I don’t want to forget.  They give me hope, comfort and courage for today.

Praise Him and commit that you will not forget the amazing and wonderful things he has done for you.

Question: What is something God has done for you?  Click here to comment.

#7 in 2011: Celebrating the Runner in our Family

The Half-Marathon circuit was alive and well this past summer as our family supported Liz in four competitions.  For those of you wondering, she is planning on another summer of Half-Marathon binges :)   Here is the seventh most popular post of 2011.

 

Celebrating the Runner in our Family

Our family is coming off a weekend where we supported Liz as she ran her fourth half-marathon of the season.  Yea, she’s loco!  As I reflect on her 52.4 miles of competitive running, three things come to mind:

No fear!  Whether you think you can or cannot do it, you’re probably right.  To succeed, you’ve gotta eliminate the fear and give it your all and that’s what she did.

[Read the entire article.]

Commitment is not an emotion

…it is a character quality that enables us to reach our goals.

Our emotions are like the roller coasters at Cedar Point, they go up and down all the time while whipping us around along the way.  Commitment, though, is not an emotion and ought to be rock solid.

Growing up, my parents valued commitment in a rock solid way.  I remember playing baseball one summer and wanting to quit.  Oh, I wanted to quit so badly and this was a point of contention with Mom and me everyday that season.  But she would not let me quit no matter what.  I had to stick it out for the whole season.  It didn’t matter that two other players had already quit the team, my parents were not going to allow me to quit.  They stuck with that stance and I finished the season.

A few years later, I went out for Freshman Baseball but Mom wasn’t going to let me go to tryouts.  She still had fresh memories of our baseball blowouts over me wanting to quit a few years prior.  We talked about the issue of the past, reinforced that there would be no quitting, and moved forward with mutual understanding of the commitment.

Here are some things John C. Maxwell has highlighted about commitment and I want to keep in mind as we raise children with this value:

It is usually discovered amid adversity.  Never before had I wanted to quit a sport until that baseball season.  Trombone, yes, but not a sport!  The adversity I faced was the fact that I wasn’t the best on the team.  Suddenly, my commitment had been called into question.

It does not depend on our gifts or abilities.  No matter your skill, you have what it takes to commit.  It is about showing up.

It comes down to the result of choice, not conditions.  You have a choice in the matter.  I chose to play baseball, and then I had to choose to stick with it to honor the commitment.  It didn’t matter that I wasn’t the best on the team, thought my pants were too tight, or didn’t want to wear a cup.  Those were just conditions that should not waiver commitment.

It lasts when it is based on values.  Mom didn’t say, “You’re not quitting, end of story.”  She took the time to explain, through many conversations, the values of commitment and not quitting.  That we don’t quit because it does not support the team and I had made a decision to play and must follow through with my word.  Understanding thy “Why” helped the value stick and transfer into other areas of my life.

It is easy to let commitment waiver in favor of comfort.  Remember, commitment is not an emotion it is a character quality that enables us to reach our goals.

Question: When was a time you made a choice to commit?  Click here to comment.

Blockout Burnout: Planning a pace for your life

Would you rather be the fastest sprinter in the world or the fastest marathoner?

I would choose to be the fastest sprinter, until I saw this video:

Ryan Hall can run a 4:42 mile, 26 times over.  He has trained his body in a way to sustain this pace, making sacrifices everyday that most people would not be willing to make.

You don’t know how long your race will be, so what are you doing to be sure that you don’t burn out?  Here are three thoughts for maintaining a good pace in your life:

Exercise – Why we give up exercise in order to sit in a chair and work for an extra hour at a lower level of intensity is beyond me. I used to do it all the time. I dealt with stress by eating and work instead of working out. The result? Burnout and chubbiness.  However you prefer, figure out a way to get regular exercise.  Your mind and body will thank you for it.

Be accountable - Stephen Covey said, “Accountability breeds response-ability.”  Accountability is something we’re all familiar with but rarely put into useful practice.  Find somebody you can trust to give the down and dirty on what you’re trying to do and how you’re moving forward.  This “somebody” probably shouldn’t be a family member or someone you’re dating.  It can be hard at times for those people who love you to not make excuses for you.

Laugh – Make others laugh or simply allow yourself to laugh at the jokes of others. Humor keeps us sane even through the most stressful of circumstances. Laughter is fun and a great way to reduce stress.  Learn some jokes, share some jokes, and find the humor in life.

In Philippians 3 the Apostle Paul describes walking with Jesus in terms of a race. Most people would look at his life and be amazed at his pace. But he looks at his life and says, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Your life’s pace is a matter of constant maintenance and intentional decisions.  Strive for a healthy pace that strides forward, eyes on the prize.

Question: What tips would you add to avoiding burnout?  Click here to comment.

A Matter of Trust

Lou is our new puppy who we welcomed to the family a month ago.

A friend stopped me the other day and said, “I saw you walking that puppy of yours.  He is going to be huge!”

She’s right, Lou is going to be huge.  He will be about 120 pounds huge when it’s all said and done.  That’s five times his current size.

He is small right now, but he will grow big.

God has plans for growing you big as well!  He has given you talents and skills that you discovered at a young age.  And you can fly a bit by using your skills, but you will soar when you trust God with it all.

When Jesus offered Levi a lifestyle change from being a tax collector to a disciple, not only did he give Levi a new name (Matthew), he gave him a new purpose for his skill.

Levi had great writing skills to be a tax collector.  But he was using that skill to serve only himself.  Jesus called him away from that profession, but he didn’t tell Matthew to leave his pen behind.  In fact, he brought it along with a new purpose: To write a first hand account of Jesus’ life.  And we can read Matthew’s writing in the Bible still today, what an impact!

God is ready to use your skills in the same way, to bring incredible glory to Him.  It comes down to trust.  Who do you trust more with your life: Yourself or God?  Your answer to that question will determine how you fly.

Question: What talent/skill do you have? Click here to comment.