Category Archives: Life

A mile across

Life

One of the most epic battles in all of history was in the 11 century BC in the Elah Valley in Israel. It was between a young nobody, nobody knew, named David and a 9 ft 9 inch giant named Goliath. The two enemy camps were located on each side of the Elah Valley, a mile across from each other.

Goliath wanted one man to represent each side and do battle and whoever won, would determine the winner. He wanted this because he knew he would win and in doing so, save the lives of hundreds of his compatriots. Fairly good strategy if you knew the odds of winning was clearly on your side.

For 40 days, Goliath would come out on his side of the mile gap and shout to the armies of Israel to send a man down so they could fight together. For 40 days, no Israelite dared to go down. The story is long and worth a read but in short, a teenage boy named David took the challenge and killed the giant.

The point is the daily taunts by the giant started a mile away on the other side of the valley and with each day, the giant came further down his side of the valley. By day 40, he was starting to come up to Israel’s side. Our giants will not quit taunting us, and if we let them, they will keep coming until they invade our space and pose the most risk to us.

It could be a week or a month, but the giants in our life keep coming until they overtake us, or we defeat them. I will not go into what kind of giants I am speaking of, but we all know what I am talking about. It is that thing that you fight to control so no one will know your weakness.

My advice – Kill the giant when it is a long way from you and do not wait until it is on you. The mile distance in this story is a metaphor for a week, month, a year before the giant overtakes you. We need to deal with the giants in our life before they get close. KT

All hat and no cattle

Life

This is an old Texas term to describe a cowboy that has all the right gear and the right look but doesn’t own any cattle. It means the person is trying to be more than he is. He wants people to think he is a large rancher, when he’s not.

Today’s term that means the same thing is, fake it till you make it. Same meaning just different words. We all have known people like this who need to put on an image that is different than who they really are. One of the most refreshing things is when you meet a person who is real and not trying to be someone they’re not. There is a certain ease about that person, and they seem much more engaging, and the conversation is much more free flowing. They are who they are.

If you could choose to me anyone, why not choose to be you. Everyone of us was created by design and for a purpose and everyone of us has different talents and gifts. God didn’t make you to be like someone else. He made you to be you because there is only one person in the world exactly like you, you

In the post COVID world, there seems to be a rise in identity crises for many people. They quote the sound bites they hear from news and social media thinking those words will make them into someone else. When God created each of us, he put a “ding ding” meter in us to discern the real intentions of other people. We all have it. When you try to be someone you are not, the other person’s meter quietly goes ding ding, and they can see through it. Be yourself. You are unique in many ways but the way to do your best in life and fulfill what God intended for you, it is be you. Dress like you, speak like you and act like you and it will amaze you how other people respond to you. They will see you for who you really are. You. KT

Godliness with contentment is great gain

Life

This is a passage in 1st Timothy 6:6. It is short, to the point and very important.

What does it mean? It means that when you do the right thing, a peace comes over you that gives you contentment. The dictionary definition of contentment is a state of happiness and satisfaction. Contrary to what you read in the news or hear out of small people looking for a sound bite, we all know what the right thing is to do. In every situation that comes up, we know in our hearts the right path and the wrong path. Its like seeing a person drop their wallet. You can take the path of searching it for money first or take the path of picking it up and taking it to the person. Simple right? Well in dealing with more serious issues in life, the right path is never cloudy, it is just us doing what is right.

The word Godliness simply means to act Godly. Be honest, straightforward, transparent, loyal, steadfast, forgiving, and consistent in the way we live our lives

In Colossians 4:6, the passages says – always let your speech be gracious and pleasant, seasoned with salt so that you will know how to answer everyone. When you do what is right and what you know you should do, there is a contentment that comes over you and that is what the passage means when it says, Godliness with contentment is great gain. KT

Taking your finger out of the water

Family, Life

There is a metaphor that has been around a long time. The imagery is a person sticking a finger in a pool of water and pulling it back out. When you pull the finger out of the water, the water just closes back up as though your finger was never there. The metaphor is meant to symbolize your life after you die and how life around you will close back up and quickly moves on.

I had a friend pass away early this summer. He was very good at his job, maybe even one of the best ever. His office was filled with awards and monuments to his success. I was visiting some friends recently at his old office and looked in his office and what I saw, broke my heart. The staff there wasn’t doing anything wrong, but they were putting all his papers in the trash and clearing out all the sales awards and mementoes of his success. The thing that stuck me standing there was how fast life moves on without us.

Clearly, his family will carry his memory close for the rest of their life, but the business world just moves on, like pulling your finger out of the water.

Another friend with our company 20 years younger than me, passed away two weeks ago. He was with his wife and children when the Lord called him in front of his family. Much like the first example, there was sadness but the world around him just quickly moved on, like pulling your finger out of the water.

My point is, make sure those you love, know it. Hug them every time you see them even if they act like they don’t want you to. I ask my granddaughters from time to time, “do you know that Papa love you?” Their answer always pings my heart. They say, “yes, because you tell us all the time.” That is what I wanted to hear and wanted to know, that they have no doubt how much I love them.

Hug those around you and tell them every chance you get that you love them. KT

Service over status – character over comfort – we over me

Career, Life

If you have ever wondered how to be the best version of yourself, I would suggest the following. Look for opportunities for service over status, choose character over your own comfort and make the word we, more important than the word me.

Service over status – Whatever your job or task is, take the attitude and willingness to serve, not lead. If you take this mental mindset, you will have the respect of the people around you. Lean more into the roll of the job versus your title for the job. When a person is always looking for a better status/ title, it is generally a career killer. People want to promote people who care more about the job than a new and bigger title. Throughout my life I have held many titles, but the two most dear to my heart are, husband and daddy. All the fancy titles in the world pale in comparison.

Years ago, when I was in the restaurant business, we were having some new coffee equipment installed by Standard Coffee. I got to talking with the equipment installer and about life and work. The equipment installer had the same last name as the chairman of Standard Coffee so I asked him about it. He told me he was his son. I asked him why he was installing equipment instead of other executive roles in the company. What he said, left an impression on me to this day. He said, “If I want people within the company to respect me, I need them to know I was willing to start at the bottom.” What a leadership attitude.

Character over comfort – There is a saying that is so very true. Whatever you compromise to keep you will eventually lose. You just cannot compromise integrity and expect it to not have an effect on you. When you do compromise your ethics, it peals a piece of your soul off with it. Its impossible to remain the same person after you compromised yourself for some short-term gain. If you are asked to do something unethical, and you refuse, you may lose the temporary gain but those people around you will respect you and in my humble opinion, you will come out better over time.

We over me – So much in the world today is about me. It turns my stomach to see all the self-centered, posts, blogs, news feeds, articles about people that only care about themselves. The best advice anyone can give is when you are asked “how did you do it?” is to say, “it was team effort, and we did it together.” That answer makes you look real, honest, approachable, and transparent. If you personally take all the credit, it just makes you look small.

So, look for opportunities for service over status, choose character over comfort and make the word we, more important than the word me. KT