All posts by Keith Thompson

You are David

February 20, 2017UncategorizedKeith Thompson

The next time you are facing what seems to be a giant of an issue, look yourself in the mirror and say out loud to yourself, you are David. The next time it seems like you have failed, it seems like you have made a wrong turn in life, it seems like you have made a mistake, it seems like the world is closing in on you, it seems like you have lost your joy, it seems like life is too big of a giant, remember the story of David and say out loud to yourself, I Am David.

The full story of David would take 10 pages to write so I will try to summarize. The prophet Samuel was led by the lord to choose the next king of Israel. He was told by the lord that this king would be Jessie’s son. He shows up at Jessie’s house to see the king. One by one, Jessie’s sons came to meet him and one by one, Samuel knew they were not the chosen one. Finally after all the sons had been interviewed Samuel asked Jessie, “Are these all your sons?” Jessie replied that the youngest and least (don’t miss that) is in the field. Jessie called for this son to come to house and it was David, the chosen.

Sometime later the armies of Israel were getting ready for battle with the Philistine army and the Philistines had this giant named Goliath who would come out daily to taunt the Israelites saying “choose a man and have him come fight me, If he is able to kill me, we will become your subjects and serve you but if I kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” All the mighty men of the Israelite army were afraid. In comes David bringing the soldiers lunch and hears what Goliath says. Long story short, he tell the army’s, “I will go fight him.” The smallest and weakest among the mighty men said basically, get out of my way and I will kill and deliver the giant to you. Verse 45 of 1^st Samuel 17 is what David shouted as he ran toward the Giant. Yes, he picked up his slingshot and ran toward (don’t miss this) the giant and shouted, “you come against me with sword and spear, but I come against you in the name of the lord almighty.”

David slew the giant that day with a slingshot and saved his country. The next time you think you are not equipped to battle life and that you are not up to the challenge, remember David. This was not just a story in the bible for the sake of having a story. It is the example God wants for you and me to fight the giants in our life and to do so with courage, boldness, confidence and a right purpose. So, the next time you are feeling a little ill-equipped, small, weak, afraid and shy, remember David and say out loud, I AM David. KT

Going from cool to classy

February 14, 2017UncategorizedKeith Thompson

There comes a time when you stop being cool and you need to move into being classy. I am clearly 20-25 years past the point of being cool, therefore the only option is to age with class.

Earlier today I was with one of my son in-laws looking at a car at CarMax. I looked around the lot at all kinds of hip and fancy cars and I amused myself thinking which of the cars I could drive and not feel like a goober in. One the cars was sleek and fancy and I tried to imagine driving it at my age and the only image I could come up with was a pig wearing a wrist watch. I would look as out of place in that car as a pig would look wearing a watch. Ha

Life is full of cycles and changes and I suspect the objective is to move gracefully from one to the other without looking like goober. I have a friend who is 68 years old and he went out and bought a new neon yellow corvette. The funny thing is he thinks he looks good driving it but doesn’t know that other people are snickering at him. Take a 911 Porsche for example, I would love to have a 1965-1966 911 because of it being vintage and an old school show car. That would be fun to own and fun to drive. That said, if I went out and bought a new 911, I would look like the preverbal pig wearing a watch. Some things just don’t go together and should not happen.

One of my greatest mentors in life taught me this a long time ago. He said, you will age and the cycles of life will change and you need to be aware when they do. It’s like the old guy at the beach wearing a speedo because he still thinks he looks young. Someone needs to pull him aside and help him understand that when all your hair is gone, your backside looks like a frog standing up, (got that image?) your arms and neck jiggle when you walk and your belly is hanging over your speedo, it is time to put on more clothes and change your beach wardrobe.

So moving from cool to classy happens to everyone and the objective is to know when it is happening and adjust your decisions to reflect what age appropriate looks like. Can I hear an amen? KT

At the top and at the bottom

January 30, 2017LifeKeith Thompson

God will be with you at the top of life’s achievements, accomplishments and joy and he will also be with you at the bottom. He is always with you even though you may not realize it.

Life is funny in that when things are going well it is easy to think you have it under control. In these situations people pray less and call on him less because they forget who is in control. God of course hears the cries and prayers from people who find themselves at the bottom of life’s cycles but while I don’t know if this is true, I suspect that the sweetest fragrance and the sweetest words spoken are when his people come to him in the good moments of life with thanksgiving.

Giving thanks in advance is one of the cornerstones of a life of faith. Many times in the New Testament it speaks of calling those things that be not “AS” through they were. Calling things in advance is one of the greatest expressions of faith that exist. It is the act of praying over a situation and thanking God during that same prayer for his answer. Spiritually speaking, it tells God not only that you have the need but that you have the faith in him to answer the need. If you think about in the natural realm, it is weird. It is like you asking someone for something and then thanking them in advance of their answer. In the spirit realm it is not weird at all because faith is the one thing that moves God. In almost every example in the bible God waited for the people to ask him before he intervened in their situation.

Take the story in the bible about the woman with the issue of blood that Jesus healed in the street. The reality is that Jesus passed by everyone else on the street that day because she was the only one who ask and acted in faith. The hard truth is that Jesus will watch from the sidelines of your life until you call on him. Let me say that again, the hard truth is that Jesus will watch from the sidelines of your life until you call on him.

My advice is to call him when you see the storms of life from a long way off and not wait until you are getting wet. Call him early and call him often. He already knows what is going on but it is your faith that moves him in your direction. KT

Peace that passes all understanding

January 26, 2017LifeKeith Thompson

In the bible in the book of Philippians, there is an important passage that deals with how to obtain peace in our lives. It is literally a three step process and all three steps are within the two versus.

Philippians 4:6-8 says. Be careful for nothing (don’t be full of care and worry) but in everything by prayer and supplication (talk with God about everything) with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God and the peace that passes all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The last part of that passage is to me the most important aspect. When you worry and can’t sleep, your heart is fearful and your mind runs with mental videos of past failures. The last part says he will keep (hold still) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. It literally means he will bear (carry) the burden of your situation and allow you to rest in knowing he has it under control. This could be one of the most powerful passages in all scripture because it deals with something we all need and all experience.

I believe to get to the peace you need to follow the steps in the passage

Step one-talk to God about it, step 2-thank him in advance for handling it even though you may not know the answer yet, step 3-accept his peace that will hold fast (keep you from worrying) your hearts and minds.

In times of greatest stress, repeat this passage from memory (memorize it) and you will find the true meaning of God’s word. KT

What to do in the middle of stress

January 10, 2017Career, LifeKeith Thompson

Our company, Hotel AG is involved in something this week that is proving to be a tad stressful. On me. This situation has consumed my thoughts for the past week and partially my thoughts for the past eight weeks.

I think with all big decisions in life, in order to gain perspective, you need to envision the worst case scenario before you can get past the decision at hand. You also need to take an inventory of your life and as has been preached for generations, count your blessings. I mean literally count your blessings as you think about your life, your health, your family, your children, your home etc. I find that so many times we forget or overlook what blessings we already have when in fact, these are the very aspects of life that help you gain and keep perspective.

It is my guess that you could go to the local Starbucks or a shopping area and sit for five minutes and you will see someone else that will reinforce to you how blessed you really are. It is easy to take the goodness in our lives for granted and to just assume you will continue to have that goodness.

Last night I couldn’t sleep so I went into the family room to read for a while and looked down below one of the bar stools and on the floor were a pair of little pink fuzzy house slippers that belong to my youngest granddaughter. I picked them up and held them and gently put them on bar stool and realized at that moment what a simple blessing it was to hold those pink slippers and to know that my little granddaughter is healthy, happy and full of joy. It is these little small details that give us a glimpse into a blessed life that help us get through what we think is a big issue. In reality, it helps us understand that the big issue is the little pink slippers and the small issue is the work thing. KT