One of my favorite passages of scripture is Colossians 4:6. It reads “let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man.”

If you stutter like I do, this passage takes on a whole new meaning. I was having dinner with my Mom and Gene one day as I was traveling through Fredericksburg. We were talking about life, family and the usual topics that are discussed. My mom looked at me and ask if something was troubling me. Well, since she asked, I told her that my stuttering seems at times to be worse than normal, and it was concerning me.

My mom quoted this passage to me. I have read that passage many times, but it never took on the impact as it did that evening. It was simply the word I needed that day and many days since. I have often wondered how the Bible can be so on point, and it is because it is the word of God. The passages that may not be relevant to you today, may be very relevant tomorrow. It is the living, breathing word of God

That day, I needed some grace in my words, and I needed them seasoned so they would come out right. When I read that passage, it says to me “it is a choice.” The word it starts with is “Let,” meaning it is something I can choose to let happen or not. Just like you, many things are a choice if we let God in or not.

Speech is just like a lot of other personality traits. It’s an attitude that if you believe you can, you can. Inferiority, doubt and fear can be debilitating to a person, but it is also a choice to live with it or overcome it. I like overcoming it better.

So, before I go into a meeting I always ask The Lord to prepare me to speak with grace and let my words be seasoned with salt so I will know how to answer every man. KT

Tonight, Elaine and I saw an old friend that told us about a lady that just died, and she was 57 years old. She was diagnosed around a year ago, and was told that she had a year to live. She found out she had stage four cancer.

As we were driving home, I asked Elaine the question, “what would you change in your life if you were told you had a year to live?” There was a pause, and then we discussed it.

For me, I said I would get the succession plan in order for Hotel AG to ensure she would be taken care of, and I would get the financial house and records in order so that it would not be a concern for her or my children. Then, I would start writing a lot more and committing my thoughts to paper. Lastly, we both agreed that we would maybe travel a little but not much. Rather, we would invest the year with our daughters, son-in-laws and our grandchildren. We would basically soak up all the love we could. Elaine said there wouldn’t be a day that goes by that she didn’t witness to someone about Jesus.

We then discussed why we shouldn’t wait to do those very things until we were forced to.

I came away from the discussion with a decision to do all those things while it was a choice and not a requirement. I also thought about what it would feel like to be given that news and to have to go home to discuss it with your family. In a manner of words, it would change your whole life and your thought life.

Anyone reading this blog post that has not been given that diagnosis can still make the decision to change how they live their life and begin a new day today. They can think of the people they love and can focus on what really matters, as they start to repair relationships and live the life they have always wanted to live. In short, they can start to be the person they have always wanted to be.

It is said of people when they are dying that the only two things that matter is the relationship they have with God and the relationship they have with their family. The cars, houses, money, job titles, and recognition mean nothing when life is at the end.

So today, let’s decide to follow the Army slogan that says “be all you can be,” and I would add “while you can.” KT

Dahlonega is a little town in North Georgia in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It started as a gold mining town way back and has now developed into one the best tourist attractions in Georgia. There is also a relatively large college in the downtown area called the University of North Georgia, formally known as North Georgia College and State University. My oldest daughter went to that college her freshman and sophomore years and then transferred to Samford University, where she graduated. My youngest daughter attended and graduated with honors from the University of North Georgia.

So, to simply say we know of Dahlonega is an understatement.

Each year, this little town does something for Memorial Day and the 4^th of July that is the most humbling and most honoring thing I have ever seen. For every serviceman or servicewoman that is from Dahlonega and died in action in any war, the town has a cross with that person’s name and the war they fought in. The town takes these crosses and puts them in the ground at 50-75 foot intervals on all streets throughout the town. The oldest, I believe, dates back to WWI and goes up through today.

The sight of those crosses as you drive through town is simply arresting to your spirit. You would think that the population of Dahlonega would be double today had these young service people lived.

Each cross represents a young life that was cut short. In most cases, they died on foreign soil and gave the last ounce of themselves so we could live free in the United States. Most of these crosses represent very young adults that did not have enough life left to be a daddy/mommy, raise a family, and grow old with joy. Most of them died in pain away from their families.

When you see these crosses, it changes the conversation in your car, it changes your mood, and you cannot escape the thankfulness for where we live and the freedom we have.

So today, if you are in the US, look around you and realize there is no other place on the globe where you can be anything you want to be and where you can worship and choose to live your life as a free person. The next time you see a serviceman or servicewoman, shake their hand and thank them. KT

There is a song titled “I Won’t Give Up,” and if you haven’t heard the song, you need to look it up on iTunes or YouTube.

The title of the song reminds me of the way a father feels about his children. A father will never give up on his children. Never. A father wants long life, health, prosperity and joy for his children. In fact, if a father could do something to make sure his children would have those things, he would do it even if it took everything he had.

If your father didn’t feel this way about you, then it is his loss. There are times when you hear of a father committing acts or doing things that are unbecoming to a real father. If this was your father and your experience, then my friend you have a choice. Carry the bitterness or forgive it and let it go. It’s your choice and you are the only one that can make it.

If you choose to let it go, I will tell you of a Father who will never waver. He is simply everything you will ever need. He will never forget, he will never leave you, he will never not love you, and he will never hold back his best from you. He is God, the creator and the first and the last.

So, the next time you hear the song “I won’t give up on you,” remember that is how your heavenly father feels about you and that is how fathers like me feel about their children. KT