My oldest daughter told me about this T-shirt you can buy and the graphic on the front says, “I might be laid-back, but I can lean forward real quick.”

There are people in this world that are in constant laid-back mode. I have always envied these types of people because I wish I was that way, but I’m not. Like many of us, there is a tolerance level for unimportant things but there is a line. For me, that line is my family, my God and my country.

Like senator John Kennedy from Louisiana says, “you can’t fix stupid.” I read the news and see what many people spout off, and I can still remain laid-back, but when it is my wife or my children, I can lean forward real quick. My deceased father in-law, Max Phillips, once told me, “I am a Christian, but I am not a doormat.” I think I heard this the first time I took his 11^th grade daughter on a date. Ha. He left zero doubt in mind, that if I hurt his baby, I might no longer be among the living.

As Christians, we are the light in the world, but we are not milk-toast pushovers. We stand up and are accounted for when it matters. You see these paintings in some churches that depict Jesus as a little frail, homely looking man. He was not. He was a carpenter and when he spoke, everything and everyone stopped to hear what he said. That day he threw the money changers out of the temple, notice, it didn’t say, the money changers fought him. No-sir, they knew better than challenging him.

Jesus was a man’s man, and even sometimes called people hypocrites, serpents, liars and brood of vipers. Yes-siree, Jesus himself was laid-back, compassionate and gentle but he could lean forward real quick. KT

A couple weeks ago, I asked our Sunday school class to take an index card and write down one question they would like to know about the bible, God, biblical history etc. I told them if you could only ask one question, what would it be?

There were several index cards that asked similar questions, so they got grouped together. One group of cards ask about the prehistoric animals, cavemen, neanderthal time period in relationship to creation and Adam and Eve. Another set of questions centered around the question of how mankind grew from just Adam and Eve and then how did mankind grow again after the flood when only eight people survived.

Good questions and I did my best to answer the second one last Sunday. My son-in-law said something to me some time ago that really stuck with me and helps with these answers. He said, “God just made a way.” I thought about that and it is so true. Our little limited minds just can’t wrap around the magnitude of some of the things God has done through history. In those cases, the only answer may be –  God is the Way Maker.

In your life today, you may be facing some giants, and it may be hard to see how God can get you through it, but just know he is the great, I AM, and he is the, Way Maker. It’s difficult at times to just rest on that promise but isn’t that really what faith is? Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

It doesn’t matter if we can see the way and or understand the way, just as long as we know the Way Maker. KT

The worst client is the one that ignores your advice. There is always some give and take with clients, and they will many times follow your advice, but they will at least always listen to your advice and then make their decision.

I have this client now that just thinks he has to be the smartest person in any room he walks in. ha. He always needs the last word and always has to tweak every decision, just a little, before finally agreeing to it. This guy is 45 years old and probably weighs 130 lbs. soaking wet and thinks he is God’s gift to real estate. Several perfect examples lately all end the same way. We get his hotels almost under contract, and at the last minute, he has to tweak the pricing and terms, just a little more. It kills the deal. He doesn’t understand why the buyers back out and he never thinks he is at fault for killing the deal. He always blames the buyer, the staff, the broker (me) and his attorney. Never himself.

He has to feel like he got every chip off the table and has to win every conversation and is not happy unless the buyer takes a knee. I know if he is doing this with me, he is doing this with all his vendors and his own staff. Needless to say, he will still own these hotels for years and he will probably wake up one day and wonder why his real estate investments are losing money.

Arrogance, ego and pride are three of the worst personality traits a person can have in our business and this guy, bless his heart, has all three in spades. Maybe someone will take him down a notch or two one day but until that happens, he will continue to make bad decisions. KT

Good voice messages are a gift and a great memory to keep but negative voice messages need to be deleted.

This morning I replayed old, saved voice messages from my mother, stepdad and younger brother, all who have gone on to be with the lord. Listening to my little mom’s voice today, almost brought me to tears and listening to the messages from my recently deceased younger brother, really almost made the water works start.

Hearing those voice messages, it was almost like they were still alive and I could just pick up the phone and call them. I still find fault in myself for not just going to see my younger brother when I knew he was starting to spiral. Oh, my excuse was I have this meeting or that call or that sale I was working on, all of which I would gladly trade for another chance to look him in the eye, face to face, and get him back on the right track.

12 years ago, my youngest daughter created a blog website (you are reading it now) for me to write down a few thoughts. 12 years later I have written close to 1,050 blog posts that will hopefully stand the test of time for my family to read long after the lord calls me home.

I guess the message today is, don’t put off doing the important things, especially if it is your family. Leave voice messages, keep voice messages of those you love, and by all means, write down things you would want your family to know about you. What I wouldn’t give to have the written words of my grandparents, greats and double greats. What a gift that would be to really know who they were and what they believed. Don’t put off telling those you love that you love them. KT

Sometimes, we think life should be a steady climb that is always reaching new heights. Things improve, jobs improve, investments improve and they are always growing. As any of us know, who have been around for a few dozen ice cream seasons, that is not the real-life experience.

Take a farmer who plants his field. For weeks and maybe months it doesn’t seem like anything is happening, but the truth is, that is when the real roots are growing. It seems like nothing is happening but one day there is nothing above ground and the next day the field of green is springing up. It just looked like a plateau, but it was really just getting ready.

We started going to the gym back last fall and I never felt so old, fat and weak. I saw this dude who was 73 doing pullups, which as anyone knows, is probably the hardest exercise in the gym. He was doing them Rocky style, palms out. Well, I got to talking to him one day and we became friends as well as about 10 other guys who are all around my age. He told me it takes time to condition your body and your mind to do pullups. For months I worked on that one goal, and it seemed like a long plateau, but I just stayed with it and now I start every workout with a few pullups. It makes me feel accomplished. I still look fat and old but at least I don’t hear Joe-Gym-Body snickering behind me. ha

There are plateaus in life and many people quit during those seasons when it seems like nothing is working like it is supposed to. More times than not the one who succeeds is not the smartest, best educated or best trained. It’s the one who wouldn’t quit. The plateau may just be where character is built, wisdom is gained, patience is developed and faith is tested.

The truth is that the plateaus are not the permanent destinations, they are the training ground for what God has planned for your life.

If you are in a plateau season of life, take heart and stay faithful to your objective because what feels like a standstill, may actually be the preparation for the greatest growth of your life. KT