I was involved in something today that was very difficult for me. My oldest daughter and I took the two granddaughters for swimming lessons. Sounds like an easy thing to do, right? Not so.

The first day of swim lessons is always very hard because the children are so upset and you want to just jump in and rescue them and tell them it will be ok. It is incredibly hard to watch while your children are calling for you to come get them. It is especially hard for the children because they are not in control and having to learn something that is frightening to them.

That was this morning and I am still a little shaken up about it. Ha. You know this is one of those lessons that could save their life and also one that they will remember for a lifetime. You want them to be able to enjoy the water and feel safe in it but man, it is so difficult when the lesson is happening.

Today, I thought about us as adults because it is just as hard for us to face a fear and overcome it. It is the same fear when we are out of our element and not in control that grips us and has the potential to frighten us. There are all sorts of examples in our own adult lives of fear and doing something you have never done before. Marriage, job, sales calls, change, moving, going back to school, age, health, life and the list could go on and on.

I think when you are faced with a fear you either decide to conquer the fear or learn how to live with it. There are certain fears we just need to learn how live with such as rock climbing, bungee jumping, skydiving etc. These fears are easy to live it. It is the fear of something that you know you should overcome but choose not to, that I believe peals away a little of your joy, peace, and fulfillment. These type small fears that we allow in our life can grow to other areas of our life if we allow fear to remain.

I cannot tell you which fears you should fight or not because once I learn how to fight my own fears, I will be able to help you. Until then we all have areas in our lives that we have allowed fear to control and I believe if we could hear the voice of God, he would tell us to be bold and try again.

A real important thing to understand is that every fear we as adults face and overcome is a fear that you have experience with when your children face the same thing. In your mind’s eye, think of your children asking you for advice on the very fear you faced and overcame. You have the knowledge and the basis to help them. If your children face a fear that you succumbed to, it is difficult to tell them “do as I say instead of as I do.” KT

In our lives, knowing what is important and what is not should be of real focus to all of us.

I have a friend of mine that refers to this as choosing to win the battle or win the war. The battles are the little things and the war is the important things.

I know a person that said no her children on everything and fussed, nagged and stayed on the children about even the smallest things for years. The children grew up and got to the point of not listening to her at all. She may have won the battles but she lost the war over her children. I have two older daughters and I would like to believe (they may not agree, ha) that we fought to win the wars and choose not to fight every battle. The battles are the picking up the clothes, not washing the dishes, having a party at the house, staying up late, talking to knot headed boys at 1am, returning later than expected from a date and etc. etc. The wars are the important things like their safety, their health, education, sex, drugs, alcohol and the things that could have harmed their lives.

While parenting there are some things you just have to let slide if you want them to listen to you when the important things happen. In business like life, there are some small things you just have to get over because they won’t alter your future like the important things.

It is like the story of the boy who thought it would be funny to cry wolf so all the town would wake up needlessly. He thought it was so funny, he cried wolf several times just for the fun of it. The problem happened when there really was a wolf and when he cried wolf, no one listened to him.

The simple children’s story about the wolf really captures the total essence of this subject. Don’t fight every battle to the death of a relationship because you will not be respected and listened to when the war comes along.

So in your business and family relationships I believe it is important to decide ahead of time which are the battles and which are the wars. Save your influence, energy and strength for the important wars and not every little battle. KT

I was reading and listening to the news last night and looked at all the tragedy all over the world. I had a very humbling thought. The thought was, how we become so immune to the difficulties, hurt and pain of other people. Yesterday the news covered the train crash in Philly, 50 people dying when a banquet hall was attacked by bad guys, the earthquake in Nepal etc. The article of Tom Brady being suspended for 4 games for letting the air out of the footballs was right beside the articles on tragedy.

It would be my guess that more people read the Tom Brady article than the other ones and got up and got some ice cream and started watching TV. We see death so often we have become accustom to it and it doesn’t have the effect it used to.

It important for us to never become insulated and immune to human tragedy. Each of those people that died this week likely left behind family members, spouses, children, mothers and dads. Pray for our world because it is hurting. Hug you family tonight and tell them you love them and don’t put off letting those around you know that you love them. Tell your kids every day even if they think they are too big hear it. Grab them, hug them and kiss them. Even if they “act” like it doesn’t matter, trust me, they will remember it long after you have passed on. Seize today because you don’t know what tomorrow holds but you do know who holds tomorrow. KT

You want to see a wow scripture? Here it is. The NIV version of Philippians 3:12 says “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

Read that last part again because it will give your spirit a little pause. “I press to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

The two questions are, what is God’s plan for your life? Why did he take hold of you? There is a purpose and a calling for every one of us. There is a job and a role that no one is better suited for than you. It doesn’t mean you have to be the CEO of some major company. It could be that he choose you to be the best mother to your children that they could ever have.

Teddy Roosevelt’s mother saw her role and her calling as teaching young Teddy and being there for him so he would know love and compassion as his examples. Young Teddy went on to change the world as the president of United States from 1901-1909.

That passage of scripture means to live up to the reason why God took hold of you. KT