When we think of big decisions versus small decisions in our lives, we think God acts differently when a big decision is at hand. We somehow think he sits up straighter, focuses more, and really pays attention to what we are saying and asking. This perception is simply untrue. God wants us to seek him in the small decisions just like the big ones. Another example is sin. God looks at sin as sin, meaning that he looks at lying the same as adultery. We, however, obviously think one is much worse than the other, but God only sees sin as sin.

When we go to God with a big decision or a sin, we somehow think he is surprised when we bring it up as though he didn’t already know. Think with me for a minute and imagine yourself praying over a situation and God raises his eyebrows, taking a big breath, and says, “wow, I didn’t know that.” Sounds silly, right? Well, that is how we sometimes act when we pray; we don’t think God knows every detail and every intention of the heart. You cannot hide the intentions of the heart from God. God knows if you are asking for something because you just want it versus a situation when you really need something. See many times we try to “sell” God on our ideas and what we want instead of really wanting what is best for us.

My advice when praying over a big decision is to simply say, “God, if this is in your will for my life, please open the door, but if this is not in your will, then please shut the door.” This prayer, at times, is very tough to pray because regardless of what we say, we want the control over the decision. True?

Praying for God to lead you is like driving a car around a mountain. You know you are on the right road, but you cannot see around the curve. In the most simplistic of terms, you need to be ok with what is around the curve and completely trust God that what he has planned for you around the curve is the best thing for you long term. We think in terms of days and weeks, and God thinks in terms of years. He is the only one that knows what a decision today will result in 10 years from now.

Some people mistake this faith approach as it being ok to not try your hardest at anything. Wrong. God sees the heart and the intention of the heart, and he says in his Word that if you put him first, he will give you the desires of your heart. I believe the desires of the heart are defined as what you are working toward and trying to accomplish as compared to what you are just wishing for. There is a big difference between what we really want and what we wish for.

My advice is to ask God to lead your life and then go try as hard as you can to get in line with what his desires are for you. He has a perfect plan for each of our lives, but he will only lead you if you are willing to follow. KT

Each room of our home holds memories of the past as well as expected memories for the future.

Upstairs in our home are the old rooms of my two daughters. They have both graduated college, gotten married, and moved on to the next phases of their lives. When I go up to those rooms, I remember the years of them growing up through school, dating, prayers, tears, and the day they left to go to college. I remember the two days that my two daughters left for college like it was yesterday; those two days were so emotional for me. I realized with both events that my babies were not just leaving for college, they were leaving home. In a dad’s mind, leaving home is a lot different than leaving for college. In those rooms were many great, precious moments with my girls when they were still living at home.

You can go through the dining room, family room, pool table room, workout room, and computer room, and they all hold many great memories of past events.

One room that is really special to me today is our family room. My beautiful wife redecorated that room a couple years back with all new furniture, rugs, curtains, etc. The most special part of the room is where the grandchildren’s toys are kept. You walk into this beautiful room and then you look to the side to see all the toys, baby dolls, strollers, books, and puzzles. I wouldn’t change it for anything. Upstairs, both of my granddaughters have a room where they sleep, take naps, and have stories read to them. That is where kisses and hugs are given out and where great, current memories are being made.

Sometimes in our life we need to get a new perspective on how blessed we are and what means the most. If your home is like ours, all you need to do is to walk from room to room to remember what is most precious in your life. KT

When I wrote the title to this blog, I thought about my life and what I did today. I slept in my bed, got up when I wanted to, made some Starbucks coffee, took the dogs outside, read the news, had a devotion, ate breakfast, got caught up on emails, left home and went to the office. After that, I started working, making calls, ate lunch, talked to the staff, went home, did the dog thing again, watched some TV, read some, maybe worked out, read some more, and went to sleep. The next day started over much like today.

We all need to get a real revelation of how great a normal routine day is, and how fortunate we are to have life and health.

The U.S. Men and women fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran didn’t start their day or end their day like you and me. They put their life on the line all day long; they ate and slept (maybe) when they could. There is a friend of mine that is 46-years-old and had her second cancer surgery today. She didn’t get to have a morning, afternoon and evening like you and me. There are countless others that have health issues, are wheelchair-bound, suffered strokes, dealing with cancer, heart-related issues, lost loved ones, dealing with old age, lonely, in need and lost in the world. Don’t get me started on children without homes and without the security you and I have.

I believe when you realize how quickly your life could change, maybe gratitude and thankfulness will come through. Several years ago, I was teaching a class and I asked the question if you could change anything over the past five years and if you could be any place in life you wanted, how would you change it and what would you change about it. This one guy raised his hand, and I was thinking he was going to give a long list of the changes he would make. Instead the guy said, I wouldn’t change a thing, and I am exactly where I want to be in life. I thought what a great, great place to be in your life. It is called the life of no regrets.

If you asked yourself that question, how would you answer?

Be grateful, thankful, and generous. Live each day with purpose and meaning.  Really be who you are supposed to be. KT

I hope as you read this blog that your home has good memories and that it is a resting place for you. I am grateful that our home has many, many good memories, and it is where I want to go to rest and recharge.

Every home has a smell that is unique to that home. I could walk into our home blindfolded and tell you where I was. I love the smell of our life, which is how our home smells. My grandparents on both sides of the family were all farmers in Missouri and their farmhouses had a distinctive smell I remember as a child. My parent’s home holds many good memories and good smells of my mother cooking at Thanksgiving.  Every now and then, I will smell something that reminds me of my grandparent’s homes, my parent’s home, or our current home.

It is really the smells of your life and the life of your children that is so special. Again, I hope that you have good memories of your childhood home or your current home and that the smell of your home brings you comfort. Staying at hotels or with family is fine if you are traveling, but you know you are not home and not at the place of rest.

When I think of my daughters and grandchildren, I hope that they have good memories when they come to our house. I hope that my grandbabies remember what it smells like at our home. I believe it is up to us to make great memories for our family and even a small thing like the smell of a cake being baked or fresh cookies in the oven can make a joyful memory. KT