It is funny how something imagined can still make someone happy.

Funny story-

Years ago, I had a restaurant in Columbus, Georgia. We served breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our clientele was across all ages and as you can imagine, it is tough keeping everyone happy. Our dining room in the restaurant was big and could often get cooler or warmer depending on the time of day and the crowd.

During breakfast and lunch, I would get 10-15 people that said the dining room was too cold or too hot. For several years, I would change the thermostat as each request was made and that would only cause more requests.

One day, I mounted a thermostat in the dining room and decided I would ask the guest that complained to change the thermostat to where they wanted it. The people could not have been happier because they got to set the temperature where they wanted it, and it also gave the guest a level of control that made them feel good.

I never told anyone that the thermostat wasn’t hooked up to anything. Ha.

Let me tell you though, I had some happy customers. KT

2 Timothy 1:6 says to stir up the gift of God that is within you.

We all have a gift that came from God, and it is important to know your gift and to use it. The passage refers to stirring up the gift, which leads me to believe his instructions are to the person not currently using their gift.

I am not talking about the gift you want to have, but the gift that is God-given. See, I wish I was good looking, but all the wishing in world doesn’t make it come true. I also wish I could be a great athlete, but again, all the wanting and wishing for that gift doesn’t make it real in my life. I have to know what I am capable of and focus on doing the best I can with what I have.

I have met many people with a gift, but very few with the same gift. I have seen people with the gift of speaking, teaching, training, educating, giving, helping, writing, designing, stewarding, building, consulting, selling, envisioning, working, etc. In all these gifts, I find that a person usually has more than one gift, but there is one gift that they are very, very good at. I am talking about stirring up the main gift within you.

I have a friend that is a great phone salesperson, but also equally as great when he is face-to-face. You put those two gifts together, and he at his best when he is meeting with someone and selling at the same time. I, on the other hand, am awful on the phone but ok face to face; I have always driven or flown to meet with people as compared to just relying on phone calls. You have to work with what you have and know your strengths and limitations.

I find that the easiest way to stir up the gift is to use it. You will know it when you use it because you will feel it and know it in your heart. You will recognize that a surge has happened in your spirit. So, when you read this passage of scripture, remember this blog and use and stir up the gift that God had put within you. KT

The movie “Click” should be a required movie for every parent and especially young moms and dads.

In the movie, Adam Sandler gets all caught up in life with work, kids, and trying to get ahead in the world. One night, he goes to a store and meets a guy who sells him a universal remote (like a tv remote) that would control his life. He found that when things at home were stressful, he would click fast forward, and it would speed his life past those moments. In his work, he could use the remote to speed his career to the point he would get a promotion.

What he didn’t know was that once he fast forwarded through say a tough time at home, the remote would automatically fast forward every time there was a tough time. It did the same thing for his work.

The first time he used the fast forward feature it zipped through maybe an hour of dealing with the kids or family issues. The second time it was a few days, then a few months, then a few years had been fast forwarded through.

In the end, he missed his life, moments that made up his life, all the wealth and everything he wanted in life. See he was an old man that had chosen to speed through the uncomfortable times to get to where he thought he wanted to be only to find out he had actually missed his life.

The movie ending is one of the greatest of all time because he woke up and realized it had been all a bad dream. He realized he was still young and could make a difference in his children’s life and could actually live life like he had a second chance. He rushed home and woke up the kids, started packing for a camping trip he had been putting off, and kissed his wife. He basically got to start over and got a “do over” from this life-changing dream. He chose to be in the moment rather than skip through it; he decided to make the most of his life.

When the job is rough, children are young, everything is a mess, and you just want to escape, this movie will bring you back into perspective. It will help you see how beautiful life is, how amazing time is, and what a gift time is.

If you haven’t seen the movie, go watch it. If you have seen it, go watch it again. KT

How is that for a title?

The gentleman’s name was Ray, and he was the wealthiest man in Columbus, Georgia. Ray was a major shareholder in two large publicly traded companies and owned much of the commercial real estate in Columbus, Georgia.

Back in my restaurant days, Ray owned the fee title to a restaurant I leased. Ray never missed an opportunity to tell me how insignificant I was and how big he was. Ray’s own children had nothing to do with him when he was alive. Ray and I had met and talked on a number of occasions, which for me was good because he was literally the example of everything I did not want to be. See, examples are good for us even if they are bad examples because they teach us what not to do and who not to be like. So, when you intersect someone you detest, say to yourself that you will learn from this person.

Ray had cancer and was dying. He was at Emory Hospital in Atlanta in the late ’90s. I was coming back from Columbus one day and his assistant called me and said Ray “requested” I go by and see him at the hospital. I almost hated Ray and to be asked to go see him was offensive to me. As soon as I hung up the phone, God told me with pure clarity why he wanted to see me. Ray was dying and he wanted me to tell him about Jesus.

I took a deep breath and said “ok Lord, I don’t want to, but I will go.” I stopped on the way by a bookstore because I did not have a Bible with me and bought a Bible that I still have today. I went through the New Testament and marked the plan of salvation, so I would have it with me.

Have I told you yet that I hated Ray? Did I tell you that the last person I wanted to see in heaven was Ray? Just checking.

So, I went to Emory hospital and asked for his room; the nurse told he was in the executive wing where each room was like a hotel suite. When I walked into his room, I looked at him and he was reading his stock report for that day on all he owned and how much his net worth was. He held up the stock report for me to see; I told Ray that I was not there to talk about money, and he looked at me and said “I know.” He then asked me to come sit in the chair beside his bed. As I sat down, he told me to “scrunch” the chair up close so he could hear me. Already knowing why I was there and why he wanted to see me, I told him I was there to tell him about Jesus.

He looked at me and said “I know, and I want to know him.” I lead Ray through the plan of salvation like a little child verse by verse. When we got to the end, I asked Ray if he would like to accept Jesus. He held my hand and like a little child, he asked Jesus into his heart. The look on Ray’s face told me everything I needed to know and at that moment in his eyes, I wasn’t insignificant and Ray wasn’t big. Ray died three days later, and I know when I get to heaven I will see him there.

On the drive to the hospital, I came to terms with how I felt about Ray. I knew in that moment that if I didn’t go, I would miss something beautiful God wanted me to do. I may have been the only person in the world that Ray would have listened to about Jesus… I may have been his only hope of salvation. I decided on the way to the hospital that I could not live with myself if I denied Ray this final act of love.

It’s been many years since Ray passed away, but even to this day when I think of that event and even now as I write these words, the emotion of watching him take that final step toward Jesus still pierces my heart. I know I will see Ray in heaven one day. KT