“The greatest luxury in life is time.” I listen to Andy Stanley a lot, and this is a quote he has said several times that has made an impact on me.

You ask anyone who is at the end of life and they will tell you that the only thing they want is more time. Time is literally priceless, and so often we take it for granted. We just plan our day, week, and year and say I will do this or that and accomplish A, B, and C. The reality is any of us may be called home today, and then all you leave behind is the memories of what you stood for.

When you are close to the end, all the debate about whether there is a God, I believe this or that… it all comes to a screeching halt. When it is just us and the lights are off, we know there is a living God and we all know what decision we have made about him. Salvation is as simple as believing in your heart that Jesus is and was God in the flesh and that he rose from the dead to save our souls. If you are young and life is ahead of you, it is easy to get complacent and take time for granted and just assume you have enough life ahead to make that decision later. Well, you don’t.

There was a funeral for a gentleman that stated in his last will and testament will that he wanted all of his money in the coffin with him. He didn’t want to leave anything to anyone. He wanted it all. His darling wife read his will and confirmed that she would, in fact, meet this obligation in his will. At his funeral while she was paying her last respects, she slipped a check totaling all his net worth into his coffin. Ha.

Do something with the time you have because it is so very precious. KT

The greatest musical groups of all time are real simple: Three Dog Night (TDN), Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), and The Doobie Brothers (DB).

That is really all you need to download because it’s all there, including life, love, lost love, etc.

When I was in the 9th Grade, my buds and I had a rock band, and our main song was “Joy To The World” (Jeremiah was a bullfrog) by CCR.  We performed the song in the 8th and 9th Grade talent show, but got beat out by some little goober girl who sang “sugar sugar.” I think the little girl was the daughter of one of the judges, which had to be the only reason she won. Ha.

You should have seen us. I sang lead on the 3^rd verse with the lyrics: “You know I love the ladies, Love to have my fun, I’m high night flier and a rainbow rider, a straight-shootin’ son of a gun, I said a straight shootin’ son of a gun.”

That made me laugh just thinking about those lyrics, which today would get you in trouble. Ha.

The good news was that we didn’t even know what they meant, and you couldn’t understand what we were singing anyway. You would have thought that were cutting an album by how serious we were.

Anyway, if you ever need a good lift, go listen to Shambala (TDN), Up around the bend (CCR), Down on the corner (CCR), Bad moon Rising (CCR), Never Been to Spain (TDN), Listen to the Music (DB), China Grove (DB), and Takin’ it to the streets (DB). These are some of the greatest songs of all time.

Funny story. At our lake house we have a ski/wakeboard boat, and the only CD that is allowed in the stereo is Creedence Clearwater Revival. It is simply lake music at its finest. A couple of summers ago, my nephew’s wife wanted to put in some girl singing CD and my brother-in law-and nephew just looked at her and said there is only one music group that plays in the boat and it is Creedence Clearwater Revival. End of conversation.

So, choose your music well because it is important. KT

One could write a thousand pages about the boldness of the Apostle Paul, but I would like to show you just one passage.

Acts 14:19 & 20 – NIV – “They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city.”

To set the stage here, Paul was either loved or hated wherever he went. This particular passage took place in a city called Lystra, and people against Paul got together in a crowd and stoned Paul to death (so they thought). They then took his body, drug him outside the city, and they all went back into the city. His buddies, the disciples, came out to where they had left Paul, and the scripture says he “got up and went back into the city.”

Ok, so he was beaten and stoned to the point that they thought he was dead, but after, he got up, brushed himself off, and accessed his injuries. He didn’t do what any other person would do: leave and go away. No sir, Paul turned around and pointed himself toward the city and then marched himself right back into the enemy camp with pure boldness without any fear and without intimidation.

To say that Paul was never intimidated was an understatement. Paul literally had no fear of anyone and never backed down until the day he died. What an example for us.

Here is the point – The same spirit that was within Paul is within you and me if we are Christians. Fear is a debilitating emotion, and it can keep you from being who God wants you to me. Fear (i.e. caution) can sometimes be a good thing when it prevents you from driving way too fast, taking chances that are unwise, drug use, alcohol, cheating, and the list could go on. What I am talking here is a fear that overcomes you and robs you of joy and peace in your life.

The fears we normally experience are not of being beaten up, robbed, or physically hurt by someone. Usually, our fears are internal emotions, such as being intimidated, afraid to speak out, or afraid to hurt someone’s feelings. Also, as we get older and wiser, we begin to experience fear of things that we never feared before like a sport, social event, speaking in public, or simply doing some activity that years before did not worry you but now it does.

Paul was an incredibly bold man. I remember when my daughters were small I would always tell them to “be bold” in everything they do. Boldness (not arrogance) is so captivating that it draws people to you because it is so uncommon these days to see a Christian who is bold, intelligent and not intimidated by anyone.

Whenever the Apostle Paul walked into a room, every person had to stop and look at him because his boldness was so captivating. I believe that today when a Christian walks into a room that the spirit of God and the boldness of God should be so evident that people have to stop and just look at the Christian. What a testimony that would be. KT

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