In golf, the term handicap means the number of strokes you need to add to par to effectively equal out the playing field. Say that you normally shoot a 90 and you are playing with a scratch golfer that usually shoots a 72. Your handicap would be 18. That means that you can play with a much better golfer and be able to compete on score. So if the scratch golfer shoots a 74 and you shoot an 89, you would win the round of golf because after you added your 18 stroke handicap to the scratch golfer’s round of 74, that would equal 92. Assuming you shot an 89, you would win by 3 strokes. Complicated right? Well, that is golf.

In life, we all know what a visible or mental handicap looks like. The handicaps you cannot see are the ones hidden on the inside like fear, anxiety, intimidation, etc. These are just as much a handicap as an outward one. In some respect, the inward handicaps are almost as hard to overcome as the ones that present themselves in outward appearance.

Last night, I was watching the Barrett Jackson auto auction, which by the way, is the best show ever invented for guys. My lovely wife comes home and she wants to watch Dancing with the Stars, which is the best show ever invented for ladies. Because I love my wife, I was watching (and playing with the dog) Dancing with the Stars and they began to talk about this young man named Nyle DiMarco. He is a very accomplished and successful model, actor and activist. He actually reminds me of myself. . . Just kidding! Many believe he will win this season of Dancing with the Stars. The thing about Nyle is he is deaf and speaks through a sign language interpreter. His parents, grandparents and sibling are all deaf. What an amazing young man.

When you think about dancing you think about music and the beat of the sounds. He cannot hear any of this, yet he is perfectly on beat with his dancing, and it is amazing to watch him. He is so fluid, confident, smooth and accomplished in his movements. He literally brings the crowd to tears each time he dances. I suspect one of the reasons is because many people in the crowd (and maybe reading this blog) have let inward handicaps like fear and intimidation hold them back in life and they are witness to someone dancing who refused to be held back because of his handicaps.

The first and biggest decision we all have to make regarding handicaps, and yes, we all have them, is the decision to not let them hold us back in the show of life. KT

Have you ever wondered where am I going and why am I here?

These are deep questions that I believe everyone asks from time to time in our life. We usually ask these questions when it seems life is in a routine and each day is like another.

I want to talk about this just a little. Routine, usual and common days are not always a bad thing. Many times these are the days of rest between changes we have just came through or changes we will be going through. Sometimes they are just a sweet life. I have had days of no rest because of stress, and I can tell you that I would rather have routine, usual and common days as compared to stress days.

Many times the greatest thing we can do is take an inventory of our current life. I find that when life is stressful, the only thing you want is to get back to routine days. Life can change in a blink, and we all know how fast it can happen. I have lost friends to sudden death and had friends get bad reports from doctors that changes the course of their life. Being truly thankful (not faking it) is a key component to the enjoyment of life.

Finding your purpose in life doesn’t nearly mean complicating every day with stress. I like to think that being where God wants you to be is peaceful and carries with it the joy of knowing you are where you are supposed to be. I believe if we ask God, he will show you the way and the place he wants you to be. Many times we do what we want and then ask God to bless our decision when it may not at all be where he wants us to be. Finding your place in life helps us rest easier knowing we are on the right road of life and trusting that God has our future in control so we don’t have to worry about it.

When we have a normal, routine day, it is common to wonder am I doing what I should be doing, going where I should be going, and living the life I should be living. I hope you have those kind of routine days because they are precious and priceless, and I hope you recognize them for what they really are. They are a gift from God, the gift of rest. KT

I attended a funeral yesterday for a gentleman in our cycling club. He was my age. On the back of the service program was printed the following poem authored by Summer Sandercox. When I read the poem, I thought about where I was, why I was there, and all the lives that were suddenly changed that week. I thought about when you are humbled at the idea of mortality, how the words in this poem take on a real meaning. I wanted to share this.

The measure of a man by Summer Sandercox:

Not how did he die? But how did he live?

Not what did he gain? But what did he give?

These are the units to measure the worth of a man as a man, regardless of birth.

Not what was his situation, but had he a heart and how did he play his God given part?

Was he ever ready with a word of good cheer, to bring back a smile, to brandish a tear?

Not what was his church? Nor what was his creed?

But has he befriended those really in need?

Not what did the sketch in the newspaper say, but how many were sorry when he passed away?

KT

There are special moments that you will remember all your life. If you are too busy to notice, you may miss something special.

Elaine and I had our two granddaughters up at the lake house last week. Our youngest is three years old and let me tell you, she is a communicator. She uses all her words every day. She wants what you say to be said correctly, and she will tell you if you said it wrong. She reminds me a lot of her mother when she was little. Ha.

So, last Thursday we get to the lake house to hang out for a while and decide to go eat dinner at the local Cracker Barrel. During dinner, she tells us she wants to go to the store and buy a little blue undershirt. Well, I don’t even know what an undershirt is. Elaine knows what it is, but I am clueless. She proceeds to tell us the reason she wants a blue undershirt: blue is her favorite color. After she has told us this about five times, we decide we better go find a blue undershirt. Just so we could hear her say it again, we would ask her why she wants a blue one. She would tell us as though it was the first time, that blue was her favorite color.

Well, we go to the first store and they don’t have any, and we end up going to Target to see if we can find the blue undershirt. We ask this lady who has her own grandchildren and she shows us this rack of these little camisoles and it was exactly what she wanted. We get the blue one because blue is her favorite color and you have never seen a child more happy. She wore that little camisole to bed, the next day and the next day after that. She wouldn’t take it off except for a bath.

The point is that these moments are precious and you want to make sure you are present when they take place because it is these moments that you will carry with you the rest of your life. Now every time I hear the color blue, I will remember our little granddaughter saying that blue is her favorite color. KT