The Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

In life, many people just pretend.  They try their hardest to be something they’re not.  Everyday they work in a job where they pretend, they live in a marriage where they pretend, and they associate with people all while pretending.  They do not know what it means to be genuine.

Being genuine is about learning to be comfortable with you.  Not faking it until you make it, but instead striving to be authentic in all you do.

In an effort to be genuine, I encourage you to evaluate the following…

Your speech – Do you speech how you feel or do you say what others want to hear?  Do you say things to sound impressive?  Do you try to make yourself look good?  (Sometimes at the expense of others.)

Your life – Do you live what you say you believe?  Are you doing things you love?  When you commit to something, do you stick it out?  What could you do better?  Are you being true to your own personal convictions?

Your friendships – Are you able to have good and bad days with those you call friends?  Are you able to express a different opinion and stay close?  Do you hide your faults in fear of rejections?

Your direction in life – Are you headed where you feel God wants you to go?  Are you able to use more of your gifts and talents?  Are you staying true to the vows you have made to God and others?

Life is too short to pretend.  The good news is that when we are willing to evaluate ourselves, we can slowly become more and more genuine in how we live our life.

Yet in order to lead, you have to build trust with those that follow you.  More often than not, trust is more important than love.  So how do you build trust with others?  Here are a few ideas…

Be transparent - No need to try to be perfect because you are not, so be transparent about your shortcomings.  We all have them and when you fail admit it.  Also be transparent when things are not going well.  Strangely enough most people are scared to talk about the real issues; but if you want to build trust, talk about the positive and the negative.  It has been said, transparency is the quickest way to trust.

Do what you say you will do -  Along this same line, when you blow it and forget something, own it.  Trust get eroded when someone says one thing and then does another.  It is that simple.

Listen - Most people are not looking for you and me to fix anything, they just someone who cares about them.  the best way to show you care is to simply listen.  When we listen to others, it builds trust.

Be helpful - When it is in your power to do good for someone, do it.  We have all been used by people and we hate it, but when you do the opposite of culture and really try to help others, it builds trust.

Trust - I know it is hard to trust when you have been hurt.  But you cannot get what you are not willing to give.  So in order to build trust, you have to trust others.

With all of that said, I still struggle with trust.  So please add to this by sharing your thoughts on how you build trust?  I would love to hear from you.

Finally, let me say this; it was such a joy as well to get to spend the day with my children.  Even if they were sick.  Time is one thing we never get back, so whether it is a sick day or a weekend, being with my girls is always good.  They are such great kids.

As I close today, let me give you three things God has brought to my mind since being a parent.

1.  Be in love with God. Nobody can teach children about God better than the mom and dad.  If you want your kids to love God, then be in love with God yourself.

2.  Be consistent.  In your attitude, your correction, and your life.  Your children need an example in their life.

3.  Be involved. More than anything, children want to know they are loved.  So spend time with your children.  Turn off the phone and gadgets and go to the activities.  Talk, sing, and play with your children.

I am sure many of you parents out there can add a million more suggestions to this list, but these are just a few simple ones God is teaching me everyday.

By the way, I think I am sick now.  :(

When I was a child, my dad would often take me out to someone’s farm to get hay for our horses.  Many times when we would go, the farmer would have a crop planted.  And eventually in the conversation the question would emerge; “what are you growing?” Funny thing is that what ever the farmer sowed, he always reaped.  This reminds me of a great verse in the bible that applies to life.

It is Galatians 6:7  ”Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.”

So today, what are you growing?

I got an email from a friend last week and within a story she sent, the following was written:

*If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

*If you plant goodness, you will reap friends

*If you plant humility, you will reap greatness

*If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

*If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective

*If you plant hard work, you will reap success

*If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

Think about it today:  What are you growing in your life?

Proverbs 29:20 “Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”

Way too often what we say gets us in trouble.  Words are the most powerful tool we have each day.

We can either use our words to…

destroy or to lift up,

lie or to speak the truth in LOVE,

hurt or to sooth others,

hinder or help,

discourage or encourage.

Who needs you to think about the words you use in their life today?

Show up in order to go up!

Show up in your attitude.

Show up in your commitment.

Show up in your service.

Show up in your abilities.

Show up in your excitement.

Show up in your loyalty.

Show up in your mind.

Show up in your gratitude.

“Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself.” -Plato

Each day is filled with endless mind chatter that we either tune into or allow to ramble on within our head.  Whether you realize it or not the very things you allow to chatter away in your head without thinking about effect everything you do.  Your thoughts influence the way you see other, the way you act in situations during the day, and the way you end up going when you have to make major decisions.  Research suggests that each of us talk privately to ourselves at the rate of approximately 1,300 words per minute.  Crazy, when you stop and really think about it!  Ha, Ha!

But that is my point…if your thoughts are leading your life today, then you need to think about what you are thinking.  It could be that you could drastically change your life by tuning into the chatter within your head.  Just THINK about it.

If you want to go deeper with God and deeper with others, you have to go deeper within yourself.  The things you hide on the inside are the things that make your life on the outside.  So if you are constantly confused on the inside, guess what you are going to experience on the outside?  If you are unhappy inwardly, guess what you will constantly battle on the outside of your life?  If you cannot love yourself on the inside, how will you ever love anyone else?  Same is true when it comes to contentment, peace, forgiveness, and direction.  Develop what you want on the inside and the outside will be fine.

If you want real change, go deeper on the inside of your life.