Be confident and assured in this season.
Speak with strength and the assurance you gain daily from your relationship with God and His Word.

Your wife and children will hear your frustration, your anger, your anxiety …
your negativity and condemnation toward him or her or toward whoever is talking on television… if you speak it. You might appear no different than those speaking on television….to those in your house.

They see, through that, who you are in times that are challenging.

Think about that before you speak…
those who hear you  will many times repeat and learn, then speak, that same attitude.

Speak from the strength you have been gifted,
Speak in the assurance that nothing is happening that surprises Our Creator.

Speak confidently about the future.

Your wife and children need to see that strength in the midst of all the weakness out there.

You are the Source of Strength to all in your family.
Think of that and assume that position before any words exit your mouth.

The ones who hear you will profit.

Terry
October 2016

 

Sounds peculiar

Outlast yourself.

But if you are a somewhat mature person, you understand.

My worklife is filled with the effort to make money outlast the people who temporarily possess it.

Spiritually and influentially we should be working to build a life and an effective witness which will outlast our own lives.

If we care enough to invest in ourselves and the Gifts given us and then take that to get involved with and Impact others …. 

lasting Influence can occur.

Do you think the young Billy Graham ever thought as he was hanging from trees and pretending he was Tarzan….that he would have eternal influence on the whole world ?

As he began preaching to
Youth for Christ groups across the country, do you think he felt that he would be listed as one of the worlds most admired people over 55 times since 1955, more than any other individual since George Gallup began the List?

He had a large visual influence and
influence which was almost unnoticed. 

He counseled Presidents and led great multitudes to Christ……

but you probably do not know that in 1963 he posted bail for Martin Luther King at the Birmingham jail.

He counseled Presidents and yet when I saw him in Miami Beach, in the early 60’s …I felt as if he spoke individually to me.

He simply did his upmost with what was given him.

He fully exercised his gift in whatever was laid out for him to do.

He did not quit when he reached “ retirement” age.

That “r” Word is not in Scripture.

Obedience precedes lasting Influence.

Obedience to what you feel driven to do.

It happened with Mr. Graham, Joyce Meyer, Chris Hodges……it can with you as well.

Its a principle not confined to our young years.

It’s a principle not confined to spiritual things.

Yet it is most eternal and positive in it’s Influence that way.

Lennon and McCartney have lasting Influence that has surpassed what they could have dreamed as they grew up in Liverpool and grinded in the basement clubs in Hamburg. 

Yet, will that Influence be of real effect or value 100 years from now?

Albert Einstein had great influence and still does. And will for generations.

Adolph Hitler will most likely never be forgotten, as will Genghis Khan and Alexander.

Hitler still effects thought. But, it is to the negative.

Jesus and His  remaining influence is without compare. 

Its effectual, constant and contemporary and eternal.

Thomas Jefferson. CS Lewis.
Winston Churchill.
These have left great and positive influence

We may not have or leave Influence as  these three …. but they did not think they would early on. 

Jefferson suffered greatly in the loss of his two sisters and lingered in loneliness and abandonment until two professors, George Wythe, and William Small invested themselves in him. 

C.S. Lewis fell away from his faith early on and was drawn back to the Anglican Church at the age of 32 by the INFLUENCE  his friend, JRR Tolkien.

Churchill asserted himself in his young years and on into his eighties. He was of great influence, fell out of favor….was persistent in his stances and non negotiables…and eventually was the major and motivating force in the preservation of the sovereignty of England.

Lead your life to have an Impact.

If you do that….you will leave an Impact.

Decipher what it is and then Pursue your passion and calling diligently.

Pursue it and push after it with your full involvement.

Be consistent in it.

Do not stop working at it ….even after reaching age 65.

The results and the lasting effect are up to others.

Lead a life that will outlast you.

Make a mark.

Not many people get a statue ….

but your stature can effect and influence lives for many generations …and some for eternity.

And, as long as you have the breath of God in you, you should keep at it.

 

 

When you read the Scriptures do you retain it in your “heart” as well as your head ?

It is said that a politician once made the comment that they read The Bible and sought ethical guidance from It.

There is no better place to receive ethical guidance.
There is no better place to receive practical knowledge about relationships and moral living.
Reading Proverbs and learning Its lessons would allow one to exist peacefully and well in any society.

The Pharisees knew the ethical attributes and exact wording of the Law and The Old Testament….yet Jesus came strongly against them, condemned their arrogance for knowing the Scriptures but refusing the spiritual aspect.

He railed against them because they had grown to feel superior through their mere knowledge, they had grown irresponsible to their flock because they had retained knowledge without having that knowledge affect their hearts.

It did affect their behavior…although not to the positive.

Too much pure knowledge will lead to conceit and retreat from those lacking the same.

Too much knowledge without the affectation of a tender spirit and humbled heart will lead to Pharisee-type attitudes and an outlook that those without the “superior” knowledge are beneath you.

Paul was sent into the Arabian desert, not to become a  scholar of the Law….
he had that retained knowledge when he was Saul and killing messianic Jews.

He was sent into the desert to receive instruction from the same Comforter and Counselor from Whom we receive instruction.

He was sent there for 1000+ days to gain time and the influence of experience….and a humility before the Author of that experience.

Knowledge and Humility along with experience gives one a deep abiding, assured
and secured position in their spiritual walk.

 

EPINOSIS is deep experiential knowledge.

 

It is the melding of The Word and The Experience of walking over time, in and with, The Spirit of God.

It’s similar to the longing and yearning of courtship combined with the committed and completed vows and sanctification of marriage…. over time.

These two together promote the deep experiential knowledge of each other that comes slowly to a couple walking together through life and it’s winding road.

Scriptural, or better yet, spiritual
EPINOSIS allows the pursuant believer to LIVE the LIFE of Christ
and to fully and humbly translate the Christian experience to those unfamiliar with it…..without seeming “holier than thou”.

Pursue scriptural knowledge.
It’s our weapon to combat and refute the attacks of our common enemy.

If successful Christian lives teach us anything, it’s that knowing Scripture, along with a continually deepening, experienced walk with The Holy Spirit
brings an existence which will be noticed because of its difference from the walk of others.

It’s a life and a walk that will be looked at and longed for by those around you.

It’s a life getting close to the intentionality of The Creator.

And when they inquire of you…
as to the Hope and Peace within you,
you will be able to give voice and reason, with humility, for those gifted traits.

 

Terry
from September 2016

 

A song I heard had these lines….
“You wash me in Your Mercy,
You make me clean”

I recommend listening to this Song……entitled, “Clean”.

Consider people with a heavy history, a past weighted with wrong doing which burdens their minds, hearts and opportunity.
Consider how their vision forward is clouded by the darkness of their earlier decisions.

They need and look for cleansing.

Freedom and Release are things not experienced by those weighted and burdened by their past.

The future, however, is clean….
no decisions made there yet.

Pray for those you know in need of that “mercy washing”.

In theory…. we all need it daily.
Specifically, there are those who have never received it.

Pray specifically for those.

Pray for the “washing” of their minds, to free them from guilt and self-condemnation. Pray for their hearts that they would be strong in the forgiveness received. Pray that their relationships be healed and an opportunity for restitution and reconciliation be available.

Being washed gives liberty from the “dirt”.
Being cleansed allows us to see Light
and walk forward into that clear and clean future…..
awaiting our new decisions.

 

Terry
September 2016

 

In sports one should never enter the arena without a desire and passion to win. Someone will win, someone will lose.

In business, winning is not a zero sum game as sports usually is.
In business, there are, most times, enough chances to allow many boats to rise the tide of opportunity.

In relationships, winning is sometimes losing. If you are always out to win…. you may find your relationships short-lived.
Winning an argument may give you satisfaction in one area…to the depletion of satisfaction in another.

One can win a ” fight” with the spouse…
and destroy the others self-confidence.

In a marital relationship, when words are exchanged with tension or raised voices…an examination of the intent
without a rationalization of ones position might allow the insight that brings an apology.

Dying to a position or stance can win over ones spouse because backing away from destruction or domination reveals a heart that… even in a disagreement ….
loves more than it desires to win.

Gaining the whole world but losing ones soul is parallel to going balls out
to win an argument which in turn destroys the heart and spirit of the girl you pursued so passionately years ago.

Going to the wall is an absolute in the arena ….it can be right in the business world… but count the cost before going that distance in a relationship.

It might be too far.

I have a very close friend who got quite mad at me once for not doing what he thought I should. I chose not to allow that tension to affect my feelings toward him. I made no retaliatory comments.

About a week later,
he asked me if I “still loved him”.

I did.
I told him I did and said nothing about
the earlier tension.

In the middle of this competitive sports season when by all rights, Coaches should be displeased with
bad performance even in a big win…

And in this soon-to-be-Fall season when business emphasizes finishing strong ….

Be careful to count the cost for that same behavior ….relationally.

Don’t fuss about the house being a mess…. If your clothes are not in their proper place. Be careful not to make comments about your spouses appearance… if you are physically amiss.

Boys speak before they think…
Men should not.

Winning isn’t always winning.

Terry
September 2016

 

Heard TD Jakes speaking earlier, being interviewed about all of the activities and efforts he is engaged in. His Church, television, teaching, movies.

He made the comment…
” I want to see what’s in me”.

I want to see what’s in me…..
I buy into that.

Let’s buy into that.

Time can be managed.
Days can be scheduled and managed
Life, here, is only so long.

Let’s see what’s in us.

We hear Football Coaches this time of year talk and school players to…

“play 60 minutes”.

They say repeatedly…
“Play hard every play…games are decided by a few big plays…play hard every play”.

You have heard it…
“practice is where you learn”
“Practice is where you prepare to win”
“Practice hard…to win”

Spiritually,
practice is getting in the Word daily.

Doing so enables one to “make the plays” when the time comes.

Prepare yourself in some way…
everyday.

If you are 30…
if you are 60…
Let us make every day count for something.
My father died at 55 and he would tell you the time in his life that really counted for good were his last 15 years.

A very famous leader once said about
each day that was before him…
and this published comment is in my pocket everyday…

“God has given me this day
to use as I will.
I can waste it…or use it for good.
What I do today is important,
as I am exchanging a day of my life
for it.
When this day is over it will be
gone forever…
leaving something in its place I have traded for it.
I want it to be a gain, not a loss,
Good, not evil …
Success, not failure…
in order that I should not regret the
price I paid for it”.

Read that last phrase again….

“in order that I should not regret the price I paid for it.”

 

Let us maximize today.

Seize the day.

Let us use the Gifts given us…
fully.

The One Who placed the gifts within us did so for them to be fully exercised.

Don’t look back at some point and say “what might have been”.

 

See what’s in you.

 

Terry
September 2016

After this past birthday, I have recalled several events in my life. Having had many birthdays, I know that tends to occur.

Two particular events come to mind regarding my father. He was always influential in the lives of my brothers, I and my mother….but he became a man of great influence after the age of 37, when he
surrendered to a call on his life which had been present since he was about 20.
When I was twelve, I saw him step out of a row of people and walk a short distance to proclaim that he was changing his life…because of that Call.
I knew it was a big deal, yet I knew not what it took for him to do that until I became a Man myself.
About a year or so after seeing him take those steps to change his life…he had the opportunity to rescue me one morning.
In the seventh grade, the Vice Principal at
Rosemont Junior High School collared me and Gary Miller for throwing paper cups. We were to report to his office the next morning.
It felt as though I was sentenced to San Quentin.

I came home and thought I was disguising my fear and dread, but both my parents knew something was amiss. After dinner I made the statement that.

I was going to bed.

They knew.

The next morning, after squirming in the bed all night dreading the visit to Mr. Rhome”s office…
I went into breakfast with the same blank and mouth-agape stare I had the evening before.
I quickly returned to my room to bide the time before walking to school.
My father came into my room and shut the door, telling me I was going nowhere until I told him what was wrong.
After quickly thinking that not talking could get me out of going ….he looked at me, told me he loved me….and again asked what was wrong.

That’s when the 13 year old boy busted out crying and spilled out the big trouble I thought I was in.
He looked down at me, put his hand on my head, and told me it would all be okay.

He then prayed with me to The One Who had called him to change his life, and asked that He would give me Peace and Protect me.

As his hand rested on my head I looked up at my father, and he told me I was going to be okay.

I believed him.

At that moment, and I can recall it perfectly even now….every bit of anxious dread left me.

Immediately.

As I walked the few blocks to school I had no trace of the fear which gripped me walking home the day before.
The visit was over in two minutes as Mr. Rhome told Gary Miller and I he knew we were good young men and would not do that again.

He was right.

Did my father call and speak to him?

I will ever know.

But the words he spoke to me that morning have never left me….

and it was over 45 years ago.

It was the memory of those words that led me to call him and ask to see him in the Summer of 1980.

The plans I had made were falling apart.
I was 26 years old with plans to pursue and they had all met an absolute dead end.

I saw no way forward toward my goal.

I called my father.

I went and spent two days with him in the woods at a Camp he ran. As I drove there, I knew and remembered when he had put his hand on my head and told me I was going to be okay.

We walked, talked. I told him where I was.
I spoke of the apparent failure of what I had been working toward, and how every effort had reached its dead end.

He spoke nothing of failure. As good as my memory is I cannot tell you the exact words he spoke. But I can tell you what he told me.

He told me I was going to be okay.

He prayed with me and for me to The One Who had changed his life and granted me Peace and Release those years before.
After those two days, as I drove home….again…
I knew not how…but I knew I was going to be okay.

Two days later, the dead ends were still present…
but another avenue opened, and paved the way for the next four years of my life which were full of rewards, honors unexpected, and many moments of fulfillment and accomplishment.

Again, my father had gifted me with prayers of Peace, Release, Preperation and Encouragement.

 

He died during those next four years.

He died suddenly….

but he had gifted me immeasurably in my 30 years with him.

 

Today, over 30 years since he died….

his words and the measure of them are as real and vivid as those days he spoke them.
My brothers and I still have guys who hear our last name and speak of how great and positive an Influence he had on their young life.

I knew that first hand in 1965.

His Presence is gone, but the effect of his words and the influence of his changed life still live in me, my brothers, and in the many lives he touched.

The One I still call on is The One Who called my father to a changed and effective life ….
and I receive the same Peace and Release I did that day, long ago, when their hands rested on my head.

Terry

August 2016

 

What do you like to do?
What are your talents?
What is your strength….your greatest ability?

God put that in you….
that’s why you are good at it.

Are you maximizing that or those gifts?

Stirring something up keeps the ingredients mixed.

It creates flavor and fulfills the intent of the recipe.

 

Read that last phrase again….
“fulfills the intent of the recipe.”

 

Are you fulfilling the intent of the recipe Your Creator put together in you             to flavor the world as only you can do???

 

Stir up that gift.

Put it to use.

Continually.

It is the method to become the
“man in full” God intended for you to be.

No excuses for failing.

 

Make an effort to stir others up.

 

It’s not intruding in their lives….
it’s getting involved to help them fulfill their intended use.

It’s what the Coach who drove you hard, saw in you…and pushed you to be.

It’s what a teacher may have pushed you to fulfill….to your discomfort.

 

John Greenleaf Whittier wrote this…
“Of all the sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these….
“what might have been”.

It was used by a sportswriter to describe Mickey Mantle once. As great as the Yankee outfielder was, he was plagued by injuries his whole career and therefore did not accomplish what he might have.

Ernest Hemingway committed suicide at the age of 61.

John Kennedy died at 46.

Tiger Woods has seemingly had his career ended at 40.

I urge you to consistently be ….
and work aspirationally to become all you were and are created to be.

Determine with intentionality that
the sad phrase mentioned above will never be said of you.

Stir up your gifts.

 

Terry
August 2016

 

Have a twenty year relationship with a client. In 2006 he drove two hours to attend my mothers funeral. I had not informed him of her death.
That day as I walked out of the Sanctuary, he was sitting toward the back, he reached out, hugged me and told me he loved me.

In 2006-2008 I went on work trips with him to the Gulf Coast to clean up and rebuild in some areas after Katrina. He has been retired since 2002, but contributes to this world in multiple ways.

Yesterday, he was in my office signing papers after his girlfriend and wife of 61 years passed away in early July.

I asked him how he was.
He spoke for about a minute and the emotion, hurt, pain and suffering rose out of his heart and push tears out of his eyes.

As his head hung down I hugged him and told him I loved him.

There is no way I can understand completely how he feels, for I have not experienced the death of my spouse.

 

The One who gives us comfort allowed me to comfort one who had comforted me 10 years ago.

 

The author of the letters to Corinth told his readers that the sufferings he endured were to their benefit.

Yesterday, the pain and hurt I have felt in my life worked to the benefit of my longtime friend who stood suffering in my office.

I could have been shallow and told him it would get better. I could have given him a quick man-hug, quickly patted him twice on the back and walked away.

However, the comfort and words he gave to me a decade ago came back yesterday in an attempt to comfort and encourage him, and to pray with and for him. His hurt and my care for him in his pain drew tears from my eyes as I held him.

His pain and hurt are not gone today.
The suffering he is walking through will not end quickly.

 

Yet, I can be his friend today and for many tomorrows.

 

As he suffers the pain of loss,
I can walk with him,
not telling him anything ,
but simply walking through this, with him.

 

I have a friend whose teenaged son passed away in 2003.

 

Inexplicable pain.

Undefinable loss.

 

Most stayed away, but I went to him that night and simply sat in his living room with him and one other friend.

Three years later this same friend sat with my family and encouraged us that when we felt the loss and grief in our mothers passing….to concentrate on what she had gained by being eternally in The Presence of Christ.

Yesterday, as I could see the pain, hurt and suffering in the eyes of my friend … I shared with him that same encouragement.

If we walk according to the Creators’ Presence within us….the pain and hurt we live through will work to the benefit of many.

 

Terry
August 2016

 

There is a mission field in each of our lives.
Where is …or what is yours?

Is it in your thought life…
where no one sees, but you know.

Is it in your marriage….
where your wife feels it but does not express it??

Is it in your prayer life that gets moved to the front of the priority list only when a need becomes urgent?

 

There is a mission field in each of our lives…which needs an outside influence to come close and minister to us.

 

Some people go to other places and “missionary” to the visible needs in those locations…to feed people, to spread the Gospel…to heal diseases through prayer and medicine.

The fields we see across the country or around the world are visible and these places have advocates to reveal the need and they call out for missionaries to come.

 

There are missionaries who have mission fields in their own lives …. in need of ministry.

 

There are people who you will see today…..you may live with them, work with them, you may have given birth to them….. you will have contact today with souls who have a mission field to which you can “missionary”.

 

There maybe no advocate calling out to you. There may be no visible cry for help…..but you will see the mission field if you are “in their business”.

If you will be aware,
If you will ask questions,
If you care enough to be interested,
to turn aside from the direction you are headed and notice the eyes of the person in front of you or hear their voice.

 

You will notice the mission field in their life.

 

In your own life…
are you telling anyone about the mission field within you which needs attention??

You may need to be your own advocate and announce to someone the present need within you.

If those around you are attentive enough to notice and have hearts to hear… your Spiritual advocate will move them to get involved.

 

Have you felt our Spiritual advocate prompting you to a mission field in someone’s life ….someone you saw yesterday?

Someone you will have interaction with today?

 

If you receive that prompting…
it’s more vital to respond positively and get immediately involved in that
mission field than it is to get on a plane and go across a continent to minister there…..because it’s right in front of you and the Advocate has prompted you to  immediate action.

There is a mission field in each of us.

It’s a hole we need filled.
It’s help we need in some certain area.

Let it be known.

A mission field cannot be a missionary to itself.

 

Terry
July 2016