What's Your Expiration Date?

A couple of weeks ago I was in Dallas Texas for an industry event.  We were there to learn about millennials and radio station revenue.  In between sessions we were entertained by artists that the record labels were kind enough to bring out.  One of those artists was Tim Timmons.

I first met Tim about three years ago when his first single, “Cast my Cares” was being promoted to radio.  In addition to being a gifted song-writer he’s also quirky, humorous and a wanna-be-gourmet-chef.  One of the things that most impresses me about Tim is his outlook on life.  Whenever you ask how he’s doing he’ll typically respond with, “I woke up today”.

You see, to Tim waking up today is no small feat.  In June of 2001 he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given just 5 years to live.  Today, he still has 4 tumors on his liver that doctors say will eventually cause his heart to give out.  Tim’s response was to live as if Jesus is real.

When the diagnosis was delivered he and his wife Hilary were dumbfounded.  But, they also decided to surrender all they have to Christ.  When Tim told Hilary he understood if she didn’t want to have children her response was to live as if he is healed.  Today, they have four children including one set of twins.

I love when Tim shares because I learn so much.  Instead of waking up and asking God to be with him he acknowledges that He’s already here and asks to be a part of whatever God is doing that day.  Tim knows the value of a day and doesn’t want to squander a single one.  When Tim sings children’s songs like, “I’ve got a river of life springing up in me…” he actually believes it!

I was challenged this week is to write someone a note of appreciation.  I’m going to write one to Tim.  I’m thankful that he’s decided not to let cancer be the story and instead has decided to make his relationship with Jesus the narrative.

I encourage you to do the same.  Think of someone who inspires you and write them that note.  It’ll bless you as much as it does them.

The Two Versions of You

As a youth, the movie Top Gun ruined me because from that moment on, all I could see myself becoming was a Navy fighter pilot.  Prior to that, my childhood dream was to grow up and become a pussycat race car driver but, that’s a story for another day.

To become a Navy Pilot you must be nominated to Annapolis by a Congressman or Senator then compete against the other nominees for the 2 open slots in each state – I lived in California:(  Regardless, during my junior and senior years of high school I was nominated by Congressman Bob Dornan and Senator S. I. Hayakawa.  In my senior year I was certain I was going to receive the scholarship until I learned  about politics and life not being fair.  Someone was moved ahead of me (he had an uncle who graduated from the academy) and I was offered West Point.  Army guys don’t fly fighter jets.

I dealt with the disappointment as well as any immature 17-year-old would.  I turned down the scholarship and decided to figure life out while attending Community College.  My dad wanted to strangle me.  I also decided to work in a restaurant, buy a motorcycle, hang out at the beach and eventually take a 6 month journey across the U.S. In a Volkswagen Van.

Thankfully, I finally came to my senses.  Have a wife and a baby girl will do that to you.  I had 2 years of college left to complete my degree and accepted a scholarship to Pepperdine.  Going to school while working full-time and raising a family was no picnic but it was during this time I learned a valuable life lesson.  

As each new trimester of school was about to begin I thought about who I wanted to be 16 weeks from now.  Those 16 weeks were going to go by whether I attended class or not.  Was I going to create a better future by being in class or not?  By putting in a little effort each day I could accomplish big things over time.  This kind of thinking got me through college, graduate school, broadcasting school and later graduate school again.  I kept wanting to see a better me after each period of time.

This brings me to my point.  Time is always going to slip by and we have to choose how we'll spend it.   Exercise or not, eat healthy or not, pray and serve others or not.  There are two versions of you waiting at the end of time.  Which do you want to be?

Prayer or Monologue?

This week I'm challenging my self to “Read my Bible and pray every day”.  This sounds simple unless you’re like me.  I can sum up what I know about prayer in 4 words, “I talk too much”.

Seriously, if I’m honest with myself I can admit that there are times I approach my Bible reading and prayer time as a task to check off my list.  I do it but, what did I reap from it?  Typically, when I pray I do most of the talking.  Who else, that I have any kind of relationship with, do I communicate with like that?  If I did, they’d probably stop hanging out with me.

One of the hardest things for me to do is be still and just listen.  I’ve heard that God is talking to us all the time but how often do we, on purpose, take the time to hear what He has to say?  Check out what these verses say:

John 14:16-17New International Version (NIV)

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you.

1 Corinthians 3:16New International Version (NIV)

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

Romans 8:26-27New International Version (NIV)

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Here’s my challenge to myself this week.  I’m going to see if I can spend about 15 minutes a day just listening.  Sounds crazy doesn’t it?  Take time to hear what the Creator of the universe might have to say to me??  Crazy!!

The Definition of Success

     Currently, I am sealed in a pressurized aluminum tube 40,998 feet in the air hurling forward at a rate of 574     miles per hour. In other words, I'm on my to Dallas for a conference.

As I was thinking about you this morning I was challenged by the thought of "how do I help you succeed? The answer is not as obvious as one might suspect as we all may have differing views of what success may look like.

I was reminded of something one of my professors taught me while attending Pepperdine.  He said, "success is the progressive realization of worthwhile goals".

Let's unpack this for a moment. "Progressive" implies it's a journey and not just a destination. That success is multiple not singular. A series of victories rather than just one.

"Realization" you're experiencing success in multiple forms. One after another achieving milestones. You climb one peak to see others stretched out before you.

"Worthwhile goals" this is key. We can have many goals but how many truly benefit those around us? Do we set selfish goals or selfless? Achieving for personal status or to glorify God?

I'm not sure if your definition matches mine. Probably not, as there are many good ones. I just wanted to share what is motivating me. Enjoy the journey!

How Do You Spell Love?

How do you spell love?  T-I-M-E  

That’s the lesson my wife has been trying to teach me for decades.  Her love language is quality time, mine is not.  She might as well be speaking a foreign language, “Whaaat, you want to hang out, and, just do nothing??”  Rabbit meet turtle.

Now, I may be a guy but I’m not a complete idiot.  If quality time is important to my wife then I need to learn how to make that a priority.  It doesn’t just happen, I have to do it on purpose.

The same can be applied to our weekly habits especially exercise, prayer and reading your bible.  The question I hear most is, “how do you find time to _________?”  Well, you don’t.  If these things are important you have to make time.

I do it by setting an appointment on my calendar.  I actually schedule sessions for myself to exercise, pray and read.  I treat these the same as any other calendar event like going to the dentist or a work meeting.  I’m aware of it, I prepare for it and I get alerts to remind me of it.  As a result, it gets done.

Move forward with purpose.

Man Up

Man Up.  That's the new name I've given my post because I've noised it's time for us guys to Man Up.  It's  been too long since the world has heard from men who are ready to "man up" treat their women with respect, be leaders and stop listening to what the world says we should be.

Okay, I just finished watching the most incredible comeback (almost) in playoff history as my Seahawks beat the GB Packers in the NFC Championship Game.  We had lots of guests in our house screaming and dancing like there's no tomorrow.

That was fun!  But, to eliminate stress I gotta ask you guys; did you help your wife clean the house before all the gusts arrived?  Did you help shop for the food?  How about help prep the food? Or clean up?????

If your answer is "no" to one or more of the above then it's time to "Man Up" and remember it's not about you!  This is a time to honor your wife and have a good playoff party.

You can do better.  Don't expect her to do it all so you can have your buddies over.  This is much bigger than that.  Honor your wife and she will respect you.  Nothing is better than that.

Now, about the refs in these games...please!  No one is buying a ticket to watch you throw flags!!  It's not about YOU!!!  Football is a contact sport...please don't ruin it.

The Seahawks comeback was truly a once in a lifetime event; enjoy Seattle!

Turning Lemons into Lemonade

Two thoughts today.  First; the new Fiat commercial featuring Jennifer Lopez is embarassing.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm a Fiat fan from way back.  I owned an X19 which didn't fall apart and my daughters and I still enjoy Jlo in the movie, Selena.  The commercial starts fine but that dance sequence at the end had me feeling awkward in a way I thought only Steve Carrell could create.

A couple weeks ago I was on a cross country flight aboard Frontier Airlines.  Comfortable plane but, a couple references to an owl who was flying with us (painted on the tail) that I just didn't get.  We stopped in Denver but were delayed getting back off the ground.  It was 93 degrees outside but felt much warmer inside.  We sat and sat, the plane grew warmer and the flight crew remained seated and speachless.  Thirty minutes later and sweat was running down my cheek and still no announcement as to why we were delayed or when this punishment would end.

Now, I'm all for complying with FAA Regulations but, couldn't someone have at least announced what was going on?  Better yet, what if the flight crew had grabbed a drink cart and handed out ice cold beer and water to the suffering passengers.  That certainly would have left me with a better impression of Frontier than the one that was burned into me.