Make sure you take time to play with your children. Unplug, put down your cell phone and just play. Make your children feel like the priority they should be. When you understand your child's love language by reading Gary Chapman's book, The 5 Love Laguages of Children, most likely it may include quality time. It also could include physical touch like holding hands or always being close by by your side. The other three are words of affirmation, acts of service, and gifts. How one shows love is usually how they like to receive it. Pay attention to your children and show them you love them in their own love language. It's the right thing to do and it models the way for your children and your potential grandchildren.

At what point in time did you become a man or woman? For me, 10 years ago on Thanksgiving Day, on November 27, 2003 my father fell and hit his head in a freak accident and had traumatic brain injury, slipped into a comma and never came out. He passed away on December 18, 2003 and for me that is when I can look back and determine that I grew up and saw myself as a man. It was a defining time for me because I never really thought much about my dad not being there. After all he was only 65 years old, but you don't get to pick when it's time for you to go and neither do your parents. Think back, at what point in time did you grow up and move from being a boy to becoming a man or move from being a girl to becoming a woman? It was a very difficult time for me as I'm sure it was for anyone reading this who has lost a parent or both of their parents. Make sure you get to know your parents while they are around. Ask them any questions you want to know about their family, ancestors or childhood growing up. Mend the relationship if you need to now and don't wait, because you don't want to have any regrets once they are gone. Tell them you love them and how thankful you are for them in your life and spend time with them now. Growing up and becoming an adult is a significant time in your life. Sit down and reflect when did you grow up? What is your definition of a man or a woman? After my father passed away, I took a class at my church, Men's Fraternity, and learned what I believe is the best definition of manhood. A man rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, and expects the greater reward - God's reward. The New Eve book defines womanhood as: Rejects worldly temptation, Expects the greater reward, Actively pursues God's priorities, and Lovingly nurtures the next generation.

So ask yourself, have you grown up? Based on these Biblical definitions from Dr. Robert E. Lewis have you reached manhood or womanhood?

I believe understanding these Biblical definitions and striving to live them out is a big piece of modeling the way for the next generation and the right thing to do.

Merriam-Webster defines Thanksgiving Day (1674) as "a day appointed for giving thanks for divine goodness: as (a) the fourth Thursday in November observed as a legal holiday in the United States (b) the second Monday in October observed as a legal holiday in Canada.

So in other words it's a day to celebrate the goodness in our lives proceeding directly from God. Most Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day with family and friends and they give thanks for their family and friends, health and prosperity, and even for the great food that they are ready to partake in. But don't forget that this all comes from the goodness of God.

Make sure to give thanks to God sine God is where all goodness and blessings come from. And while many will give thanks in just s few short hours as they sit down to partake in their Thanksgiving Day feast, make sure to give thanks to God daily for his goodness and blessings. It's the right thing to do and it models the way for those around your dinner table this Thankgiving Day. Happy Thankgiving!

If I had to choose behaviors over results, I would choose behaviors. Having good results is good, but in order to have consistently great results you must have consistently great behaviors. How you get great results matters. Compare it to shooting free throws in basketball. You can make free thow shots sometimes without great form, but in order to be consistent over time making free throw shots, you must have consistently good form. Watch the behaviors of any professional in regards to their trade, craft or sport and you will see the behaviors that led to greatness. Doing the right behaviors consistently over time will lead to winning and success versus just focusing in results. Wrap your mind around this concept and start focusing on behaviors and see the impact in yourself, your team and your life. It's a better way to consistently get better and win and it models the way for others.

Don't carry this week into next week. What that means is finish what you need to do this week, so that way next week you can focus on what you need to do or what you should be focused on instead of finishing what you should have completed on Thursday or Friday of the previous week but didn't. After leading and observing sales reps and teams for fifteen years, this is one of the biggest differentiators between successful employees and mediocre employees. Successful employees do what they need to do, even when they don't feel like it. Not part of the time, not sometimes, but all of the time. Now that you know a key to success, go do it. It's the right thing to do and it models the way for the next generation.

Being ahead of something is much better than being behind. Whether if it's achieving a sales objective, a percent of revenue accounts handled by an early deadline, or even having your Thanksgiving meal shopping finished three days earlier than normal. This can only happen when you set clear objectives well in advance, plan accordingly, hold yourself and your team accountable, and don't procrastinate. It usually starts by being future focused and by casting a vision of what you want the moment in time in the future to look like, or even not look like. By pushing yourself and/or your team you can position yourself, your team, and even your family for a less stressful, less hectic, and more enjoyable experience that will be more memorable and more rewarding for all involved. So push yourself and your team to become better than you were. It's the right thing to do and it models the way for others.

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."

Ephesians 5:16

So instead of sleeping in today until 7:30, I was up at 6am. My wife told me late last night that she heard a noise coming from the back right tire...a sort of flapping sound. Well, since I know tires aren't supposed to make a flapping noise I went to the garage to investigate. Upon inspecting her back right car tire, what did I find? A piece of metal jabbed right into the tire. So I told her that I would get up Saturday morning and take it in to our regular tire store to see if it could be repaired.

Sometimes in life there are signs, maybe not noises, but signs that something's wrong or not as it should be. These are times when your faith may be tested, but stay constant and true, relying on and talking with God daily. Remember God is in control of all. If you don't pay attention to the noises or signs and keep going 70 miles per hour, you could just have a blow out, crash, or even worse. Pay attention to your five senses and look for what God is wanting you to pay attention to and learn from the noises and signs of your life. There may just be a lesson there that will help you become better than you were. It's the right thing to do and it models the way for orhers.

Make time for your brother and sister. They are the ones who you've shared the good and the bad. Forgive one another and tell them how much you love them. Most likely they will know you the longest while you are here on this earth.

Clara Ortega said it well, "To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember the family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time."

Take time to thank them today and tell them you love them. Life's too short and these relationships too valuable to hold grudges or ill feelings. It's the right thing to do and it models the the way for your brother(s) and/or sister(s) and those you love.

As for me, I want to thank my brother and sister for being there for me, through the good and the bad, through the wild and the calm, through the sick times and the well, through the happy and the sad. Today's blog is dedicated to you and I thank God for you every day.

I saw this blog from a friend of mine, Mike Mack, yesterday and thought it was right on point and wanted to share it with you.

You can follow Mike's blog at:

http://smallgroupleadership.blogspot.com

Or you can visit his website at:

http://smallgroupleadership.com

Blog of Michael C. Mack about small groups, discipleship, leadership and whatever.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Want to Be a Great Leader? Live with Integrity!

Our world is in desperate need for leaders with integrity. 

A healthy leader whom God will use to carry out his mission, bearing lasting fruit, is a person of high integrity. But you already knew that, didn't you? Yet here's the thing. Integrity is pretty easy to believe in and talk about; but it's incredibly hard to live out.

Integrity has been defined as doing the right thing even when no one is looking. But it's more than that. It's telling the truth even when the facts might damage your reputation or your career. It's obeying God even when it doesn't make sense. It's loving your spouse even when they hurt you. It's keeping your promises even if you'd never be caught. It's turning the channel when your favorite TV show "goes there." It's following God's Word even when it's inconvenient ... or extremely difficult ... or even if you'd be persecuted for it.

Integrity is impossible in your own strength. 

To live with integrity, you must first love God with all your heart, strength, and mind. Having integrity means you know God is in control of your world, no matter what the circumstances look like. Integrity and faith are intricately connected. Faith and living with integrity both look beyond the current circumstances of your life to something, someone, bigger, more powerful, more important.

People of integrity seek God's kingdom first, knowing he will take care of everything else. Living with integrity means you really do believe and trust in God.

"Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the LORD" (Psalm 119:1, NLT). I often don't see immediate payoffs for keeping my integrity. My integrity costs me something, at least in the short term. But none of these circumstances can take away my joy or the blessings that come from doing the right thing, by following the instructions of the Lord, with God's power. After all, he is in control.

People of integrity "do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths" (v. 3). We compromise with evil when we stray off his paths, the paths he has cleared, the paths he is walking ahead of us on, the paths he desires for us to walk. His Word is our map for these paths.

The writer of Psalm 119 confessed, "Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!" (v. 5). Being a person of integrity does not mean being perfect. It does, however, mean being honest, truthful about yourself, and transparent. 

People of integrity are humble people. They confess their sins to God and to people they trust. 

How do you know if you are living with integrity? The psalmist provided the answer: "Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands" (v. 6). How are you doing with this? As you read and meditate on Scripture, do you compare your life with God's Word?

People of integrity are thankful people. The psalmist said, "As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!" (v. 7). Thanksgiving is coming up soon. Do you want to be truly thankful to God? Live as you should! In other words, live with integrity each day. 

In the final verse in this great section, the psalmist says, "I will obey your decrees. Please don’t give up on me!" (v. 8). I can relate with that, can't you? Actually, it should probably say, "I will try to obey your decrees. Please don't give up on me when I fail!" 

Integrity is impossible without God, but it does take intentional, everyday effort on my part. The biggest thing for me that makes integrity possible is spending time with God each day, reading his Word, listening to him, and growing in my relationship with him. I learn what integrity is from his Word, and he gives me the strength I need to live his way. 

Do you want to be a leader after God's own heart? Live with integrity. 

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