Author Archives: Rick

I’m A Seed Planter

“I can’t ever fill anybody’s cup, but I can be responsible for emptying mine.” – Andy Stanley

Pouring out needs to be about emptying my own cup. No matter what is happening, the objective of encouragement should be to pour out into others. Whatever they may need, my action should be to pour myself into them.

Pour encouragement into them. Lift them up. Give them hope.

Pouring out is about emptying my own cup. Don’t pick the people to fill. Simply work on emptying my own cup.

How do I know if what I am pouring out is helpful?

I may never know.

Encouragement, many times, includes planting seeds you may not see grow to maturity. The point of emptying yourself isn’t to see what great and glorious results come from it. The point is to be willing to REFRESH, ENCOURAGE, and INSPIRE others.

Plant seeds of encouragement. Don’t worry about the results. Continue to encourage, and the results will be handled by God.

I am called to pour out. I am not called to celebrate the results.

Does this mean if I’m made aware of the results, if someone thanks me and tells me of their own success, I shouldn’t rejoice? No. Not at all.

The point I’m trying to make is to not expect and wait for the results. Continue to encourage. Continue to inspire.

As I read through Mark Batterson’s The Circle Maker for the second time, the idea of “think long” came upon me in a different manner.

Thinking long now includes thinking of the impact of my life far into the future. What exactly am I doing today to impact the lives of the generations to come after me? From the standpoint of immediate family, the prayers I offer for my sons will most certainly impact their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren. I may not be physically present to experience the lives of those future generations, but I can certainly do something right now to have an impact on their lives.

The more I pour into my boys, the more I am intentional about encouraging them, the bigger impact it may have on those future generations. It is not for me to determine what happens in the future. It is simply to fulfill God’s calling on me to the current generation. God will take care of the future. My duty, my calling, is to plant seeds.

Are you pouring out? Are you planting seeds?

Nice Guys Always Win

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Many of you know my Day Job is in sales. For almost 18 years I’ve been in retail car sales. 80% of you just reached for your mouse to exit this post. Please don’t. I promise it’ll be okay.

For MOST of those 18 years, I’ve loved my job. There is one primary reason.

I thoroughly enjoy helping people sort through their options and make the best decision for their situation.

Easy, right? In fact it is!

The hard part of sales is learning the product. Once you know the product, the selling is easy. And really, you’re not even selling. You’re consulting and advising. You’re sharing the information about the product so the customer can make the best decision.

A couple of weeks ago I helped out a few people with some simple questions. They were definitely in the market to purchase vehicles, but they weren’t quite ready to do it while talking with me.

A few days later, one gentleman came back to the store. In the days between visits he had been to a couple of other dealerships. Before even telling me he wanted to purchase a vehicle, he made sure to tell me why he came back to purchase from me.

His reason had nothing to do with price. It had nothing to do with availability. (I didn’t even have the vehicle in stock he wanted.)

He came back because I took the time to answer his questions. I didn’t pressure him to make a decision. I didn’t try to talk him into a different vehicle.

His final words to me when he left (after placing an order for the exact vehicle he wants), “Nice guys always win.”

I 100% agree with him.

Whether I sell a person a vehicle or not, being nice is the only way to go about my business.

I know there are salesmen who spend their entire day trying to use all the “tricks of the trade” to talk people into purchasing their particular product. I also know I get to go home each night with a clear conscience.

Do I want to sell more vehicles? Yes. Without a doubt.

Do I want more money in my bank account? You bet.

But never at the cost of selling the right way.

Everyone reading this is in sales. Yep. Everyone.

No matter your job. You are in sales. You are in customer service. You interact with other people every day.

Make sure you remember: Nice guys do ALWAYS win.

My Encouragement

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Today on the blog I’m featuring a guest post from the incredible Brandi Goff McElheny.
I’ve become acquainted with Brandi through a couple of outstanding on-line groups. I’ll let Brandi tell you her story, but please make sure you click-through the links at the bottom of the post to learn more about the great work she is doing around the world. Enjoy!
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I’m living my dreams….or at least most of them J

I’m a single mama to 3 and I run 3 non-profits. I get to spend my days walking wounded people to truth, beauty and healing. I get to spend hours every day on skype with my Ugandan team working towards healing and long-term sustainability for 968 single mamas and widows in Uganda. Last week, I got to wire $50,000 to Uganda so that 900 kids could go to school again. I’ve gotten to go undercover in brothels throughout SE Asia to see the oppressed set free. These are the things my dreams were made of for so long. I longed with everything in me to be used by God for His kingdom. I longed to loose the chains of injustice and be a part of setting the oppressed free.

People ask me fairly regularly what they can do to find and then live their passions and change the world around them. Want to know my best piece of encouragement?

Do your work.

No, I’m not talking about working harder or longer hours. I’m not taking about strategic planning or a 5-year plan.

I’m talking about doing your emotional work, your spiritual work, your healing work. Wanna be a world-changer? Go to therapy.

A few years ago, my life fell apart. Completely. Utterly. I dropped out of everything ministry related in those months. I wasn’t helping a single soul. I did nothing for the kingdom of God. I questioned if I would ever be used by God again. I felt guilty for dropping everything, but in those moments it took all my energy to simply breathe.

There’s one thing I did not drop during those days, however, and that is me.

For the first time actually, I began to really observe my own soul. I gave up working for Jesus and I took time to be wounded and broken and to get to know the healer of all healers. I let Jesus deep into my darkest places and simply took time to heal. I went to therapy weekly (sometimes more!) and asked for help in digging into what is good and pure in my life and what was wounded and dysfunctional.

During my months of hiding out in the shadow of His wings, where I focused on healing and my own soul exclusively, I wondered if I was being selfish. What I would later learn, however, is that the best thing I have EVER done for the kingdom of God is my own healing work.

Healing begets healing. Freedom begets freedom.

Since taking that year to focus on healing, I have gotten to walk with countless women through their deepest, darkest wounds to beautiful healing. Since that year of focus on freedom for myself and breaking through my own chains, I have gotten to watch trafficking victims be brought to freedom and raised over 100k to make it happen. Since that year of focusing on learning my own value, I have had the honor of speaking to thousands of Ugandan women on their value.

We can only give what we have received.

So go. Receive. Heal. Be free. Sink into Jesus’ true view of you.

I promise, doing your own healing work is the best thing you will ever do for yourself, or for the kingdom of God. Wanna be a world-changer? Go to Therapy! J

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