I Am Second

I’ve been wearing this wrist band for a few weeks.

Recently I’ve had a few people ask me to explain the meaning. It would seem to be obvious, but apparently not so. “I Am Second” means I’m second to Jesus Christ. He is first in my life. He is first in my marriage. He is first in my business dealings.

At least he should be first. And that is why I wear the wrist band.

Shouldn’t placing Jesus first come as second nature to a Christian? Yes. Yes it should.

Then why the need for the wrist band reminder? I need the reminder because I am fallen. Is it a crutch? Yep. And it is one I’ll gladly take with me every day if I need to.

The “I Am Second” movement has pushed me to improve my relationship with Jesus Christ. It has pushed me to improve my relationship with my spouse. It has pushed me to improve my relationship with my children.

The one sentence description of the “I Am Second” movement is this: “Inspire people of all kinds to live for God and for others.”

Inspire. The word is on the header of this page. Through writing and speaking I am looking to Refresh, Encourage and INSPIRE others. To inspire YOU!

This movement inspired me to send this text to my wife: “I am convinced I need to do so much more in our marriage and lean on God and trust him for everything. I love you.”

Her response? “Wow! Love you too! What are you worried about?”

I’m not worried about anything. But, I have a desire for a better, more intimate, more Godly, marriage.

My wife and I have been married for over 20 years. Very few times during our marriage have we felt our marriage is strong and beneficial to each other, let alone others. I want this to change. I want to work on strengthening our marriage. The “I Am Second” movement will help us along the way.

The “I Am Second” movement isn’t limited to helping people in their marriage. In fact, I believe it to be a by-product of the movement.

As I mentioned earlier, the movement is all about inspiring people to live for God. I strongly recommend you check out the site (link below). Inspiration and encouragement can be found in every video. Trust me. You’ll find one that will connect with you on some level. Maybe you’ll connect with one you aren’t even expecting you need. I did.

Here’s one specific video I watch frequently.

[youtube id=”k9ZcN_6wzp8″]

Join the conversation in the comments below.
Are you second? Have you been living your life as “Second”?

Here’s a link to the full site.

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On Reading and Learning

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I take notes when I read books. Not every book, but most. I try to read for pure enjoyment sometimes, but even then I find myself taking a few notes.

One book I recently finished is Jon Acuff’s new book Start. I took 12 pages of notes. Some of you may think I’m nuts. That’s fine. My feeling on taking notes goes something like this: “Why read something if I don’t plan to take something from it to improve my life?” Hence, I take notes.

When I’m finished with the book, I review the notes. Then I make notes on my notes. Here are my notes on the notes from Start.

Action Points / Steps To Take

What is my passion? Inspiration?
Discover/uncover what inspires my wife and boys.
Sing.
Serve. Help others.
Awesome is taking the detour in your day and enjoying the change of path it is taking you on.
Be brutally realistic about your present and dream honestly.
Forget about spending time “finding” your purpose. “Live” your purpose today. Start! Take the step. Open the door and walk through it.
Gather trusted advisors. Stand on their shoulders.
Document your voices. Share your voices. Share your fear and doubt.
Be selfish at the appropriate time of the day. Claim your time, not others.

So now you’re asking what I did with the notes on the notes. Did I follow through on any of the 10 points? Yep. Every day I’m working on these points. Sometimes I need reminders though.

Also, writing this post ties into #7. I’m still working on all of these, but today is a new day, and I’m “punching fear in the face”.

Q: What actions do you take to remember and learn from the books you read? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for joining the conversation.

(This post originally published on August 12, 2013 on https://ricktheule.com.)

Speakeasy Goals

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Shhhhhh…

We all have our Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG). The pie in the sky dreams we share with our friends. This stuff comes spilling out over a cup of coffee on a raining day or when we are around the campfire on a summer evening. But, we also have “speakeasy” goals.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cameronmaddux/

“Speakeasy” goals are the ones we don’t tell anyone. We keep these goals hidden and secret. We don’t want anyone to know these goals.

Why is that? What could possibly keep people from telling others about something exciting to them?

Fear of rejection is probably the number one reason. What if they think I’m nuts?

Or, how about this doozy we’ve ALL had issues with at one time or another: “I tried it once. I even told people about it. But, I didn’t follow through. Why would I tell anyone this time?”

Yep. I have one of those. It fits squarely into the “I tried once before and failed” category. I’m tempted to tell you what it is, but then it would no longer be a “speakeasy” goal for me. It would be out in the open. Frankly, it scares me to tell anyone about it.

I’m more than willing to tell you all about the book I’m writing. I haven’t failed at it yet. I’m even making progress toward completing it (small progress). I’m also willing to talk about my struggle with depression and how it has impacted multiple areas of my life.

As I think more about “speakeasy” goals, I’m trying to determine if I have more than the one. Have I whispered any goals to my wife or to my best friend? I can’t really think of any right now. I should probably keep a running list as they pop into my head.

Do you have “speakeasy” goals or ideas in your life? Are you willing to share them?
Let us know in the comments.