Understanding |

Man. What is a man? What does God say about me as a man? What does society say I should be? What does my wife/kids/parents/siblings/friends/church say?

Over the next few weeks we’ll take a look at a few of these and try to determine where I am, where you are, and where we should be. Ladies don’t feel like you’re being left out. There will be great information for you too.

God calls me to be courageous, bold, daring and decisive. He made men to lead. Adam failed to lead Eve in the Garden. He didn’t step in when Satan deceived Eve. Men, are you stepping in? Women, are you encouraging your men to step in? Keep in mind that Adam was standing right next to Eve at the moment of The Fall.

Genesis 3:6 – “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (NIV)

I believe God calls me to be a man after His own heart. God wants me to be righteous, pure, full of integrity, bold, courageous, gentle and caring. Teacher. Friend. Lover. Leader. Humble. Patient. Kind. Truthful. Discerning in all areas of life. On fire for the Gospel and willing to share the story of His son Jesus Christ. Provider. Example. Role model.

So I’m called to be all of those things. Can I be all of those things? Is it physically, emotionally, spiritually possible to be “all the things”?

I’m not sure. The positive upbeat “do anything” side of me says “Of course you can!” The other side of me (the realistic side?) says “Impossible. You can’t be perfect.” But, can I be some of these things? Can I be a little bit of ALL of these things?

I think it would be best for me to focus on what God calls me to be. Working toward what God has called me to be should lead me to be the best man possible for all of my roles in life. Thankfully He has already been working on me, molding me, to be the man He desires. He’s also cheering for me. He wants me to be successful! He wants me to become an inspiration for those around me to help them find their personal “awesome”!

I am called to be the team leader for my family. To inspire them, especially my children, to seek out their dream and to do all they can to live that dream.

A few of the steps I need to take to be the man God calls me to be:
1. Pray. Continually. With intent. Name the areas and tasks that need prayer and require growth on my part.

2. Time management. Purposely spend planned time with my wife, with my boys and with my friends. Pour into these people on purpose and with purpose.

3. Filling my own tank. Learning from and being poured into by others. Seek out key people to learn from each day.

Check out this video put out by TheAnimaSeries. And be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss out on what comes next.

[youtube id=”aTAn-tk2pDA” height=”353″ width=”574″ marginbottom=”15″]

I’d like to invite you to join me in my sandbox.

You may be asking “What does he mean by “sandbox”? Good question. Lemme ‘splain.

My sandbox is this. Yep. This. Right here on this page. But it is more than this page. So much more. My sandbox is HUGE! Well, my future sandbox is huge. Right here on this page it is small. But it is growing. You are helping it grow. Every time I post here, and every time you read what I’m writing, and then share it with your friends and co-workers, you are helping it grow. (So don’t hesitate to tweet, share, link, etc.)

Why do I want it to grow? Wow. Another great question.
I want it to grow because I feel led to share what I have accumulated. I want to pour into you and help you grow your own sandbox. I believe I have been uniquely prepared for this moment. Uniquely prepared to work with and encourage you as your personal journey to awesome continues. Did you know that you are on a journey to your personal awesome? Did you forget? Do you have a dream that you put aside last year? Maybe you put it aside or buried it a long time ago. What happened to that dream? Why did you leave it in the attic to collect dust? I believe if you are true to yourself, you will find your dream again. You just need to go looking for it.

So I’m opening up the gate into my backyard, and I’m inviting you to join me in my sandbox. I have some great tools with me in my sandbox. May I share them with you? God placed these tools in my life. Many times I wondered why, but now I know. I’ve been carrying these tools around so that I can share them with you. We are going to do some digging and building in the sandbox.

Some of my tools.
Relational Selling – I have been selling vehicles for more than 16 years. I do not fit the well-worn car salesman stereo type.
A Listening Ear – Yep. Really. I have been blessed with the ability to listen to you share your personal story.
Compassion and Understanding – This particular tool ties in to the listening ear. I want to walk beside you on your journey.
Reading – I have a passion for reading. As my sandbox becomes larger I’ll share my favorite books and blogs with you.

These are only a selection of my tools. I’ll share more as we go along. I’ve acquired these tools over the years through times of debilitating pain, immense joy, hard work and simple blessing. Every single day God has been refining my tools and adding to my collection.

I plan to use these tools to talk with you about cars (I’m not a “car guy”, but I love cars.), selling (how I sell and my personal philosophy on selling), Depression and ADHD, my life as a husband/dad/son/brother, baseball and so much more.

But, my message isn’t about cars or selling or ADHD or Depression or my family. My message is about my story. My story is about leadership and success and encouragement. I’m going to share stories with you. Stories about what I have mastered in my life. Stories about what still needs to be mastered. I want to share with you all that I can give.

Please join me in my sandbox.

Tag Archives: Understanding

I’M A MAN!

My Sandbox