Archive | Gratitude

1,200,000 Minutes | Life in the Office, Running Toward Our Dreams and Appreciating the Familiar

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that there is wisdom in numbering your days. But have you ever numbered your minutes? In less than three weeks, a ten-year chapter of my life will close. When I sat down and did the math, that’s 5,256,000 minutes of my life. Think about that for a second, five million minutes. And more than 1,200,000 of those minutes have been spent at work—one-point-two million minutes. It’s overwhelming to think about it. As I process my resignation and […]

Continue Reading

What’s Your Praise-to-Criticism Ratio?

Bedtime at our house is a challenge. Putting four kids to bed is not for the faint of heart. Too often, my wife and I exchange short words without paying attention to how it affects an already chaotic situation. Our negative words breed negativity and our emotions pile up until they bubble over. As a sort-of social experiment, I’ve begun paying attention to the amount of criticism in my life. Whether it’s comments on Facebook or Twitter, the terrible tragedies […]

Continue Reading

Finding Peace and Contentment in the Midst of Life’s Most Challenging Circumstances

The past seven months have been the most challenging seven months in my five years of being a father. Constant illness has shrouded our family and tried to rob us of peace. Whether it’s the health and well-being of those you love, your financial situation, or something completely different, I hope this testimony will provide unshakable truth and unwavering hope despite your circumstances. Our struggles began in October, when our four-year-old twins had their tonsils and adenoids out due to recurrent hospitalizations […]

Continue Reading

Why I Let My Kids Cheer For Cam Newton

My four-year old twins were given matching Cam Newton jerseys for their birthday last fall, and every day since then, they’ve woken up with eager expectation, “Are the Panthers playing today?” “No buddy, they play on Sunday,” I’ll reply. They frown for a moment, then they insist on watching highlights so that they can run around the house mimicking Cam Newton as they chant KEEP POUNDING. As a late Christmas present, my parents surprised all of us with tickets to the Panthers final home […]

Continue Reading

The Gratitude Cycle

If you pause and look at your life objectively, I think you’ll recognize a real tension that pulls you in opposite directions. On one side there’s gratitude, generosity, and humility. On the other side, you see entitlement, fear, and pride. Every human being is driven by three distinct tensions: Gratitude — Entitlement Generosity — Fear Humility — Pride In every circumstance, every relationship, and every interaction, we feel these polar forces at work. A quick look at American culture and many would argue that we […]

Continue Reading