My son lost it

We had told him he only had a few more minutes on the Nintendo Wii (we try to limit screen time), yet when those minutes were up, he lost it. He snapped at me and threw his controller down. He denied any wrongdoing. He didn’t own up to his bad attitude. I talked to him and explained that because of his choices, there would be absolutely no Wii time tomorrow. He stomped off to his room, huffing and shut the door.

Minutes later, he emerged. He walked over and asked me to help him put on his pajamas. He’s 7 years old. He knows how. But in his own way… he was showing his brokenness. He also goes to sleep with no problem. But tonight, he asked that I snuggle him. He just wanted to be with me and wanted to be close to me.

Y’all. We have made choices and decisions in our lives that have been in direct disobedience to God. We’ve talked back. We’ve huffed and puffed and questioned His Word. And we’re miserable. But you know what? God is waiting for us. He is waiting for us to humbly approach the throne of grace. To ask if we could have some help putting on our pajamas because we don’t know how to adequately express our brokenness, but all we know is we so desperately want to be near Him.

Maybe this is you. You’ve screwed your life up and are so far from God that you have no clue how to come back around. God’s waiting. He loves you. Tonight, before you go to sleep…. you don’t need to know the perfect words. Just tell Him you need help putting on your pajamas. That you’re sorry. And that you desire to be near Him and have a relationship with Him again.

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Mission: Compassion

I met Amanda about four years ago. She delivers for FedEx, and our Chick-fil-A in Wesley Chapel, NC was one of her stops. The hustle is REAL with these folks, and we tried to always make her day a little better by offering a drink or a sandwich.

Fast forward a few years.

Amanda’s route has changed, and I am no longer with Chick-fil-A, but we have kept in touch, as she had become a good friend. What I love most about Amanda is her heart for people. It is genuine and magnetic. And it all stems from her faith in Jesus.

Recently, she shared this video. It is a perfect example of who she is and the love she has for those around her. I am reminded of the verse in Jude where it speaks of some having compassion – making a difference. Grab a few tissues and click the play button.

Amanda also began a non-profit organization called Hungry Heroes where she feeds hundreds of first responders, veterans, EMTs, police, fire, etc. -simply to bless and encourage them. You can check it out here: https://www.hungryheroesbbq.com/ Consider donating your time and/or money to help support these heroes!

Please share this post as I am sure this will move others as it did myself. Thank you, Amanda, for loving everybody, always, and for being an example of life touching life.

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Coming up short

I’m numb.

I gave everything and still came up short.

It’s a terrible and sickening feeling. One that eats and eats at your very soul. Giving everything and still coming up short is not easy to swallow. Twelve months of sacrifices and pure grit and hustle suddenly seem meaningless and you begin to mentally scratch and claw to figure out how it could happen. How it could end this way.

I’m referring to my career in sales. I sell new home construction, and all of us sales reps have one goal in mind each year – to hit President’s Club. President’s Club is determined by achieving a certain percentage above what you are supposed to sell in a given year. Without going into much detail, it equates to a $20,000 bump in pay the following year.

I was blessed to achieve this goal my rookie year, and was motivated even more to re-qualify my second year (2018). After my sales partner left to move to another market back in April, I was determined more than ever. I was alone and it was all on me to make it happen. Over the next 9 months, I pushed hard – sacrificing personal time and family time.

For me, it was all about my family. As the sole provider, I needed the bump in pay to help pay off medical bills and to get us back to being debt free. Though there were many hurdles to overcome, I was bound and determined to make it happen. And I was all in! Down to the wire. Writing sales on December 31. But would it be enough?

My office manger was a gem and ran the numbers late on New Year’s Eve. The email arrived in my inbox, and I opened it. All I remember seeing were the words, “Kent, I am so sorry. You came up ONE sale short”

One sale.

I immediately resonated with those sports players who have experienced an excruciating loss by ONE point, or ONE goal, or by ONE run. Imagine a Major League baseball player sweating and hustling through 162 regular season games to lose by merely ONE run and miss the playoffs – or even worse yet – lose by ONE run in the World Series.

But as cruel as the game of life can be sometimes, a loss is a loss. And coming up a sale short, is a sale short.

So I type this as a testament and a reminder to myself as to why I exist. And that is to give glory to God for His goodness in my life. Though I feel like sitting here in disappointment and despair, I choose to praise Him for a very successful year despite not being back in President’s Club. Most of all, I’m thankful for my buyers who have become friends, and my fellow reps and office staff who are absolutely wonderful, and for my wife and kids who lift me up and who are literally everything I need.

So in the moment, though incredibly disappointed, I thank God for giving me a great career, opportunities to help make dreams come true, and the ability to provide for my family.

How about you? Have you ever experienced coming up short in something you have worked so hard for? I’d love to hear about it!

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