Don’t major in minor things. – Jim Rohn

So many go through life majoring in minoring things.

They get an A in TV but an F in Spirituality.

They get an A in Technology but an F in Health.

They get an A in Checking Your Phone Every 5 Minutes but an F in Relationships.

They get an A in Random Trivia but an F in Economics.

As you look at your life, is there an area where you are spending major time but shouldn’t be?

What is your major? What are you doing the best at?

Jim goes on to say that if you want to end up with anything of value, you can’t spend all your time on Minor things.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Rannulph Junuh: You really love this game, don’t you?

Hardy Greaves: It’s the greatest game there is.

Rannulph Junuh: You really think so?

Hardy Greaves: Ask anybody. It’s fun. It’s hard and you stand out there on that green, green grass, and it’s just you and the ball and there ain’t nobody to beat up on but yourself; just like Mister Newnan keeps hittin’ himself with the golf club every time he gets angry. He’s broken his toe three times on account of it. It’s the only game I know that you can call a penalty on yourself, if you’re honest, which most people are. There just ain’t no other game like it.

This back and forth from “The Legend of Bagger Vance” is one of my favorites.

I’ve tried to play a little more golf this summer and it’s been a great reminder of the value of doing something fun (and difficult).

Golf is a great place to practice and live out some great life lessons….

You can hit a great shot, but end up in a poor spot – life’s not fair.

Your score and your integrity matter.

Green grass, fresh air and trees blowing in the wind are good for the soul.

Life is best when done with good friends.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The reward of suffering is experience. – Harry S Truman

I don’t know about you, but most of the time I avoid the whole suffering thing.

You wouldn’t believe the amount of complaining Meaghan has to listen to when I stub my toe or have some minor malady that causes a bit of suffering.

As I get a little older and wiser though I’m beginning to see the positive side of (some) suffering.

David Goggins (ex Navy Seal, ultra runner, etc.) talks about it a lot. He puts himself through all of these ridiculous workouts and physical challenges.

Why?

Because he has found that suffering builds confidence through experience.

It builds the confidence that we can meet difficult and challenging objectives, that we can improve and give more than we thought.

And for the Christians on the list – it can and does bring us closer to Christ if we lean in to Him during our suffering.

Got any ideas on how you might encounter a little experience and confidence building suffering?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. – William James

Great reminder for a Monday morning.

This week matters.

The small, incremental steps you take this week are leading you towards something.

Little adjustments can lead to big results in the long run.

Pay attention.

Make the small changes.

You’re worth it.

It makes a difference.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/DHG5-GxI_Es

Back to school today for the Davis kids.

Each year is a reminder of some simple life lessons that will hopefully last a lifetime.

New teachers, new classmates, new books, etc. – life is always changing.

It could be a good year or a not so good year – there are no guarantees of a good/easy time.

Awkwardness and nervousness about all the possibilities – take the risk – it’ll all work out in the end.

New subjects, concepts and ideas – there is always something to learn and growth is possible – but hard.

I’m sure there are a lot more lessons to be had, but it sure feels like I’m still learning these, many years after finishing “school”.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a lot left to learn.

Make it a great day.

Jake

We may give without loving, but we cannot love without giving. Bernard Meltzer

This reminds me of the verse that “the Lord loves a cheerful giver.”

When we act out of love, we are glad to give things away.

Our time.

Our possession.

Control.

We gladly give these up for the person whom we love.

Each day is an opportunity to practice giving out of love.

Each day is a chance to experience the joy of giving your life away.

I know it’s hard, but it’s worth it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Below is an excerpt from an email I once received.

The mental image suggested conveys feelings that many would identify with.

A weary traveler, tired from carrying too much baggage for too long.

Only when we are able to put down our baggage and move forward with a better understanding of what (and whose) we really are.

We are wonderfully made.

We are made for greatness.

To hold ourselves up against any other standards is a mistake.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Psalm 139:14

I f I (JCD) were to draw a caricature of an adult experiencing a lifelong crisis of confidence, I would depict a bowed, weary traveler. Over his shoulder, I would place the end of a mile‐long chain attached to tons of garbage. Inscribed on each piece of junk would be the details of some humiliation–a failure, a rejection, an embarrassment from the past. The traveler could let go of the chain, but he is convinced that he must drag that heavy load throughout life.

If this describes your own self‐concept, realize that you can free yourself from the weight of your chain. You have judged yourself inferior based on shifting standards. In the 1920s, women asked plastic surgeons to reduce their breast size–now many women undergo surgery to do just the opposite. In King Solomon’s biblical love song, the bride asked her groom to overlook her dark, well‐tanned skin–but in our country today, she’d be the pride of the beach. Rembrandt painted overweight ladies, but now, “thin is in.”

To be content with who we are as God’s creations, we must base our self‐image on His values, not on the fickle notions of human worth

Below is an excerpt from Band of Brothers.

It is an amazing story about an amazing group of men.

This story stuck out to me because it shows how difficult battle and war can be for a person, but that hope and love can always win out.

Let’s be thankful for the service of others and spread hope and love wherever we can.

Make it a great day.

Jake

From Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose –

Sgt. Skinny Sisk also had a hard time shaking his war memories. In July 1991, he wrote Winters to explain. "My career after the war was trying to drink away the truckload of Krauts that I had stopped in Holland and the die-hard Nazi that I went up into the Bavarian Alps and killed. Old Moe Alley made a statement that all the killings that I did was going to jump into the bed with me one of these days and they surely did. I had a lot of flash backs after the war and started drinking. Ha! Ha!

Then my sister’s little daughter, four-years old, came into my bedroom (I was too unbearable to the rest of the family, either hung over or drunk) and she told me that Jesus loved me and she loved me and if I would repent God would forgive me for all the men I kept trying to kill all over again.

That little girl got to me. I put her out of my room, told her to go to her mommy. There and then I bowed my head on my mother’s old feather bed and repented and God forgave me for the war and all the other bad things I had done down through the years. I was ordained in the latter part of 1949 into the ministry and believe me, Dick, I haven’t whipped but one man since and he needed it. I have four children, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

The Lord willing and Jesus tarrys and I hope to see you all at the next reunion. If not I’ll see you on the last jump. I know you won’t freeze in the door.

Trust is to human relationships what faith is to gospel living. It is the beginning place, the foundation upon which more can be built. Where trust is, love can flourish.

Barbara Smith

Trust as the foundation for love.

I think that hits the mark pretty well.

Trust is foundational to good relationships.

The Bible talks of building our spiritual houses on stone and not on sand.

We must do the same in our relationships.

Do you have a relationship in your life that needs some work on the foundation?

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/oODllqrxrLQ

“The house don’t fall when the bones are good.”

This song is a good reminder to get the important stuff in life right.

Take the time to build a good foundation, to do things right and to make it a priority when it comes to the “bones” of your life.

And be thankful for all the great relationships in your life that are built well.

Make it a great day.

Jake