Mentors Make a Big Difference

There are many small things that have made a big difference in my life. That's what this blog is all about. It's not the few-in-a-lifetime-huge-things that set our trajectory...it's the small things that make the biggest difference and tell the story of our life.

One of the best small things I have ever done in my adult life is seek to have mentors. Some of them were only in my life for short periods of time for a defined purpose, and others remain friends to this very day. Each one of them invested a very important resource in me...TIME. The investment of their time was so important to me and I did my best to honor it. I have a wife and 3 kids. I know how valuable time is, and when someone is willing to invest some of it in me I take it seriously. I love being mentored and I love mentoring others in areas where I have something to offer them and they want to grow.

What I have noticed, however, is that many people see mentoring as something just for kids or young adults. While that is true, mentoring is not just for our youth. The definition of a mentor is:

A wise and trusted counselor or teacher

Don't we all need wisdom? Don't we all need counsel about decisions we are making in our lives? Proverbs 15:22 says Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success. I cannot count the number of times I would have made a bad decision had it not been for my mentors speaking life and truth into me. I also can look back at many bad decisions I have made and see that I did not seek the counsel of my mentors in those situations.

I'm not sure why more people don't have mentors. I know very few people who say they have a mentor. Maybe you have one and just didn't realize that's what they were. Either way, you should have a mentor. Is your marriage failing? Find someone with a successful marriage and ask for their help. Are your finances a disaster? Ask for help. Is your business about to go under? Ask someone that has is leading a successful business to help you.

I think often times we think people don't have time for us, or we are afraid of being rejected. Take a step of faith and trust God to send the person into your life that He wants to use to speak into you. My mentors have made a BIG DIFFERENCE in my life and I am so thankful for all them.

P.S. - One of my mentors, Sheri Yates, wrote a book called Stuck. The book is about pulling your God-given dreams into reality. You can order it on Amazon, but I am giving away 3 copies of the book here on my blog. To be entered to win, just comment here on my blog (something about mentoring would be awesome) and then use the share link to share it on FaceBook. It's a great book that will encourage and challenge you to take a step of faith in the direction of God's plan for your life. I will draw the names for the winners next Monday, October 26, 2015! Good luck!

You don't know what you're building..

This little cabin doesn't look like much....well, at least it isn't much to look at. I helped build this cabin sometime in the late 1990's ( I can't remember the exact year). My dad and our hunting buddy, Joe Johnson, headed up the construction. We built this hunting cabin in one day. I thought it was awesome. We built another one just like shortly after we built this one. My dad had this 2,460 acre lease for longer than I had been alive. We killed a lot of deer, turkey, ducks, and made lots of great memories here. About 10 or so years ago, the land sold to a gentleman who had a dream of having an exotic animal hunting resort. That dream is now a reality named Triple S Wildlife Ranch. It's a hunting ranch that allows you to hunt exotic game from all over the world without having to travel all over the world.

When I was helping build that cabin, I had no idea what it would become. I was just glad we didn't have to stay in our tiny overhead camper anymore (overhead campers are not friendly to 6'2" young men such as myself). It was a simple one room cabin with no running water, but we did have electricity and propane gas. It was so great to get a good nights sleep before getting up at 5am to head off to my deer stand. When we found out the property was being sold, I was very sad. I shot my first deer here with my dad.  I got stung by bumble bees here.  I had a pet mouse in my deer blind here. This place seemed like it was our family land, but then the cold reality that it was only a lease set in.  Would I ever get to hunt here again?

Well, I'm not sure if I will ever hunt there again, but many trophy seekers have. And some of them stayed in the cabins I helped build. Who knows who may have stayed there. A corporate executive taking a weekend to give his son the experience of a lifetime. A doctor who wanted to hunt an African exotic.  Brothers reunited for one last hunt of a lifetime. A congressmen.  A veteran. A president. Who knows? When we built those cabins I had no idea what they would become a part of. They seemed small and no thrills at the time, but for those visiting the 3000 acre Triple S Ranch, those cabins are part of their once in a lifetime experience. You never know what your building....

P.S. - I did contact the ranch to see if I could go on a reunion tour. Believing for a chance to see this place again. I'll keep you posted. 

P.P.S. - the ranch is for sale for a cool $4.2 million. If you forgot to get me a Christmas present, I would gladly accept your donation to purchase this land ;-)

What's in a Name?

Names are important. We use names for everything, and every name has a meaning.  I believe, because the Bible says so, that words have the power of life and death.  Therefore, since names are words, they are very powerful.  We name our children, our pets, our towns, our businesses, and even our cars.  I decided to change the name of my blog to reflect where I am at right now in my view of the world around me.  So often we wait and want and pray for the BIG thing that will make a big difference in our life.  The problem is that it's the small things that make the BIG difference.  Daily disciplines like reading the Bible, praying with your kids, telling your wife she is beautiful, going to the gym....these are the things that make life an experience worth being part of.  Ya, sure, winning a $650 million lottery could change your life, but the odds are that it wont happen.  A new house may be nice, but sooner than you think it will be a pile of rotting lumber.  That phone call you've been waiting for from that big company you want to work for may turn into a 24/7 job that you cannot escape.  So, I choose to focus on the small things that make a big difference.  Hence, the new name of my blog, "Small Things, Big Difference".  Our church is starting a new series with the same title that I know will bless you.  I will post the link when the message is online, so stay tuned for that.  Speaking of church, you should find one and start going.  If there is a LifeChurch.tv campus near you (click here to find out), I highly recommend checking it out.  If you live near Duncan, OK, I love my church- RawChurch.tv.  If neither of those options are available, go online and check out churches in your area.  You may find that being part of a local church ends up making a big difference in your life.  Don't waste your time waiting for that one big thing....its the small things that make a BIG difference.  Have a great 2014!