Powered For Life

Kerry Knight — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:40:46 +0000

“Calgon take me away!” Was the battle cry of the 70’s mom in the classic commercial. I didn’t fully understand all the problems the woman was facing in the commercial, but I understand what calgon meant…peace. Don’t you wish that no matter where you were you could find peace like the woman did in the commercial. But unfortunately when the baby is crying, or the boss is yelling, or the bowl drops off the counter, or the bills pile up, you can’t just leave those things and jump in a tub of sudsy water. For one thing, those things will all be there waiting for you when you are done. But what if a peace greater than calgon was waiting for you. In any moment of your day. Jehovah Shalom is greater than Calgon!

Unlocking the Key

Kurt Zahrt — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:02:25 +0000

"Rizzarazzarazenfratz!" you mumble beneath your breath after placing the key in the lock, your only key, snapped in two pieces at the turn of your wrist. If God wanted to capture your attention right now, what could he possibly say through this snapshot of everyday life that would rival a mountain-top experience? For the answer, let's try unlocking the key to the mystery. Did you know that in the mid 1900's, while excavating the buried ruins of the Khorsabad palace near Nineveh (in what is now Northern Iraq), archaologists uncovered the oldest known lock in existence? Within the palace built for King Sargon II (ruler of the tyrannical Assyrian Empire 721-705 BC), they discovered a gigantic wooden bolt containing a slot with holes at the top. Wooden pegs filled the holes, preventing the bolt from opening, unless a massive wooden key was inserted. Interestingly enough, though size and construction have changed, this 4,000 year old design is still the basis for today's pin-tumbler locks. Arti-facts generate interest, yes, but revelation comes when you probe deeper into the why's behind them. Locks either keep out trespassers, protecting people and property inside, or they keep in prisoners, protecting those outside. If you study the ancient Assyrian Empire, you'll find that they not only accrued wartime spoils from conquered peoples, but they held their captives under lock and key as well. Many years later, as BC collided with AD, followed by 2000 more years of technological progress, the lock hasn't changed much. A locksmith (or today a manufacturer) creates the key first. Starting with a blank, he cuts the ridges (teeth) at varying levels, giving it a unique combination. Next, he designs all of the internal components to fit that key's particular combination. Then he tests it. When the proper key is inserted into the lock, all of the pins inside align to form a straight line, allowing the cylinder to turn. What does this have to do with God speaking to us in the ho-hums of everyday life? Imagine that the lock represents you and the locking pins inside signify your needs and desires. As the key enters your life and your needs and desires align with it, you are free to live as your Creator intended. In truth, you are physically, emotionally, and spiritually designed to connect with your Creator, your source. Unfortunately, life with a small "l" wears on you over time, pursuading you to run from your natural state, causing you to turn to yourself or others as your source. In essence, when you welcome no key or the wrong key, your internal pins can't line up, and the door to your relationship with God remains locked. This does not suit you well because you were created from the beginning -- to commune with your Creator and His creation. The Key to walking through the door hinges on the grace and mercy of Christ, should we decide to accept it. Thankfully, one master key fits all. It draws us near and connects us with our Creator. In the Greek New Testament, this connectedness is referred to as koinonia (community), wherein we participate in the very Life of God

Summer to Autumn Reflection

Kerry Knight — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:12:12 +0000

Take some time to let your mind rest and think over the summer. What were the events, trips, and conversations that made up Summer 2010? Sometimes it is nice to pause and reflect as the seasons change.

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Is Jesus Christ Uninspiring?

Kerry Knight — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:41:36 +0000

Yesterday after a long day of work I am walking to my car. There is a young man walking about 15 feet behind me. As I stopped to get into my car he calls out, “What a beautiful day!” “Couldn’t be nicer!” I reply. Now I notice that as I am putting my backpack in the car, he is just sort of standing about 20 feet away, and is kind of just standing there. I walk to my car door and he yells out, “Have you been born again?” Now I shouldn’t really be surprised by this question. It fits the stereotype of my location. The building parking lot is across the street from Oral Roberts University, a Christian school that was started by its namesake, Oral Roberts, who was an evangelist. I guess the surprising thing is that I started working in this building in January and it took nearly 10 months to be asked this question. So I called back to him, “How can that happen?” His reply, although earnestly given, “Through Jesus Christ!” was rather, well uninspiring. Uninspiring? How can Jesus Christ be uninspiring? Well, before you call your pastor and report me, carefully read the sentence I wrote again. His reply was uninspiring. I politely thanked him, and said, “Maybe we can talk another time.” He hurriedly blurted out some more bible verses, as I closed my door and drove away. He slowly turned and surveyed the parking lot for his next target and slowly wandered away. Why didn’t I talk with him? Well, did you see my reply to his question? I wasn’t being flippant; I was actually giving him a chance to engage me. But he didn’t even realize that I was simply giving him

The Most Famous Person I Ever Met

David Stephens — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:49:27 +0000

I want you to take a moment and drift back in time, looking for the faces of those people who havemade the most positive, long-lasting impressions on your life. Who do you see? Why do you see them? I mean, what did these people do or say that duct-taped themselves to your memory? I have to admit, living in the “seen-it-all” world of my middle aged life, rarely do I run into someone so compelling that the memory of the introduction lingers long after we’ve gone our separate ways. But last week, I met such a person. I flew to San Diego to attend a Mastermind group for business owners, the first of several meetings in a year-long commitment where twenty people dedicate themselves to helping each other achieve their professional goals and dreams. The first person I met, Wally, came across as a delightful man. But I'd never heard of him. You probably haven't either unless you've read an instructional “how-to” book for an Apple product. On that rare occasion when you have read such a book, more than likely Wally wrote it. And yes, he's that intelligent. Even though I’m the stiff and stuffy guy who works on a PC and carries a Blackberry, I can certainly appreciate Wally’s skills. In fact, he showed me a cool app he had written for the iPad, which allows the user to instantly cue up any point in an audio presentation—pretty nifty if your job requires you to give a lot of “leave behind” presentations. I also met a talented woman named Michelle, a graduate of Tennessee and current member of the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars. Michelle was the first

Professional Bachelors: Swimming with Sharks

Kurt Zahrt — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:36:57 +0000

“The Bachelor” loved her for weeks, but he took only a few minutes to say goodbye. Have you ever had a new client make a quick decision to buy your product or service, only to panic and withdraw once you entered rough waters? Relationships that start too quickly often end just as fast. We swim in a gotta-have-it-now ocean. Money. Food. Toys. Sex. Power. Answers. Results. Relationships… The problem you face is that microwaved seafood always falls short, never as good as a fresh catch, prepared, pan-seared or grilled to perfection. The same can be said for relationships, both professional and personal. Like your close family members or people you have worked with for many years, your strongest connections develop with those whom you spend the most time in the water with. These are your “repeat customers,” the ones who rave about your business and tell others. These days, many representatives or “sellers” find themselves confused as to how to take relationships with “prospective buyers” to that level. Some mistakingly believe that “wowing” their prospective clients with flowers and candy... and then asking for the sale builds relationship. Such attempts don’t always result in failure, but they’re most often premature. Gifts carry more meaning after a relationship has already been established. After all, which touches you more -- receiving flowers from someone you know, or someone you may not care to meet?

The more “why’s” you discover now, the less "woes" you experience later.

Microwaved business relationships often stir up unintended waves of discontent. A prospective client may actually become annoyed because you haven’t yet earned the right to take his time. Professional Courtship respects the clients time rather than waste it. Have you ever received emails from strangers and immediately deleted them? You earn the right to ask clients for their time when you can demonstrate that you have their best interests in mind, able to accomplish one or both of the following: 1) Generate revenue for their businesses 2) Save them time and money. Relationship begins when you avoid the temptation to circle-- thinking only of your needs, talking only about yourself or your company--and instead take time to find out what drives your prospective clients. When you ask questions that reveal what is important to them and why, the reasons they choose one direction over another, and why they agree to meet with YOU, you find yourself swimming with the current instead of against it. The more “why’s” you discover now, the less "woes" you experience later. If you don’t invest your time discovering the why’s, you get submarined by words that sound great on the surface, but hide the real conversation going on beneath the waves-- the ones that mumble “You’re just like all of the other sharks I meet everyday. You only want one thing.” Wouldn’t you rather identify what lurks below now, get it out in the open, and deal with it before it’s too late? Once you discover the “whys” you are better equipped to design a plan that serves your client the best, skipping all of the pre-packaged stuff you brought with you to the meeting, none of which resonates.

GOALS = Get Out And Learn Something

Mark James — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:00:52 +0000

Goals denote direction and not distance. That dropped in my ‘knower’ during a conversation almost 20 years ago while contemplating my future. Now in my 40’s, the journey has proven far richer & more rewarding than any one destination. A coworker shared about how when he was growing up his family took vacations every summer and it went something like this… get up at the crack of dawn, pile in the car, then drive for 6 or 7 hours to a tourist attraction only to enjoy it for a few minutes then load back into the car for the next destination. His experience was more about the end & less about the journey. Writing down or recording goals are a way to start not with the end, but with the end in mind. A goal is a place out in front of you, a point to visualize moving toward.

Goals beckon us forward and seem to come more into focus along the way.

I encourage goal setting start by writing down your goals. Something crystallizes when we document our dreams. Writing isn’t just visual but is also a kinesthetic act that can bring clarity to what you desire and it also serves to hone our focus and give us something to refer to time and again. In order to write something you first must visualize it. Can you see yourself doing this or accomplishing that? You can’t achieve what you can’t “see” so visualize what it is you’re seeking to achieve. Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked how as a poor immigrant he was able to achieve so much in life, from bodybuilder to movie star to now Governor of California. His reply was simple, “I pictured myself doing something and lived into it.” Goals help you see into the next season. They reveal your focus and your focus determines your future. Your future requires direction which is anchored by your goals. We were made

When Crisis Appears in Your Business

David Stephens — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:00:39 +0000

Your business moves forward or backward but never remains still. In those times when things seem to continually travel in reverse, it could signal the need to replace the old, dying beliefs that fueled your business in the past with new ones better suited for now and the future.

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When do you need God?

Bob Thornton — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:00:16 +0000

If you surveyed a hundred people on the street and asked them when they need God, I imagine the majority of your answers would include phrases like "when I have a problem", "when I am stressed", "when I need help help" and other ways of really saying the same thing. We turn to God in awkward prayers when we can't handle things on our own. But what would happen if we turned to God when things seemed to be going great?

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A Shared Connection

Kurt Zahrt — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:58:58 +0000

In the alcove, we chatted nervously across the table littered with half-eaten chili cheese dogs and unsipped drinks. From my vantage point, I could see another group gathering just outside the room, focused on the bearded one among them, his eyes peering from beneath his heavy brow, lecturing as a professor would to his students. Those of us inside the room continued to converse, discussing what would happen next, when a stranger stepped through the invisible boundary searching for his travel case and something small within it, hidden in a brown paper bag. As he walked by, I asked him if he was okay to which he snapped back in anger, “NO! What do you think!” Realizing I had misstated my inquiry, I rephrased it. “What I meant to ask is...Would you like to sit here? We don’t mean to monopolize the area.” Apologetic for his razor sharp response, he stuttered, “My, uh, ex-wife asked me to come here and her husband isn’t too happy about it.” From there, he poured out his story. Marcus had just arrived from Atlanta where he had lost thirty pounds in less than a year, now down to his high school weight, and he has never been sick in his entire life. At that moment, as two of my friends rushed out of the room, he, unphased, continued to share how he had once owned a publishing company which he later sold. After two divorces, having lost most of his assets, he now looked forward to a new venture sure to succeed. As Marcus stood close, well within my space, I repositioned, noticing that in the distance, across the hallway, three young men, apparently his sons, had entered a soft-lit room. Marcus continued to talk, oblivious to everything behind and around him, distracted momentarily in conversation which spoke of better times, detached from family drama. “What do you do for a living?” Marcus asked me. “Marketing” I replied, igniting a spark that carried him back to his early days in advertising, excited at every opportunity to "make things happen," his glory days making money even when his fellow reps struggled. Why, I thought to myself, does this man continue confiding in me, a total stranger, with so much going on in and outside this room? He went on explain how, years ago following a layoff, he had traveled cross-country to apply for a job in radio. He had interviewed with the owner-- a gruff do-er type with a short fuse who gazed repeatedly at his watch. When asked what he wanted to accomplish in his career, Marcus, weary from the process and no longer caring if he got the job or not, answered surprisingly. "Someday," Marcus replied, "I want to buy my own radio station and put you out of business!" The owner, duly impressed, hired him on the spot. "If you can talk to a station owner that way," he exclaimed, "you can talk with anyone! " In that very moment, my imagination sat in the room with Marcus the day he was hired. I now intuitively understood why he would later become president of a company, lose everything after two divorces, and find himself here talking with me. More of my friends entered the room in those minutes, some crying, others dazed. Seized by the moment, Marcus realized where he stood -- amid people whose behavior seemed all too familiar, like that of the ones he arrived with. “You probably should get back to your family," I nodded. "It looks like they need you. He agreed, wishing me the best as he turned to walk away, thanking me in a handshake rather than words, for allowing him to escape the reality of the present for fifteen minutes. “Do you know that guy?” my friends asked. “No, I just met him,” I replied. “He’s here for the same reason we are.” Then Marcus's words rushed back to me all at once, the heart of our connection exposed. Marcus had revealed at the onset of our conversation that his ex-wife suffered from inoperable breast cancer. His family had come to gather her belongings and take her home, where hospice would make her as comfortable as possible in her final hours. He and I connected through a common thread, distanced only by the fact that the person I came to visit that night-- a strong woman of faith who had run out of hours-- had no time left for hospice. Surrounded by friends in her final moments, and reassured by her husband that he and the kids would be okay ( in essence releasing her to go), she slipped away, to meet the Giver of Life. God mercifully had taken her out of her pain, and called her home. Why did God not answer the prayers of His faithful, allowing what He could have prevented? Only He knows. The true test of faith lies in trusting His decision. Some of the greatest miracles in life don't necessarilly come in the Lazarus moment, but in the darkness where hope and grace shed light on our circumstances and lead us out. We come into this world with nothing and exit with the same, leaving behind possessions, but more importantly, our legacy. When the created clench their hands in an effort to hold on to what they have, they miss an opportunity for The Creator to place in their palms something even greater, meant to be given away, as simple as an unexplainable peace shared with others in their time of need.