Author: Nick

Good Morning, I heard a story about a young man who tried hard to move a heavy log into the fire but was unsuccessful in doing so. His Dad was standing nearby, quietly watching his son straining against the heavy load. His Dad broke the silence as he said, “Son, why aren’t you using all your strength?” Confused and a little frustrated, the young man responded, “Dad, I am using every last little bit of strength I have.” His dad quietly responded, “No, you’re not, son”, “You haven’t asked me to help.” As I ponder this story, I am reminded Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might”. In this pondering I am also reminded of the times when I have been guilty of the same thing experienced by the young man in the story, not utilizing all my resources and trying to do it alone. We need to remember there are all types of...

Good Morning, There was a little stack of paper slips tucked away in the corner of our grandson’s closet. His mother found them while cleaning and organizing his room. She did not think much about a 5-year-old hoarding away these tiny slips of paper because he loves to collect things, such as tiny cars and animal figures. But as she picked them up to toss them away, she noticed there were hand-written words on the papers, so she investigated a little further. What she thought were seemingly un-important slips of paper, were the love notes she had written to him every day since he started pre-school. Each day she had written him a note saying she and his father loved him and was proud of him then placed it in his lunch box for him to find later in the day. He, in turn, had kept and saved all the notes, then stored them in a safe place when he returned...

Good Morning, When I think about what is happening in the world today, I am reminded of the few words that begin the book, “A Tale of Two Cities” … “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” What this says to me is it is not where we start...

Good Morning,John Wooden said, “Be true to yourself, Help others, Make each day your masterpiece, Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible, Make friendship a fine art, Build a shelter against rainy day, Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.”Based on the things I have heard and read about John Wooden, he was not only a great coach, but also a great encourager of people. We all need encouraging from time to time, even those of us who don’t seem to need it. I come to realize encouragement is the oxygen of the soul, and everyone needs it and they perform better when they get it. As leaders, we should always liberally hand out encouragement, because it costs little to affirm others and yet pays great dividends.In recent weeks, as I have been recuperating, I have received much encouragement. It has lifted the vail of loneliness and help me keep my spirits up. It has...

Good Morning, Recently, I was gifted the opportunity to stay with our grandchildren for a few hours while their mother went to a meeting. When I arrived, she walked me through the daily routine, what food to feed them, where the sippy cups, already prepared, were located and most importantly where the diapers were located, then she was off. For the first few hours everything went well. We had playtime, then lunch, then things began to unravel. Let me explain, like I said everything was going well until it wasn’t; our grandson is in the process of being potty trained so very suddenly he announced he had to go to the restroom and took off down the hall toward the master bath. I grabbed up our granddaughter in hot pursuit, sat her down in front of a mirror hoping this would occupy her for the few minutes needed to help him, when I heard the fasters on his diaper being pulled. Once...

Good Morning, My friend sent me a statement made by Bruce Pearl after Auburn won this past weekend, he said, “Think about your great moments. Whatever they are; the birth of a child or something special that happened in your life; think about your greatest moments. One of the things that make them great is the people you shared the moment with, and when you think about it that’s what makes it special.” We all know this deep down, and I believe he humbly expressed this deep down feeling very well during this interview. The people and not the accomplishment; make these special moments important and memorable. No doubt Bruce Pearl was happy; but I think more than happy he was joyful.  Why, joyful you ask, because joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which we were created and born to do, not from successfully doing something of our own choosing. Now I don’t know who Bruce...

John Wooden said, “There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make, makes you.” This quote has been written in my journal so long the ink has almost faded into the paper making it look as though it was written in pencil. Regardless of its appearance on the paper, it continues to impact my thought process about life each time I read these powerful words. It conjures up thoughts about choices I have made, both good and poor which have changed the course of my walk. It also reminds me that the power to choose is the one of the most effective tools we have in directing our life’s path. We are fortunate where we live because there are many areas in our world today that people don’t have the freedom to choose how they live. For us to be successful we need to make the right...

Good Morning, Well, we have been taken captive and confronted once again with the power and unpredictability of Mother Nature. Just yesterday, it was a fine day, sunny, light breeze, cool but not too cool, riding along in a parade line of vehicles going into Metro Atlanta. Leading the parade were two state troopers and two rather large tanker trucks applying a salty mix to the interstate’s surface ahead of the “parade’s” participants and the anticipated winter weather. The good news is the road preparation worked well based on the news reports I watched; the bad news is I had just cleaned up my truck, after a long period between washes, the day before and now it is covered in a thin coat the salt mixture spray from the tanker trucks. Lucky me, I get to do it over; which is clean up my truck, again. There’s not many times in our lives we get a “do over”. We have the Mulligan...

Good Morning, I was trying to remember if we’ve ever experienced a white Christmas, in my lifetime. Living in Alabama, snow is a rare thing. When someone mentions snow it’s almost like saying a naughty word in front of your mother, because it sends community into a panic with everyone scrambling to accumulate as much bread, milk and other food staples that might be needed for survival, if we happen to become homebound by the snow. Snow is forecasted for today; in fact, it is already snowing in parts of the state and is headed our way, so I am patiently sitting in the parking lot of a local grocery store waiting for it to open so I can be first in line to purchase milk and bread, just saying... But back to my original thought, no, I don’t remember experiencing a white Christmas, however I have experienced a warmer than normal Christmas, a rainy Christmas, a super cold Christmas with water...