Speak the 10% (SpeakThe10Percent)

What is the 10% that goes unsaid?  What do I mean?

Well to know what it is-- it's probably easier to start with what it is not...that's what we usually come across in life.

The 90% we experience every day is normal every day life..coming, going, working, coming home, hanging out at home, going to church, the grocery store, working out...it's all of the activities we do, the hats we wear to do them....and the substance=not so much.

The 90%--it's comfortable, it doesn't rock the boat, it maintains the status quot....it's not challenging, but then again nobody gets hurt.  The 90% just feels good so just turn it down a notch and don't get too worked up. It doesn't insult anyone or step on their beliefs. It just sits down after work and turns on the tube and zones out nicely.

It makes me want to jump up and scream....

You see, nobody wants the other 10% and you know what, nobody wants to step up and give it anyways.  To go to the 10% requires a lot from a person...to really desire to go there requires much....

Courage--yes it takes courage to speak the 10% nobody speaks. If it were easy; everybody would be doing it.

Listening and empathy--In order to speak that 10% it requires a lot of listening to others, not planning what we will say next. Seek first to understand, then to be understood as the parable says. Invest the pre-time with your heart.

Patience--There is a skill to knowing when. It's all about timing--giving it when needed--not too soon, not too late.

What is an example of speaking into that 10%?  How about...

Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman" where he listens carefully, he knows Charlie well by the time he speaks up to represent him. He listens to Charlie's story and plight. He has patience to listen at first at the trial until he can't take it any more.  And then what?  The 10% comes out..

Powerfully

He tells everyone what he sees and paints the picture.  He speaks the truth that otherwise would have gone unsaid. He stands up for someone because he sees character.

That's a truth about the 10% I've come to know...if we don't step up at certain moments then those moments will pass and our voice will not be heard.

What happens with that 10%...why is it worthwhile???

All of the growing, challenges in life are in that 10%
All statements that challenge us to our core lie there in the 10%.
The inner growth--it's in the 10%...
The uncomfortable--it's in there...
The out of your element...it's in there
The unrehearsed awkwardness...it's in there
The opportunity to ruin a friendship...it's in there
The opportunity to knock down walls...it's in there
The chance to make a fool of yourself...it's in there
The chance to create a defining moment--it's in there
The push to encourage and inspire--it's in there...

It's a great risk for an opportunity of great reward

Anyone can live in the 90%....

It takes someone to be bold, loving and just a bit crazy to cross over to the 10%

I used to think of the 10% as a weapon, a special sword to be wielded skillfully...not so

It is a weapon when wielded in the wrong way without patience and timing--period.

In the right hands -- at the right time...it is more like a surgeon with a knife carefully doing an implant operation or a surgery----realness, encouragement, enlightenment, joy, wonder, hope....or carefully attempting to help carve something for removal. Triage for someone we love and care about.

Everything worthwhile in life happens in that 10%---so why do we all--myself included avoid it?!

To quote Pacino from the movie--"Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew. But I never took it. You know why? It was too damn hard."

Carving out the time, empathy and quality space to do this is hard. And so moments come and pass because we are unwilling to step into that moment and give what we are called to give of ourselves. Here's the bottom line--the 10% changes the world.

It is time to live in that 10%---it's where everything good for me has ever happened...it is why we are given voices to speak into each other's lives...to offer words of hope, love, encouragement...and yes to challenge each other too.  Without someone being willing to do that for me, I'd be long gone from this world.

Life and being a believer are not about being a bunch of really nice guys...and boring everyone to death is not the substance of the 10%.

Challenging each other and finding a way to use your voice...encouraging and inspiring...that is the 10% never said. 

It's kind of like driving a Ferrari while blind...big risk, big reward----hooooooah

...the 10% changes the world...

Modern Day Knight

I watched a scene unfold at the grocery store as a child about 3 or 4 years old threw a tantrum.  After quieting down a bit, he then looked around strategically surveying the store and threw another fit, totally flustered the poor mother and then spit on the feet of the grocery bagger on his way out while tucked under the mothers arm sideways.

It reminded me of a few things…where is our intentionality of teaching a code of conduct like the old days of the knights? Where is society headed with the messages we want boys to learn and the conduct they will choose to live by.

Steps to Knighthood - The Page
At the tender age of just seven years a young boy would be sent to commence his education at the home or castle of a noble. His role would be as a page, the third step towards becoming a knight. A page was also referred to as a 'varlet' meaning 'little vassal'. It was the duty of a Page to wait at table, care for the Lord's clothes and assist them in dressing. The page was also expected to acts as servants to the ladies of the court or castle her served in. The Page was provided with a uniform of the colors and livery of the Lord. There were many pages, the number depending on the wealth of the noble. There was a 'pecking order' amongst the pages which was dependent on age. The ages of the pages would range from seven years old up to fourteen years old when they would take the next step to becoming a knight by serving in the position of a Squire. The young page would receive an education being taught religion, manners, riding, hunting, hawking and strategic games such as backgammon and chess. A Page would soon start to acquire the skills required of a Knight by practicing the skills of tilting a lance and watching the prowess and training of their seniors. The use of the lance would be practiced together with the skills of horsemanship. A target was erected and the Page would mount a wooden 'horse' on wheels holding a lance. The wooden horse would be pulled along by two other pages towards the target and the page would aim the lance. Sword play was practiced using wooden swords and shields. Fighting on piggyback introduced the young knights to the balance and skills required in mounted combat. The page would attend their superiors at Tournaments which were always seen as great occasions in the life of pages from the Middle Ages.

Steps to Knighthood - The Squire
The Medieval Squire was a servant to a knight during the Middle Ages. This was Step 4 of becoming a Knight. The role to a squire was one of the most important steps to Knighthood and started when a page reached the age of fourteen years old. The duties of a Squire were to learn about Chivalry, the rules of Heraldry, horsemanship and practice the use of weapons and the skills required of a Knight. It was also their duty to enter into the social life of the castle and learn courtly etiquette, jousting, music and dancing. The Squire served in this role for seven years and became a Knight at the age of twenty-one. Sometimes knighthood was conferred on a squire at an earlier age as the reward for bravery on the battlefield. In time of war Squires accompanied Knights on the battlefield, leading and tending the horses and dressing them in the Medieval Knights Armor. They came under fire from arrows and many squires were killed doing their duty.


Steps to Knighthood - The Knight
After many long years of training and learning the skills of combat and chivalry required of a Knight during the Middle Ages the steps to Knighthood were completed and symbolized in the order of Knighthood ceremony. The culmination of the ceremony was when a knight was dubbed and the words "Arise, Sir Knight" were uttered. This final part of the ceremony would have been knighted by a local knight, or if they were very lucky, by a greater noble or even the king. The ceremony marked the final steps to knighthood made by a Medieval Squire.
They would swear an oath to use a code of conduct—values that became a part of who they were…

I remember reading about such things and jotting down on a dinner napkin what those things would be to my family
Faith
Honor
Integrity
Help
Prayer
Determination
Well it’s been many years and some of what those values should be has changed.  But the need to give the message from Father to Son intentionally remains.

 Why is it so important?

Most of the ills we have in society today are due to boys not receiving the right messages from older, wiser men passing on a code of conduct and a vision larger than their next girlfriend conquest or getting high. Men need a code of conduct to live by and a kingdom larger than themselves to serve.

I get very revved up about this topic because it is my passion to make certain at some point in their lives men hear and answer the questions they need to answer.
Things go terribly wrong when questions are never answered or they seek these answers from women, drugs, money and any other method that seems right at first but is not getting right to the heart of the issue.

Only an initiated man can answer another man’s questions…
Do I have what it takes?
Am I brave?
What is the larger kingdom to serve?
What is the code of conduct?

In a few short weeks I will finally be part of a ceremony that will initiate my son.  No hazing here…this is a spiritual reflection, physical courage, and mental challenge.  It must employ all 3 elements for that is how real life approaches us, we need all three elements in our toolbox.

My messages now are a little different than before but what is important is declaring him ready to pursue his journey now as a man.  My message is I am intentional in passing my messages on to him, my own code of conduct as a modern day knight. It is hard enough to be intentional without my own failures…but failures do not disqualify me from giving the messages, in fact, they display God’s strength where my own brokenness is revealed.

I was a little sad to see a sword at my nephew’s home one night standing next to his fireplace because in my head I realized there was an initiation ceremony that I had missed. Then I had a better thought…the place of beginning to think about these initiations was my idea I openly shared with family. 

That sword was a symbol of my own legacy.



It is also a reminder it is not how we start…(my intentions were good)
..but how we finish that determine our ultimate legacy…

Does Anyone Have a GPS for Life?

A GPS for life?  Well that would mean we would navigate every decision perfectly...would that be a good thing?

Life is already full of predictable outcomes...rarely do we go into anything with a complete surprise.

No, we don't get to have a GPS for where we are and where we are headed in life.  Really though, would we really want one?  So much in life is no longer filled with wonder....as our heroes are exposed with weaknesses and exposed as being not real.  Our idyllic ideas like Santa are exposed as false at earlier ages.  We discover our parents are far from perfect very quickly.  We can know through science and discovery so much as we go along compared to the old days. So many computers, predictable weather, predictable events, GPS giving us turn by turn navigation...

The next part of the journey requires we take a look behind...where have we been.

The past is filled with joy, shared moments, pain, trials, sadness, the peaks and valleys that come with living life on this side.

This was my son on his first day of school at five years old.  He was so full of hope, full of wonder, a little scared...wondering what was next when that school bus picked him up.  He would soon find out as kids pushed and shoved, called him some names...he took some arrows.

The truth is the next step in the journey can look a lot like the past portion of the journey.  You see, he will be full of hope, full of wonder, a little unsure and some upper-class men will push, shove, bully and test him.

The difference now is the way we look at all the little moments in between--the now and present.  Many people have made a big deal over the years about those few defining moments where a person can step into the moment and actually choose to be brave in the face of fear, and every boy wants to be found to be brave.  Those moments are so few and rarely do we realize them when they occur until they are years in the rear view mirror.

The real bravery is facing every day--meeting it head on, the mundane moments, fighting traffic, paying bills, waiting in lines---facing it with strength, grace and honor.  These are the defining moments because what we do for the lion's share of our time is what defines us--to others it IS who we are. How to pass on that information effectively...so much is learned through what is seen rather than what is said--at least that's what my son tells me.

This is my son today--headed to his last day of school.

This is who he is...

Courage--to face each day as a believer at a time when most people are ridiculed for believing-or at the very least not included.

Strong Tower--his friends come to him when their world is crumbling, when their world no longer makes sense and when they are looking for something to anchor to against the winds of change.

Heart--at his truest self he shows his compassion for others in need with his words, filling their emotional gas tanks with something that cannot be bought.  He has learned a lesson that takes many people most of their lives--that which is important cannot be purchased.  For that lesson-he has a bond with each of his friends.

No, we don't get to have a GPS for where we are and where we are headed.  Really though, would we really want one?  This now becomes the beautiful and amazing journey into the unknown....where anything is still possible.

Taking a Chance on a Chance

I manage a team of purchasing agents at work.  Recently I had a new member added to my team.  The new team member was somebody who knew somebody...he got his foot in the door.  I inherited him.

I have experience with being in this position.  What position is that?  Knowing someone who got my foot in the door.  I have worked with family and I have heard the whispers...felt the weight of the glances...I know what it feels like.  You can go one of two ways...either not care and ignore it...or...work hard to prove your worth, prove yourself worthy of the position.

When I say I understand what this feels like...I know it all too well.  That qualified me to speak into his life....James as we will call him for this blog wasn't feeling like he had to prove anything.  James was having issues with tardiness, looking at his smart phone too much, surfing the internet and many other small nuances which added up to a big weight that was dragging our team down.  After handling issues with the usual company prescribed methods I decided to steer things in a different direction.

I sat down face to face and heart to heart with James--nothing between us--no desk--just two men talking.  I explained to him part of my story where I had come from.  I told him how much I tried to prove my worth, my insecurity of never really feeling I had earned my place...Then we talked about a particular goal I was trying to achieve with the whole group. The previous supervisor had emphasized this goal, but it was never realized.  I told him if he wanted to prove he belonged, he needed to own it--make it his work identity for the next 8 weeks.  We ran reports and measured his progress daily. I explained how until he earned the right to take more than 1 days work with him, we will meet every day.  I told him what other supervisor's want from him and need in communication until they know what he is about and trust is earned.

What was the result?

James "owned" it...he walked the walk.  He met resistance within our team and outside.  He made call after call, tracked down answers like a detective and made countless e-mails to get resolutions.  This past week was the day when we would measure the final results.  He faced opposition and we talked through each situation and how to handle it.  I couldn't have helped him without facing similar situations and messing them up badly in many cases.  He doesn't know that but he benefitted from my past mistakes.

Although ultimately he has proven he belongs and was worthy of the opportunity given, what he did speaks about character.  Deep character is built through challenges in the tough times...and when he moves on now to another team, he has a foundation to build on to what he has begun.

The ultimate was going into a staff meeting and having the very people that opposed him congratulating him.  That was sweet.

I will probably lose James to another team when a position opens for him but he takes with him a little bit of our team and spreads hard work and optimism to another part of the company.  He has also joined the employee advisory group which will give him a platform to help others...something that really matters to him.  When you do the hard work it allows for some good things to happen...not always--but it does today and here.

He has learned to communicate which will benefit him throughout his career and maybe even in his personal life. He may also be able to give grace forward to someone who needs a chance.

I received a card the other day and the words that were written inside struck me right to my heart "thanks for taking a chance--on a Chance."

Where would any of us be without someone giving us chances?

Coach's Voice

There are movie characters that resonate with us deeply to our core.  Think about it for a little while and I bet you know what I mean.  There is a movie character for me as well that I hold deeply in my heart---funny his name in the movie is Coach Grant Taylor--the same as my son.  The movie is Facing the Giants.

In the movie, the many struggles and challenges in Coach Grant Taylor's life come to a boiling point--career, personal, family and spiritual.   It is then that God has his attention and he is at rock bottom.  God begins to speak to Coach one situation at a time.  It is then that Coach is willing to trust one small part of his life....then another....incredible things begin to happen.

Coach Grant Taylor begins to speak to the young men he coaches about life, faith, honor and trusting God.  Together they embark on a journey of turning their football season over to God and ultimately it changes their lives as they all learn to trust God. As Coach trusts more he is free to speak with more conviction.  Some things keep happening...are they coincidence?  NO-- God is making sure Coach can walk baby steps...building him up from the rock bottom to the point where he is looking back on where God has brought him on his journey...through deep valleys and up to the mountain top. God wants him to realize he is with him through everything and he likes challenging odds. He challenges him to use his Coach's Voice.


In the end it is the challenge of FEAR vs. FAITH that I always have come back to.

  I have been through some very deep valleys and He is still beside me.  I often wondered back when times were supposedly "really good" when job was great, money plentiful and church family all around with activities abounding. The good times---well, they really were not the good times.

In the valley?  That's where ALL of the growing occurs.  When I was at rock bottom I had conversations with people who expressed their trust and faith in God...it was astounding to me because these folks had absolutely no reason to believe....no reason to trust God that I could see with my limited vision...yet--they were calling to me to trust Him, believe and don't give up.  They were so steadfast, it made me ashamed that I was the believer who had so much....and had been a believer for so long.  Why didn't I believe God would see me through?

For me, living in middle class America...worshiping at church with other middle-upper middle class believers, we really don't have a clue about what struggles are going on out there.  We don't understand what hardship is, and we are ill equipped to help anyone else when something hits hard. I was rocked to the core.

For me, it meant being real with myself and my family first.  Then it meant being honest with my co-workers -giving my best and walking those baby steps and trusting the results to God.  It meant being honest and doing the things I was supposed to do no matter who was watching or not watching.  Now I have to tell you...when you act this way, people will take their shots at you.  It is hard to trust God for the results.  Somedays it is hard to find hope.  I had more than one promotion or position promised to me and I could have been very, very bitter about being sabotaged by the very people promising to protect and promote me.

The old me would have been done with everyone...given up on people being decent, that hard work pays off...because it all depended on me back then.  That takes very broad shoulders to hold that weight up.  I can say that...I felt it, all too long.

I could probably go a million ways from here with this and may tell some more stories in the future and holding on.  All I can tell you for certain is that when the miracle doesn't happen, when the sorrow is deep...when you think you can't go on one more day, He is with you.  Did you hear me?  He is with you and you can make it...you can take one more step.

Really that's all God wants from us..not robots spouting verses, but real people that cry out that they have their doubts, fears.....He wants us to take one more step.  Many times that is ALL I could do.  You know what?  Other people were watching...friendships came from places I never expected and true friendship and encouragement was born in the desert.  It wasn't sometimes anything poetic or burning that I actually said...sometimes it was just a love for my family and not being willing to Quit...and simply taking the next step.

If we are honest--in our struggles and challenges in life--That is where our Fear and Faith collide.

God has given me a gift of another chance at managing a team of people, and He is teaching me to keep my eyes open.  In the past I have been great at cranking out work but a terrible failure at managing others.  He has turned my life around and given me an incredible gift of encouraging and coaching others.  It's so unbelievable that I had a moment after going through monthly meetings one-on-one with each of my staff.  It was a moment where I had encouraged each of them in different areas to be their focus.  My toughest challenging employee had just done a complete 180 and participated in a meeting in a valuable contributing way.  In the past he probably would have made me angry and I would have written him off.  Today--he got a morale pick me up. The feeling in my gut was so cool that I know it was what I was meant to do, and I can see the road how God brought me here.  The things I bring are just what is needed here. If I hadn't traveled the road through the valley, I would not be able to do this right.

If I were to have received that Costco promotion that was promised...or that Krystal promotion that was promised on time.....who knows what my life would be now.  It would have been better that what it was at the time...but it would not be the incredible opportunity I have now to speak into people's lives every day.

Battling through the Fear was something He wanted me to do and until I did that...life was just going to be safe and Okay...but never INCREDIBLE.  It's not the money, power, or prestige....it's doing what you were designed to do that is fulfilling and leaving the results to Him.

All my life I have openly criticized God for how he designed me and never really could figure it out...it made me angry and impatient.

Today, I finally was happy about how He made me......

He gave me my coach's voice


Thank you

Grateful Heart

Thanksgiving

I am especially reminded at this time of the year just how thankful I am for these things from just this past year....

I am thankful for men who stood beside me, men who told me...reminded me and even showed me who I am....

I am thankful I could pick up the phone in the middle of dread and despair and have someone share my gold with me....something no one has ever done...

I am thankful for the strength and perseverance that God granted to me new each day for as long as he wanted me to stand where I was,

I am thankful for getting a new job that he prepared in advance for me and the way he tore away the old jobs to force me in his desired direction.....

I am grateful that when God wants my attention he makes it very clear of direction by stripping things away...even things that he provided to sustain for a period of time,

I am grateful for a wife that loves me throughout periods of difficulty and shares with me lessons we are both still learning,

I am grateful for a new adam man that provided an opportunity to share my love of softball with my son and even paid for his spikes to remove any obstacles and showed love to my son through a game,

I am grateful that God has taught me what enough is...he sustains and a position of enough keeps me centered and still dependent on his leading,

I am grateful that having come through a very deep and long valley that I can appreciate some of the growth and lessons I've been taught that I never would have learned unless I had traveled this path...I would not change the path....it has changed me for the better and saved my life,

I am grateful that I can share the weight of some of my story with men who I do not floodlight...but rather they can sustain and bare the weight because of the miles we have traveled together,

I am grateful that after I had been offered a job and that offering evaporated...that a new adam man reminded me of the grace I have been granted...and called me out to demonstrate what I had been showed over and over again with mercy from unexpected places

I am grateful to men who have told me who I am ... and then given examples of why they believe it....and now I believe it too,

I am grateful for the man who  gave up his treasured flash light...something I frequently use now and remember an I group lesson I will never forget,

I am grateful for the people I have crossed paths with at work who God has placed them in the right place so that I could speak into their lives,

I am grateful for the car brake lights, car fuses, headlights, vacuum cleaner, and recliner that I have repaired in this past year...something unbelievable and that I never had the patience or understanding to do before,

I am grateful for a job where it is desired that I bring who I really am...not the old false self with shield and armor to hide and deflect...but rather someplace where my mistakes and willingness to be transparent become a voice to build a bridge of hope for others,

I am grateful for a son who demonstrated perseverance and called others to do the same in the face of adversity,

I am grateful for a daughter that God has taught her to share pieces of her story and given others strength through that sharing,

I am grateful for the Father's Delight day...I got the chance to speak to the wonderful things about my daughter that I see but fail to vocalize...I am so grateful that she left me a card saying "I love you because....when the going gets tough, you don't run--you stay & fight,

Let's see......My wife has told me I'm enough...My son learned persevering the right way, my daughter made herself vulnerable by saying part of her story in order to help others, and my other daughter understands the importance of staying and fighting for the important things in life.....

I am grateful that my estranged brother and I forgave each other...that I learned what forgiveness is and really feels like.....

I am grateful that God mended relationships and grants grace to fill in the still glaring gaps,

I am grateful that this is the year that God broke the chains of my family's past generations...they will not take hold of my generation.....HOPE reigns, the power they held in the past in silence has no hold when the Light shines on it......

I am grateful for a wonderful and awesome God that has granted me all of this just this year.....any one of these things would have been enough

Grateful....a friend called me and told me I had gone back for him when no one else did...he told me I had gone back for the one...he made me cry.....fulfilled the promise I had been told....

I would love to hear others speaking and sharing what they are grateful for....If you are in the middle of a struggle and can't see something to be grateful for right now....I get it...just know He will walk through that struggle with you and when you come through you will understand and know he was with you.

Where are you God?

Where are you God?

My question was far from an original in any way.  Many people cry out this question every day...in anger...in desperation....in hopes of finding mercy...relief...answers.


Day after day the struggle of life can be more than one can take...but this is my blog so let's make it more specific.

I was drowning in a sea of desperation...an ocean of sadness...no light on the horizon of coming help.

Where are you God?

My family needs me home, I am tired to the bone of every fiber of my being.....

Where are you God?

God was there...

the woman who cuts my hair who paid for my hair cut and then reduced my rate while I was in this struggle...God was in it

the people who helped me get healthcare for my children.....God was there

the people at work who gave us a money tree for Christmas two years ago that allowed us to have a Christmas.....God was embracing us

The boss who gave us her employee turkey to feed us that holiday...God was happy

The people who surrounded us and gave us food/gas cards...God was in it

The worker at Publix who gave us gifts even while she was in the midst of her own struggles....God taught me

The secret gifts given..God saw them all

The family who didn't judge but listened patiently and gave financially....God loved it

My family who listened and gave compassion, financial assistance.....God cherished those moments

The times I cried in the dark full of sadness but trying to be there for my family...God cried with me

The beauty and majesty of Haileigh riding at saddle up...the grit and determination after being thrown...the courage to get up again...God was teaching me

The things my son Grant has said to me that have gotten me through a few more days...God was teaching me it's not what we say intentionally but what our actions speak in the heat of the struggle...that's what people remember about us

The grace and mercy my wife Michelle has shown me throughout this struggle....the raw emotion, realness, and grace.....God was smiling

the times I was so angry but I still talked and yelled at God.....he expected it and accepted my shortcomings...he still loved the relationship

the times I was dangling by a single thread of hope.....he loved me for how he designed me and had more threads lined up to see me through

Look, I first want to state I am not Job.  Stop laughing my family...it wasn't all that funny. I never was a shining example of Godliness or anything of the like.  I did learn about patience and how to how get through from some of his book.  I have learned a great deal.....Too many lessons to put down in a blog at one time.

Today I am thankful for all of it

and....

I wouldn't change a thing

Where are you God?  He is with me....everywhere...all through this journey.