Be content. Not complacent.

This particular season is not about doing. It’s about being. Being the thing God created, being the thing God intended. It’s a kind of lathering process that’s going to build and develop you. The oil that’s supposed to be poured onto your life will be a reflection of the oil that has been developed in your life. It’s the secret place that develops you. It’s the secret place that prepares you. It’s the unseen preparation that gives you a visible anointing.

If you want to be a leader, if you want to be a person that builds other people’s faith and be used by God, be faithful in the mundane, be faithful in the hidden place. God is preparing to bring you into a place so magnificent that only He can get the credit for it!

- I Am Number 8

Today's a Good Day to Have a Good Day!

TODAY, God got a little somethin' somethin' with MY name on it! Favor ain't fair but it is FABULOUS! 😃😃😃✔

You know, sometimes you just have to encourage yourself!!

Take the FIRST STEP!

In the book of the Prophet Haggai in Chapter 2, we hear Haggai speak the Words that came to him from The Lord. God was asking 2 questions of the priests (1) Is holiness contagious? Can holiness be transferred from one thing to another? The priests answered, "No". (2) Can uncleanness, the opposite of holiness, be contagious? Can someone who is ritually unclean contaminate things that are holy? "Yes", the priests answered.

God told the people that they knew that since the Temple had been destroyed and not rebuilt, that the Temple had become contaminated and so had the people. Therefore, because the people were defiled, then so would their sacrifice be defiled.

However, in verses 15, 18, 19b...three times the Prophet Haggai announced that "from this day forward" things would be different. You see, something changed, the people took the "First Step" and the foundation stone, the cornerstone of the Temple was laid and as part of the ceremony, the Temple was rededicated, cleansing it from defilement, making it a functional holy space again.

The last sentence in verse 19, The Lord says this, "FROM THIS DAY ON I WILL BLESS YOU."

Despite our sin in this life, God still responds favorably to our "First Step" in the right direction. Throughout the Bible we see people that when they looked beyond their own selfish concerns, God jumped at the chance to reestablish a relationship with His chosen people.

Think about this...God is and has always been ready to jump at the chance to reestablish relationship with you...we just need to take the FIRST STEP!

Wedding Anniversary Week - Reflection #6 Final

Marriage Takes More Than Two!

All this week you've heard me say a lot about Kim's and my marriage. However, if you go back and read all of the posts, you will find that my reflections are not only about Kim and I, but they are about a Mighty God that we serve! God has made all the difference in our marriage. He has made all the difference in our family. He has made all the difference in our livelihood. He has been the source of who we are.

Understanding that it will take more than two to make a successful marriage is coming into the knowledge that we need to have Christ Jesus. Where the scripture talks about a "three-fold cord is not easily broken", it is reminding us of our need for the Essence of Love, the Creator of Love and the Author of Love and again, that is Christ Jesus! I, on many occasions have had to remind myself, when I find myself, trying to do things by myself  that without Christ we're  not as strong as we think that we are. Additionally, we also must know that "If Christ stands before us then who can be against us"!

Marriages have sustainable energy; marriages are strong; and marriages are healthy when the marriage is between you, your spouse, and our Heavenly Father. Invite God into your marriage and enjoy the journey. In God's economy, when you Invest in Him, the Return is "Above all that you could ever think or imagine". Trust me in this, when a marriage has been ordained in Heaven, then you + your spouse + Jesus = Blessed and Highly Favored and your marriage has been sanctioned and protected by The Most High God!

Marriage - there's nothing greater that can be shared together on this side of eternity when Jesus is in the marriage!

I love you all and thank each of you for following all week as I reflected on marriage. God bless You!

Tomorrow, we'll be 28 years In the books. Hallelujah!!!

"It’s better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps... Two in a bed warm each other. Alone, you shiver all night. By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped." (Ecclesiastes 4:9‭-‬12 MSG)

Wedding Anniversary Week - Reflection #5

Life Markers

There are many things in Kimberly's and my life together that make us who we are today.

I remember like yesterday, the very first time that I saw her walking down a stairwell in Bldg 1650, Kelly AFB, San Antonio, TX in January 1987.

I remember the first time that she first noticed me. I was blasting music in my dormitory room, drinking way too much and noticed Kim and a few of her coworkers going to the Bowling Alley. I jumped in front of them and shouted, "Hey you, YOU can come back and hang with me, but not the rest of you" hahaha...yep, not smooth at all, BUT she came back after a night of bowling! 😃

I remember our 1st apartment; our 1st breakup; and our 2nd apartment. I remember my proposal to Kim and her saying "Yes" after two years of dating.

I remember our wedding day, Lisa Boyles Thomas flying in from Florida to be Maid of Honor; Jay Keller giving Kim away; and Kim and I cooking all of the food for the reception, preparing the Clubhouse, helping the DJ get setup, greeting the Justice of The Peace and finally our wedding vows.

Four years later, our firstborn son, Keith Jr was born on June 19th and Father's Day that year was June 20th

Four years after Keith was born, we had our second child, Kyle on May 8th, four days before Mother's Day that year

I retired from the Air Force in January 2005

Our daughter Kaelyn was born in January 2006!

But THE MOST SIGNIFICANT Life Marker was on March 23, 2005. On this day, at a basketball banquet of a league that was affiliated with a Christian organization and the games where played in a local church, Kim and I received Jesus Christ as our LORD and as our SAVIOR!

Prior to this Life Marker, there was nothing truly significant about us, our lives or our lifestyle choices. BUT after this date, our world changed, our hearts were changed, our marriage changed, our love grew stronger, our decisions were made better, our pathways were made clearer and our names were written in The Lamb's Book of Life! On this day, my wife and I truly became one before God and we remain before His Throne as one to this day!

There are many Life Markers in our lives and I'm proud of each of them. However, the most significant event of Kimberly and myself was the day Christ became Lord in us and for us.

Thank You Lord for teaching us what true love is and for teaching us how to truly love each other. My Mom said this to me shortly afterwards..."Keith, you had love for Kim, but now, YOU KNOW LOVE & HOW TO LOVE!

Christ IS love and without Him in your marriage, we will only go through the motions.

Wedding Anniversary Week Reflection #4

Keeping It Real Works for Us!

To Keep it Real...There's nothing out there that can hold my heart, that will hold my hand and that holds me closer than the love of my wife.

To Keep it Real...I use to like to go to "The Club". I use to like hanging out until three o'clock in the morning. I use to like the attention (drama most times) that could be found by making yourself available to everyone and everything. But those things really drained me, drained my enthusiasm and stole my identity and security.

See, to Keep it Real...I had to come to the understanding that a strong and healthy marriage trumps "The Club"; trumps casual acquaintances: and trumps the paranoia and fake/false/phony nightmarish masquerade mask that I once wore to be part of the crowd.

What has worked for us is our realization that Life, Love and Memories are Made at Home and with those you love and who love you; and not the random strangers that we meet in the streets or clubs.

This is Real...Kimberly gives me my identity as being her protector, her best friend, her confidant, her husband, the father of our children and priest of our home.

This is Real...Kimberly is my security in that she keeps me grounded, protects me from negativity by showering me with confidence and affirming my position in our lives and by shielding me from even my own self doubt.

To Be Real...Kimberly and I aren't perfect and we don't profess to have the perfect marriage, but:

Keeping it Real REALLY Works for Us!

Wedding Anniversary Week Reflection #3

TOGETHER!

My wife and I have been together for over half of our lives. We grew up together as young adults, made a family together and established our home together. Everything that we have, we obtained together. Everything that we lost, we endured together. For everything that's come at us, we've prayed together and there were times that we've cried together. Whatever life has dealt us, we survived together and through it all we strived together.

By now, you've got the key to our marriage that is quickly approaching 28 years and the key is: TOGETHER!

• Together, the two have become one
• Together, nothing can divide us
• Together, life is made and love endures

Thank you Kimberly for making me your priority. Together and with God's blessing, we shall continue in life and love, enjoying it all, TOGETHER!