I’m Going Back to Cali.

As I write, I’m looking out my hotel room in California. The view is uninspiring, but the sound is unbelievable. In the background, I hear the sound of the Pacific Ocean tide washing in and out. It’s at once soothing and breathtaking.

I am by no means a world traveler, but I have seen my share of large bodies of water – a few Great Lakes, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Ocean among others. Today as Kia and I watched waves crash over the rocks near our hotel, we noted the power of the Pacific. The Pacific Ocean isn’t like any of those other bodies of water.

It is powerful.

Calling All Adventurers!

Any civilized place was at some point settled by a group of brave and industrious people. I live in Kansas, settled in the 1800s. These original homesteader was not the average person. However, as strong as those people were, some places are a beacon to true adventurers. I’m talking about places still intense today – the Rocky Mountains, the Himalayas, Siberia, the Amazon. All are a wild beyond the normal.

The Pacific Ocean is that type of wild.

The Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Ocean, Great Lakes all are majestic. Each is also calm, flat and safe. Watching them from shore on a nice, clear day doesn’t produce fear.

The Pacific Ocean is wild, grand, potent. The West Coast, California in particular, is known for the adventurers who conquered it – the Lewis and Clark’s, the Gold Miners, the wagon trainers. Men and women risked their lives to live an adventure.

The Pacific’s power shaped the legacy of the people at its shore.

Why so Confident?

Recently, friends have commented to me about my children.

They are so confident.

They the typical follow up questions.

Why? How do I raise my kids to be so confident?

Initially, I had no answer. Honestly, I didn’t see their confidence. In fact, to me, they can seem so unsure of themselves. I see their faults and shortcomings (unfortunately, at times, more than they do.) I had to ask myself that same question.

Why are they confident?

As I considered it, this is one of answers I’ve developed.

My children are products of the grand, potent, wild life Kia and I strive to live every day. We are chasing dreams, taking steps of faith and picking ourselves up after failure.

It’s not a message we preach; it’s the constant drip of life we live. We then allow and encourage them to do the same thing.

You want to dance? Let’s give it a shot. You like baseball? Why don’t we try it. You love to draw? How can we help? You can do it. You want more friends? Let’s figure it out.

Whether you have children or not, it doesn’t matter. People are watching you. They see your calm, flat and safe or your wild, grand and potent. Which is it? You are inspiring them to be the same.

The question for today:

Is your life the powerful Pacific or the calm Caribbean? What are you inspiring?

Coming soon!

I’ll soon be releasing a 30 Day Devotional book. This book will feature 30 daily segments of a short section of Scripture, my thoughts on that scripture and a small prayer. All of it meant to point your heart toward God.

You can find a sample from that book HERE.

The e-book is free! Simply register for my email list (HERE). If you are already on my list, great news…you will have access as soon as it’s released.