Tonight I was fortunate enough to spend the evening having a dinner being hosted by some of my closet friends in my honor.
After some crazy-good meat we all sat around and talked about old memories. Technicaly the point was for my friends to show thier appreciation towards me. We ended up sharing many great memories with a few compliments thrown in there.
When Anna and I left she asked me how the evening went for me, and I’m going to share the answer I gave her with all of you…
It was astounding to hear the things that my friends have noticed and value about me. They were character traits. Four primary focuses emerged through the night: integrity, follow-through, servant-hood, meekness.
What nobody knew (even my wife until) until now is that each of those four areas are intentional areas of focus for me. Certain things like…
- always being willing to serve and help even when it’s inconvenient.
- having a solid handshake.
- being a man of my word.
- honoring other people and making them feel valid and worth-a-darn.
Tonight as I sat there - hearing my close friends (who know me very well) tell me (without knowing that they were) that I’ve become somewhat of the man that I have been fighting to become - I whispered a little prayer to the Lord to say ‘thank you.’ It has been many years of focus and energy, and it’s beginning to bear fruit. I’m actually becoming who I want to.
Be Who You Want to
This is not a motivational post. I’m just laying it out there like it is.
If you want to be someone that you are not yet. If you want to have Godly character traits. If you want to be a person of motivation and influence. Then you have to start now and keep on keepin’ on.
I’m not posting this to pat myself on the back. (You all know I do that enough as it is.) I’m just here to tell you how it is. If there are things lacking in your life it is your responsibility to go after them: in prayer, in practice and in steadfastness. You can be who you want to be.
Ronalfy said:
Shawn,
These words speak to me. I’m going through a great struggle right now in my personal life, and these words are so true.
The inverse of your quote would be these words that I can definitely relate to right now:
Posted on January 29, 2007 at 12:02 am
Ben Cunnington said:
Right on man! I love it. I wish I could have been there to tell you who I think you are. Sounds like a great time and I’m proud of you Shawn. You are truly a man that desires and pursues truth in your life. You are an amazing man of God and I am continually challenged and ecouraged by your life journey! Love you bro!
Posted on January 29, 2007 at 1:13 am
Shawn said:
@ Ron: God bless you in this season. The Lord is committed to you bro.
@ Ben: You should have been there. I thought about you several times. You can make up for it by telling me how cool I am when I come out in March…
Posted on January 29, 2007 at 7:52 am
The other Andy said:
oh man, what a good post. Just what I needed to hear today. Right after I read this post earlier this morning I went out to breakfast with some friends and the conversation turned into a conversation about having vision for our lives. I think the Lord is trying to tell me something….
Posted on January 29, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Josh said:
This post reminds me of what a good role model and example I am. I realize that for a lot of people it’s not about being who they want to be so much as wanting to be who I am. So be encouraged all you josh-abees.
All seriousness aside, it was seriously a good post, Shawn.
Posted on January 29, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Random Blog Monday « will He find faith on the earth? said:
[…] If you want to read a really good and challenging blog entry CLICK HERE […]
Posted on January 29, 2007 at 10:57 pm
Ronni said:
THANK YOU!
I’ve switched from the “wading through life” mentality to living each day as intentionally as I can. I focus on where I want to go, what God is speaking to me right now, and what I need to do to get to where I feel He wants me. All very intentional now.
I must say, I am feeling more joy than ever now, and it seems He is honoring this and opening doors for me at times!
This is what partnering with God is… and it brings real joy!
Not that fake joy… but the true deep joy that is NOT sitting around with a smile on your face… it is much more than that… it is something you feel even in the midst of crisis.
God is SO freaking good!
Posted on January 30, 2007 at 5:24 am