Name:  Micah Hammond

Profession: Kid

Years in Business:  About 9

Family Info: Large

Hobbies: Construction of amazing contraptions from duct tape, cardboard, and other household items

Activities of Interest:  Legos, Video Games, Mine Craft, anything with Video

Burning desire: To become King/Ruler/Emperor

Something no one knows about me:  Has an amazing tender heart

Keys to Success:  Total, absolute creativity—-Is able to move on after blowing up

Favorite Quote: “Jack Ass—Turd Sandwich”—-Learned from elder brother Jacob and delivered to older brother Aaron

As Christian parents we always need to be reminded that our kids are God given and that they really do not belong to us. The Lord in his divine sovereignty knows what He is doing when He gives us our children. He has everything already planned for all of us from before we are born. Sometimes as life is going on around us we begin to think that these are our children, this is our life, and we forget that the Lord is in control and not us.

I have a twenty year old son that has spent the last several years living on the fringes of right and wrong. I know now that my precious Lord Jesus has been protecting him and answering my prayers. Sometimes if we can not see the work He is doing we think He is not answering. He tells us over and over in His word (Matthew 7:7; John 14:13-14; 1 John 3:22 are just a few) that if we ask anything in His name He will do it but do we really believe it?

I was overwhelmed recently with His great compassion, tender-mercies, and loving-kindness towards me by revealing a little of what He is doing in my son’s life. My son came in one evening with a revelation, something our Lord had revealed to him. He said, “Mom, do you know what the Lord told me tonight as I was driving? He told me that I did not belong to you and I did not belong to myself either.

He told me I was His.” Oh wow. And I had been wondering what the Lord was doing in my son’s life, correction, not my son, HIS son.   For the last several years I have been extremely fearful. I mean the kind of fear where you feel like you just cannot breathe. Terrified is more like it. I frankly did not know how I was going to keep living this way without losing my mind. I was praying but I was not trusting. I was at that place where I could not do it any more; you know the place; it is the place where Jesus is waiting. I began to cry out not only for my son but for my own sin. I had to confess the sin of fear which in all truth is unbelief.   I came to the realization that I did not trust Him when I was praying and asking for my son to be rescued out of the darkness of the world and into His glorious light. I did not truly believe He was going to do what I was asking or why would I be terrified? I was not praising Him for answering my prayers. He revealed to me my unbelief and like the father in Mark 9 in verses 23-24 I cried out “I do believe; help my unbelief.” And then Jesus told me; “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14:27 (NAS)

I keep thinking of the story of Peter walking out on the water to the Lord; and what happened when Peter took his eyes off of Jesus? He sank. He was full of fear and cried out to Jesus. Immediately Jesus took him by the hand and to safety. The Lord has been teaching me to “fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 (NAS)   I still have times when that panicked feeling hits but within just a short time I remember and turn to my Savior and I ask for Him to be faith through me, peace through me, hope through me, and I start quoting His promises from the word. “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (NAS) We must stay in the word of God daily.

Since God spoke the world into being that should reveal to us just how powerful His word is. We need to memorize His word and speak His word when situations arise. The only weapon we need is His word and His promises; “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NAS)

I was listening to a godly, biblical pastor just the other day and the Lord revealed something to my heart through Him. He said that we could either live being crushed beneath life and its burdens, heartaches, and fears or we could build a bridge to go above it. The bridge boiled down to two verses in the Bible that give us all the hope we need to keep our eyes on the Lord. I don’t know about you but I love when things get narrowed down for me. I know it is my wonderful Lord just revealing Himself to me more clearly. The two verses that the pastor gave were: “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. Psalm 103:19 (NAS) and “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NAS).   Do you see what those two verses say? The first verse says that God is sovereign and the definition of sovereign is to possess supreme or ultimate power. He has power over everything and everyone and He is in control of everything. The second verse says that He is causing (defined as: The producer of an effect, result, or consequence. b. The one, such as a person, event, or condition, that is responsible for an action or result.) all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and who He has called.

If we truly believe in Him and in His word then why should we ever be afraid? He understands that we are just flesh and blood and we get afraid but He also makes a way of escape through Him. Nothing is going to happen by chance and everything that happens is working towards our good. Now I know that is very difficult to believe when bad things are happening in our lives. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us. “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NAS)   If you look back on your life you will see that the only time you actually grow in the Spirit is during trials. He loves us so much and He wants us to be fully equipped in Him to live this life we are living in the flesh. As I was telling you earlier, I was gripped and overwhelmed by such great fear I could not bear it. He was loving me through it and trying to get me to realize that it not need be so. He wants to take on those burdens for us and He wanted me to know that He can and will do it for me. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NAS)   And He actually wants us to “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4 (NAS) He wants us to be strong and full of joy, peace, and hope.

He does not want His children to suffer from sin, He wants us to turn to Him and He will do it for us. If we are walking in the flesh this is impossible, but if we are in Him and walking in the Spirit, everything is possible.   I wanted to share what I am learning with others because I am so thankful that my wonderful Lord and Savior is lifting me up out of the darkness that I have been walking in. I want to share so that others can find victory in Jesus and in His word. I did not realize I was walking in unbelief, I thought it was normal to grieve over the sins of a child. I was praying but I was not trusting. He loves me so much and He has lifted the heavy burdens off of my heart. If you are grieving over a child, a marriage, an illness, or any heavy burden please cry out to our awesome God who is waiting to help you. He just wants your entire attention so that He can reveal more of His love to you. I pray that this will reach even one who is suffering as I was and that our Lord will give you the victory.   “The Lord bless you, and keep you: the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

Author Bio   Nancy Parker is a regular contributor to www.enannysource.com and she loves to write about wide range of subjects like health, Parenting, Child Care, Babysitting, nanny background check tips etc. You can reach her @ nancy.parker015 @ gmail.com

Your Narrative—In Business and Life

“Assumption the Mother of all Screw ups.”

– Line in the movie “Under Siege 2—Dark Territory”

Everyone has a narrative in their life. It’s how we explain life, people, business, relationships, and more. It’s the story we tell ourselves about others–their motivation and attitude–it’s our way of explaining how people, business, and life operate.

The problem with our negative narratives is that we’re often dead wrong in the way we perceive people, organizations, and circumstances. This could not be truer than in business and the marketplace. In business, it is imperative we be accurate in our assessment of reality.

Often, the narratives we tell ourselves in life and business are most often incorrect and incomplete. 

Relate this to customers, stake holders, competition and the marketplace at large–with this wrong “reading” of we end up misjudging, miscalculating, and completely misunderstanding an entire situation– possibly even an entire relationship. The fundamental problem with our own “self-narration” is that it often leads to poor action, responses, and results. This can lead to loss, bankruptcy, broken relationships and companies—not to mention business competitiveness.

Negative business narration has two directions it can go.

Internal negative narrative—this type of negative business narrative tends toward our own self-justification and judgment of other’s internal drives. This is where we find it easy to presume we know the inner workings of other’s motivations, attitudes, and how they think.  Here, we find it easy to vilify others and justify ourselves. This is a narrative in which we can never see ourselves as wrong. When we vilify others we excuse ourselves. The phrase that is used is “excuse and accuse”.  When we excuse ourselves and accuse others, we have no grounds for personal responsibility.  Poor decisions are made when our internal narration of others runs askew. We are on shaky ground when we presume to judge the motivation and intention of others.

External negative narrative is where we read just the external circumstances and draw our (often incorrect) conclusions. This is based on what we can perceive only externally.  Here, mistakes in good judgment happen and the results are usually disastrous. We have poor information which leads to bad interpretation and then we make poor decisions. When we have bad data we make bad decisions leading to poor outcomes. Enough said: Garbage in=Garbage out.

Assumption is the fuel of the negative narrative paradigm. It is based primarily on guess work. We all know what assumption means! When we assume and presume that we know more about others and how their circumstances “seem”–we are on shaky ground.

This assumption and vilification based in narrative negativity will result often in a life cut off and sequestered from others. This bitter “Lone Ranger Mentality” rules the day in many leaders, cultures, and managers. This kind of leadership is, frankly, frightening. One thinks of Hitler and others in history and shudders at the thought of the negative narrative drawn out to its logical and frightening conclusion.

So, what are the solutions?

1. Have openness about life, people, and relationships –Know that we have little or no control over others. We have, at best, incomplete information about others and no real way to know it all. What we really need is a new narration–the ability to be open and not get into the temptation to tell a story about others when we really don’t know all the facts.  How can we possibly know the whole story about someone or the situation or how they got “there”?  Be all about getting good, solid facts first!

2. Be a Person of Possibility–   this starts with believing the human condition can improve, learn and evolve. We can learn to grow and actualize and enlighten personally, spiritually, and mentally. This is not an easy task—but we actually can get better! We can learn, grow, and leverage our strengths and weaknesses! Give others the benefit of the doubt. Stop the temptation to be judge and jury—give others the benefit of the doubt. Trust some folks and their good intent. Take (wise) risks in believing in people. You’ll be surprised how trusting someone can really result in some positive outcome and benefits. People thrive in a culture and atmosphere of genuine trust.  Trust me…!

3. Have Trusted Advisors—Stay close and value people in your life who are not afraid to push back when you begin negative narration. Have business friends who will challenge your dominant paradigm.  Give them freedom to ask you hard questions and to question your judgment and ways of seeing things. This relationship takes time, trust, and relationship building.

4. Catch yourself. When you begin to mentally “go” negative—notice it and stop it. Get into the habit of stopping your own negativity and replace it with something more positive! Tell a new story or simply resist the tendency to tell any narrative at all. Be in the moment with people and be free to just experience them as they are.  This truth can open the door to unknown and limitless possibility in life, business, and culture.  Now go and re-tell your story today….

Open letter to God
Number one. Help me to stop my negative narrative both verbal and mental that makes me become a “Debbie Downer”. Please replace this negativity with a grateful heart. May I count my blessings-daily.
Number two. Help me to not always have to be right and correct and perfect. Please break me of the habit of thinking I need to be correct all the time. Help me to give others the benefit of the doubt. Help me to give others Grace– as I need it as well.
Number three. God, please help me to not rationalize my own narrative. Help not to always “buy” my own story, perspective, and narrative. Please help me realize that others have their own truth and are seeking their own answers in the way they know best. Teach me to see that my narrative is not always the correct for them. How can I know about their lives unless I walk in their shoes? Teach me empathy and compassion.
Number four. Help me to forgive. Help me to not to carry around meanness– but rather kindness and forgiveness. Help me to see unkindness and a critical spirit as the cancer of the spirit that they really are. Help me freely forgive those who have harmed me. Help me to be open to how a relationship can actually grow after there is forgiveness. Teach me to forgive as I have been forgiven.
Number five. Help me Lord to lose my universal expectation of you and others–how not to always expect perfection of myself or others. Help me to not always expect to be served. Help me to see that I cannot always expect that my way is the best way. Help me not to expect MY best outcome all the time.
Number six. Help me to not always rationalize my correctness. Grant me the ability to understand that I can’t possibly always be right, be correct, or know it all. Help me be an open and a lifelong learner. Help me see that I don’t have all the information. Help me to understand that you always add more information to the narratives that are true about life, people, and me. May I withhold judgment.
Help me for I am blind. I get blind to the way I relate to people and my own thinking and practices. Forgive and help me to not be mean, or shortsighted or belligerent with those around me. Help me to practice kindness and love for others as you do with me.
Father, take my heart and make it right. I can only throw myself on the throne of grace and there is nothing that merits me to you but your Son. Please make me in His image as you see fit. Help me to freely give myself to you moment by moment so that I can become loving man that you want. Teach me and help me to be thankful. Please write for me the narrative of my life according to the story that you want told. I love you. In Jesus name, let it be so amen.

–Scott Hammond