Seeing With NEW Eyes - the CONCLUSION

 

 Well, here we are with the conclusion of this series but, friend, by no means is this the CONCLUSION of what God has been doing, IS doing and WILL CONTINUE to do in the lives of my wife and I. 

I've shared a LOT of details about "happenings" in our lives since the end of 2020 and, at the same time, I've left out a LOT more that I could have shared but simply felt that it would have been too time consuming. Hopefully I've shared enough with you that, for some, it will create a spark of curiosity or praise about these things. 

Thing is, I'm looking at the information that I had already written down (a record of these things, so to speak) and I realize that I'm going to have to even cut out a LOT of the things that I have left of these events in our life. (As a matter of fact, I had to re-record the podcast on this one because the first time through was just too long!). 

I love the fact that I have shared so much but that it is just a "sampling" of all of the things that I have recorded so that I will remember these things in the future. So, saying all of that, let me simply say that I HAVE to share with you this one last situation that we experienced just in the past few days.

As I type this article, it is Monday, September 13, 2021. On Friday evening, September 10, 2021 I came across a post on Facebook by a young, single mother that does foster care for several kids on top of raising her own child. She is an amazing young lady and we have sent $100 several times over the past several months. The intention has been to do that every month but, sadly, it had been a couple of months. When I read her post stating that she was asking for prayers because Satan was "attacking" them hard at that time I thought, "I need to send her that money like I've been talking about!".

Saturday morning, September 11, 2021, I was preparing to send the $100 to her via an online channel so that she could receive it quickly when the thought hit me that my wife and I had actually committed to doing more than that "if/when" something particular happened. What was that? We said that when we sold my motorcycle for a certain amount of money that we would send $500 to this precious young lady with plans to increase that in the future with God's help. Well, we didn't sell the motorcycle yet BUT we did sell one of our cars on Thursday (9.9.21) for - guess what - the EXACT amount of money that we had discussed about the motorcycle.

Now then, I called my wife in the room and we discussed the fact that we had said - out loud - that we were going to do this and that, even though it was not the motorcycle, it was the EXACT amount of money that we had discussed and that since we had said it "out loud" that we knew we had committed to doing this "as to the Lord". In other words, HE heard us say it so we felt that it was a commitment to Him. We both agreed that, indeed, we needed to send the $500 to her and prayed over that decision and for it to be a blessing in her life and in the life of those kids that she cares for -  and then I hit the "send" button. 

Within a few minutes I heard back from her and she basically said something like, "You will NOT believe this and THANK YOU!" She shared with me that they had to make an unexpected trip out of town and leave their dog at a kennel. Friday night (9.10.21) she got the bill and was floored. She was moved to tears because she did not know how she was going to pay this unexpected bill. The amount? You may have figured it out by now...$500! Hello???

Friends, my wife and I had NO IDEA that ANY of this was going on. We had NO IDEA that she had received this bill and we sure had NO IDEA what the amount of that bill was. On top of all of that, the TIMING in this (God's timing, by the way) is quite amazing. If we had not sold that car the day before she received that bill and the day before I was reminded that we needed to send her some money, THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. Well, it would not have been the exact amount needed.

There's so much more that I could say about this whole situation but I hope that what I've shared is enough to get your attention.

Listen, I don't know who you are or what you believe. I don't know if you are a believer or if you are one that doesn't even know for sure if God even exists. Here's what I do know: 

1. Whether it's asking/seeking to even know if God is out there OR  

2. Whether you are asking/seeking His guidance in and for your life  ---- HE HEARS YOU!

I'm not going to get real deep into this right now because my next series is going to deal on this more (the idea of "Asking - Seeking - Knocking" and what it means for each of us) but let me ask you a quick question that I've asked before in this series: "If you are asking for guidance or if you are simply seeking...are you LISTENING, WATCHING and OPENING YOUR EYES for what may be sent your way as an answer?"

Opportunity doesn't always knock. Neither do "the answers" that you seek.

May you also begin to SEE with NEW EYES, friend!

Until next time, remember, YOU'RE HERE FOR A REASON and, whatever you do, always be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

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THANKFUL for TODAY!

 This post is simple and to the point. There is no need for any further commentary. 

READ - CONSIDER - APPLY YOUR GRATITUDE!

                                                          

Until next time, remember, YOU'RE HERE FOR A REASON and, whatever you do, always be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

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WED: Mike's Quotes #13: Frustration Benefit?

 “If all frustration were removed from my life, 
would I recognize elation when it arrived?”

 - Mike Spillman (1.7.11)

Think about that quote for a moment. If all we ever encountered in our lives was good, happy, worry free as well as problem free, would we truly understand what a blessing that life would be?

To what would we compare? 

This is part of the problem when we try to shield our young people from any disappointment or hurt. They need to learn that life is not always fair and that, yes, at times, it just downright HURTS! They must learn to manage the loss in order to learn how to celebrate the win. 

Again, for any of you that would tend to think that I (for some reason) have never gone through tough and difficult times, you would be wrong, and wrong in a BIG way! Where do you think that quote came from? I don't remember the exact situation but, noticing the date, I can tell you that I was going through some hard times in my life.

Along with what the quote points out, you must also learn to "see" and acknowledge what is RIGHT in your world even when so much seems wrong. In other words, don't let your frustration cause you to be blinded from seeing that blessings that STILL are present in your life. 

There is an old "church song" that declares, "Count Your Many Blessings, Name them One by One". Indeed, it is vital for us to do just that even in the midst of frustration.

Understanding the quote will also help you recognize smaller, more often occurring things to celebrate! 

If you put yourself in the position that you are only elated at the HUGE gains in your life then, my friend, you will find that you will experience MORE frustration along the way. It is important that we all learn to acknowledge and celebrate the "small things" along the way. By doing so we will understand the fact that we are, indeed, truly blessed. 

A benefit to be found in frustration? Yes. 

Find SOMETHING to celebrate in your life every single day and be thankful.

I have a special treat to share with you tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day 2019. I'm actually going to share a quote from my youngest son. You don't want to miss it!

Until then, I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. And, always remember to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

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A Great Way to Bless Someone's Life

As I type this, it is the 21st of December. That means that Christmas is "right around the corner" and it also means that there are many people around you (whether you realize it or not) that will struggle to provide any kind of Christmas for their children again this year.

 

This doesn't have to be about Christmas, however. It is a GREAT way to bless the lives of other people ANY time of the year. Keep that in mind and plan to incorporate this all through the year...I think it can become highly addictive!

 

But, for now, I want to focus on the few days that are left before Christmas and challenge and encourage you to JUMP ON BOARD and make some magic happen! I know I'm right when I say that many of us wish there were more ways to help others...well, here ya' go!

 

Take a $10 bill and PAY IT FORWARD!

 

Sure, by itself, that $10 bill may not be able to do a whole lot but, at the same time, in the hands of a person that is really struggling, it may do far more than you can imagine.

 

But, what IF you can easily multiply that $10 bill into an amount that is far beyond what you may imagine? Here are some simple ideas that I will share with you but I want to challenge you to brainstorm even more and come up with MORE ideas to make this EXTRAordinary!

 

1. FAMILY: Get each member of your immediate family to add $10 each and then find a family that would be blessed by this contribution. With all of these ideas, find such a family and bless their life.

 

2. FRIENDS: What if you could call 10 other friends and have them contribute $10 each? You can do this easy math, right? That little $10 bill turns into $100 very quickly. Do the math and find out what would happen if you got 20 friends involved...30 friends? Do you think this might make a difference in the life of someone? You might even consider helping more than one person or family, depending on how many people you get involved.

 

3. GROUPS or ORGANIZATIONS: Do you belong to a group or organization? Do you attend a Bible class at your church? How about a civic organization? What about your workplace? The list is endless and I want to encourage you to STEP UP, have fun, get excited about this idea and see what can happen!

 

Here's a couple of more ideas to make this fun:

 - Deliver this money yourself and see the joy and happiness on the face of the one(s) that you bless.

 - Send someone else to deliver this gift and remain anonymous.

 

MAIN POINT: Have fun with this and know that you can QUICKLY make a huge impact on the life of an individual or a family.

 

I just wanted to get this out there and share it with you as quickly as I could and, yes, I've done this myself.

 

GET YOUR FAMILY - ESPECIALLY YOUR CHILDREN - INVOLVED IN THIS and teach some valuable lessons on what it is to share and bless others.

 

Until next time, whatever you do...

 

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is goin to do it for you?)"

 

Mike

The Key to Happiness (Part 4)

In this series we've looked at the fact that happiness cannot be found in other people or in money. I thought about doing this concluding article by adding thoughts on the fact that it also cannot be found in "stuff" but, after thinking about it, I feel that the thoughts on "money/wealth" would apply to the "stuff" that one can buy.

Just like other people or money, "toys" such as cars and houses simply can NOT bring true happiness to your life. Keep that in mind.

To conclude this series I thought I'd focus on the graphic that has been a part of each of the articles in this series. "The key to happiness is NOT having what you want. It's wanting what you have."

I'm guessing that you have heard the phrase, "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" meaning that it is easy to always think something "better" is always "out there" somewhere.

This is a "tricky" thing to consider because I, for one, have written many things and said it many times through my podcast that we should always strive for something "better" in our lives. Let me clarify that for a moment: I'm not talking about stuff or replacement of relationships.

Basically I'm talking about the need to not "settle" for "whatever happens" with no desire to take advantage of your abilities and talents to improve your life. Make sense?

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The problem comes when we try to attach the thought, "I'd be happier if I could only...." to this situation. Interestingly, I came across an article from Success.com that stated the following:

6. Be happy.
"You are responsible for your own happiness. We sometimes convince ourselves that life will be better after we get a better job, make more money, get married, have a baby, or buy a bigger house. Yet the accomplishment of any of those events might not make any difference at all. There is no magic secret to happiness, but it starts in your head."

 

 

Take a look around, friend. Chances are, you are blessed beyond measure and you may be overlooking that fact. It's so easy to miss what is right in front of us. It is easy to allow us to become "blind" to what we "see" every single day. We begin to take things for granted and even begin to find things "wrong" that, in reality, don't even exist.

 

Here's a hint: This is usually due to some "lack" in YOUR life and it has nothing to do with those around you. You may be "restless" about something in your life and you may not be able to pinpoint what it is which, leads to frustration. This feeling of frustration will often grow as you begin to "pick on" your current situation (marriage, family, job, etc.) trying to place blame somewhere else.

 

DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE of moving too quickly when you feel this way. Countless people have done so and then regret making such a move. They found that the "grass" was not even as "green" on the other side of "the fence" as it was where they were before.

 

Sure, do all that you can to improve your life and the life of those that you love. But, friend, don't overlook what you have NOW! I talked about this yesterday...count your blessings! Take a long look at what you have now and be thankful.

 

Another phrase you've likely heard is, "Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it!" And to that I'd add, "...and regret it!"

 

Thanks for taking the time to read the articles on this topic. As always, I also encourage you to follow along with the podcast (see the links below) and to share both the blog AND the podcasts with as many people as you can. Too, I'd love to get your feedback on the fan page on Facebook (link below).

 

Enjoy your day and, as always, be sure to...

 

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

 

Mike



6. Be happy.
You are responsible for your own happiness. We sometimes convince ourselves that life will be better after we get a better job, make more money, get married, have a baby, or buy a bigger house. Yet the accomplishment of any of those events might not make any difference at all. There is no magic secret to happiness, but it starts in your head.
- See more at: http://www.success.com/article/dont-be-an-old-grump-here-are-9-ways-to-think-young#sthash.NNcrQT5l.dpuf

6. Be happy.
You are responsible for your own happiness. We sometimes convince ourselves that life will be better after we get a better job, make more money, get married, have a baby, or buy a bigger house. Yet the accomplishment of any of those events might not make any difference at all. There is no magic secret to happiness, but it starts in your head.
- See more at: http://www.success.com/article/dont-be-an-old-grump-here-are-9-ways-to-think-young#sthash.NNcrQT5l.dpuf

6. Be happy.
You are responsible for your own happiness. We sometimes convince ourselves that life will be better after we get a better job, make more money, get married, have a baby, or buy a bigger house. Yet the accomplishment of any of those events might not make any difference at all. There is no magic secret to happiness, but it starts in your head.
- See more at: http://www.success.com/article/dont-be-an-old-grump-here-are-9-ways-to-think-young#sthash.NNcrQT5l.dpuf

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A Special Message...

 

 

Greetings, friends!

My wife, Janan, and I want to take a moment to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas as we head to the start of another new year!

 

Regardless of what your situation is right now - whether good or "not-as-good-as-I'd-like-it-to-be" - I want to encourage you to focus and think about your BLESSINGS during this special time of the year.

 

Instead of spending time focusing on what you DON'T have or what you CAN'T give your children or what you HAVEN'T accomplished this year, I want you to focus on the OPPOSITE!

 

Think of all of the wonderful blessings that you DO have! (Make a list!)

Think of what you CAN and DO give your children! ("stuff" is not always as important as you think it is)

Think of what you HAVE accomplished this year! I can almost PROMISE you that you HAVE accomplished more than you realize. Take some time to discover those things in your life over the past year.

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have trouble discovering those blessings...I bet I can help you find some of them in your life even if you can't.

 

Thanks for your continued support - I never take that for granted.

 

Mike and Janan Spillman

 



Week of July 12th - special message and link

Special Message and Link for the Week of July 12th

I will be gone on vacation for the week and won't be able to do a DAILY blog....HOWEVER, never fear!

I recorded my podcasts for this week in advance so I REALLY want to encourage you to be sure to listen to them and the additional thoughts I have on the material that I'm about to share with you here. (You can either find me on iTunes - search Mike Spillman OR Future You University....OR on the main website - http://www.FutureYouUniversity.com - click the podcast tab).

For this week I will be sharing thoughts on "5 Things That Will Make You Happier" from an article that was sent to me way back in February by one of my listeners, Mark Clark (thanks, Mark!).

You can find the actual listing and article by going here if you'd like to have the list to look over for yourself: http://www.livescience.com/health/how-to-be-happy-100222.html

Also during this week I will share with you a listing of all 50 states and their order of "MOST HAPPY STATES". Where does YOUR state rank? (You can actually cheat and look at the link that is connected with the story listed in the previous paragraph).

Anyway, be sure to follow along with the podcast and take a look at the link above and do a personal check-up in your own life on these five things!

And, don't forget...each and every day be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

YOU Are UNIQUE!

"YOU Are UNIQUE!"

(Of all of God's creations - no one can replace YOU!)

Friend, this is a very POWERFUL thought to allow to soak into your mind! This is one of the MOST IMPORTANT things to understand and realize as you set out to achieve your goals and dreams - THERE IS NO ONE ELSE OUT THERE LIKE YOU! (And there are plenty of those out there that know us that say, "Whew! Am I glad!")

Even "identical twins" are not exactly identical - YOU are the ONLY YOU in all of creation and that makes you special!

Now, you can stand in front of the mirror, puff your chest out and admire yourself OR you can get up and go after your dreams and goals fueled by this magnificent truth!

One of the things I talked about in the podcast for today was how this really emphasizes the power of the "Mastermind Group" that we talked about last week in our discussion of the need to "Xcelerate Your Efforts". When you get together with a group of "all-unique" people just think about the energy and the OUTSTANDING ideas that can and will be formulated and shared!

Anytime you catch yourself saying, "Wow! Why didn't I think of that?" you are simply reinforcing the very idea that we are talking about today - that thought came from someone else because they are unique and their mind works differently than yours!

Don't try to be like someone else - don't try to BE anyone else!

Yes, it is a powerful thing to have a mentor. Yes, it is a powerful thing to learn important habits, etc. from others. Yes, it is commendable to want to emulate habits and characteristics of those successful people that you admire.

However, don't try to BE them and don't get discouraged and frustrated when you may not have the same success as them. Don't quit! Remember, we are all unique and you likely will have to "tweak" what they are doing to fit who you are!

Because you ARE unique and there is no one else like you - you have something UNIQUE and SPECIAL to offer those around you as well as the world! Isn't that exciting to think about?

Why not be the FIRST with something? Don't sell yourself short on this! There are people every single day that become huge successes because they followed through with an idea that those around them said, "No, it will never work!" Why do they say that? Among MANY other reasons it is because it doesn't make sense to them ---- they are not YOU!

Live with excitement due to the fact that you are unique!

May this thought help you soar today! Fly high! Live with a new zest and zeal today with the thought of knowing that this, indeed is true!

But not just TODAY! It is true each and every day that you bless this earth with your presence --- what another AMAZING thought!

YOU are YOU and YOU are UNIQUE!

When you begin to understand that and live that you will definitely have no problem doing the following...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Another "Thankful Thursday"

What a GREAT day!

Nothing is really unusual for me today. Nothing is really that different for me today.

However - I AM THANKFUL FOR TODAY! What about you? Are you? "Oh, I don't have anything to be thankful for!" you might think or even say.
Really? What about the ability to formulate that thought with your brain? Think about it. The ability to even put that thought together and even perhaps verbalize it is a GREAT SIGN that you are doing o.k. and that you have something for which to be thankful.

Check it out. We sing a song at church entitled, "Count Your Many Blessings" - and sometimes that is what we need to sit down and do. Perhaps you need to spend a little time today either actually sitting down or making some mental notes of things YOU have to be thankful for today.

When you do, when you realize that, indeed, you DO have things for which to be thankful - EXPRESS IT! Even if it's just you around, there is just something about expressing this out loud!

Yes! Be thankful! Today. Thankful Thursday. And EVERYDAY!

"Make it an AWESOME Day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"
Mike