Happy Memorial Day to all our Vets out there and to the families whose son or daughter gave their last full measure for those of us remaining. We humbly and with great respect, wish to honor all those that have served this great country of ours and their families for their sacrifice for our freedoms.

I have a very good friend of mine joining me today to honor both the living and past vets on this Memorial Day weekend of 2025.

You are loved. You are appreciated. And we are most grateful.

May God bless you, your family and all that you set your hand to. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Honorable Quotes:

"No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation." - General Douglas MacArthur

"it's better to fight for something in life than to die for nothing." - General George S Patton

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." - Elmer Davis

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God such men lived." - George S Patton

Musical Guests:

Hewey Lewis: Walking On A Thin Line

Lee Greenwood: God Bless the USA

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Today, as a follow-on to Fridays discussion, I want to highlight a REAL and LIVING example of a confident, courageous leader, that everyone on the plant recognizes.

You’ll recall we were exploring a few questions, we all face in life as we pursue our dreams. Are we legit? Are we competent, are we authentic, are we effective in what we pursue, are we confident in ourselves to deliver and lastly, is God with us in our pursuits.

So before I introduce this individual, I want to establish that this person, is legit…they have a record of accomplishment, a string of setbacks and an enormous amount of courage, tenacity, stamina and commitment.

This person has been both admired and respected by people on the left and right.

Let me introduce you to Donald J Trump. A living and real man of action, a clear and present example of a confident man, full of courage that any rational person would have to admire…for his dedication, strength under fire, his unwavering pursuit of justice and common sense with a vision for all people of every color, class or status.

His willingness to enter the arena is reason enough to respect and admire his willingness to step up and engage. I’ll prove that statement right now. If you had Trumps money, his businesses, his freedom to do whatever he wanted, would you put your life on pause to “volunteer” to serve the nation knowing you would be persecuted at every turn. Be honest….ill bet the answer was no.

Sometimes people fear things they don’t understand. They may feel threatened. ”I’m just not sure about this guy, I don’t know his intentions, and so I don’t trust him. Period.” That’s the extent of their research.

Others feared his influence and worried that his success might rob them of power over the people or at the very least, might expose their incompetence to think outside of the box in governing this country.

They hounded him while in office and pursed him with a vengeance for four years even after he left office…knowing that he may return…and they couldn’t have that.

And return he did. Most would not have. Most would have crumbled under the weight and constant abuse sent his way.

That is in a word, remarkable! Before Trump maybe even “unimaginable.” Who could bear it? Who would want it?

What attributes of honorable qualities or character, examples if you will in the Bible, would God desire and honor.

With an eye on comparing both rhetoric and actions taken (or not taken), helped me see the cost Trump paid, the art of his style, his reasoning behind many of the things he said…simply to get a reaction. Many of them were “fire for effect” targeting…to expose the enemy…to cause them to emerge from the darkness and into the light of day…so that all of us could finally see the corruption and hypocrisy.

What is the most important skillset a leader must have to lead? Go ahead…I’ll wait.

Did you say vision? Passion? A horse maybe? I think the most important skillset is the ability to communicate. If you have a vision but can’t communicate it you have nothing. No one will follow you. Likewise if you have an awesome white stead, 14 hands high, but cannot communicate where you’re going and encourage folks to join you, you’ll be riding off into the sunset alone.

Here’s the point. Trump is communicating to anyone and everyone that will listen…and those abroad ARE LISTENING AND REACTING.

Talk about courageous, bold, confident, visionary, motivated, passionate, unwavering, opportunistic and welcoming to even our enemies. A bold foreign policy on full display…not only for today’s leaders and nations but for our youth to ponder, consider, admire and emulate.

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Mark and I both attend the same church and the past few weeks we’ve been lead in a series on Courage, that we thought was worth sharing.

According to many pundits, educators and corporate titans there is a serious Crisis of Courage in our younger generation. Apparently, there is a lack of creativity, inspiration or motivation to stand out and excel in the workplace. Which led me to ask the question - WHY?

It would be easy to blame our education system, both high schools and higher learning institutions like the universities, but that wouldn’t cover the Tradecraft industry, which is also short of wannabe apprentices.

So I dug deeper in search of the root question, or group of questions that might give us insight into how to help the next generation course correct.

1. Is it because they haven’t been given an example to follow ?
2. Is it because they haven’t found a hill worth conquering ?
3. Do they lack a vision or dream worthy of pursuing?
4. Do they lack the motivation or passion to even start? Or maybe…
5. The experience or knowledge to execute?

This introduces a deeper set of questions, which tees up the key message our pastor was sharing. In my opinion, ALL are birthed by lack of CONFIDENCE.

So the pastor tees up the message with these questions.

Am I legit?

Am I Competent?

Am I Authentic?

Am I Effective?

Is God with me or is this just me?

In an attempt to answer these questions, let’s refer to what the Bible says. The phrase “Do not fear” appears more than 365 times in the Bible. That’s a lot! And for that phrase to appear that often, implies that there must be a lack of faith or a lack of CONFIDENCE with those the message was given to.

Joshua 1:1-9: Moses is dead, that season is OVER. Time to MOVE on and out.

Step up…it’s your turn…accept the responsibility and lead.

God tells him this TWICE before we get to verse 9.

Joshua must have struggled with courage. He lived most of his early life in the shadow of Moses. Five steps to Joshua’s battle

1. Am I legit? He wasn’t Moses, he was his “assistant”.
2. Am I competent? He was promoted from supporter to leader.
3. How can I be authentic? He was the Stewart of the Promise…not the author.
4. How can I be effective? He was called to be faithful and the new leader.
5. Is God with me in this or is this “urging” or “calling” just me? Well God spoke directly to Joshua on this one. Walk in faithful presence.

Often we are confronted with doubts, questions or distracting voices and people that simply want to attack or steal our courage and faith, or download their beliefs, agendas or failures onto the next generation as a last ditch effort to “be significant.” Think higher education, anti-whatever-syndrom, protests, etc.

Here’s the Pastors Conclusion as to How to prepare to live a life of action:

1. Fuel up for the Journey / What will you need? (A car, gas for the car, a direction, a map, a time line to establish expectations, contingency plans)
2. Commit to showing up. Wrestle long and hard about your idea or calling. Define why it’s a calling and not a bad idea.
3. Do big things in small steps. You’ve heard the saying, How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Define your strategy. Be realistic and be adaptable.
4. Be patient and consistent (practice everyday)
5. Don’t quit in the dip when it gets hard or you get discouraged. Anything and everything WORTH PURSUING WILL BE CHALLENGING

And don’t forget the last seven words of CONFIDENCE given to you in Joshua 1 verse 9: “GOD IS WITH YOU, WHEREVER YOU GO”

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