With another year quickly winding down to an end with the temperatures changing, all kinds of wonderful foods being baked in the kitchen, festive decorations being placed and endless lines at the shopping malls...What do you have to be thankful for?

I am not trying to make this an "end of the year" blog which I am sure is coming later. This last week, we as Americans celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday. As this holiday is not celebrated by all countries, we as Americans joined with our friends and families and reflected our thankfulness for ourselves, our country and many more things.

So far, this year has been an incredible one for me. It has brought many different eye-opening experiences for me as I am sure that it has for you as well. For instance, I have learned a lot about how governments work, what I believe in politically, how to treat certain situations and as always...I get more and more tech savvy each day.

For me, the thing in which I am probably most thankful for is the opportunity to be an individual. To be able to learn, think and act unique from anyone else. The best gift of all is human life. Our life is a canvas, and we are the painter. We have the opportunity to paint whatever we desire. All that matters is what we think and believe to be "art."

What are you most thankful for at this wonderful time of year? What has this year taught you?

-Ken

Labels: dinner, experiences, family, friendships, holidays, love, personality, thanksgiving, unique

So, it is getting to be that time of the year when hurricane's frequent here is in the sunshine state. There are a few "tropical storm" impressions that have developed, but nothing has hit here as of yet. But...the Florida showers come and go as a daily occurrence. Earlier this year, I made another post about the rain. In fact, I think we can look to the rain for many examples in our lives.

In fact, our lives can be like a hurricane. With that being said, we can be having a wonderful week then all of a sudden, a little bit of a mishap can happen which can bring us down and teach us some mighty fine lessons. After a time of storms, the "rain" clears and we continue on as we did before.

he best thing to do in this time is not get frustrated, but learn as much as you can. Life throws many storms our way, take the higher road and never take for granted the sunny days. What are your thoughts? What are you going through that might be encouraging to others?

Ken

Labels: 2009, actions, Bible, Change in my Life, christ, consequences, effects, experiences, future, history, maturity, observations, over reacting, stubborn, tomorrow, yesterday

This blog is difficult for me to write. I've been burned with this very thing. Needless to say, I have learned a very painful lesson, and honestly...glad that I did. So let's jump right in.

During tonight's message at First Baptist Orlando, Pastor David Uth touched on a topic that I have struggled with in the past, and still do. This is not word-for-word what he said, but paraphrased... "Instead of talking "about" someone when you have a problem with them, try talking "with" them."

I am not going into details, on my experience, but I am going to give some observations. Still to this day, I dislike severely confrontations. I remember when I managed a Chick-fil-A. I had to do a large amount of confrontation. It is not fun for me, and I am taking a wild assumption here that there are not many people that would find it fun.

(**Disclaimer: I am using the word "people" in this paragraph not calling anyone out. I am talking to myself as well.**) I see it time and time again. Person A has a problem with person B, and they do whatever means they see fit in order to "call out" that person, but tend to forget the appropriate way of dealing with the problem. Going to that person in private and discussing the matter in which is an issue. How does this help share God's love? How does God look at this? Can the action cause more harm than good?

So, let us keep in mind, we do not have all of the information. I spoke with Scott tonight, and he gave me an example of a situation he was it where a lady wrote a letter to a group of people because he was misquoted by the news media. Scott explained himself to her and told her the situation, and she understood. But did she go and do the correct action to make it right? No.

In my own life, I find that I am a person that will deal with major confrontation issues, but a majority of the time I just let them go. That is something I need to work on. It is the fact that I am completely uncomfortable in those situations. Trust me in saying that I had a situation that happened YEARS ago in which I handled incorrectly and that still comes up to bite me. Did I do what I needed to at the time? Yes. But the person has refused to forgive the wrong doing I inflicted toward him, therefore hindering the friendship from going any further.

If you have never listened or took to heart anything that I have ever said, please take this snippet and apply it to your life. "Instead of talking "about" someone when you have a problem with them, try talking "with" them."

Thank you for reading.

-Ken

Labels: careers, Change in my Life, christ, church, David Uth, experiences, FIrst Orlando, forgiveness, friendships, ministry, Scott Link, stubborn

A teacher I had for a Bible class in high school always taught me "You must learn to agree to disagree agreeably." If we could make an amendment to the golden rule, I think this would be great to add on along side of the existing rule of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Labels: abortion, agree, America, beliefs, conservative, controversial, different, disagree, experiences, firearms, forgiveness, relationships

There are many types of people that rub my fur (if I was a cat) the wrong way. A person that has the know-it-all attitude. Believe me, I believe people can have much knowledge about topics . . . but when you mix arrogance with that knowledge, you are doing something wrong. I know many people that are experts at their craft and I highly respect those individuals. Being arrogant and a bully is no way to gain respect by anyone. You may think people have respect for you, but at the end of the day, things are much different that what you think.

Then, to add on top of that, when that person puts themselves in jokes that they are not a part of, that is just a formula for failure.

Through my experiences and heeding the advice of my father and many other influential people in my life, bullies are fed upon your emotion. The more attention you give them, the more fuel they will have for condemning you. The proper way to deal with bullies is to not. Let them be . . . walk away and be the bigger person. Obviously, they aren't going to because they are the bully! They have chosen the low road, so you as the better person should chose the high road.

What do we do from here?

Step 1 - You do not feed the fire by being abrasive toward the individual.

Step 2 - You do not allow the person to know that he effects you (where applicable)

Step 3 - Be professional and move on. Arrogant people will receive their judgment and will eventually find out the hard way what they have been doing and living is not an appropriate style.

In the heat of the moment, you can not let these people effect you. We should and Christ sets the example that we should be the bigger person. When this person effects you, just move on and continue doing what you know is right. They will learn on their own time. It is not your responsibility to justify anything.

-Ken

Labels: annoying, Bible, christ, different, disciplined, education, example, experiences, God, haters, rant, scripture, stubborn

The weather in Florida never gets old. It is always a surprise . . . on one of the most beautiful days of the year those clouds come creeping in and you have your afternoon showers. After a time of rain, the rain stops and the clouds clear as the sun begins shining through. The wonderful day continues, with a nice cleansing wash on everything. The plants have been nourished, the air is clean and everything is a new.

Our lives . . . are the same. We could be having the best experiences in our life. Then, out of no where, we are inundated with "rain" or something that we may not look very positively upon. Some people see that as a bad thing. I do not see it as such. If you have black you have white. If you have hot you have cold. If you have peace you have paid. The two work together very well. You have to have bad times in order to appreciate and treasure the good times.

Trust me when I say that the bad times shall with time cease. The outcome may not be the way of your pleasing, but remember all things work together for good. Remember who is in charge. Not you, God.

-Ken
Photos Taken by Oscars Tavern

Labels: experiences, featured photography, florida, rain, sun, weather

One of the most attractive thing about a person is their scars. The "bad" things. The situations that caused pain. People remember when, where and why they got hurt much more than anything else. Why? Those were learning experiences. Without scars, a person would be...just like everyone else, with a perfect appearance. I love having talks with people about why they got scars.

The same thing goes for mistakes. We all make 'em. Trust me, I have made some huge mistakes along the way! If the person learns from their mistakes and is an overall better person for the mistake he has made, that is beautiful! In a project that I worked on, I made mistakes, but I will guarantee you, I will never make those mistakes again! Thinking back on them, they were STUPID! Forgiveness is the key here. I thank those people who have experienced me making a mistake...personally and professionally.

Oftentimes, in the heat of the moment...I beat myself up for mistakes. I love perfection. I love being able to do a task and not face mistakes, but sometimes...mistakes have to be made...in order for a person to grow. With each mistake, a person learns lessons that are priceless. To me that is beautiful.

Do one thing for yourself. The next time you make a mistake...afterward take a moment and reflect on what happened. Find out why you did what you did. Decide what you will do differently next time when you are facing the same situation. If you let the fact that you made a mistake walk away from a situation, is that the right decision? I do not believe so.

Ken

Labels: change, experiences, learn, mistakes, scars