ironmanstrength

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It takes Real guts to say No

Have you ever heard the expression “if you give them an inch they will take a mile”? I am sure you have and it happens to be the phrase that illustrates what I wanted to talk about today.  You see, the very expression “give an inch” implies from the outset that you gave in or you gave up something. But, in actuality, what you did was compromise.  Now, don’t get me wrong. Compromise in a…

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Dad Stuff...

Many years ago, when my son was about 10 years old, he asked me a very interesting question that caused me to think about the person I was. He said, “Dad, do you think you and I would have been friends when you were younger”?  I was completely surprised for a second because I was remembering that I was kind of a jerk when I was a kid….(allegedly). But of course my response back to him was quick…

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Letter to my Second Son, the College Graduate

I have said since the day you were born that you were a blessing from God. No one would have predicted what the future had in store for our family with the tragic loss of your sister. But to be honest, without you to keep our family active with regular day-to-day life duties, we might have fallen off the cliff into untold grief. Only God knows…  So…even though I have to mention her loss because…

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Why Can't LIFE be Easy?

I wrote a blog post a few years ago called Why can’t life be easy? because it kind of fit where I was at that point. What I found interesting today is after reading it again, it seems to apply all over again, not just to me, but to all of us.  None of us understand the ebb and flow of life and why things change the way they do; both personally and professionally. I found the worst part is how…

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By NOT making a choice, you have made a choice.

You are either for us or against us. Have you ever heard that expression? You are either all in or all out and there is absolutely no gray area to work with. I completely understand this mentality, especially if we are speaking about a professional sports team or a military mission. You cannot have anyone sitting on the fence with indecision. And that is exactly where we as Christians find…

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Having a God Mindset

For some reason, I have always loved the word mindset. It is one of those words that identifies your clarity or focus for whatever the topic might be. As an example, he or she might have an engineering mindset, which gives us an idea of what their expertise is. But when you apply God to the word mindset, you come up with a completely different category. The apostle Paul did the same thing. In…

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Why would a good God send people to Hell?

I am not a theologian and for that reason, I get frustrated when I don’t know the answers to specific questions raised about God. The title of this blog post is, ”Why would a good God send people to hell’?  and I have had that question brought up many times and for years it has frustrated me. Why?  Because it is a great question! How could God allow that to happen? Good people in hell make no…

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Are you a Genuine Fake?

Here is some truth for you today- In this new world of Artificial Intelligence that surrounds us, sometimes it is difficult to discern what is real and what isn’t. But if you remember, before AI we were (and still are) surrounded by “knock-offs” which are also artificial and trying to be the real thing. I was reading a story recently where the author referred to a trip he and his wife to…

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Salvation isn't Easy

You may be stunned slightly by the title of this post but I needed to get your attention. I found myself in the book of Matthew recently where Jesus was finishing up His famous Sermon on the Mount. In that sermon, He literally blew listeners’ minds that day due to the power and authority that He spoke with. But that isn’t why I call your attention to that message today, instead, this is when He…

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Killing them with Kindness - Part 2

OK Guys, so last time I posted a blog about kindness that talked about the “why” we should choose to respond with compassion versus the alternative. In my previous post, I promised you how to execute this kindness response proposition into real action.  If you are like me, talking about a big topic like this without giving me practical ideas of how to apply is like sitting down at the dinner…

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Killing them with Kindness

“Kindness is a language we can all speak. Even the Deaf can hear it and the Blind can see” Mother Teresa Guys, in the entire history of this blog, I have never quoted Mother Teresa, but in this instance, with this topic, it is completely appropriate. I have been thinking about this topic for quite some time  and decided for this New Year, I wanted to share this alternative idea of responding to…

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Are you making Plans?

Guys, first of all, Merry Christmans and Happy New Year to you and your families. I wish you nothing but the best in 2025. If you can, please take just a few minutes and read this story in the book of Acts. This is about the beginning of Christianity and how once Christ had ascended into heaven, the Apostles were treated very nasty by the Pharisees.  Acts 5: 17-41 In the story, the Apostles…

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I know who I am…Because I know who You are

How you ever been pummeled with a lie and after a while you actually start to believe it? Whether in person or online you just begin to ask if that is really who you are? Is there a maximum amount of negative comments you can hear before you break the camel’s back? Will there come a time that you don’t recognize yourself anymore in the mirror?  Finally and worse yet…Is there a tipping point…

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Get OUT of the Mushy Middle

Many years ago, when I was a young manager, I worked for a gentleman who was a very nice man but from my vantage point he had a significant flaw…he couldn’t make a decision. He was the guy who looked at every situation and tried to analyze each side to understand all possible outcomes. Now, on the surface that sounds exceptional, carefully analyzing each argument and plotting each potential…

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Why Solomon is the Original Superman

Most of us have read the Bible story of King Solomon whom God chose over David’s other sons to be the King of Israel. What separates Solomon from any other King, or anyone else for that matter, is the fact that when God came to Solomon before he became King and said “Ask for whatever you want Me to give you”…1 Kings 3:5…and Solomon responded very differently than most anyone would have. In my…

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My son wears a Cross around his neck

My wife and I sent our youngest son away to college in another state a few years ago. He wanted to attend that university because it was far from his parents. As his dad, I understand why that was important to him completely because I was very independent and did not want my parents around when I was his age. And this kid is independent with a capital “I”. It was all we could do to get him to…

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Getting Back to the Basics

I have always enjoyed the carefully worded answers that new coaches give when speaking to the media about how they plan on turning around a poorly performing football program; “We are going back to the basics” or “We are starting again with the fundamentals of this game, blocking and tackling, etc.” They always say the same thing because they want their players to forget about the past and focus…