Yesterday I took a break to get a cup of coffee and walked out into our larger office area. Standing next to my assistant’s desk was one of our interns. As I walked by I said, “How are you.” Her reply took me by surprise.
“I’m awesome, how about you?”
This is the way I replied to her, “I’m not quite awesome, but I’m doing really good.”
What makes some people awesome and others of us just seem to muddle by?
I’m not sure I completely know the answer, but these are areas that will help.
First, surround yourself with awesome people. Running into our intern made me want to be awesome for the people I meet.
She made my day “awesome,” can I do the same for someone else? Attitude really seems to be contagious. As best you can, find awesome people who will help you be awesome as well.
Maybe we all need to plan for an attitude of awesomeness.
Second, find a community of people who will care for you. My day yesterday really was awesome. After I met the intern I received a card from a church member who pledged to pray for me concerning my leadership of our church and as I lead our building campaign.
After reading her card and thinking of her commitment to pray for me, I frankly felt, well, awesome!
Third, Give thanks and live a life of thanksgiving. It’s hard not to be awesome when you live a life of gratitude.
When I think of gratitude, I always think of the Apostle Paul. He wrote repeatedly about his appreciation for the people in the churches. This emphasis concerning gratitude is most prominent in the prison epistles. As Paul wrote from prison to the churches of Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae, and to the individual Philemon, he expressed his gratitude for them and to God.
This obviously was a pattern for his life. This is what he wrote to the church at Philippi.
“I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:3-6).
I pray God will grant you an awesome day!
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7 Responses
Reminds me of a response I got from a cashier recently when I asked how her day was going. She said, “I’m having a great day, and if it wasn’t great, I’d make it that way!” I loved her attitude.
Dr. Bailey-
Thanks for this post. It will be the first step to having an awesome day for many of us.
God Bless.
Eric Singletary
I look forward to your post every day & miss your live sermons!! FBC NOLA is nice but it is not Dr. Bailey!!! Want n awesome day?? Practice the 3 C’s!!
Love God Completely
Love self Cortectly
Love Others Compassionately
Works for me!! Have a awesome day! Brenda
Thanks Waylon. That was awesome!
My great friend, Reginald Harrington, responds to the question “How are you?” always with something over-the-top positive, like your intern. My favorite is, “Aw man, if I was doin’ any better I’d have to be a twin!” One of my seminary professors, Dr. Freeman, whom I’m sure you know, used to reply by saying, “Fine as frog hair!”, and on especially good days he’d say “Fine as frog hair split four ways!” Another man once said, when I asked him how he was doing said: “Aw man, I’m doin’ fine. Mindin’ my wife; catching a lot o’ fish.” I considered that he had some wisdom when he said “mindin’ my wife”, and asked him about it. He teared up and confessed that he used to drink and abuse her. “But that was before the Lord came into my life. Now I know what a good woman I have.” I was amazed, and still am, at what the Lord does in a man’s life. He makes it “Awesome”.
Waylon, Thanks for your encouragement every day with your message. I’m having an awesome day just being alive and thanking God for this beautiful weather. The comment above reminded me of Lamar. He used to say, “I’m feeling fine as froghair split in two”. I’ve never heard anyone else say that until today. Have an AWESOME day!
i love that intern – she makes the whole office smile!
Yes she does!