The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Friday, February 22, 2019.

Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver and gold. Proverbs 22:1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Will You Be Remembered

Every few years I get a reminder that I am getting older. It typically comes by mail in the form of the announcement of my latest high school class reunion. I still remember my five-year high school reunion and the ten-year reunion, but when those reunion years start to get into the multiple decades, you know you’re not as young as you used to be. As I consider attending the events, every time I wonder who will be there, if I will remember them, and if they will remember me.

Inevitably, I realize that what was important to me in high school to be known for is not nearly as important to me as an adult to be remembered for. In high school, I wanted to be known for being cool. I wanted to be known for having the right clothes and knowing the coolest new music and dances. It was important to me that people knew I was large and in charge, for whatever that means when your parents are still paying the bills. By contrast, as an adult, I realize that I would prefer to be remembered as a nice guy. I would prefer to be remembered not for what I wore, but for how I interacted with other people. As an adult, I realize that the things that I thought were important then, will barely be remembered by anyone now.

The great thing about life is you get to choose how people will remember you. The only problem is you have to choose it in advance. Each of us chooses today, how we will be remembered tomorrow. How you treat people defines how they will remember you. If you are kind, honest and joyful today, you will be remembered as kind honest and joyful tomorrow. However, if you are mean, cantankerous and evil today, you will certainly be remembered as mean, cantankerous and evil tomorrow. So as you go through each day take some time to remember that what you do today will define who you will be remembered as tomorrow.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Thursday, February 21, 2019.

It is better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home. Proverbs 21:9

Home Sweet Home

I had a great roommate when I was in college. We couldn’t be more different, but we were a great match. He was from Los Angeles, and I was from New York. He was a Dodger fan, and I love my Yankees. He likes pineapple on his pizza, and I thought that was insane until I tried it. What made us great roommates ultimately was that we have a deep-rooted respect for each other and we were on the same page. We both decided that the most important things we could do as roommates were to keep our room clean, respect each other’s belongings and encourage each other in the inevitable tough times. It was because we were on the same page that we are friends to this day.

While we were on a one-year assignment as roommates, our strategy for living together also can apply to married people. One of the keys to a happy home is everyone being on the same page. When people are on the same page, they know what to expect, what is proper and what their part to play is. Many times, in the throes of love, newlyweds move in together and forget to get on the same page. Then when the hazy glow of the honeymoon wears off, they find themselves at each other’s throats wondering why love isn’t enough.

The truth of the matter is, living with someone else is difficult. Living with someone who you’re not on the same page with is nearly impossible. When two people aren’t on the same page, one will always feel like the other is complaining and want them just to shut up. By contrast, if two people can be on the same page, they can hear each other’s concerns as a valuable need to be met so they can move forward together. Perhaps, if we can get on the same page, we can save some marriages, save some relationships and maybe even save a country.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Wednesday, February 20, 2019.

The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way. Proverbs 20:24

Just Enjoy The Ride

Summer in the Williams family was not complete without a road trip. Every summer we would set off to parts unknown by car looking for fun, adventure and family time. We’d pack up the car with our clothes, food, a cooler of drink and be off on the highway. While there was always an intended destination, and my parents had a meticulous plan to get us there, as a precocious and inquisitive child, I always had questions along the way. Questions like, “How much longer till we get there,” “Where are we now,” “ Can we stop so I can go to the bathroom,” and my personal favorite, “Why couldn’t we just stay home?” Once we arrived, all of the questions from the trip were forgotten because the destination made the trip worth it.

If we are honest, this is how many of us treat life. We know that God is in charge and has a plan, but we spend day by day questioning. What is going on? We want to know why is taking so long? Why isn’t there a direct route? Why didn’t that work out the way I wanted it? When is my change going to come? Ultimately we often end up at, God, if you care why are you letting this happen? With all of our questions, we often work ourselves into a froth, stress ourselves out and drive ourselves crazy because we forget that we are along for the ride not in charge. Just like a patient parent, God sits back, listens to our questions and keeps forging ahead with His plan knowing that we will understand it all when we finally get to the destination.

We are all curious about what is going on, but sometimes you have to simply enjoy the ride. When you decide to trust God, you also have to decide that God knows exactly what he is doing. So before you ask the next question take a moment to remember that God knows the plans that he has for you and that His plan is for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope. When you remember this, you realize that what you don’t understand now, will become clear later. When you get to the destination, you will be able to look back and say, God knew exactly what he was doing, and thankfully he bought me along for the ride. So this week, don’t worry, just know God knows what He is doing and enjoy the ride.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Tuesday, February 19, 2019.

To acquire wisdom is to love yourself; people who cherish understanding will prosper. Proverbs 19:8

A Complete Collection 

I grew up a huge baseball fan. I loved watching games on TV, listening to them on the radio and certainly playing third base on my little league team. As much as I loved baseball, the only thing I loved more was my baseball cards. I was an avid collector of baseball cards. Any time I had a spare quarter, I would get a pack. I would anxiously open the wrapping and start going through the cards hoping to find just the right one that would complete my collection. Each time I found one I’d celebrate because I was that much closer to having all the ones I needed to have a complete set.

I hoped that those little cards I was collecting would be worth something one day. I assumed that by having a full collection, I might have the rookie card of someone who was unknown at the time but could become a Hall of Famer one day. At the very least, I might have the final card of someone who had a long and storied career, that I could get signed one day just as a nice souvenir. I was investing in having a full collection of cards so that one day I could cash them in for whatever value they had. Unfortunately, as many cards as I collected they never turned out to be worth much, but I did have fun collecting them.

What are you collecting in your life? The most valuable thing you can collect is wisdom. Unlike my baseball cards, collecting wisdom always has great value. When you collect wisdom, you can know right from wrong, to make proper decisions, and to help others live better lives. When you are continually collecting wisdom, you are continually improving yourself and giving yourself the chance to make life better for others. You will never have a full set of wisdom, that’s not possible, but like baseball cards, the more you get, the more you’ll have and the more valuable it will become.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Monday, February 18, 2019.

Wise words are like deep waters; wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook. Proverbs 18:4

Watch For Spills

Before podcasts, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, there was a time-honored tradition of sitting at the feet of the elders. As opposed to just scrolling and picking up bite-sized nuggets of wisdom, in 140 characters or less, people took the time to sit in rooms with wise people and let them talk to each other. Not lecture the crowd, or give an excellent TED Talk, but instead just sitting quietly and allowing wisdom to converse with wisdom. The idea was in listening to these sage minds share at their level; there could be something that spilled down to your level that you could use later.

When we spend time with people who are deep founts of wisdom, their spillage and overflow could be the thing that takes us to the next level. When we spend time around the truly wise, we begin to see that they are rarely drawing off new information but a deep well that has accumulated over years of experience. The type of experience that only comes from living long, making mistakes, learning from them, and pushing on to the next adventure. People like these are walking treasures who can be a blessing to you if you just let them spill on you a little bit.

As you go through this week, look for some opportunities to pick up spills. I don’t mean walking around with a mop and bucket but instead spending time with people who are so wise that they may spill a little wisdom on you. Find someone what has gotten to where you are trying to go and just let them talk for a while. Let them tell you about their successes and their failures. Let them tell you about what they have learned along the way and what they wish they knew when they were your age. If you let them pour out for a while, they may spill just enough that it gets on you.

Be Blessed,

Rev

 

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Friday, February 15, 2019.

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health. Proverbs 15:30

The Look

When I was a little boy in church, my fondest goal was to sit with “the big kids.” Growing up in church you have to sit with your parents until you are old enough to sit with the older kids in the “kids section” of the balcony. That was where the fun was. You see, being with the big kids meant you were older, could be trusted on your own, and most importantly that you could laugh and whisper with your friends during service. For all the good that came with sitting with the big kids, there was one thing that I did not count on in sitting with the big kids, “the look.”

Sitting with the big kids meant you did not have to sit with your parents, but you were never out of their eyesight. This meant that your parents couldn’t shush you or pinch you, but they could from a distance give you, or all of you at the same time, “the look.” You see, “the look” is that stare that God gifts parents with that makes a child shudder, immediately straighten up, and all conversation stops instantaneously. “The look” was so powerful that you didn’t have to see it to feel it. A friend of mine while talking stopped and said of his mother, “She’s looking at me isn’t she?” He didn’t turn around; he didn’t look towards her, he just knew he was getting, “the look.”

While “the look” has the power to straighten children out in church, a look has the power to either brighten or ruin someone’s day. You see the countenance that we carry affects people. If you look at them with a smile and joy on your face, it may brighten their day and bring light into their lives. By contrast, if you look at them with anger and disdain, it can bring a dark cloud of gloom into their day making it sad and lonely. So as you go throughout your day, remember that you too have the power of “the look.” Use that power to brighten days and spread light. After all, minutes after you look at someone, someone may give you “the look.”

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Thursday, February 14, 2019.

A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands. Proverbs 14:1

 

Take Care of It

I often watch my son play with blocks and legos. Piece by piece he will meticulously put one on top of the other. Then he will find just the right piece to add to what he has already done. It is clear that he is making choices to build the exact thing that he wants. With each choice, the picture that is in his head is taking shape in real time right in front of him. He will look at it, survey it, smile at it, and then immediately tear it down, laugh and start all over again. It is amazing to watch. Each time he does it, I wonder why he destroys his work as soon as he’s finished it.

The thing is, he’s a two-year-old, so he doesn’t know any better, yet. He doesn’t understand the value of the building and preserving something. Unfortunately, many of us are the same way. We have a picture in our heads of something we are trying to build. For some of us, it is the perfect marriage that we are trying to create. For others, it is the perfect career that we are trying to build. No matter what we are trying to build, it will take work, effort, sacrifice and will to get it finished, but unfortunately, many times tear down things we have built with our actions after we have built it. This leaves us with nothing but unfulfilled hopes and dreams and needing to start over from scratch, again.

Friends, with all the work it takes to build something, you can’t afford to tear it down. When you build something, you have to choose to take care of it. Taking care of something you have built means protecting it, to nurturing it, and adding to it. You protect it by making sure that you never put it in dangerous situations. You nurture it by always pouring love and care into it day by day. Finally, you add on to it by always looking for a way to make it a little better.  No matter want you are building remember the work it took to build it, then put the same effort into taking care of it. If you do this what you build will last you a lifetime.

Be Blessed,

Rev