Welcome Back

Welcome to 2021.

It’s nearly been twelve months to the day since I last wrote and published a blog. To be honest, it’s been too long.

Over the last twelve months our world has changed around us. The effects of the global pandemic will ripple through our culture for years to come. The effects of racial injustices will continue to hinder equality for all citizens in our nation. The effects of a polarizing election will stifle unity in our public discourse. The effects of natural disasters will ravage our communities. The truth is the effects and aftermath of 2020 will change us forever.

But is that not the case of every year?

Every year we experience changes around us that effect our perception of the world and life; due to the nature of 2020 those instances were heightened.

The last twelve months were no different for me and my family. We had to navigate through pandemics, unrest, loss, and natural disasters while still figuring out married life; throw in the wrench of a complicated pregnancy with a two plus month hospital stay to make 2020 a doozy of a year.

Even with all that we experienced- the ups and the downs, Paige and I had our best year yet. Regardless of the challenge that we faced, we were able to hold onto the promises of God’s faithfulness.

Over the next few weeks I want to share some of the incredible moments that point to those promises of God’s faithfulness. But, I also want to share some of the bleak moments that have made us question, “why God?” We know that God’s hand is in the midst of these moments, but we simply don’t have all the answers yet.

I hope you will join me as I share some truths we discovered over the last twelve months. But more importantly, I hope that you will see the evidence of God’s faithfulness. Whether you read another blog or not, my hope is that it will spark your reliance on God alone.

Patience or Frustration?

Last week I put myself out there in a way I never had before.

Throughout the years, I have constantly heard that I was a “leader.” However, as I reflected on the numerous mistakes, some small and some extremely detrimental, I’ve made along the way, I began to doubt that. In the process of working through this time of self-reflection, I reached out to ten individuals that I interact with on a regular basis for insight. My ten individuals consisted of family members, co-workers, those I lead, colleagues, and friends. I asked each of them to be as brutally honest as possible and to answer two simple questions; what are my top three strengths and my top three areas for growth. While this seems like a very simple exercise, it revealed a lot about how others see me and my ability to lead.

As someone who typically assumes a position of leadership, the strengths they listed didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me was the most common response for growth; patience.

Out of the ten respondents, eight of them included patience in some form, specifically for my future. If eighty percent of people that I interact with on a regular basis believe that I need to grow in the area of patience, there must be some truth to it. It made me think long and hard about it.

After a few days of reflection, it finally hit me that they were only partially right. While I will admit that I have historically been very impatient, especially when trying to accomplish goals for my future, I know I am in a process of transformation.

However, if I looked back over the last decade of my life and used that metric as they did, I would agree with all of them. I do need to be patient for my future. The path of self-destruction I was on to achieve my lofty goals only caused me frustration. But the bigger question I asked was, why? Why has this path caused me such frustration? Even with success, I still experienced frustration.

The answer was simple. I was striving to achieve goals that weren’t meant for me. Don’t hear me wrong, my goals weren’t bad goals, but they weren’t the ones I was called to.

My experience reminds me of the story of Jonah. Jonah knew that God was calling him to fulfill a certain purpose, to “proclaim judgement” against the city of Nineveh. But Jonah had plans of his own and “ran from the presence of the Lord” to a different city. While on his journey he caused a little trouble and found himself inside the belly of a large fish; I can guarantee you that he was frustrated for those three days and nights. Eventually, even in his disobedience, Jonah found himself on the path to fulfill his calling.

While the journey looks different for all of us, I am thankful that we serve a God that can use us for our calling, regardless of when we submit.

Although I’ve had my own experience with disobedience, I finally find myself committing only to pursue what I have been called to. For the first time in my adult life, I do not feel a burden associated with achieving my goals. My sense of peace affirms that I am beginning to walk where God has called me.

The level of freedom and pure joy that I have experienced by returning to the path of my true calling is indescribable. While I would not trade the lessons that I have learned over the last fifteen years, part of me can only imagine where I might be if I didn’t run from my calling.

I don’t know where you currently find yourself, but if you are experiencing frustration in life, maybe you’re chasing the wrong goals. I encourage you to take a look at what you’re trying to accomplish.

5 Steps for a Successful Decade

We have officially entered the greatest time of the year! (Well maybe the second best after football season, but that is neither here nor there.) For as long as I can remember, the time between Thanksgiving and the end of the year has been the best time of the year. When I was younger, it meant light school work and Christmas presents galore. While I was in college, it meant no responsibilities along with a little extra time to get into mischief. As I have gotten older, this season has taken on a completely different meaning. While I still enjoy the Christmas festivities and extra time with family, it’s become a time to rest, reflect, and prepare for the new year.

For most of us, even if we do reflect and prepare for the new year, it’s typically done during the dead week between Christmas and New Year’s. Relegating a year’s worth of goals and planning into seven short days after wrapping up the Christmas season is just not smart. In fact, most of us use that time to rest but we don’t plan. (Side note: Resting is good, if you don’t believe me go read the blog from 11.12.19.) This is typically the reason why we feel so rushed going into the new year, and spend the first couple months just getting acclimated.

The last six years I have worked to utilize the entire season as a time to rest, reflect, and plan. The difference that I have experienced by being more intentional has been significant. There are five typical steps that make up the format, or framework, that I use to feel more prepared going into the New Year.

Step 1: Set Goals.

It goes without saying that you have to establish goals. Read any “self-help” book, regardless of the topic- finance, leadership, management, sales, etc- they all start here. In order to determine if you are heading in the right direction, you have to establish goals.

Step 2: Focus less on others, more on self.

Sometimes, for me, this one becomes the most challenging. In today’s social media world, we easily become distracted by what others are doing. We see they made a big sale, bought a new car, bought a new house, got married, or had a baby, and immediately we forget all about the goals we set and accomplished for ourselves. Not only will this eliminate drama, but it will also make you more content.

Step 3: Read More.

Like your average American, I never truly enjoyed reading. However, after I graduated college I realized that simply having a degree doesn’t give you all the knowledge to excel in your career or to reach higher levels. I began to look around and see that those who are highly successful are reading at least 1-2 books a month. I am not necessarily trying to get Bill Gates level of money, but if he is reading 50+ books a year, there is probably something to it.

Step 4: Invest In yourself.

This should go without saying, but no one is going to invest in you more than you. It’s not the responsibility of your employer, your family, your friends, or anyone else to invest in you. The responsibility falls on you as an individual to look for opportunities to improve; which could mean a whole host of different things. It may be going to a conference, paying for an online seminar, or taking a class at a community college; whatever that looks like make sure that it aligns with your goals.

Step 5: Pursue Christ to develop your calling.

Above all of the other steps, this is the most important. I will admit that Step 5 is the newest addition to my framework, something I’ve only added within the last few years. In the years without this step I made progress, but not nearly as significant of progress as in these last 3 years, when I have been intentional (there’s that word again) about my pursuit of Christ. When you are pursuing Christ and the calling on your life, you begin to walk with more clarity; which causes your goals to realign to where God is leading (thus making it that much easier).

I hope that by taking these five steps you will be able to reach the level you have been striving for in 2020!

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Relax, we’re all busy

Busy. Busy is what planning a wedding will make you. It will make you so busy that you will probably go over a month without posting a blog… my bad. I promise to try and do better; but let’s be honest, life is just busy. The thing is though, I am not the only one that experiences busyness.

Busy is how we live our lives. In fact, in America we wear our busyness as a badge of honor. The busier we are then somehow the more significant our life is and the greater our impact will be. I can say that I too fell into the trap of the busier the better. If I am being transparent, I am currently in the process of coming out of the busiest season of my life. After looking back over this past season, I can confidently say that most of it was self-inflicted. By nature, I like to say yes. By God’s design, I like to lead. So when asked to oversee this, manage that, run this; I have historically always said yes. I am now intentionally practicing my “no”; because in the end most of it is meaningless.

Of course, there were many great things that happened in this past season of saying yes. My renewed commitment to Christ. My new marriage. The resurrection of old dreams. The new found clarity on my purpose. But, on the whole, I can say that the sleepless nights and non-stop days working were not worth it.

I can admit that over the last few years, I have heard several sermons on taking days to rest- or practicing the Sabbath; but none of them actually connected until recently.

About three weeks ago, Paige and I were preparing to board a plane for Mexico to celebrate our honeymoon. On this trip I took a massive step… I left my work phone at home. In fact, I left everything work related in the US. I decided to leave it as a commitment to my new wife, and as a symbol of the beginning of our marriage focused solely on us.

If I am being honest though, I was pretty anxious leaving work behind. Ever since joining the “real” workforce at the age of 19, I had never been on a vacation where I was not “available” to those back home. Most of my career has been in sales, where you are always available to your customers. When I owned my own insurance agency, I was accessible 24/7 to my staff and clients. So for me, I was going to be truly disconnected for the very first time.

But what was I so anxious about? I mean, do I think I am really that valuable to my company? Of course not. I was anxious because I was afraid of “falling behind” the competition.

“Therefore I tell you, stop being worried or anxious about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?” – Matthew 6:25-26

I once heard a Pastor say that we have become more concerned with the pursuit of the American Dream than we are fulfilling the calling of God. Quite simply, that’s the truth for me. At the root of my anxiousness is the lack of trust in God’s provision.

But after a day or two in Mexico, I slowly started to realize that something was happening. I was becoming recharged. Now that we are back in our normal routine, I feel more refreshed and rejuvenated than I ever have.

Rest is a reoccurring theme seen throughout the Bible. God designed us to rest. Isn’t it amazing that when I finally found time to rest, I became more aware of God’s presence.

Paige and I have begun working on our family goals for 2020, and you better believe that at the top of the list is a WEEKLY SABBATH. Or in other words, a day of intentional rest. Time that we can rest and rejuvenate in God’s presence.

My challenge for everyone reading this is to rest. We are all in different seasons and have different circumstances that effect our decisions; but I assure you in the end all of the tireless work will be meaningless. While this concept seems counter-cultural, my goal for 2020 is to do less. I am putting my faith in accomplishing more with God in six days than I can by myself in seven days.

Less is more with God.

A Life of Service

Having only attended 3 or 4 services at Connect Church, I walked in that Sunday remembering there was going to be a guest speaker. I thought to myself, “Well dang, this is either going to be a huge hit, or a big waste of time.” Our pastor got up and began introducing the speaker as a mentor and spiritual father, but then he said the words that made me tune right out… missionary . Having grown up in church, I knew having a guest speaker talk about missions meant the service would be less than engaging and more than likely a lousy sales pitch for funding. Now, in full disclosure, Pastor said President of OneHope, a global Mission Organization, but all I heard was “missionary.” I remember thinking, “this will be a snooze fest.” My experience with missions in my previous denominational context led me to boredom and disengagement.

This service was different. This guy was different. His story was different. His passion was different. Immediately, I was captivated by what he was saying. As he told story after story of the organizations history in country after country, I began to see they were making a major impact all over the globe. Once he finished sharing about OneHope, I wanted more. They announced at the conclusion of that service, that in June they would be partnering with OneHope for a mission trip. I knew no one in the church, but following the service, I texted the pastor from the parking lot, “I’m in.”

Fast forward a few weeks later to June of 2017. I found myself on an airplane headed towards Bogotá, Colombia with a group of people I didn’t know, from a church that I wasn’t very connected to. I was nervous. I was anxious. In full transparency, I was regretting my decision. Little did I know, in seven short days, my life would never be the same.

As we walked through the schools and orphanages of Colombia, I began to see that these people were living with real pain. They were longing for any sign of hope, but they were also resilient. They didn’t need material things for a smile to be beaming on their face. Standing among them, my perspective began to shift. While sharing the Word with them, I realized their pain wasn’t much different than the pain I’d been suppressing myself. I began to see that while we have endless material wealth in the United States, we are just as broken. Standing in the streets of Bogota, I realized for the first time that we are a world of broken people. The only thing that can bring true joy to all of life’s circumstances is peace found only in God.

When I arrived back in the United States, I was shaken and confused. Prior to our trip, I had a significant amount of worldly success and received many accolades in my business. None of that brought fulfillment to my life though, like being in a foreign country sharing God’s love. I didn’t know then, but recognize now, that God was calling me to be all in. In those moments, I realized true joy in life is found in serving others.

Maybe you’re reading this and thinking to yourself, “I’m not sure about the idea of serving”. I’ll admit, I was quite apprehensive at first myself. I encourage you to start small. Not everyone is called to go on, or needs to serve in global missions. There are daily opportunities for you to serve others. At the very essence of Jesus you find service. In our pursuit of becoming Christ-like, what better way than to start each day with an attitude of service.

“ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 (ESV)

Connected Community

A few months ago, in my effort to be intentional about what God is calling me to do, I started making decisions that to some others didn’t make sense. One of those decisions was to sell my truck. If you know me, that doesn’t sound like the most bizarre thing—I got my first car at 15 years old, and since then I’ve owned nine different vehicles, all of them completely unique. I went from a 1992 Ford Explorer to a BMW to a brand new 4-door Jeep Wrangler with a four inch lift, plus a few more in between. (I still really miss my Jeep). This time though was a little different, I bought a very small and practical car. This new car is something Dave Ramsey would encourage one of his listeners to buy.

Sometimes though when you buy a “beater”, as Dave calls it, you inherit the problems. The first problem I inherited was that after only two weeks of driving the car, the transmission had to be replaced…that wasn’t the biggest issue though. The biggest issue I faced with this car was that it already had an owner— an ant community. Yep, that’s right, my car was COMPLETELY infested with ants.

As I began to strategize, I knew I’d have to outsmart them to rid my vehicle of them. At the time, I had about 100 different thoughts racing through my head. Where are they living? How did they get in my car? What will get them out? My first plan of attack was to take apart the covering of the gear shifter where I first noticed them crawling. When I shed light into that space, I noticed food crumbs left from the previous owner. I vacuumed and cleaned out that area. Thinking I had gotten rid of their food source, I was confident that I had fixed my problem… WRONG. The next day I got back in the car and much to my dismay, the ants were back. I realized since there wasn’t food anywhere else in the car, there had to be another reason drawing them inside.

Over the course of two weeks I learned a lot about ants. They are very tenacious and determined insects; but most importantly they are a species that lives and dies based on their community.

In hindsight, I wish I could have experienced the ant infestation years ago; not because it was an enjoyable experience, but because it was a great illustration of a lesson I myself learned a couple years ago.

During the early stages of my agency, I realized it’s difficult being a single guy working to build a successful business. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of perks- no one was asking when I was coming home, or getting mad if I worked 18 hours a day/7 days a week, but the downside was huge. I was exhausted. I wasn’t looking out for my well-being, and I was chasing my own desires. If all of that doesn’t sound bad enough… I was alone. I was investing so much energy and effort into creating something for myself, that I pushed away those closest to me.

Fortunately, I eventually learned what Solomon pointed out to us in Ecclesiastes… it’s all vanity.

“All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity”

Ecclesiastes 1:2 (AMP)

When I got to this point though, it left me confused and lost.

Not knowing which way to go, I began investing in a relationship that started out simply as meeting for coffee once every couple weeks. The conversations soon led to coffee on a near weekly basis. Through these weekly meetings, I truly discovered a real relationship, one that left me hungry for more. I began to think, “I need to follow this guy”. Fortunately he was a Pastor, so it was easy to “follow” him.

I began attending his church and there found more relationships. I learned quickly that just like the ants, we all need community to prosper.

Growing up, church was just church, simply a box to check off on the religious list of duties. But after experiencing life, I began to realize there was more to God’s design of church than a checklist. We are designed for community. We are meant to be in community. Life is not meant to be lived alone.

While I cannot speak to your current situation, I can guarantee that if you find a church that values community, you will begin to see real life change.

If you’re having trouble finding a local church, I suggest checking out this website for starters:

www.arcchurches.com

Welcome to Building Brooks

Welcome to Building Brooks! I cannot thank you enough for stopping by my blog site. While it is only in the beginning stages, I have had so much fun using some of my creative side that the mundaneness of everyday life doesn’t allow me to express. I want to invite you on this journey with me, and allow it to be a space where you can laugh, enjoy, think, grow, move and be inspired to build up yourself and others.

At this point you are probably asking, “Ok, Charlie…but why in the world a blog?” Well… that is the same question I asked myself at first. After some serious time of reflection, I realized that over the last decade I have had the opportunity to work in several different professional fields engaging with people from all walks of life. What I’ve come to learn from my experience is that people need to be built up. I chose the name “Building Brooks” because over the last few years it has become evident that God is building up something inside of me far more important than just running my own business. For me, God has been revealing Himself in ways that are beginning to show His true purpose for me is MUCH larger. I firmly believe that I am not unique in this. I believe that if we surrender to God and begin to lean into him, He will reveal His “master plan” for each of our lives. What I have learned is that this process is much like building a house; there are plan changes, rainy days that cause delays, and failed inspections all leading to a finished product.

My hope for Building Brooks is to share content that is both useful and inspiring. The topics we cover will be wide ranging—from business concepts to stepping out in faith and being obedient to God’s calling, from my journey of becoming a husband to Tennessee football and everything in between. My goal is to share a post every other week or so.

If I’ve still got your attention at this point, that’s a good thing, thanks! From week to week and topic to topic, serious to light-hearted, I hope you find value and encouragement in my words. The final thing I ask is that if something speaks to you, please share the post or drop a comment in the box below. Grab your hard hat, because together we will be “Building Brooks.”