Daniel Skognes

Remember when you got an F in school? LOL. Me neither. But I remember seeing other kids get them, and it was never a good thing. It was usually in red and printed very large at the top of the page so the world could see their failure.

Well, these Fs are not just good, they are essential to living a full and balanced life. When we fail to keep these in balance, we find life unfulfilling, frustrating, and discouraging. So, what are the six Fs?

Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness, Finances, and Fun

Faith is first for a reason. We need to have our faith in God first and foremost. That is the foundation to having peace and purpose in our lives.

Family is next because next to God, our family is the top priority. We are to love each other, honor each other, and take care of each other. Family was created by God and a healthy family has a positive rippling effect on our society.

Friends are essential as well. In fact, the Bible says that there is a friend who sticks closer than a Brother. That is proof that friends are necessary for us to have fellowship, council, and support. If you have two or three really close friends, you are truly blessed. If you don’t have this in your life, perhaps you need to BE a friend to others. Isolation is not a good thing for long periods of time. We are created for relationships. We need each other.

Fitness comes next because it deals with our health. Getting proper exercise, eating a balanced diet, and getting proper rest are all critical to living our life fully fueled and energized. If you don’t take care of your health, you will suffer the consequences.

Finances is next because it is important to have your spending, saving, and investing in order. We live in a society here in the USA that promotes living off of credit. Trust me when I say: “That is a trap!” Unless you are going to pay off the bill in full, you should learn the power of paying in full up front. There is a freedom that comes from being debt free. I realize that cars and houses are exceptions because of the high prices of both, but even then you can minimize the impact with larger down payments that you’ve saved, and doubling up on payments when you have the extra cash available.

Fun is the last but not least of the six Fs. In fact, I believe fun can be woven throughout the other five Fs. Fun is important, but it is not THE most important thing in life. Too many people seek to just have fun in life, and the quality of their life suffers for it. Play time is essential for kids to learn, and for adults to relax. Just don’t make play time the main time.

Live your life fully balanced. You will see the stress, worry, and impact of bad decisions minimized, and the impact of good decisions maximized.

Shalom!

Daniel Skognes

I’ll be honest. Before this week, I had never heard of Damar Hamlin. I did not watch the Monday night game, so I had no idea who he was or what had happened to him. However, Tuesday morning the news and social media outlets were buzzing with the news of his cardiac arrest while playing football Monday night.

It was a sobering moment for everyone, and for the first time in NFL history, a game was halted due to an injury. Some interesting things happened. The players on the field spontaneously gathered around him to pray for him while he was getting CPR. Newscasters, other teams, coaches, and people all over the country were praying for him. I found myself praying for him as well. Miraculously, he had his breathing tube removed this week and he was able to Facetime with his family, friends, and teammates.

I think God allowed this tragedy to unite people. He brought people together in prayer that otherwise might have been enemies or at least apathetic towards one another. Damar had already laid a foundation with his teammates and coaches. They knew that he loved God, and he loved them! That love touched our entire nation this week.

Damar started a GoFundMe account to raise $2,500 for poor children in his community. As of today, over $8,000,000 has been donated. God has incredible things for Damar to still do with his life. I can’t wait to hear about the next chapter and see how God uses him for the Kingdom of God. Damar, if you happen to read this, know that we continue to pray for you and your family. A great verse for you and anyone who is going through tough times to hang on to is Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Shalom!

Daniel Skognes

I am not sure where the quote came from, but I like it: “Learn to listen. Listen to learn.” Many obstacles keep us from listening to others: noise, electronics, phones, games, distractions and interruptions from others, etc. When we are teaching kids, we work hard to get their attention before we start speaking. We say things like “Waterfall, waterfall,” and the kids respond, “Shhhhhhhhh.” They know they are to stop what they are doing and give us their attention when we say that.

Too bad we can’t do that with adults. LOL. The older we get the more we seem to be distracted. I watch the Principal and Assistant Principals at our school and wonder how in the world they ever get anything done?! They are constantly being pulled in different directions for some “emergency.”

I think we as adults need to learn this truth and teach it to the kids: Someone else may have an “emergency,” but that does not necessarily make it OUR emergency. There are times we have to turn off the phones, turn off the emails, turn off the walkies, and set our priorities. Sometimes we have to delegate the issue. Sometimes we need to seek counsel and collaborate for a resolution. Sometimes we have to say “No,” or at least, “Let me get back to you on that.” Sometimes we just need time to think!

Listening is a skill that we can all improve upon, but it will never improve till we learn to handle the endless distractions and interruptions that life throws at us. Another truth to remember is that everyone needs to feel that they are heard and understood. It is foundational to building healthy relationships. Give others the respect of being heard….whether or not you agree with them. That will defuse many of the ticking time bombs that might otherwise possibly explode on you or others in the area.

Shalom!

Daniel Skognes

danskognes.com

“Behind every problem opportunity knocks.”

Daniel Skognes

Next time you are facing a problem, look for the opportunity that is presenting itself. There is an old quote that says, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” No matter what the problem, no matter how daunting it may seem, or how overwhelmed you may feel, there is opportunity.

Recently I was at work and realized I had misplaced my wallet! I was in panic mode trying to remember where I had it last. The two things that can put most people in a tailspin are losing their wallet or losing their phone. I retraced all my steps from that morning and mentioned to a couple of people at work the pickle I was in. My mind went to the worst case scenario with someone either throwing it away or worse, using my confidential information against me.

One of the people I mentioned it to was the campus policeman. He said, “You were wearing an overcoat this morning. Do you think you put it in your coat?” That was the thing that snapped my brain back to calm. I never put my wallet in my coat, but I had not checked it either.

Sure enough, there it was in my side pocket. I must have put it in there to free up my hands so I could enter the building that morning. I had been looking at a shopping list before I entered the school and kept the list in my wallet. Talk about a relief!

So what is the opportunity here? The lesson for me was to breathe and let my mind think! It is hard to think when you are in panic mode. I hope there is not a next time, but if there is, I am going to try to stay calm and let God direct my path. I’m going to the prayer room, not the panic room.

Shalom!

Daniel Skognes

I know this post will not sit right with some people, but I encourage you to read it to the end before you argue the point. I wish to debunk the statement: “Life is not a competition.” I am not sure where that idea originated, but there is no truth to it, and I will prove it to you.

Competition is not a bad thing, in fact, it is very positive and helps us excel in our endeavors. The race begins at conception. Normal sperm count can range from 15 million to as high as 300 million sperm per milliliter. All of those are vying to fertilize an egg.

After birth, we compete as children for the attention we need from our family. The race continues as we compete for grades, athletic competitions, music and art competitions, etc. We compete to get into certain schools, and once we have our degree, we compete to either get more degrees or a job in the workplace. Even if we are self-employed, we compete with others for our market share.

We compete for dates and for spouses. When we are not competing with others, we compete with ourselves to improve, achieve, and excel in life. It is for our own good that we compete.

I realize that some are thinking everyone should get a ribbon when they compete. If they are special needs children or adults, that argument might have some merit, but even the special needs children and adults have Special Olympics. There is something inside each of us that wants to be recognized for doing the best we can, and have others see it as well. 

The Bible even talks about competition in a positive way. 1 Corinthians 9:24 says: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So, run that you may obtain it.”

In the movie Chariots of Fire (an amazing movie if you have not seen it), Eric Liddell was to run in the Olympics. I realize the quote may just be from a Hollywood screenwriter, but it was based upon his true life events. In the movie he said, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast, and when I run I feel His pleasure.”

In the race we call life, isn’t that what we all desire: to know God’s purpose, run to win, and feel God’s pleasure?”

May you run to win!

Shalom!

Daniel Skognes