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The Walk You Set: Leadership That Lasts a Lifetime

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Have you ever wondered whom your walk each day impacts? Are you a leader in your community or your church? How about in your family?
Do you set the pace that everyone else follows?
What does it mean to be a leader?
As I look back at those in my life who inspired me to follow them, only a handful have made a lasting difference.
Throughout my education, certain teachers, by talent and care, urged me forward in my studies. I cannot point to one who became a leader to me, though I am sure many were leaders in their own right—among their peers, their groups, and their families.

Among my childhood peers, some drew others to march to the beat of their drum. I never really found their beat. I walked my own path.
As I grew, I watched national and international leaders muster people to inspiring speeches, lofty goals, and hopeful aspirations. At times my heart beat with the excitement of their visions of what lay ahead.
Even as I found my footing as a Christian and dedicated my childhood efforts to following Christ, there were Sunday School teachers, pastors, and youth leaders who made the effort. Still, it was hard to find a worldly leader I could look to who furthered my faith.I have always heard that hindsight is 20/20. When I look back at my life, the greatest leaders in it were my father and my mother.
Through their example I learned to care for others, to show compassion for those less fortunate, to follow a path that cannot be questioned, and to live a life that puts others’ needs above my own.
Problem after problem, trial after trial, their steady and true approach to living provided a pattern upon which leadership flourishes.
Others stepped forward as well. My scoutmaster was a tremendous example. My first employer taught me how to encourage loyalty in those you hope to inspire. I saw fine leadership, too, in musical and entertainment mentors who fostered my talents.
No matter whom you have looked to in learning how to lead your family, your church, or your community, are your choices reflecting the best that leadership can offer?
Jesus provided a wonderful template for servant leadership and for passing that legacy from generation to generation.
What are you passing on to your children—and to the children of your community?
Will they look back and remember you as a leader, or as an example of what not to be?
Read more of Randall’s writings in his books in our store.

Getting Things Done That You Really Don’t Enjoy

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Life is filled with tasks that, as time goes on, we can feel increasingly annoyed by.
Who loves doing the daily household chores—cooking, washing dishes, sweeping the floor—or the weekly ones—washing clothes, cleaning the bathroom, working in the yard?

As the world keeps spinning and our days begin to pile up, sometimes you just look at these tasks and say, “No, not again.” It might seem self-defeating. You know it’s simply an exclamation in vain, because the work must be done and there’s no one else to do it. When I walk outside, I see the pressure washing that’s required, the shingle that needs fixing, the painting that is needed, the concrete repairs that should be tackled, the bushes that need to be cut—and the list continues.

I climb the stairs into the attic, and waiting for me is more cleaning, straightening, and sorting.


As I walk through the house, the dust bunnies play on the floor like they have the run of the place, the laundry needs folding, the bathroom needs a scrub, and my, how the piles of work seem to be gaining on my height.

My brother recently decided he was done. He has sold his home, and with it go 90 percent of these tasks. He will eventually gain others to replace them, but for now he sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

I, however, am not that brave. I like the consistency of place and everything in its place. Home is where I lay my head at night. It’s where I do life. One day someone else will make this space theirs, but for now—and hopefully, the Lord’s will—it is where I will pass a few more decades.

So, as the generations before me, I must buck up and just do it. Whatever it may be, it’s not as bad as it seems, and though the doldrums of repeated activity may creep into my psyche, I must persevere.
And so must you. These things we do daily seem unimportant in the scheme of things, but for those of you sharing life with someone else—spouse or children—it’s these shared experiences of doing the tasks that sometimes become the basis of memories.

Doing things together is what stands out in my thoughts of growing up. We did so much, but as Mother would say, “Many hands make the burden lighter.” I do miss the many hands. The tasks I was assigned, always trying to get them perfect, then followed by showing them to Mom or Dad—and the praise, or sometimes the lesson, that followed—stuck with me and helped shape the man I am.

That’s one of the things missing today. I tend to find my own lessons, but it’s hard to praise yourself. You can, and I do, yet the feeling of self-satisfaction from a job well done on daily or weekly tasks seems hollow sometimes. The special projects stick a while, but it’s hard to get excited over a well-cleaned toilet.

Perhaps the best encouragement for the effort comes from God’s “attaboy” through His Word: “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” — Matthew 25:21 (KJV)

So stop fretting the little things. Just do them, move on, and find the tasks that excite and uplift your soul. The sooner these are finished, the more time you can spend doing those.

Read more of Randall’s writing in his books found in our store.