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Excerpts from “The Right Fight: How to Live a Loving Life” by John Kennedy Vaughan“Our love or our selfishness has its greatest impact upon our children. There is no one we have more influence over than our own children. From birth, they hang on every word we say. I don’t think we normally think about this. We are busy and have so much on our minds that we do what feels right at any one time without realizing how deep our kindness or rudeness can touch our children.“One time, I had decided to r …

Excerpts from “The Right Fight: How to Live a Loving Life” by John Kennedy Vaughan“I’ve observed that before people will follow you, they will need to believe three things about you.“First, they need to believe that you have some knowledge of where you are going. Second, they need to know you won’t sacrifice them for the mission. Finally, they need to believe you won’t sacrifice them for yourself. Note that I am not talking about a boss.“The boss is the opposite of a leader. A boss drives peopl …

Excerpts from “The Right Fight: How to Live a Loving Life” by John Kennedy Vaughan“I have heard it said that winners never quit and quitters never win, but so many winners have quit so many times along the way.“The greatest memories in any victory are the times we got back up after quitting. In my fifteen-year journey chasing my dream [of a national water-ski jump championship], the moment it came true may have been the best moment in the journey, but it was only a moment.“The journey was where …

Excerpts from “The Right Fight: How to Live a Loving Life” by John Kennedy Vaughan1 Corinthians13 tells us: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.“It is easy to be patient when we feel patient, but what do we do when we don’t feel patient? When we are stuck in a line or trying to explain somethin …

Excerpts from “The Right Fight: How to Live a Loving Life” by John Kennedy Vaughan“The first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Those are the concepts discussed in my book, ‘The Right Fight’”.“What you do does not matter so much as why you do it—whether your actions stem from a loving desire to put God and the people around you before yourself or from a fearful distrust that love will protect you and a selfish desire to win first.“Focusing on the fruit or the blessings in your life wi …

Excerpts from “The Right Fight: How to Live a Loving Life” by John Kennedy Vaughan“So often we think we are loving others by protecting them from truths that would help them become a better person because we don’t want to see them hurt. This is the reason people tell ‘white lies’ or withhold the constructive truth.“But because we know love is always truthful, we can also know that this is never really the loving thing to do, and such ‘protection’ is not consistent with what real love is.“Protec …

     Often, I see people dogmatically argue insignificant "religious" issues, and sadly I have done it as well. Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others.” If every believer lived by that rule, arguing would virtually disappear.      The term Christian has been badly misused in recent years. Anyone …

What is Fear?What is Fear's Purpose?What is Love?What is Love's Purpose?Fear is a feeling whose purpose is to alert us to potential danger. It's purpose is absolutely not to lead or motivate us! Fearful leaders lead people by fear. Even though fear can motivate, where it motivates, it also destroys. Fear destroys the person following it, while it uses them to hurt everyone around them. If we allow fear to lead our lives, we will do what is best for ourself without regard for others. W …

Reflecting back over my life, I know that “winning the Nationals was huge for me, but being able to be my best in the worst circumstances of my career and having the heart of a champion instead of a heart filled with fear was the most life-changing thing of all.“It blew my mind that after years of fighting to overcome my fear, doing everything I could to defeat it, giving up led to my freedom from fear—not giving up fighting but giving up fighting fear. Getting in the right fight.“For years, I s …

Why did God command Joshua, "to be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged."Answer: Because he was afraid and discouraged. God sent Moses into Egypt to end 400 years of slavery and to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the promised land of Canaan, modern day Israel. After a 40-year journey, the Israelites were finally prepared to enter Canaan. Just days prior to entering Canaan, Joshua replaced Moses as the leader of Israel. To settle the land in peace, the …