The Spirit of the Lord came over me strong one day, brought me to tears, and impressed on me a deep gratitude for all the people who have spoken into my life. The following is what came out.

We stand on your shoulders

I’m crying writing this. Literally.

This academy is dedicated to all the mentors who have spoken into my life. To the men and women who have taken the time and energy to breath life into me, and who taught me the way. And not only me but my friends as well. You have forever changed our lives and we are eternally grateful! The lessons in this academy I learned from you, and they have completely changed my life for the better. I would not be where or who I am today without you. None of us would be. We stand on your shoulders.

And to our students/members, I hope with all of my heart that this training is as valuable to you as it has been to me. I pray that you get it. I pray that you let it deep into your soul. And I pray that you someday will turn and pass it along to your own children, students, & teams. You’re made to know God and to change the world. And this is how you do it. Let’s do this!

To my beautiful wife Jessica and our amazing kids 🙂 . Thank you so much for your love and sacrifice. Your support, commitment, endurance and faithfulness. I ran those hills for you & you ran them for me. You add so much beauty and meaning and joy to my life. My biggest goal in life is to love and serve you well & to guide you closer to God as I go closer myself. I love you so much.

And to Jesus My God. More than words Lord. Your love. Your salvation. Your grace and forgiveness and joy over me. Your guidance and involvement in my life. You’re infinite and incredible. And I’m so grateful for all that you are. More than I’ll ever know. I live to know & worship you.

The Specifics:

My Mom & Dad & sister, you’ve taught me more than you know. Joseph Harker. Steve Collins. Angela Pace. Andi Stubblefield. John Punch. You guys started it all. Thank you for laying a foundation of teaching me how to know God. You mean the world to me. Christopher Beard. You changed my life and so many others. You will never know the impact you have had. I hope you know how thankful I am. The rest of the 247 Staff. Thank you for your investment. So incredible. All the students that I had the privilege of going through all that with. I hope you learned as much from me as I learned from you. People go a lifetime and never find what we had together. Thanks for everything. All my LiFE peeps. I love you. You are destined for greatness. Keep pressing in. You’re gonna change the world. Brian Harrison. You are my spiritual Father. You taught me intimacy with God. And how to love and lead your family. I love you forever. Darlene Washburn. You know and walk with Jesus on a level most people don’t. I want my mansion next to yours :). And Eric & Angela Daniel & the Hillside staff. Thank you for your incredible hearts for Jesus and people. Thank you for your investment in our lives and for your deep friendship.

And to whoever is reading this, if you’ve never written out a thank you page like this to all the people who have made you who you are, you definitely should. A leader stands on other people’s shoulders. It’s good to remember them. It’s good to thank them. But get ready to cry. 🙂