You can never really live anyone else’s life, not even your child’s. The influence you exert is through your own life, and what you’ve become yourself. – Eleanor Roosevelt

By Definition:

Influence in medieval Latin was influentia, meaning ‘inflow’.  Further study gets into defining fluency and its origin. Let’s suffice to say that the word influence describes an effectual capacity or power on/over something or someone.

Before trying to define it I just thought of influence as either positive or negative. Because it is something that flows back and forth, we must be prudent in how we influence others and how we let others influence us.

Asking For Directions

If we get off track, it is imperative that we stop, check our course and get our bearings.  Not only can we spare ourselves forty years of wandering but we can also spare those that we influence.  Solution 1: Ask God for directions

Giving Good Directions

Literally speaking, direct others along the same route you would soberly and conscientiously map out for yourself.  It is easy to forget how the direction we are headed and the vehicle we use to get there, can profoundly impact others. Solution 2: Ask God for directions

“Success is always dangerous, and we need to be alert and avoid becoming the victims of our own success. Will we influence the world for Christ, or will the world influence us? ” – Billy Graham

“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.” – Soren Kierkegaard 

“If  people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I’ll bet they’d live a lot differently.”   “It’s surprising how hard we’ll work when the work is done just for ourselves.”  – Bill Watterson

Romans 14:13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this–not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.

Philippians 4:8-9 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.