Nothing makes a person feel more special than when you trust them with a secret! To be included among an exclusive group with knowledge of confidential information forms an immediate feeling of being an “insider.”

Let’s face it, during your childhood the very best thing someone – especially a grown-up – did was include you in their “very hush-hush,” “can’t tell ANYONE,” pinky-swear TOP SECRET! Knowing that you know something almost nobody else knows AND to have someone you care about KNOW you KNOW, was WAY cool.

Now that we’re all adults…or at least pretending to be…we still have a basic human need to be “included” in some sort of group. And, the quickest way to make anyone feel welcome is to share some sort of personal information “off the record.” And, one of the most basic “groups” we have in our society is the family unit!

Although we’re human beings, we still carry many fundamental instincts within us and from the moment we’re born we view our family as “our” pack or herd. We eat together, we live together, we go through hardships together, for better or worse we have a history together and usually, when we die we share those last moments with our family. Your family, warts and all, could be the only single “group” some people belong to from the beginning to end of their entire life.

As you may know, I came from a family life that was the EXACT OPPOSITE of those “fairy tale,” TV and movie suburban “mom baking bread in a pretty apron, dad with a suit and tie carrying a briefcase to the office, kids playing in a white picket fence neighborhood” fantasies! But, they were still MY family and because they were my primary “group” their influence on my self-image and sense of my personal value was very powerful.

And did we share SECRETS in my family! We all certainly know some secrets are made for “keeping” and others DEFINITELY should be shared! I had to learn that lesson the hard way – more than once. My childhood, unfortunately, taught me not all secrets can make someone feel good or special. Those early experiences did a lot to lay some seriously negative groundwork for quite a few of my later choices!

These early “life lessons” helped me learn the benefits of sharing information and how keeping some secrets can cause a lifetime of damage. Now that I’ve matured, I’m committed to having open and honest communication in my family. Even though I discourage keeping secrets, in some situations being included as an insider can sometimes be fun and exciting! Think of helping plan a “top secret” surprise party…or being the ONLY one who knows what’s in that mysterious package that came in the mail.

And, today I’m letting YOU, in on a BIG secret – a GOOD secret — about something very exciting about to happen in my life! As you probably know by now, you are very important to me and I’m extremely blessed to consider you a part of my “group.” While the rest of the world won’t know about this huge development until Monday…as someone special in my life, I’m giving you a heads up about the “when” and “where” of my big announcement! If you can hang on for just ONE MORE DAY, I’m letting the cat out of the bag during my Spiritual Equipping Live on Saturday evening after that day’s First Steps To Success event in Anaheim. If you’re joining me “live” or if you’re one of my treasured Facebook friends or fans, make sure you’re on high alert this Saturday, July 13 and YOU’LL know my big secret, too!

In great faith,

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