Tue, 06 Aug 2024 18:35:51 -0500WeeblySun, 28 Jun 2015 16:32:40 GMThttp://coachkraemer.com/kevin/-on-the-supreme-court-decision-on-gay-marriages There is been a lot written this past week on the recent Supreme Court decision to allow gay marriages, most of the discussions I’ve seen are either celebrating or cursing the decision.  Since I’ve had a number of people asking my thoughts on the decision, I thought I’d blog about it.

So first off, for my fellow Christians, be assured God did not fall off His Throne, He is still King!

This is not the first time we have had a shift in the stream of moral culture, and it probably won’t be the last.  This country was founded on Christian Principles, not everyone was a Christian, but the values and subsequently the laws, had at its root the values of Christianity. 

In the last century we particularly have had significant shifts in the stream of moral culture which have impacted not only the direction of the country, but also impacted individuals.  A quick, non-exhaustive list includes: acceptance of evolution as fact, the sexual revolution, legalizing abortion, no-fault divorce, greediness in the business world, etc.   

The question for us, is how do we respond?  While social activism is part of the foundation of our country as well as Christianity, I won’t address that here, but rather leave it up to the reader on what they believe they are called to do (to be in the world, but not of the world …)

But, I will share my thoughts on how we should respond to all people, including gay individuals.  We just not need to love them with the same love Jesus loves us with, period. His kind of love is shown by action - “But God demonstrated His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8

God has always moved in one heart at a time. If we want to see a shift in the social culture, it will happen when hearts continue to be changed.  I recently saw a great quote by Billy Graham, “It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge and my job to love.”

The Apostle Paul (who wrote over half of the inspired New Testament), “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6b

Allow me to say that again, of all the great things Paul (and others) wrote about, all the doctrine, all the theology, the second coming of Christ, etc … it all points to, boils down to, this one thing (not these 3 things, this one thing), “faith expressing itself through love.”

Let me offer this challenge to Christians, what if in these coming days, the only complaint people had against how Christians responded was, they love too much!

]]>Fri, 02 Jan 2015 13:14:06 GMThttp://coachkraemer.com/kevin/on-new-years-resolutions1 Well, it’s January 2nd, and my guess is there are some who already have missed on their New Year’s resolution! 

It’s my experience that most people don’t achieve their resolution because of a number of factors.

1). Resolutions aren’t realistic (if you want to start exercising, it’s probably unrealistic to start going to the gym everyday  for 2 hours to start with – maybe plan to go 1 or 2 times a week and then progressively increase).

2). Resolutions aren’t planned (You must be intentional, you need to develop the steps you need to accomplish it, and then put those steps on a calendar).

3). Resolutions aren’t held accountable (You need someone in your life that can hold you accountable to your progress).

I think doing an annual “check up” is part of healthy, productive living.  I spend a couple of weeks each year reviewing what I did and didn’t accomplish in the previous year, and then plan for this upcoming year.

I first develop a strategy (a couple of big ideas) for each area of my life (Emotional, Intellectual, Physical, Spiritual, Social, and Vocational/Financial).  Once I have 1 or 2 big ideas for each area, I next develop 3-5 goals that I need to do to achieve that big idea.  The next part is where I think most people fall down; I list the steps that I need to do in order to accomplish each goal, including a start and end date for each step.  Finally I share my plan with my accountability partner (you should meet monthly with this person and review how you are doing on your plan).

I believe if you follow these steps you will have the most successful year you have ever had!

Here at Coach Kraemer, we are dedicated to assisting people in living healthy, balanced, purposeful and productive lives.  We have the tools to help you accomplish whatever you desire!

]]>Mon, 10 Feb 2014 20:35:35 GMThttp://coachkraemer.com/kevin/drudging-through-the-snow I don’t know how many of you are ready for Spring, but I sure have had my fill of Winter!  As I was driving through the sludge and slush from the most recent snow storm and recognizing it was slowing me down, I was reflecting on how this can apply to our lives. 

We all have had seasons when we experienced sludge and slush in our lives, and the effect is it slows us down.  It can exhausts us mentally, emotionally, physically and even spiritually.  When you find you are stuck or something in life has slowed you down, what do you do to help move yourself through it.

For me, I can think of three things which help me.

1)      Friends - the support of friends can be a big source of encouragement.  When I open up and become vulnerable to some safe friends, and I see them nodding in affirmation, speaking words of encouragement, my spirit is uplifted.

2)      Reflection – Spending time reflecting on how I got to where I am, what has influenced that, have there been people I have hurt, or who have hurt me.  For me, journaling is a great source of gathering my thoughts and feelings.  Writing them down seems to help me process through them and usually by the time I finish, I become more hopeful of the future.

3)      Volunteering – When I become active, it helps me move from myself to others.  When I reach out to help others, it takes the emphasis off of me and I feel better about myself as a result.  I still need to work through the sludge and the slush, but in the process of doing that, I found volunteering seems to help.

So no matter how deep the sludge and the slush in your life is, by practicing these three things, it will help you move through it.  Also remember each person moves through struggles at a different pace. 

]]>Wed, 01 Jan 2014 14:15:19 GMThttp://coachkraemer.com/kevin/on-new-years-resolutions It’s that time of the year when people begin the process of planning to change some part of their life.  Unfortunately, for most people this is the only time during the year when they reflectively look at their life and think about changes they would like to make.  Almost 50% of Americans will make a resolution this year, and 25% will not make it past the first week, and only 8% will achieve their resolution!

Some of the reasons why people fail to achieve their resolutions are:

·         Resolutions are based emotions and not well thought out

·         Resolutions are not specific enough

·         Lack of planning on how to achieve the resolution

·         Lack of accountability to maintain the resolution

Now is a great opportunity to see how the coaches at coachkraemer.com can help you achieve your resolution.  Everyone we coach fills out a Balanced Life Planning Document which helps determine the priorities and goals in each area of your life.  Follow up sessions keep you accountable to your goals. 

Make this the year you achieve more in your life than you ever thought possible!

Email me at kevin@coachkraemer.com or call me at 262-542-4400 – let’s get started!

]]>Sun, 29 Sep 2013 13:15:56 GMThttp://coachkraemer.com/kevin/bye-week-for-green-bay-packer-nationWith a bye week, the Green Bay Packers have a chance to recuperate and heal from a number of injuries to some of their key players. A few of the guys I meet with each week were talking about not only the number of injuries but also the type of injuries - there seem to be quite a few non-contact injuries (hamstrings, etc), which led to the discussion of the conditioning and training the players are receiving.

We have the same issue in life - we all need conditioning and training for life's "game days."  How many of us really take a thoughtful, structured approach to training for life?  How often do we take an honest assessment of the areas where we are "weak", and then develop a plan to strengthen those areas?  This is fundamental to why I started Coach Kraemer; if we are honest, we all need areas of our lives where we could use some coaching and training.

The second observation I had was how we all need time to recuperate, and how hard it seems to be able to do that.  Most of are achievement oriented; part of that is because God created us to be productive, and part of it is the culture we live in.  As Stephen Covey observes in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - too many of us spend our time on what is "urgent", and not what is "important."  We spend our time on what is currently in front of us, and don't spend time cultivating the real important areas in our lives.  At Coach Kraemer we work with you to develop a plan on how to focus on what is important.

Today, take some time to rest, God did, you may as well too! 

How will you recuperate and re-energize your emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual dimensions?
]]>Sun, 08 Sep 2013 13:09:25 GMThttp://coachkraemer.com/kevin/2013-football-opening-weekendIt's finally here!  For so many of us we have been waiting for this weekend since the day after last year's Superbowl ...

One of the things to watch for is how well the individuals and teams have been preparing for this weekend.  How did they spend their off-season, how well did they train, what did they learn from practicing and the pre-season games?

Our lives are like that sometimes - we have chances to train (develop) and sometimes "practice" before we start the season of our life (when we are out on our own). But, just like football training, we need to make sure we are developing each dimension of our life in a balanced way.  Imagine an offensive lineman who only trained on developing his upper body, neglecting his lower body - when it came to having to use his legs to drive a defensive lineman back on a run play, he wouldn't be adequately equipped to perform as needed.  In life, unless we train those areas of our life (Emotional, Intellectual, Physical and Spiritual) in a balanced way, we too will not be able to perform as needed.  At Coach Kraemer, we offer a structured approach to equip you with a plan to train in those areas which aren't as well developed.

The other thing to watch for is how well a backup player performs if a starter gets injured.  Are they able to step up and perform at the level necessary to win?  You will see the position coach giving real time coaching to that player, making adjustments as necessary, giving them some "game-time" coaching.  Sometimes in life, we are thrown into the "game" before we are ready, and we need some real time coaching.  At Coach Kraemer we are here to assist you during those times when you feel inadequate to perform in the game of life.  We will come along side you and coach and train to equip you as needed.

So as another season of football gets underway, let's also consider in what areas we need training in for this season of our lives.
]]>Mon, 02 Sep 2013 13:43:27 GMThttp://coachkraemer.com/kevin/how-is-your-ax"A dull ax requires great strength; be wise and sharpen the blade."

I think we all have areas in our lives which could use some "sharpening".  We were created to live life in balance, in what area do you need your "ax" sharpened?  Is it in the physical, intellectual, emotional or spiritual?

Imagine how much extra resource (energy, time, money, etc.) we have to use if areas of our life are not as sharp as they could be.

We also need a few people in our lives which will not only support and encourage us, but also challenge us - who are those in your life?  Too often the "dull" part of our lives become normal and routine, we get used to the dullness - sometimes we need others to see things we cannot.
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