Thought Design with Mark Mabry

Will Tukuafu is an American football fullback. Will grew up in Salt Lake City with his parents and 15 siblings. After high school, he served a mission in Jamaica for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. When he came back from his mission, he moved to Scottsdale Arizona where he played football for a Junior College. After playing one year at junior college, he moved to Oregon where he played football at the University of Oregon. Will played for the Seattle Seahawks in 2010 and also played for the San Francisco 49ers. Will and his wife Krystal are the parents of three children. You can follow him on Instagram @willtukuafu

Show notes

• Will’s gift is to be charitable, his parents were an example him to be giving [2:30]
• Will and his Dad would cut lawns without people asking. When they didn’t get paid, his dad would say, “This is our Labor of Love” [3:40]
• “When I do show charity, it always comes back ten-fold” [4:20]
• Will has learned from his parents that although they may not have much, whatever they have they give. Give love and it will always come back. [4:40]
• Will always had an attitude of gratitude to be a playing football and being apart of the team [5:35]
• Will had a particular play where he knocked someone out. This guy was a heavy hitter and known for knocking people out. [7:25]
• Mark discusses how being willing to block something that hurts is an act of charity. [10:30]
• Will talks about his family. Will has 15 siblings, not including his first cousins who were taken in by his parents. [11:30]
• Will house growing up was small and cold in the winter as it lacked insulation, but was always full. Although the house was small and simple, it provided warmth to a lot of people in many aspects. [12:20]
• Will talks about his parents being examples of working hard and passing on work ethic to him as he learned to work from a young age. [13:00]
• Outsiders looking in at Will would say that Will’s gift is the willingness to do whatever it takes. [14:05]
• Will entered the NFL a little later than the average NFL player, so he understood from where he started he would have to earn his way and do whatever it takes [14:50]
• Will doesn’t really think about what “haters” have to say about him and tries to focus on the positive. “I am who I am. People have their opinion.” [15:30]
• Mark quotes a reporter that said, “Polynesians players are built for combat, built for football. The warrior spirit is within us, we love contact, we love people... we love the comradery... we are able to do whatever it takes to help our teams win.” [17:10]
• Will attests to the comradery and spirit of Polynesians on and off the field, doing whatever it takes for family and being faith oriented. [18:00]
• As a fullback, his job is to protect the running back regardless of who it is. Will tries to give it everything that he can. [18:40]
• His experience mowing lawns of his friend’s houses when he was younger in order to put food on the table for his family taught him that he needed to do hard things. It grew with him. [19:50]
• “One thing that embodies the culture is love and willingness to do whatever it takes for those you care about.” [20:15]
• When you act upon gifts that you are given by God, you are given opportunities to see more of your gifts and traits come out. [21:00]
• He has seen this in his life as it was unlikely that at 25 he would make an NFL team. [21:15]
• Losing his scholarship at BYU and starting over was a huge part of his journey and taught him to persist even when things seemed dark and hopeless. [21:40]
• When he graduated high school, he signed with BYU but deferred to go on a mission. He served in Jamaica [21:50]
• Will got his associates degree at a junior college in Arizona and got scholarships at division 1 colleges after 1 year. He chose to go to Oregon. [23:00]
• There were many trials he had to overcome, but there was a lot of blessings along the way. [23:21]
• During his mission during a study session, he was reading The Ensign magazine and saw a picture of a girl that he told his companion he would date when he got home from his mission. [24:00]
• When he came home from the mission and was in Arizona he met and started dating Krystal. He eventually realizes she was the girl from The Ensign. [25:00]
• Will has learned that everything has a rhyme and a reason. [26:10]
• When God gives us different obstacles and we do what is right, we are blessed, although it may not be immediate. [26:20]
• Mark asks Will “What is it like to play at a school you are too good to play at?” [27:20]
• Will says that it was a humbling experience. He had to buy cleats at Ross. [27:50]
• Will never had a mindset that he was better than his team, he just focuse...

For Kenzie, her faith is not separate from her yoga practice. In fact, her practice of yoga has strengthened her practice of Christianity. Kenzie talks about how yoga has changed her life and her mentality, and how she finds her place within the yoga community. She talks about dealing with social media in her life and using her platform to empower women. Kenzie is a force for good as she speaks out against pornography and stands firm in her beliefs. Kenzie breaks down stereotypes of what it means to be a yogi, social media influencer, and Christian, as she reconciles between the three.

Kenzie Morley is a self-taught yogi Instagram influencer with over 380,000 Instagram followers. She is strong, flexible, and beautiful. She is a bit of an iconoclast in the world of yoga- she is a Christian, American patriot, wife and mother of three. She uses her large social media platform to take a stance as an anti-pornography advocate and loses followers as she speaks out about these issues. She is humbly impervious to criticism she faces, and her following continues to grow rapidly. You can find her on Instagram @yogoskenz. Also, check out her training program, The Fit Yogi Trainer https://www.yogoskenz.com/product-page/the-fit-yogi-trainer

Show notes

• Kenzie’s perception of yoga culture then and now. [3:54]
• Kenzie explains a “yoga challenge.” [4:33]
• What attracted Kenzie to yoga culture and similarities between yoga and her faith. [5:24]
• For Kenzie, yoga is a “solid relationship between the mind-body and the spirit.” Kenz talks about limbs of yoga. [6:24]
• Kenzie discusses how yoga changed her life and mentality, and discusses yoga’s empowering community. [8:44]
• Kenzie discusses being a mom in the yoga community. [10:53 ]
• Kenzie discusses her gift of teaching. [12:10]
• What others say Kenzie’s gift is, and what her critics say. [15:40]
• Kenzie talks about her patriotism and where it stems from. [17:58]
• Kenzie loses followers for posting religious, antipornography, and patriotism content. [19:10]
• How yoga has helped her faith and helped her to self-assess. The Holy Ghost speaks truth to your intuition. [20:00]
• If it is good, it comes from God. If you are confused, it is not from God. [22:20]
• Mark talks about feeling the spirit and makes faith-based decisions. [23:00]
• Kenzie talks about how she feels and makes faith-based decisions. [24:30]
• As a person with a big following, where much is given, much is required. [25:30]
• Be a voice for good, a voice of God and God’s will for you will be done. [27:00]
• Receiving inspiration for and supporting victims of pornography through her social media platform. [27:30]
• Creating a support page for women whose relationships have fallen victim to pornography.30:14
• The self-evaluation aspect of yoga has made Kenzie a better Christian. A focus on looking inward instead of at your neighbor. [32:33]
• Asanas in yoga act as openers. The backbend is a heart-opener and makes you reflect on who you are giving love to. [34:24]
• Through yoga, Kenzie has been able to meet people that changed her life. [36:30]
• Only post things you feel good about posting, and what uplifts other girls and women, “I want you to feel good about your body because of what it can do, not because of what it looks like.” [39:40]
• “What I am wearing on my page is reflecting my message: That body image isn't everything.” [41:03]
• Modesty has to do with context, clothing, and the message you want to be perceived. It is where you find peace. [46:30]
• Is what I am wearing, and is what I am doing promoting a modest message? Is the emphasis on being provocative? What are you selling/putting the focus? This is about humility. Stop looking yourself as just a body. [50:10]
• The story of the crossroads: making a deal with the devil to get something that you want. [53:00]
• Kenzie discusses crossroads moments she’s come across with social media. [54:00]
• It’s the little things that matter. When we get busy the little things go, but they make up what matter, like reading scriptures every day. [56:50]
• Mark discusses Christian guilt vs forgiveness and letting things be when we aren’t perfect. [58:50]
• One of the most rewarding things about her Instagram page is her ability to inspire others. [60:10]
• As Kenzie anticipates hard decisions in the future, she decides now what her priorities in life are and how she will respond. [62:50]

Can applied faith help us outperform ourselves? Yes. In Gifted and Lifted, host Mark Mabry interviews world class performers about their relationship with God. You'll hear tactics and strategies for how to perform at a new level through faith.

There was no room in the Inn, so Joseph made a spot for Mary to labor in a cave where the animals were sheltered. It was all the Inn Keeper could offer.

Soon, Jesus was born.

Maybe that night, Mary found the strength to take her baby outside to look at the sky.

“Look buddy... see the stars?”

Woah, she might have thought-looking up- I’ve never noticed THAT one before.

That’s called light, Jesus. See the Light?

“Jesus” she may have whispered again, finally putting that special name to a tiny face lifting Him to nurse for the first time.

“Take... eat... little guy. This will give you life,”

Because Who better than Jesus’ Mom to teach her Son to sucker those that stand in need of sucker.

Watching him eat she might have reached her hand under the blanket, counting 10 little toes, and 5 fingers on the little hand that rested on her chest.

Then looking back at her baby... “You’re perfect.”

Then looking back at the little cave... maybe she saw a strong, but worried, husband trying to keep a cow and three sheep away from the little feed box... the one where they would lay The Baby as soon as he was fed. Did she see him gather fresh straw and use his outer robe for a baby bed.

Joseph, she might have said to herself, feeling a surge of love for the humble man would raise the Son of God.

After eating, did the Baby roll his eyes around... and look back up at Mary, before falling asleep in her arms?

“Joseph”, she might have whispered with the hint of a smile. “He’s asleep.”

Joseph would quickly walk over to help Mary over to put her baby in the manger.

But when he approached, she may have said, “hold him, Joseph.”

Like a first time dad, Joseph’s unsure eyes would meet Mary’s. “He loves you,” she might have said as he apprehensively picked up the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Together they might have laid him in that manger, maybe even a little grateful at this point to be outside, not in the crowded Inn.

After all that’s been said, perhaps the old inn keeper had an inkling that this couple needed to see the heavens tonight.

And just maybe, the heavens needed to see them too.

Sidenote,

Although he passed away ten years ago, I can still hear my Grandpa’s voice every Christmas Eve reading from the King James...

“And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Ceaser Augustus, that all the world should be taxed...”

This year more than ever before different parts of the story are sticking out to me.

Like that the Son of God wasn’t born at home in Nazareth, with family, safety, and a midwife... because of taxes and a census. That’s weird. Cause I’ve requested extensions for much less than childbirth. But the Roman’s were oppressing the Jews, yeah, there was no getting out of paying that money on time.

God’s people spend a lot of their time oppressed... and where the Bible stops our history books fill in the gaps.

Right now though, to me though, there’s mysterious hero.

The Inn Keeper. More specifically, the last Inn Keeper, because surely Joseph didn’t just knock one door and settle for the little cave where the animals were fed.

Looking backwards it might be easy to criticize that Inn Keeper who sent the expectant Mother Of Our Savior and her husband Joseph down the road to sleep with the animals. But for all we know, He was doing exactly what God knew He would do in that spot.

Often what we see as an obstacle to the plan, IS THE PLAN.

(For more on that thought, read some of Marcus Aurelius, who IRONICALLY was a Roman)

I’ll repeat the idea though, because it’s the thought today.

The obstacle to the way, is the way.

Our Father in Heaven, wasn’t opposed to announcing His Son. He told the Shepherds, Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, Wisemen in the East, and prophets for 4000 years in the Old Testament. The prophecies were memorized by those very Jews in Bethlehem!

However, God does seem opposed to telling us exactly how everything is going to go down.

That job loss, the injury, the girl or boy that steals your heart right after you swear off love to focus on your career... or the one breaks it just as you were licking envelopes for the wedding invites. What about the early baby? The bankruptcy. The disease. The divorce. The Unexpected death.

God’s plan doesn’t look like ours in other words, “My ways are not Thy Ways”.

So let’s replay this... you be the Inn Keeper.

You’re sitting in your room and an angel comes. “Greetings Friend’ says the angel, ‘I just wanted to drop by and let you know that The Son of God is currently in His Mother’s tummy riding on top of a donkey with her husband. She’s going to have the baby any day now. They’ll be knocking at your door i...

Welcome to another episode of "Thought Design." Today, we are honored to have Dr. Dennis Deaton as our guest. Dr. Deaton is a distinguished thought leader in the realm of personal development and mindset transformation. With over three decades of experience, he has dedicated his life to helping individuals and organizations unlock their full potential through the power of intentional thinking.

Dr. Deaton co-founded Quma Learning Systems, where he developed groundbreaking programs on mind management and personal leadership. His innovative approach has been instrumental in shaping the lives of thousands, guiding them toward greater productivity, resilience, and overall well-being. As an author, his acclaimed works, including "Ownership Spirit: The One Grand Key that Changes Everything Else," have resonated deeply with readers, offering practical insights into mastering one's mindset.

In addition to his written contributions, Dr. Deaton is a sought-after speaker, captivating audiences with his profound wisdom and engaging delivery. His expertise spans various fields, from corporate training to educational seminars, making a significant impact across diverse platforms.

Join us as we delve into Dr. Deaton's remarkable journey, exploring his philosophies and uncovering valuable strategies to enhance our thinking and transform our lives. In this episode, we'll pay special attention to his most recent book, "Looking Unto Christ in Every Thought," and discuss its profound insights. You can find more about Dr. Deaton and his work at www.quma.net. Welcome, Dr. Dennis Deaton, to "Thought Design."