Guest Post: The 3 Things That Matter Most by Michael King

I am so excited to share a guest post from a fantastic author, Michael King, with you. Enjoy!

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The 3 Things That Matter Most

Michael King

I used to be pretty high-strung. Used to be.

Four years ago I went through cancer. That tends to change the way you view the world, the way you view yourself and your place in the world, and the way you view God and His place in your life.

It changes your perspective, your values. It’s one of those before and after events. Everything is now “before cancer” or “after cancer.”

One of the things my battle did for me was cause me to evaluate the difference between those things in life that seem like they matter and the things that really do matter. As a result, I discovered there was a lot of worry, strife, anger, frustration, and discouragement that didn’t need to be there. I’d gotten caught up too many times in those things that seemed like they mattered.

And life was too short for that.

I’ve boiled everything down to three areas that are most important to me, the things that matter the most. If something doesn’t fit into one of these categories it’s probably not worth losing sleep over.

Here they are:

1. My faith. My walk with God is the most important thing because if that isn’t right nothing else will be. Trust me, I know that from personal experience and lots of it.
2. My family. When the world is falling down around me, when I’m despised, rejected, when I feel like a total failure, when I mess up royally, I know my family will always be there to welcome me and love me. If it has to do with my family, it matters.
3. My integrity. It’s who I am. Really. It affects how I do my job(s), how I treat others, how I respond to the garbage the world throws at me. My motives and how I flesh those motives out. How others perceive me. I’ve made it a goal to pray every morning, “Lord, today, keep me from evil.” Not necessarily keep evil from reaching me, but keep me from doing evil.

So that’s it. The big three. Now, I fully understand that just because I post these here doesn’t mean I’m faithful to these three all the time. No way. I lose my way often. But this short list is my north star bringing me back to sanity and that place of perspective and focus.

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About Michael King

In March of 2008, at the age of 35, Michael King was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer. He fought that monster and by the grace of God won. Now he’s written A Thousand Sleepless Nights, a story about a woman fighting that same battle. To continue his fight against colon cancer, Michael has partnered with the Colon Cancer Alliance (www.ccalliance.org) and has agreed to donate a portion of the proceeds of every book sold through the end of 2012 to their mission to eliminate colon cancer completely through education, awareness, and early screenings.

Join him in this fight by purchasing a copy of A Thousand Sleepless Nights. And if you purchase a copy during the week of October 15-20 you’ll receive access to a page of free downloads including an exclusive short story, essays on living and suffering, and Michael’s own 84-page journal containing thoughts and writings during his battle with cancer. For more information go to http://michaelkingbooks.wordpress.com/athousandsleeplessnights/.

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About A Thousand Sleepless Nights

A family torn apart by neglect and hurt…And brought together again by a most unlikely force
In the 1970s, escaping a home where he knew nothing but violence and hate, Jim Harding found work, and love, on the largest horse ranch in Virginia. The object of his affections, Nena St. Claire, is the daughter of the owner—a man who ruled his ranch with an iron fist and would do whatever it took to keep Nena and Jim apart. Against the wishes of her family, Nena marries Jim, and after her father dies, she sacrifices everything—including her family—to keep the ranch alive. Now their three grown children have lives of their own and want nothing to do with Nena. She was never the mother they needed. When cancer strikes and Nena is given a devastating diagnosis, can Jim reconcile the family before it is too late?

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FTC Disclosure: All items reviewed were either obtained by me for my own enjoyment or sent (from the author, publisher, publicist, via tour sites, etc.) in exchange for an honest review. I receive no monetary compensation for my posts. All opinions expressed are my own. Any exceptions to this are clearly noted in the appropriate posts.

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