I believe this is the greatest thought I have ever had and ever will.
My greatest thought
Hearing from God
God is so awesome
Wow, after posting this blog….I find this in my facebook group posted 7 hrs ago. God is good!
So I am still thinking about Abide and Optimize. I was up early this morning with lots of thoughts rolling around in my head. I like the concept of Head, Heart and Hands. Thoughts come in, they are analyzed for validity and congruence. The good ones are filtered to the heart to see if they resonate, of virtue and feel right. Thought experiments are made. Then the refined are sent to hands for execution. To work them out in reality. The ones not ready for timing’s sake are logged and pondered.
Then I began my morning devotional time and bam!
Keep it coming Lord. Like drinking from a firehouse or a gushing rock in the desert.
One Word
As we are approaching the New Year, one thing that can really help focus on goal achievement and becoming the person you choose to be is thinking about ONE WORD for ONE YEAR.
When you claim a word and really THINK upon it. Write its definition down and keep in front of it. Own it! It really gets engrained.
What will yours be?
I hope you pick one or add one and make it YOURS!
For me personally:
I started doing the One Word thing two years ago
in 2019 it was BELIEVE
in 2020 it was PERCEPTION
for 2021 this year, I am expanding and going with two,
One for my outer man:
OPTIMIZE – (making the most of my Time, Talent and Treasure)
- “Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.” Ephesians 5:16 NIV
- “Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.”Colossians 4:5 NIV
- Let’s go!
And one for my inner man:
ABIDE – (Resting and Trusting in God)
- “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5 NKJV
- Let God~
21 TIPS for 2021
21 Tips for 2021
To have a PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!
- Think Optimistically. Be positive and solution Minded. You can listen to doubters and downers. You can choose to believe that success is for someone else or you can think better now.
- Take regular “Fresh Walks.” Take power walks. Breath big and deeply. Clear your mind like clearing your computer cache. It helps create fertile and renewed mind along with a healthy habit.
- Eat more fresh foods that grow on trees and plants and less foods manufactured in plants. Bright and deep colors are usually best. Buy more food around the perimeter of the grocery store.
- Lead yourself toward your goals. Learn from the past, plan for the future but live in the present. Focus on written SMARTER goals based on YOUR circle of life.
- Avoid ‘slinking thinking‘ as Zig Ziglar talked about. And has Gandhi said, “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” You can control your attitude.
- Be a great team member. When you help your team improve, you improve. A rising tide lifts all ships.
- Don’t chase riches. Decide every day, hour and minute to give your best. Nothing more or less. Build meaningful relationships and success will find you.
- Get sufficient sleep. You can’t replace sleep. Record your sleep if that might help (watch apps work great) and do what you need to get good sleep.
- Don’t waste your precious time and energy on gossip. Learn from past mistakes, have a short memory and move on.
- Serve well. You don’t have to be great to serve but you have to serve to be great. Givers gain. Look for opportunities improve every situation and make a positive difference. People remember how made them feel not more than what you did. Work unto others. Work onto your Creator.
- Live on Purpose. Know your Why. We don’t get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget why we do it. What’s without Whys are Buts. Check this post on Purpose.
- Be Quick but not in a hurry as the legend John Wooden coined. Speed usually wins. People value fast. Yet sometimes it is best to wait. Sometime we need to be perseverant and patient. There’s no such thing as an overnight success. Anything worthwhile takes time to build. Wooden’s Pyramid is a vast study in itself.
- Trust that there is a Silver Lining behind every dark cloud.
- Implement the No Complaining Rule. No complaints without accompanying solutions. Don’t let people dump their monkeys on you.
- Read more books than you did in 2020. Re-read, study and apply the best ones. Books are like friends. Here is a link to my ongoing list.
- See the glass half-full vs half-empty. And better yet, see that it can be filled even more. Don’t dread the ‘have to’s’ but embrace the ‘get to’s’. We get to choose our reactions but not the consequences.
- Fail fast! Fail to success. Ready – Fire – Aim. You only fail if you quit and don’t learn failure.
- Smile 🙂 Tell your face and think happy. Count your blessings and let your joy shine. Humor is healthy.
- Make the most – of life. It’s a beautiful mess. Treasure every moment of time. If its painful, embrace the suck in that it can make you a better person.
- Affirm yourself. Read and speak to strong, motivating and powerful words in the present tense. I am…. Here are some of my affirmations.
BONUS for 2021
21. Partner up! Partner with God as your CEO. Involve Him in everything as He wishes to. There is no one greater. It is impossible to out give God. Forget man’s religion and develop a relationship.
I am going to put #1-21 on my calendar to pop-up daily. Share and let me know if you do the same.
I encourage you to explore this free Life Assessment Guide by my friend Mark Winebrenner.
And if you have a solid tip, please share here in the comments.
PONDERING LIFE : PURSUING SUCCESS
Living to glorify God
Out of shadows
The guy who produced this documentary gave his testimony at a church in Indy Sunday night. How he came to the Lord is amazing! He was one of the most successful stunt men in Hollywood but gave it all up to follow God.
Before that, he was living the American Dream. Lucrative career, beautiful home with pool in Southern California, was friends with the most successful producers, directors and actors in Hollywood. When he visited their houses, he started noticing a lot of occult symbols. It started him on a path which resulted in uncovering the connections between Hollywood and Washington, DC, and to the occult and child trafficking. This is not a Republican or Democrat thing. This is long, but worth the watch. He used his own money to produce this, with some donations. He is not making a profit from this.
From the Bible on Business – There’s room in my Inn
“But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’
So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.””
Luke 10:29-37 NKJV
When Jesus asks the question, “which of the three had mercy on the man?” we logically assume He is referring to the Priest, Levite, or Samaritan. But there is one other character often overlooked in this story – the innkeeper, a Jewish businessman running a hotel on the Jericho Road.
It’s easy to miss that the innkeeper made a decision to care for the injured man and engage with the Samaritan in a way that clearly was not good business. Jews hated Samaritans. They considered them “half breeds.” If people learned of what the innkeeper did, he’d develop a reputation that he and his inn welcomed “those hated people.” Certainly, his business would have gone down the drain.
And yet something motivated him to use his business as a platform for mercy and justice. There was no indication that he resisted; rather, he welcomed them. This time we see an innkeeper had room in his inn!
How can you use your work as a platform for justice?
David Spickard is the CEO of Jobs for Life based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Connect with David on Twitter at @davidbspickard.
My quick take: This is so true. I had never thought of the Innkeeper being part of this story. The Good Samaritan was so kind but so was the Innkeeper. He could have easily said, “There is NO ROOM” or “This isn’t a hospital”.
As a business owner or worker, we have plenty of opportunities to live out our faith; to be generous and compassionate while maintaining our focus. We aren’t a charity but that doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t be charitable as the Spirit leads and makes available.
Winners, Losers and Ignorant
Big wicked mouths
Rights and Responsibilities
Ponder this: Jeremiah 7:28
Ponder this: Jeremiah 7:28
“So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the Lord their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.”
I prefer not to come off negative but is this not the path a large portion of our nation is on today?
The ‘Reality of Truth’ must triumph over ignorance but too many people are willfully choosing self over God; those looking backwards and down. I sense this quite prevelantly more and more
This passage was originally directed to the people of Judah. Unfortunately (for the hating disobedient stiffnecked amongst us it affects everyone), it is applicable today for we remain under Heaven ruled by the same God.
So then what?
Shall we continue to backslide or be bold?
Shall we hide or speak truth?
Shall we ingore or share love?
May God empower us to ‘boldly live and speak truth while we love God and share our love’.
If you find yourself going backwards down the dead end stinky street of life, simply call out to God for help and read the Bible as your life depends upon it BECAUSE IT DOES.
From the Bible on Business – Glorifying God in the Marketplace
Glorifying God in the Marketplace
While working as an entrepreneur (and among other entrepreneurs), I’ve noticed being ambitious and goal-oriented for the sake of producing great results in the marketplace can sometimes hinder us from honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ in the process. My hope is to further equip you for success, through the strategic application of the following two points:
- As a leader, you must trust God more than yourself. I’m constantly surprised by how easily we can trust in ourselves rather than trusting in the Great I Am. As Christians, we must depend on His leadership and be flexible to what He desires instead of pursuing what we want (or think is best). By yielding our agenda to His Lordship, we are guaranteed success: “Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.”
- As a leader, being open to correction is imperative. You cannot be a one-person show and call all the shots, expecting everyone else to uniformly fall in line without providing you with their own input. Here are two ways to mature in this area: 1) Pray for a heart of humility and a desire to grow; and 2) intentionally surround yourself with wise advisors.
You must have a team of smart, God-fearing people to guide you in His direction. Why? Because not every idea is the right one at the right time. Your ideas may need to be modified, postponed, or dropped entirely in order to fit the needs of your mission: “The words of the wise are like cattle prods–painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.”
Christy Becker is the founder of His Daily Dose, a blog community offering daily inspiration from God’s Word.
My take: As a business owner, I couldn’t agree more with the nuggets of wisdom she shared: Trust in God more and truly seek and act upon team power.
The days of week without God
WITHOUT GOD… our week would be:
Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday, Fightday, Shatterday.
Seven days without God – Makes one Weak!
MLK Jr
Let’s not judge by the color of their skin, but by their actions and character. Let’s see individuals not group of colors.
Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day!
