Friday Follow-up 2011-04-29

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Do The Work

The second book from Seth Godin’s Domino Project is out.  Do the Work By Steve Pressfield is for all you work from home, I want to build a blog and make money types who can’t seem to sit down and do the work. (ME)

From the About Section,

This book is designed to coach you through a project (a book, a ballet, a new business venture, a philanthropic enterprise) from conception to finished product, seeing it from the point of view of Resistance.

We have all been there.  The day needs to start, but the desk is so far away, and the couch is so comfortable.  Rachel Ray is coming on after the morning news, or there is something I really want to see on Discovery or ESPN.  This book is going to help those of us who suffer from the can’t get started syndrome a real kick in the pants.

For Instance,

Where butts need to be kicked, we shall kick them. Where kinder, gentler methods are called for, we’ll get out the kid gloves.

I probably need this book more than anyone, that is why I am writing this post.  I am also reading the book and hating it.  Get a copy, it’s not long so you can read it in a day then refer back as needed.

You can read the synopsis on the Domino Projects blog

Oh I forgot the best part.

The Best part is that the book is free so you can pick it up here Do the Work

I Would Be Happy, If I Just Had…

I was reading through Success Magazine January 2011 issue and saw this quote,

Want to be happy?  Earn “enough.”

That “enough” is apparently $75,000 a year.  The study was done by a Princeton University and it says that people who earn that amount are more satisfied than those who earn less.  But earning more does not make you more satisfied.

Here’s the funny thing that no one ever tells you.  You can never get enough stuff.  It doesn’t matter if you are $1,000,000 a year you’re going to want more.  We have to learn to be satisfied no matter how much money we make.  If you’re above ground then you should be happy, Stuff isn’t going to make you happy.

Jesus said not to put our trust in worldly possessions and to store our treasures where moth and rust can’t destroy. Then again most pastors on TV are telling people who Jesus wants everyone to be rich so I guess His message gets drowned out.

I wish I could tell you I didn’t suffer from the stuff syndrome but I do.  I am human, and fallen, so I suffer from it all.  Maybe this is just the sad me crying out for help because I have tried to win two different iPads with no success. What ever it is, I know that there is a God that loves you and your self-worth should be derived from Him, and not the money you make or the things you have.

As Iron Sharpens Iron

I wrote last week about living in a Relentlessly Loving Community and how that community was involved in each other’s lives.  No one gets left out and no one gets left behind the calls we are involved in the lives of those in our community.

In Proverbs 27:17 the writer tells us that, “As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another.” (NIV)  The Contemporary English Version (CEV) says, “Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other.”

I had been a Christian for less than two years when I first experienced iron sharpening iron.  The pastor of our small church gave me a set of John Maxwell tapes.  He told me he thought I had a gift as a leader and those tapes would help me grow.  I wore those tapes out. I figured out how to hook a tape player to my computer and I recorded them all and turned them into mp3s.  I still go back and listen to several of them each year.

When we live in community with people we’re put there is helpers.  As we grow in our walk with Christ we should be helping those around us grow as well.  If we’re constantly grating on others because we think everyone should think like we do we’re not being helpful. If we are challenging others to grow out of love we will grow as well as Christ in us.

Take time to look around your community of believers.  Are there young Christian who need discipleship?   Are there people who just need a friend?  Go be the iron to those people this week.

Take a look at yourself.  What do you need? Are there older Christians you can learn from?  Are there Christians around your age that you can gather with any help each other?  Think about hat you can get involved in your community of believers and do it.

Pride Comes Before A Fall

Pride comes before a fall but having a Godly self-image can stop the fall.

I work with people all the time that believe they are the reason their company or church is in existence.  I find that funny since most of their companies and church existed long before they came to them.

Self confidence is a touchy subject.  It is touchy because it can lead to pride which is defined as:

a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.

Pride is over self-confidence.

When we have a healthy Godly self-image it is hard to become prideful.  We understand that we are good at what we do because God has gifted us that way.  We also understand that there are other people who can do our job.  We know that God make people great, not what they do.

Pride Can Limit Our Choices

This may be because we think we are to good for a certain job.  It may also be because to many people have seen us act inappropriately because of our pride.  When we think we are to good for something many time we treat others poorly.  I know a man who uses the word “stupid” when he refers to people who don’t agree with him. He believes it will make him look smarter if he tears someone else down. When I asked him why he thought someone was stupid he just said, “Because they are.”  I don’t know if he thinks I’m stupid, but I know I won’t want to work with him on a project.

Pride Can Limit God

It can cause us to believe we don’t need help from God or anyone.  We lose out on what He really wants for us.  If we don’t see our it for what it is we can lose our contact with Him and begin living a life filled with other sins.

So if pride comes before a fall, the next time you think you are the be all end all, try walking on water. Then get back to doing what you are good at.

What in your life are you becoming prideful about?  How can you stop?

My Easter Story

14 Easters ago I came to a church because I knew where it was.  I had been meeting a friend there to go to Jacksonville lizard Kings hockey games so I knew the location.

I had left church at 16 or 17 and had no need for Jesus or God.  I lived the life I wanted too and did what I thought was the best things for me.  But I always had a small voice inside that told me I was doing something wrong.  I wanted to be like my big brother, I wanted to be an intellectual, and every body knows intellectuals don’t like God, because there is no proof He exists.

When I had been in boot camp I was the Religious Petty Officer.  I was in charge of getting the company to church every Sunday where I would sit and hold back tears because I knew I was doing wrong in God’s eyes.  I relented my charge as RPO  in a blaze of curse words and challenges to fight.  Look, I wasn’t stupid, I knew I was giving up perks that I got for being part of the leadership in the company.

After boot camp the sense of calling seemed to settle down.  I went my own way and God seemed to go the other.  I finished my tour in the Navy, got married, and lived my life.  My brother and I would make fun of Christians and just about anyone else we presumed was religious.  We would think up questions we would ask Christians to make them look stupid.  I never got to  ask any a question, I guess I forgot when I was around Christians and not my brother.  Life was good and so was I, at least I thought I was.

Like I said when I started, this is my 14th Easter as a Christian. The week leading up to my first Easter was spent at the Putnam County Fair.  I wasn’t a carney, I wish I had been at sometime because I imagine it would be a really cool life.  I was just selling air purifiers.   Yes, I was selling air purifiers at a county fair.  No, it wasn’t a profitable venture money wise, but it was for the rest of my life.

My booth was set up across from two guys selling belt buckles and a man selling burial plots for a local funeral home. He was actually a Baptist minister and he was selling burial plots to make some extra cash.  I Never suspected what he was doing all week.  He talked to me, and bought me a couple of Cokes, but he never mentioned Jesus until Saturday.  About an hour before the fair closed he took me out, bought me a corn dog and a coke and shared the gospel with me.  I was amazed and over whelmed.  I left the fair that night and repented of my sins.  I was so over whelmed I had o stop my truck three times to collect myself before I could drive again.

The next morning was Easter, and no one bothered to tell me.  I showed up at the church looking for my friend Darryl in a t-shirt and shorts.  Everyone was dressed in suits and ties, so I stuck out just a little.  I made up for it the next Sunday by coming in a suit and tie and everyone else was wearing normal clothes, so they felt out-of-place.

This is the story of the beginning of my walk with Christ.  I don’t pretend that it is over or even close, I know I still have a lot to learn.  But I wanted to share my Easter story so others could read it.

A Home School Math Program For Everyone

Home school math is not easy for everyone.  I found Khan Academy few months ago and it just blew me away.  The simplicity of the site and the level of training offered is top-notch.  To top it all off, it’s free.  Yes, a free math program you can use at home that isn’t just addition and subtraction.  Khan academy has every level of math from basic addition to calculus, linear equations, and finance.

For Christian Creationists, it is not the place to get your biology or ecology if you want to teach biblical creation.  If you don’t care about evolution being taught, then Khan academy also offers biology and other subjects. Don’t let the creation issue stop you from using this great math program for your home schooler.

 

Take Time to Listen To Your Team

Being a leader means being out in front, casting vision, and setting goals for the team.  One of the best ways I have seen to help a leader gain capital with his or her people is to listen to them.  I recently read on Ron Edmondson’s blog where he asked his staff to evaluate him, The Team Evaluates the Leader 2011

When I first read this it blew me away that a pastor would give his team a chance to grade him in his work.  The next thing that struck me was that he asked them to Name His Weaknesses and Do You See My Role Changing.

This got me thinking about a few things.

  • What do I need to hear? I assume there are people who need to tell me something but don’t feel comfortable doing so.
  • Am I willing to hear it? What sin is in my life that will prevent me from hearing what others are saying.
  • What other areas do I lead in? I am a leader in more places than church. Home, sports teams, businesses and more.
  • Who needs to evaluate me? Not everyone needs to be in on the process.

Are you willing to listen to others evaluate your leadership?   Do you think evaluation is necessary to grow?
Image used under cc2.0 license from flickr user banlon1964

Friday Follow-up 2011-04-15

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A Relentlessly Loving Christian Community

Do You Have What It Takes To Love Relentlessly?

We live in an individualistic world where we work, live, and pray next to people we don’t know.  We are separated by cubicles and garage doors.  We hurry to get in to and out of our homes so we don’t have to say, “Hi!” to our crazy neighbor.

Our churches have become much the same.  Many of us come in late and leave early so we don’t have to say, “Hi!” to anyone who may see us.  We sit beside people we may or may not know, we sing and praise Jesus with as much fervor as we can muster, and still we know no one.  Don’t forget we all attend a small group so we can participate in the community.  But how much do we really participate in the lives of the people in our small group.

Jenna and her boyfriend aren’t getting along, so we pray for her.  No one want’s to get involved so they don’t ask how she bruised her hand.

Mary and Tom are having financial “problems” so we pray for them.  We don’t ask if they need some money, we wouldn’t want to pry.

Bill is always just fine, as he glances away and stares at the floor.  What have those eyes been doing when no one is around?

The word relentless is defined as unyielding in one place, I define it as not giving up or not giving in.

I grew up in a small town and I saw what community was.  When my mother passed away people flooded our house with gifts of money and food.  We wanted for nothing for several weeks after that the cause of the love that was poured out on us from that community.

Living in a relentlessly loving Christian community means getting yourself involved in other people’s lives.  Praying for God to open up relationships for you to love people.  The letters written in the New Testament were not written to just correct things that were going wrong.  Those letters were written by men who loved Christ and loved the believers that were in Christ’s church.

As we begin to love others in a way that Christ loved the church it may not work out as we plan.  As we begin to see other through God’s eyes we will see things we never knew existed.

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