Eating an Elephant

Procrastination is some people's "disease". They think they can do it at a later time, just to put it off. Sometimes the later time will catch up with them (I've been victim). There are still other times that not starting is not defined by procrastination, but rather it could be labeled as scared, anxious, uncomfortable, non-traditional, etc.

Those other "labels" are just as damaging to starting a project, and getting ahead, as procrastination. Here is this week's quote pertaining to this principle...

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one. ~ Mark Twain

There's an old, dry saying that asks, "How do you eat an elephant?"...One bite at a time. Projects may seem big, but they will get accomplished a "bite" at a time. However, there has to be a time when the bite is taken.

Any project is able to be completed, even if it looks big going into it. So, if/when you are wanting to get ahead, even when it seems it may not be possible, just get started. Then, create a priority list and "bite" them off one at a time. Whether you are planning a Presidential Campaign, a community event, a dinner party, or just trying to get your house in order, they all can be accomplished, little by little.

"Eating" on my elephant...

New Discoveries

One of the highlights of being a parent is watching Oliver as he learns and discovers new things. There are many areas that would fit in those two categories. He’s learned how to go up and down stairs (safely). He’s discovered that running too fast causes you to lose your balance. He’s learned how to put a tool on a bolt. He’s discovered how to put a straw in the correct place on a lid. He’s discovered that being too close to a door, after getting excited to go “bye-bye”, results in hitting his head on the door. Oh, the many things he’s learned and discovered, and I can’t describe how enjoyable it is to watch him as he goes through these phases.

Dreaming leads to discovering. What would happen if you woke up and didn’t get out of bed on any given day? Basically, it would come down to the fact that you would fail to discover what life was like that day. You would remain in bed, never to see the other side of the bedroom door. You wouldn’t know what was out there, waiting, patiently, to be discovered…by you!

Discoveries are awesome to be a part of. Whether they are self-discoveries or group discoveries. These moments are monumental in you figuring out something totally different than you’ve ever known before! Whether it is a new use for a chemical and method which a group of people can work together or somewhere in between.

Just as being a father I enjoy watching my little one make new discoveries, I can’t fathom the joy that our Father gets when He sees His children dreaming about ways they can serve Him, then watch them put it into practice!

Make discoveries!

Confidence - II Corinthians 3:4-5

Confidence can be exhibited at many levels. The sports star that led the league in a number of categories last year, received a contract extension, and is injury free. The business person who has a company that is doing quite well and their family is healthy and happy. The student who is liked by most and is receiving good marks. The married couple who have had a great marriage for years.

All those are possible areas of confidence. However, what happens when you take something away from the situation? The sports star suffers a rare disease and has to have his leg amputated. The business person has to close their doors due to a recession. The student who is hit by a car and has to go through therapy to even learn how to remember again. The married couple, where one spouse learns they have a tumor, so advanced, only weeks to live.

Where is the confidence in these situations, after these things have happened?

Confidence was higher in the first paragraph because each of those scenarios were about what the person did. None of it had to do with putting their confidence in God. It was their successes. Their situations.

When we fail to put our confidence in Him, any other confidence is empty. Yesterday, we continued to talk about the idea of living wide awake. To live wide awake, for God, means that we also must put our confidence in Him, as He leads us through life. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. Appreciate the opportunities that come your way as ways to reflect Jesus to someone or some situation.
2. Tell someone how much you enjoy being a Christian
3. Reflect on the strengths you have and not the weaknesses
4. See that you are incompetent without Him - acknowledge and accept
5. Do not look at situations that come your way as obstacles in reflecting your faith, but as opportunities.
6. Pray for opportunities for those you teach and their parents, those you work with and their families, for your customers, for your neighbors, for your household (if someone in your household doesn't know Christ), for ____ (you add anyone else)
7. Look forward, with confidence from Him, to these opportunities to open up!

Waking up each day and looking forward to how God will use you is a little bit of what it means to live wide awake. If you are still going through your day, figuratively, under the covers, WAKE UP...get out of bed. There is whole world of opportunity out there waiting for you to be a "fragrance" of Christ to them!

If you're guilty of putting confidence in yourself, then you need to change it around. Change it so that you are appreciative of the talents you have, but understand that if something happened your confidence would not diminish because you already started putting your confidence in Him, not you.

I love the kind of mindset that looks for seeing how one can reflect Christ in everything they do and everywhere they go. I like to learn people's names, so that when I see them, then I can call them by name or ask, by name, how their day is going. This seems to be especially effective to those who have the "thankless" or menial jobs. Sometimes I will leave a note of appreciation for a maid in a hotel, that is one example of a thankless job.

Reflect Jesus with confidence!

Looking forward to the opportunities that will come my way...

In the Footsteps of Paul - by Ken Duncan

Living in modern-day America, it is quite difficult to envision what the Apostle Paul must have experienced – the land, sea, and the towns. Ken Duncan, author and photographer of “In the Footsteps of Paul: Experience the Journey that Changed the World”, takes us to many of the places that Paul was or likely was at during his lifetime.

This one hundred seventy-five page book is filled with stunning photographs of places that I will probably never see. As I read and looked through it I was intrigued to want to look deeper and deeper into the two dimensional pictures. I wanted to peak around corners and reach out and touch. However, I had to rely on the photos to give me a perspective of what life was like in Paul’s day. I tried to envision people walking around the streets. Paul getting into boats. Structures not being torn down.

This is a book which I will look at over and over again. Paul is a main character in the New Testament, so, as a minister, I will be teaching about him regularly. I feel that this book gives me a better visual insight as to who Paul was and where he went as he traveled. I think I will be more in tune with Paul as I will be able to open up this book and visualize him in the Scriptures.

The book does offer more than pictures, as there are hundreds of quotes and scriptures to help you be more acquainted with a particular picture.

It is a great resource book to have to help anyone visualize Paul and the life he led.

Don't Let Your Dreams Die

I've been dreaming lately. Dreaming of doing big things for God. Dreaming of being influential for Him. Dreaming of the outcome of what will happen when other people dream and put their dreams into practice.

Dreaming, envisioning, keeps me up at night. Some nights for hours, but it excites me at the same time. I get up the next morning with a variety of things still on my mind. Sometimes I have to write these ideas down before I close my eyes for the night so that I can make sure that I do not forget.

As this is a week centered around dreaming, it seemed only fitting to use this quote this week...

We grow by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light, which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true. ~ Woodrow Wilson

Dream, continue to dream, don't stop dreaming! Dreaming allows things to happen. Happening allows things to be created. Creation allows others to be affected.

How many people will you affect through your dreams?

Don't let your dreams die...Keep dreaming!

"The Great 8" by Scott Hamilton

There is not a person that I've ever met that could use more optimism. In a world of recession, divorce, & depression, optimism is always needed.

"The Great 8", by Olympic champion, Scott Hamilton, is a book dedicated to helping its readers become optimistic. Naturally, he uses skating as a method to explain how to be happy, when it seems like it may be impossible.

I enjoyed the use of figure skating examples and illustrations to help me understand the message Scott was trying to convey. I learned things I didn't know before about figure skating (like why it was called figure skating).

Scott makes great points that should help anyone achieve the goal of becoming more optimistic. For example, you've got to get up even when you've fallen, trust the one who is coaching you, learn through losing, clear your mind, be positive, smile, go last, get out of your rut, and stand in the spotlight.

One critique I would have about the book, is that it seemed there were times that the information about Scott's cancer seemed a bit repetitive.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to have a better outlook on life. It was an easy read but was very enjoyable at the same time.

What a Relief!

Several years ago, the Rolaid’s® commercial used this question in their ads, “How do you spell relief?...R-O-L-A-I-D-S”. After a meal of spicy food or junk food and your stomach feels in knots, pop in a couple of Rolaid’s® and things will feel better. Relief from anything is practically always welcomed.

This last week was a week of “relief” for many people. Wednesday was the day your taxes were due. After Wednesday, accountants could finally take a break. Each year is long and busy for accountants. Since I have my taxes done by a self-employed accountant, I will talk to her occasionally throughout the process of finishing up my taxes. I have heard how stressful it can be, but how much they look forward to April 16th! Both of the individuals that have prepared my taxes in my ministry career have taken off for a week or more after the tax deadline. April 16th is a day of relief. So how do accountants spell relief? A-P-R-I-L-1-6…what a great day!

Whether you are an accountant or a general tax payer, having your taxes completed is a nice feeling of relief. For me, even if I have to pay in, it is still a relief to have them completed.

I use the tax deadline day as a springboard for this week’s topic of relief. Having recently moved, then moved again, I know what it is like to set something down and not feel the burden that I had when I was carrying the load. In our house, I was “lucky” enough to get to carry all three pieces of a sectional down through our house and down the stairs. The stairs are not a straight shot down, so some of the pieces took some finagling to get them down the stairs properly. After three, I was welcoming that relief…with open arms!!!

Burdens are burdensome. I don’t say that with sarcasm, but to say that the whole concept of burdensome indicates that they weigh us down. Oftentimes, mentally, as much as, physically. With burdens, as much as we want to lay them down, we don’t. We tend to keep on carrying them like a child who cannot give up his pacifier or blanket. The child may know that they are too old, but cannot give it up.

Christ came to give us back the opportunity which sin stole from us. Sin separates us from Purity (God). We are no longer pure, so we have to walk around with the burden that we are stained. No one likes to walk around with a stained shirt, do they? There is such a relief to get that shirt off and put a clean one on. However, imagine no shirts available? You have to walk around your entire life with that stain. That is the way sin works. Once sin comes into your life, you must walk around your entire life with that stain because there is nothing you can do to get it off.

Christ died and was raised again to give us the chance to get the stain out. We thought there wasn’t a way to lift the stain, but Jesus said otherwise. The day when the stain is removed is such a relief! You finally get to relax a bit because your conscience is now clean. What happens when you “spill” something on your clothed-with-Christ outfit? Do you have to walk around with that burden again that you are stained? Thankfully, each day, you can have new clothes. We are able to be renewed day by day. You can lay the burden down. Not just the ones that may be stained with yesterday’s sins, but the other burdens/stresses that you are carrying around.

After taxes are finished, it is such a relief. After you put something heavy down, it is such a relief. After you give things to God, you will find such relief!