Life: A Thorny Journey?

"Just rip it off quickly!" is the thought that some people take with the removal of band-aids. It may hurt at first, but it is better than going through the slow agonizing pain of removing it slow. Such can be instances in life.

When life seems to be going rough, removing myself or my thoughts from the situation and creating a new direction for my thoughts really seems to help. Even when I still have to deal with the "miserable" situation, adjusting my thoughts still seems to help. It is actually amazing how effective this works. This brings us to this week's quote...

Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us. ~ Voltaire

How often have you been one to dwell in a negative situation? Presuming you are no longer in that situation, did that situation compel you or did you seem to sit, mentally, in that situation?

I have noticed in my 5-year-old that he seems to choose to stay miserable. He can sit and whine/wail longer than I would imagine anyone would do that. Part of it is his headstrong attitude but some of it is simply his choice.

I think if we knew how much better life would be if we would get out of a situation, we'd choose that. However, for whatever reason, we choose to stay in the situations and it ends up wasting too much of our life that we cannot get back.

Voltaire had some good thoughts to speak of life as having its misfortunes, yes it will. However, it is better to move through those and get back to a pleasant form of life. It is much better on the other side!

Now it's your turn...when has this quote held true to you?

Finding Treasures Within - a message about the upcoming year

Where do you find treasures? I am a person who likes to go to auctions and garage sales to look for treasures. On occasion, those treasures will be something I’ve been looking for and other times the treasures will be found in something that is being sold for “next to nothing” and I know it is worth something more. I will go to these venues and look through boxes simply looking for the treasure within. There are probably many of you who are sharing in this search to find those treasures and then there are those of you who are like my wife that want to leave as soon as they don’t see anything worthwhile.

Over the Christmas holiday, I was at my in-law’s house and my father-in-law liked to watch “Storage Wars” on A&E channel. The basic principle of this show is that people will go to abandoned storage units and bid on all the contents in the unit. The storage units are of different size, so there will be different amounts of content in each unit. Also, the participants will have five minutes to look at the unit, without going in or touching any of the content, before the bidding starts.

The bidding ranges from three to four figure prices. Once the person wins the bid, then they will come back and go through the storage unit. Within this time they are looking for any and all things that they can sell which will bring about a profit.

In some storage units there will be obvious “treasures” in furniture and other large items that cannot be confined to a box. Whereas other times people will not be able to see some of the treasures that are in the boxes and they will have to take their chances. Some units will have junk and others will have some great treasures within.

One of the keys to the show is to be bold enough to look within because just looking on the surface is not going to give you the look they need. They must be able to step past the opening and go through all the seen and unseen content that is located within the storage unit. Some are brave enough and some are not. Some will not have the money to compete with others who are bidding on the same unit. Unfortunately, some who may feel the unit is not worth much will “bid up” the unit just to make others pay more.

As we enter into 2013 what treasures are you going to be able to find? At the time of the publication, we do not know what 2013 will hold. As we have not entered into the year it is totally unknown what it will bring for us, individually. We may not know what 2013 will hold but we may also not know what we can bring to 2013. Part of the reason we do not know what we can bring to 2013 is that we have not looked within ourselves to find the treasures.

For some, it is because you have become set in what you have done in life and cannot see the potential that is still within. When you stay where you are, you are guaranteed to not go anywhere. Though that may come across humorously logical, there is much truth to it. If you want to make a difference in someone’s life, you must be involved in someone’s life. If you stay out of their business then you are definitely not going to make any difference in that person’s life.

There have been times in my life that I thought I was quite comfortable where I had come. However, a time came when I wanted to look for what God will bring about each day. I look forward to how I might be able to make a difference or be used by God in each day and with each interaction I have with people. This makes me look forward to so many more things in life. I dread less things and look forward more of what life brings me.

I want to challenge you to stand back as you enter into 2013 and look within yourself to find the treasures that you may not see on the outside. What is it about you that can bring something great to your family, your job, or your community? Don’t let the year slip by without looking for the treasures!

Reflect in Me in 20-13 - A message to challenge "who" we are reflecting in 2013

Whom did you reflect today? (Or maybe another word would be "what" did you reflect today?)

Through the day you may have had moments where you reflected one thing then another you reflected another. For example, you could have reflected a very bitter attitude when you were frustrated in a moment and then you had a phone call or a doorbell ring and reflected something totally different. That seems to be a classic example of reflecting two different things in a very short time. Plus, I've been guilty of it myself.

There are going to be those times of "slipping" in our Walk in Christ where we are going to let emotions get the best of us in a given moment. That doesn't excuse away the lack of control, but it does say that we are going to make a mistake. Our goal is to not let that be the "norm."

Sunday, we looked at several scriptures (all found here) as we discussed the idea of letting Jesus reflect in me in 2013. We focused on Jesus being reflected in our attitudes, speech, and actions. As much as those in the religious world would like to concentrate on their "Sunday" rituals as what may make them different, I would like to challenge you to think about how your everyday reflections of Him will make you seem "different," yet attractive, for the sake of Him. As we think about this, here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• Attitudes ~ Attitudes can be both contagious and like an out-of-control snowball. The first will affect others. Whether they are positive or negative, when you are go in to something with a certain kind of attitude, others will likely catch it - so watch what you are reflecting. The second will affect you. You will easily stay with that attitude for quite some time and it will have a tendency to pick up speed. If you are around others, it will also become contagious. Think about how your attitude will be impacting others this year.
• Speech ~ We all know that the tongue is such a small and powerful tool. It can easily be used for good and just as easily for bad. It can take someone to 'cloud 9' and then cut someone to a very low depth. Sometimes, the tongue may not directly impact the person who is being talked about negatively, for instance, talking behind their back, but it will have a negative ripple effect. The negative sides of speech are slander, gossip, spite, lying, hypocrisy, and the like are going to have that same reflection of Jesus this year. Where as the positive sides of speech are compliments, encouragement, motivation, praise, blessings, and the like will have good reflections of Jesus in your life in the year 2013.
• Actions ~ I remember a few years ago where someone thought that the parking stall I parked in should have been there's and they didn't send me a very nice greeting, as a result. It wasn't one of those "cut them off" situations, it was simply that they thought they were in the right and I was in the wrong. My wife and I had a good laugh about it, as a result. However, if I was in the wrong, it could have drastic effects on who they see me reflecting. Other times there will be times we need to understand that as a Christian, we are representatives of both Christ and our faith. Our actions represent Christ, first, in that we are showing how much of an impact He's made in the application of our life. Our actions represent our faith, next, in that it shows others who we belong to and who else goes with us along the way.
• Results ~ I try to make hotel housekeeping know they are important and that I appreciate what they are doing, for me and others. I have done this for years, but I learned recently how, from the moment of check-in, how you compose yourself can have a lasting impact on your hotel stay. It confirmed how a positive reflection can have positive results. With that, how can 2013 be different? I will focus on the positive outcomes of positively reflecting Jesus in me in 2013. 1. See you as a pleasant person.
  2. Look forward to seeing/serving you.
  3. Be inconspicuously rewarded (a free appetizer, room upgrade, etc.)
  4. Develop trust in your showing of genuine concern.
  5. Create a sense of mystery to others as they see that you can remain focused even in crises.
  6. See that Jesus is not something you simply speak of but actually live out.
  7. Want to know why your relationship with Jesus affects you that way.
  8. Want to know how they can know Jesus the way you do.
  9. Learn to see that your spiritual friends are not hypocrites.
  10. Commit their life to Jesus.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

To ultimately reflect Jesus in a consistent, positive way, to others in the coming year, we must also be conscious of what we are doing. It is not going to be easy and it is not going to something that comes about involuntarily. We must work at projecting Him in a positive way. We must think about how something may come across. We must remember that when we are in a hurry it is likely do to something we did/didn't do and any slow or irritating people ahead or around us are not to be involved or blamed. We must think about what we are going to reflect before we enter in to a situation, maybe reminding ourselves that we are a representative of God.

We can create people to see the greatness of Jesus in us as we go through 2013. I can't wait to see what happens as a result. I hope you will keep track and report back.

Now it's your turn...what other outcomes can you see as a result of positively reflecting Jesus? Or, what area will challenge you to make a positive reflection this year?

Believe and Achieve! - A thought for 2013

You can do it! The new year will offer opportunities that you may have never had before. The question is, how will you make the best of the doors of opportunities that will open up in 2013? The 'thing' about the doors of opportunity is that it is up to you to take the initiative to walk through. If you simply look at the opportunity, it will be like the sunset - here now, gone in a few minutes.

I have looked out at those sunsets and think, "Wow, that is beautiful and would make a great picture." Then, I will simply 'think' about it and then the moment is gone. So much are opportunities. We must take advantage of them while they are present. However, again, we must be the ones to go after them. Rarely will they come to us. That brings us to this week's quote...

If you believe you can do it, go out there and do it because that's the only way you're gonna get it! ~ Harry Main

How do you feel about Harry's thoughts? We can accomplish about anything we set our minds to in life. We can achieve greatness! Keep in mind that "greatness" has its own levels of what each person determines the height. For some it may mean money, for others it may mean reaching thousands, and for others it may mean simply personal success.

As you have a new year ahead of you, you will likely have new opportunities, as well. May you take advantage of the opportunities that come your way to achieve greatness. Believe it and then go out and achieve it!

Now it's your turn...what do you have on tap for 2013?