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?

What Kind of Man is This?

If I were to ask you who was the greatest man of the 20th century? Would you be thinking of an athlete? Would you be thinking of a President? Would be thinking of a musician? Would it be someone totally different? I would like to know who you're thinking of, at the end you can leave a comment.

After you've thought of who you were thinking of, think of what made them rise to the top of your list. You are going to have a number of reasons why that person was above someone else. That is one of the interesting things about this process is that you decide. Nothing is wrong about your answers, they are simply going to be different.

When you think of those reasons, they are reasons that are above all the other men who you contemplated that could have been the "greatest man of the 20th century." Even if that man was your father, brother, or someone of non-celebrity status, they have amazing qualities that resonate with you.

When the disciples experienced the storm and then Jesus calming that storm, they were amazed. Wouldn't you be? The weather went from 10 to 1 in a matter of moments. Who can do that? The answer is easy to give, yet sometimes hard to comprehend. The answer is Jesus. He can do it. He did that. What kind of man is this? A great one!

As we focused on the portion of scripture in Matthew (8:23-27) that talks about this incident. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• What Makes Him Great? ~ What is one or more reasons that makes Jesus "great" or "amazing" in your mind? Was it the healing? The resisting temptation? The willingness to die for you? Is it something else? Why is that reason(s) so important to you? Allow the reason(s) you chose to be a motivator to live a life that reflects you think He's great
• Expect the Storms ~ Life is spicy - nothing is never the same from one week to the next. My week, last week, had some "lightning and thunder" to it, though no actual storm came. I was asked to do something out of the ordinary and I didn't expect it. However, things will come when we're going with the Father!
• Enjoy the Calm ~ You could ask the disciples on that boat of what section they would like the best - the calm, storm, or some other portion? You would probably have a lot of "calm" voters. As you make it through your storms in life, enjoy calm in life, as well. When you are there, in the calm, don't forget to say "thanks."

This man, Jesus, is a great one, an amazing one!

Now it's your turn...what makes Jesus great to you?

Achieve the Splendid...I Dare You!

I am simply fascinated by people who do great things with their life. Those that make significant impacts in their community, school, job, family, church, etc. are things that I never tire of hearing about. How about you?

I tear up so often when it comes to seeing kids perform in music, plays, or other art areas. I am touched by people who are able to touch other people's lives. No matter if you do something significant or help out someone to allow them to do something significant, you still did something significant. That brings us to this week's quote...

Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared to believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance. ~ Bruce Barton

We must be willing to be open to doing something splendid. Splendid things do not just happen, generally. Even in the lives of people who had riches, for example, fall into their lap, it was probably because a person born before them did something significant.

So what will you dare to do? What is it that you believe in yourself that you can do which you will seek to achieve?

The circumstances to get you there may not be the easiest, but the sweetness that comes from the victory will be well worth it!

Now it's your turn...What will you dare to do that is "splendid?" I look forward to the stories that follow...

Are You Afraid?

If you were given an open-ended budget, and you can pick the subject area, what would you get and why?

I think that one of the things I am afraid of is too many choices. When I am on the hunt for a new gadget, I will research and research information about the product. Then, I may wait and wait till I think I've found the best deal. However, when I have the opportunity to get "whatever I want" it can be more difficult than when I have parameters.

Mankind can have a tendency to have this same problem when it comes to pursuing life goals. Graduations are around the corner. Ask some high school Seniors about what they are going to do next year and you will get a wide variety of answers. However, they have put some direction in their life and are about to start the next phase to get to that goal.

What happens after all the schooling? Do we ever think that we can be great in something that we have no education in or something our job doesn't require of us?

That brings us to this week's quote...

Great work is done by people who are not afraid to be great. ~ Fernando Flores

After college you may get married and/or have children. Those are areas which you can be "great", but you must not be afraid to be great! There are lots of other areas, which may depend on where you live, in which you can be great. You may have a job that isn't your favorite - you can still be great. There are always community areas of involvement which you can implement great ideas...and be great.

I really enjoy getting to know people in my community. I have always liked to be involved. It has been less than six months since I have been where we live now, and I feel that God has allowed me to be very involved. I feel that I may be at my max for formal involvement. I am officially involved with two community groups and about to be involved with another one. That is probably my limit because they could overlap or spread out from here. I don't know if I will be given the opportunity to do something "great", but I'm not afraid to take the step to get there!

Take that step toward doing something great!