UNPLUG

Isn't it wonderful how the creative arts are adding so much to the way we communicate God's Word to people. However, in a day when creativity is the focus - it's good to remember:

If you unplug everything - literally - unplug everything what is left. That is the core that you better pay attention to. If you only have you and a Bible and the people - that is the foundation that is to be focused on - all the rest is just the package you put it in.

Start the day right!

A number of years ago a good friend shared this with me:


P – PRAY – 60 minutes - devotions
R – READ – 30 minutes - read a good book
E – EXERCISE – 30 minutes - alternate each day aerobic & weights
P – PLAN – 10 minutes - plan the day - 3 important things - 3 urgent things.

Giglio On Worship

ARE WE CONSUMERS OF WORSHIP OR ARE WE CONSUMED WITH HIM

CONSUMERS – WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? WHAT DO I GET?
CONSUMED – THIS IS ABOUT YOU! WHAT I GIVE!

CONSUMER – ME - STYLE - MY CHOICE - ENJOYED – MY PREFERENCE
CONSUMED – HIM – SURRENDER – HIS WILL - SACRIFICE – WHAT HE REQUIRES

Take Care Of Yourself

I used to think it was selfish to pace myself. I went full throttle - anything less was not living up to the standard. But I have learned there is too much at stake - I was actually not serving people well because I was tired all the time. We must keep our tank full, be healthy, and well rested so we can give others our best - to do less is to short change them.

Ike on Leadership

Dwight D. Eisenhower used to demonstrate the art of leadership in a simple but forceful way. He would place a single piece of string on a table and say, "Pull it, and it follows wherever you want it to go. But push it, and it goes nowhere."

Healthy Accountablity

If you want performance to go up insure that there is healthy accountablity. When there is healthy accountablility performance goes up.

Leaders

"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go but ought to be." -Rose Carter

GOALS ARE GOOD

A RALLY CRY - DO THIS PROCESS EVERY 3 - 9 MONTHS

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS?
(IF EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT THEN NOTHING IS)

A THEMATIC GOAL
1. SINGLE.
2. QUALITATIVE
3. TEMPORARY
4. SHARED ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION

DEFINE THE OBJECTIVES

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

People Who Refuse To Quit

PEOPLE WHO REFUSE TO QUIT

Walt Disney – was fired by a newspaper editor because he ‘lacked ideas.’ Disney went bankrupt several times before he developed a theme park now known as ‘the happiest place on earth.’

Vince Lombardi – an ‘expert’ said of football great Vince Lombardi, ‘He possesses minimal football knowledge and lacks motivation.’

Albert Einstein – did not speak until he was four years old. He didn’t read until he was seven. His teacher described young Albert as ‘mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in his foolish dreams.’ He was expelled and was refused re-admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School.

Louisa May Alcott – author of Little Women – was told by her family that it might be best if she’d look for work as a servant or seamstress.

Jackie Robinson – grandson of a slave and abandoned at 6 years of age by his father, broke the color barrier in baseball and was voted the National League’s most valuable player in 1949.

John Bunyan, while languishing in an English prison for 12 years for preaching in non-sanctioned places. Wrote 2 books and began formulating his major work, Pilgrims Progress.

Leo Tolstoy – author of War and Peace, failed college. His teachers considered him ‘both unable and unwilling to learn.’

Babe Ruth, arguably the greatest athlete of all time and famous for setting the home run record also held the record for most strike outs.

Fred Astaire – first screen test, the memorandum from the MGM testing director, dated 1933, read, ‘Can’t act. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.’ Astaire kept that memo over the fireplace in his Beverly Hills home.

Winston Churchill flunked 6th grade. He did not become prime minister of England until age 62, and then only after a lifetime of defeats and missed opportunities. The greatest contributions he made to his country and the free world came when he was a senior citizen.

WHAT MADE THESE PEOPLE PERSEVERE DESPITE INSURMOUNTABLE ODDS?

1. THEY FACED THEIR FEARS AND CONQUERED THEM.

There are only two inherent fears; the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises.

And yet there are 7,000 fears have been identified – all of them acquired. Most of us develop our confidence by confronting our anxieties and discouragements and determining to do what we have set out to do.

2. THEY STAYED FOCUSED AND FLEXIBLE AND THEY HAD FUN.

Achieving anything of significance takes long hours and demands long periods of courage and stamina.


3. THEY REFUSED TO GIVE UP ON THEIR DREAMS.

Sometimes we find we’re alone with our dreams. Well meaning family members, colleagues at work, or even those we thought would be the most enthusiastic cheer-leaders – can be dream snatchers. Learn to accept these individuals as temporary obstacles around which you must either walk or run. Never allow them to determine your direction.

4. THEY MAINTAINED A SPIRIT OF OPTIMISM.

What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?

5. THEY THOUGHT WITH THEIR HEARTS.

(Victor Hugo) “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.”

When you are confident what you are doing is right and that it has God’s blessing, you will get the job done regardless of the amount of thinking time it takes.

6. THEY USED THEIR STUMBLING BLOCKS AS STEPPING-STONES.

When you make the decision to accept God’s strength as your strength – even if you must do it without the approval or understanding of others – you will radiate confidence, because your spirit will be too large for worry, too courageous for fear, and too happy to allow the seeds of trouble to take root in your life.

What are you willing to do, starting today, to ratchet up your confidence a notch or two? What can you tackle right now to help you deal with your challenges in ways you never thought possible?

Excerpts from: “Becoming Strong Again” by Dr. Gregory Janz

A Joy Filled Life

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thess. 5:16-18



SMILE - put a smile on your face - try it. :) be joyful always!

AWARE - constant communication with the Lord - pray continually!

THANK YOU - thank the Lord and people - give thanks in all circumstances!

I WANT THESE TO BE A LIFESTYLE FOR ME!

DO THE RIGHT THING ANYWAY!

Thegospelcommandmentsofleadership

The Gospel Commandments of Leadership
(Principles for those great souls who are engaged in the battle)

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love and trust them anyway. "Father, forgive them. They know not what they do."

2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. "And Jesus told them, 'you are like children who don't know what they want. John the Baptist came neither eating nor drinking and you said he had a demon. The Son of Man comes eating and drinking, and you say I am a glutton, a friend of sinners."

3. If you are successful you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The crowds who cheered Him on Sunday and called Him King were the same who on Friday cried, "Crucify Him." Even the priests said, "We have no king but Caesar."

4. The service you render today will be forgotten tomorrow. Serve people anyway. "Were not ten lepers cleansed, and only one returned to give thanks? My words will bring division."

5. Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
"And Jesus said, 'Do not think I've come to bring peace to the world."

6. The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest ideas. Think big anyway. "During the supper the Lord Jesus foretold that one of them would betray Him … the Disciples questions which one it might be, and a dispute rose among them as to which was the greatest."

7. People pretend to love the "little" people, but sell their souls to the "big" people. Fight for the "little" people anyway. "Let little children come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of heaven."

8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. "Judas came, kissed Him, and they took hold of Him … then all the disciples forsook Him and fled."

9. People really need help, but may attack you if you do help. Help people anyway. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me … to preach'… but all who heard Him thrust Him out."

10. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway. "Pilate said, 'Who shall I give unto you … the murderer and robber, Barabbus, or Jesus, who is called the Christ?' And they cried, Give us Barabbus!"



John 15:18-19 NIV
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

CHANGE

All truth passes through three stages:
First, it is ridiculed;
Second, it is violently opposed; and
Third, it is accepted as self-evident. -- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)