Day 296 - Make It and Take It

"It comes down to experience and courage."

This week I took on a new responsibility. As usual when I looked back at last years journal entry we were doing the same thing on the same day this year. Only this year I am in a new role. I have never been where I am at today (really none of us have been) and know that next year will be a different story as well. The story will be one of the grace that God gives to make me into the leader He wants me to be. 

I do know from my past experience that I can do it. I can be what I need to be and do what I am called to do. It comes down to experience and courage. 

You have to make it through something in order to have experience. It doesn't come any other way but through time and lots of situations that you came through. You wan't always come through well either. Many times we learn more through the negative experiences or the tough ones than we do with the positive or easy ones. What matters is that we made it through and we learned. 

Courage comes when you know who is backing you. Some trust in themselves. Some trust in wealth. Some trust in their team or in their leaders. All of these are good but they are not the best. The ultimate One to be trusted is God Himself, Christ in you. When you know that God backs you then you have all the courage you need. 

There are times that I struggle with doubting my decisions. I wonder if I am going with what others want or if I really hear from God. Along the way God has always assured me that I was going in the right direction or corrected my direction if needed. Just today when I was reading my Bible in the morning I read some verses that assured me I was headed in the right direction. It brought me to tears. 

You can know that the paths you have traveled and the experiences you have had combined with the backing that God can only give are a set up for success. You can handle the day because God won't give you more than you can handle. He has called you to this time and this place. Be bold and take the day!

What experiences have shaped you? How much of a role does courage have in your decisions?

Day 280 - Try, Try Again

"We tried to make some banana bread but it didn't turn out that great." 

Old saying abound when it comes to things like this. 'You win some. You lose some.'  Would apply but I think a better one would be 'If at first you don't succeed try, try again.' 

Often we give up way too easy. We try something once and because it wasn't perfect the first time we never try again. What we forget is that the results we want take time. A before and after shot often has months if not years in-between it. The deceiving part is that when it is all done we see both images side by side. 

But, to use another old saying, 'Rome wasn't built in a day.' It will take time for something good to be produced. So you burned the cake, bake another. So you don't have those flat abs you want, do some more sit ups tomorrow. So your painting wasn't exactly like the photo you were trying to reproduce, paint it again. 

You know what will happen if you give it another go? You will get better. Results will start taking place. You will actually like what you create! 

So practice, take a class, invite a friend or mentor to help you, buy a book and read up on it. As you try, try again, you will succeed. 

Can you relate to this post? What would you want to try again and how will you do it? 

Day 253 - Starting in the Middle

"Wednesday isn't a hump day for me but the start of the work week."

Sometimes I don't know the direction I am going when I start writing my daily blog post. I am often fascinated by the creative process that my words take me on and how starting with a thought turns into a real understanding. 

Many times as I write I find that thoughts need to be moved around. Paragraphs will come out part way through that clearly are meant to be introductions. After some cut and paste Magic the thoughts are organized and make better sense. 

I start my work week on Wednesday and work through Sunday because that is where the action is for my job and what I do. Weekends at church are so important that we start in the middle to prepare. 

What does all this have to do with you? Glad you asked. 

Many times people don't start a project or get going on life because they don't know where to begin. I would encourage you if you feel this way to just start with what you have. Begin somewhere, even if it is in the middle. When you get further into whatever it is you can sort out the details and make things pretty. 

Do you have an idea or motivation but don't know where to start? Is there a 'middle' that you could start on to get things moving? 

Day 84 - Productivity

"I didn't do much today but it somehow turned out to be a productive day."

When I look back on last year I see that there were days I did a lot and got nothing done. There were also days like this one from last year that even though I didn't do a lot it was productive. 

It really comes down to defining what is important. If there is one thing that is important on your list of things to do in any certain day and you get so busy you never get to that one thing then you have been unproductive. But if you only got to that one thing and everything else was left undone then you have been very productive. Activity and busyness don't always equate to productivity. 

I remember when I first became a pastor and would be getting ready for a church service I would feel guilty for taking time to pray and study. Now I look at that and wish I could shout back in time from more than ten years later and speak some sense into myself. The number one thing a pastor should be doing when it comes to a church service is connect with and hear from God what His desire is for the service. Then from that place the study and the preparations for the service can be made. But I realize now that I didn't understand that these essential elements of my job weren't unproductive just because they weren't busy with activity. 

If you want to be more productive then focus on what you really want to get done give your effort and energy to that. You will be happy you did!

How do you stay focused on the priorities of the day? How else can we be more productive?