Day 328 - Your Inner Circle

"It has been a long hard road for her to get here and I know she appreciates this day and these friends and sisters who are here for her."

We all have spheres of influence that reach both outward and inward. I don't think there is anything wrong with having a lot of people in your life and extending a lot of love. We have a greater capacity than we are probably operating with right now. 

As you get closer to the core of the circle it is more important who is there. We have to carefully select people who we trust and who have the right to be there. They will prove this by their love, care, honesty and faithfulness. 

Even Jesus modeled this with his disciples. There were thousands around Jesus at any given time. He had followers and disciples by the hundreds. He selected twelve to be with Him and of those twelve we see three that He brought in even closer. They were exposed to more intimate and miraculous times with Jesus than the rest. 

The Bible tells us that a friend is born for adversity and it is sad when someone falls and has no one to pick him up. If we show ourselves to be a friend then when we are going through tough times our friends will show themselves. 

Do you like having lots of people around or just a few? How do you decide who is a close friend?

Day 318 - Hurdles on the Road

"At lunch Shane and I went and got the author copy of the book and we were disappointed. The quality was sub-standard. I now have to go through another round with them to get it right. I am trying to stay in faith and stay positive. Hurdles on the road."

Let me introduce you to my illustrator Shane. The guy is brilliant. His drawings are top notch, his graphic design has no equal, his wit and humor...hilarious. He has been a friend and a great encouragement in the ministry and now with the children's book Sarah's Silly Sock Day. 

It has been a journey of faith to produce this book and I could not have done it alone. My wife has been a constant encouragement. My children's excitement has often fueled my drive to go on. Which brings me to Shane. When we hit the hurdle we were pretty disappointed. Our long awaited book was not what we wanted it to be. 

It turned out that the problem was with the transfer of files. Layers of the images were being lost and others were pixelated. We had to go back through part of the process and it was lengthy and difficult at best. 

What really helped was Shane's positive attitude and quick wit. He saw what I saw in faith. He had a book in mind and knew the quality he wanted to see. After months of going back and forth we got it right and now have a real quality book with beautiful images that capture the imagination of children (and adults!). 

Stay in the fight if you are encountering problems. Hurdles are not something to stop you. They are to be overcome. Surround yourself with faith filled people who will take the hurdle with you. It makes the journey better and the trial more tolerable. 

What hurdles are you encountering and how do you intent to overcome them? Who is around you that can be a faith partner to encourage and go on the journey with you?