Ya'll Look Out...Dad's Driving This Rig

I am heading South to the great State of Texas for a family reunion. We're riding in my parent's RV, which I love. Camping is a fav activity of mine, so I'm pretty excited. I am taking my laptop, and if I'm inclined to post a blog article, I will. If not, I will catch everyone in about a week.

Here's a preview of what I'll be doing:
Playing hostess in the RV while my dad drives.
Braking from the back, since my dad is driving. LOL!
Grabbing snacks and drinks for everyone.
Lighting matches while in route (don't ask).
Reading, planning, and brainstorming.
No napping...my dad is driving! (Ok, so he sight-sees while driving...but at least there are no mountains or cliffs this time!)
Oh, and I'll be seriously missing my kitty cat, Chunks. He's my bud (and he knows it;-)
Praying...you guessed it...dad is driving (I'm just kidding!) I pray 'cause of all the other crazies!

Alright, ya'll have a great fourth if I don't post before then! I lived in Texas for 12 years and it's true. You an take a girl out of Texas, but you just can't take the Texas out of the girl! Ya'll!

Stormy Weather

Here's something rather cool that I added to my business website under The Daily Grind.

It will make you think:
What have I not done today that will cause storms later (procrastination) or what do I need to listen to today to prevent and weather storms later...Hmmm...

Think about it...

read it here

When God Interrupts Your Regularly Scheduled Life

Today I heard the news of two celebrities dying. One who was ill, and the other who died suddenly. Regardless, I 'm not going to write about them. What I'm going to write is a message that I got loud and clear today.

I started my day in the usual way. Pour a Pepsi, take the dog out, and say "Good Morning," and pray to God. From that point on, I either have appointments I need to keep, work to get started on, or find solutions to issues that I want to resolve.

This morning:
1. I wanted to find a mentor.
2. I wanted to map out my next book.
3. I wanted to explore open positions in ministry to work with a team of leaders.
4. I wanted to call the school to inquire about financial assistance for obtaining that Master's Degree.
5. I wanted to vent my frustrations and whine a little over a few things.
6. I wanted to write a blog entry on mentorships and research the web for some information.
7. I wanted to attend the board meeting (Yippee, I was voted on as a board member for a non-profit!)
8. I wanted to pray EXTENSIVELY to figure out my next steps, spend time in Scripture, and walk with the Lord for awhile. (And no this doesn't represent the order in which they were done. Number eight was actually the first to be done ;-)

This afternoon after learning that several celebrities had died within a few hours of each other, my remaining schedule is looking like this:
1. (Not important)
2. (Need to just get over it)
3. (Really, this was a must do?)
4. (Venting? Seriously? Was it THAT bad?)
and on and on and on...

I was reminded that our circumstances can completely take us so far off target that we start to focus on them and lose sight of what God really wants us to do. And for me, this got my attention. All of the sudden I thought, "If today were my last day, would I have been focused on what God wanted me focused on or would I have been focused on appointments, bills, and stupid stuff?" Well, I decided today that I don't want to die while focused on stupid things that mean nothing to The Kingdom. Nope, when God calls me home, I want to go focused and fixed on His promises.

My daily programming shouldn't be based on the crisis of the hour, the 1001 things to do, and scheduling things that will occupy my time for the next six months. My daily programming was interrupted today to remind me of what truly IS important. My task should be to focus on what God has given me for the day. Meet the need. Do the task. Write the book. Help a neighbor. Talk to a friend. But not without keeping my focus on Him and seeking His clear direction. Life is too short. I realized that one of the most important things I want to do each day is to make sure that I am right with God in my actions, thoughts, and motives.

That requires focus. And today I realized that my focus was on things that in the end don't really matter. Now that I can get back to my regularly scheduled life, I find myself thinking most of the stuff I have on my list is not as important as I once thought. Those tasks can wait while I realign my focus on what really matters. Wow. Totally attention getting. Thanks, God! I needed a change in perspective.

Practice What You Preach

Preview here

My latest workbook, Practice What You Preach, is now available!

Practice What You Preach is a workbook designed for entire churches, Sunday school classes, small groups, and individuals to use to take what they learn in sermons and biblical teachings and put it into practice 30 days at at time! The 30 Day Challenges can be selected by the Pastor, leader, or individual. The workbook exercises help individuals track their progress, learn and study Scripture it relates to the given 30 Day Challenges, and promotes personal accountability and responsibility for life change.

This is a revolutionary workbook designed to put into practice what we are preaching!

Meeting With God

Yesterday, I woke up bright and early. And again today, I woke up earlier than normal. In fact, today I woke up just in time to see the clock change from 6:59 to 7:00am. Had I woken up and looked at it one second later, I would’ve missed it. That’s how I know precisely what time I opened my eyes. Instantly I sat up, and began to think about the day ahead of me. I checked my email, glanced at my web stats and sales reports, and stopped.

I needed to wake up and prepare for a meeting. I grabbed my morning Pepsi, my Bible, and headed out to my deck. I read and reflected. And after a period of time, I closed my Bible, closed my eyes, and laid out all of my thoughts to God. And then I got quiet. I just meditated, with my eyes closed, and took turns thinking, and then listening to the quiet sounds around me.

I had a meeting with God. It was just me taking time to sit and listen. Yes, I could hear the busy birds chirping happily in my Maple tree and the sound of the winds rustling through the leaves, but it was just the sound of Nature and the things that God created that I was hearing. I’d think, stop and listen. And think a little more, listen for a longer period of time, pray, and listen. And then it was eventually just a stillness in my head where I found myself lost in my listening.

What I noticed more than anything was that I became completely focused on Christ in that time. I focused on what is important to me-my priority which is living for Him, becoming more like Him, and being used in this life for His purpose. I feel balanced. I feel prepared. I feel confident and hopeful as I start today. It'is what will help me stay focused as I encounter thousands of distractions, temptations, and otherwise unimportant things that will approach me at any given time during my day. I must stay laser focused to achieve the mission God has placed before me. To do so requires balance and focus.

Life balance is not some gimmick. It’s a real way to live your life and completely focus on what your priorities are. And, since mine is living a Christ-centered life, I am designing more and more of my work to reflect that. It seems that with every meeting, I am getting further and further away from just the regular business models. I am working more and more for the Kingdom of God. I am balanced with my priorities, and how I live and spend my time is a direct reflection of my focus through my balance.

Oh, I will continue to teach and present in the business world…I am not leaving. I was thinking after my meeting with God this morning that more and more of my writing is directly related to balancing and the Kingdom of God. That is where my focus is. That is my priority. That is my PASSION. And my life balancing and life management is keeping me there. Truthfully, those are gifts from God, and I am using them for His glory, and I am so honored and humbled.

I am so happy that God reminded me in our meeting of the importance of what I teach in my workshops. And the best part? Teaching in and for the House of God. Very humbling.

Great meeting ;-)

Can Christian's Attend Happy Hour?

You can attend this one!

This life changing workshop is appropriate for everyone!

Join the Happy Hour (Life Changing) Workshop Tour

Get your tickets here

This has a history of being a sell out event. Advance purchase is required!

This is a professional workshop and non-alcoholic event. Learn more here

3.5 Ft. of Faith

Last weekend, I took my daughter for an entire day of fun at the City Pool and water park. I had been working on preparing for a Happy Hour (Life Changing) Workshop tour, so I promised her that Saturday was ALL hers. She chose to start at the zoo and then head to the water park. Little did I know that we'd be at the water park from opening until closing. Yes, we had that much fun. And it wasn't a relaxing sunbathing day for me. It was in the water, wrestling with her, holding her up so she could jump off of my legs/shoulders, and racing her in an Olympic sized pool. After six hours, I was hungry and EXHAUSTED, and almost too exhausted to cook and eat anything!

I got to thinking about the fun, but very tiring day we had. For those who know me well, you know that I will not get in a pool if I cannot see, stay away from, and never come close to the drain. I am absolutely MORTIFIED of them. Okay, and yes, even worse...when I stay in a hotel and take a shower, I must keep one eye open and on that stupid drain in there. I just don't do drains. I don't like them, I won't touch them, I won't save anyone drowning near one (just kidding...I think...thank goodness I've never had to find out! If you ever go swimming with me take a third person so you have a back up person to save you if I chicken out!), and I flat out will not get into a hot tub unless I can keep my feet off the bottom. Ever. No way, no how, I am soooo seriously terrified of drains.

When my daughter asked me to race her from one side of the pool to the other, I declined. I wasn't about to swim over one and have to pretend it wasn't underneath me, and not look down even though I would know it was there. To me it was clear and present danger and I wasn't going anywhere across that pool. I was staying close to the edge of the pool. I know they won't hurt me technically (although I did see that they have had to change the design of them in recent years due to safety issues, ha...I was right!), but it doesn't matter. I'm a chicken.

Okay, to get to the point of what I started thinking about regarding my faith...

I am a prayer warrior.

I'm a little woman who cannot wait to get her Master's Degree to learn more about Biblical Leadership and use it in the world to change, equip, and help lead growth and create leaders in the Kingdom of God.

I know it will be a battle, but I am confident about putting on the full armor of God to do so. God will equip me with exactly what I need and I trust Him.

I am SO willing, EAGER, and ready to go and DO whatever God asks me to do (and in fact, I feel like Owen Wilson and the other little Roman guy from A Night At The Museum...they were two very tiny guys who were so ready to just go and fight the fight not thinking about how small they really were. They were fearless and ready to go now!!! That's how much I want to do this!)

So, if I'm that willing and eager, and have faith and trust the Lord to walk blindly and just go...then how come I couldn't swim across the pool with my daughter because of my drain phobia? I trust God SO much that I can fight a mighty battle and stand for His Kingdom, but I'm afraid of a swimming pool drain that is going to do...what? What's it going to do? It's not like there's a trap door under the grate. Is there?

Regardless, the message hit me. I prayed in the pool, tucked my feet up (never came close to touching the bottom of the pool...man, I kicked like there was a shark coming after me) and swam with my daughter. I swam for six hours with her and had a blast! And after a period of time, I found myself venturing out further, deeper, and getting involved in a lot more of the pool games!

How many times do we let FEAR keep us from doing what we really want to do. And what's more, how many times do we let FEAR paralyze us and not do what God is calling us to do?

If He's called us...He's equipping and strengthening us with every act of obedience. We have to be obedient and go to the first place He calls us, in order to get to the next place. Each successive place we go for the Lord will equip us for the next.

Faith AND trust will ELIMINATE fear.

Amazing what I learned in 3.5 ft of water.

Now I can move to the deeper parts of my faith ;-)

Footnotes

After re-reading my journal and my top ten list here on my blog, I've had a few additional thoughts. It occurred to me that maybe the church planting in my top ten list is related to traveling to churches and other places to teach a message about life balance/involvement to enhance the churches that are already being planted. AHA! I love those moments. So, maybe I'm not going to be a church planter, but I will be involved in churches planted to move people within those churches into action for the glory of the community and His Kingdom.

That's awesome.

God will place me where I am to be. It's like holding onto an airline ticket with no destination printed on it. Not until after I've surrendered and boarded. I've done that. That's trust, man. Let's see where this thing lands...

A Leader's Top 10 List vs. God's Top 10 List

I have been in intense thought all day. It's just one of those FUNky days where I know I want to be doing something...working intensely...on a mission...take charge...full speed ahead...saddle up partner, let's go...kind of day. But, to do what?

So, after all this intense thought and prayer that's accompanied it, I've come up with a top 10 list. These are things I'd like to do...now. Simultaneously. Multi-task. You know, just because I can, I want to, and I'm a leader. And, my God breaths stars, so I can do all through Him. Right? But, am I supposed to do it all?

Well, here's the list I came up with:

1. I want to return to school to earn a Master's Degree in Divinity. (No, I don't necessarily want to be a pastor...I want to solidify the teaching I do and learn/absorb as much as possible and earn a degree for the life balancing that I speak about, teach, and present...that's all.)

2. I absolutely want to be a church planter somewhere. A church that promotes a balanced life, where people JUMP out of their seats to get involved for Christ's Kingdom...it's a vision I have!!! (So, maybe this one is really part of #9? #9 is the core of who I am!)

3. Teach and speak for six months out of the year and write/hibernate for six months a year (ha, ha) spending time completely focused on my relationship with God and my kiddos. (That's when my best writing and creativity kicks in!) (PS...everyone needs some time out for creativity, connectivity, and reflectivity...create, connect, and reflect-part of life balance-schedule it and DO IT!) This one ranks pretty high up there, actually! I do A LOT of writing!

4. I want to write at least one dozen books/workbooks on life balance to help as many pastors, leaders, and everyday people balance their lives for the glory of God. Three down...nine more to go! I am uber passionate about this since we live in a society that promotes killing ourselves by glorifying our busyness/not our effectiveness. We are so unfocused that we are losing our missions...things fall apart...we fall away. Could that be what the opposition wants? My game plan is to battle the opposition and EQUIP God's people to balance for success! HUGE MISSION OF MINE! Again, part of #9?

5. I want to take a camping trip with my kids each year. Why? Tradition, and to get in touch with who God is, who He created my kiddos to be, and how as a parent/mentor/role model I can grow them for His purpose. And, it's LOADS of fun. Destination nowhere's (we've fallen off the radar) are the trips we love the most. If we say road trip...we mean road trip. We're burning rubber-just how we connect as a family!

6. And this should be at the top of the list, but I want to put together a leadership group of people/mentors to refuel my internal well. The type of leaders that when I read their blogs and books, I am always shouting without thinking or controlling, "Yeah!, Rock On!, Oh, Dude, that is right on target!" In other words, there are certain individuals that I get totally jazzed and pumped for the Kingdom. A few are Erwin McMannus, Steven Furtick, Christine Caine, Craig Groeschel, TD Jakes, Perry Noble, oh, and yes there are more.

I'm a read and learn junkie. It's a habit for me to absorb as much as I possibly can BUT not to keep it to myself...to go, do, and USE IT, put it into ACTION and DO something with it. Knowledge is powerless unless you use it. So, I want to create a team of mentors and spiritual leaders/coaches that I can draw from and use the blessings and knowledge that I have for the good of the Kingdom to reach God's people. Can't help it...UBER passionate! Cart wheel, flip, hand spring...God is THAT awesome, and no I'm not insane.

7. I hope God blesses me in a relationship, but until then-I am committed to staying single, and focused on Him. Regardless, I am so in love with my Savior, that any fool who could fall in love with me will have to seek Him in order to find me. (Isn't that intimidating...you don't have to go through a big brother to date me...you have to go through the Father of the Universe!) That's love ;-) And if this is not part of God's plan, I am perfectly content (and spoiled to not have to share, lol!)

8. I want to support Seasoned With Salt and grow my dream and vision of reaching EVERY corner of the earth and all places in between to bring HOPE (House Of Prayer Every day) and supply food, shelter, clothing, medical supplies, bibles, and the funding to help millions upon millions of people. I'm going to have to write and sell A LOT Of the Move Into Action workbooks to do so! I promised God a 90% tithe (reverse tithe) for this first workbook I wrote. And, I meant that-to support Seasoned With Salt!

9. I hope to travel the world to bring churches to their feet, Moving Into Action (yeah, the name of my business...I love it!!!...to get everyone out of their cushy church seats and active to use their time, gifts, talents, skills, and do it with joy and gladness so that the same 50 people who do most everything in the church aren't the only one's volunteering anymore. I want to teach HOW to make time, motivate and encourage to DO IT, and being POSITIVE ENERGY to the churches in the world. I don't want to do much, do I?

Oh, Everyone has potential and a purpose!

10. I want to lead a movement on personal accountability in a nation that thrives on finger pointing, whining, and excuses for behaviors, actions, and LACK of actions for things we know we should/shouldn't do, but fail to do anything about. And, I want to do this not from a "holier than thou" perspective, because I am a real person, with real issues, who has to do the same thing daily...I am not immune or better. I am a living example and I practice what I teach and speak about.

Now with all of that said, I have to wonder....

What is God's top 10 for me?

And, does He have a top ten?

Maybe He has a top 3 for me.

Maybe He has a top 1 for me.

I believe with all my heart that I have to seek God constantly to find FOCUS, so I will be in alignment with His purpose and plans for me.

I achieve that through life balance. Yes, see even I do these things! I do practice what teach. I've learned all of this from experience. Yes, I have learned from hard knocks, skinned knees, and shattered dreams.

One thing I think as leaders we must seek is whether we are to do everything on our list, or whether we are to find and focus on our passion. Are we burning out and making ourselves vulnerable to spiritual attack by tackling too much all at once? Are we balancing and seeking God's will before setting out to add even more to our already overwhelming list of tasks and ideas? We all have a top ten. And I think we need to spend more time comparing it with God's top ten for our lives. It's great to be ambitious. But we need to be a balanced ambitious. A smart ambitious. A patient ambitious. We need to be more ambitious about seeking God's direction and less in seeking our own.

God doesn't want us ineffective and burned out.

So, if I had to choose one thing from the top of my list to start with...it would be...

Drum roll......

#9 would be my first choice. But then again...I think that in each season of my life-they all would fit in at various times...just not all at once. Thankfully, that will leave time for #5 fairly regularly.

Draw up your top 10...it's an interesting exercise to see where you want to go, and start praying over where God is asking you to go. You might find you are going in too many different directions (serving too many masters, which should be remedied IMMEDIATELY since there is only ONE God that we are to serve).

Long article, I know...just where my thoughts have been today.

Peace and Joy, No Matter What

Joy unspeakable that won't go away and just enough strength to live for today...

Is your faith on a solid rock?

I love this song...thought I'd share.

It's just so COOL to know that the entire world could fall apart, and my heart would be singing...I am counting on God...because I am counting on Him. Everyday!

Awesome ;-)

Thanks, God!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jdkfdClHOM

Attention all Pastors and church leaders...

I am in the process of gathering information, ideas, and feed back from individuals on putting together a project to get church members up and out of their chairs...

motivated...
excited...
ready...
and willing...

to utilize their gifts, skills, passions, and talents in the church body! Ok, so yes, I am a coach for business as well, but I am so jazzed and PUMPED to be able to use my passion for His Kingdom!

Contact me with ideas, comments, statistical info...
moveintoaction@gmail.com


I have several workbooks that I've written on life change and balance. Now I am in the process of designing, writing, and creating materials to move God's people into action!

Ever thought you could just taste something???

New article at www.moveintoaction.com

Come To Your Senses And Always Go Back For Seconds (Got a dream?)
http://moveintoaction.com/articles/20090608

Why did God give us brains?

This is not a trick question. After reading several articles and comments this morning, I couldn't help but think about it.

Why did God give us brains?

Answer: He gave us brains to use for things such as:

1. So we can learn/read and remember what is written in the Bible and live according to it. (But somehow we seem to have amnesia daily until we're in trouble.)
2. To add/subtract. (The financial mess of this country tells me we don't use our brains here.)
3. To weigh information and data and differentiate between smart/dumb decisions. (We don't do it here either.)
4. So each of us could do things for ourselves. God didn't create a nation of idiots and give only one person a brain, did He? No. We all have one. So how come we all don't do things for ourselves to the best of our abilities?

It seems to me we are using our brains less and less. We expect more, and more, and more and we do less, and less, and less for it. I have ooodles of examples I could write about, but I think it's obvious the types of things we don't do for ourselves that we should. Seriously, do we need to blame someone because we didn't check the weather forecast and got caught off guard by a storm? Can we moan and groan forever because we bought a house too expensive for our budget? Can we blame someone else for making us fat? We have to start asking...was I using my brain?

I think we'll find that we aren't using it as much as we think we are. And that is apparent when we are not holding ourselves accountable for things we should. We want to hold others accountable for everything. And in that, we aren't utilizing our own smarts. It's a brainless attempt at an easy "out."

On another note: I'm so glad I don't believe in evolution. Science tell us that the less we utilize things, and the less important they are to the survival of mankind. When they aren't important the more likely that in the process of evolution, it will entirely disappear. Evolution then would tell me that our brains are used so little, that they are on their way to becoming extinct. If we don't use them now, why would we need them in the future? Like I said, it was a thought process.

Life change is available, but we need to use our brains. After all, God gave us everything we have on purpose. The brain wasn't a "factory add-on" that only a few individuals would get. He gave it to each of us on purpose.

We need to be sure we are using it.

Interviewing Is An Art

Be sure to check out my latest workbook:

Interviewing Is An Art,
Painting The Big Picture and Getting The Job

Click on book to see more or visit http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=3291225!


Simply Effective!

Just In Case You Forget

My youngest is at church camp this week. In fact, it's the first time she has been out of town and away from all family for more than one night. And from the sounds of the reports coming from the adults on Facebook, the kiddos are enjoying themselves.

Yesterday my son found a note pasted to the refrigerator with a list of instructions written by his little sister. It was a chore list with everything written in great detail. She proactively wrote a reminder list for everyone at home, so the pets would be fed, the little box cleaned, and the house dusted.

As a mom, my heart melted just from seeing the cuteness in what she did. Then the more I thought about it, I was reminded of having the Bible to reference in our daily lives. There's no question things get crazy. I'm just glad to have the Bible to keep me on track when I do forget to do something or need to learn more.