After reading Loving Monday by John Beckett, I was blown away at the various ways he was able to integrate his Christian faith into his business. I began to think about how I could do the same thing with our business. As I prayed about it, I began to get a flood of ideas about how to integrate my faith into our business.
Afternoon Session
I decided to take several hours one afternoon and went off to a secluded, family-owned cabin nearby for a brainstorming session. During this session, I wrote down everything that I felt God putting on my heart about what our business would look like in the future. I made notes on ideas for new policies, initiatives, and goals. I think I ended up with eight or ten pages during that first brainstorming session!
I would not be able to implement much of it until further down the road, but at least I got it on paper. I have referred back to these first notes dozens of times over the years. It is really cool to see how much of it is now implemented eight years later!
Once a week, I would get my most critical work done in the morning, grab lunch to go, and take off down to the cabin for three or four hours.
This first session worked so well that I began doing this weekly for the next several months. These sessions were extremely valuable in helping me get my mind wrapped around the huge change I was considering.
Session agenda
Once a week, I would get my most critical work done in the morning, grab lunch to go, and take off down to the cabin for three or four hours. Here was my brief, informal agenda:
- Start with worship music to get my mind on the right track. Ten to fifteen minutes did the trick.
- Pray about what I was attempting to do. I did not really know what to pray, except that I wanted to follow God’s will.
- Take notes on anything and everything that came to mind about working my faith into our business.
- Summarize these ideas.
- Create action plans according to timing and priority.
I cannot explain the certainty in my mind and heart regarding the fact that it was only God leading me down this path. I knew it was Him. I just wanted to make sure I did not run off and leave Him while chasing my own ideas of what He wanted! I had to be careful to keep my ears and heart tuned to hear Him. As long as I did that, His Word promised He would direct my paths.
What are you doing to hear from God about your business?
Do you carve out time to seek Him on this?
What would your business look like if He had full control?
photo by Forest Service Northern Region
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