Tag Archives: prayer

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How Do I Discern God’s Direction?

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If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you have tried to seek God’s direction at some point. Whether it is a business decision, family situation, or personal question, we have all desperately wanted God to lead us in the right direction. The problem is that we often fail to get the direction we seek and end up frustrated or confused.

direction

Direction Exercise

In my last post, I described this kind of situation. I then went through an exercise in an effort to illustrate what may be part of our problem. While this exercise may be an oversimplification of the process of seeking God’s direction in our lives, I think you will understand the main point when we are done.

Compass Competition

To recap the details of the exercise, you are on a team in an outdoor scouting competition. The goal of the competition is to use a compass to quickly navigate a series of directions and to arrive at a designated location for your team. The first team to arrive at their designated location wins.

The twist is that many of the teams have also been given a magnet that is to be attached to the side of the compass and to remain there throughout the competition.

Because compasses rely on an attraction to the earth’s magnetic north pole, the additional magnet plays havoc on the compass needle. As a result, these compasses are rendered virtually useless and only serve to frustrate and confuse the teams using them.

Parallels

Now that you are caught up, lets move on to the parallels.

Assume for the purpose of the exercise that the direction we seek from God is represented by the magnetic north pole. For this analogy, this magnetic north is the truth, the leading we need.

Imagine the compass represents our efforts to discern God’s direction through the study of His Word, seeking advice from godly mentors, and prayer. Without any other interference, these efforts can often help us to find the direction from God that we seek.

Outside Influences

The problems arise when outside influences begin to affect these efforts. These influences are represented by the magnets we added to the compass. I can initially think of three categories into which these influences fall:

1. Desires – selfishness, greed, fame, wealth, respect, acceptance, power, independence

2. Busyness – work, social activities, children, ministry

3. Fear – loss of respect, physical harm, alienation, mockery, poverty, dependence

The more you think about the various influences we bring with us as we seek to gain direction from God, the more some of them may blur from one category to another. The fact remains that it is clear these influences can dramatically affect how we hear direction from God.

The more of these influences we bring with us as we come before God, the less likely it is that we will ever be able to hear His still small voice!

Example Of Influences

For example, imagine my work schedule is killing me and my wife is telling me I have to do something about it. I know she is probably right, but if I change jobs I will probably have to get rid of some of the expensive toys I have purchased lately because I won’t be able to afford them.

I attempt to read the Bible for answers on what to do, but I simply cannot stay awake. So I go to a godly mentor and ask for his advice. As I describe the situation to him, I leave some of the facts out because I don’t want him looking down on me.

He gives me advice to consider, but it is not as severe as it would have been if I had told him everything. Even what he tells me to do seems a little dramatic to me, so I tone it down before I implement it.

I then pray to God that He will bless this slightly new direction and thank Him for speaking to me through my friend. I head into the next day feeling pretty good.

Results?

What do you think happens?

Exactly. Not much in the way of improvement.

After weeks of getting the same feedback from my wife, I am so frustrated. I did exactly what my pastor told me to do. I read the Bible, got advice from a godly mentor, and prayed about it. What more can a guy do, right? My “compass” should be working fine, but something is wrong!

Looking back over this example, can you see all of the outside influences (magnets) I brought into the picture? It is no wonder my “compass” is not working!

What Are Your Magnets?

So the key question for you is this – what are your magnets?

When you begin to seek God’s direction for your life, are you coming with a pure heart? Are you coming to Him with ALL of your heart committed to Him and Him alone?

Are you willing to get rid of the influences? Are you willing to focus always and only on His voice, forsaking the rest of those around you?

Are you willing to hear what He tells you and then do it, regardless of the potential cost?

Scriptures To Ponder

I am going to leave you with the following Scriptures to read and meditate on. Notice that all of these promises from God are dependent on your full commitment to Him. No magnets allowed!

He rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.
2 Chronicles 16:9

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

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How Do You Pray?

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Recently, I have been working harder at getting back to basics in my relationship with God. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had hit a dry spell because my times with Him had gone stale. In an effort to draw closer to Jesus again, I have renewed my efforts to pray, read His Word, and memorize it.

pray

My Prayer

Just last week, I was praying and trying to communicate the best I could that I wanted to get rid of any plans or desires in my heart. I was trying to tell Jesus that I wanted ONLY what He wanted for me. As I struggled with the words (it happens often!), the following thoughts came to mind. I want to share them in case they can help you do the same thing.

I wanted to tell Him that I was open to anything that He would ask of me and here is how my prayer flowed [and looking back, how I see it applies to business]:

Jesus, please give me…

    Open Hands – that I would be prepared to accept and use whatever it is You want me to have, but nothing else. I am not reaching, but receiving. Let these hands also be giving of whatever is in them.
    [Give me the resources You know I need to effectively run Your business. Help me not to seek more than You give and to be faithful to share whenever You send me opportunities to do so.]
    Open Eyes – that I would be able to see whatever it is You want me to see relating to where You want me to go or what You want me to do. I do not want to miss anything You are trying to show me. Make it clear to me where there are opportunities to act. Show me weak areas in me and help me to improve.
    [Give me insights into business opportunities, understanding the risks, but trusting Your leading. Help me to see through my leadership blind spots and to work to correct them.]
    Open Ears – that I would always be listening for that still, small voice. I want to hear all instruction from You. I want to be aware of all going on around me that You want me to notice.
    [Show me how to be still and listen to you, despite the noise during the work day. Give me the patience to wait on Your instructions, coming to You for my decisions.]
    Open Mind – that I would be willing to accept anything You ask of me, regardless of whether I understand it, agree with it, fear it, or feel equipped to do it.
    [My business mind is trained to think from a temporal perspective. Help me to mentally step away from my paradigms and to trust Your ultimate business knowledge.]
    Open Heart – that I would always be sensitive to Your leading and instruction to me regardless of my desires. I only want to seek Your will and renown, not my own.
    [Help me to beware of my own motives when it comes to business decisions. Remind me that You own this business and that I am only part of Your story, not the other way around.]
    Open Mouth – that I would speak any and all words You give me to speak. I always want to trust You to give me the words to say in all situations and want to hold my tongue until You do.
    [Please give me wise words to use when dealing with others at work. Give me the boldness to share the reasons for my faith in You and the awareness to know the right timing. Speak through me.]

Simply A Thought Starter

I do not share this as a comprehensive solution to your prayer life. I do not even share it as an example to follow with repetition over time. I am simply sharing this prayer as a thought starter for you.

Hopefully, it will cause you to see something you are doing (or need to do) from a different perspective. It is full of thoughts that I plan to pore over for a while. I want to take the time to hear from God in each case – hopefully gaining clarity and wisdom in the process.

What are your thoughts?

What would you add to this prayer?

Do you pray something similar at times?

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How To Be An Outrageous Leader

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[box]This is a guest post by Dwayne Morris. Dwayne is an author, speaker, husband and father. He recently released a book called The OUTRAGEOUS Life. You can read more about Dwayne on his blog and follow him on Twitter. Read more about his book here![/box]

outrageous leader

Outrageous Leader?

What adjective would people use in front of the word, “leader” to describe you? Are you a visionary leader? A predictable leader? A boring leader?

How about an OUTRAGEOUS leader?

My glance across the leadership front often leaves me slightly perplexed. I find myself straddling the models of old-school leadership and new-school leadership. My disarray is due in part to the intersection of my leadership experiences and a shift to a very different model.

New-School Leadership

The new model of leadership asks, “How can I help you succeed in your task?” That’s a little different than, “I hired you to do a job.” The best people on your team aren’t looking for a J-O-B. They are looking to make a difference; to do something bigger than themselves; to do something outrageous.

What it Takes to be OUTRAGEOUS

Leading your team members to use their God-created gifts to accomplish things they never thought possible requires an OUTRAGEOUS leader. This breed of leader understands a few key principles that help them standout and get noticed. All four of these come from the life of Gideon (Judges 6):

    My Contribution is Critical
    When God challenged Gideon to go save the Israelites from the oppression of the Midiantes and surrounding nations, all Gideon saw was what he could NOT do before ever considering what he COULD do.

    OUTRAGEOUS leaders don’t hide behind limitations. They know how God has gifted them and how He hasn’t. They delegate their weaknesses and play to their strengths.

    Obstacles are Opportunities
    When given the challenge to deliver his nation, Gideon went straight to making excuses. This is a natural response when we are pushed outside of our Comfort Zone.

    OUTRAGEOUS leaders know the area outside their Comfort Zone is called the Growth Zone. They embrace challenge as an opportunity to grow their faith and for God to do something outrageous Himself.

    Fear is the Signature of Success
    Any time you consider attempting the OUTRAGEOUS, fear will always show up with a Sharpie, ready to autograph your task. Gideon was covered in fear. So much so that he tested God with a magic show of sorts and a fleece.

    Fear is the natural by-product of any faith-driven task. The OUTRAGEOUS leader embraces fear as part of the formula for success.

    Small Plans Can Limit Big Possibilities
    Gideon obeyed the Lord’s command and rallied his army, but he had 32,000 too many. God wanted to do something outrageous and knew He had to stack the cards against Gideon. He told Gideon to send them all home but 300.

    The same is true for OUTRAGEOUS leaders. They realize the potential for God to do something beyond their limited ability and vision and allow Him to show off in their lives.

What About You?

Are you a candidate for an OUTRAGEOUS leader? Are you in a place where the Lord feels confident that you will allow Him to challenge you to do something beyond your ability? It’s a great experience to be a part of something bigger than we can imagine and to see God do something outrageous!

Which of these four components do you need to work on first?

What success have you had with one of these components?

Do you see your potential to be an OUTRAGEOUS leader?

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Wisdom Is Not To Be Ignored!

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Personal responsibility is an idea that seems to have been forgotten in our society today. If you listen carefully, you will quite often hear people offer excuses or point fingers at others when something goes wrong in their lives. Even when it is clear to everyone else around them, they cannot seem to make the connection between their decisions and their circumstances. Worse than this, in my opinion, is the way in which many leaders handle wisdom when it is offered to them.

wisdom

Wisdom Ignored

In my last couple of posts, I have been discussing the problems that surface when someone seeks wisdom from godly counselors and then ignores or dismisses the wisdom they are given. We have all seen this happen and have likely been guilty of it ourselves at one point or another in our lives.

For various reasons, we seek out wisdom from godly advisors, but we do not take it and apply it as they prescribe. Maybe we were actually seeking someone to agree with us or to confirm our own wisdom. Maybe the wisdom offered requires more work or discomfort than we are willing to experience. There are many more reasons this could happen.

Various Problems

Regardless of the reasons, ignoring wisdom causes problems. In my first post on this subject, I showed how ignoring wisdom can lead to serious trouble for the one doing the ignoring. The next post described how godly advisors can (and should) stop offering advice to someone who repeatedly ignores it. In today’s post, we will look at how this issue affects those who are following the repeat offender.

Higher Standards

First, lets remind ourselves that as Christian business owners and leaders, we are held to a higher standard. The Bible is clear about this and we have spent a lot of time in this blog discussing this fact. We cannot allow ourselves to forget that we are not only responsible for ourselves. We are not the only ones facing the consequences of our decisions.

We are also responsible for those who work for us and with us. We are responsible for their families as well. We have responsibility for our vendors as well as our customers. Everyone with whom we come into contact is relying on us to make wise decisions in one way or another. Whether we like this or not, this is the path we have chosen.

As a result, when we run into a situation that requires us to seek wisdom from godly advisors, it is likely a decision that carries significant consequences. It is likely a decision that will affect all of those we mentioned above. If we decide to ignore the wisdom we receive for whatever reasons, then we are sentencing others to our same consequences. We are taking them with us!

What Does Scripture Say?

Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about this…

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.
– Proverbs 13:14

He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
– Proverbs 10:17

Leading Others Astray

Here you see that when we ignore the teaching of the wise, not only are we headed toward the snares of death, but we are also leading others to that fate as well. These are people that have trusted us to lead them. When we ignore the wisdom in front of us and choose our own path, we take them with us to face the consequences!

Even if we are okay with our own personal consequences of ignoring wisdom, we cannot allow others to be led astray as a result. Either we need to step down from our position of leadership or we need to step up to the responsibilities that come with it!

Pray For Clarity

I would encourage you to pray (as I will) that God would reveal to you situations where you ignored wisdom offered. Pray that He will make those situations clear to you and show you how to avoid them in the future. Pray for Him to give you wisdom, along with discernment to see it in others. Pray for the humility necessary to accept wisdom from others the next time you ask for it.

Have you witnessed disastrous results for those following one ignoring wisdom?

Do you accept the responsibility for leading others according to godly wisdom?

How do you maintain the humility needed to remain open to wisdom offered?

17 Biblical Principles

What Would You Invest to Have 50 Biblical Mentors?

Imagine what it would cost to sit down to lunch with more than 50 different leaders to glean their wisdom for life.

  • What would it cost you to travel to more than 50 locations?
  • How much would you pay for hotels and food?
  • What scheduling headaches would you encounter trying to make it happen?

Your costs would easily run into the thousands of dollars if you could pull it off at all. But 17BPS has done it for you.

Now you can have all this wisdom delivered when it is convenient for you for only a fraction of the cost.

Click HERE to learn more!

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Wisdom: Handle With Care!

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In my last post, I described the dangers we will face as Christian business leaders when we seek wisdom, but do not heed it or apply it. Scripture is clear that we are headed for destruction if we ignore wisdom, but there is another problem that we need to address as well.

wisdom

Wisdom Not Common

I don’t know about you, but I do not see an oversupply of wise counselors hanging from trees. Maybe the world’s wisdom is plentiful, but finding a mentor or someone that has godly wisdom to offer us in times of struggle is difficult. In fact, that is one of the reasons I have enjoyed C12 as much as I have…for the multiple sources of godly business owners and leaders that are willing to share without hesitation!

The problem that is often overlooked when we choose to ignore the wisdom offered to us is that we may soon find the well dry when we really need it. If we keep coming and asking for advice without truly intending to accept and apply it, then we are likely to find it is not readily available when we decide we are ready to listen.

Various Reasons

Think about it. The people that are offering us their God-given wisdom are doing so for a couple of reasons. First, it is likely that someone else gave them godly wisdom when they needed it most. They give now because someone gave it to them.

Maybe they are motivated by Scripture that says “with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)” They realize that giving wisdom out when asked will result in them gaining even more wisdom!

Frustration Comes

Regardless of the motivation of the giver, eventually they will tire of giving advice to someone who clearly does not intend to follow it. At some point, they will quit dispensing wisdom to this person and move on to more productive uses of their time. They will finally give in to the frustration. Frankly, we really cannot blame them, can we? (One exception to this rule may be parents of teenagers! We can’t quit!)

So, what are we to do?

My Advice

If you are one that is seeking wisdom and advice, but not listening to it for one reason or another…take this as a warning! Pray for God to reveal to you your motivations and the intent of your heart. Pray for Him to show you where you are closed-minded and to help you open your ears to hear. Do this with a sincere heart!

If, on the other hand, you are in a position of offering wisdom to someone that refuses to listen, I think you need to have a heart-to-heart with this person. Share with them what you are seeing and ask them to consider whether your perspective is accurate.

Do not make this a confrontation. There is no need to let it get ugly. Simply state your position and ask for their consideration. Once you have done this, expect the best. Plan for a new relationship and an open mind on their part.

Advice From Scripture

If you get a stone wall, then don’t fret. Simply walk away knowing you have done your part. Take a look at the following verses and see if maybe they speak to this situation:

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feetwhen you leave that house or town.
– Matthew 10:14

Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.
– Matthew 7:6

Do you fall into either group?

Do you think my advice in your case is worth following?

What would you add to this discussion?

17 Biblical Principles

What Would You Invest to Have 50 Biblical Mentors?

Imagine what it would cost to sit down to lunch with more than 50 different leaders to glean their wisdom for life.

  • What would it cost you to travel to more than 50 locations?
  • How much would you pay for hotels and food?
  • What scheduling headaches would you encounter trying to make it happen?

Your costs would easily run into the thousands of dollars if you could pull it off at all. But 17BPS has done it for you.

Now you can have all this wisdom delivered when it is convenient for you for only a fraction of the cost.

Click HERE to learn more!

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Do You Love Jesus More Than They Do?

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Why is it that we so often judge others by their actions, but we judge ourselves by our intentions? Are you aware that you do that? I know I do. In fact, it is easy for all of us to look around in the business world, in the community, or even in the church, and determine that we love Jesus more than the vast majority loves Him.

love Jesus

Simple Question From Jesus?

In my last post, we started by looking at Peter’s denial of Jesus on the night before His crucifixion (John 18:15-27). We then skipped forward to the moment when Jesus was restoring Peter on the beach over a breakfast fire (John 21:15-17). This was when Jesus asked Peter a very simple question:

Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

What Did Jesus Mean?

As I look at this apparently simple question, I think of at least three different possible meanings intended by Jesus. While I conceded that we cannot know with certainty what Jesus meant with His question, I still think there is much we can learn from taking a look at these three possibilities.

The first possibility that comes to mind is that Jesus was asking Peter, “Do you love Me more than you love these disciples?” We dealt with what we could learn from this question in my last post.

Another Possibility

Today, I want to dig a little deeper into a second possibility. Imagine, for clarity, that Jesus worded His question in this way:

Do you love Me more than these disciples love Me?

As I stated in my opening paragraph, it is too easy for us to look around and determine that we love Jesus more than any of those around us do. Most of us will acknowledge that our actions do not always reflect our deep love for Jesus, but it is there nonetheless.

Do They Love Jesus As Much?

When we look at the actions of others however, we cannot imagine that they really love Jesus in their hearts. If they love Jesus as much as we do, there is no way they would do what they do, right?

I know there are many who are reading this post right now (author included!) that have looked at other Christians that are business owners and leaders and we have wondered why they are not living out their faith as we do. We judge their business practices and question their motives. We smugly think that we just love Jesus more than they do!

Two Major Problems!

Unfortunately, there are two major problems with this logic. First, we do not know their hearts or their intentions. Without this knowledge, there is no way we can rightly judge how much they love Jesus!

The second problem, and maybe the biggest of all, is that we have no right to compare our love of Jesus with theirs in the first place! We are ALL sinners that deserve to die. On our own, we are sentenced to death for our thoughts and actions. There is no hope for ANY of us…except through Jesus.

What Does Scripture Say?

For an example from Scripture, let’s take a look at the following passage from Luke 18:9-14.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: “Two men went up to the temple complex to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee took his stand and was praying like this: ‘God, I thank You that I’m not like other people —greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’

“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, turn Your wrath from me—a sinner!’ I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

I am not sure there is anything I can add to that example that would further clarify the danger in comparing our love for Jesus to that of others. Whether this is an issue Jesus was addressing in Peter or not, we can certainly learn from it!

Have you ever been guilty of comparing how much you love Jesus to others?

What are your feelings right now?

What do you think needs to change?

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Do You Love Jesus More Than These?

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As I look back on Easter and the events surrounding the resurrection, I cannot help but also think about Peter’s denial of Jesus. Though he is clearly a leader that we would do well to emulate, Peter really messed up this time – just like we do! In fact, we are constantly faced with opportunities to deny Jesus. I want to look at three different ways we could look at Jesus’ response to Peter and what we can learn from each about how we love Jesus.

love Jesus

Peter’s Denial of Jesus

Just in case you are not familiar with the story, Peter was following at a distance behind Jesus as He was taken to the house of the High Priest the night before He was to be crucified. Three times, Peter is asked about his relationship with Jesus. Three times, Peter denies knowing Jesus.

While there are reams of sermons about Peter’s denial, I want to look at a different part of the story. Fast forward to sometime after the resurrection and Jesus is having breakfast over a fire with Peter and the other disciples. Jesus is focused on Peter and from what we can tell, restoring their relationship.

In John 21:15, Jesus asks Peter a fairly straightforward question:

Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

Straightforward Question?

While this appears like a straightforward question, there may be more to it than we think. Clearly, Jesus is giving Peter a chance to admit his love for Jesus. That is not hard to figure out. In fact, Jesus gives Peter this chance three times – the same number of times that Peter denied knowing Jesus.

There are many lessons we can pull from this part of the story as well. Still, I want to focus elsewhere. Instead, I want to focus on the last three words of Jesus in the question above. I want us to look at what Jesus meant by asking if Peter loved Him “more than these?”

More Than These?

What did Jesus mean when He added these three words to the end of His question? He did not include these words as He asked the question two more times. Was it a mistake? Of course not! Can we know for sure exactly what He meant? Maybe not.

But if we really think about the possible meanings Jesus intended, I think there are at least three solid lessons we can learn. As Christian business owners and leaders, we can take these three words and gain some insights into some potential pitfalls we may face regarding the way we love Jesus.

Let’s take a look at the first of these potential pitfalls today. We will cover the other two in my next two posts.

More Than You Love These Disciples?

In order to get an idea of one question Jesus could have been asking of Peter, let’s modify His question slightly.

Do you love me more than you love these disciples?

IF this indeed is what Jesus was asking Peter, what are the implications? What would this mean to us in the business world? What can we do about it?

Well, if this was truly what Jesus meant when He asked Peter the question, then the implication is that Peter had the potential to put his relationship with one or more of the disciples ahead of his relationship with Jesus. Maybe Peter had indicated this with some of his behavior at some point and Jesus was calling him out on it.

How Do We Love Jesus?

I am not sure about this problem with Peter, but I am confident it is a problem for you and me! I think we make decisions every day that place our love for and relationship with others ahead of Jesus.

Take a moment and think about it. Have you made decisions to bend the rules a little in your business or job because it would benefit you and your relationship with others? Maybe the “others” were your wife or children or even other employees or coworkers. Have you ever made these kinds of decisions even though you knew it was not exactly what you “should” do?

Have you ever chosen, or even allowed yourself, to spend time with someone else instead of keeping your commitment to time with Jesus? Maybe it is simpler to ask it this way. Do your relationships with others come between you and Jesus?

I Am Guilty!

If you are anything like me, you have to answer “yes” to some or all of these questions. If you are like me, it is also true that these decisions seem to slip under your radar. There is not always a sharp nudge from your conscience when this happens.

I guess this is because we tend to put our sins on a scale, assigning differing values to each. Some sins (especially when we see it in others!) are considered more dangerous. Some (those we detect in our own lives!) are less serious. Because no one is visibly hurt when we choose another relationship over Jesus, I guess we just tend to minimize this.

Love Jesus First!

Unfortunately, I do not think Jesus sees it this way. A quick glance at a couple of Scriptures confirms this (Luke 14:26, Matthew 8:18-22, Revelation 2:4). Quite simply, Jesus expects to be our first love. We are to put all other relationships aside when it comes to Him. He gave it all for us and expects us to fully commit to Him.

I encourage you to search your heart (and your business) to find what relationships you are putting ahead of Jesus. Pray for Him to show you where He should be first. Be open to hear and willing to change. I promise, He will answer you.

Do you see any relationships in your life that come between you and Jesus?

Do you love others more than you love Jesus?

Are you praying for clarity in this situation?

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Do You Believe In The Mentor Process?

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I recently had the opportunity to participate in an interview process that was unrelated to our business. During the interview with a candidate, he mentioned one of the main desires he had for the job he was seeking. This main objective was to be mentored by his more experienced boss in a one-on-one setting. He felt this was the only way he would ever grow into the person he wanted to become.

How often do you hear that in an interview?

mentor

Still Learning!

I had another experience recently where I needed some advice from an older, more experienced friend in the business. As he responded to my questions, he included some ideas he had recently learned in a seminar he had attended.

Remember that I was seeking advice from him because he is older, wiser, and much more experienced in our industry. And yet he is still being intentional about his continued learning! I was impressed!

Not Impressed?

Maybe these examples are not that impressive to you. Maybe you already understand the importance of being mentored so that you are always learning. Maybe this idea is something you have experienced many times and you are looking for something new.

Well, I think I may have something for you.

What about BEING the mentor?

As Christian business owners and leaders, I think we can all agree that continuous learning is critical to our success. There are very few, if any, solid Christian leaders that would argue against continuous learning – whether by being mentored or self-taught.

Now A Mentor?

Unfortunately, you will likely get a very different answer if you ask those same Christian leaders if they are actively mentoring someone else! Of course, you will get many excuses and reasons for the lack of activity in this area. I can even come up with a few good ones myself!

Consult Scripture

The problem is that these excuses do not hold water when compared to Scripture. Just looking at one verse in Paul’s second letter to Timothy will shoot holes in these excuses:

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
2 Timothy 2:2

While that may be enough to convince you to intentionally become a mentor, let’s also take a look at the following verses:

One generation will declare Your works to the next and will proclaim Your mighty acts.
Psalm 145:4

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17

Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will; not for the money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
1 Peter 5:2-3

I think you are getting the picture.

Learning Is Not Enough!

The point here is that it is NOT enough for us to be always looking for opportunities to learn more. While this is certainly something we should seek, there must be more. To follow Scripture, we must also be seeking out those who are eager to learn. We must be willing to mentor them, teaching them what we already know.

Paul taught Timothy and then told him to go teach others that would be qualified to do the same thing! We need to do this as well.

Different Formats

For some, this will mean a regular one-on-one meeting schedule with someone not as far along in their business or their walk. For others, this may mean leading a group study or teaching through a blog!

It really does not matter the format. What matters is that we are making the effort to pass on our knowledge and wisdom to those who can learn from it.

Nor does it matter if we can teach them everything they need to know! Most likely, we cannot. The good news is that we are not responsible for filling their tanks with knowledge. We are simply responsible for emptying ours!

Pray About Your Role!

I encourage you to pray this very day about who you need to mentor and how you should go about doing it. Do not put this off or it will never happen. This must be an intentional effort on your part.

If nothing else, at least begin praying that God would show you the path to being the mentor He wants you to be. I promise you He will answer if you are willing to be used!

Are you actively mentoring someone else right now?

If not, why not? What is holding you back?

Are you willing to pray about it?

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Living In The Details: My Daily Plan

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In her second guest post in this two-part series, Kari Scare digs into the details about the daily plan that is part of her overall life plan. Her method is simple and straight forward, making it very useable for anyone! It brings some structure, but retains flexibility for those days we all need it! I highly recommend you take a look at her overall “Big Picture” in her last post as well as consider the details of her daily plan as she describes it today. You will probably want to read more from Kari at her blog – Struggle to Victory.

daily plan

My Daily Plan

As detailed in The Big Picture, my husband and I created a life plan together many years ago. We do our best to teach our boys the elements of that life plan in the way we operate as a family and as individuals.

Each member of my family lives out the life plan in very different ways, that is to say we have unique daily game plans. Though how we each live in the details is unique to the individual, we still work as a unit to make sure our family stays on track with its priorities.

Today’s post details the carrying out of the Big Picture “daily plan” from my perspective.

Creating a Daily Plan

Each morning, I make time to allow the following process to happen. During the week, this process can last an hour or two. When the family is home, the process sometimes need shortened or at least metered out differently.

    1. Hear the timeline the Holy Spirit has for my day. Because I tend to over-control, I must give my day over right away to the Spirit’s control. I do this through time in prayer and God’s Word.
    2. Make a list of the day’s goals. Sometimes this involves repurposing part of my last “to do” list, and sometimes a new one gets created. This list comes into existence during step 1, usually one piece at a time.
    3. Seek confirmation of the game plan. Did I mention that I tend to over control? Because this truly is a chronic struggle for me, I spend time reading Christian blog posts and short devotions after my list is created. No set number, just enough until I feel a peace in my spirit about the day’s plan.

This approach attempts to pre-empt my tendency to over-control and script my day too much. In my head, I call it forcing things. I used to live a life where I forced every aspect, partly because I lacked patience and partly because I thrived on control. This scripting or forcing always led to immense frustration.

Integrating Structure

The above process works well for creating my daily plan. But alone, it’s not quite enough structure. I like flexibility, but I also realize that my moods and feelings can easily distract me. For this reason, I use the following tools to help keep me focused and structured enough to stay productive.

    · Lists
    Some are paper & some electronic. My weekly project list and daily “to do” list (sometimes these are one and sometimes separate), are written out on paper. Then, I use Evernote and Alarm Stiky Note on my tablet for other lists such as books to read and shopping lists.
    · Calendars
    I have an electronic calendar for appointments and a paper calendar for my writing. The electronic calendar goes with me pretty much everywhere, but the blog calendar stays with my writing material. I check my electronic calendar daily and the writing calendar when necessary to direct my writing priorities.
    · Journal
    This is where I keep prayer requests, where I express my emotion, where I address problems and struggles, and where I consider goals and focus areas.

    · Devotions
    Devotions allow God to direct my thoughts, feelings, goals, etc. Sometimes I use a book of devotions, and sometimes I use devotions from other blogs. Sometimes I read just one, sometimes several. God uses devotions written by godly people to confirm His Spirit’s direction.
    · Bible study
    The Holy Spirit always has a specific focus for me to study that goes deeper than daily devotions.

    · Scripture memorization
    This is the area with which I struggle the most. I continually have scripture I want to memorize and am working on a solid system that I can stick with.

    · Idea book
    While I am very picky about the book I use for this, I am not so picky about what I write inside. Sometimes I write brief thoughts, quotes and notes. Sometimes, I write outlines for posts or studies. And often, I write an entire post out before typing it. This is the book I take with me when writing at the coffee shop or sitting outside on the deck. When I want to decide blog post topics, I go through this book.

Each of these items is an essential tool in my daily plan. They are adaptable to my needs and moods, yet they also provide a structure that helps me stay focused. This system helps me release control and rely more on the Spirit’s leading as I live out the details of The Big Picture.

Do you see how you could manage a similar daily plan?

Which of these tools should you immediately add to your daily plan?

Do you see enough flexibility in this daily plan process?

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The Daily Game Plan: A Must Use Tool!

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If you have ever worked on a life plan for your life, then you know the process can be somewhat overwhelming. You likely know that maintaining that life plan can become a burden at times, depending on how you have it set up. In light of that, I have come up with a tool I am calling a daily game plan that may just be the help you are looking for!

game plan

Daily Game Plan

In my last post, I described how I progressed from modifying and tweaking my life plan to creating a more simple tool called a daily game plan. Birthed out of an idea I got from reading Seven Days in Utopia, this daily game plan is an effort to apply life plan strategy to our daily lives. Take a look at my last post for more on the thought process behind this tool.

As I promised in the last post, I want to take you through the current version of my daily game plan tool. I will go over each area and explain how I use it. I will also give you the option to download a pdf of it. As I go through this process, be thinking about how you would improve this tool. I am going to ask you for your feedback at the end.

How To Proceed

The best way for you to go through the rest of this post is to [CLICK HERE] for a marked-up, full-screen view of a completed daily game plan. Because each section is labeled to make it easier to follow along, you will likely want to keep this open in the separate tab and flip back and forth between them. If you would prefer, you can also just print a copy. Either way, it will be helpful to have it visible as you progress through my description below.

Section #1 – Key Questions

This first section is fairly simple. As you can see, I put the day and date in the box at the top and then I read through the questions. These questions are some that I pulled together and may change from time to time. You could add your own here.

Sometimes I actually write a one or two word answer to some of the questions. Sometimes I just think about them and leave them blank. The point is to read and contemplate these questions every day. I want these thoughts becoming part of my mindset throughout the day.

Section #2 – Calendar

The next section is a condensed calendar picture of my day – only the highlights. I do not put more than three or four items on this calendar. The purpose of this section is two-fold.

First, I want to think through my day and how it will flow. When I have to write it like this and only have room for the select few events, I have to visualize how they will fit together. The second reason is to remind me of those bigger appointments when I glance over the game plan during the day.

Section #3 – Key Focuses

In this third area of my daily game plan, I write the most important task or project for me to accomplish that day. Sometimes there are a total of three or four of these items when I combine the three categories – Work, Home, Other. More often, there are only one or two items listed here.

While my to-do list is always much larger than this, completing this section of the game plan forces me to determine and prioritize my most critical tasks. This is a great exercise, especially when many days my to-do’s overwhelm me. I find that it is seldom that I do not accomplish all that is listed here.

Section #4 – Outreach & Prayer

In this part of the game plan, I stop to think about the people I am likely to work with that day. Is there anyone in particular, employee or otherwise, that I need to reach out to in a special way? If someone comes to mind with clarity, then I write their name in the space and pray for the opportunity to impact them. If not, I leave it blank.

After that, I write in those areas about which I know I need to pray. This may be something related to my marriage or my children. It could be a pending decision at work or even a habit I am trying to break. Nothing is off limits here (except a confidential request from someone else!).

Section #5 – Potential Problems

This is one area where I have seen the most impact on my days since I have been using this daily game plan. Here, on the left side, I ask the question, “What could go wrong today?” I then write down any potential surprises or obstacles that I think may pop up during the day to come.

I imagine what it might look like if a conversation I plan to have that day ends up going bad. It could be that I might receive bad news in a pending project I am working on. It could even be a temptation that I am not prepared to handle.

Once I determine a couple of likely problems, I ask myself, “How will I (later) wish I had handled it?” This is a powerful question because it forces me to think about how I would script the situation after it goes bad. It is accountability in advance! You would be amazed at how much easier it is to handle a crises when you have already visualized it and scripted your response!

For a detailed description of the meaning of the five terms (Observation, Strategy, See, Feel, Trust), you need to read the book, Seven Days in Utopia!

Section #6 – Scripture Memory

This final section of the daily game plan is the simplest, but also carries power. In the top section, I write the Bible verse that I am attempting to memorize for that week. In the bottom section, I write the verse I memorized from last week.

This rotates each week so I am writing each verse once a day for two weeks. I also glance at the reference during the day and attempt to repeat both of the verses aloud without looking. This may only happen once or twice during the day, but any repetition helps!

Summary

As I said before, I tried this on a half of a sheet of paper at first (8.5″ x 11″ folded), but I am now loading it onto my iPad in an app called Notes Plus. It is fully contained on the screen and I am able to easily access it throughout the day. This seems to work best for me as I am carrying my iPad everywhere I go now.

Like I said before, this is a work in progress. There may be parts of this idea that excite you and other parts that leave you saying, “Huh?” That is fine! I don’t expect you to accept it all as/is and start using it that way. My main purpose in sharing is to start the conversation – both in your mind as well as between all of us.

Take some time and think it over. Ask me questions or give me some suggestions. The only advice I will give is to be determined to keep it as simple as possible! Do not give in to the temptation to add two or three (or more) incremental improvements that end up making it too cumbersome to use.

For a blank copy of this game plan, [CLICK HERE].

What are your thoughts about the game plan?

Does it generate any ideas for you?

What additions/deletions would you suggest?