We recognize the value of organizations going through the clarity process of identifying their vision and mission, strategy and values - but we rarely talk much about doing that on a personal level.
If you're interested in some valuable reflection time, here are some questions that can help you gain clarity, focus, and direction.
* What is your personal mission mandate, in a single sentence? "I was made by God to..."
* What are the values that compel you to make the statement above? What are the values that compel you to take action?
* How do you want to live out that mission and those values? What are the 5-7 things you feel are essential to fulfilling your notion of why God made you?
* When you are living your life well - living it the way God intended - what are the outcomes? "I know I'm doing this well when...."
* Where is God taking you? Is there a metaphor - an image - that portrays graphically what you are about?
Take a couple of hours with no interruptions and play with these questions. Ask God to speak in the silence of your reflection.
Live life on purpose! It's much more fun.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Keys To Personal Happiness
Happiness, according to Psalm 1, is a combination of what you DON'T do and what you DO do (no potty humor intended)
Happy are people who DO NOT:
* Live based on the principles of ungodly people
* Give their heart away to ungodly people
* Permanently conform to the behaviors of ungodly people
Also, Happy are people who DO:
* Delight themselves in God's Word
* Meditate on God's Word day and night
* Feed their self-health (identity, emotions, dreams, etc) with God's Presence
The combination of the DO NOT decisions and the DO decisions is catalytic for personal happiness.
Oh the happiness of those who...
Happy are people who DO NOT:
* Live based on the principles of ungodly people
* Give their heart away to ungodly people
* Permanently conform to the behaviors of ungodly people
Also, Happy are people who DO:
* Delight themselves in God's Word
* Meditate on God's Word day and night
* Feed their self-health (identity, emotions, dreams, etc) with God's Presence
The combination of the DO NOT decisions and the DO decisions is catalytic for personal happiness.
Oh the happiness of those who...
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
One Of Our Spiritual Fathers Has Died
Today, one of my heroes, Pastor Glen Cole died of a massive heart attack. He was found in his car in the parking lot of the church he serves in Sacramento, CA when office personnel were surprised by his absence and went outside to look for him. He arrived, parked, undid his seat belt, and went into the arms of Jesus.
Pastor Cole led Evergreen from 1967-1978 and had more impact in a city than any Pastor I've ever known. Under his leadership the church moved from downtown Olympia to our current location in 1971; the school was added in 1974; and in 1977 the addition of the main auditorium was completed. Olympia was greatly impacted by this man’s ministry and our church saw amazing amounts of growth.
I have met several pastors in Thurston County, of all denominations, who trace their spiritual heritage to Glen. This man was a legend and a legacy for God's glory.
We are honored to announce that we will simulcast the funeral live from Sacramento, CA on Monday afternoon, February 20, at 3pm in the main auditorium of ECC.
Please pray for his family as they grieve their loss.
Monday, February 13, 2012
THE Question
With all the talk about marriage and true love this week, I find myself praying for those who are in difficult relationships and challenging circumstances.
I have a word of encouragement for you.
I want to encourage you to ask THE question.
Moses was asked THE question by God Himself in the desert when the people were complaining about not having meat to eat. God told Moses that He would provide quail for the people to eat - so much quail that they would get sick of it!
Moses did the kind of math we all do: # of people + # of quail needed + being in a region where there are zero quail = no way!
You may be this certain about a miracle you need right now, too.
Then God asks THE question: "Is there a limit to my power?"
I encourage you to calculate your needs, analyze your crisis, and discern the terrain of your resource landscape to assess the problem.
Then, ask THE question.
Then reflect and worship with THE question as the only item in your mind.
See what happens. See if God might speak to you about what He would like to do in your situation.
Listen... Dream... Trust... Obey...
By the way, God blew a strong wind and drove over 10 million quail into the desert for his people. That's right, 10 million - in a region where there isn't a quail for miles and miles.
He will blow a wind in your direction, too.
I have a word of encouragement for you.
I want to encourage you to ask THE question.
Moses was asked THE question by God Himself in the desert when the people were complaining about not having meat to eat. God told Moses that He would provide quail for the people to eat - so much quail that they would get sick of it!
Moses did the kind of math we all do: # of people + # of quail needed + being in a region where there are zero quail = no way!
You may be this certain about a miracle you need right now, too.
Then God asks THE question: "Is there a limit to my power?"
I encourage you to calculate your needs, analyze your crisis, and discern the terrain of your resource landscape to assess the problem.
Then, ask THE question.
Then reflect and worship with THE question as the only item in your mind.
See what happens. See if God might speak to you about what He would like to do in your situation.
Listen... Dream... Trust... Obey...
By the way, God blew a strong wind and drove over 10 million quail into the desert for his people. That's right, 10 million - in a region where there isn't a quail for miles and miles.
He will blow a wind in your direction, too.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
4 Characteristics of Marriages That Don't Make It
In the teaching time this morning, I ran out of time before I could give this information and I promised I would post it now.
Psychologist John Gottman has interviewed hundreds of divorced couples and discovered 4 things their conflicts and arguments had in common. He calls them the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He declares that if your marriage has these 4 characteristics, there is a 94% certainty that you're headed for divorce.
CRITICISM - attacking or blaming the personality or character of your spouse, rather than discussing the issues. It is different than complaining - it is attacking the very nature of the person. It is intended to make someone right and someone wrong. Includes generalizations like, "you always..." or "you never..." or "why are you so..."
CONTEMPT - Insulting or psychologically abusing your partner by attacking their sense of self. Examples are insults or name calling, hostile humor, mockery, put downs and body language that communicates contempt, like sneering, rolling your eyes, or curling your upper lip.
DEFENSIVENESS - seeing yourself as the victim and denying personal responsibility and making excuses for your own behaviors or failures. Cross-complaining; meeting your partner's complaint with a new complaint you have of them, rather than addressing their complaint. Repeating yourself without paying attention to what they say. Also, negative mind-reading - that is, attributing hostility to your spouse, even though they don't intend it.
STONEWALLING - withdrawing from the relationship as a way to avoid conflict. shutting down and erecting a brick wall to stop the argument. Refusing to continue with the discussion or debate and simply walling yourself up as no longer available. Changing the subject or removing yourself physically.
Gottman says that each horseman paves the way for the next.
Unhappy couples are usually doing some form of relationship dance involving some combination of pursue-withdraw. In other words, the more one person tries to get close the more the other person withdraws; and the more the other person withdraws, the more the first person tries to get close.
Criticism and defensiveness are common aspects of the pursue part of the dance and contempt and stonewalling are common aspects of the withdraw part of the dance.
What we are really saying when we are pursuing through criticism and defensiveness is “Notice me. Be with me. Pay attention to me. I need you.”
What we are really saying when we are withdrawing even when done with contempt and stonewalling is “I don’t want you to hurt me. Leave me alone. I am trying to stay in control.”
Either way, these behaviors are serious indicators that the relationship is in trouble.
Psychologist John Gottman has interviewed hundreds of divorced couples and discovered 4 things their conflicts and arguments had in common. He calls them the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He declares that if your marriage has these 4 characteristics, there is a 94% certainty that you're headed for divorce.
CRITICISM - attacking or blaming the personality or character of your spouse, rather than discussing the issues. It is different than complaining - it is attacking the very nature of the person. It is intended to make someone right and someone wrong. Includes generalizations like, "you always..." or "you never..." or "why are you so..."
CONTEMPT - Insulting or psychologically abusing your partner by attacking their sense of self. Examples are insults or name calling, hostile humor, mockery, put downs and body language that communicates contempt, like sneering, rolling your eyes, or curling your upper lip.
DEFENSIVENESS - seeing yourself as the victim and denying personal responsibility and making excuses for your own behaviors or failures. Cross-complaining; meeting your partner's complaint with a new complaint you have of them, rather than addressing their complaint. Repeating yourself without paying attention to what they say. Also, negative mind-reading - that is, attributing hostility to your spouse, even though they don't intend it.
STONEWALLING - withdrawing from the relationship as a way to avoid conflict. shutting down and erecting a brick wall to stop the argument. Refusing to continue with the discussion or debate and simply walling yourself up as no longer available. Changing the subject or removing yourself physically.
Gottman says that each horseman paves the way for the next.
Unhappy couples are usually doing some form of relationship dance involving some combination of pursue-withdraw. In other words, the more one person tries to get close the more the other person withdraws; and the more the other person withdraws, the more the first person tries to get close.
Criticism and defensiveness are common aspects of the pursue part of the dance and contempt and stonewalling are common aspects of the withdraw part of the dance.
What we are really saying when we are pursuing through criticism and defensiveness is “Notice me. Be with me. Pay attention to me. I need you.”
What we are really saying when we are withdrawing even when done with contempt and stonewalling is “I don’t want you to hurt me. Leave me alone. I am trying to stay in control.”
Either way, these behaviors are serious indicators that the relationship is in trouble.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
A Glorious Red-Neck Saturday Morning
This morning I went into the Capital Forest with most of our family to do what all good red-necks do - blow stuff up!
We had quite an arsenal and I was able to teach my granddaughter how to shoot an antique 22 pistol Sue's dad gave me recently. It's an H&R 9-shot that was manufactured somewhere between 1919 and 1924. It belonged to Sue's father's grand-father, and John actually saw him shoot it when he was a little boy.
We had quite a good time shooting and the forest was beautiful today, with low fog in the tree tops and a light mist.
Good times, my friends. Good times.
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Sometimes Smart Is Not Good Enough
I believe in planning, strategy, leadership, accountability, budgets, teams, wisdom and discernment. I believe that almost all the time, great leadership, wisdom, and execution are the keys to getting things right.
I also know that sometimes what is needed is not a good idea, but a GOD idea.
Sometimes we face issues, complexities, and environments where the right answer only comes from God and requires a move of God.
To lean only on great "leadership and execution" during those times is empty, narrow-sighted, and just plain sad.
"Unless the LORD build the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." (Psalm 127:1)
I'm in this exact season. I need to hear from God. I need Him to untangle the complexities around me. I need Him to move the mountain.
Don't try to lead your way out of a God situation. It's much easier to simply listen and obey. Follow Him to the win.
I also know that sometimes what is needed is not a good idea, but a GOD idea.
Sometimes we face issues, complexities, and environments where the right answer only comes from God and requires a move of God.
To lean only on great "leadership and execution" during those times is empty, narrow-sighted, and just plain sad.
"Unless the LORD build the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." (Psalm 127:1)
I'm in this exact season. I need to hear from God. I need Him to untangle the complexities around me. I need Him to move the mountain.
Don't try to lead your way out of a God situation. It's much easier to simply listen and obey. Follow Him to the win.
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