Success requires work!

As we head into a new year, many people are feverishly working on their new years resolutions lists and trying to complete their 2012 resolutions. Many people will follow through on their resolutions through February or March before they give up and fizzle out.  But a small number of people will continue to plug away through the entire year.  They will run into road blocks, speed bumps, and brick walls, but they will push through.  Nevertheless.  I love that word, it's one of my favorite words. Nevertheless.  To which group will you belong in the new year? 

Even if you belonged to the first group, you now have a chance to join  the second group. It will not be easy.  If you are like most people, you work a full time job, you are working on a degree, you have relationships to maintain, bills to pay, the list goes on.  I work a full time job, am working on two books, and my MBA program starts in a few days.  Your life list may be slightly different or slightly similar.  Nevertheless, if you want to be successful in the new year and for the rest of your life for that matter; whatever your idea of success is, success requires work. 

The following list will help you as you strive to be successful.  This is the list that has helped me in the past:

• Make a list of everything you would like to accomplish in 2013.  Make the list comprehensive, realistic, and short.  If you put too many items on your plate, your list, you probably will get only one or two things done, or nothing at all will be completed.  My Dad told me something a few years ago and I believe that is why I now have my bachelor's degree: 'You start but you don't finish'.  Ouch! He didn't mean it in a general sense, he was referring to my having not finished my degree at that point.  This leads to my next point.
• Listen to people who have your best interests at heart.  You don't have to do everything they say, but you should hear what they are saying.  Surround yourself with smart, forward-thinking people.  People whose lives you can see are headed in the right direction.   would you take advice from someone whose life is a mess and doesn't seem to be headed in the right direction?
• Learn to say no.  During the two years it took me to finish my bachelor's, I had to say no to many things I would have loved to do.  I was asked to teach a class, go to the movies, join certain groups.  Those were all good things to do, but my priority at that time was school.  Yes, I took a break once in a while to go to a movie or to the beach, but I did not add more items to my plate or hang  out with friends every weekend. Which, by the way, leads to my next point.
• Learn to prioritize.   Once you make your list, re-write your list in order of priority.  Did you know that everyone has priorities?  Whether they tell you what those priorities are, is another story.  Sometimes they may be your priority, but you may not be theirs.  Make sure you know what your priorities are and only change them if you are comfortable with the changes. 
• Check off each item as it as completed.  I am a list and day timer person.  I realize not everyone can be this way, I don't understand why.  Nevertheless, that's what works for me.  Checking items off your list will give you a sense of accomplishment and makes you look forward to the next items on your list with an "I can do this" attitude.  And you can do this!  Regardless of the road blocks, speed bumps and brick walls, you can do it.  We all run into blocks, getting through them is what separates us from the February fizzlers and makes us successful.  Go for it in 2013! Nevertheless!

Grief, what to do with it?

Before Sandy hook and after, grief was and is, and will be.  My heart continues to break along with human beings all over the world who can only ask 'why, how?' I feel a consensus of numbness and disbelief wherever I go and to whomever I speak.  As human beings we just cannot bring ourselves to believe that something exists in another human being that can bring him, or her, to the point of committing such an act as was committed at Newtown, CT., USA. 

Many discussions have ensued: gun control, mental illness, and of course silly conspiracy theories. But what about grief?  How should we deal with the grief?  "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he  that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." Ecclesiastes 1:18.  The smarter we become as a society, as human beings, the more we let some things slide; go by the wayside.  If we are to have a chance as human beings, just like in any personal relationship, we must face every aspect of that relationship: the good, the bad, and the ugly.  That is the only way the relationship will grow and become beautiful, and cherished.

We must face grief, walk through it and keep going until it no longer engulfs us.  At the same time we cannot forget it.  It becomes not a garish uncomely way for us to present ourselves to the world; but a part of us that is strength, empathy, remembrance, and honor.  We are strong in that we made it through.  We empathize with others who are walking through.  We remember our loss--a child, a loved one.  We honor that loved one. When we do these things, we realize we can make it through.

The fiscal cliff

What I am about to say will seem harsh to some and true to others.  We should be ready for the fiscal cliff whether or not it happens.  As Americans we should be more financially prepared for whatever comes down the pike than we usually are.  Unfortunately this type of thinking comes later in life after we have made most of our financial mistakes and are in the midst of fixing, or 'repairing' those mistakes. 

One of my favorite phrases lately is 'you don't know what's coming down the pike.'  Since no one knows what's coming down the pike, we must save accordingly.  I have discussed this in previous posts but I cannot say it enough.  No matter how much or how little we make, we must put something away for a rainy day.  In these days of rampant layoffs, downsizing or demotions, and  multiple job changes during our working years; we have to find a way to stay ahead of the curve, or the mayhem that ensues when a sudden financial loss occurs in our lives. 

It is only a matter of time for each of us to hit a terrible financial roadblock, something we did not see coming.  American society has gone through some serious financial changes since 2008 when the housing bubble burst, uh, exploded.  Some of us have considered our financial ways, but many people still want to keep up with the Joneses, overspend, and live above our means.  But what happens when that unexpected pink slip is so kindly handed to us and we do not have three to six months saved for a rainy day?

I am not trying to spread doom and gloom, I am spreading hope.  We can maintain our own hope by exercising common sense in our spending, the amount of debt we allow ourselves to carry, and paying attention to the signs and to the times.  Too many of us are crashing and burning financially every time a pink slip is handed out.  Let us maintain more control over what happens to us financially if or when we are sent packing whether it is being released from our job or if our tax burden increases because we go over the fiscal cliff, which some have mentioned is actually a fiscal slope. 

Slope or cliff, we must not be afraid but do the best we can with what we have, what we have been given. 

The end of the world!

Altun Ha Mayan Ruins, outside Belize City

If you have been keeping track of the Mayan Calendar, the end of the world is  upon us, in a little more than two weeks at the time of this writing.  I've been to the Maya Ruins known as Altun Ha, just outside Belize City on a couple of occasions.  I am always impressed by the way the Mayans built their temples.  These people, like the Egyptians, had some kind of extra inside tip on mathematics or something.  Their beliefs were 'interesting', but their buildings are amazing.  At any rate, according to the Mayan calendar we are at the end of the world, are you ready?

 

As a Christian, I believe what the Bible says, which is that we should 'Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.' Matthew 24:42.  I don't know about you, but I am a literal believer in the God of the Book and what His Book says.  Yes, the Maya were an intelligent people, they built great temples, and the items found in their burial temples are said to be amazing; but whatever is supposed to happen in two weeks I am not convinced it is the end of the world.  I sometimes wonder though, if there may be a change of some kind that will happen.  It's nothing I read or a conversation I in which I took part, it's just a recurring thought that these people were intelligent.  From where did they obtain their information?

 

At any rate, whatever they knew and from wherever they obtained their information, I will opt for being ready for when Jesus comes back.  What does being ready for when Jesus comes back really mean?  It means spending your days talking to Jesus, your nights praying for your enemies as well as your friends, spending time in His word, and thanking Him for forgiving you of your sins and loving you despite those sins.  In a nutshell, stay in relationship with Jesus, share Him with others, live the best life you can; and everything else will fall into place, even when it's the end of the world.   

Walking Through, part 2

So in my last post I talked about the fact that God speaks to us but that we need to listen for His voice.  Sometimes He speaks into our spirit, sometimes He speaks through His Word, and sometimes He sends someone to speak to us.

In this post I would like to give you an example of when He sends someone to speak to us.  What we must keep in mind when someone approaches us is that we must have the right attitude.  Everyone on this planet has a voice from the richest to the poorest, don't let looks fool you.

Just today as a group of us sat for Sunday dinner, we talked about how we need to treat everyone with respect regardless of their station in life because we never know where they will end up, and we definitely never know where and how we will end up.  It's not a matter of treating people right for what we can get from them; its treating people right because its the right thing to do.  The same cup of water you deny someone out of meanness, is the same cup of water you or your grand child could be denied 20 or 30 years from now.

As Christians we should be aware of who is trying to speak into our lives.  I believe we should be  attuned to what people are saying and if its not gelling with our spirit, we can always say 'thanks but no thanks', in a polite way.  But there are times when we know God sent someone, and we had better listen.  It may seem weird at first, but as we listen to the person we put everything together, even dissecting the conversation afterwards, to make sense of it all.  That's what happened to me.

I love the country of Belize.  Belize is in Central America, bordered to the north by Mexico, to the west by Guatemala and Honduras, and to the east by The Caribbean Sea.  If I were to describe Belize in one word I would say: eclectic.  There are mountains, waterfalls, beaches, and jungles.  All types of people live in Belize: Mayan Indians, Mexicans, Latin Americans, blacks of African descent, Caucasians, and Chinese.  It's people are just as eclectic as its landscape.

One day, on one of my many visits to Belize, I was sitting on my favorite beach relaxing.  There was hardly anyone on the beach and I was enjoying the opportunity to do nothing, something that is very difficult for me to do.  The day before, I had been in Belize City, where I usually stay for just one night before heading north or south.  I had purchased the usual souvenirs for family and friends, but one man was selling hand made beaded bracelets.  I remember being hesitant about purchasing the bracelet.  I  asked him about the color scheme, what it meant, he told me there was no particular meaning. 

So the next day, I'm on the beach relaxing, and this tall fair skinned, apparently Indian man seemed to come out of nowhere, walking down the beach.  I had never seen him in my previous visits but did not think anything of it until he walked up to me and crouched down next to my lounge chair.  He did not try to hit on me, he did not try to make small talk, he got straight to the point.  He pointed to my bracelet and asked me if I knew what the colors meant.  I was immediately interested.  I told him I did not know, it was just a bracelet I bought in Belize City the day before.  He told me in a polite manner, that I had no reason to wear that bracelet, it was not for me.  I hid my shock and when he finished talking to me he told me to have a nice day and walked away. I have never seen him again.  Needless to say, I did not like the fact that I had spent money on something I would have to throw in the trash, but in the trash it went.

I have never forgotten that 'conversation', he did all of the talking, but I will always believe God sent him.  Whatever was going on with that bracelet, God was protecting me, I have no doubt.   As I posted in Walking Through part 1, we need to listen to and for God's voice.  We also need to obey his voice.  How do we know its Him? We have to spend time daily with Him.  We need to cultivate and maintain our relationship with Him, just as we would with any relationship of importance.  When we cultivate and maintain relationships, we get to know the voice of the person we are in relationship with, even if our backs are turned when they walk into the room.  Its the same with God's voice.         

Walking through

Last week our church had a guest speaker.  I have been dissecting my notes from that sermon ever since.  The title of the sermon was 'Position for Influence'.  Pastor Mark Ramsey of Citipointe Church in Brisbane, Australia, said a lot of profound things during that sermon; but it was a story that he told that really gripped my heart.  As I sit here writing, uh, typing this blog, tears are coming to my eyes.  
He told this story of being out on a ski lift with some other church leaders and as they were going along in the ski lift they saw two skiers moving at high speed down the ski slope.  They heard the lead skier yelling commands at the skier following closely behind: 'left!', 'right!', 'straight!'.  They later found out that the 'following' skier was blind.  Pastor Ramsey went on to say, and I'm paraphrasing,  that no matter what outside noises the blind skier heard, he heard his leader above it all.  He also said that 'we need to become good at being led by The Holy Spirit.' 

The story of the blind skier got to me.  I wondered if I were truly hearing, or listening out for God's voice.  Many of us as Christians can tell of at least one time in our relationship with Christ when He has spoken into our spirit.  It was so pervasive that we could not avoid it no matter how much we might have tried.  Trust me, there have been times when I have tried to look the other way when God was speaking to me.  It just was not convenient to do what He had asked.  Of course in the end, I would end up obeying.  Hey, I'm just being real. 

As we grow in our relationship with Christ, the hesitancy, fear, or discomfort should become less and less, right?  Well, as I sat there listening to the sermon, I began to write a check for the guest speaker, for an affordable amount, when that voice showed up and gave me another dollar amount.  Wouldn't you know it was double the amount I had in mind?  The battle began. I sat in the pew  struggling.  God won. I wrote the check.

It had been some time since I had heard God's voice like that.  The last few months my relationship with Christ has been a struggle.  Deep down I knew I would not turn my back on God, I would not walk away, but I have been dealing with deep hurt, so for Him to talk to me on that level, telling me how much to write the check for, it had been a while.  Like many of you who have been Christians for some time, God does not give me any wiggle room.  When He tells me to do or not to do something, He makes Himself quite clear in His instructions. 

Let me tell you one more story as proof.  Many years ago, in the early 2000's, I had stopped at the Mobil gas station at the corner of Sand Lake and Orange Blossom Trail, local readers know exactly where that is.  As I was pumping gas into my new Jeep a homeless man was walking by with a shopping cart that probably carried all of his belongings.  I will never forget the beautiful curly hair this man had.  Most people have some noticeable trait and his was his curly hair.  Just then, the Holy Spirit told me to go into the store and buy three particular items, put them into a bag, and hand them to this man.  Immediately I pretended not to hear what I thought I just heard. No way, that was so way out of my comfort zone.  I got into my Jeep and drove out into traffic.  God kept speaking to me, telling me over and over to do this thing. I was at the light! Sigh.  I turned around and went back into the Mobil, picked up the items, but instead of a can of Coca Cola I picked up a bottle of Coca Cola.  Immediately God said to me, "I did not tell you to pick up a bottle of Coca Cola, I told you a can of Coca Cola."  I put the bottle back and picked up the can.  I had picked up the bottle because it was more for the man to drink, I was trying to be practical.  I drove back out to the traffic light wondering how I would get this done as he was already at the cross walk.  It just so happened that I was first at the light.  If you know that intersection you know that was a God thing.  As I got to the light and he started to cross, I rolled down my window and called out to him.  I handed him the bag, he looked at me, looked at my Jeep, looked back at me, and said 'thank you.'  He had already opened the soda before he reached the other side of the street.

I will probably never know why God said can versus bottle, but I will always remember that command from God.  I don't know if it will ever get easy, at least for me, to step out of my comfort zone, but step out I will.  Even when I'm walking through the valley, I will trust and obey God. I have to '...become good at being led by The Holy Spirit', no matter what life throws at me and He allows.       

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Psalm 23:4. 

Your Landscape

On Sunday November 4th I had the great opportunity to  walk across the stage and accept my diploma.  I am now a college graduate with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management.  It was a long time in coming.  I started attending college right after I graduated high school, but I allowed life to get in the way.  I did not have my priorities straight.  Funny how our priorities become more focused as we get older.  But we cannot recapture time, we can only do our best with the time we have left. What's on your 'to do' list? I believe that everyone of us has at least one thing we wish we had done and now believe it is too late.  This phenomenon is especially true for those of us who are older.  I have always admired people who have stepped out and 'gone for it'.  They stepped out on faith, willing to risk losing everything, or at least losing quite a bit, in order to meet that goal.  I will ask you again: what's on your 'to do' list?
Don't worry about the people who tell you it's too late.  Our commencement speaker said something that will stick with me forever.  He said 'haters are a part of the landscape.'  I never thought about it like that.  We will always have naysayers, people who genuinely do not want to see us hurt, people who think they will look bad if you look good, and people who for their own low self-esteem can't stand to see others succeed.  I believe most of us can tell the difference between these people.  Regardless of the reasons friends and family may try to stop us, we have to decide for ourselves what we really  want out of our lives.  We have to take the risk that we may lose some people along the way.  Some of those people may come back once you have met your goals, some may never come back.  You have to decide if you want to live a status quo, go along to get along life, or if you want everything God has for you. 
I know a couple who when most people their age are thinking about retirement have moved to another continent to become missionaries.  My father, who is in his early 70's, has just published his third book.  I admire these people.  They don't believe in making excuses.  Life is too short for excuses. 
What has God put on your heart to do with your life?  Nothing worth having is easy.  The process will not be easy.  There will be many sleepless  nights, aggravation with the process, fears of not finishing, negative self-talk, and haters, but keep going.  No one can take away the feeling of success when you touch that finish line.  No one can take that thing away from you that you have achieved or obtained. 
Step out! Step up! Go for it!