Category Archives: vision

affirmation, Blogroll, life, Ministry, personal growth, positive, present, Uncategorized, vision

The Ministry Of Presence!

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” -Galatians 5:13

Some times the greatest gift that we have to give to someone else is simply the gift our our presence with nothing added and nothing taken away. I’m not sure if you are like me or not, but I am one of those people that often thinks “I’ve got to fix it!”, but the Spirit is teaching me that I don’t have to fix it and there are going to be times that I can’t fix it, but I can almost always be present and my presence is more than enough.

My wife used to come home from school and she would start telling me about her day and the challenges that she faced and I would immediately start telling her what she should and should not have done. One day while we were having this very traditional back and forth, she just put her hand up and said: “I don’t need you to be my preacher, pastor or friend, I just need you to listen and let me get it out.” And from that day on, I learned the value of a sore tongue, because I have almost bitten a hole in my tongue while biting it to try and keep my mouth shut.

One of my teachers in middle school used to say: “God gave you two ears and one mouth, so you should do twice as much listening as you do talking.” There are times when we worry ourselves ragged trying to figure out what to say or what to do to help someone else, when honestly all they need is our presence. Just to know that someone cares is often more than enough to get a person through what they are doing their best to get through.

I ran into the above little poem about ministry and it reminded me that each and every one of us have the opportunity to minister to others.

We can minister to others by taking the time to listen. We can minister to others by looking for and accentuating the joy. We can minister to others by helping someone else, even when we feel like we are the ones that needs the help. We can minister to others by asking God to use us to share His love and blessing with others. We can minister to others by putting our arm around someone’s shoulders, giving them a hug around the neck or maybe a pat on the back. We can minister to others by encouraging them by finding the positive that has to be in there somewhere. We can minister to others by praying for them and with them. We can minister to others by serving them and meeting whatever need we can. We can minister others by comforting them with our words and actions.

Ministry at it’s best is about our presence. Some time, most of the time, just being there is more than enough…

Blogroll, Church, Enlightenment, Expectation, Gratitude, Growing, Jesus, vision

What’s The Big Deal?

I grew up in Church. In fact, before I was born, I was in church. My family did not believe in going every now and then, they believed in being there every time the doors were open. They sang in the choir, my Mom led teen missions and my Dad drove the bus to pick folks up on Sunday mornings. Church was a part of our life and living and our lives would not be the same without it.

We are so faithful to church, because of our faith. We believe in God and that God is love. We believe that because God loves us, He gave His most precious gift, His Son Jesus, which is God in the flesh making a way for us, where there was no way. It’s really not complicated, it’s very simple and I think that is where a lot of folks get messed up. I think some folks are looking for complicated.

God created us and because He loves us, He gives us the ability to choose the life we are going to live. Our choices have consequences and as we live our life, those consequences usually teach us what we do and do not want, which is why God offers us: Mercy and Grace. Mercy is not getting what we deserve, which is eternal separation from God and whatever punishment our sins bring into our lives, while Grace is getting what we don’t deserve, which is a relationship with God that allows our Spirit (the real us) to grow on with God through all Eternity.

When you read through the the life of Jesus in the Gospels, you do not find Him going on and on about rules, regulations or religion. You find Jesus, over and over again, inviting people into a relationship and it is because of the loving relationship that people want to get it right with rules, regulations and religion.

“He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” -John 1:10-13

The important thing to remember and never forget is that it is all about RELATIONSHIP with the ONE, who brought us to the dance. When we are really connected to God, the our Spirit can see, feel, hear and experience His presence, power, protection and direction. The most important thing we can ever do, is get into a relationship with our Creator. The second most important thing we can do, is grow in that relationships. The Bible, Church and Prayer are the keys that unlock the doors to help make that happen.

I want to encourage you today, if you don’t know God in a personal way, start looking for Him, because He will allow Himself to be found by you. Get into a church that encourages and teaches you how to get into and grow through this personal relationship. And above all, enjoy the amazing journey, because it’s what you were created for…

Blogroll, life, personal growth, planning, purpose, Time, vision

Putting Your Plan Together!

This week we’ve been talking about seeing and experiencing your perfect day and I thought it would be a good idea to give you a step by step break down on exactly how to do that in a more detailed way than what I have already covered.

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace…” -Luke 14:28-33

First – Get A Picture In Your Head! What does your perfect day look like? What are you doing? Who are you talking to? Where are you headed? When do you plan to do what? Where is your motivation coming from? Once you get this picture in your head, the move to the next step.

Second – Break It Down! Let’s say you want to work on yourself physically, mentally and spiritually. Let’s take the physical – what does it mean you want to work on the physical? Let’s say you want to lose weight, ok, what will that take? Eating right and exercise! Now break that down by listing the steps you will need to take to make that happen for you. Do the same thing for the mental and spiritual area of your life or any other areas that you feel will help you experience the perfect day.

Third – Limit Yourself! You can’t do it all, so at most focus on what I like to call “Your Big Three”. Three things that if you don’t accomplish anything else, you must do these. Sticking to specific goals and focusing your effort in that direction will help you to find success and victory quicker.

Fourth – Reward Yourself! When you get this right, then make sure to reward yourself, because you are making progress and progress is what life is all about. Rewards encourage, motivate and challenge you to keep on keeping on.

Fifth – Expect Challenges And Setbacks! It is not always going to work the way you plan, because some days you are just not feeling it. The important thing is not to beat up on yourself, but to get back up on the horse and go for it the next day.

Sixth – Make Your List And Check It All Through Out The Day! This is a continual source of motivation that will help you to stay focused on the main thing, because distraction is a very real enemy.

Seventh – Enjoy Your Day! The whole point in planning your day is so you can enjoy it, so make sure that you make and take the time to do just that…