Winning teams don’t just happen. They are built. There is a boss or head coach that orchestrates the team building process. You have to be the one who purposely builds a winning team to help you win in life. Many people go through life without ever thinking about the importance of surrounding themselves with as many great people as possible. I have also met individuals who think they can make it without the help of others.
There is a saying that “the banana that is away from the bunch is the first one to get peeled.” This saying is letting us know that we are safer when we are surrounded by others than when we are by ourselves. The reason that fish swim in schools is that they are less likely to be eaten when they are with others. In the same way, it is wise to surround ourselves with family, friends and church members who love us and are there to help us. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto! The Bible also teaches us that we will have victory when we have many wise counselors: “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22). Wounded Heart pg. 87
Over the years, I have had to learn the importance of connecting and surrounding myself with good people. Whether you are talking about personal friends, fellow workers or business relationships, we need to connect with good people. The older I get, the more I realize I need more advice not less and more support not more independence!
God has created us for relationships and our relationships determine our direction and quality of life. The more diligent we are with surrounding ourselves with great, positive people the better our lives will be. This is also one of the keys to protecting our hearts, choices and overall direction of our life. When we get weak, confused or just tired we need our team even more. Our team should consist of friends, family and our church. If we get the right people in our lives this will go a long way in living a great life!
Prayer: Lord, I pray that you will help guide and teach me to build relationship with people who will help me win in life. Help me take responsibility for my friends, relationships and acquaintances that they would be healthy and life giving. I pray this in Jesus name - amen!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Let Go and Let God
When we hold on to things it is because we are trying to fix our own problems. When we do that we are basically telling God that we can handle it and don’t need Him to help us. Since God has given us a free will to make choices in life, He respects our decision to handle it ourselves. The reality is that we can use all the help we can get. When we intentionally let go of something we can then invite God to enter into the situation and begin to change it, transform our minds and heal our wounds. These are the times when we learn how to experience the power and presence of God in our daily lives. It is also what He wants to do. My prayer is that you choose today by your free will to let go of that painful thing and let God come into your situation. I have also learned that when I follow His direction in my life, I learn a whole lot of things along the way. Wounded Heart p. 85
I have had to learn over time that I can't solve all of my problems and change the people who cause me stress! I have learned to invite God into my circumstances and let Him deal with some folks! He gives us a peace greater than we can understand if we will trust Him and rest in Him.
Holding onto the thing that caused us pain is like getting dirty or stepping in some smelly stuff and not cleaning off ourselves or our shoes! We wouldn't walk around smelly or dirty if we didn't have to. We also carry along a lot of stinky baggage that we don't have to. You can let it go or carry it around - what's your choice?
Prayer - Jesus, today I surrender my pain to you, my memories to you and my rotten emotions to you! Take them from me and help me to not walk in the pain of yesterday. I choose to let them go right now! I pray this in Jesus name! Amen
I have had to learn over time that I can't solve all of my problems and change the people who cause me stress! I have learned to invite God into my circumstances and let Him deal with some folks! He gives us a peace greater than we can understand if we will trust Him and rest in Him.
Holding onto the thing that caused us pain is like getting dirty or stepping in some smelly stuff and not cleaning off ourselves or our shoes! We wouldn't walk around smelly or dirty if we didn't have to. We also carry along a lot of stinky baggage that we don't have to. You can let it go or carry it around - what's your choice?
Prayer - Jesus, today I surrender my pain to you, my memories to you and my rotten emotions to you! Take them from me and help me to not walk in the pain of yesterday. I choose to let them go right now! I pray this in Jesus name! Amen
Monday, August 24, 2009
Key 9 – Let Go!
Here are two words that will change your life: “Let go!” I was in a worship service a couple of years ago and God gave me a vision of someone in the church. In this vision they were holding onto the past while reaching towards their future. Their face expressed great straining, pain and frustration because they were holding onto their past. A better future was literally inches away, but they could not bring themselves to a place of letting go. The reality was that this person had been abused. As a result, they experienced a lot of pain, low self-esteem and an inability to move forward in life. God had something better for them but they would never get it unless they let go of the past. What is it that you are holding onto that God wants you to let go? If you want to move forward and overcome the pain and disappointment, you must let go. Even when you are not sure what lies ahead, you have to let go. You will never find out unless you do. Wounded Heart p. 83
Some things in life just don't make sense. Why would we hold onto pain? But the reality is that we often let the past define us or keep us stuck someplace. It is funny how we embrace the familiar even when it hurts. God's Word is very clear to us that He wants to do new things and that He has great plans for us but we have to move forward to get them.
In order to move forward, we have to let go of the past. Even when we have been wronged and life has not been fair - we must let go. When we let go, we let God into the situation and can walk in the path that He has prepared for us!
Prayer: Dear Jesus, help me to let go of yesterday. Help me to not define myself by my past or my past experiences. Today I choose to let go of pain that I have caused or others have caused and I move forward into Your plans for my life. I pray this in Jesus name - Amen!
Some things in life just don't make sense. Why would we hold onto pain? But the reality is that we often let the past define us or keep us stuck someplace. It is funny how we embrace the familiar even when it hurts. God's Word is very clear to us that He wants to do new things and that He has great plans for us but we have to move forward to get them.
In order to move forward, we have to let go of the past. Even when we have been wronged and life has not been fair - we must let go. When we let go, we let God into the situation and can walk in the path that He has prepared for us!
Prayer: Dear Jesus, help me to let go of yesterday. Help me to not define myself by my past or my past experiences. Today I choose to let go of pain that I have caused or others have caused and I move forward into Your plans for my life. I pray this in Jesus name - Amen!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The True Recipe for Happiness
We are all looking for happiness and a good life. But very few people find it. Psalm 37:4 is a recipe for happiness in our lives: “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” God is the supplier of all good things. In the Old Testament, one of the names that God uses to describe Himself is El Shaddai, which means “the God who is more than enough.” This literally means that He has more than we could ever use; more things, more happiness, more joy than we can even think or imagine. The problem many of us have is that we spend all of our time and energy going after the things we want instead of going directly to the supplier who can give them to us—and much, much more!
When we put God first in our lives, He promises to take care of the rest. God is the source of the things that will make us happy in our lives. A major step in healing and avoiding a wounded heart is having our needs met. As God meets our need to be loved, we can heal. As God meets our needs, we won’t chase after people to meet them. God also promises to give us a peace that is greater than we can even understand (see Philippians 4:7). When we have this peace, we will choose from the best instead of just choosing from what is available at that time. Wounded Heart pg. 79-80
Few people ever experience God as a giver in the way that they could. We often spend so much time going after the thing we want instead of the only One who realy has the ability to give us the things that bring true joy and happiness.
Many also walk away from God or shut Him out if they don't get what they want right away or have to go through hard times. One of the greatest gifts that God has for us is that He will give us peace in all situations. There is nothing else in the world that can do this.
One thing life has taught me is that I can not get the things that I really need or want in my own strength. I have also realized that people can't get them for me either. This can be a painful realilty or a moment of freedom when we understand this. When I have surrendered my own effort or faith in people, I have received peace and then have seen God move in ways that I could not have made happen on my own. Delight yourself in the Lord and watch what He does!
Prayer: Lord, help me not to settle for what my efforts can achieve. Help me to not expect people or things to make me happy. Teach me to trust and delight myself in You. I pray this in Jesus' name - Amen.
When we put God first in our lives, He promises to take care of the rest. God is the source of the things that will make us happy in our lives. A major step in healing and avoiding a wounded heart is having our needs met. As God meets our need to be loved, we can heal. As God meets our needs, we won’t chase after people to meet them. God also promises to give us a peace that is greater than we can even understand (see Philippians 4:7). When we have this peace, we will choose from the best instead of just choosing from what is available at that time. Wounded Heart pg. 79-80
Few people ever experience God as a giver in the way that they could. We often spend so much time going after the thing we want instead of the only One who realy has the ability to give us the things that bring true joy and happiness.
Many also walk away from God or shut Him out if they don't get what they want right away or have to go through hard times. One of the greatest gifts that God has for us is that He will give us peace in all situations. There is nothing else in the world that can do this.
One thing life has taught me is that I can not get the things that I really need or want in my own strength. I have also realized that people can't get them for me either. This can be a painful realilty or a moment of freedom when we understand this. When I have surrendered my own effort or faith in people, I have received peace and then have seen God move in ways that I could not have made happen on my own. Delight yourself in the Lord and watch what He does!
Prayer: Lord, help me not to settle for what my efforts can achieve. Help me to not expect people or things to make me happy. Teach me to trust and delight myself in You. I pray this in Jesus' name - Amen.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Key 8 – Let God Direct Your Life
As we go through life each day, many people influence our choices and decisions. Advertisers spend millions of dollars trying to direct people to their products and people listen, otherwise they wouldn’t spend that money. Infomercials are on TV and radio because people are influenced by them. Some people proudly boast that no one influences them and that they make their own choices in all things. First, this is not true, and second, God warns against making all of your decisions based on your own knowledge and understanding. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
God is teaching us that no matter how smart we are, we won’t get it right if we don’t lean on Him and allow Him to direct us. The reason so many of us are walking around with wounded hearts is because we trusted in people or things with our heart instead of the Lord. Wounded Heart p. 79
I spent 27 years thinking I could figure things out. I graduated high school, college and completed 3 masters degrees at Columbia University. My graduation day at Columbia was one of my absolute emptiest days of my life. I achieved something that people told me was impossible. I was seen as very smart but deep in my soul I knew that I didn't really know what life was really supposed to be about. I knew that in my own efforts, happiness was beyond my grasp. It was a painful reality.
A little over 2 years later, I stopped trying to learn or achieve my way. I began to follow Jesus through His Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit. This made all the difference in the world. I believe in constant learning and education but the best man has to offer fails in comparison to where God will lead you day 1!
Each day you have a choice. Follow what you think is best, follow what someone else thinks is best or follow God who knows all things. Seems like a simple question on the surface but many people are not following God for many reasons. You can trust Him. I do each day.
Prayer - Lord, I need Your direction right now and every day in my life. Give me ears to hear what You are speaking and the strength and courage to follow Your direction. I pray this in Jesus name - Amen.
God is teaching us that no matter how smart we are, we won’t get it right if we don’t lean on Him and allow Him to direct us. The reason so many of us are walking around with wounded hearts is because we trusted in people or things with our heart instead of the Lord. Wounded Heart p. 79
I spent 27 years thinking I could figure things out. I graduated high school, college and completed 3 masters degrees at Columbia University. My graduation day at Columbia was one of my absolute emptiest days of my life. I achieved something that people told me was impossible. I was seen as very smart but deep in my soul I knew that I didn't really know what life was really supposed to be about. I knew that in my own efforts, happiness was beyond my grasp. It was a painful reality.
A little over 2 years later, I stopped trying to learn or achieve my way. I began to follow Jesus through His Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit. This made all the difference in the world. I believe in constant learning and education but the best man has to offer fails in comparison to where God will lead you day 1!
Each day you have a choice. Follow what you think is best, follow what someone else thinks is best or follow God who knows all things. Seems like a simple question on the surface but many people are not following God for many reasons. You can trust Him. I do each day.
Prayer - Lord, I need Your direction right now and every day in my life. Give me ears to hear what You are speaking and the strength and courage to follow Your direction. I pray this in Jesus name - Amen.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Living the Overcoming Lifestyle
Jesus is the great overcomer! In His life on earth, He helped people overcome low self-esteem, weakness, failure, sin, sickness and even death. He overcame sin on the cross and death after three days in the grave. He wants to teach you to overcome the issues you are facing also. One of the things that I love about God is that He doesn’t hide reality from us, He teaches us to flourish in the midst of it. Jesus declares to us that we will have trouble to face and overcome. John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
I often joke that this is the one promise that Jesus makes that I don’t like. Jesus never promises to remove every trouble from our lives, but He does tell us that we don’t have to worry about life’s troubles, we just have to overcome them. Followers of Christ, over time, are supposed to become like Jesus and do the things that He did. If He was an overcomer, then we, too, should become more like Him as we overcome both small and big things in life. The key to becoming this type of overcomer is learning from the greatest overcomer Himself. Wounded Heart p. 75
The whole point of having a relationship with Jesus and being a follower of Jesus is that over time, we are transformed to be more and more like Him! Life can often seem like one trial after another. We can grow weary when we focus on each one of them. Over time it can drain us. But when we focus on Jesus and growing to become more like Him, the issues that once seemed large are now like bumps in the road as we move forward. What once held us back like a road block now can become a small bump that we ride over but keep going.
People often come to me with what seems like a huge problem, but after we sit down, understand God's will in the situation and take action, many problems are quickly solved or overcome! Let Jesus teach you day by day through His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit to have an overcoming lifestyle!
Prayer: Jesus, help me to grow to be more and more like You. I ask you to transform the way I think and look at the world. I want to have an overcomer lifestyle so that I can live out my life's purpose in joy and strength! I pray this in Jesus' name - Amen!
I often joke that this is the one promise that Jesus makes that I don’t like. Jesus never promises to remove every trouble from our lives, but He does tell us that we don’t have to worry about life’s troubles, we just have to overcome them. Followers of Christ, over time, are supposed to become like Jesus and do the things that He did. If He was an overcomer, then we, too, should become more like Him as we overcome both small and big things in life. The key to becoming this type of overcomer is learning from the greatest overcomer Himself. Wounded Heart p. 75
The whole point of having a relationship with Jesus and being a follower of Jesus is that over time, we are transformed to be more and more like Him! Life can often seem like one trial after another. We can grow weary when we focus on each one of them. Over time it can drain us. But when we focus on Jesus and growing to become more like Him, the issues that once seemed large are now like bumps in the road as we move forward. What once held us back like a road block now can become a small bump that we ride over but keep going.
People often come to me with what seems like a huge problem, but after we sit down, understand God's will in the situation and take action, many problems are quickly solved or overcome! Let Jesus teach you day by day through His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit to have an overcoming lifestyle!
Prayer: Jesus, help me to grow to be more and more like You. I ask you to transform the way I think and look at the world. I want to have an overcomer lifestyle so that I can live out my life's purpose in joy and strength! I pray this in Jesus' name - Amen!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Key 7 - Don't Let the Past Determine Your Future
God's Word teaches us that "because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). Once we have asked for forgiveness and made a choice to live a Christ-centered life, God is not holding our past against us. If God is not holding our past against us, we shouldn't hold our own past against ourselves!
One of the definitions of mercy and compassion is that God forgives us and helps us even when we don't deserve it. Mercy and compassion are a huge blessing because in times of pain we sometimes need help. Mercy means that God overlooks our weaknesses, faults and poor decisions. If we can't get past the pain on our own, God will help us. The reality is that in order to have a great future, we can't let our past or current painful reality define who we really are. Wounded Heart pp. 73-74
One of the things I like to tell people is that God's reality is bigger than our reality. We often get stuck in the day to day business or struggle. God so many times has something better. Even though we are going through our own reality, God has a reality that is better than what we are living in our current lives.
Too many times we just can't see it. But faith means trusting and believing when we can't actually see it! We have to accept God's mercy, healing, guidance and strength to get from our reality to His!
Prayer: Jesus, I know that your reality is better than anything that I can ever do. I receive your mercy and strength right now. Help me get to the better reality that you have waiting for me! I pray this in Jesus name - Amen!
One of the definitions of mercy and compassion is that God forgives us and helps us even when we don't deserve it. Mercy and compassion are a huge blessing because in times of pain we sometimes need help. Mercy means that God overlooks our weaknesses, faults and poor decisions. If we can't get past the pain on our own, God will help us. The reality is that in order to have a great future, we can't let our past or current painful reality define who we really are. Wounded Heart pp. 73-74
One of the things I like to tell people is that God's reality is bigger than our reality. We often get stuck in the day to day business or struggle. God so many times has something better. Even though we are going through our own reality, God has a reality that is better than what we are living in our current lives.
Too many times we just can't see it. But faith means trusting and believing when we can't actually see it! We have to accept God's mercy, healing, guidance and strength to get from our reality to His!
Prayer: Jesus, I know that your reality is better than anything that I can ever do. I receive your mercy and strength right now. Help me get to the better reality that you have waiting for me! I pray this in Jesus name - Amen!
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