According to the financial icrease guru, Bob Harrison, "I am here to alter the future of the kingdom of God." Hmmm, that's no small task and quite an awesome responsibility. So many people go through life just barely getting by, and quite honestly they think that's fine. Well, I for one, am not "fine" with that. I've had financial struggles, gotten out of them, and found myself right back where I started struggling once again. I've learned a lot along the way, but apparently still have some wrong thinking that needs to be changed to right thinking.
Psalm 115:14 states, "The Lord will increase you more and more. You and your children." I want this and I am taking ownership of that scripture. I'm tired of saying I believe God's word, but not really believing it for myself. Either I believe it all, or I don't! I'm claiming and stating that I do!
That said, if I want to alter the future of the kingdom of God, Bob Harrison states the following requirements:
1. Serve others (help, aide, assist, let down my agenda to help someone else's)
2. Focus on integrity! God always honors that.
3. Be generous (in words, actions, service, money, etc.)
Increase thinking is about living outside the box, not just thinking outside the box. My prayer right now is that God helps expand my thinking and faith to live outside the box, not just think outside the box. I hope this challenges some of you to educate yourselves and rid your mind of wrong thinking and replace it with increase thinking so you too can alter the future of the kingdom of God!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Character is Everything!
Pastor Danny teaches that if we had to choose between wisdom or character, choose character every time!
It seems to me that so many people have forgotten what true character and integrity is really about. Often we are so concerned about who heard what from whom that we don't even seem to care about casualties that are taken down along the way.
One of my biggest pet peeves, is lying. I've never been able to handle lying. It completely negates any opportunity for trust in my book. I'm not going to say I've never lied or stretched the truth, but the older I get, the harder it is for me personally to stomach any sort of a lie, no matter how small. I literally get sick to my stomach if I stretch the truth. I think that's God's way of convicting me and keeping me on the straight and narrow.
I'm gaining a close second and almost a tie for first as far as pet peeves go, and that is gossip. I've never liked gossip and don't enjoy listening to it, but lately in my daily encounters there has been a lot of that going around. It all tends to start out as a, "well, I just thought you should know. . . " or a, "I don't want to tattle, but I heard . . . " or a "well, I'm going to tell you this so you can be praying too . . ." Ugh! There's an old song from probably the 60's (I'm not really sure) but it talks about only believing half of what we see and NONE of what we hear. Why NONE, because you could be walking up in the middle of a conversation, hearing one piece of a story, and taking the entire thing out of context and creating a story you feel is true that is completely false!
It angers me and it wears me out. Within the last 2 weeks I have come across friends/aquaintances that have been gossipped about and the stories that have been told are complete fabrications. Most of the time I just tell people to ignore it and go on, but the information this time is damaging to these people's character - and your character is everything. I know that God will take care of the ones that are spreading the lies, rumors, half-truths, etc., but He shouldn't have to! If we will choose to walk in integrity and not listen to the stories around us that aren't any of our business it will save a lot of people a lot of pain and suffering.
So, I challenge any of you reading this, if you've been inclined to gossip, stop and stop now. Often we take casualties down that we aren't even aware of because of things that we choose to let out of our mouths. The bible says the tongue has the power of life and death. I urge you to choose life!
It seems to me that so many people have forgotten what true character and integrity is really about. Often we are so concerned about who heard what from whom that we don't even seem to care about casualties that are taken down along the way.
One of my biggest pet peeves, is lying. I've never been able to handle lying. It completely negates any opportunity for trust in my book. I'm not going to say I've never lied or stretched the truth, but the older I get, the harder it is for me personally to stomach any sort of a lie, no matter how small. I literally get sick to my stomach if I stretch the truth. I think that's God's way of convicting me and keeping me on the straight and narrow.
I'm gaining a close second and almost a tie for first as far as pet peeves go, and that is gossip. I've never liked gossip and don't enjoy listening to it, but lately in my daily encounters there has been a lot of that going around. It all tends to start out as a, "well, I just thought you should know. . . " or a, "I don't want to tattle, but I heard . . . " or a "well, I'm going to tell you this so you can be praying too . . ." Ugh! There's an old song from probably the 60's (I'm not really sure) but it talks about only believing half of what we see and NONE of what we hear. Why NONE, because you could be walking up in the middle of a conversation, hearing one piece of a story, and taking the entire thing out of context and creating a story you feel is true that is completely false!
It angers me and it wears me out. Within the last 2 weeks I have come across friends/aquaintances that have been gossipped about and the stories that have been told are complete fabrications. Most of the time I just tell people to ignore it and go on, but the information this time is damaging to these people's character - and your character is everything. I know that God will take care of the ones that are spreading the lies, rumors, half-truths, etc., but He shouldn't have to! If we will choose to walk in integrity and not listen to the stories around us that aren't any of our business it will save a lot of people a lot of pain and suffering.
So, I challenge any of you reading this, if you've been inclined to gossip, stop and stop now. Often we take casualties down that we aren't even aware of because of things that we choose to let out of our mouths. The bible says the tongue has the power of life and death. I urge you to choose life!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Thick Skinned Not Hard Hearted
I had a conversation today with a friend about her attitude. It wasn't an easy conversation and it was one I wasn't looking forward to. (It wasn't Kimberly, so don't go speculating!) I realized during the conversation that sometimes the things we do for self-defense or self-preservation to protect ourselves from "bad situations, hurtful situations, etc", are often the things that end up destroying us. I watched my friend as I listened to her explain to me the hurts she had been experiencing and her response in the natural was to just pull away from the ones that were hurting her. Natural, I suppose. Spiritual, she thought. Because she knew her old nature was to "fight verbally" when she felt she was being attacked, criticized, gossipped about, etc., she chose to back away from people so not to react improperly. She felt she was doing everyone a favor. What was being perceived from her friends was that she was being distant and even rude at times - she was definitely not showing the love of Christ, although she was trying her hardest to do that.
I realized today that when we are in battle with the spiritual we can become so entangled in not doing the wrong thing, that we become the exact opposite of what we're trying to accomplish. It's strange and scary. We have to be "thick skinned" so as not to be offended by every person that disagrees with us, gossips about us, etc. Yet, in developing that thick skin, we have to be careful not to become "hard-hearted". My friend was trying to be thick skinned and all she was really doing was becoming bitter and hard hearted. The enemy was destroying her and the relationships in her life while what she was trying to do was preserve them. The good news is that God can restore and I believe He will. Remember, we are to bless those that curse us, not pull away from them.
Now, in saying all this, that doesn't mean we need to allow ourselves to camp in negativity all the time. We must surround ourselves with people that have goals and dreams and are "life givers" not "life suckers". What we need to not do is unknowingly become a "life sucker" because we've allowed ourselves to put walls up in order to preserve others from the ungodly things in our lives.
I realized today that when we are in battle with the spiritual we can become so entangled in not doing the wrong thing, that we become the exact opposite of what we're trying to accomplish. It's strange and scary. We have to be "thick skinned" so as not to be offended by every person that disagrees with us, gossips about us, etc. Yet, in developing that thick skin, we have to be careful not to become "hard-hearted". My friend was trying to be thick skinned and all she was really doing was becoming bitter and hard hearted. The enemy was destroying her and the relationships in her life while what she was trying to do was preserve them. The good news is that God can restore and I believe He will. Remember, we are to bless those that curse us, not pull away from them.
Now, in saying all this, that doesn't mean we need to allow ourselves to camp in negativity all the time. We must surround ourselves with people that have goals and dreams and are "life givers" not "life suckers". What we need to not do is unknowingly become a "life sucker" because we've allowed ourselves to put walls up in order to preserve others from the ungodly things in our lives.
Friday, April 6, 2007
The Countdown to Transition . . .
Well, today is Dennis' final day at UCS. I remember the day 12 years ago that he told me he had gotten a job there. I flipped out! My ex-boyfriend worked there, who I had just recently broken up with and all I could think of was, "This is Houston! In a city of many millions of people and thousands upon thousands of job possibilities, how in the world did you find the same company as my ex!" His only response was, "This is going to be fun!"
Dennis has had a good career at UCS as far as jobs go. He enjoys what he does and has absorbed tons of information, skills, and made some lifelong friends. With that said, being an employee has never been his heart. Ownership has always been his dream. Today at 5:00 PM will be the official kickoff of that dream.
I am so proud of him! He has always been a fabulous husband, father, and provider. My personal goal for this year is to be his biggest cheerleader and #1 fan. In the past it's not always been as it should and it's time for me to make it right.
As he begins this journey of franchise owner, it will be a major transition for our family as we learn to balance new responsibilities and time schedules. The kids are excited about Daddy's new truck with the Batteries Plus advertising all over it. All that's left is the actual building. One has been chosen and wheeling and dealing that is way over my head is going on.
Dennis will be gone for a month to training, so I'll become a single mother for awhile. Not a journey I'm particularly excited about, but it's a necessary one, so I've been praying for God's strength, wisdom, and grace to get me through this season.
So, cheers to my man! My husband, friend, father to our kiddos, and Kingdom Builder!
Dennis has had a good career at UCS as far as jobs go. He enjoys what he does and has absorbed tons of information, skills, and made some lifelong friends. With that said, being an employee has never been his heart. Ownership has always been his dream. Today at 5:00 PM will be the official kickoff of that dream.
I am so proud of him! He has always been a fabulous husband, father, and provider. My personal goal for this year is to be his biggest cheerleader and #1 fan. In the past it's not always been as it should and it's time for me to make it right.
As he begins this journey of franchise owner, it will be a major transition for our family as we learn to balance new responsibilities and time schedules. The kids are excited about Daddy's new truck with the Batteries Plus advertising all over it. All that's left is the actual building. One has been chosen and wheeling and dealing that is way over my head is going on.
Dennis will be gone for a month to training, so I'll become a single mother for awhile. Not a journey I'm particularly excited about, but it's a necessary one, so I've been praying for God's strength, wisdom, and grace to get me through this season.
So, cheers to my man! My husband, friend, father to our kiddos, and Kingdom Builder!
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Hi! My Name's Marlin - and I'm a Clown Fish.
First off, let me explain the whole clown fish thing. . . My best friend, Kimberly, and I are complete opposites. She's outgoing, carefree, and brings me out of my shell. I, on the other hand, am conservative, anal, and anti-social. If any of you have ever seen the movie, Finding Nemo you know the two main characters (besides Nemo) are Marlin (Nemo's ultra conservative dad) and Dory (the fish with short-term memory loss that's just out to have fun). She and I call ourselves Marlin (me) and Dory (Kimberly). We've worked together for almost 5 years and anytime anything goes wrong I'll tell her, "this is bad Dory, really bad". A line from the movie when the two fish are surrounded by jellyfish. Kimberly and I have loads of fun and compliment each other in the work environment. In leadership, we are trained to surround ourselves with people who are strong where we are weak. God has done that by bringing the two of us together. That's the reason for the name, just for the record, though, I'd like to think I'm slightly more funny than Marlin actually is in the movie!
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