First Quarter Ending...

We’re approaching the end of the first quarter of the year. Where do you stand? Before you answer that, stop and think about all that you’ve accomplished. I know, you’d rather think about what you said you would do and didn’t or all that lies ahead but please resist. No accomplishment is too small. Where did you make progress? What steps did you take to accomplish your goals? How much more time have you made for family? Where did you use your gifts to serve? What obstacles did you overcome? Have you matured in an area of your life? Did you make better decisions regarding your finances? And more importantly where did God show up? Think about it. Instead of lamenting over the work that still needs to be done, take a few moments to ‘Celebrate Your Wins’ if I may quote my sisters over at DIVAS, MPH.

Far too often we neglect the opportunity to be grateful for the little things and in most cases, it’s the small wins that propel us in the future. The smallest changes typically have the most lasting impact and drastically affect our families, networks, and perspectives. We want more and I get it but let’s recall Jonah’s ungrateful tendencies and where it got him. Instead of Jonah being grateful for God’s message, he was frustrated because he had his own plan and thoughts on how things should have progressed. God showed mercy over and over again as well as discipline/correction. Let’s not end up tossed in the sea or out in the beating sun because we’ve neglected to simply be grateful. (Jonah 4:5-11)

So today, take a few moments to celebrate. Be grateful for what God has shown you and the leaps you’ve made in the first quarter. Then, get back to work! Reassess the goals you’ve set, check your motives, and if you need a boost, check out Reset!

If hurt people, hurt people then...

Last night I held part one of my 3-Part Impact Series on Forgiveness and it was a blessing to share some of the things I’ve learned on my journey to forgiveness. I’m still learning and growing and as I do so I will continue to share.
 
“Hurt people, hurt people." We’ve heard this before but what about people that have been healed? What do they do?

Healed people, heal people.

 

This healing of others is accomplished either directly or indirectly. What else could one possibly do with the healing but heal others? Even if indirectly, once you’re healed from whatever wounds you might have had, it shows. Your mental and spiritual posture is different, your attitude is more pleasant, you love harder, laugh longer, celebrate others, etc. Your presence is a blessing. Your smile lights up the room and when you ask someone how they’re doing, they sense that you care because you do. And why do you care? Because you no longer bare loads of unforgiveness, anger, resentment, etc. which means you have the capacity to actually care about others.

In turn, you begin to more positively impact those around you. They notice something different in you, they see the way you treat others, the way you treat yourself, the way you respond to those that hurt you – or more importantly the way you don’t respond! And they too want it even if they don’t know what to call it. People start asking questions like “Why are you so happy?”  “How did you two become friends again?” “Wait, you’re no longer angry about…?”
 
So I encourage you to focus on healing. For those making grand list of New Year’s resolutions, which I highly discourage (maybe I’ll share why in a separate blog post), I pray that you will at least focus on healing for yourself. We can’t restore, retain, focus, achieve, etc. until we heal.

Let's get to work!

Ready to forgive???  To receive more details or to sign-up for the next series, click here.

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"I'm not judging but..."

Yesterday, Wess Morgan was a surprise guest at my church. He sang a couple of songs which I thoroughly enjoyed but what stood out most was his testimony. He shared stories of his life as a preacher’s kid, in and out of jail, addicted to drugs, etc. While sharing he said something that truly hit home for me…“As you become more self-aware, you become less judgmental.”

“No one is perfect.” For most, this is truly just a saying; something thrown around as needed to defend our own actions, crude remarks, behaviors, etc. but where is this thought when it comes to others? This notion is completely dismissed when scrutinizing our peers. In fact, most precede their judgmental comments with “I’m not judging but…” which is equally as disingenuous as “shade but no shade” or “I don’t like to gossip but…” However, as Wess pointed out, the more honest you are about yourself, the decisions you’ve made, the people you’ve hurt, your fears, secrets, etc., the less likely you are to pass judgement on others.

Although some of this judgment may happen subconsciously we have to be more responsible for our thoughts toward others. Think about your thinking…my teacher friends refer to this as metacognition. Although it’s different in the education field, I think it would go a long way here especially because some of the studies point out that without the ability to do so “people tend to be blissfully unaware of their own incompetence.”  Ouch!

“So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” (Romans 14: 12-13)