The ballpoint pen was going crazy this morning! I love reading and like to share what I’m learning, so here we go…

The Bible:

• Proverbs 24:16 – “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again…”

• Proverbs 24:26 – “It is an honor to receive an honest response.” I feel pretty strongly about this! The best gift you can give me is honesty! (Check out this post – Do Me a Favor, Tell Me The Truth)

In a Pit With a Lion:

• “One of the greatest things that could happen to you is for your fear to become a reality. Then you would discover that it’s not the end of the world.”

• “If you take a second to reflect on your life, you’ll discover that the greatest experiences are often the scariest, and the scariest experiences are often the greatest.”

• Mark asks a GREAT question, “Are you living your life in a way that is worth telling stories about?”
  

• “Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshiping what’s right with God.”

• “The circumstances you complain about become the chains that imprison you. And worship is the way out. Worship reframes our problems and refocuses our lives. It helps us get through the bad days by reminding us of how good God is.”

• “If you don’t turn your adversity into a ministry, then your pain remains your pain. But if you allow God to translate your adversity into a ministry, then your pain becomes someone else’s gain.”

• “The more problems you have, the more potential you have to help people. One of the most paralyzing mistakes we make is thinking that our problems somehow disqualify us from being used by God. [...] If you don’t have any problems, you don’t have any potential. Here’s why. Your ability to help others heal is limited to where you’ve been wounded.”

Surviving Information Overload:

•  ”Self care is never a selfish act; it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others.” (a quote by Parker Palmer)

• Kevin Miller, the author, discusses the power of “Block Days”, chunks of time that you block off to focus on the “Four P’s”:
  • Projects
  • Planning
  • Personal growth
  • Prayer

• After wrestling with feelings of guilt, etc. about taking time away from the office to focus on the “Four P’s” Miller finally concludes, “I am starting to see taking a block day not as a selfish act but as a responsible act. I owe it to the people around me to keep myself, sharp, focused, [and] productive.”

• A personal walk-away for me while reading this is that Sherri (a full-time mother of three, soon to be four little girls) needs “Block days” too, and I’m the dude that will make it happen. I must make sure that she gets time away from the loving chaos to refresh herself.