Bible

• Proverbs 25:11-13 – “Timely advice is as lovely as golden apples in a silver basket. Valid criticism is as treasured by the one who heeds it as jewelry made from finest gold. Faithful messengers are as refreshing as snow in the heat of summer. They revive the spirit of their employer. A person who doesn’t give a promised gift is like clouds and wind that doesn’t bring rain.”

• My prayer based on these verses: “God, surround me with faithful people who will give “valid criticism” when it’s needed, not afterwards! And help me to follow through on the commitments I make as a result of their input!”

John Wesley’s Journal

• This made me laugh… Wesley was just getting ready to preach when “a poor Papist, at a small distance from me, began blowing a horn. But a gentleman stepping up, snatched his horn away, and without ceremony knocked him down.” OK, basically the dude that interrupted got decked! That’s kinda funny! We don’t have people blowing trumpets in church, but we do have cell phones going off! I think that if someone’s phone goes off in church we should yank it out of their hands and knock them down… it’s the Wesleyan way!
  

In a Pit With a Lion

• “Lion chasers are more afraid of lifelong regrets than temporary uncertainty. They don’t want to get to the end of their lives and have a million what-if regrets. So they chase lions. In the short-term, it increases uncertainty. But in the long run, it reduces regret.”

• “… you have to do something counterintuitive if you want to reach your God-given potential and fulfill your God-given destiny. Sometimes you have to run away from security and chase uncertainty.”

• “Everyone’s path is littered with the debris of dysfunction and disappointment. We’ve all been misjudged or misled. And we will be many more times before our lives are over. But God is in the business of using those experiences to prepare us for future opportunities.”

• “Lion chasers are humble enough to let God call the shots and brave enough to follow where He leads.”

• “The more you’re willing to risk, the more God can use you. And if you’re willing to risk everything, then there is nothing God can’t do in you and through you.”

• “Almost like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, we are part coward and part daredevil. The coward is constantly whispering, Better safe than sorry. The daredevil is whispering, Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Which voice are you going to listen to?”

• “Most God-ordained dreams die because we aren’t willing to do something that seems illogical.”

Batterson’s book is a timely read for me… kind of like the verses I read in Proverbs this a.m.! God, thanks for wise counsel!

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.