Y Tuesday, September 30, 2008Y
8:02 pm
'FERVENT IN SPIRIT.' ROMANS 12:11When a motivational products company interviewed Tim Dumler by phone for a sales job, he told them his goal was to become their number one employee. After meeting him in person they were shocked to discover he was legally blind. But he promised he'd buy a machine that magnifies letters. So despite serious misgivings, they hired him. And it's a good thing they did. He came in early, worked late and within six years became their top producer. His clients loved him because when you're blind you become a great listener and his associates loved him because of his caring, positive attitude. He said, 'It's unfortunate that I'm visually impaired but adversity made me a better person. I have a lot more than I don't have.' Tim has the 212-degree attitude!
What's the 212-degree attitude? Motivational speaker Mack Anderson explains: 'At 211 degrees Fahrenheit water is hot. At 212 degrees it boils. With boiling water comes steam. And steam can power a locomotive. One extra degree makes all the difference in business and in life; it separates the good from the great.'
Here's some straight talk for slackers, those with no ambition and those who see no purpose or value in this life: 'Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does' (Ephesians 6:7-8 NIV). The Bible tells us to be 'fervent in spirit.' This word fervent means 'bubbling or boiling.' In other words, having the 212-degree attitude! By the way, when God promises to reward such an attitude, you don't have to wait until you get to heaven to enjoy it.
Y Sunday, September 28, 2008Y
7:55 pm
Peter knows he is in trouble.The winds roar down onto the Sea of Galilee like a hawk on a rat. Lightning zigzags across the black sky. The clouds vibrate with thunder. The rain taps, then pops, then slaps against the deck of the boat until everyone aboard is soaked and shaking. Ten-foot waves pick them up and slam them down again with bonejarring force.
These drenched men don’t look like a team of apostles who are only a decade away from changing the world. And you can be sure of one thing. The one with the widest eyes is the one with the biggest biceps—Peter. He’s seen these storms before. He’s seen the wreckage and bloated bodies float to shore. He knows what the fury of wind and wave can do. And he knows that times like this are not times to make a name for yourself; they’re times to get some help.
That is why, when he sees Jesus walking on the water toward the boat, he is the first to say, “Lord, if it’s you … tell me to come to you on the water.” (Matthew 14:28)
He is aware of two facts: He’s going down, and Jesus is staying up. And it doesn’t take him too long to decide where he would rather be.
Perhaps a better interpretation of his request would be, “Jeeeeeeeesus. If that is you, then get me out of here!”
“Come on” is the invitation.
And Peter doesn’t have to be told twice. It’s not every day that you walk on water through waves that are taller than you are. But when faced with the alternative of sure death or possible life, Peter knows which one he wants.
The first few steps go well. But a few strides out onto the water, and he forgets to look to the One who got him there in the first place, and down he plunges.
Peter’s response may lack class—it probably wouldn’t get him on the cover of Gentleman’s Quarterly or even Sports Illustrated—but it gets him out of some deep water:
“Help me!”
And since Peter would rather swallow pride than water, a hand comes through the rain and pulls him up.
The message is clear.
As long as Jesus is one of many options, he is no option. As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don’t need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. And as long as you can take him or leave him, you might as well leave him, because he won’t be taken half-heartedly.
But when you mourn, when you get to the point of sorrow for your sins, when you admit that you have no other option but to cast all your cares on him, and when there is truly no other name that you can call, then cast all your cares on him, for he is waiting in the midst of the storm.
From
The Applause of Heaven
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) Max Lucado
Y Friday, September 26, 2008Y
11:51 pm
Salespersons are coached in the power of a first impression. Orators devote hours to opening statements. Journalists are admonished never to bury the lead. Sprinters practice racing out of the starting blocks. Interviewees are taught the importance of their initial handshake with a potential employer.In leadership, as in many other areas of life, the beginning often determines the end. False starts and weak foundations can be ruinous. Here are five insights to help you start successfully.
HOW TO START SUCCESSFULLY
1. Start With Yourself
As Gandhi famously said, "Be the change you want to be in the world." By starting with yourself, you build the self-confidence needed to attract and inspire others. Leading yourself well is a precursor to accomplishment, and accomplishment earns respect. In order to make deposits in the lives of followers, you have to have a beginning balance in your leadership account. Start leading by proving your mettle - to yourself and to prospective followers.
2. Start early
Sadly, many leaders squander their early years and spend the rest of their careers trying to make up for lost time. In leadership, as with finances, decisions made early in life accrue the most interest. When we choose poorly or establish bad habits, we put ourselves in debt. Then, we must not only repay our loans, but the interest on them as well. On the flip side, when we invest our time and talent wisely from a young age, we reap the benefits of compounding interest on our leadership.
Specifically, where should leaders start? What areas should take precedence at the beginning? From my experience there are 10 things you should do as a leader prior to reaching age 40:
1. Know yourself
2. Settle your family life
3. Determine your priorities
4. Develop your philosophy of life
5. Get physically fit
6. Learn your trade
7. Pay the price
8. Develop solid relationships
9. Prepare for the future
10. Find purpose for your life
If you're over 40, it's never to late to make improvements. Unfortunately, an old dog doesn't easily learn new tricks. Undoing years of misplaced priorities and poor self-management will take extra effort.
3. Start Small
Don't expect to understand what it takes to get to the top, just take the next step.
Think big, but start small. Doing so encourages you to get started, and keeps you from being frozen by the magnitude of the vision in front of you. When you accomplish a small step, you gain confidence that you can accomplish the next step.
The success found in starting small comes when you diligently apply the lessons you learn. As my friend, Dick Biggs, has said, "The greatest gap is between knowing and doing." Commit to mastering the details under your control, and follow through when experience has given you instruction.
4. Start with the end in view
"Most people spend more time planning their grocery shopping than designing their future."
~ Tom James, Personal Development Coach
To start with the end in view, you need energy and direction. Let your passion pull you forward, and let your planning give you guidance. In order for passion to be a driving force in your life, you must identify a purpose for you life. To locate your purpose, consider your strengths, interests, and past successes. What roles do you find most enjoyable? What brings you the greatest sense of satisfaction? Examine the areas that make you feel strong and angle your career toward them. Also, find people who have been successful in the area of your interest. Listen to them and watch their lives.
For planning to give you direction, you need to write down goals. Goals lend structure to your purpose, and they keep you leading "within the lines." They focus your action and move you toward your overall vision.
5. Start Now
We exaggerate yesterday, overestimate tomorrow, and underestimate today. Embrace action daily. Don't wait until it's too late before you begin to pursue the visions implanted in your heart. Make each day your masterpiece; you'll be surprised where you end up after stringing together a few months of superb days.
I'll leave you with one final thought:
"How wonderful it is that we need not wait a single minute before starting to improve ourselves and our world." ~ Anne Frank
Review - Five Steps to Starting Successfully
1. Start Early
2. Start with Yourself
3. Start Small
4. Start with the End in View
5. Start Now
11:50 pm
"The secret to getting ahead is getting started."~ Mark Twain
"One today is worth two tomorrows."
~ Ben Franklin
"If you can't feed 1,000 people, then feed one."
~ Mother Teresa
"Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it."
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Y Sunday, September 21, 2008Y
8:25 pm
Today's preaching was great! I loved the part when Cherry QQ was compared with Ferrari. Actually Ferrari is quite selfish (only has room for one person), no vision (no headlights), and noisy (engine). The illustration of being able to tap into others' 10%(the percentage of the amount genius' use of their brains) which we have not thought of as a group, as compared to one person. I believe we can reach and fulfill our potential b4 getting to heaven. After that I went Bugis Kinokuniya, cos there was 20% off storewide to celebrate its 6th anniversary, surprisingly its not very crowded. I bought this book "The Encore Effect" by Mark Sanborn cos it had a good review, and the title is quite catchy. Then after that I headed to AnBC to buy a new notebook for taking down sermons.I can't wait for next weekend to come so I can start reading this book and explore more into the new book "IF" by "Phil Pringle" which I bought yesterday at Attributes.
8:21 pm
Grudge is one of those words that defines itself. Its very sound betrays its meaning.Say it slowly: “Grr-uuuud-ge.”
It starts with a growl. “Grr …” Like a bear with bad breath coming out of hibernation or a mangy mongrel defending his bone in an alley. “Grrr …”
Remove a GR from the word grudge and replace it with SL and you have the junk that grudge bearers trudge through. Sludge. Black, thick, ankle-deep resentment that steals the bounce from the step. No joyful skips through the meadows. No healthy hikes up the mountain. Just day after day of walking into the storm, shoulders bent against the wind, and feet dragging through all the muck life has delivered.
Is this the way you are coping with your hurts? Are you allowing your hurts to turn into hates? If so, ask yourself: Is it working? Has your hatred done you any good? Has your resentment brought you any relief, any peace? Has it granted you any joy?
Let’s say you get even. Let’s say you get him back. Let’s say she gets what she deserves. Let’s say your fantasy of fury runs its ferocious course and you return all your pain with interest. Imagine yourself standing over the corpse of the one you have hated. Will you now be free?
The writer of the following letter thought she would be. She thought her revenge would bring release. But she learned otherwise.
I caught my husband making love to another woman. He swore it would never happen again. He begged me to forgive him, but I could not—would not. I was so bitter and so incapable of swallowing my pride that I could think of nothing but revenge. I was going to make him pay and pay dearly. I’d have my pound of flesh.
I filed for divorce, even though my children begged me not to.
Even after the divorce, my husband tried for two years to win me back. I refused to have anything to do with him. He had struck first; now I was striking back. All I wanted was to make him pay.
Finally he gave up and married a lovely young widow with a couple of small children. He began rebuilding his life—without me.
I see them occasionally, and he looks so happy. They all do. And here I am—a lonely, old, miserable woman who allowed her selfish pride and foolish stubbornness to ruin her life.
Unfaithfulness is wrong. Revenge is bad. But the worst part of all is that, without forgiveness, bitterness is all that is left.
The state of your heart dictates whether you harbor a grudge or give grace, seek self-pity or seek Christ, drink human misery or taste God’s mercy.
No wonder, then, the wise man begs, “Above all else, guard your heart.”
David’s prayer should be ours: “Create in me a pure heart, O God.”
book cover from
The Applause of Heaven
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) Max Lucado
8:00 pm
The kingdom of heaven. Its citizens are drunk on wonder.Consider the case of Sarai. She is in her golden years, but God promises her a son. She gets excited. She visits the maternity shop and buys a few dresses. She plans her shower and remodels her tent … but no son. She eats a few birthday cakes and blows out a lot of candles … still no son. She goes through a decade of wall calendars … still no son.
So Sarai decides to take matters into her own hands. (“Maybe God needs me to take care of this one.”)
She convinces Abram that time is running out. (“Face it, Abe, you ain’t getting any younger, either.”) She commands her maid, Hagar, to go into Abram’s tent and see if he needs anything. (“And I mean ‘anything’!”) Hagar goes in a maid. She comes out a mom. And the problems begin.
Hagar is haughty. Sarai is jealous. Abram is dizzy from the dilemma. And God calls the baby boy a “wild donkey”—an appropriate name for one born out of stubbornness and destined to kick his way into history.
It isn’t the cozy family Sarai expected. And it isn’t a topic Abram and Sarai bring up very often at dinner.
Finally, fourteen years later, when Abram is pushing a century of years and Sarai ninety … when Abram has stopped listening to Sarai’s advice, and Sarai has stopped giving it … when the wallpaper in the nursery is faded and the baby furniture is several seasons out of date … when the topic of the promised child brings sighs and tears and long looks into a silent sky … God pays them a visit and tells them they had better select a name for their new son.
Abram and Sarai have the same response: laughter. They laugh partly because it is too good to happen and partly because it might. They laugh because they have given up hope, and hope born anew is always funny before it is real.
They laugh at the lunacy of it all.
They laugh because that is what you do when someone says he can do the impossible. They laugh a little at God, and a lot with God—for God is laughing, too. Then, with the smile still on his face, he gets busy doing what he does best—the unbelievable.
He changes a few things—beginning with their names. Abram, the father of one, will now be Abraham, the father of a multitude. Sarai, the barren one, will now be Sarah, the mother.
But their names aren’t the only things God changes. He changes their minds. He changes their faith. He changes the number of their tax deductions. He changes the way they define the word impossible.
From
The Applause of Heaven
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) Max Lucado
Y Sunday, September 14, 2008Y
5:35 pm
Yesterday's sermon was great! Wad inspired me most was the comparison of the son and the servant, i.e. the son will do without being told while the servant will only do when he's told. I feel that the the message on sonship is a much higher calling than servanthood, that servanthood is only the basics. God will build His house (His church) on sons not servants. Sons will carry the Father's vision, His DNA, and that he is willing to follow his Father wherever He goes. Been listening to Joel Osteen's and Phil Pringle's podcasts. Been reading the book "I Dare You" by Joyce Meyer too. An extract from the book goes like this: Stop asking why God let this happen, but ask what can I learn from this that will make me a better person. Don't ask why is there so much hurt in the world, but ask how can God use me to help the hurting.
I find all these resources refreshing to my soul, giving me the much needed revitalisation. Life has been quite hectic for me especially since now is the season of preparation for going to Australia, as the country requires a high standard of cleanliness for our items. But I believe the hopefully wonderful experience that lies ahead will going to overpower all the hard work, that all our effort is worth it.
2:05 pm
"Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."~ John F. Kennedy
"Every generation needs a new revolution."
~ Thomas Jefferson
"The most successful businessman is the man who holds onto the old just as long as it is good, and grabs the new just as soon as it is better."
~ Robert P. Vanderpoel
"If you want to make enemies, try to change something."
~ Woodrow Wilson
"Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him."
~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
Y Sunday, September 07, 2008Y
7:57 pm
My child’s feelings are hurt. I tell her she’s special. My child is injured. I do whatever it takes to make her feel better.My child is afraid. I won’t go to sleep until she is secure.
I’m not a hero. I’m not a superstar. I’m not unusual. I’m a parent. When a child hurts, a parent does what comes naturally. He helps.
And after I help, I don’t charge a fee. I don’t ask for a favor in return. When my child cries, I don’t tell her to buck up, act tough, and keep a stiff upper lip. Nor do I consult a list and ask her why she is still scraping the same elbow or waking me up again.
I’m not a prophet, nor the son of one, but something tells me that in the whole scheme of things the tender moments described above are infinitely more valuable than anything I do in front of a computer screen or congregation. Something tells me that the moments of comfort I give my child are a small price to pay for the joy of someday seeing my daughter do for her daughter what her dad did for her.
Moments of comfort from a parent. As a father, I can tell you they are the sweetest moments in my day. They come naturally. They come willingly. They come joyfully.
If all of that is true, if I know that one of the privileges of fatherhood is to comfort a child, then why am I so reluctant to let my heavenly Father comfort me?
Why do I think he wouldn’t want to hear about my problems? (“They are puny compared to people starving in India.”)
Why do I think he is too busy for me? (“He’s got a whole universe to worry about.”)
Why do I think he’s tired of hearing the same old stuff?
Why do I think he groans when he sees me coming?
Why do I think he consults his list when I ask for forgiveness and asks, “Don’t you think you’re going to the well a few too many times on this one?”
Why do I think I have to speak a holy language around him that I don’t speak with anyone else?
Why do I not take him seriously when he questions, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11)
Why don’t I let my Father do for me what I am more than willing to do for my own children?
I’m learning, though. Being a parent is better than a course on theology. Being a father is teaching me that when I am criticized, injured, or afraid, there is a Father who is ready to comfort me. There is a Father who will hold me until I’m better, help me until I can live with the hurt, and who won’t go to sleep when I’m afraid of waking up and seeing the dark.
Ever. And that’s enough.
From
The Applause of Heaven
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) Max Lucado
11:29 am
A father is on the beach with one of his sons and the son is just fascinated by shells so he just keeps loading them in his pockets and till there full.that's not enough he picks them up till he is walking around with hands full of shells..and while this is happening his father spots what his son really wants that's floating on the top of the ocean...a starfish ....what his son really wanted in the first place so.. he tells his son that his starfish is floating not too far from where they are.so the son spots the starfish and goes after it.His father watches from a distance and sees his son go out in the ocean and gets close but the waves come in so he comes back and the father is cheering him on ''come on that's your starfish get it it's yours!!!''so the son tries again gets close again then comes back and the father is like ''come on your almost there !!!''so the son gets so close and looks like he can reach it but doesn't so the son runs back and the father says ''why didn't you get your starfish it was right there???'' and the son says ''i couldn't get it because my hands are full of shells''.....
in life we get distracted and busy..and life is hard but in the midst of the pain and problems and hurt there is always something good that God gives you..and we miss it all the time because our hands are full of shells!!
The boy must drop the shells in his hands to get the starfish. The seashells were not bad for the boy, they were good. But...they were not best. God wants best for his children, not just good. Each of us are made for greatness. Ask Him what the broken shells are that you are clenching on to. Ask Him to clarify, it is worth it.