tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-391462609791819572024-02-19T06:06:18.613-08:00My Life and Walk With GodKeep growing dan winning in our life in ChristDave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.comBlogger903125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-82736444685205457592017-12-11T18:30:00.000-08:002017-12-11T18:30:15.329-08:00The Christmas Story Told From Kids Perspective<div class="td-post-header" style="box-sizing: border-box;">
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The Christmas Story Told From Kids’ Perspective</h1>
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<span class="td-post-date" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; display: inline-block; float: left; margin-left: 4px; position: relative; top: 2px;"><time class="entry-date updated td-module-date" datetime="2017-12-03T22:40:00+00:00" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 15px;">December 3, 2017</time></span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px;">
Despite hearing it over and over again, sometimes the story of Jesus’s birth can be hard to grasp. Lord knows even we adults have yet to fully grasp all the rich meaning God intended us to pull from the story.</div>
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The following video tells the story of Jesus’s birth from the perspective of children. Considering Jesus told us to become like children in order to enter his kingdom, perhaps there is something we can learn when we hear the Christmas story from the mouths of babes.</div>
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Additionally, the children in your ministry will be helped by the straight-forward presentation of the Christmas story (with a few creative embellishments thrown in for fun). Told as if set in our modern age, the video will help them consider how the story of Christmas fits into their lives, as well.</div>
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Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-48026319274946648782017-08-05T22:22:00.000-07:002017-08-10T00:29:43.748-07:00EAGLES NEST DISCIPLESHIP COURSES<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">EAGLES NEST </span><span lang="IN" style="color: red; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">DISCIPLESHIP COURSES</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;"> </span><img alt="Hasil gambar untuk PEMURIDAN SARANG RAJAWALI" class="rg_ic rg_i" data-sz="f" name="2XzF992BvA58BM:" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSi-PY2QBP5ZF5tsBN40o5PRmO718YHfj0PcT_IUgfPGp7bUJcTqw" style="height: 194px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 259px;" /></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: red; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 15.0pt;">Perkenalan</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Selamat datang di pelatihan kami bagi para
pemimpin masa depan gereja abad ke-21 dan para pemimpin misi. Ini adalah
pelatihan tanpa tembok, tanpa batas, tanpa biaya dan bebas dari batasan-batasan
politik, agama, ras, jenis kelamin maupun denominasi. Kami berharap bahwa
pelajaran-pelajaran ini akan mengilhami dan memberkati ribuan orang yang
hatinya sedang berkobar-kobar dalam kasih mula-mula kepada Yesus.</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Fakta bahwa Anda segera mengikuti pelatihan
ini sudah menunjukkan bahwa Anda sangat rindu untuk mengenal Tuhan dengan lebih
baik, dan bahwa dalam hati Anda, Anda ingin melihat orang-orang dalam keluarga
Anda dan bangsa Anda, dan bahkan juga mereka yang belum terjangkau, juga
orang-orang miskin di dunia ini, diubahkan ke dalam kehidupan</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">sebagai seorang murid, yang kudus dan tinggal
dalam kasih dan pemeliharaan Allah di dalam iman kepada Yesus Kristus.</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Pelatihan ini akan membantu Anda mewujudkan
hal di atas. Ini adalah Pelajaran Pertama, sangat sederhana dan merupakan
perkenalan. Pelajaran-pelajaran selanjutnya lebih lengkap, dan berisikan
hal-hal yang baik untuk dipelajari dan dipraktikkan. Secara pribadi saya</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">
dan rekan-rekan pelayanan</span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">
telah melakukan semuanya, dan mengajarkannya di kelas, memberikannya kepada ribuan
orang, dan sekarang pelajaran-pelajaran ini menjadi milik Anda. Saya berdoa
agar Anda mendapatkan berkat yang sama, tertantang dan dibawa kepada Tuhan dan
jalan-jalan-Nya sebagaimana yang pernah dan terus saya alami.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Pelatihan atau Sekolah Alkitab ini tidak menawarkan gelar teologia
tetapi melatih umat Tuhan secara praktis menjadi seorang murid Kristus yang
dapat menghidupi kebenaran, mengabarkan Kabar Baik terhadap sesama, memuridkan,
memulai pelatihan serupa ini maupun merintis atau menanam gereja.</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">P</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">asto</span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">r. Dave Broos</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">The Eagles Nest Ministries</span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Eagles Nest </span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Discipleship
Courses</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"> bekerjasama dengan DCI dan United Christian Faith Ministries</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bagaimana
Mengikuti Eagles Nest<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discipleship
Courses dengan Sukses?</span></b></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">1. Pertama-tama kami akan memberikan Anda garis
besar tentang apa yang telah kami pelajari selama bertahun-tahun. Dengan
pertolongan Roh Kudus, Alkitab, doa kami dan pikiran yang terbuka, kami percaya
bahwa Anda akan dapat menangkap seluruh pelajaran.</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Pelatihan ini terdiri dari berbagai tema yang
saling berkaitan secara berurut, yang pasti penting dan bermanfaat bagi
gereja-gereja, terutama di negara-negara berkembang:</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Penginjilan</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Misi</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Pemuridan tingkat dasar untuk orang percaya
baru</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Pemuridan tingkat lanjut</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Panggilan Allah</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Mempercayai Allah dalam hal keuangan</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Pelatihan kepemimpinan</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Pembangunan gereja</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Datanglah kerajaan-Mu</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Kehidupan doa sebagai gaya hidup &
nafas kehidupan</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Menjadi alat Tuhan di dalam masyarakat</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Menjadi umat yang profetis</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">2. Kedua, kami ingin agar Anda menyampaikan
kepada orang lain, semua yang telah Anda pelajari dari pelatihan ini, supaya
Firman Allah tersebar luas. Kami akan menunjukkan kepada Anda cara melakukannya
tanpa mengeluarkan banyak uang, karena kita semua tahu betapa sulit
mendapatkannya. Sekolah yang kami maksud, tidak harus berupa gedung khusus
dengan staf pengajar yang profesional. Para murid kami dapat berkumpul di</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">gedung gereja, rumah, toko, dan bahkan di
bawah pohon di udara terbuka. Yang Anda perlukan hanya satu kelompok dengan
orang-orang yang siap, Alkitab, bahan-bahan ini dan kehadiran Allah di
tengah-tengah Anda. Kami akan membantu Anda dari awal sampai akhir.</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Akhirnya, kami sangat berharap agar mereka
yang sudah belajar dari Anda dapat pergi mengajarkan kepada orang lain, dengan
menggunakan catatan-catatan yang sama, dan cara-cara sederhana dalam
menyampaikan Firman Allah.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bagaimana pelatihan ini dapat berjalan dengan maksimal?</span></b></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Pelatihan ini akan berjalan dengan maksimal
manakala sang pemimpin mengikuti pendekatan efektif yang sama seperti
diterapkan Yesus kepada para murid-Nya, dan juga seperti yang dilakukan Paulus
terhadap Timotius.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">“<span lang="IN">Apa yang telah engkau dengar
dari aku di depan banyak saksi, percayakanlah itu kepada orang-orang yang dapat
dipercayai, yang juga cakap mengajar orang lain.</span>”<span lang="IN"> (2
Timotius 2:2)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Kami berharap Anda dapat menangkap firman ini
sejak awal. Di tahun 2001 pendekatan ini sangat dikenal di antara gereja-gereja
yang bertumbuh pesat di seluruh dunia dengan nama G12, yaitu suatu pengembangan
dari prinsip gereja sel yang diajarkan oleh Pastor Yonggi</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Cho dari Korea, dan sekarang dijalankan
dengan sangat berhasil oleh Pastor Cesar Castellanos dari Bogota, Kolombia,
yang melihat jemaat yang dipimpinnya bertumbuh dari 8 menjadi 120.000 orang
dalam kurun waktu 10 tahun. Dia berkata, </span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">“<span lang="IN">Saya mulai melihat pelayanan Yesus dengan jelas. Banyak orang<span style="color: black;"> </span>mengikuti-Nya, tetapi Ia tidak melatih mereka. Ia
hanya melatih 12<span style="color: black;"> </span>orang, dan apapun yang Ia
lakukan di tengah-tengah banyak orang<span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">adalah dalam rangka mengajar 12 murid-Nya itu. Kemudian
Tuhan bertanya kepada saya pertanyaan yang lain. </span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">“<span lang="IN">Jika Yesus melatih 12 orang, apakah Anda harus memenangkan lebih dari
12 atau kurang dari 12?</span>”<span lang="IN"> Yesus memilih 12 orang untuk
menjangkau banyak orang. Ia tetap bersama 12 orang ini, sampai mereka dilatih
dengan baik, dan Ia melepaskan mereka, memberikan mereka otoritas dan
memampukan mereka untuk memuridkan bangsa-bangsa.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Gembala, pemimpin, murid </span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">–<span lang="IN"> hal terbaik yang harus dilakukan adalah mencari 12 orang itu untuk
Anda ajarkan pelatihan ini. Firman Allah dan Roh Kudus akan menyatukan iman dan
komitmen setiap orang, dan mentransferkan karakter Kristus di dalam kelompok
Anda melalui pemuridan ini, sebelum Anda melepas mereka yang siap untuk
memenangkan 12 orang lagi, sementara Anda tetap dalam persekutuan dengan mereka
sebagai kelompok Anda yang tetap.</span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Lihatlah betapa luar biasa kekuatan G12 ini:</span></b></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bila Anda mengajar diri Anda sendiri ~ hanya 1 orang
mendengar firman</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Tuhan.</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bila Anda membagikan pelajaran kepada 12 orang ~ 13 orang
mendengar</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">firman Tuhan.</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bila 12 orang itu masing-masing mengajar 12 orang lagi ~
157 orang</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">mendengar firman Tuhan.</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bila 157 orang itu masing-masing mengajar 12 orang lagi ~
1.884 orang</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">mendengar firman Tuhan.</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bila 1.884 orang itu mengajar 12 orang lagi ~ 22.608
orang mendengar</span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">firman Tuhan.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Dan tiba-tiba Anda mengalami kegerakan dari Allah. Hal
ini terjadi di Cina, dan terus terjadi hari ini di Amerika Latin dan Afrika, di
mana </span><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">“<span lang="IN">Pelatihan Pelipatgandaan</span>”<span lang="IN"> seperti ini terbukti menjadi satu-satunya cara yang paling efektif
untuk mengajarkan ribuan orang yang memutuskan untuk mengikut Kristus.
Bersama-sama kita dapat melatih banyak orang, untuk menjadi orang percaya yang
dewasa rohani, dan yang bersedia pergi melakukan pekerjaan pelayanan </span>–<span lang="IN"> menginjili, memuridkan, dan membantu orang-orang yang miskin, untuk
membangun iman, usaha dan keuangan yang penting untuk menyebarluaskan Injil. Di
dalam Kitab Kejadian pasal pertama, dituliskan bahwa ketika Firman Allah datang
bersama-sama</span></span></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">dengan Roh Allah, terjadilah suatu ledakan dari kehidupan
baru, dan inilah doa kami, agar Tuhan melakukan hal yang sama sekarang ini, di
dalam kehidupan Anda, dan dalam komunitas pergaulan Anda.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Apakah pelatihan ini sulit?</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Pelajaran-pelajaran ini telah teruji dengan
baik di gereja-gereja di Afrika, India dan di kalangan komunitas Latin,
tentunya disesuaikan dengan budaya setempat. Mereka mengatakan bahwa pengajaran
ini Alkitabiah, benar, relevan dengan negara-negara berkembang, dan difokuskan
pada semangat mereka untuk menjalankan Amanat Agung, agar Yesus segera datang kembali.
Kenyataannya, keadaan di banyak negara berkembang</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">sekarang ini, tidak jauh berbeda dengan
keadaan di abad pertama di zaman Alkitab.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Dengan pertolongan Allah, pelajaran-pelajaran
ini tidak akan terlalu sukar bagi mereka yang hanya mempunyai bekal pendidikan
rendah sekalipun, atau bahkan bagi mereka yang tidak mengenyam pendidikan sama
sekali. Pengajarannya sangat sederhana dan tidak rumit. Kata-katanya pasti
mudah bagi Anda untuk dimengerti. Pastikanlah bahwa Anda mengajarkan pelajaran
ini kepada orang-orang lain. Berdoalah selalu dan persiapkanlah diri Anda
sebaik-baiknya. Waktu Anda mengajar, tambahkanlah ayat-ayat Alkitab dan
ceritera-ceritera yang anda pilih sendiri sebagai ilustrasi supaya proses
pengajaran menjadi menarik, semarak dan hidup. Anda belajar dan dimuridkan
untuk memuridkan orang lain. Tuhan mau melakukan pekerjaan besar dalam hidup
anda, sadarkah anda akan hal tersebut?</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Kami juga menerima undangan pelayanan untuk memperlengkapi tubuh
Kristus yang ada di manapun baik itu gereja, persekutuan, sekolah Alkitab
maupun setiap kumpulan orang percaya yang merindukan untuk dimuridkan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bimbingan pribadi hubungi kami pada email <a href="mailto:davebroos@yahoo.co.uk">davebroos@yahoo.co.uk</a> atau WA (only) 085863761509
(Dave Broos)</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Pelatihan ini tidak dipungut biaya sama sekali tetapi bila anda
ingin mendukung pelayanan kami secara finansial hingga kami dapat menolong
gereja-gereja di daerah dalam menanggapi panggilan Tuhan dan amanat agungNya
dapat menyalurkan donasi ke rekening BCA 0081824788 atas nama Dave Broos.
Donasi anda akan digunakan untuk memperlengkapi tubuh Kristus di garis depan
dan tubuh Kristus yang tak mampu. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Harapan kami pada akhirnya umat Tuhan bukan hanya sekedar
menghangatkan bangku gereja tetapi menjadi murid Kristus yang menanggapi amanat
agung Kristus dengan menjadikan segala bangsa murid Kristus. Impian kami
melihat setiap gedung gereja menjadi tempat memperlengkapi umat Tuhan untuk
diutus memberitakan kabar baik, memuridkan orang lain dan menanam gereja di
tempat mereka bekerja, belajar atau dimanapun.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Links yang berguna bagi para murid:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "tte1787448t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">The
Eagles Nest Ministries = <a href="http://3a9l35-n35t.blogspot.com/">http://3a9l35-n35t.blogspot.com</a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "tte1787448t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Renungan
Kehidupan = <a href="http://renungandave.blogspot.com/">http://renungandave.blogspot.com</a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "tte1787448t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Ekklesia
(Gereja) = <a href="http://gerejaperjanjianbaru.blogspot.com/">http://gerejaperjanjianbaru.blogspot.com</a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "tte1787448t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Global
Prayer Network = <a href="http://globalprayernetwork.blogspot.com/">http://globalprayernetwork.blogspot.com</a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "tte1787448t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Shadow
of The Cross Indonesia = <a href="http://shaddowcross.blogspot.com/">http://shaddowcross.blogspot.com</a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "tte1787448t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Guardian
Angels = <a href="http://9u4rd14n-4n93ls.blogspot.com/">http://9u4rd14n-4n93ls.blogspot.com</a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "tte1787448t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Spiritual
Growth = <a href="http://davebroos.blogspot.com/">http://davebroos.blogspot.com</a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "tte1787448t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Market
Place Ministry = <a href="http://dave-broos.blogspot.com/">http://dave-broos.blogspot.com</a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "tte1787448t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">In
My Darkness Hours = <a href="http://inmydarnesshours.blogspot.com/">http://inmydarnesshours.blogspot.com</a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "tte1787448t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">LK10
= <a href="http://www.lk10.com/">www.LK10.com</a> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">SAMPAI JUMPA MINGGU DEPAN DENGAN PELAJARAN
KEDUA, LANGKAH-LANGKAH PERTAMA. DON</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">’<span lang="IN">T MISS IT!!!! GOD BLESS YOU.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">NB: PELAJARAN BARU AKAN DI UPDATE SETIAP
MINGGUNYA, BAGI YANG SERIUS MENGIKUTI PELAJARAN DAN MENGERJAKAN TUGAS ANDA
SAMPAI SELESAI AKAN MENDAPATKAN DIPLOMA IN MISSION. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 255.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">NB:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: 36.0pt 255.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "tte17657d8t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bagi para murid yang rindu untuk bertumbuh lebih dalam,
bersungguh-sungguhlah untuk: - Membaca , menghafalkan dan merenungkan bagian
Alkitab dari setiap pelajaran. Lalu praktekkan dalam hidup sehari-hari.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; tab-stops: 255.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- Untuk mendapatkan sertifikat
pada akhir tiap kursus, selesaikan tugas diskusi, praktika dan tugas diploma.
Kirimkan tugas-tugas tersebut ke alamat email: <a href="mailto:davebroos@yahoo.co.uk">davebroos@yahoo.co.uk</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>dengan judul Kursus Pemuridan.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; tab-stops: 255.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- Berdoa syafaat bagi setiap
suku bangsa yang belum mengenal Kristus.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; tab-stops: 255.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- Berdoa pada Tuhan, selama
minggu ini, bagikan apa yang telah Anda pelajari pada orang lain dan bentuklah
kelompok kecil untuk belajar bersama apa yang telah Anda pelajari. Bisa dimulai
dengan keluarga di rumah, sahabat-sahabat, dll. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; tab-stops: 255.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: 36.0pt 255.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "tte17657d8t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bagi para
murid yang mau mendukung kelangsungan pelayanan Sekolah Alkitab Online ataupun
pelayanan The Eagles Nest Ministries ini dapat menyalurkan donasi ke rekening
BCA Bandung II no 0081824788 atas nama Dave Broos</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: 36.0pt 255.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "tte17657d8t00"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="IN" style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Untuk menghubungi kami dapat melalui nomor WA (only)
085863761509.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></b></div>
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Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-75081681767043035352017-07-11T22:11:00.004-07:002017-07-11T22:11:51.252-07:00How to Win the War on Worry<div class="td-post-header">
<header class="td-post-title">
<h1 class="entry-title">
How to Win the War on Worry</h1>
<div class="td-module-meta-info">
<div class="td-post-author-name">
<div class="td-author-by">
By</div>
<a href="http://churchleaders.com/author/Scott">Scott Cochrane</a><div class="td-author-line">
- </div>
</div>
<span class="td-post-date"><time class="entry-date updated td-module-date" datetime="2017-06-05T22:50:38+00:00">June 5, 2017</time></span> </div>
</header>
</div>
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<a class="td-modal-image" data-caption="" href="http://churchleaders-eszuskq0bptlfh8awbb.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/6.6-waronworry.jpg"><img alt="How to Win the War on Worry" class="entry-thumb td-animation-stack-type0-2" height="428" src="http://churchleaders-eszuskq0bptlfh8awbb.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/6.6-waronworry.jpg" title="6.6 waronworry" width="642" /></a></div>
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<a class="addthis_button_facebook_stop" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-articles/304648-win-war-worry-scott-cochrane.html" target="_blank" title="Share This on Facebook"><img alt="Facebook Share Button" class="td-animation-stack-type0-2" src="http://churchleaders-eszuskq0bptlfh8awbb.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/share_on_fb_button2.png" style="padding-bottom: 30px; padding-top: 20px; width: 35%;" /></a>
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“What if we don’t hit our numbers?”<br />
“Supposing the new program launch isn’t successful?”<br />
“What will happen if we can’t fill that staff position in time?”<br />
These worries, and countless others like them, can dominate the
thinking of leaders. But leaders must maintain the discipline to avoid
needless worry is because of the mental energy it can cost you.<br />
Few resources are more important to the vitality of a leader than
mental energy. The ability to solve problems, build teams, cast vision
and plan strategy all require significant portions of mental energy, and
throughout your day you are either filling or draining your mental
energy tank.<br />
But the ability to overcome this challenge can be achieved if you know these four ways to win the war on worry…<br />
<h2>
<strong>Understand the difference between worry and concern</strong></h2>
Concern is action-oriented. In fact, concern is one of the fuels that
drives effective leadership. It flows from a deep sense of
dissatisfaction over a situation, and drives the leader toward
problem-solving.<br />
Worry, on the other hand, is merely hand-wringing negativism.<br />
<h2>
<strong>Recognize the futility of worry</strong></h2>
Studies have shown that 85 percent of what we worry about never comes
to pass. For leaders the math just doesn’t justify expending mental
energy on outcomes that are unlikely to ever happen.<br />
<h2>
<strong>Arrest “worst-case scenario” thinking</strong></h2>
Much of worry flows out of assuming the very worst outcome of any situation.<br />
For example, when results are below plan at a particular juncture,
“worry” assumes that the trend will continue, that the plan will fail,
that this will cost you your job, that you will therefore be unable to
provide for your family, and on and on and on…<br />
The mental discipline to recognize this thinking pattern, to arrest
it mid-thought, and to refuse to entertain such scenarios is a
tremendous energy saver.<br />
<h2>
<strong>Expect the best, prepare for the worst</strong></h2>
This axiom may be slightly simplistic, but there is some truth to be found here.<br />
Effective leaders don’t supplant worry with naiveté. And they
certainly don’t adopt Alfred E. Neuman’s policy of “What, me worry?”<br />
Instead they right-size the possibility of a negative outcome, and they put the necessary response plans in place.<br />
There is no quick-fix, but if you embrace these strategies you can see dramatic improvements in your mental energy tank.<br />
And over time you really can win the war on worry.<br />
<em>This article originally appeared <a href="http://www.scottcochrane.com/index.php/2017/05/08/how-leaders-win-the-war-on-worry/">here</a>.</em>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-31253622963618871732017-07-11T22:11:00.001-07:002017-07-11T22:11:28.776-07:00How I Recovered From Burnout: 12 Keys to Finding Your New Normal<div class="td-post-header">
<header class="td-post-title">
<h1 class="entry-title">
How I Recovered From Burnout: 12 Keys to Finding Your New Normal</h1>
<div class="td-module-meta-info">
<div class="td-post-author-name">
<div class="td-author-by">
By</div>
<a href="http://churchleaders.com/author/careynieuwhof">Carey Nieuwhof</a><div class="td-author-line">
- </div>
</div>
<span class="td-post-date"><time class="entry-date updated td-module-date" datetime="2017-06-08T23:00:45+00:00">June 8, 2017</time></span> </div>
</header>
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I had never been through anything quite as deep, or frankly, personally frightening, as my burnout in 2006.<br />
Burnout moves fatigue and the darkness from a place where it was in
your control to a place where you can simply no longer control either.<br />
I regularly hear from leaders who have let me know that they’re in the midst of burnout right now.<br />
It’s like burnout, fatigue and overwhelm have become epidemics in life and leadership.<br />
If you’re struggling with it, all I can say is I understand, and I’m pulling for you and praying for you.<br />
I told part of my story in <a href="https://careynieuwhof.com/11-signs-youre-more-than-just-tired-youre-burning-out/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this post</a> along with sharing <a href="https://careynieuwhof.com/11-signs-youre-more-than-just-tired-youre-burning-out/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">11 signs you might be burning out</a>.<br />
To diagnose burnout is one thing. But how do you recover from it?<br />
Let me share my journey. While everyone’s recovery will be different,
there were 12 keys that, in retrospect, were essential to my recovery.<br />
<h2>
Not an Instant Cure</h2>
And as far as time goes, for me there was no instant cure. It took about:<br />
Six months for me to move from ‘crisis’ (20 percent of normal) to operational (maybe 60 percent).<br />
Another year to get from 60 percent to 80 percent of ‘normal’.<br />
Another three or four years to finally feel 100 percent again—like myself. Even a new self.<br />
In the process, I completely restructured my patterns and rhythms so I
could develop a new normal. Why? Because to recover from burnout and
overwhelm, you need better patterns, not just a better attitude.<br />
I’ve been asked so many times what those patterns are, I share them in an online course I offer called <a href="http://www.thehighimpactleader.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The High Impact Leader</a>. I’ll tell you more about that at the end of this post.<br />
<h2>
12 Keys to Getting Back From Burnout</h2>
Along the way, these 12 things helped me immensely. And while your
story might be different, I offer them in the hope they might help you
even in some small way:<br />
<h2>
<strong>1. Tell Someone</strong></h2>
This was hard. I think it is for most leaders, especially guys.<br />
My guess is you will resist because of pride. But pride is probably what made you burn out. Don’t miss this: <em>Humility will get you out of what pride got you into. </em><br />
Swallow your pride and tell someone safe that you have a problem.
It’s tough, but it’s the first step toward wellness. When you admit it
to others, you also finally end up admitting it to yourself.<br />
<h2>
<strong>2. Get Help</strong></h2>
You can’t do this alone. Really, you can’t. I went to a trained
counselor and had a circle of friends who walked the walk with me.<br />
You need to talk to your doctor and to a trained Christian counselor. And you need others. I had people pray over me.<br />
My wife, Toni, was an incredible and exceptional rock.<br />
I’m not sure I would have made it without them. I’m a guy, and I prefer to work through my own problems.<br />
This one was so much bigger than me. But not bigger than God or the community of love and support he provides. So get help.<br />
Solitude is a gift from God, but isolation is a tool of the enemy. Don’t stay isolated.<br />
<h2>
<strong>3. Lean Into Your Friends</strong></h2>
Yes, this could have been included in Point 2 but the guys would have missed it. Friends. You need them.<br />
Guys—word here. We tend not to have a lot of friends and we tend not to open up. Mistake. Lean into your friendships.<br />
Friends came to my house and prayed for me. They called me.<br />
One day a friend called and simply said, “I know you can’t feel it
today, but the sun will rise again. It will.” I can’t tell you how much
those words meant to me that day. Your friends care about you. Lean into
them.<br />
<h2>
<strong>4. Keep Leaning Into God</strong></h2>
Just because he seems silent doesn’t mean he’s absent. I did not feel
God for months. Not when I prayed or read the Bible or worshipped.<br />
But I didn’t give myself permission to quit. In these pivotal moments
you will either lean away from God or into him. Lean in, hard. Even if
you feel nothing.<br />
I did, and eventually the feelings of intimacy return. Just because
you can’t feel God’s love doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. Your
emotions will eventually catch up to your obedience.<br />
<h2>
<strong>5. Rest</strong></h2>
I was so physically and emotionally tired when I burned out. I slept
for about 10 hours a day for a month straight, adding naps to my daily
diet on top of that.<br />
Sleep is like money; deficits become debt. And debt needs to be paid off.<br />
I paid off my sleep debt that month and I always try now to make sure I am not running a deficit.<br />
If I do for a week or two, I pay it off with more sleep. You were
designed to rest, and to rest in God. While I personally didn’t take a
sabbatical or medical leave (our board offered me one), some may need
to. I was too scared I’d never come back. So I took three weeks vacation
and came back slowly.<br />
<h2>
<strong>6. Find Something Else to Take Your Attention Away From Your Pain</strong></h2>
The problem with pain (or at least my pain) is when you do nothing you only have your pain to focus on.<br />
Pain is selfish. It will demand all of your attention, unless you decide not to give it.<br />
Distraction is a powerful tool to get your mind thinking about other
things. Watch a movie. Go out for dinner. Go for a hike. Head out to
a party. Take in a concert. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.<br />
At my worst, I would go to social settings and not want to talk to
anyone, sometimes even ‘hiding’ from people behind my wife who is a foot
shorter than me and 100 lbs lighter. But at least I went.<br />
One night we hosted a dinner party and I left the table early and
ended up crying in my bedroom for the rest of the night. But at least we
threw the party. It got my mind off the constant cycle of depression.<br />
<h2>
<strong>7. Do What You Can</strong></h2>
Again, you may need a long sabbatical. But I took three weeks off and
went back to work. On my first week back in the office, it took me
longer to write a three line email than it took me to write this entire
blog post, but I focused on doing what I could.<br />
The first weekend I preached, those who knew the shape I was in all
told me, “We would have had no idea you were feeling so bad. You were
amazing.” I knew how I felt inside, but it was good to know I could
still be helpful to others in some way.<br />
I think for me it was important to discover what I could still do.<br />
When you’re burning out, focus on what you can do, not what you can’t do.<br />
<h2>
<strong>8. Don’t Do Anything Drastic or Stupid</strong></h2>
Underline this. Because my illness involved my mind, I was tempted to do all kinds of things that could have ruined my life.<br />
I felt like abandoning my calling, running away from everyone I knew and everything I knew, even my wife and kids.<br />
In my worst moments, thoughts of ending it all crossed my mind. I am so thankful I didn’t succumb to any of those impulses.<br />
Some days I just said to myself “don’t do anything stupid today.” And
if I didn’t, that was progress. I’m so thankful I didn’t do anything
rash or irresponsible.<br />
When you’re not at your best, avoiding stupid is a win.<br />
<h2>
<strong>9. Trust Again</strong></h2>
One of the contributing factors to my crash was a few relationships
(not my family) in which trust was broken. As hurt as I felt and as
cynical as I was at points, I made a conscious decision to trust again.<br />
And the wonderful thing is: So many people <em>are </em>trustworthy.
And God always is. Trusting again after your trust has been breached
keeps your heart fresh and alive and—ultimately—hopeful again.<br />
<h2>
<strong>10. Closely Monitor Balance</strong></h2>
I used to pride myself in being able to go at whatever I was doing longer and harder than anyone else. Pride’s not a good thing.<br />
I now closely monitor how I’m feeling, my rest and my balance between
time with people and time alone. I’m hyper focused on it. Because I
can’t afford not to be.<br />
I build margin into my schedule because without it, the edge of the next cliff is right around the corner.<br />
Margin is a leader’s best friend. The more you have, the more you thrive.<br />
<h2>
<strong>11. Watch for the Warning Signs</strong></h2>
I watch these <a href="https://careynieuwhof.com/11-signs-youre-more-than-just-tired-youre-burning-out/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">11 signs of burnout</a>
diligently. From time to time, I’ll see a few of the warning signs
creep back in. I tell the people around me immediately when I sense I
might be heading for the cliff. And I pray about it and take a
corrective course of action.<br />
Sometimes you get false alarms. One time, I was two days into what I
thought was a ‘mini burnout,’ but I sounded the alarm bells. In the end,
it turned out to be my frustration over a leadership issue that was
producing the symptoms. As soon as I cracked the leadership issue, the
symptoms disappeared almost overnight.<br />
But that kind of monitoring is for me central to staying healthy.<br />
<h2>
<strong>12. Take Full Responsibility for the Health of Your Soul</strong></h2>
Nobody else is responsible for your health. You are. Pray, read your
Bible, seek life-giving friendships, replenish your energy, eat right,
work out, love deeply.<br />
These things nourish your soul. If you don’t do them, nobody will.<br />
<h2>
<strong>Finding Your New Normal (and My Accidental Discovery)</strong></h2>
It took me almost five years to get back to normal…but I realized
early on that normal wasn’t going to do it this time. This time, I
needed a new normal.<br />
Here’s why: <em>Getting back to normal will get you into the same burnout it took you into in the first place. </em><br />
For years now, I’ve worked hard to establish new rhythms and patterns that could sustain my life.<br />
In the process, I accidentally discovered something.<br />
These new habits, rhythms and patterns didn’t just keep me out of burnout, they made me far more productive and effective.<br />
I had spent my 30s wanting to write a book. Since coming back from burnout, I’ve written three and am working on a fourth.<br />
I also started speaking to leaders, writing this blog and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/cnlp-bonus-015-five-lies-leaders-believe-barnabas-piper/id912753163?i=1000385435986&mt=2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hosting a weekly leadership podcas</a>t, all the while holding down a full-time job AND having more family and recreation time.<br />
The #1 question I get asked post-burnout is “How do you get everything done?”<br />
I finally decided to summarize the principles and strategies in an online course called <a href="https://careynieuwhof.com/high-impact-leader/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The High Impact Leader</a>.<br />
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Whether you’ve burned out or not, far too many leaders struggle with
overwhelm: never getting things done when they’re supposed to be done.<br />
Constant interruptions and distractions keep many leaders from
getting their most important priorities accomplished. In addition, work
keeps bleeding into family time.<br />
You don’t have to live like that anymore.<br />
The <a href="https://careynieuwhof.com/high-impact-leader/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">10-session High Impact Leader online course</a>
will show you highly practical, proven strategies on how to finally get
time, energy and priorities working in your favor. Just to be clear, it
won’t help you recover from burnout but it will help you find highly
effective time, energy and priority management strategies once you do
recover to help you stay recovered.<br />
Each session includes a video training and workbook that will help
you personalize a plan to help you get productive and accomplish the
very things you know are most important, but rarely have the time for.<br />
<strong>The course is open now for a very limited time</strong>. You can <a href="https://careynieuwhof.com/high-impact-leader/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">learn more or take the course here</a>.<br />
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<h2>
What About You?</h2>
It was a long road back for me personally, and I had to keep
believing that God wasn’t done with me. Eleven years later I’m so
thankful. Our church has never been healthier or more effective.<br />
I am enjoying what I’m doing more than ever. And the opportunities before me have never been greater.<br />
How much of that could I see or imagine 11 years ago? Exactly
0 percent. But I had to not give up despite that. In those moments and
days where I still don’t feel good, I cling to the hope that the sun
will rise again. And it does.<br />
So that’s my story.<br />
I’m praying for you today and I hope that in some small way this
helps those of you who are defeated, discouraged or believe it’s over.<br />
It’s not. Our God still lives. And He loves you.<br />
What’s your story? What’s helped you or people you love?<br />
<em>This article originally appeared <a href="https://careynieuwhof.com/how-i-recovered-from-burnout-12-keys-to-new-normal/">here</a>.</em>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-65445224135295601732017-07-11T22:09:00.001-07:002017-07-11T22:09:27.211-07:00What if God DOES Give You Success?<div class="td-post-header">
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What if God DOES Give You Success?</h1>
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<span class="td-post-date"><time class="entry-date updated td-module-date" datetime="2017-06-16T23:00:51+00:00">June 16, 2017</time></span> </div>
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Be careful what you ask for.</div>
We all know the punch line, right? “Because you might get it.”<br />
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But what if that’s not the real punch line?<br />
What if the real answer is, “Because you might not know what you are asking for?”<br />
We know God wants success for us. The tension resides in the fact that we don’t always define success the same way God does.<br />
We might think success is a big church in the burbs. God might think
success is a small church in the country. Or what if God doesn’t connect
success to numbers at all? What if God’s definition is more about
character, trust, obedience, loving people, lifting His name and
teaching the gospel?<br />
God did promise new territory to Joshua. (Your territory will extend
from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all
the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.) That does
sound like “numbers.”<br />
But God also focused on the relationship Joshua had with Him.<br />
<em>7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the
law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to
the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book
of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that
you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be
prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:7-8</em><br />
How you define success matters.<br />
Do you have a definition?<br />
Does your definition of success remain consistent, or does it change according to your circumstances?<br />
What does your heart long for?<br />
Let’s be honest, anyone who leads wants success. I’ll bet you’ve
never awakened in the morning to a thought like: “I sure hope I fail
today.”<br />
And probably similar to me, you’ve experienced both the successes and failures that life has a way of delivering.<br />
The following are a few things I’ve learned over the years about success. I hope they are helpful to you.<br />
<h3>
1) Allow success to be something God gives you, not something you take.</h3>
You can’t force success no matter how hard you try. You can work
hard, and that makes a big difference, (God wants you to do your part),
but God’s timing doesn’t always match our desires. However, His timing
is right.<br />
It’s not uncommon for leaders to try to “take” success from God.
Meaning, it’s something we expect, or feel entitled to, in our way, in
our timing. Of course, that never works well.<br />
You may be in charge, but you are not in control.<br />
When you take success into your own hands, it’s incredibly heavy, often short-lived and usually exhausting.<br />
When God gives success, you still work hard and get tired, but the
fruit tastes so sweet. The load is lighter, and there is more than
enough joy and meaning to replenish your weariness and refresh your
soul.<br />
<h3>
2) If you are blessed with success, never forget where it came from.</h3>
One of my mistakes as a leader is when I pray less in a season of
success. I continue to learn that it’s during times of success that I
need to pray most.<br />
It’s easy to subtly slide from the truth that ultimately God makes it
all happen, to “I made it happen.” I really don’t ever believe that,
but I can begin to live and behave as if I think that way. That’s a
subtle and dangerous difference.<br />
God is gracious and kind to provide His favor.<br />
Whatever small or large success I may be blessed with, I acknowledge and thank God for it daily.<br />
<h3>
3) Don’t sell your soul for continued success.</h3>
Success to the soul is like sugar to the palate; you just want more.<br />
When I have a chocolate chip cookie, my first thought is never, “Well
I’m good now.” I think, “Just one more,” and that thought never ends.
There’s nothing wrong with a chocolate chip cookie, but I can sell out
my health if I keep eating them.<br />
Most leaders are highly driven and dedicated to the mission. And when
you get a “taste” of success, you may be tempted to pay any price for
continued success.<br />
Where do you draw the line? Do you protect and put your family first?
How about your physical health? And your spiritual life, ironically,
can be at high risk even when your time is dedicated to God’s work. How
would you describe your prayer life—is it all that you want it to be?
These are good questions for a personal check up.<br />
<h3>
4) Failure is a springboard to future success.</h3>
Some leaders are more successful than others, but no one experiences continued success throughout their life.<br />
<strong>Failure is inevitable, but it’s not final.</strong><br />
Failure can knock you down, and sometimes it can feel like it knocked you out. But you can get back up.<br />
What you and I learn from our failures makes us better leaders. How we apply what we learn makes all the difference.<br />
Sometimes we need a more experienced and wiser friend to help us
navigate the difficult seasons. Sometimes we need a fresh start.
Sometimes it’s nothing more than a good night’s sleep and start again in
the morning.<br />
Whatever the case might be for you as a leader, embrace failures as part of life, learn all you can and keep pressing on.<br />
<em>This article originally appeared <a href="http://danreiland.com/god-gives-success/">here</a>.</em>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-38840481226085080862017-07-11T22:08:00.002-07:002017-07-11T22:08:19.882-07:00Calming the Chaos<div class="td-post-header">
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Calming the Chaos</h1>
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<span class="td-post-date"><time class="entry-date updated td-module-date" datetime="2017-06-06T23:00:42+00:00">June 6, 2017</time></span> </div>
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There is no doubt that we have all experienced the chaos of herding
preschoolers during small group time (although it really can feel like
herding cats). Stop throwing! Let’s sit down for rug time! Spit out that
play-dough!<br />
As small group leaders, in the midst of the chaos that can ensue,
it’s our job to maintain some order so that we can create a safe place
where ALL of our kids can learn and love Jesus! Having some techniques
in your tool belt for managing that tension can be helpful during your
time with your few.<br />
<b>Watch your levels.</b><br />
If we let our emotions get out of control, we can be sure our
preschoolers will do the same. Kids tend to match their level of loud
with your level of loud. Meeting them in their hysteria will only result
in more hysteria. When you feel the levels rising in your room, try to
remember to speak in a calm voice. You would be amazed at what a whisper
can do in a room! Your preschoolers will be straining their tiny ears
to hear you.<br />
<b>Find your helpers.</b><br />
So many times, I have found there are always a few in my group that
have a consistently hard time following directions, which adds to the
chaos. Those few can become your best helpers! You can have them hand
out supplies, help clean the room or assist in leading your group to the
large group area. If their hands and feet are busy, you may find they
redirect all that energy into something positive.<br />
<b>Divide and conquer.</b><br />
If you find your preschoolers ganging up to start a riot in your
room, this might be a good time to divide and conquer with your
co-leader. A great technique to lessen the chaos of your room is to
split the activities between yourself and your co-leader and to separate
the kids into teams. You get bonus points for being strategic in
dividing the children who tend to feed off of each other! When the kids
finish their activities, switch teams with your co-leader. I’ve found
that organizing your time with your few in this way can help you to have
a better connection with fewer kid at a time. Many times, our
overactive kids are really just wanting some attention.<br />
Even in the midst of chaos, God still wants to speak to your few, and He wants to use <i>you </i>to
do it! The most important work that you do isn’t keeping the peace and
maintaining order, although it can sometimes feel that way. You’re
working toward creating a space safe enough and conducive enough for
your few to experience God’s love. And that is very important work.<br />
<i>What are some techniques you use in calming the chaos in your small group?</i><br />
<em>This article originally appeared <a href="http://leadsmall.org/preschool/calming-the-chaos/">here</a>.</em>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-27810518445113141982017-07-11T22:07:00.003-07:002017-07-11T22:07:58.599-07:00How to Go about Life Decisions when the Husband Is the Head of Your Home<div class="td-post-header">
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Matt and Lauren Chandler: How to Go about Life Decisions when the Husband Is the Head of Your Home</h1>
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<span class="td-post-date"><time class="entry-date updated td-module-date" datetime="2017-06-08T16:22:38+00:00">June 8, 2017</time></span> </div>
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Marriage has a deeper meaning than two people taking up space in a
home, sharing responsibilities, and physically connecting with each
other. In fact, it is marriage between a husband and his wife that God
uses to provide a picture of His relationship with His church. As true
as that may be, it’s also true that every marriage is made up of two
sinners, who are prone to weakness, selfish desires, and fleshly
thinking. So how can a husband and wife partner together in order to
make life decisions? Matt Chandler, who is pastor of the Village
Church, and his wife, Lauren, provide insight through this video about
that very thing.<br />
The Lord, according to Lauren, has created the husband to fulfill the
role of servant leader within marriage just as Christ loves, leads, and
serves the His church. Wives, just like the church, should flourish
under the leadership of her husband. Husbands can provide this type of
servant leadership by listening to how their wives view and feel about
upcoming decisions. Ultimately, the decision lies with the husband
either by deferring or by his direct decision. This means that the
ramifications of the decision will lay with him and not his wife.<br />
Godly husbands, says Matt, have no natural desire to say “no” to
their wives but try to lay down any “yes” before their wives. But there
are times when deferring would be unwise and could put the family in
harm’s way. Male headship is not about flexing his authority but about
protection of the marriage and family as well as values that honor
Christ. Husbands can communicate this leadership by saying, “the answer
is ‘yes’ now ask the question”. This gives wives unfettered
communicative freedom with their husbands and encourages good dialogue
about significant life decisions.<br />
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Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-7882713857334098072017-07-11T22:06:00.003-07:002017-07-11T22:06:59.160-07:00Women Use Porn Too<div class="td-post-header">
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Women Use Porn Too</h1>
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<span class="td-post-date"><time class="entry-date updated td-module-date" datetime="2017-06-14T23:00:33+00:00">June 14, 2017</time></span> </div>
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There’s no more frightening place to sit than alone in the shadows
with your sin. The permeating decay of sin’s destruction is the stuff of
true nightmares.<br />
But what if pastors and friends from church were inadvertently <em>helping</em>
you stay in the shadows? We can easily chat about total depravity, but
the moment a pastor addresses only men on a Sunday morning to confront
“their” porn problem, he’s unintentionally left women in the dark…with
their sin.<br />
I’ve counseled women with varying degrees of damage from sexual
sin—from those willingly involved in BDSM all the way to sex-trafficking
victims. No matter how much I see it, I never grow unphased by the
shrewd precision with which sexual sin wounds women. And now, thanks to
the cultural normalization of pornography and the availability of WiFi
and smart phones, <a href="https://www.challies.com/articles/10-ugly-and-updated-numbers-about-pornography-use">statistics of porn users</a> have not only soared—they’ve left no age group, demographic or gender unharmed.<br />
That said, we must stop assuming pornography is a men’s problem, because it’s not. It’s a human problem.<br />
<div class="is--indent">
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common
to mankind. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond
your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of
escape, that you may be able to endure it. (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 Cor. 10.13" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Cor.%2010.13" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1 Cor. 10:13</a>)</div>
In context, Paul is addressing two specific temptations: sexual immorality (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 Cor. 10.8" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Cor.%2010.8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1 Cor. 10:8</a>) and grumbling (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 Cor. 10.10" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Cor.%2010.10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1 Cor. 10:10</a>).
Paul calls these sins “common” because they are regular temptations
everyone faces. To assume sexual sin is only a male problem is to deny
the help God promises to send <em>all</em> Christians.<br />
<h3>
<strong>Slaying Taboos</strong></h3>
We’re often uncomfortable talking about female use of
pornography. It’s a delicate topic for pastors to address with women
because sexuality, by nature, is intimate. Since confessing sexual sin
to a male pastor or elder is difficult, many may be less aware of the
problem.<br />
Yet when we treat porn as a men’s issue, we withhold grace and help from women in their time of need (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Heb. 4.16" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Heb.%204.16" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Heb. 4:16</a>).
Our great high priest doesn’t sympathize with just some of our
weaknesses, but with all of them. And because of the Spirit’s power at
work in us, we can boldly confront any kind of sin.<br />
But when we make a particular sin taboo—from the pulpit or anywhere
else in the church—it creates pockets of darkness where sin can fester
and flourish. Sheltered by silence and fed by shame, the unaddressed sin
has unrestricted reign to destroy lives.<br />
<h3>
<strong>Humility Unchains</strong></h3>
On the other hand, no Christian regardless of gender can remain both silent about sin and free from shame. <a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Prov 28.13" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Prov%2028.13" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Proverbs 28:13</a> says, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”<br />
The more we conceal our sin, the harder our hearts become. And sin
always harms, even when it seems private—this includes masturbation and
pornography; this includes sexting; this includes lustful thoughts. As
explicit as it is to write those words, we must be clear that true
freedom and holy restoration are available to women who struggle in
these ways.<br />
Believers silent about their sin waste away in grief (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Ps. 32.3" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ps.%2032.3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ps. 32:3</a>). When we isolate ourselves, we prize the pride our shame protects over the holiness our humility allows (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Prov. 18.1" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Prov.%2018.1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Prov. 18:1</a>).<br />
But God “opposes the proud” and “gives grace to the humble” (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="James 4.6" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/James%204.6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James 4:6</a>). Sisters, humble yourselves and don’t submit again to the yoke of slavery (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Gal 5.1" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Gal%205.1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gal 5:1</a>). Confess. Repent. Your Father is faithful and just to forgive your sins and purify your heart (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 John 1.9" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20John%201.9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1 John 1:9</a>).<br />
Jesus answers your cry of loneliness with his perfect comfort.<br />
Jesus answers your feeling of shame with his perfect record.<br />
Jesus answers your desire for companionship with his perfect communion.<br />
Jesus answers your desire for ultimate pleasure with his perfect promises.<br />
Sister, confess your sin and embrace Christ instead.<br />
<h3>
<strong>Team Effort</strong></h3>
People don’t change because of the power of statistics or
hearing about the devastating effects of porn. People change through the
transforming power of the gospel. People change by submitting to the
truth of God’s Word rather than the ravenous appetite of the flesh.<br />
And people change with help from one another (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 Thess. 5.14" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Thess.%205.14" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1 Thess. 5:14</a>).<br />
Pornography is a spiritual problem rooted in the deceitfulness of
idolatry—and like all idolatry, we need one another in the fight. A
Christian struggling with porn needs other believers to help her slay
sin by the power of God’s Word (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Eph. 5.18–21" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Eph.%205.18%E2%80%9321" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Eph. 5:18–21</a>; <a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Col. 3.16" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Col.%203.16" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Col. 3:16</a>).<br />
Following the text on temptation in <a class="rtBibleRef" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 Cor 10.12–13" data-version="esv" href="https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Cor%2010.12%E2%80%9313" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1 Corinthians 10:12–13</a>,
Paul writes: “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” We all need
help. None of us is above the temptation pornography provides.<br />
Pastors, pornography is a human problem.<br />
Women who struggle, come out of the shadows to Jesus.<br />
Church, rise up and help your sisters.<br />
<em>This article originally appeared <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/women-use-porn-too">here</a>.</em>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-69687648532261541962017-07-11T22:05:00.000-07:002017-07-11T22:05:01.993-07:00Can a Christian Drink Alcohol<div class="td-post-header">
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Can a Christian Drink Alcohol</h1>
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<span class="td-post-date"><time class="entry-date updated td-module-date" datetime="2017-01-26T23:00:42+00:00">January 26, 2017</time></span> </div>
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On Monday night, news broke that <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/story/2012/09/17/shaun-white-charged-with-vandalism-in-nashville/57797252/1" target="_blank">Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Shaun White had been charged with vandalism and public intoxication</a>.
On my Facebook wall, I posted the following comment: “This just in…and
the gold medal for character enhancement, once again, goes to alcohol.”<br />
For years, well-meaning, sincere Christians have debated the subject
of drinking. Let me be clear by saying there isn’t a single verse in the
Bible that says a Christian cannot have a drink; although the Bible
clearly warns about the destructive and addictive nature of alcohol (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-passage="Proverbs201" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Prov 20.1" data-version="ESV" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Prov%2020.1" target="_blank">Proverbs 20:1</a>; <a data-passage="Proverbs2117" href="http://ebible.com/query?utf=8%E2%9C%93&query=Proverbs%2021%3A17&translation=ESV" target="_blank">21:17</a>; <a data-passage="Proverbs2329-35" href="http://ebible.com/query?utf=8%E2%9C%93&query=Proverbs%2023%3A29-35&translation=ESV" target="_blank">23:29-35</a>; <a class="rtBibleRef" data-passage="Ephesians518" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Eph 5.18" data-version="ESV" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Eph%205.18" target="_blank">Ephesians 5:18</a>) and is very clear that drunkenness is always wrong (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-passage="Romans1313" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Rom 13.13" data-version="ESV" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom%2013.13" target="_blank">Romans 13:13</a>; <a class="rtBibleRef" data-passage="Galatians519-21" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Gal 5.19-21" data-version="ESV" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Gal%205.19-21" target="_blank">Galatians 5:19-21</a>; <a class="rtBibleRef" data-passage="1Peter43" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 Pet 4.3" data-version="ESV" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Pet%204.3" target="_blank">1 Peter 4:3</a>; <a class="rtBibleRef" data-passage="Habakkuk215" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Hab 2.15" data-version="ESV" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Hab%202.15" target="_blank">Habakkuk 2:15</a>; <a class="rtBibleRef" data-passage="1Corinthians511" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 Cor 5.11" data-version="ESV" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Cor%205.11" target="_blank">1 Corinthians 5:11</a>).<br />
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The Bible is also clear that mature Christians should avoid causing others to stumble by drinking (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-passage="Romans1421" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Rom 14.21" data-version="ESV" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rom%2014.21" target="_blank">Romans 14:21</a>), and that leaders ought to avoid drinking alcohol (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-passage="Proverbs314-7" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Prov 31.4-7" data-version="ESV" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Prov%2031.4-7" target="_blank">Proverbs 31:4-7</a>) and cannot be given to drunkenness (<a class="rtBibleRef" data-passage="1Timothy33" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="1 Tim 3.3" data-version="ESV" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/1%20Tim%203.3" target="_blank">1 Timothy 3:3</a>, <a data-passage="1Timothy38" href="http://ebible.com/query?utf=8%E2%9C%93&query=1%20Timothy%203%3A8&translation=ESV" target="_blank">8</a><a class="rtBibleRef" data-passage="Titus17" data-purpose="bible-reference" data-reference="Titus 1.7" data-version="ESV" href="http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Titus%201.7" target="_blank">Titus 1:7</a>.)<br />
I have yet to hear from anyone who drinks how alcohol enhances
anything or blesses anyone. Max Lucado said, “One thing for sure, I have
never heard anyone say, ‘A beer makes me feel more Christlike… Fact of
the matter is this: People don’t associate beer with Christian
behavior.”<sup>1</sup> I’ve yet to see how it improves someone’s
testimony or makes anyone a more effective witness for Christ. Quite the
contrary, like Shaun White mentioned above, or Richard Roberts, Oral
Roberts’ son, who was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma, driving under the
influence, the result doesn’t enhance your testimony. Rather, it takes
away from what testimony you had.<br />
Recently, a friend of mine, former megachurch Pastor John Caldwell, wrote an article in Christian Standard magazine called <em>To Drink or Not to Drink?</em> Here’s the <a href="http://christianstandard.com/2012/08/to-drink-or-not-to-drink/" target="_blank">link to his article</a>.
John’s article explained why he has personally abstained from drinking
alcohol and dealt with the bigger issue of the contemporary church
becoming more and more like the world.<br />
Not surprisingly, a number of people responded to John’s article and
some called him to task for taking such a strong stand against drinking.
In response to the responses, my good friend Ken Idleman, former
President of Ozark Christian College and now Pastor of Crossroads
Christian Church in Evansville, Ind., wrote these words, which are among
the very best I’ve ever read on this issue. I asked Ken for his
permission to share them here.<br />
“OK, I am conscience bound to weigh in on this one… For a minute,
forget about making a definitive case for or against ‘drinking’ from the
Bible. Here’s the truth from logic and real life. No one starts out to
be an alcoholic. Everyone begins with a defensive attitude saying, ‘I’m
just a social drinker and there is nothing wrong with it!’ no one says,
‘It is my ambition that someday I want to lose my job, my health, my
self-respect, my marriage and my family. Someday I want to be dependent
on alcohol to get through my day.’ Yet, this is the destination at which
several millions of people have arrived. Why do you suppose that is? It
is because alcohol is promoted and elevated as a normal/sophisticated
activity in life… It is also expensive, addictive and enslaving. People
get hooked by America’s number one legal drug. And just like all illegal
drugs, alcohol finds it way into the body, the bloodstream and the
brain of the user/abuser.<br />
I had two uncles whose lives were wrecked by alcohol. The exception
you say? Hardly. It is not what they wanted when they dreamed of their
futures when they were in their 20s. Praise God, they were wonderfully
delivered in their 60s when the grace of God became real to them. And
can you imagine it?… They got their lives back by becoming total
abstainers by the power of the Holy Spirit!<span id="more-298190"></span><br />
One of my most memorable conversations in the state penitentiary in
Jefferson City, Mo., was with a young man facing a 28-year prison
sentence for the brutal sexual assault of his own 8-year-old daughter. I
will never forget the image. The tears literally ran off his chin and
splashed on his shoes as he gushed, ‘I guess I did it. I don’t know. I
was drunk at the time.’<br />
Listen, some of those who are defensive in response to Dr. Caldwell’s
thoughtful and courageous article will want to revise their text if, in
a few years, they discover that they were able to handle their drinking
just fine, but their son or daughter could not. Answer honestly. Could
you live with the knowledge that your dangerous exercise of Christian
liberty factored into your children’s ruin? Or, if your loved one is
killed some day in a head on collision by a driver under the influence
who crossed the center line, will you still be defensive of drinking?<br />
A good friend during my growing up years was the only child of social
drinking parents. When his folks were away, he would go to the
rathskeller [German for tavern] in the basement where he developed a
taste for alcohol. I won’t bore you with the details. He is 65 today. A
broken life, broken health, broken marriages, a broken relationship with
his only son, a broken relationship with his only grandchild, a broken
career and a broken spirit that…tragically…he tries daily to medicate
with the alcohol that led him to this tragic destination.<br />
Hey, thanks for indulging my rant. Like my friend John Caldwell, I
confess to setting the bar high for Christian leadership [especially]
when it comes to aesthetic holiness. Call me a ‘right-wing
fundamentalist.’ Call me a ‘throw back to the days of the tent
evangelists.’ Call me a ‘simpleton.’ Call me a ‘minimalist.’ But, if you
do, go ahead and also call me a ‘watchman on the wall’ where the
welfare of my family [children, in-laws, grandchildren] and my church
family is concerned.”<sup>2</sup><br />
Personally, I’ve yet to have my first beer and have no desire to
start now or to drink alcohol of any kind. At the same time, I don’t
judge those who believe they have freedom in Christ to drink. But when
asked, I always tell people I don’t believe it’s the best choice.<br />
The bottom line is this: The question really isn’t <em>CAN A CHRISTIAN DRINK?</em> Rather, it is: <em>SHOULD A CHRISTIAN DRINK?</em><br />
© 2012. Barry L. Cameron<br />
<sup>1</sup> David Faust, Voices From The Hill, (Cincinnati, OH: Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary, 2003) 252.<br />
<sup>2</sup> John Caldwell, <a href="http://christianstandard.com/2012/08/to-drink-or-not-to-drink/">“To Drink or Not to Drink,”</a> Christian Standard 11 August 2012, 18 September 2012.Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-4312433115948064502017-07-11T22:04:00.001-07:002017-07-11T22:04:31.665-07:00When a Pastor’s Kid Doubts Her Faith<div class="td-post-header">
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When a Pastor’s Kid Doubts Her Faith</h1>
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<a href="http://churchleaders.com/author/andrealucado">Andrea Lucado</a><div class="td-author-line">
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<span class="td-post-date"><time class="entry-date updated td-module-date" datetime="2017-06-20T23:00:25+00:00">June 20, 2017</time></span> </div>
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My dad tells this story from when I was five years old. He was
teaching me and my two sisters about the Garden of Eden. In the middle
of the story, I interrupted, “Wait, if God didn’t want Adam and Eve to
eat from the tree, why’d he put it in the garden?” And thus my
impulsively inquisitive nature reared its head.<br />
Such questions and concerns have never quite left me. I’ve always felt the need to ask <em>why?</em> until
I get a sufficient answer. I consider this a gift now. Curiosity and
questioning are what have led me to deeper truths about God and about
myself and others. But when you grow up as a pastor’s daughter, there
are expectations.<br />
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My father, Max, has been the pastor of Oak Hills Church in San
Antonio for almost 30 years—my entire life. I do not know life apart
from church and apart from being a visible member of the church. For the
most part, this has been a wonderful and enriching place for me and my
growth as a believer in Jesus. But somewhere along the way, while being
raised in front of the congregation’s eye, I began to carry the weight
of expectations. I needed to act a certain way. I need to look a certain
way. And, I needed to believe a certain way. My faith needed to be
strong like my mother’s and father’s. It needed to match my poised
exterior.<br />
So I kept my doubts to myself. I talked to my parents about them, but
few others. I grew inward in my faith. I kept it private for fear of
others knowing that I asked questions like that one when I was five
years old.<br />
In the church of my childhood, and still today, there is a prayer
time at the end of the service. Several members of the congregation
called “prayer partners” line the front of the auditorium, and the rest
of the church body is invited to come forward for prayer. No one told me
I shouldn’t go forward for prayer during that time, but because I had
internalized those faith expectations, I didn’t think I was allowed to. I
never even considered it. Not once.<br />
What would people think if I, Andrea Lucado, went forward for prayer?
They would think my prayer life was not strong enough on its own. They
would think something was wrong with me or my family. I saved the prayer
partners for those who were brave enough to be prayed over in public.<br />
I wonder if this happens to other pastors’ kids. If somehow in the
midst of all of the church people we know, we end up living private
spiritual lives. I had quiet times. I read and studied and prayed, but I
did so alone.<br />
I lived my private spiritual life for as long as I could, until it didn’t work anymore. Until the doubts grew overwhelming.<br />
I moved to Oxford the fall after I graduated college. I went there
for a master’s program in English literature at a school called
Oxford-Brookes. During the year I was there, the questions that had been
rumbling beneath the surface came out in full bloom. The world of
Oxford academia will do that to you. Being plucked out of the Bible Belt
and dropped into post-Christian Europe will do that to you. Being the
only Christian in your class for the first time in your life will do
that to you.<br />
<em>Why do I believe what I believe?</em><br />
<em>Would I still be a Christian if I had not been raised in a Christian home?</em><br />
<em>Why do the atheists and agnostics I know seem more peaceful and loving than many of the Christians I know?</em><br />
These questions swirled round and round in my head. My nights turned
restless with them. And my quiet times, the ones I had been faithfully
keeping since high school? They turned, well, quiet. So quiet that they
only echoed my own voice back to me. “Anyone out there? Anyone out
there? Anyone?”<br />
What I wanted instead, what I needed, wasn’t God, but someone, a
physical real-person someone, to show me the way. I wanted to talk to
someone who I knew was talking to God, even if I couldn’t or just didn’t
want to.<br />
I found that in a friend in Oxford. He was kind. He was fun. And his
faith was not in turmoil as mine was. He had a steadiness to him that I
craved. We didn’t talk much about my own faith. We went on walks and ate
out at restaurants and drank tea on my couch to keep our hands warm in
the winter months. It seemed that being near him was exactly what I
needed that year. I needed to simply talk to someone who was talking to
God.<br />
The people who talk to God, as I learned, can do a lot for you and
for your faith if you let them. I once heard author and pastor Nadia
Bolz-Weber speak. During the question and answer session at the end, a
guy stood up and said, “I had faith and it was strong, but now I’m
doubting. I feel weak in my faith. What should I do?”<br />
Bolz-Weber’s suggestion? “You can take a break now. Let someone else on the pew be strong for you.”<br />
I like this idea of giving each other permission to take a break from
trying and let the others on the pew be strong for us for a little
while. This is not something I gave myself permission to do growing up
as a pastor’s daughter, but it is something I am a strong advocate for
now.<br />
I left Oxford with a deeper faith than I had when I arrived. The
restless nights eventually led to a knowing and a peace, largely due to
that friend and a few others on the pew I let be strong for me for a
while.<br />
I still find it difficult to go forward in church for prayer. I
default to keeping up appearances and appearing strong and fine, but I’m
getting there. God has been gentle and patient with me and I hope that
one day, when the pastor calls for the time of prayer, I’ll be the first
running down the aisle.<br />
<em>This article originally appeared <a href="https://maxlucado.com/pastors-kid-doubts-faith/">here</a>.</em>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-60882534154581269792017-07-11T22:03:00.002-07:002017-07-11T22:03:28.464-07:00The Moment LeBron James Became The Unquestioned Leader Of The Cleveland Cavaliers<br />
<strong>Since the definition of leadership is “influence”, <a href="http://briandoddonleadership.com/2016/06/27/my-thoughts-on-the-lebron-james-expletive-laden-victory-speech-and-his-leadership/">LeBron James</a>
was leading the Cleveland Cavaliers when he was just a sophomore or
junior basketball player at St. Vincent – St. Mary High School in Akron
(OH).</strong> This is because the Cavaliers were already involved in
player movement and salary cap manipulation which would position them to
ultimately select the local prodigy with the first pick in the 2003 NBA
Draft.<br />
<strong>When James arrived as a rookie he was already a national celebrity.</strong> He appeared on the cover of <a href="https://www.si.com/">Sports Illustrated</a> as a high school junior and several of the team’s games during his senior season were telecast on <a href="http://www.espn.com/">ESPN</a>.
James had signed over $100 million in endorsement contracts with Nike
and trading card companies before even being drafted. Season ticket
sales increased from 2,000 in the 2001-2002 season to 10,000 before
James played his first professional game. Reported attendance figures
rose from 11,497 to 18,288 per game during his rookie season. LeBron
James was clearly the face of the franchise and everything would be
built around him.<br />
<strong>But there is a MAJOR difference between position and influence.</strong> James had the position. But he needed to earn the respect of the team’s veterans.<br />
In Terry Pluto and Brian Windhorst’s great book <strong><em><a href="http://amzn.to/2tPC7ib">The Franchise: LeBron James and the Remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers</a></em></strong>,
they track the rise of James from growing up in a single-mother home to
his first trip to the NBA Finals in 2007. They made an interesting
observation about James’s ascension to his role as team leader.<br />
The team’s head coach at the time Paul Silas was quoted as saying,
“He went from a (19-year-old) rookie who had to show everyone that he
was a player…Well, he showed them (see video above). He put up numbers.
And he started to take on leadership.” What we learn from Silas’s
quote is <strong>young leaders begin earning influence by producing results. But more is required</strong>.<br />
General Manager Jim Paxson said, “The only thing I thought LeBron
needed to do after his rookie year was learn how the best player on the
team must compete and lead every day in practice. LeBron played hard. <strong>But
he wouldn’t always stay after practice for extra work. He’d do his
thing with the media and go home. Other players saw that. When your
best player works extra, then the others tend to follow.</strong>”<br />
Paxson gave that feedback to James who made the immediate changes. The rest is history.<br />
<strong>LeBron James was the face of the franchise the moment he was
drafted. But he became the unquestioned team leader when he began
leading in the areas of sacrifice, hard work, and showing his commitment
to the success of others with his time and effort.</strong><br />
For leaders to reach their maximum level of influence, your position
is not enough. Even your production is not enough. Motivational
speeches are not enough. <strong>For a leader to reach their maximum
level of influence you must also be willing to lead in the area of
sacrificing for the success of others</strong>.<br />
What is one thing you can learn from LeBron’s rookie year which will make you a better leader?<br />
<a href="http://briandoddonleadership.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8cf82b4fe8b977ced00f17537&id=9cf0d32f3b"><img alt="1269" class="alignleft wp-image-18442 size-medium" height="300" src="http://briandoddonleadership.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/1269-250x300.png" width="250" /></a><br />
Click <a href="http://briandoddonleadership.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8cf82b4fe8b977ced00f17537&id=9cf0d32f3b">HERE</a> or on the image to the left and as a free gift for subscribing to this site, you can receive my new Ebook <a href="http://briandoddonleadership.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8cf82b4fe8b977ced00f17537&id=9cf0d32f3b"><em><strong>1269 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From 2016’s Top Christian Leadership Conferences</strong></em></a>.
Featured are the Johnny Hunt Mens Conference, ReThink Leadership,
Orange and Leadercast Conferences among others. If applied, these
insights will make you an exponentially better leader. Enjoy!!!Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-15352930610469314282017-07-11T22:00:00.003-07:002017-07-11T22:00:53.004-07:00Daddy-Daughter Dates: 5 Things You Need to Know<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #010101;">Sunday
was a great reminder of just how super-blessed I am as a father. But I
realized that a big part of why I enjoy such rich relationships with my
grown children today is the intentional things we did parenting our kids
when they were young.</span></span><img height="1" src="http://caesarkalinowski.ontraport.com/o?ih=vH_s_s_5Dw_5c_t1ot_AG_6ZniHs_vpjNpPOcrU" width="1" /></span></div>
<div align="left">
</div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://caesarkalinowski.ontraport.com/c/s/5Dw/t1ot/6/zo/AG/6ZniHr/v2Ai9yNdUk/P" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">In this episode of the Lifeschool Podcast</span></a> <span style="color: #010101;">I
will share why Daddies should be regularly dating their daughters. I’ll
give you some of my proven steps and activities to take to ensure your
dates with your daughter are amazing too. (This works with mothers and
sons too!)</span></span></span></div>
<div align="left">
</div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #010101;"><b>In This Episode You’ll Learn:</b></span></span></span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0mm; margin-top: 0mm;">
<li style="color: #010101; margin-left: 5pt; margin-right: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #010101;">When the right age to start dating your daughter is</span></span></span></li>
<li style="color: #010101; margin-left: 5pt; margin-right: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #010101;">How these dates can be a picture of what God is truly like and how He sees and values your daughter</span></span></span></li>
<li style="color: #010101; margin-left: 5pt; margin-right: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #010101;">How the way you treat your daughter on these dates sets her expectations for relationships with men in her life.</span></span></span></li>
<li style="color: #010101; margin-left: 5pt; margin-right: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #010101;">How
Caesar’s proven Daddy-daughter Date Checklist will help you have
amazing times together you will cherish. We’ll tell you how to get your
free copy today.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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</div>
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<a href="http://caesarkalinowski.ontraport.com/c/s/5Dw/t1ot/s/zo/AG/6ZniHr/vrBdBReNEp/P" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="https://i.ontraport.com/28236.b36d12219bbec61a8ef155cc3bcfc4fb.PNG" style="min-height: 220px; width: 440px;" /></a></div>
<div align="left">
</div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #010101;">There
is no better way to unlock your daughters’ hearts, and pour into them a
sense of beauty and value, than these cherished one-on-one times
together. Memories are built, friendships strengthened and you’ll build a
bond of trust that will last a lifetime.</span></span></span></div>
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</div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://caesarkalinowski.ontraport.com/c/s/5Dw/t1ot/v/zo/AG/6ZniHr/vsSFpBcc3g/P" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">[Listen Now]</span></a></span></span><br />
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #010101;"><b>ALSO check out...</b>
And as long as I am extending Father’s day and speaking to the
brothers, you should also check out this post and video on having
awesome date nights with your wife too!</span></span></span></div>
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</div>
<div align="left">
<a href="http://caesarkalinowski.ontraport.com/c/s/5Dw/t1ot/z/zM/AG/6ZniHr/sSE3gX0kTO/P" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>5 Steps To An Awesome Date Night With Your Spouse</b></span></span></span></a></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #010101;">Blessings!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #010101;">–Caesar</span></span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #010101;">P.S. If you have any questions or thoughts, please hit Reply...I love hearing from you.</span></span></span></div>
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Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-52125202318125622702017-07-11T22:00:00.000-07:002017-07-11T22:00:10.624-07:0015 Habits Of The NFL’s Most Successful Players<strong>On Monday evening, June 26th the <a href="http://www.nfl.com/network">NFL Network</a> announced the league’s Top 10 players as voted on by the players.</strong> If you are a leader, this is an important list because it shows what talented people admire about their contemporaries.<br />
The following <strong>15 Habits Of The NFL’s Most Successful Players</strong>:<br />
<ol>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Are Resilient. They Bounce Back From Adversity</strong>.
– Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was rated the 10th best player
in the NFL by his peers. Interestingly, he was not rated in the Top 100
in 2016. Teammate Vic Beasley said, “I’m proud of the way Matt bounced
back. People doubted…To see him keep the confidence and stay positive,
that’s what I admire about him.”</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Are Versatile. They Are Good At A Lot Of Things.</strong>
– The Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell was voted the 9th
best player in the NFL. Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins
said, “You usually have versatile players who are kind ‘of good at a lot
of different things. He’s the best at everything. He’s the best
running back in this league.”</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Continually Improve.</strong> –
New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was rated the league’s
32nd best player after his rookie year in 2015. The following year he
improved to #10. This year he climbed even higher to the #8 spot.</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Have A Great Team Around Them</strong>
– Dallas Cowboys rookie Ezekiel Elliott running back was rated the 7th
best player and the league’s best running back by his peers. It helps
that he runs behind the NFL’s best offensive line.</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Give Their Teammates Great Confidence.</strong> – Green Bay quarterback <a href="http://briandoddonleadership.com/2013/07/20/26-lessons-for-leaders-who-get-no-respect-from-green-bay-packers-qb-aaron-rodgers/">Aaron Rodgers</a>
was voted the game’s 6th best player. First let me say – Are you
kidding me? I had him rated as the game’s 2nd best player. In any
event, after losing four consecutive games in 2016, Rodgers boldly
predicted, “I feel like we can run the table. I really do.” He also
led the league last year with 40 touchdown passes. The team won its
next eight games and made it all the way to the NFC Championship game.
For more on Rodgers, read <a href="http://briandoddonleadership.com/2017/01/19/12-leadership-quotes-and-lessons-from-green-bay-packers-qb-aaron-rodgers/">12 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers</a></li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Lead By Example And Work Hard – </strong>Oakland
Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack was rated the 5th best player in pro
football. Teammate Darrius Heyward-Bey said, “Khalil Mack. Leader. He
changed our franchise…Two guys (Mack and quarterback Derek Carr) that
was going to change the culture; who was going to go out there and show
that hard work was why we were going to win.”</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Produce Superior Results – </strong>Pittsburgh
Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown came in at #4. Since 2013,
Brown’s 481 catches are the most by any player in NFL history over a
four-year period.</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Often Do Not Receive Enough Credit </strong>–
The Seattle Seahawks incredible cornerback Richard Sherman said of the
#3 player, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, “I have a ton of
respect for him. And even the people who give him credit aren’t giving
him enough credit.”</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Start Fast – </strong>The Denver
Broncos linebacker Von Miller came in at the #2 spot. Carolina Panthers
linebacker Thomas Davis said, “I’ve kind of watched a bunch of film on
him to really try to see how he does what he does. His first step is
unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Have Great Intelligence – </strong>The 2017 #1 player in the NFL is the <a href="http://briandoddonleadership.com/2017/02/11/45-definitive-leadership-lessons-from-tom-brady-bill-belichick-and-the-new-england-patriots/">New England Patriots incomparable quarterback Tom Brady</a>.
Where do we begin. JJ Watt said, “He is so knowledgeable of the game.
He knows every situation that he is in.” But there is more to come on
Brady as you will see below.</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Have Great Passion – </strong>Jameis
Winston said, “He (Brady) is very passionate about the game. He is
always engaged in the game and he is always engaged with his teammates.”</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Have Great Focus – </strong>Teammate
James White said, “He (Brady) has the ability to keep us motivated
whether we’re up 40 or down 40. Laser focus. Laser focus.”</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Do Not Quit – </strong>Beasley said, “He (Brady) has the ability to not give up. He is a champion because of it.”</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Still Have Something To Prove – </strong>Buffalo
Bill guard Richie Incognito said, “When he came back off the (four
game) suspension he had something to prove. And we knew it was going to
be rough.”</li>
<li><strong>The Most Successful People Make Their Teammates Successful – </strong>Beasley
observed, “He (Brady) got (wide receiver Christ) Hogan looking like
he’s the offensive player of the year. Nobody even knew who Hogan was.
That just shows you the type of player he is that he makes his
teammates great.”</li>
</ol>
What is one thing you learned from the NFL’s best players which can make you a better leader?<br />
<a href="http://briandoddonleadership.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8cf82b4fe8b977ced00f17537&id=9cf0d32f3b"><img alt="1269" class="alignleft wp-image-18442 size-medium" height="300" src="http://briandoddonleadership.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/1269-250x300.png" width="250" /></a><br />
Click <a href="http://briandoddonleadership.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8cf82b4fe8b977ced00f17537&id=9cf0d32f3b">HERE</a> or on the image to the left and as a free gift for subscribing to this site, you can receive my new Ebook <a href="http://briandoddonleadership.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8cf82b4fe8b977ced00f17537&id=9cf0d32f3b"><em><strong>1269 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From 2016’s Top Christian Leadership Conferences</strong></em></a>.
Featured are the Johnny Hunt Mens Conference, ReThink Leadership,
Orange and Leadercast Conferences among others. If applied, these
insights will make you an exponentially better leader. Enjoy!!!Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-10200802376228107552017-07-11T21:59:00.001-07:002017-07-11T21:59:06.703-07:00Never Blame God <div class="info offset-200">
<h4 class="title">
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You are not the first Christian to have felt angry at God, and you will not be the last.</div>
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You are not the first Christian to have felt angry at God. And you will not be the last to feel the urge to blame him.<br />
We Christians can be prone, in our pain, to point a finger and raise a
fist at heaven. If we believe in God at all, we should believe he is
bigger and stronger than we can even fathom. Our Bibles are filled with
what we might call “big God” verses. We’re told God does whatever he
pleases (Psalm 115:3; 135:6), nothing happens outside his control
(Lamentations 3:37–38; Job 2:10; Proverbs 16:33; Matthew 10:29), he will
accomplish all his plans (Job 42:2; Isaiah 46:10; Daniel 4:35), and not
even a rebellious human will can thwart him (Proverbs 21:1; Revelation
17:17). Even when others mean evil against us, God means it for good
(Genesis 50:20). He is stronger than any threat against his children,
and whatever he lovingly allows into our lives, he does so for our full
and final good, even as it is indeed painful, not pleasant (Hebrews
12:11).<br />
We talk about God bringing trials into our lives, and God testing us,
and we should. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of
various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces
steadfastness” (James 1:2–3). And yet we need to be careful, as our
vision of his sovereignty expands, that we not attribute something to
him in a way the Scriptures do not. James himself, sensing a possible
misunderstanding of his powerful rally to count our trials as joy, wants
to make sure we know God is not the dispenser of evil in the same way
he is the giver of good. He stands sovereignly over both good and evil,
but he stands directly behind good, and indirectly, as it were, over
evil.<br />
<h1 data-linkify="true">
<strong>God Himself Tempts No One</strong></h1>
In the same opening section of his letter, and just eight sentences
after his now famous charge to “count it all joy,” James makes his
strong and pointed clarification. God is indeed sovereign over all our
trials, and uses them for our good, such that we can count them (even as
we don’t naturally feel them) as “all joy.” However, he says,<br />
<em>Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for
God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each
person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
(James 1:13–14)</em><br />
In Greek, the noun trials in verse 2 and the verb tempt in verses 13–14
have the same root and make the connection clearer to the original
readers, even as these words take on distinct meanings in their contexts
(and so we translate them differently in English). Verse 2 emphasizes
external testing, while verses 13–14 focus on internal temptation.<br />
What James hopes to maintain for us in both our external trials and the
resulting internal temptations is that God is never the one to blame.
God is indeed sovereign over evil, but in such a way that he is never
the author of evil. He is never the one to blame for our pain, but
rather the sovereign one to whom we turn for help. That’s where James
1:5 comes in: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives
generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” God is
the generous giver of wisdom for navigating our trials, not the one to
blame for them, even as he reigns over them. James 1:16–17 has this very
clarification in view:<br />
<em>Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with
whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.</em><br />
God is indeed fully and utterly in control of his world, from the
biggest details to the very smallest. He does bring suffering and pain
into our lives — but never in such a way that he is the one to blame for
our pain. He is the one who gives generously when we ask. He is the one
to whom we reach out for help. He’s the giver of every good and perfect
gift to whom we look for relief, not the one to whom we point our
finger in our pain.<br />
<h1 data-linkify="true">
<strong>Suffering Tests Our Love for This World</strong></h1>
As much as James may have the reputation today as a “wisdom teacher”
who pens disconnected sayings in succession, a coherent train of thought
that works together as a whole emerges here in his opening chapter.
James 1:6–8, then, becomes clearer in light of his coming charge not to
blame God in pain, but come to him for help.<br />
<em>But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts
is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For
that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the
Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.</em><br />
Doubt here (as is often misunderstood) is not a humble crisis of faith,
but arrogant anger at God. It’s not about doubting his existence as
much as doubting his goodness in suffering. The basic sin James calls
attention to in his letter is this double-mindedness (James 1:8; 4:8),
which is a kind of halfhearted compromise with the world. It is
“friendship with the world” and “enmity with God” (James 4:4). This is
what suffering does: it tests our love for this world. Are we
double-minded, trying to put our trust in both God and his world, or is
he our greatest treasure?<br />
The heart of such double-mindedness is blaming God for our pain while,
at the same time, asking for his help and relief. But as James 1:17
clarifies, he is “the Father of Lights,” not the one responsible for the
darkness.<br />
<h1 data-linkify="true">
<strong>God’s Asymmetrical Ways</strong></h1>
The ways of God are not illogical, but they often defy the powers of
logic — that is, they don’t strictly follow from human premises to human
conclusions. The truth that God is sovereign over all things (Romans
11:36) does not mean that he is sovereign over good and evil in the same
way. He stands directly behind every good gift (James 1:17) but not
directly behind evil (James 1:13). He is the giver of every good and
perfect gift, but never the author of evil.<br />
One passage in the Bible where such asymmetry in God is captured so
beautifully and powerfully, as a shining light in the midst of very
great darkness, is Lamentations 3:32–33. In the bleakest days of the
long, convoluted history of God’s people, when a foreign army has
decimated the holy city, the prophet does not blame God for the
devastation he has brought on Jerusalem. Rather, he remembers these
glorious asymmetries that hold out hope for God’s help.<br />
<em>Though he cause grief, he will have compassion<br />
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;<br />
for he does not afflict from his heart<br />
or grieve the children of men.</em><br />
Though God does cause grief, he does not grieve from the heart. Though
he does afflict, he does not do so from the heart. Is this just
doublespeak? Or does it point powerfully to something deep in the heart
of God that can help us know we can trust him, come what may?<br />
<h1 data-linkify="true">
<strong>His Mercy Is More</strong></h1>
A similar sighting of such asymmetry comes in Romans 9:22–23. As the
apostle Paul makes as plain in this chapter, God is sovereign over all
things, including the eternal destiny of morally accountable humans —
and yet that does not mean that God wills good and evil to equal ends.<br />
<em>What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his
power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for
destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels
of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory?</em><br />
The point of the rhetorical question is plain: God’s display of wrath
and demonstration of his power are penultimate actions. They always
serve a greater purpose — in the universe and in his own heart: to make
known the riches of his glory to those on whom he has mercy. As John
Piper comments on these verses,<br />
<em>Though God does accomplish all things by the counsel of his will,
he does not bring about all things in the same way. In the
accomplishment of some </em><em>things</em><em> he employs intermediary
agents perhaps. Or to put it another way, his heart is engaged
differently in different acts, loving some deeds in themselves and
inclining to others only as they are preferable in relation to greater
ends (cf. Lamentations 3:33). If this is the case, Paul would be
implying that not wrath but mercy is the greater, overarching goal for
which God does all things. (<a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/books/the-justification-of-god" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener " target="_blank">Justification of God</a>, 213–214)</em><br />
<h1 data-linkify="true">
<strong>Anger at God Is Always Sin</strong></h1>
Once we’ve learned and embraced this pervasive biblical truth that God
is sovereign over all things, Satan may take a new tactic in his
assaults on our faith. The world, the flesh, and the devil may conspire
in our suffering to tempt us to be angry at God for bringing or
permitting pain and loss into our lives. Such anger at God is always sin
in us in some form or fashion. It is never right to be angry with God.
We never have just cause for blaming him. He is always in the right. In
him is light, and no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).<br />
<em>Anger at sin is good (Mark 3:5), but anger at goodness is </em><em>sin</em><em>.
That is why it is never right to be angry with God. He is always and
only good, no matter how strange and painful his ways with us. Anger
toward God signifies that he is bad or weak or cruel or foolish. None of
those is true, and all of them dishonor him. Therefore, it is never
right to be angry at God. When Jonah and Job were angry with God, Jonah
received God’s rebuke (Jonah 4:9), and Job repented in dust and ashes
(Job 42:6).</em><br />
<em>. . . [A]s painful as his providence can be, we should trust that
he is good, not get angry with him. That would be like getting angry at
the surgeon who cuts us. It might be right if the surgeon slips and
makes a mistake. But God never slips. (Piper, <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/it-is-never-right-to-be-angry-with-god" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener " target="_blank">It Is Never Right to Be Angry with God</a>)</em><br />
But if we do find, as many Christians have, that we have anger in our
hearts toward God, let it be said loud and clear that we should not add
the sin of hypocrisy to the sin of being angry at God. Let’s be honest
about our sin, confess it as such, and not rally others to celebrate it.
We should ever cultivate or seek to stir up anger with God in ourselves
or in anyone else. Anger can be righteous, but anger with God is never
righteous. Our anger with God always betrays some fault in us, never in
him.<br />
<h1 data-linkify="true">
<strong>Let’s Help Each Other</strong></h1>
Such simple and complex truths play out week in and week out in our
local churches and Christian communities. Let’s call each other to be
the kind of people who both model and encourage right thinking and right
feeling about God in our suffering. It is always sin to be angry with
him, and he is never to blame in our pain. He “cannot be tempted with
evil, and he himself tempts no one.” Let’s never encourage people to be
angry with God.<br />
And let’s also seek to be people who extend ample grace to those who
are in the throes of suffering. Christians do get angry with God. Often
we will hear <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/when-words-are-wind" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener " target="_blank">words for the wind</a>
(Job 6:26), as people who are hurting say things in their pain they
don’t really mean deep down and won’t really hold to long term.<br />
When people are angry with God, those of us who love the “big God”
verses and know the nuances of his word should be the safest place to
come and be honest.<br />
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<a href="https://www.sermoncentral.com/authors/david-mathis-articles-842" title="View all preaching articles by David Mathis">David Mathis</a>
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David Mathis is Executive Editor of <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener " target="_blank">DesiringGod.org</a>.<br />
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Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-46480971448238599942017-07-11T21:58:00.002-07:002017-07-11T21:58:33.971-07:00Remember This When You’re Tired of People<article class="post-1696 post type-post status-publish format-standard category-helpful-articles-personal-issues entry" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/CreativeWork"><header class="entry-header"><h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="headline">
Remember This When You’re Tired of People</h1>
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<time class="entry-time" datetime="2017-07-10T00:01:40+00:00" itemprop="datePublished">July 10, 2017</time></div>
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<a href="http://blog.thrivingpastor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/tp-image-july10.jpg"><img alt="Couple talking" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1698" height="200" src="http://blog.thrivingpastor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/tp-image-july10-300x200.jpg" width="300" /></a>by John McGee<br />
Have you ever been tired of people? Have you ever looked down on your
Caller ID and let out a soft groan when you saw who it was? You know
you’re supposed to be kind, compassionate, and helpful, but sometimes,
instead of seeing people as a blessing to engage with, you see them as a
hassle to avoid. Let’s be honest, sometimes it’s hard.<br />
I’ve never met a pastor that hasn’t had these thoughts at some point –
including myself. Recently when I’ve had moments when I didn’t want to
engage as I should, I’ve tried to remember something that made a huge
difference.<br />
What is this powerful reminder? It’s this – every person I come in
contact with is someone’s son or daughter. I know how much I love my
kids, how much I hope and pray the best for them, and how much I deeply
desire that those who come in contact with them will love them as they
deserve. It’s been really helpful to imagine that these people have
parents who feel the same way about their kids.<br />
I know that if one of your children attended our church you would
hope that I wouldn’t view them as a hassle or a number, or engage with
them on a mere surface level so that I could check off the pastoral
duties. You would hope that I would value them as you do. Candidly, you
would be frustrated if you found out I treated them any differently.<br />
When I remember I could be dealing with one of your kids, grandkids, nieces, or nephews it gives me the extra motivation to:<br />
<strong>Love them unconditionally.</strong> Your kids deserve to be
loved regardless of who they are or what they do. They deserve to be
loved without any agenda. Perhaps they will contribute, give, and lead
at my church – but even if they don’t they deserve to be shown the same
relentless love that God shows us.<br />
<strong>Point them to truth</strong>. I might be tempted to just give
your kids my personal opinion. However the best way to love them would
be to point them to God’s Word, and then take time to help them develop a
love for it.<br />
<strong>Be patient.</strong> Your kids are not projects to be wrapped
up quickly. There will be some seasons that they won’t obey as much as
they could or grow as fast as they should. I might be tempted to get
frustrated with them and want them to do more and change faster.
However, when I remember that these people are your children that you
would literally give your life for, it helps me remember how valuable
they are and keeps me from being impatient.<br />
Honestly there are times when the email comes in or the phone rings
that I don’t feel like loving the person on the other side as I should.
But I’ve found that if I remember they are someone’s son or daughter, it
motivates me to love, point them to truth, and be patient. I would hate
to meet you someday and have to make up excuses about why I was too
tired or busy to love your kids.<br />
If you still aren’t moved or aren’t sure this will help you, there is
obviously a deeper truth here. Everyone, yes even that person that
keeps calling or emailing, was created by God. He not only created them,
but He is crazy about them; so much so that He actually died for them.
He has done everything He can to show the world how valuable every
person is, and every person deserves to be loved, pointed to truth, and
shown patience and grace.<br />
The next time your tank seems to be on empty and you’re tempted to
not engage with someone, just remember there are parents somewhere that
are crazy about them and that you might meet someday. If you still
aren’t motivated by the thought of meeting their earthly parents,
remember you’ll meet the One Who created and died for them someday.<br />
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</footer></article>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-49021018216694993542017-07-11T21:54:00.001-07:002017-07-11T21:54:20.571-07:00Why We Stop Saying Yes (and Why We Shouldn’t)<article class="uk-article post-14058 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-articles tag-headlines tag-homepage" id="14058" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting"><header><h1 class="uk-article-title" itemprop="headline">
Why We Stop Saying Yes (and Why We Shouldn’t)</h1>
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Yes is the scariest word in your vocabulary if you’ve grown spiritually safe and comfortable.<br />
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<em>Yes!</em><br />
It’s the can-do word.<br />
It’s the answer of someone who’s ready and willing.<br />
It’s the response of faith to a God who loves to stretch us and to grow us.<br />
<strong>And, <em>yes</em> is the scariest word in your vocabulary if you’ve grown spiritually safe and comfortable.</strong><br />
<em>No!</em><br />
No is easier.<br />
No is smarter (or so it seems).<br />
No is the answer of someone who’s tired or afraid.<br />
No is the reaction of one who’s no longer willing to say <em>yes</em> because <em>no</em> is safer.<br />
<strong>And, <em>no</em> is the scariest word in any language because it robs us of our God-given purpose and destiny.</strong><br />
There once was a young man who said <em>yes</em> to God, and that moment changed everything.<br />
He was a tradesman who worked in the family business. His father was
proud and looked forward to the day when his boys would carry on his
moderately successful fishing enterprise. Life was steady. The work
hard, but rewarding. Business was booming, and the future looked bright.<br />
One cool fall evening while mending nets by the fire and sea, the young man said, “Father.”<br />
“Yes, son.”<br />
“Something incredible happened to me today.”<br />
Intrigued, the old man smiled and said, “Tell me more; you know how I love a good story.”<br />
“Yes, I know, but this story could be difficult for you to hear because it might change everything.”<br />
The father leaned in, now more concerned than curious, “What is there
to change? All is well. Life is good. Change is the pursuit of fools.”<br />
“I met a man, a Rabbi; I think he’s the One. He’s called me to leave these nets to become a ‘fisher of men.’ And I said, <em>Yes!</em>”<br />
A father says <em>no</em>, a son says <em>yes</em>. One becomes bitter, the other better.<br />
<strong><em>Yes</em> changes things.</strong><br />
A few years pass. The young man’s path was rarely easy, but always full. Always a test, yet always an adventure nonetheless.<br />
Once, invited by the Teacher, he walked on water! The miracle worker
said, “Come,” and for one surreal moment, water became fixed. (If only
his faith were as solid.)<br />
But <em>yes</em> changed him, again.<br />
<strong><em>Yes</em> always changes things.</strong><br />
Now older, wiser, bigger and better, his heart has learned the secret of yes, but he also knows the cost.<br />
<em>“Yes, not My will, but Yours be done,”</em> was noble of the Teacher, but the man now knew that the Rabbi’s invitation to <em>come and see</em> eventually leads to <em>come and die</em>. “<em>Yes</em> will cost me too,” he mused.<br />
And eventually, it did.<br />
In fact, his long journey of <em>yes</em> led him to the same fate as the Teacher’s.<br />
Crucified, yet alive forever.<br />
<strong>Why do some of us start out so willing to say <em>Yes</em> only to end up stubbornly clinging to <em>no</em>?</strong><br />
Perhaps it is because we have learned the secret.<em> Yes</em> is costly. <em>Yes</em> is hard. <em>Yes</em> indeed changes everything.<br />
<em>No</em> is safer. Better. Easier. Smarter (or so it seems). Surely, no one can avoid <em>no</em> forever.<br />
<em>Yes</em> is for the young. <em>Yes</em> is for those with plenty of time left to recover. <em>Yes</em> can’t always be the right answer to God.<br />
<strong>Unless it is.</strong><br />
Unless we remember that the deeper secret is that <em>yes</em> is the pathway to joy because <em>yes</em> is the only answer that leads to life. Deep. Full. Abundant.<br />
<strong>You see, adventure was the Teacher’s plan from the beginning.</strong><br />
But <em>yes</em> is costly.<br />
<em>Yes</em> took Jesus to a cross. <em>And</em> Peter too.<br />
And <em>yes</em> absolutely changed everything.<br />
<em>Yes</em> changed (and is changing) you and me.<br />
So, what’s the question?<br />
<strong>When God is the one asking, <em>Yes! </em>is best.</strong><br />
Jesus humbled Himself, [he said yes!]<br />
obedient to death—<br />
a merciless death on the cross!<br />
But God raised Him up to the highest place<br />
and gave Him the name above all.<br />
Philippians 2:8-9 (VOICE)<br />
<em>This article originally appeared <a href="https://kurtbubna.com/why-we-stop-saying-yes-and-why-we-shouldnt/">here</a>.</em><br />
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By
<a href="http://churchplants.com/author/kurtbubna" rel="author" title="Posts by Kurt Bubna">Kurt Bubna</a> </div>
Kurt
W. Bubna is a blogger, author, speaker, regular radio and television
personality, and the Sr. Pastor of Eastpoint Church, a large
non-denominational congregation in Spokane Valley, Washington. Bubna
published his first book, Epic Grace: Chronicles of a Recovering Idiot,
with Tyndale in 2013. He has also published Mr. & Mrs.: How to
Thrive in Perfectly Imperfect Marriage, The Rookie’s Guide to Getting
Published, a children’s book and a devotional. He and his wife, Laura,
have been married for over forty years and have four grown children and
seven grandchildren. For more information, please visit: <a href="http://www.kurtbubna.com/" target="_blank">http://www.KurtBubna.com</a>. </div>
</article>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-28880609318845928652017-07-08T20:40:00.002-07:002017-07-08T20:40:27.232-07:00Be Strong. Persevere!<img src="http://www.apostolic-movement.com/images/NBerry.jpg" /><br />
<h2>
Be Strong. Persevere!</h2>
My child, my kingdom is not one that moves forward without
resistance. The enemy is always going to push against you to distract
you, discourage you, and cause you to lose hope. He knows that if he can
just cause you to get weary and let your guard down, then he can get
you to walk away from the land I have promised you.<br />
So realize today that just like Daniel persevered for twenty-one days
before my answer came to him, so do you need to persevere. It is not
because I am holding anything back, but because the enemy is trying his
best to block and hold back the blessing that I have for you.<br />
It is time to stand and fight. No more getting tired and just letting
things be. Do not let the enemy get you to give up or be inconsistent
in your praying and releasing. Do not let the enemy make you too tired
to intercede or stand against his works. If he can get you to stop
standing, he can steal from you the very thing that you are fighting
for.<br />
Continue to be strong. Persevere! Make the enemy get tired of
standing against you. Remember, I have already won this battle for you.
You just need to stand and not be moved, says the Lord.Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-28035894161831907482017-07-08T20:33:00.000-07:002017-07-08T20:33:01.259-07:00A Biblical Basis for the 7 Traits of Effective Parenting <h1 class="article--title">
A Biblical Basis for the 7 Traits of Effective Parenting
</h1>
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By
Phil Steiger
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<a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/parenting-roles">Parenting Roles</a>
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<img alt="Family of four sitting on sofa, smiling and laughing" height="327" src="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/-/medialibrary/images/articles/biblical-basis-for-the-7-traits-of-effective-parenting.jpg?h=327&la=en&mw=490&w=490&hash=9E0855E6E6393D8DE707C54DD790506FB7DF15BC" width="490" />
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Heartbroken parents recently called on my wife and me, asking for
help. Their son was in trouble with the law and facing jail time. As we
sat in their family room, we talked, grieved and prayed together. They
are Christian parents who love God but found themselves in a painful
situation. “How did this happen?” they asked, as many parents have asked
before.<br />
After years of comforting and supporting families through hard
circumstances, I know that this teen’s life-changing decision wasn’t
where everything went wrong. The real problem began much earlier. His
poor decision represented many soul-forming choices over the years that
left him unprepared for the moment when his character was truly tested.<br />
But we should not despair. God restores broken people. And while kids
will always have freedom to make their own decisions, parents can
encourage them to develop the character necessary to face future
challenges.<br />
<h2>
Counteracting bad decisions</h2>
For centuries Christian parents have taught that virtue counteracts
vice and that learning how to make good decisions replaces our habit of
making bad decisions. This tried-and-true approach to overcoming the
allure of poor decision-making can still work today.<br />
After all, bad habits are easy. When relying solely on human nature,
children will make selfish and shortsighted decisions. The habit of
making good decisions, though, has to be deliberately built into our
home life so our children have the tools they need to make wise
decisions. Simply learning to share as a young child can begin a pattern
of selflessness that can last years into adulthood.<br />
God points us toward seven virtues — traits of moral behavior — that
will help our families avoid the habit of making destructive decisions.
These traits, found in the free <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/promos/seven-traits" target="_blank">7 Traits of Effective Parenting Assessment</a></span>, are tangible and practical tools to help children mature into responsible adults. <span style="font-weight: lighter;"> </span><br />
<h2>
What are the 7 Traits of Effective Parenting?</h2>
The following are seven traits that are often present in the lives of
parents who are raising kids who thrive in challenging situations.
Parents may excel in some of these areas and fall short in others, but
each trait can transform our parenting, filling our children’s hearts
and minds with God’s truth and bringing wisdom into our homes.<br />
<h3>
Love</h3>
John the apostle tells us that we learn love by looking at the love
God has shown us. God’s love came first and it is a truly sacrificial
love. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us
and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).<br />
Do you know what you love? Look at the people, activities and things
you’re attached to. Look at the sacrifices you make to see those people,
do those activities or use those things. These are the areas of your
life where you love. Children can see where your priorities are, where
your love is directed.<br />
God’s love helps parents counteract our natural selfishness. His love
reveals itself in His commitment to us and His sacrifice for us, long
after our emotions have faded away. Children learn God’s love through
the sacrificial commitments we make to them and teach them to make.<br />
<h3>
Respect</h3>
The apostle Paul writes that we should think like Christ and treat
others as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). Respect
recognizes the best in people. It is more than acknowledging a child’s
accomplishments. Children and teens are worthy of respect because God
created them and loves them.<br />
Respect teaches us not to treat others as unimportant. Nothing hurts a
child more than being treated as if he is useless, and almost nothing
encourages him more than being respected and valued. <br />
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One way to show respect to your family is to watch your language.
Refuse to use cruel language — whether directed toward family members in
your home or outsiders. Our language habits really do influence our
ability to model respect to our children.<br />
<h3>
Intentionality</h3>
Being intentional means talking about and living out our values and
priorities before allowing other influences into our home. This trait
nurtures a consistency in family life that reinforces the other traits.
When parents are intentional, they grow in wisdom and are able to keep
their focus on how they act as believing parents (Colossians 1:10). <br />
It is easy to be passive and let media and other influences set our
family’s priorities, but it’s more effective to pay careful attention to
<em>how</em> we live our lives. This is intentionality: making
decisions as parents about how we will own the spiritual atmosphere in
our homes.<br />
<h3>
Boundaries and Limits</h3>
Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend, authors of the “Boundaries” book<em> </em>series,
write that the purpose of boundaries in parenting to “let good things
in and keep bad things out.” Hebrews 12:1 says that in order to run our
race well, we need to shake off the things that keep us from reaching
our goal. Ordering our home with healthy boundaries for kids and adults
helps us do that.<br />
Being deliberate about boundaries — for media, behavior,
relationships, godly living and a vibrant faith — means we do not let
culture determine what is healthy for our family. Proverbs tells us,
“Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of
knowledge” (14:7). If we don’t set our own boundaries in our families,
other influences — culture, extended family or trends — will set our
children’s moral boundaries, and we may become surprised and dismayed by
what they have learned.<br />
<h3>
Gratitude</h3>
As Paul begins his letter to the Philippians, he tells them how
thankful he is every time he thinks of them (1:3-4). Gratitude is not
just a polite reaction to something good. It is a cultivated habit and a
vital part of healthy relationships.<br />
When we practice gratitude in our families, it helps children and
parents fight selfishness, which causes division among families and
friends. When gratitude is expressed on a regular basis and in
deliberate ways, it helps our children learn to see all the good God
does in our lives. A natural outcome of this is that we learn to
naturally praise Him, regardless of how we feel in the moment.<br />
<h3>
Grace and Forgiveness</h3>
Grace and forgiveness shock us. God forgave us while we were still
sinners. He shows grace to imperfect people and continues to involve
them in His plan. <br />
Parents need to be willing to model forgiveness and grace to their
children, regardless of the personal cost. Human nature prevents us from
easily giving grace and forgiveness, yet we learn from God’s Word that
we need to give both or we can’t expect to be forgiven (Matthew
6:14-15).<br />
<h3>
Adaptability</h3>
While he was in prison, Paul said something amazing: “I have learned
in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:11). Paul
learned to find peace in Christ, despite his situation. His personal
happiness was not attached to his position, how well he was doing or
what he was doing.<br />
Teaching adaptability helps our children find peace — a deep peace
that is stronger than the stresses and trials of life. Peace counteracts
the unproductive worry that causes us to lose our trust in God. This
flexibility and resilience, grown in difficult circumstances, allows a
family to face both hardships and joys together, as they grow deeper in
their faith.<br />
<h2>
Good Traits, Good Decisions</h2>
God’s wisdom gives us direction for not only recognizing our
mistakes, but also correcting them. In parenting, it is no different.
God’s way of life is the abundant life (John 10:10), and this life gives
parents the opportunity to watch their children grow up making good
decisions and avoiding decisions they may later regret. And learning how
to live out these traits in our parenting gives our children a model
for living out His abundant life.<br />
</div>
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Copyright © 2017 by Phil Steiger. Used by permission.</div>
</footer>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-84433206491749117362017-07-08T20:32:00.002-07:002017-07-08T20:32:21.251-07:00Married to a Secret Agent <h1 class="article--title">
Married to a Secret Agent
</h1>
<div class="article--author">
By
David Clarke
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<a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/communication-and-conflict">Communication and Conflict</a>
</div>
</div>
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<img alt="Profile image of a man looking like a secret agent" height="275" src="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/-/medialibrary/images/articles/married-to-a-secret-agent.jpg?h=275&la=en&mw=490&w=490&hash=E9C5C524F45D916F1445EFB923A19E3D8F09CF39" width="490" />
<figcaption>decisiveimages/iStock/Thinkstock</figcaption>
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Communication presents a critical problem in most marriages. Why? Because<em>Talking Spouse </em>marries <em>Secret Agent Spouse</em>.<br />
Every event of Talking Spouse's day has special meaning and is shared
with more than one person. This morning she was flossing her teeth, and
the floss shredded. The pieces of floss reminded her of the time she
was water skiing at age 13 and her ski rope broke. Even though that was a
bummer, that time at the lake with her dad and Aunt Betty was great. At
four in the afternoon that day, she and Aunt Betty had a real
heart-to-heart about boys. Aunt Betty was wearing a bright green
strapless swimsuit, and there were little bits of corn stuck in her
teeth from the corn on the cob she was eating.<br />
All this from shredded dental floss! And she's going to find her
husband and tell this story, including every excruciating detail,
because that's what she does.<br />
Unfortunately, Talking Spouse marries Secret Agent Spouse. Secret Agent Spouse rarely has anything to say. He has <a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/communication-and-conflict/learn-to-identify-your-emotions">thoughts and feelings</a>,
but no one knows what they are because ... he's Secret Agent Spouse.
Every event of his day, no matter how big, means nothing and is not
shared with anyone.<br />
This morning, while in a hotel on business, he was flossing his
teeth, and the floss shredded. His left hand shot into the mirror,
shattering the glass and cutting his hand badly. As he recoiled from the
mirror impact, his right foot slipped into the toilet and got stuck.
Luckily, he was able to call for help. The paramedics came, bandaged his
hand and got his foot out of the toilet. It turned out that one of the
paramedics was his best friend back in high school. Is he going to tell
his wife what happened? Are you kidding? He's forgotten the whole
incident by lunchtime.<br />
Back home, Talking Spouse asks him about his bandaged hand and limp.
He responds with, "Oh, it's nothing. Just a little accident."<br />
<h2>
Emotionally Stunted</h2>
Your Secret Agent isn't a bad guy. He hasn't killed anyone. He's not
having an affair. He's a moral, decent, and upright person who works
hard at his job. You know he loves you.<br />
The one problem with him — and it is a big one — is that he doesn't <a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/communication-and-conflict/learn-to-speak-your-spouses-love-language/understanding-the-five-love-languages">show you love in the way you need to be shown love</a>.
He doesn't meet your deepest and most important need as a wife: to be
emotionally connected to him. He doesn't open up and share himself with
you.<br />
Your Secret Agent is intimacy-challenged. He hides his true self
behind his wall. He might be a pretty expressive guy, one with a great
sense of humor. He may have no trouble talking, at least about
superficial things: generalities about his day, financial matters, his
job, home maintenance, the kids, vacation plans. But he closes down when
it comes to any personal, below-the-surface conversation.<br />
The Secret Agent Spouse could be the husband or the wife. The Talking Spouse <a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/communication-and-conflict/to-know-and-be-known">knows how to express feelings and share on a deeper level</a>.
This spouse is ready, willing, and usually desperate to punch through
the wall and experience emotional intimacy. The Secret Agent Spouse,
however, stays behind the wall and refuses to allow any deeper level
conversations to occur.<br />
<h2>
Breaking Through </h2>
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The key to breaking through your Secret Agent's wall and becoming
emotionally connected is the process of spiritual bonding. There are
many avenues to intimacy, but the <a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/growing-together-spiritually/spiritual-intimacy/spiritual-intimacy">spiritual</a>
is the most important one. To illustrate, here's a dialogue that I've
had in my therapy office with hundreds of spouses married to Secret
Agents:<br />
Spouse: "Dr. Clarke, I've tried everything to get my spouse to open
up and talk on a personal level. It's going to take an act of God to
change my spouse and get us emotionally connected."<br />
Me: "You're more right than you know. Let me ask you some questions.
First, what kind of spiritual bonding do you do as a couple?"<br />
Spouse: "Spiritual bonding?"<br />
Me: "Do you have regular spiritual conversations in which each of you shares how you're doing in your relationship with God?"<br />
Spouse: "No, we don't."<br />
Me: "Do you pray together regularly? And I don't mean just at mealtimes."<br />
Spouse: "No."<br />
Me: "Do you discuss how you're applying biblical principals to your lives?"<br />
Spouse: "No."<br />
Me: "Don't feel too bad. Very few married couples spiritually bond.
This is for three main reasons: Your parents didn't model it for you. No
one ever taught you how. Not many churches provide specific teaching
about spiritually bonding as a couple. But the secret to breaking
through your Secret Agent's wall and becoming emotionally connected is
the process of spiritual bonding."<br />
Spouse: "This all sounds very personal. Shouldn't we get emotional intimacy first, and then branch out to the spiritual?"<br />
Me: "Now is always the best time to include God in your relationship.
Real, deep emotional intimacy in a marriage never happens without God's
presence. It requires faith to step forward toward spiritually bonding
when you feel vulnerable and aren't ready to be personal with your
partner. It is unknown territory, and it will seem awkward and
uncomfortable at first. But if you step out and do it, God will reward
you lavishly."<br />
<strong>Based on research and experience from Dr. Greg and Erin
Smalley, Focus on the Family has created valid and reliable questions
that evaluate the strength of your marriage. Take our </strong><strong><span><a href="https://fotf.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eOHw6QTSHszhv49" target="_blank"><span>free assessment</span></a></span> now.</strong><br />
</div>
<footer class="article--footer no--footnotes">
<div class="article--permission">
This article first appeared in May 2010 on Focus on the Family's <em>Thriving Family</em> magazine website.</div>
<div class="article--copyright">
Copyright 2009 by Dr. David Clarke. Used with permission. Adapted with permission from <a href="https://store.focusonthefamily.com/kiss-me-like-you-mean-it#refcd=507204" target="_blank">Kiss Me Like You Mean It: Solomon's crazy in love how-to manual</a> by Dr. David Clarke, published by <a href="http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/revell" target="_blank">Revell Books</a>, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2009.</div>
</footer>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-44590864299546424932017-07-08T20:25:00.001-07:002017-07-08T20:25:01.356-07:00How Can Ministry Leaders Lead Double Lives?<div id="yiv4026677847art-main">
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<strong>How Can Ministry Leaders Lead Double Lives?</strong></h2>
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<strong style="font-family: arial, times new roman, georgia, times, serif; line-height: 24.5px; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">By Nico Bougas, Special to ASSIST News Service</strong></div>
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<div style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 10px 0; padding: 0; text-align: left;">
<strong><img alt="DebWaterburysmaller" src="http://assistnews.net/images/DebWaterburysmaller.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #000000; float: right; margin-right: 15px; min-height: auto !important; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" />CINCINNATI, OH (ANS – July 8, 2017)</strong>
– As founder of Love Everlasting Ministries, Dr. Deborah Waterbury has
spent the last decade ministering to women around the world, including
starting a trade school for women who have been left widowed by AIDS in
Malawi. But after writing nine books, including bible studies and
fictional novels, Dr. Waterbury shares the most intimate details of her
pubic fall from grace in the new memoir, <em>The Lies that Bind</em>.</div>
<div style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 10px 0; padding: 0; text-align: left;">
Though
she has shared parts of her story at conferences and churches over the
years, she had never, as she describes it, “connected all the dots”
between her childhood trauma and her subsequent life of promiscuous sex
and alcohol abuse.</div>
<div style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 10px 0; padding: 0; text-align: left;">
“When
my world came crashing down around my feet because of my own life of
sin,” says Dr. Waterbury, “Jesus met me right in the middle of that sin
and heartache, and His only words to me were words of love and
forgiveness. When I began to write out my testimony in its entirety
starting with the rape when I was twelve and saw the lies I began to
believe about who I was as opposed to who I know I actually am, exposing
those lies became the only thing I could think to do. This endeavor
became a book about deliverance. It is about breaking the chain that
bind us, discovering who we are, and living beautifully in the truth.
But there is a lot of heartache in the pages. I had to stop writing many
times because I was sobbing so hard.</div>
<div style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 10px 0; padding: 0; text-align: left;">
Dr.
Waterbury shares the candid details of the double life she led
throughout most of her adulthood. While serving in churches, being
married to an Air Force pilot, and the mother to two boys, Waterbury
secretly had sexual relations with numerous men until it finally came
crashing down fifteen years ago. She was a worship leader at a
mega-church, having an affair with another public figure in the church
who was also married with children. When the relationship was
discovered, Waterbury says all her lies were exposed in the most public
way possible. While it was devastating to her family and friends, it
became her moment to finally get real with herself and God. And though
her husband, Jeff, decided to stay with her, she readily admits their
marriage did not heal overnight.</div>
<div style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 10px 0; padding: 0; text-align: left;">
<img alt="Lies than Bind" src="http://assistnews.net/images/Lies_than_Bind.JPG" style="border: 1px solid #000000; float: left; margin-right: 15px; min-height: auto !important; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" />“If
ever a marriage deserved to end, it was ours. In human terms, Jeff and I
have no right to still be married, but God is bigger than that. He
works miracles, real miracles, every day. I spent too much time trying
to make my poor Jeff be what only Jesus could be. Once I stopped that
and realized I already had Jesus, it freed Jeff up to be what he could
be for me. We didn’t forgive each other immediately. It took years to
recover from the pain we had caused each other, and a commitment by both
of us to trust God in the reconciliation process.</div>
<div style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 10px 0; padding: 0; text-align: left;">
In
“The Lies That Bind,” Waterbury identifies five distinct lies that she
believes are the most common stumbling blocks for people. Both she and
her husband now counsel individuals and couples dealing with various
types of difficulties, but Waterbury says that total transparency is the
only way to ultimately begin the process of healing.</div>
<div style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 10px 0; padding: 0; text-align: left;">
“When
I counsel someone who is caught in a terrible web of lies, my advice is
always to expose the lies. Exposing lies is a difficult thing. There
will be backlash. There will be people who aren’t gracious and there
will be repercussions to the sins we commit. God never said that when we
sin we wouldn’t have to live in the realities that come about in this
life because of those sins. However, if a person wants freedom from the
bondage of lies and deceit, then the only path to that is honesty and
truth. Jesus never promised us a rose garden in this lifetime. It’s
certainly not going to come up roses when we pour acid on the flowers,
for heaven’s sake. God is in the business of restoring all that the
locusts have eaten and making glorious beauty for ashes. The greatest
ministries and the most glorious of lives have been built on the charred
remains of people that some would think had nothing left to offer.”</div>
<div style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 10px 0; padding: 0; text-align: left;">
The book, <em>The Lies That Bind</em> is available at Christian bookstores. For further information on the ministry of Dr. Waterbury see the website: <a href="http://assistnews.us9.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=6241e4f975144df9aa41202d6&id=028b17a5ef&e=6a86f10502" rel="nofollow" style="color: #2baadf; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">http://love-everlasting-ministries.com/</a> </div>
<div style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 10px 0; padding: 0; text-align: left;">
Note:
This interview was conducted at the CBA International Christian Retail
Show, a four-day event held from June 27-30, 2017, at the Duke Energy
Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. This event showcased product from
the Franchising & Retailing industry as well as Christian and
inspirational media and products, leading authors and artists, plus
business training and plenary sessions.</div>
<div style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 10px 0; padding: 0; text-align: left;">
Photo
captions: 1) Dr. Debbie Waterbury. 2) Book cover. 3) Nico Bougas with
his wife, Bee, to whom he had been married for 44 years. They have four
wonderful children -- George, Benjie, Jonty and Tami.</div>
<div style="color: #202020; font-family: Arial, 'Times New Roman', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 150%; margin: 10px 0; orphans: 2; padding: 0; text-align: left; widows: 2;">
<strong><img alt="Nico Bougas with wife" src="http://assistnews.net/images/Nico_Bougas_with_wife.JPG" style="border: 1px solid #000000; float: right; margin-right: 15px; min-height: auto !important; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" />About
the writer: Nico Bougas is the International Development Director for
Hellenic Ministries. He has a master's degree in communication from
Wheaton Graduate School and M. Div and D. Min degrees from Trinity
Theological Seminary. He is the author of five books. He previously
worked for Youth for Christ in South Africa and was Editor of <em>In Magazine</em> and <em>Christian Living TODAY</em> and currently serves as Consulting Editor for <em>JOY Magazine</em> and
a Trustee for Radio CCFM and was one of the founders of Sports Outreach
Africa. He previously served on the national executive of the SA
Association of Evangelists and as a Trustee for the Bible Institute of
South Africa and on the advisory board for the South African Theological
Seminary and on the executive of The Evangelical Alliance Relief Fund
(SA). For further information, please contact: <span id="yiv4026677847cloak936b85fd199079872aea16f20736f1c8"><span id="yiv4026677847cloak85d5f9451950171f743cc6f99d5f8724"><span id="yiv4026677847cloak3208148092859a465c29be7d14496209"><a href="https://mg.mail.yahoo.com/neo/b/compose?to=nico@bougas.info" rel="nofollow" style="color: #2baadf; font-family: Arial, 'Times New Roman', Georgia, Times, serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24.5px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">nico@bougas.info</a></span> </span> </span> </strong></div>
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Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-4656790441883169472017-06-27T19:47:00.002-07:002017-06-27T19:47:52.033-07:00Ray Vander Laan Explains Authentic Christianity<header class="entry-header"><h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="headline">
Ray Vander Laan Explains Authentic Christianity</h1>
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<span class="gig-counter-text gig-share-counter-text gig-counter-text-right gig-share-counter-text-right" id="componentDiv-reaction0-count-value">77</span></div>
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I wake up every day with a desire to serve the Lord. I want other
people to see Christ in me when I’m confronted with challenges. I want
them to say, “Wow! I would’ve reacted entirely differently in that
situation. What do you have that I don’t?”<br />
But then someone cuts me off in traffic.<br />
…Or my boys don’t behave the way I’ve told them to a dozen times.<br />
…Or I’m exhausted after a long flight and an unexpected delay complicates my plans.<br />
I’m sure you know what I mean. Christians want to reflect Christ
well, but the battle between our flesh and the Spirit inevitably flares
up, and the struggle begins.<br />
The goal is to submit our own comfort and security to God and say, “Lord, use me.”<br />
But how?<br />
I asked my friend Ray Vander Laan that very question. He answered the
way Ray always does, by illuminating Scripture in light of its ancient
setting and then applying it to us in ways that make Scripture leap from
the page. “God’s story in context,” as he calls it.<br />
On our broadcast titled “<a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/media/daily-broadcast/authentic-christianity-counting-the-cost-pt1">Authentic Christianity: Counting the Cost</a>,” Ray explains what happened when the Apostle Paul submitted his comfort and security to the Lord.<br />
The book of Acts tells us that Paul was beaten and jailed in Philippi
for teachings contrary to Roman custom and practice. Paul suffered
terribly, his back likely bloodied and shredded from the flogging. Rome
was known for its cruelty.<br />
Paul could have saved himself from all of it by appealing to his Roman citizenship. But on this occasion he didn’t.<br />
Why?<br />
Because he knew that God had a greater purpose for his suffering. Cut
to the end of the chapter, and you discover that one of the story’s
villains – a jailer who had held Paul prisoner in a dungeon – is the one
experiencing the outpouring of God’s mercy.<br />
The jailer wasn’t converted because God displayed His power through
an earthquake that leveled the prison, but because Paul submitted
himself to the Lord, whatever the cost.<br />
Few people can illuminate Scripture and bring it to life as well as
Ray Vander Laan. He’s been our guest numerous times over the years and
has partnered with us since 1995 to produce the extensive <em>That the World May Know</em>
video series, which has touched millions of lives around the world. He
has led nearly 10,000 people through tours in the Middle East. Ray is a
religion instructor at Holland Christian Schools in Holland, Michigan.
He’s an ordained minister, an expert in Jewish history, and has been
teaching the Bible for over 40 years.<br />
He’ll also be joining us for Focus on the Family’s 40<sup>th</sup>
anniversary cruise aboard the Disney Dream. We’re chartering the entire
ship, and Ray will be one of the devotional speakers. If you’d like to
spend three or four days on the high seas discovering the Bible through
Ray’s teaching, I invite you to join us. We only have a few spots left,
so visit our website for <a href="https://www.focuscruise.com/">full information about the cruise</a>.<br />
I hope you’ll join us for “<a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/media/daily-broadcast/authentic-christianity-counting-the-cost-pt1">Authentic Christianity: Counting the Cost</a>” on your <a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/media/fotf/media-center/shows/daily-broadcast/find-a-station">local radio station</a>, <a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/media/daily-broadcast">online</a>, or on our <a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.com/mobile.aspx">free phone app</a>. You can find the <em>That the World May Know</em> series and other helpful resources in our online <a href="https://store.focusonthefamily.com/">bookstore</a>.Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-15398361701737205172017-06-27T19:45:00.005-07:002017-06-27T19:45:52.872-07:00Summer Reading Recommendations<a href="https://px236.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/24701/297ea08705a050b8/26925735/7e09b40b821b0a1f" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Summer Reading" src="https://d1yoaun8syyxxt.cloudfront.net/px236-6ef59350-9502-4020-99b1-53a129cb973a-v2" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; width: 100%;" width="600" /></a>
<br />
<div class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 13px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 13px 0px; padding: 0px;">
Summer is always a good time to dial back all the normal activities a notch and dive into some <a class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope" href="https://px236.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/24707/ac3c5e2cb5b5ce74/26925735/7e09b40b821b0a1f" rel="nofollow" style="color: #00b3d9; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">good books</a>.
Whether it’s the change in weather, the kids being out of school, or
the natural change in pace, there’s no better time to pick up a new book
and have your
imagination and inspiration stretched, your faith deepened and
challenged, and your heart and mind rekindled.
</div>
<div class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 13px 0px; padding: 0px;">
Here are a <a class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope" href="https://px236.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/24709/b6178fef47171d11/26925735/7e09b40b821b0a1f" rel="nofollow" style="color: #00b3d9; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">few books</a> that I can personally recommend to help you be inspired and challenged this summer:
</div>
<div class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 13px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<a class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope" href="https://px236.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/24705/6bf9aa9733c71ccc/26925735/7e09b40b821b0a1f" rel="nofollow" style="color: #00b3d9; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.vergenetwork.org/summer-reading-recommendations/</a>
<br />
</div>
<div class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 13px 0px; padding: 0px;">
Grace and peace,
</div>
<div class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 13px 0px; padding: 0px;">
Stew
<br />
<i class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Founding Director, Verge Network & Conferences
<br />
<br />
</i>
</div>
<div class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 13px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope">P.S.
There's no better time than summer to pick up a new book and have your
imagination stretched, your faith deepened, and your heart rekindled.
Here are a few I personally recommend:</span>
<br />
</div>
<span class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope"><a class="yiv8777048935bard-text-block yiv8777048935style-scope" href="https://px236.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/24711/6fec6260771bf18d/26925735/7e09b40b821b0a1f" rel="nofollow" style="color: #00b3d9; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.vergenetwork.org/summer-reading-recommendations/</a>
</span>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-35319898952610734222017-06-27T19:45:00.002-07:002017-06-27T19:45:08.902-07:00The Trials of Life<article class="post-1682 post type-post status-publish format-standard category-helpful-articles-personal-issues entry" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/CreativeWork"><header class="entry-header"><h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="headline">
The Trials of Life</h1>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="entry-time" datetime="2017-06-26T00:01:28+00:00" itemprop="datePublished">June 26, 2017</time></div>
</header><div class="entry-content" itemprop="text">
<a href="http://blog.thrivingpastor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/couple-smiling-tp-image.jpg"><img alt="Couple Smiling at each other" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1684" height="200" src="http://blog.thrivingpastor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/couple-smiling-tp-image-300x200.jpg" width="300" /></a>by Betty Jordan and Patrick Hill<br />
Have you ever asked the question, “God, why are you allowing me to go
through this?” That type of question may be followed by another, maybe
with a bit more passion – “Will you <strong>please</strong> take this
trial from me? I don’t want to do this anymore!” If this is you, you’re
not alone. No one enjoys trials, suffering, or discomfort.<br />
The Bible, however, paints a much different picture of how we should
view trials. James, in writing to the Jews dispersed throughout the
Roman Empire, says this: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall
into various trials” (James 1:2). Wait, what? Count it all joy when I
fall into various trials? I don’t know about you, but at this point,
this makes no sense to me. Let’s go on to the next three verses –
“…knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let
patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to
him” (James 1:3-5).<br />
With the added context to James 1:2 there is a bit more to chew on.
Could it be that James is not implying that trials bring us immediate
joy; rather, that trials are life circumstances that test us, giving us
grief in various forms and on various levels, functioning as a
forerunner of joy? Could it be that trials are meant to reveal the
reality of our hearts and minds at a point in time and circumstance? As
the pain is endured, could joy be the reaction that reflects how we are
expecting an intervention from the Lord?<br />
According to James, trials (those circumstances that we’d just as
soon avoid), lead us to patience, a steadfast perseverance, that grounds
us in our faith journey. Moreover, James suggests that we seek wisdom,
which is a God-ordained gift to all who simply ask for it. So, could it
be that rather than asking for relief from the trial, we should ask for
wisdom instead? If we get instant relief from the trials we face, do we
have an opportunity to grow, to become “perfect and complete, lacking
nothing”? Or do we continue to have a shallow faith that’s easily rocked
at the slightest provocation? If we only get relief, could we be
missing out on getting closer and closer to God’s design for us – a
person with a steadfast faith, who walks in wisdom and in truth?<br />
We can easily lose perspective due to the enemy’s interference when
we are suffering – after all, who likes suffering? It’s our time in the
trials, however, that requires us to rely on God. If our lives were
trouble-free would we need God and His perspective? Would we need His
wisdom? Life’s reality involves suffering, but it’s our faith that helps
us see how God sees us in our suffering. When we’re in a time of
suffering, God is the one who is intervening, seeking to draw us closer
to Himself. The wisdom that we ask for will help us to see him at work;
without that, we’re just beings tossed about by chance and fate. I don’t
know about you, but I’d much rather inquire of the Creator when I’m
faced with a trial than trust in some cosmic non-personal force.<br />
So, how do we get this wisdom? We ask God – this gift is given to all
“liberally and without reproach.” Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is
understanding.” This <em>fear </em>of the Lord is about respect, awe and submission. If we seek the <em>easy way out </em>of
life’s trials, are we submitting to the Lord, or are we treating Him as
a benevolent rescuer who has nothing to teach us? Through life’s
difficulties, we hold on to that desire for wisdom because we need
wisdom to see trials from our Heavenly Father’s perspective.<br />
So, the question is, “what kind of life do you want to live?” Do you
want to be steadfast in your faith, rooted in the wisdom that can only
come from our Heavenly Father, or are you content with a quick fix or a
speedy rescue? The quick fix will never bring growth, wisdom or
maturity; rather, you will continue to be “…tossed to and fro and
carried away with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the
cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Ephesians 4:13b-14).<br />
</div>
<footer class="entry-footer"><div class="entry-meta">
<span class="entry-categories">Filed Under: <a href="http://blog.thrivingpastor.com/category/helpful-articles-personal-issues/" rel="category tag">Helpful Articles: Personal Issues</a></span> </div>
</footer></article>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-83705316166668803252017-06-27T19:44:00.001-07:002017-06-27T19:44:08.571-07:00Don’t Overlook This Essential Spiritual Discipline for Families<div class="td-post-header">
<header class="td-post-title">
<h1 class="entry-title">
Don’t Overlook This Essential Spiritual Discipline for Families</h1>
<div class="td-module-meta-info">
<div class="td-post-author-name">
<div class="td-author-by">
By</div>
<a href="http://churchleaders.com/author/Paul%20David">Paul David Tripp</a><div class="td-author-line">
- </div>
</div>
<span class="td-post-date"><time class="entry-date updated td-module-date" datetime="2017-06-22T12:35:19+00:00">June 22, 2017</time></span> </div>
</header>
</div>
<div class="td-post-featured-image">
<a class="td-modal-image" data-caption="" href="http://churchleaders-eszuskq0bptlfh8awbb.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/6.26essential-familie-diciplines.jpg"><img alt="Don't Overlook This Essential Spiritual Discipline for Families" class="entry-thumb td-animation-stack-type0-1" height="428" src="http://churchleaders-eszuskq0bptlfh8awbb.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/6.26essential-familie-diciplines.jpg" title="6.26essential familie diciplines" width="642" /></a></div>
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The past two weeks I’ve written to you about building a healthier family: First, by <strong>SURRENDERING</strong> your kingdom to God’s kingdom, and second, by living for a <strong>PURPOSE</strong> bigger than your own.<br />
If you’re anything like me, those two things won’t come naturally;
they’ll prove to be a significant heart struggle. So how do we get
better? With <strong>DISCIPLINE.</strong><br />
A disciplined person inserts good habits into their schedule,
repeating them over and over again even when they don’t feel like it.
For the Christian, there are many spiritual disciplines: spending time
in prayer, reading the Scriptures, attending church, participating in a
small group, giving generously of your time and money, and more.<br />
For Christian families, these same spiritual disciplines need to be
prioritized: spending time in prayer (with your spouse) // reading the
Scriptures (with your kids) // attending church (as a family) //
participating in a small group (with your spouse) // giving generously
of your time and money (in a way that involves your children).<br />
But I’m concerned that there’s an essential spiritual discipline—with
specific ramifications for families—that often gets neglected: <strong>It’s the spiritual discipline of saying no.</strong><br />
Before I continue, read Galatians 5:13-15: “You, my brothers and
sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to <strong>indulge the flesh;</strong> rather,
serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in
keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you bite
and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other”
(NIV, emphasis added).<br />
To indulge means to allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of. The
Apostle Paul is warning us: “Don’t allow yourself to enjoy the pleasures
of sin.” But take another look at those verses. There are specific
relational consequences when we indulge the flesh. We are never just
sinning in isolation—our spouse, our children, our siblings and our
parents will be impacted by our sins.<br />
Let me phrase what I’m trying to communicate in a different way: <strong>A family becomes a healthy family when members of that family say no.</strong> When
husbands and fathers say no to indulging the flesh, the home becomes a
safer place. When wives and mothers say no to the pleasures of sin, the
family becomes a healthier unit. When brothers and sisters and children
say no to themselves, they won’t bite and devour each other—both
literally and spiritually!<br />
Disciplining yourself to say no to sin will be hard, just as
surrendering to God’s kingdom and living for his purpose is hard.
Indulging the flesh is natural for us all, but Jesus understands our
inability. Not only does he forgive us when we stumble, he now lives
within us and helps us say no to sin and choose instead to serve our
family in humble love.<br />
A family becomes a healthy family when members of that family commit
to the discipline of saying no to themselves and refuse to indulge the
sinful nature. When you live in the power of the Holy Spirit, a
beautiful and wonderful home becomes possible!<br />
<em>This resource is from <a href="https://www.paultripp.com/wednesdays-word/posts/an-essential-spiritual-discipline-for-families">Paul Tripp Ministries</a>. For additional resources, visit <a href="https://www.paultripp.com/">www.paultripp.com</a>. Used with permission.</em>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39146260979181957.post-87205395609637942842017-05-27T23:11:00.001-07:002017-05-27T23:11:56.661-07:0012 Habits That Lead to Divorce<div class="td-post-header">
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12 Habits That Lead to Divorce</h1>
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<a href="http://churchleaders.com/author/davewillis">Dave Willis</a><div class="td-author-line">
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<span class="td-post-date"><time class="entry-date updated td-module-date" datetime="2017-03-21T23:00:28+00:00">March 21, 2017</time></span> </div>
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Every married couple has exchanged vows which promise “til death do
us part,” but for far too many marriages, their dreams of “forever” are
crushed by divorce. According to government stats from the CDC, America
averages one divorce every 36 seconds. That’s roughly 2,400 divorces
each day, 16,800 divorces every week and 876,000 divorces per year.<br />
So, how do we stop this epidemic of broken marriages? To bring it
even closer to home, how should YOU protect YOUR marriage? I’m convinced
that if you’ll avoid these 12 common bad “habits,” you’ll be well on
your way to beating the divorce statistics and creating a healthy and
happy marriage that will endure through every season of life. <strong>If you believe your marriage might be heading for divorce</strong>,
please don’t lose hope! In addition to reading the list below, please
check out our program designed to save struggling marriages at <strong><a data-wpel-link="external" href="http://free.fightingformymarriage.com/" rel="follow external noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FightingForMyMarriage.com</a></strong><br />
<strong><em>The 12 habits that lead to divorce</em></strong> are (in no particular order)…<br />
<strong>1. Constant Criticism</strong><br />
When you get a warning light on your car’s dashboard, it means
there’s something wrong under the hood that needs immediate attention. <strong>One of the biggest “warning lights” in a marriage is a tone of constant criticism</strong>.
When a husband and wife start being each other’s biggest critics
instead of the biggest encouragers and when they start focusing only on
the negative instead of the positive, it creates a downward spiral that
often leads to divorce.<br />
<strong><em>#2 is something many couples do as soon as they get
married, but they don’t realize they’re just preparing themselves for
divorce</em></strong>…<br />
<strong>2. Dividing everything into “his” and “hers”</strong><br />
When a husband and wife have separate bank accounts, separate
hobbies, separate friends and separate dreams, they’re running the risk
of creating completely separate lives. Marriage is about combining;
divorce is about dividing. The more you can share together, the stronger
your marriage will be.<br />
If your marriage is struggling right now, please check out our new online program at <strong><a data-wpel-link="external" href="http://www.fightingformymarriage.com/" rel="follow external noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FightingForMyMarriage.com</a>.</strong><br />
<strong><em>#3 is the reason there’s an epidemic of divorce among couples who have been married for 20 years or mor</em>e…</strong><br />
<strong>3. Putting the marriage “on hold” while you’re raising your kids</strong><br />
I’ve seen too many marriages fall apart because two well-meaning
people put so much focus on their kids that they forgot to keep
investing in the marriage. Some couples reduce their relationship to a
partnership in co-parenting, and when the kids finally grow up, they
discover that they have created an empty nest and an empty marriage.
Give your children the gift that comes from seeing their parents in a
loving, thriving marriage. Model the kind of marriage that will make
your kids excited to be married someday.<br />
<strong><em>#4 might be the most common (and one of the most dangerous) habits on the list</em></strong>…<br />
<strong>4. Giving each other your “leftovers”</strong><br />
Some couples have what I call a “cable company marriage.” Have you
ever noticed how Cable TV companies seem to give you their very best
deals and service at the beginning of the relationship but then after
the “introductory period” ends, they give you as little as possible to
still keep you around? Some married couples were great at giving their
best at the beginning of the relationship, but as time goes on, they
start giving the leftovers. Strive to keep giving your best to each
other. Grow deeper in your love, your respect and your friendship
through all the seasons of marriage.<br />
<strong><em>#5 is toxic and when it happens, neither spouse is going to have peace or happiness.</em></strong>..<br />
<strong>5. Holding grudges and “keeping score”</strong><br />
If you’ve been married longer than 15 minutes, chances are good that
your spouse has done something to offend you and you’ve done something
to offend him/her. When our words or actions cause harm, we need to be
quick to admit fault and seek forgiveness. When your spouse has wronged
you, you need to offer grace quickly so that trust can start being
rebuilt and there’s no room for bitterness to take root in your heart.
Don’t use past hurts as ammunition in arguments. Let grace flow freely
in your marriage. No marriage can survive without it.<br />
<strong><em>#6 reveals the WORST thing to trust to advise choices in your marriage</em></strong>…<br />
<strong>6. Trusting your “feelings” more than your commitments</strong><br />
There are going to be days when you might not “feel” like being
married, but feelings are fickle and they were never intended to be our
primary advisor in major decisions. “Feelings” often lead people into
adultery. The healthiest couples have discovered that love is a
commitment; not just a feeling. Their commitment to each other
perseveres regardless of what they’re feeling. The strength of that
commitment allows them to have a deeper intimacy, a stronger connection
and a happier marriage.<br />
<strong><em>#7 happens with pride replaces thoughtfulness in the relationship</em></strong>…<br />
<strong>7. Making decision without consulting your spouse</strong><br />
Our pride can often convince us that we don’t have to answer to
anyone, and we should be able to make decisions without consulting
anyone. Pride has been the downfall of so many marriages. The healthiest
couples have learned that EVERY decision they make as individuals will
have some level of impact on each other, so they respectfully and
thoughtfully consult each other in every decision.<br />
<strong><em>#8 frustrates BOTH spouses, but doesn’t help either one of them</em></strong>…<br />
<strong>8. Trying to change each other</strong><br />
When you try to “change” your spouse, you will BOTH end up
frustrated. As you’ve probably learned already, you can’t change each
other; you can only love each other. The only part of the marriage you
have the power to change is the part you see when you look in the
mirror. Be willing to change your responses to your spouse’s behavior.
Look for ways to love and serve each other even when you have
differences of perspective or preference. You’ll both probably end up
“changing” for the better in the process.<br />
<strong><em>#9 is the biggest single step toward an eventual divorce</em></strong>…<br />
<strong>9. Planning an exit strategy</strong><br />
The healthiest couples have removed the “D-Word” (Divorce) from their
vocabularies. When we threaten divorce or when we silently start
fantasizing about life with someone new, we’re ripping apart the
foundation of the marriage. The couples who make it work aren’t the ones
who never had a reason to get divorced; they’re simply the ones whose
commitment to each other was always bigger than their differences and
flaws.<br />
<strong><em>#10 doesn’t necessarily involve sex, but it’s still an act of infidelity.</em></strong>..<br />
<strong>10. Hiding the fact that you’re married</strong><br />
If you are intentionally hiding your status as a married person or
you’re projecting “availability” through flirting, slipping off a
wedding ring, acting single around your single friends or at bars, etc.,
then you’re WAY out of bounds. Those subtle acts of deceit are in
themselves forms of infidelity even if they never lead to a sexual
affair.<br />
If you’re in a struggling marriage, please don’t lose hope. Check out our new program at <a data-wpel-link="external" href="http://www.fightingformymarriage.com/" rel="follow external noopener noreferrer" target="_new">http://www.fightingformymarriage.com</a><br />
<strong><em>#11 is EVERYWHERE, and it’s having a tragic impact on marriages.</em></strong>.<br />
<strong>11. Seeing porn, erotica or graphic romance novels as “harmless entertainment”</strong><br />
When you’re acting out sexual fantasy apart from your spouse, it’s an
act of mental infidelity. All true intimacy and all infidelity begins
in the mind; not in the bedroom. If your eyes and your thoughts are
wandering away from your spouse, then your heart is going to follow. Two
thousand years ago, Jesus taught that “to look at a woman lustfully is
to commit adultery with her in your heart.” Don’t just be physically
monogamous. Strive to be mentally monogamous.<br />
<em><strong>I’m convinced that #12 is the #1 cause of divorce</strong></em>…<br />
<strong>12. Selfishness.</strong><br />
We are ALL selfish by nature, but a marriage can only work when we
put our selfishness aside and put the needs of our spouse ahead of our
own needs. When BOTH spouses are willingly to selflessly love and serve
each other in this way, the marriage will thrive. The hard part is that
YOU must be willing to go first and be selfless even in those moments
when he/she is not reciprocating. Your actions might turn the tide.
Choose to be a thermostat; not a thermometer. A thermometer always
adjusts to the climate in a room, but thermostat CHANGES the climate in
the room. Be the change. You probably have more influence than you
think!<br />
For more tools to help you build a rock-solid relationship, check out our new<strong> </strong><a data-wpel-link="external" href="http://www.7daymarriagechallenge.com/" rel="follow external noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>7-Day Marriage Challenge</strong> (by clicking HERE).</a><br />
<em>This article originally appeared <a href="http://sixseeds.patheos.com/davewillis/12-habits-lead-divorce/12/">here</a>.</em>Dave Brooshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06400500398264976717noreply@blogger.com0