It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

It feels like we're in the middle of a storm here in the USA. There is tension surrounding our political transition, there is uncertainty as we continue to fight the Covid crisis both here and around the globe. Economically, people are struggling and emotionally, people are mostly tired and fearful at the same time.

2021 has just begun, and I hear the fatigue in the voices of people that I talk to, yet there is also a hint of hope! There's a promise that something will change, that it can't continue like this much longer. There's a reminder that we're not walking through this alone.

We're reminded from the words of Jesus in Matthew 11: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (ESV)

We're also reminded that many, many people have been through suffering over the years, and often much worse than we are experiencing. Life is difficult, and we're called to keep our eyes on HIM and to trust HIM in all that we do and say.

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

GO.

Last week, I shared a post that was titled STOP. The challenge was to take some time as the New Year is starting to do some evaluation and some thinking, and that in doing this, you may find that you need to STOP some things in order to create space to START some things. I hope you were able to pause for a moment to do that.

I appreciated Ty's note from Spain following my note:

"While I really appreciate the idea you are sharing, STOP is not my word in 2021. Like you, forces outside of my control forced me to STOP almost everything several months ago, and it impacted my life in an unprecedented way. In fact, the impact was more dramatic than the ensuing pandemic (which has been an added layer to it all)! Consequently, a significant time of reflection and reevaluation of basically everything ensued. Frankly, I didn’t enjoy it…especially at first…but I began to see the value of it all in time. The beauty of being forced to STOP for me was in the sifting. God used the STOP to cull a lot of extraneous activity from my life, and consequently created new opportunities for me GO in more fruitful and productive paths.
So, here’s my plan for 2021: YIELD my plans and decisions to Jesus, and GO hard (within and despite constraints imposed from outside my control)!"

Thank you Ty for sharing this. It's a great reminder and challenge!

In Rory Vadens book, "Procrastinate on Purpose", he begins with making 4 statements that really resonated with me. I'll give a brief description of his statements, but I encourage you to read this book.

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

STOP.

My daughter-in-law Abby got me this sign for my office for Christmas...

It's a great sign, and I've been wanting one for a while to hang in my office.

As I've looked at this sign over the past week, the word STOP has begun to "grind" a little in my thinking, so much so that I've decided to make this a word that I want to focus on over the coming year.

I know, you're probably thinking that this should have been the word for this past year because so much had to STOP.

Here's my thinking:

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

JOY.

We got a dog.

Yes, you heard that right. Rumi joined our family.

Rumi is a 2-year old German Shepherd who was rescued and fostered, and she's now ours. (And that's Raylin with her... our youngest daughter)

Here are the three meanings of her name, you can choose the one that works for you:

#1) Rumiñahui was a great general in the Inca Civil War of 1533

#2) Rumiñahui is a beautiful 15,489 foot volcano that I've climbed in Ecuador

#3) Rumiñahui is a Ceviche chain in Ecuador that has the best food in the world!

We'll just call her Rumi and we're good with any of these meanings, but if you know the Cline Family, you know where her name comes from!

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

PEACE.

As I walk, I often use the time to listen to books, listen to podcasts or sometimes just listen to some great music. I especially enjoyed listening to a Jackson Browne Acoustic Album this week on a long walk.

Since reading John Eldredge's book, "Get Your Life Back", I've been challenged to be quiet on my walks and take in the things around me. In his book, he talks about technology and distraction and challenges the reader to find a time to just "look around at God's beauty" instead of trying to optimize the time by multi-tasking and working through my list while I get some simple exercise.

The other day, I was walking as the sun was going down, and I turned off the podcast I was listening to, and just looked at the sky. The colors were vibrant. The air was still. The sky was magnificent. I just stopped and looked, and the word that came to my mind and heart was the word PEACE.

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

HOPE.

It's December 1st. Hard to believe that this 2020 year has finally progressed to the last month of the year. In some ways it feels like it's been the longest year ever, and in other ways, time just continues to move.

I'm thinking about this word, HOPE.

Hope is defined as "a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen."

As the Christmas season is upon us, we often talk about the HOPE we find in Christ. We're celebrating the arrival of Jesus as a baby to bring us LIFE. That's a great "feeling of expectation and desire" and we'll celebrate this around the world later this month.

HOPE is also on many peoples minds because of the state of our world over the past 10 months. We've all been affected differently, and every thing each of us feel is real. I hear people saying, "I can't wait to get through 2020..." as if 2021 will start fresh and new without any of the pain and struggles.

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

This morning as I watched the daily news on TV, I noticed how many times different news personalities said these words....

"Happy Thanksgiving! It's the biggest travel week in the USA as people go to see family and friends for this great holiday!"

The next line said...

"This year, due to COVID, we encourage you NOT to travel to see your loved ones. Don't gather together in groups, don't be indoors with people you don't know, and stay away from airports!"

What a mixed message!

We're hearing this all over the world as the impact of Covid-19 affects us all in different ways, but one of the biggest ways is in the way we engage in "OUR COMMUNITY".

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

There are different kinds of COMMUNITY in each of our lives, and we have needs for each of these.

This week I was reflecting on a couple of "Coaching Communities" I'm a part of.

Years ago, while doing research for graduate school, I was able to interview leaders from a number of different countries around the world, and I was trying to determine what needs leaders from different cultures had in common. At the end of a pretty exhaustive project, I identified 4 foundational needs. These aren't the only needs they had, but the different cultures had these 4 in common:

• A Need for Quality Training: Training to help them grow in their leadership

• A Need for Applicable Resources: Access to tools to use regularly

• A Need for Ongoing Coaching: Someone to walk alongside them over time

• A Need for Genuine Community: Connection with other leaders