LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Be strong. Take courage. Don't be intimidated. Don't give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down; he won't leave you."

Deuteronomy 31:6 MSG

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

On January 1st, I was on a walk and these words just began swimming around in my head....

"Be strong and courageous; Be strong and courageous"

I've been thinking about them for a few days and when I looked up a passage in the Bible that talks about this, it's the story of Moses giving this message from God to Joshua. Joshua would need all the strength and courage needed to lead the Israelites across the River Jordan to the promised land.

But these words are for me as well.... and for you.

It's 2022. It's a New Year. New challenges, new opportunities, new fears, new hurdles, new stories. It's all new.

But, if you're like me, you're questioning the road ahead, you're wondering what will it be like, you're concerned things will be the same, you're tired of the constant changes and challenges, and you just want to know how to plan!

Here's my plan: Be strong. Be courageous. Don't be intimidated. Why? Because MY God is with me. He won't leave me and he won't let me down.

I don't know what you're facing this year, but this message is for you.

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another." Bishop Desmond Tutu

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

Desmond Tutu passed away this past week in South Africa. He stood up for human rights and worked as an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa for years, and as I was reading a little bit about his life, the above quote stood out to me.

Tutu worked tirelessly to bring people together, and to help those who were marginalized and unseen, to be seen.

He also said this: "If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies."

His message was consistent, and he made a difference.

How do you respond when you read his quote on differences? Do you connect with that? How do you bridge relationship with people that are completely different than you, but bring value and significance to the conversation?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master." Luke 2 (msg)

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

These words are so powerful.... "Don't be afraid."

The message was a great message, filled with hope and promise.

The shepherds were excited to see this for themselves, so they left, "running" to find Jesus.

But when the angel appeared to them, their initial response was fear. They were actually terrified of the angel, maybe the bright light, maybe being surprised.

While the shepherds first response was fear, how do you think you would have responded? Would you have made the shift from "fear" to "joy" as quickly as they did, or would you have responded with doubt and questioning?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

“Passions are developed, not just discovered." Adam Grant

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

I spent some time this past week working through my goals and plans for the coming year, and spent some time looking deeply into the mirror at some of the things that motivate me to do the things that I do.

I think I would call these things PASSIONS.

When I do a LifePlan with a client, I define passions as "the things I delight in doing".

These words from Adam Grant hit me last week as I looked at some of the things "I delight in doing" that need to continue to be developed. My passions aren't stagnant, but they are things that I need to continue to grow, and one of the goals of my time away was to structure time in my schedule to spend more time in these areas.

Angela Duckworth, author of the book: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance says:

"It takes time and experience and encouragement to be able to say, one day, 'I have a calling'.... Have patience. As long as you're moving in the right direction, you're on your way." She's talking about passion.

Answer this question: What do you delight in doing? How can you grow and develop those things in your life? How can you spend more time in those areas instead of the things that drain you? It starts with defining what these things are.

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

“Margin is the space between our load and our limits.” John Mark Comer

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

The book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry was given and recommended to me 3 times on the same day at the end of 2019. I don’t know about you, but when it takes 3 people from different parts of the country, different walks of life and each of them prompted on the same day to contact me, I pay attention.

The book was used to rattle me, to cause me to do some deep thinking and contemplating, and was used to help me to deconstruct some habits in my life that needed to be addressed.

I wish I could say that for the past 2 years I’ve learned to master the principles in this book and because of that, I want to teach you, challenge you and encourage you.

Instead, I’m inviting you to join me in revisiting the conversation around PACE.

I’m taking the next 3 days of my life to do an audit, to do some planning and thinking and to work on my plan for the coming year in 3 key areas of my life: Purpose, Pace and Productivity.

I don’t know how you think “forward” into the new year, but I want to challenge you to find some time in the coming weeks to slow down, ask some questions, and begin to work on your plan!

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"We can't improve what we don't assess." Michael Hyatt

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

Peter Drucker once said, "You can't improve what you don't measure". People either loved that quote or hated it, because it all comes down to the act of measurement.

This quote from Michael Hyatt address that issue in his choice of the word, "assess". Assess simply means to evaluate something.

The challenge from Hyatt here is to assess and to evaluate things in our lives that we want to improve. This is a very normal thing in the life of a leader, both in our professional roles and in our personal lives.

When was the last time you did an assessment, with the goal of identifying some things that need to be improved, and out of this assessment came an action plan?

We are 11 months into 2021, entering the last month of the year. Let's pause over the next number of weeks to assess some things in our life that we can improve on, that we can build on. What is the first thing that comes to mind? (There's always something that bubbles to the surface immediately.)

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Paul, Philippians 4:13

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

Our pastor is leading us through a study of Philippians, and yesterday we were in Philippians chapter 4, and this verse jumped out at me.

I've heard this passage, I've preached this passage, and it's one of the most quoted scriptures in the Bible, however yesterday I was challenged to think of it in the context of contentment.

In the USA, we're celebrating Thanksgiving this week, and we often pause to give thanks to God for all He's done, all He's provided, and all He promises to do. It's a reminder to us to have an attitude of gratitude, and I really enjoy this season and focusing on being thankful instead of being anxious about what's to come!

Paul also, in the book of Philippians, just pauses in this text where he's talking about the good and the bad, the highs and the lows, and he drops this statement to refocus us. In the Message Translation, it reads:

"Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am."

As we give thanks, we have to give thanks to God for His provision, His faithfulness and his love. Paul takes it as step further... he's not only thankful for what he has, but he's thankful to Christ for EVERYTHING: What I have, Where I Am, Who I am

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"What kind of competitor see's the finish line and slows down... always finish strong." Gary Ryan Blair

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

I write this note to you today because this morning, as I looked at my calendar, I realized that there are some things that I haven't gotten done this year that I'd really like to accomplish.

It would be easy to simply push them off, ignore them, and move on.

You may be feeling what I'm feeling: I'm tired, I've been running pretty hard, it's been a challenging year, and I'm looking ahead at a fresh start.

I saw the quote above the other day, and have been thinking about it over the past few days. Here's the choice I need to make today:

Do I finish this year to the best of my ability, or do I coast into the year-end and look forward at a new start?

Today, how would you answer that? Are you a finisher? Do you want to finish strong? Would you rather coast through the next 6 weeks of 2021 and begin thinking about 2022?