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Beyond The Extra Mile

800px-Ignatius_of_Antioch 

Pray without ceasing on behalf of everyone. For in them there is hope of repentance so that they may attain to God. Permit them, then, to be instructed by your works, if in no other way. Be meek in response to their wrath, humble in opposition to their boasting; to their blasphemies return your prayers; in contrast to their error be steadfast in the faith; and for their cruelty display your gentleness. While we take care not to imitate their conduct, let us be found their brothers in all true kindness.
~Ignatius of Antioch, A.D. 50 – 117  (Letter to the Ephesians 10)

I have continued to ponder this closing quote from my talk about redefining the goal of spiritual conversations. Ignatius of Antioch was a disciple of the Apostle John, and was  the 2nd (or third) Bishop of Antioch when the church was centered there. Ignatius was martyred in the Colosseum in Rome and as you can see by the painting, it was a gruesome death. Under the tutelage of John, the heartbeat of Jesus was a thin veil away and is easily encountered as you read his words and meditate on his willingness to die for his faith.

The responses of Jesus towards His accusers and executioners is hovering close to the surface of this statement…

The commands and interactions of the rabbi, that we so easily dismiss as possible for Him because He was God, seem to become enfleshed in Ignatius’ words leaving us no room for escape but plenty of room to squirm.

Broken down, each thought is completely others-centered, a sort of self-amnesia that majors on compassion unattached to self-need or self-promotion.

1. Praying all the time for everyone.

2. Your prayers can help those who are far away from God move towards Him because there is hope for everyone to turn towards God.

3. Preach to people by serving them, doing good, demonstrating compassion and godly service.

4. Control yourself when others unleash their anger on you.

5. Seek the higher road of humility when others fill the air with self-promotion.

6. Pray for others when they accuse, belittle, condemn or slander you.

7. Stay committed to what is true when others fall for all the false and empty philosophies of the world.

8. Be gentle when others are merciless.

9. Don’t imitate their path, but love them on their journey regardless of where they are at… exhibiting kindness and brotherliness.

These are powerful thoughts…

Impossible thoughts…

In fact, these thoughts are alarming because they promise pain and suffering without recourse, justification or a necessary happy ending. Instead, they offer us invitation into the sufferings of Christ, where our soul will be forged in ways that we don’t want, can’t handle, and will probably try to escape from.

Trust is the only response that will work. But trust is not something that can be conjured up like a late-night snack or story to cover your tracks, no, trust is something birthed between the worlds of chaos and confusion in that thin space where the voice of God speaks to the follower of Jesus who is forever doubting, struggling, running, ducking and hiding from the Voice of Love.

Trust says, “not my will but yours be done.” Trust cries “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Trust sighs, “I believe, help my unbelief.”

This desolate place is where Jesus rescues the bedraggled among us. The ones who have no option other than God. The ones who know their default system-setting is to try to create their own trust, build their own reality, convince themselves and others that they are someone they are not, and then wake up sweating in the night knowing the false world they have created is a silly sham that the Big-Bad-Wolf could easily huff, puff and blow down.

These are the ones Jesus came for. Brute honesty has a way of surfacing when we sit among the displaced straw, and God always responds to our honesty by increasing our faith which intensifies our hope that welds handles onto trust so that we can grasp it firmly. This is the great trial of the soul. Will I believe and hold onto the truth that God loves me even at my worst? Will I define myself, not by my mistakes and blunders, but rather as one unconditionally loved by the God who created black holes, raging seas, distant galaxies and human DNA?

The presence of Trinity dwelling within us by faith is not myth, idiocy, theological gymnastics, a last-ditch hail-mary nor the conjecture of weak-willed people. Jesus brings about God’s presence within us which is the most real part of me, the only solid ground in a world full of shadows.

So while I might want to run away, hide, pretend or shrink into the shadows, the gift of trust, born from the love between the Father and the Son revealed on the cross of Calvary, will rise laying ahold of me even as I lay ahold of it.

And all of it is a gift…
All of it is grace…
All of it is divine love…

Trust removes our fear of God and our fear of ourselves. He smiles as we approach Him with all our broken pieces because He knows we have finally allowed ourselves to be loved just as we are not the way we think we should be…

Here, in this sacred space, we choose to go beyond the extra mile extending to others the very same grace and acceptance we have received from God. We offer it willingly, sacrificially, and fearlessly because we finally know that God is good, even when the path is dark.

Father, help me trust.

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Don’t Wait For UPS To Deliver Your Life!

UPS truck

There is a big difference between dreamers and doers. I have been both of these at different times. The world needs dreamers. Men and women who see what could be, not just what is. Dreamers remind us that imagination and creativity flow from God the master artist. Since humanity is made in the divine image, the interior sense to create and dream should never be squeezed from our souls like water from a wet cloth. Remember when you were little? You had a sense of wonder, creativity and dreaming which was as natural as breathing. As we age, it seems to slowly dissipate and is replaced by things like “rationalism” or “survivalism.”

We also need doers too. Very often the doers around us don’t take time to dream, they just want to get the job done in a timely and efficient manner. This “Get er’ done” mindset also comes from the divine design embedded in each one of us. God is a God of order, not chaos. I appreciate the doers in my life. I also love being a person who enjoys doing, creating, activation and moving. Hands to the task, knees to the earth. Doers experience a tangible result and the feelings of accomplishment. None of the things that IO have accomplished in my life would have happened if I was only a dreamer…we must become dreamer that do.

When the dreamer in you blends with the doer in you, magic happens! The best doers in history were also dreamers. The best dreamers were also doers.

1. Don’t Wait For UPS To Deliver Your Life!

Can you imagine approaching life this way. You might say, “Well I prayed and told God that I needed a wife and so now I’m just waiting for the UPS driver to deliver her to me!” That will only work if you are looking at illegal mail-order brides which I really don’t recommend! One problem with this outlook is that it can easily be spiritualized as “waiting prayer.” I encourage you PRAY AS YOU GO! God is not going to deliver you your life and dreams if you are waiting for Him to do it all. An active life with God is a life of action. God is a dreamer and a doer, and if you desire to see your life expand, you too must unleash the dreamer-doer duo with in you. So stop waiting for the UPS truck and start moving towards whatever it is you are dreaming about.

2. Do Set a Plan of Action To Accomplish Your Dream.

The dreamers who translated what they envisioned into reality did so by writing down actionable steps. Then they to took those steps in order to move closer and closer towards their goal. The best way to set up a plan of action is to ask yourself some clarifying questions.

  1. Who can help me with this dream/goal? Who do I know that has success in this area?
  2. What is it exactly that I want to see happen, or what is it that I am trying to accomplish?
  3. Where can I get information about this, or where can I get more help/advice?
  4. When do I want this to be accomplished? Set a definite date to work towards.
  5. How will this become a reality? What steps do I need to take to see this come to fruition?

There are many more questions that you can craft based upon the goal you have. Look at those questions and begin to write your own. Each question will help you move closer to achieving your dream.

3. Don’t Determine Your Future From A Fear Mindset.

If you start with a negative mindset, dreams quickly vanish. Fear attacks your dreams with questions like, “What if I fail?”, “What if I’m not good enough to do this?”, “What if people don’t like my dream?”, “What if I lose money trying this?”…and the list goes on. If this is the way your thinking tends to go you need to reboot your mindset from a negative fear-based one towards a positive faith-filled one… and this happens by replacing your mind-data. Here are a few ways to reboot your brain:

  1. Input some positive faith-based, inspiring material. Read the Gospels, inspiring authors, movies with a redemptive element. You see, you become like what you fill your mind with. Entertainment today is highly sarcastic  negative and defeating. Spend some time finding resources that inspire you and build your faith!
  2. Change your internal questions. Instead of asking questions like, “What if I fail?”, change it around to. “What if I succeed beyond my dream? Do I have a success plan?” You can look at all the fear-based negative questions and see a positive alternative and then ask those questions instead. This is a major reboot as well.
  3. Commit to ongoing positive, faith-based input. Also, continue to change your mindset by asking positive question when fear starts to raise negative ones.

I hope you choose to be the person who welds together the dreamer and the doer inside of you. When you do you’ll no longer wait for the UPS driver to deliver the life that God has already created for you and is waiting for you to step out and grab it!

Monty

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10 Excuses That Will Keep You Stuck

excuses

I know, I know…there is always an excuse for not doing something. In my life I have heard many excuses and erroneous beliefs by people who think that they are stuck, against the wall and that things just can’t possibly work for them. This infectious mindset is a dream and goal killer that will become a self fulfilling prophecy. Check out the top ten dream killing excuses I have encountered most. With each excuse I have written a rumination that I hope will push you past the wall that is created by that excuse. Life is too short to give up, throw in the towel, or choose to not even get to the starting line. I believe in you, so read on.

1. It’s Way Too Hard!

Well, it might be hard, but nothing of lasting value comes easy. File this excuse in the round-bin and determine to push through until you get a break through! As I consider the things that have given me the greatest amounts of joy and purpose, I quickly realize that “hard” was a part of the journey. Working through a hurt relationship…a mom in childbirth…launching a new endeavor…helping a team achieve their shared potential ..helping someone find God…helping someone find freedom from life’s hurts, hangups or habits. What are your greatest joys?

2. I Don’t Have Enough Education.

Well I have one easy word to say to this excuse…GOOGLE. Seriously, information is overabundantly available and easy to acquire. Another word is…YOUTUBE. You can watch and learn pretty much anything you might possibly need to know, along with a ton of stuff you don’t need to know with a click of the mouse. Read…learn…invest time in research. You might not have a degree, but all the information you need on any given subject is available if you look for it.

3. No One Will Buy It.

Well, they might not, BUT…just spend some time watching infomercials and that will change your mind. Just today I saw infomercials that are raking in millions on products like “Forever Lazy”, “Smokeless Cigarettes”, and “eco-friendly cooking pans!” Another great show to watch is “Shark Tank” where people are selling investors on some pretty crazy and unique items. You simply need to think through the”whys” of your idea and start thinking about how to communicate your idea to the world.

4. Better To Be Safe Than Sorry.

I have heard this voiced from the lips of risk managers for years! And every time this excuse is vocalized a dream dies somewhere. Play the movie forward…you are on your deathbed…your life is flashing before your eyes…all the dreams you had and the possibilities that found their genesis in your soul are playing… yet none of them finding fruition in your life because you played it safe. You struggled to make ends meet in life all-the-while making someone else, who took risks, wealthy . You gave your ideas away and other people not only did well with them, the idea made a major life changing impact. I think you’ll be sorry you always played it safe.

5. I Don’t Have Any Experience At This.

This might be true, but remember there was a time when:

  • going to school was something you had never done.
  • falling in love was a feeling you had never had.
  • driving a car had never been attempted.
  • playing a particular sport was completely unknown in your experience.

All of these are excuses based upon fear of the unknown. Your life has been built on many “firsts” so don’t let this one bench you!

6. I Don’t Have Enough Time.

This is by far the #1 excuse I hear. In my book Sacred Space I note that the average American will spend a total of 15 complete years  in front of a TV or computer screen by the time they are 65 years old. That’s a whole lot of Pinterest, Facebook and Dancing With the Stars and it is amazingly sad to me. Everybody has the same number of seconds, minutes and hours in each day. The difference between those who accomplish much and those who accomplish little is in how they manage their time. Perhaps it’s time for you to master your schedule instead of things, events and other people mastering your time.

7. If I Succeed There Will Be Greater Expectations of Me.

This is a bit deeper, but is still rooted in fear. Many wonder, “What will people expect from me if I succeed at this?”, “Will I be able to meet their expectations?”, “If I can’t meet their expectations then I just can’t move forward.” My response to this is three words…”Not Your Monkey.” Sure, people will have elevated expectations of you, but guess what? They already do and you probably just don’t know it. At the end of the day you need to be able to stand clean before God, not your neighbor. What other people expect of you is their monkey not yours so let it go! It’s time to stop being controlled by the expectations of others by setting good boundaries based on grace and truth.

8. I Don’t Have People To Help Me.

Well, I have been there for sure. Sometimes I have felt very alone as I have moved forward, and other times I have had a great team around me. What I have learned is that when I commit and move forward with all of my heart, like minded people appear! If I had waited for people to come around and support me before any initiative, most of those ideas would still be on the launching pad. Instead, when I believe I have the right purpose, I start moving and visioning and the right people naturally connect with the vision. Had I not started though I would have never connected with those people. So decide, determine and detonate! Your team will appear.

9. It’s Been Done Before.

This is true, in fact King Solomon said it best in Ecclesiastes 1:9

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

Everything is a synthetic remix of something else. A good friend of mine, and record producer, once told me that there is nothing new in rock music that the group Boston hadn’t done in some fashion! Whatever it is that you are considering, just make it yours.

10. If I Fail I’ll Be Crushed.

I really get this. Fear of failure is what keeps a large number of people from pursuing their dreams. And the truth is…you might fail, more than once. I take solace in the truth that most success stories were birthed in some failures,for instance:

  • Henry Ford went broke five times before he founded the successful Ford Motor Co.
  • R.H. Macy had seven failed businesses before he hit it big with Macy’s in New York.
  • Harland Sanders’ recipe for chicen was rejected 1009 times before a restaurant finally picked it up.
  • Walt Disney was told “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”
  • Thomas Edison was told  in his early years that he was “too stupid to learn anything.”

If you have found yourself uttering any of these excuses it is time to let them go, set your sails, and move forward.

I also came across the following info-graphic on Facebook today that I thought was worth ruminating over.  ~Monty

success indicator

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10 Questions To Assess, Align and Launch You into 2013

2013

The ability to convert ideas to things is the secret to outward success.
~Henry Ward Beecher

If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.
~Yogi Berra

Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.  ~Seneca

Goals are dreams with deadlines.  ~Diana Scharf Hunt

Guess what? January is just a breath away. As the calendar turn us yet again into another year, there is a natural sense, hard-wired into us, to reset our souls, realign our priorities and establish goals to accomplish our dreams.

I have looked over many different lists of questions that others have asked themselves in order to move forward, and here I have selected the top 10. These questions are powerful, I would recommend that you schedule some time to be alone where you can pray, read through the questions, and then write out answers to the questions.

After you have answered the questions, the next step will be to prioritize them and set some short term and long term goals in order to measure progress and see movement toward the direction you are going.

1. What area of your life is most in need a change this year?

2. What is one thing you can do to dramatically improve your relationship with God this year?

3. What would happen if your best dream came true? What is your best dream?

4.  What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

5.  What positive habit would you most like to establish this year?

6. Where will you commit and invest your time and talent this year?

7. What book(s) will you read this year (outside of the Bible) to enrich your life?

8. What area of doctrine/theology/spirituality do you want to study for better understanding this year?

9. What one thing can you do this year that will leave a positive and lasting legacy for your family and community?

10. What one thing do you most regret about last year, and what will you do about it this year?

After you have finished answering these questions, it is critical that you create a “next step” of what you will do to make your answer become a reality. Dreams and goals are great, but if they are absent an action plan they generally never see lift-off. As you create actionable steps employ someone you can share your list with and ask them to keep you accountable to doing what you know you need to do.

The choices and decisions you make today -will- determine your life experience and outcome in the next 5-10 years. So carefully answer the questions and establish a plan to accomplish the goals you have made.

Bonus Questions for those who dare!

1. Ask your spouse,

  • What is it like having me as a husband/wife?
  • What can I do differently this year to improve our marriage?”

2. Ask your kids, “What is it like having me for a mom/dad?

  • What is it like having me for a mom/dad?
  • What can I do this year to be a better parent?

3. Ask your co-workers,

  • What one thing can I do differently this year that will make the most positive impact for our company?
  • What is it like to work with me?

4. Ask your pastor,

  • What is the greatest need our church has that I can help with?
  • Where should I be plugging in at church to become the person God created me to be?

Here’s a final thought on persistence from Zig Ziglar:

“Persistence is the ability to maintain actions regardless of your feelings. You press on even when you feel like quitting. When you work on any big goal your motivation will wax and wane like the waves hitting the shore. Sometimes you’ll feel motivated, sometimes you won’t. But it’s not your motivation that creates results – it’s your action.

Persistence allows you to keep taking action even when you don’t feel motivated to do so, and therefore you keep accumulating results. Persistence will ultimately provide its own motivation. If you simply keep taking action, you’ll eventually get results, and results can be very motivating.”