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Finding Your Significance When You Feel Rejected

July 7, 2015 by

Have you ever noticed our world is rigged to make us feel rejected? It’s like it’s hard wired into the system.

Remember elementary school when teams were chosen to play soccer? Were you ever the last one still waiting to be picked and the team captain is looking around hoping to see somebody, anybody hiding in the bushes?

 

Photo Credit: Orin Zebest

Photo Credit: Orin Zebest

 

Or how about high school and desperately wanting to make the varsity basketball team even if you were only five-six? Or hoping to be selected cheerleader even if you had the coordination of a new born giraffe?

And adulthood doesn’t get any better does it?

Dating is like toxic. I mean who thought up?

Add to that competing to get the best job. Live in the nicest house. Have the largest portfolio.

No wonder we feel exhausted and defeated half the time.

We trudge around looking at our friends and think, “Man, they’ve got it so together. “
And they’re looking at us thinking, “Man they’ve got it so together.”

 

I think a lot of the time most of us feel like less than we ever hoped for. And sometimes that’s the high point for the day.

 

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Filed Under: Significance, Success Tagged With: ,

How to Live in a Relationship with the Miracle Working God

June 30, 2015 by

Frankly, if I wasn’t a believer I don’t think I’d ever go to church. Well actually, I don’t go real often now.

I mean most of it seems so powerless and detached. Why bother? I can only endure so much rote ritual and still call it fun.

 

Photo Credit: Ojie Paloma

Photo Credit: Ojie Paloma

 

So often what’s taught is deep theological thoughts about a God who set up this universe then got bored with it all so he retired. Oh and of course the minutia of correct doctrine also.

Which, by the way, I personally find absolutely fascinating. Yeah, not so much.

But when life hits the fan and we really need a God who’s there and isn’t on vacation we’re left with little confidence he’ll actually intercede.

 

Also we’re left with a brain packed with correct doctrine but little real power.

 

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Filed Under: Love, Success Tagged With:

How to See a Miracle in Your Unsolvable Challenge

June 23, 2015 by

Let’s face it, we all get blindsided by seemingly unsolvable challenges.

You know the ones motivational speakers maddingly call “opportunities in disguise.” You know the ones we maybe just occasionally wish those same motivational speakers would experience just once.

 

Photo Credit: danna (curious tangles)

Photo Credit: danna (curious tangles)

 

We face an unresponsive medical problem, unfixable marriage or wee bit of a nagging addiction.

Or we wake up way too many mornings depressed and hopeless.

Or we eternally struggle financially.

Then too often what do we hear besides the above wonderful answer?

Maybe at church some kind religious saint offers a humble prayer with about as much spiritual power as a Hallmark card inscription.

Or maybe that Sunday the pastor drones on about how God doesn’t work miracles anymore until our eyes glaze and we look for the closest door.

Or we read a motivational blog that says, “Just think positively. Send out positive vibes into the universe that will come around eventually to you.”

 

And I wonder, “So how long does it take for positive vibe energy to make its way back because frankly I’m in a bit of a hurry here.”

 

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Filed Under: Success Tagged With: ,

How to See Spiritual Super Power in Your Life

June 11, 2015 by

Do you ever listen to a preacher or read a spiritual blog and think, “Wow, I wish I had that kind of faith. I’d love to see that kind of power.”

Yeah, I do too. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought, “Man, if I just had more faith. I could use a miracle right about now. What’s wrong with me?”

But the problem is at that point we can kind of give up. I mean I feel sometimes like the bar is set way too high and I can never clear it so why try.

 

Photo Credit: Library & Archives Canada

Photo Credit: Library & Archives Canada

 

Kind of like elementary school when we did the high jump. It was not my strong suit. My legs just don’t spring. So when I lined up they’d say, “Lower the bar. Here he comes.” And they’d put it down so I could almost hop over it.

 

Yet, when we stop expecting God to act in our lives we stop seeing him act.

 

Oh, he’s still blessing us but we aren’t looking for miracles so we don’t see them.

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Filed Under: Heaven, Success Tagged With:

We Can Gain Insights into Solving Mystifying Problems

May 5, 2015 by

Number 52 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” The miracles and promises of Jesus that show us the awesome blessings we can experience each day. I hope it encourages you!

 

Let’s face it, life can be pretty mystifying at times.

I mean we get life all wired and it’s running along smoothly when we get hammered with something out of the blue. And we think, “Ugh, not again?”

And often it’s something we haven’t dealt with before so it seems more confusing than ever.

 

Photo Credit: CollegeDegrees360

Photo Credit: CollegeDegrees360

 

I’ve sometimes thought, “Why couldn’t God just have given us a huge binder full of steps to solve all contingencies? I mean today it could be on the internet with Google search. How hard would that be for him?”

But he didn’t consult me before setting up this whole thing called life.

So maybe we read the latest self help book and to get a couple of tips. Yet, somehow it’s just never enough. Or it never works quite as smoothly as written.

 

Frankly, sometimes I find myself more confused than when I started.

 

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Filed Under: Happiness, Success Tagged With: , ,

How to See God’s Power Unleashed in Your Problem

April 30, 2015 by

Number 51 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” The miracles and promises of Jesus that show us the awesome blessings we can experience each day. I hope it encourages you!

 

Let’s be real, there are times we all face problems that are way beyond our power to fix.

We’re cruising along peacefully and suddenly, wham, we get blindsided.

And often it seems the more we try to solve it the worse things get.

 

Photo Credit: Gwenael Piaser

Photo Credit: Gwenael Piaser

 

So what do we naturally do?

Well I, way too often, find myself getting mad at God or someone else. Criticizing society or the government. Bemoaning some past failure. A whole array of less than constructive responses.

And frankly I find the help we get at church often not much better.

We may get the “super powers” response. “Just claim what you want. Jesus, because he’s in Heaven, has given us all power to get whatever we ask.”

Or the opposite “super saint” response. “Pray in the most general of terms and always end with, ‘But not my will but thine be done’.” You’ve got to pray in King James English you know or it doesn’t count.

 

Yet I find way too often little happens and I question why?

 

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Filed Under: Success Tagged With: ,

How to Overcome the Fear of Creativity

April 23, 2015 by

Number 49 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” The miracles and promises of Jesus that show us the awesome blessings we can experience each day. I hope it encourages you!

 

Every morning, as I write, I face the creative demons.

 

Photo Credit: Hans Splinter

Photo Credit: Hans Splinter

 

I enjoy writing and using my creativity to help others. I love the exploration it leads me into. I find it incredibly fulfilling.

But there’s a dark side also. Too often I worry, “What will I say? Will it be any good? Will it help anyone? How should I put it together? What if it falls flat?” And it can cause me to freeze.

So at times I’ve quit writing. Just too much agony. Yet, the gnawing remains so I always come back.

I’ve also tried to develop strict structures to plug information into. Kind of like a “paint by numbers” picture. And the result ended up about the same quality. Something only my mother would really love.

Sometimes I’ve just hung out until a fresh idea popped up. Waited for inspiration. And kept waiting and waiting.

 

I know I’m not alone in this. Everyone of us faces these demons with creativity.

 

Whether it’s in an art, teaching or starting a new business. It’s the fear of creativity.

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Filed Under: Success Tagged With: , ,

The Power to Overcome Our Everyday Battles

April 21, 2015 by

Number 48 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” The miracles and promises of Jesus that show us the awesome blessings we can experience each day. I hope it encourages you!

 

When I went to the church I pastored I came with the understanding we were going to change things big time. The church had dwindled to a place it was either change or die.

 

Photo Credit: Ray Chang

Photo Credit: Ray Chang

 

I met early on with the Executive Board, a group of eight core leaders. One evening in our living room I said to them, “We have the opportunity to make a difference. We can change the direction of this church and see lives impacted eternally.”

All of them were excited about being a part of something that would make an eternal difference.

Then I said, “But realize we just declared war on the evil one. And it will be a real war. So you need to put on God’s armor every day. And trust in him to keep you safe and give you wisdom.”

Most took me seriously.

 

But within six months, one had a complete psychological breakdown. And within a year another had resigned.

 

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Filed Under: Love, Significance, Success Tagged With: ,

When You Get to the End of Yourself

April 7, 2015 by

Number 44 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” The miracles and promises of Jesus that show us the awesome blessings we can experience each day. I hope it encourages you!

 

I’m at my wits end with a problem. By all accounts it’s insignificant yet still important to me and perplexing.

We live in the country so through the years we’ve adopted many stray cats.

One we have now is very shy and yet my little buddy. As I write this in our sunroom, he’s laying on the sofa next to me so I can reach over and pet him.

A couple of weeks ago he seemed sick so we took him to the vet. She diagnosed diabetes. Ugh!

 

Photo Credit: Kristof Borkowski

Photo Credit: Kristof Borkowski

 

We’ve changed his diet and now I have to give him insulin shots twice a day. Let me tell you that brings new meaning to the word exciting.

Now he’s become more and more illusive. Yet, if I can’t give him his shots he dies.

I know this is pretty low on the importance scale compared to what each of us face at times and maybe what you’re facing right now. But I still find myself perplexed. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Health, Success Tagged With: ,

Power to Accomplish the Impossible

April 2, 2015 by

Number 43 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” Stories and promises of Jesus that show us the awesome blessings we can experience each day. I hope it encourages you!

 

I’ll tell you the day I quit attending church.

 

Photo Credit: Grand Canyon National Park

Photo Credit: Grand Canyon National Park

 

Our pastor was young, handsome, intelligent, successful with a beautiful family. He was one of the golden boys of our denomination. He had it made. And he was my friend.

He took a leave of absence and we were told by the staff he was working through some issues and not to contact him.

This went on for several months until one afternoon I received a phone call at my office from a friend. He told me our pastor had locked himself in his garage while his family was away and started the car.

 

I felt numb.

 

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Filed Under: Health, Success Tagged With: ,
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