Archive - June, 2009

Skill or Faith: The Success Key

June 15, 2009 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 0 Comments

Have you ever felt like you didn’t have what it takes to be successful?

I often feel that I don’t have the skill to get things done in the right way. But at other times I’ve felt, “I got this” and flubbed miserably.

Does having or lacking skill really determine success? Sure, a lot of factors must weigh in to bring about great achievement. If skill alone is what we work for to make ourselves successful, we may be working ourselves right out of our desired accomplishment.

 


 

It’s a little oxymoronish to consider that too much skill could spell failure. Yet real success doesn’t lie in our skill or our resources. Certain goals and levels of triumph can be obtained by shear force. But to accomplish that which is outlandishly impossible, to achieve a dream that hangs on a thread requires more than determination. Lasting success requires faith.

At least that’s what I read in 1 Chronicles 5:18 and following. The Jewish tribes had skill. “They were skilled in combat and armed” to the hilt, no less. These guys were seasoned, experts in warfare, and ready for battle.

If I had all that going for me, I’d be taking them on, pushing forward, and relying on my own abilities. Why, isn’t that what God gave me the skill for? Aren’t we to use these skills to make what we aim for successful? My self-reliant attitude and the subsequent actions would set me up for failure, or at best provide a very short-lived success.

The next phrase in the Chronicles passage about the Israelites isn’t, “So they kicked tail and took names.” No. They had skill and resources all right, but their greatest asset was God himself. Listen to what they did. “They cried out to God during the battle, and he answered their prayer because they trusted in him.”

They were skilled, fit, ready, and from all aspects had it all together to get the job done, but they didn’t rely on all of that. They won the victory because of their faith, because they trusted in God! Their skill was put to use but it wasn’t the determining factor.

The implication of this truth for our lives is huge. We work so hard to try to be good, better, or best so we’ll have success. But it doesn’t matter if our skill is little or a lot, or if our resources are overflowing or not. What makes the difference is our level of “trust in God.” It’s the extent of our belief in God that plays the greatest role in our success.

Whew. That takes a heavy weight off my shoulders. I stress over my lack, both in my skills and in my resources. Although I’ll never have to worry about being over skilled and need to continue honing my abilities and developing my resources, I must keep all of that effort in perspective. My skill may be used, but it’s not the major determiner of my failure or success. I need to put the largest effort in learning to trust in God.

God loves to work on behalf of those who completely trust in him. Built within that trust is obedience. Even when the task seems irrational or unlikely to be successful, I must obey and trust. On a side note, I love the freedom to succeed or fail that I get when I trust God and do what he asks. The results are all his. Success is measured in faith not skill.

Check out how to be successful at Successful Life and Leadership and Stepping into Success.

* picture from personalbrandingblog.com

 

Clearer Vision

June 8, 2009 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 4 Comments

I’m feeling a little down today. Tired. Dirty contacts messing with my vision. Girls gone to camp. Feeling alone…

Too much to do. Too much strain in my faith (that God would use me). My turn to whine.

Girlfriend calls. Wants me to fix lasagna for the fellowship tomorrow night. I want to stay home in pj’s.

Writing? How can I do that when I need to call every women’s ministry contact in God’s creation on behalf of Capture ME! ~ iGETitLIFE 2009 Women’s Event. At least I’m not laid up in the hospital with a spinal leak like the iGETitLIFE coordinator. She just had a baby and the epidural caused spinal fluid leakage (pray for Jamie). And I want to whine!

(sigh)
Look. It’s like this. I obey God and still I have troubles. 

 

Clearer Vision Robin Bryce readjusts her vision (pic from gizmodo.com)

(picture from gizmodo.com)

 

I’m trying to not be despondent. I know God’s in control. I’m doing what he asked, but I just don’t see his hand at this time. My faith doesn’t require sight, but my sense of security sure likes it.

"If you will…firmly exhibit your faith at the precise moment, you can sometimes actually snatch victory from the very jaws of defeat… lifting your heart to God in a moment of genuine faith in Him can quickly alter your circumstances…He can turn defeat into victory in a split second, if we will only trust Him." ~Streams in the Desert

Going to cleanse my contacts for Firmer Faith and Clearer Vision.

Rules for Engagement Twittering Small Groups

June 4, 2009 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 0 Comments

Due to the response of Twittering Church, I’ve been questioning men to get their input on how twitter could help a men’s accountability group.

My husband suggested creating “Rules of Engagement.” Obviously, since twitter is social, the opportunity to a small accountability group is available.

But before I make suggestions for “Rules of Engagement,” I want to describe how I could see twitter working for a small group.

 

 

Runners: Small group in it together

 

 

I have a small group that can be mimicked.  My group is my family. My husband and two older children twitter along together. We set our “devices” to “on” so we can see what each other are doing when we post.

My husband may tweet something about being frustrated at work, or how he had an awesome lunch meeting with someone. My kids may tweet “About to take a hard test,” or “Not feeling so hot today.” One may say something funny. One may ask via direct message (dm) for a deep prayer concern.

We laugh making no response. We pray for something mentioned. We respond with encouragement. We direct message our love, concern, and jokes directly into their circumstances in real time. (On a side note, my honey and I send “love” tweets too. Maybe I should write an article on how twitter can help your marriage.)

“Devices” are our cell phones that receive text messages. Twitter sends their tweets to our phones as a text message and we can respond via text messages in three manners.

  1. A straight forward response goes to any and all who look at your twitter page on the internet and not directly to the one you want to respond to. Okay, but has the opportunity to be confusing to others not following along in the conversation.
  2. Using @twittername (placing the name of the twitterer you want to respond to after the @ symbol) sends it to your twitter page for all to see as well as a community notice of saying it to your intended person.
  3. Using d twittername sends a personal message directly to your intended person without posting your message to the social network. (A glitch may accidentally happen in twitterdom. I don’t advise getting too personal here. It may be a way to say, “Hey, call me at ###-####,” or “I got your back on this one.”)

There are more advanced methods such as creating groups and using hashtags (#), but the simple texting method keeps our family digitally connected and involved in one another’s life. I believe if your group creates “Rules for Engagement” and commits to increased digital accountability, twitter will greatly enhance your group.

(Twitter just hit Time Magazine’s front cover. Twitter is changing our culture. I really think the church ought to be involved and engaged in such awesome conversations.)

Rules for EngagementTwitter “Rules for Engagement” for group accountability and encouragement.

  1. Meet face to face regularly – Keep your regular meeting times. Smiles, handshakes, and the necessary “three pat” hugs shouts concern to a much greater degree than the digital connection. Twitter cannot replace this! (Incidentally, I applaud each and every man willing to invest in another man’s life in small accountability groups. My husband has been in and started several over the years.)
  2. Keep the most personal discussion personal in the face-to-face meetings. Never know when you might slip and forget to “dm” that detail resulting in shouting something meant “secret” to all internet eyes. And Twitter may accidentally put a “dm” in the main stream for everybody to see.
  3. Commit to be involved in one another’s life making an effort to be an encouragement. Don’t make all the tweets self-centered. Send out encouraging quotes, Bible verses, and tidbits of learning you’ve received from your life struggles, as well as the what’s-going-on-with-you kind of tweets. If you’ve read an interesting article online, send a link using the link shortening tool in TweetDeck along with a short description of the article for your group to read. (TweetDeck.com and other applications are free downloads for your computer to make Twitter even more functional.

 I welcome more input, especially from men who twitter and are a part of a small accountability group. Please respond for the edification of all.