Tag Archive - success

11 Blessings for New Year 2011

January 1, 2011 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 1 Comment

To you, my valued friends and readers, I wish you an awesome New Year every day of 2011.

New Year

Here are eleven blessings I pray for you.

  1. May your table be filled with good food all year.
  2. May God give you health and vitality with fulfilled desire for proper exercise and food choices.
  3. May your time be productive and well rounded as your efforts are blessed and balanced.
  4. May you influence others for God’s good, make a difference and impact positive change.
  5. May your days be filled with warmth of love and friendship as you open your heart to love others.
  6. May your resources increase as your charity and philanthropy grows.
  7. May others enjoy your presence and desire your expertise and wisdom.
  8. May you have many pleasant family moments and memories in this year.
  9. May you be blessed in your work, contributing value both to yourself and others.
  10. May your social community broaden and deepen as your relationships increase and become more meaningful.
  11. May you grow more in love with God as you spend time listening to him and reading his word.

And a bonus: May this year be your best!

Thank you for making mine great.

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(Images courtesy of sxc.hu)

Why Multitasking Reduces Productivity

December 8, 2010 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 4 Comments

I felt so defeated. Tasks and to-do lists stacked. The harder I worked, the behind-er I got. I wanted to quit. Doing nothing would produce the same results with much less stress. Why not give up?

That’s when I tweeted, (Twitter: @RobinBryce) “ NOT liking my busy, distracted, get-nothing-accomplished lifestyle. Please, can I have only one thing to do & permission to forget all else?”multitasked to death

The oversimplified spiritual response, “Love Jesus and that’s all you need to do” doesn’t help. It doesn’t get the laundry done, the Holiday efforts accomplished, my ministry tasks finalized or the family’s needs met. I need more than love for Jesus to do all the things calling for my attention.

I saved the world’s chocolate by taking my desperation to God. Sitting with my Bible and journal, I had a little talk. I mentioned my troubles and feelings then listened for God’s response. I asked him to show me one task to start with. Just one (hoping I could do one thing right).

Looking up from my Bible and at the tasks, I took my husband’s advice and organized my time to work on one job for 15 minutes. Amazingly, I got something done. It felt good.

I tweeted again. “Multitasking is overrated. Doing one thing well is better than many things half-hearted. ”

Others share my struggle with productivity. The Google search “Multitasking is overrated” found a study by Stanford University that reveals why doing more than one thing reduces productivity. The study shows a disturbing trend in our culture and defines my problem. They “found multitaskers are more easily distracted and less able to ignore irrelevant information than people who do less multitasking.” For more results read Boston.com article Maybe Multitasking is Overrated.  I’m not the only one living from one distraction to another.

I felt better knowing why I was ineffective and how to correct the problem. I began asking for God’s help to focus on the job at hand and to organize my time, allotting segments for each task. It’s working so far.

How do you deal with the pressure of your busy lifestyle? Comment below.

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(Images courtesy of sxc.hu)

One Way to Beat the Busyness

February 24, 2010 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 2 Comments

Getting nowhere, but doing it fast?

It’s like I’m on an endless treadmill, battling the bottomless clothes-basket and scrubbing the forever dirty-dish. After that comes the endless next thing—errand, meeting, project, appointment, and, as always, the bills. So much stuff needs attention, must be done. I’m over scheduled, under focused and beside myself. It’s like I’m a hamster running on a mini Ferris wheel, with no way to get off, and no end to this race.

All the striving and running left me empty. Even with some measure of success, like cleaning all the dishes or completing a presentation with applause, I got bombarded by the next task and the sense of a fruitless chase.

Chasing Vapors.

Much of our life is spent “chasing the wind” (Eccl 4:4-6). King David’s son (Eccl 1:1), said, “Nothing under the sun is truly new” (Eccl 1:9, NLT), but we break our necks to make things new. We work hard to make a mark, leave a legacy, or influence others. We act like everything is up to us. We think if we don’t do it, it won’t get done and then, well . . . we’re convinced the sky will fall, our kids won’t turn out right, and we will be the ultimate, epic failure. So we stay busy attempting to catch what can’t be caught.

One Way.

The empty exercise caused me to seek God for his view, his take on what I should do. The scripture writer experienced the same pointless pursuits, and his search for answers ended in a summation of life, the reason for existence, the ONE THING that fulfills our longing. “Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty” (Eccl 12:13, NLT) was found to be the underlying meaning of life. And it echoes in other scriptures like “be still and know…God” (Ps 46:10), and the greatest commandment to love God and love people (Matt 22:37-40).

Do you, like me, struggle with this one life-simplifying thing? Does life’s summation to love and obey God seem too spiritual to be relevant? Are you running life’s treadmill, chasing vapors hoping for an end? Have you ever wondered why we work so hard but have no progress?

When we focus on loving God and loving others, we purify our running around. God helps us sift through what we do. He forgives our mistakes and failures while giving us daily direction. Our track becomes focused and the distractions pale in comparison to this satisfying life-purpose.

We beat the busyness.

My renewed focus gives me a clarity, ability and the enlightened truth—it isn’t all up to me. Although I still run, I feel light in my shoes, unburdened, and sort of like a super hero.

I’m going somewhere.

Leaders Do This and Prosper

January 27, 2010 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 1 Comment

God: Lean on Me. Don’t trust your own insights, but walk in wisdom.

Those who trust their own insight are foolish,
but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe (Proverbs 28:26, NLT).
Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT).

Leaders do this and prosper.

Woman leader

They lean on God. They do not trust their own instincts, but walk in wisdom, obedience to God.

Simply put, good leaders hear from God and do what He says.

“Leave… and go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).

Step-by-step, listen and obey.

Simple. Yet difficult.

Are we up for the task? How do you lean on God and not your own skill? How can we know when we’re doing it right?

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The Forever Student

January 11, 2010 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 2 Comments

Ken, a forever student, squeezed a four-year degree into about seven years. I met him in college and I was never convinced that he was ready to graduate or quit learning. We made jokes with him about his professional-student status. Yet, he may have been smarter than the rest of us, not in IQ, or studies, or grades, but in the idea of being a forever learner.

God prefers forever students. Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge (Proverbs 18:15, NLT). Even Jesus grew in wisdom (Luke 2:42). God values growth in knowledge, experiments in new things and continual education. It is senseless to pay tuition to educate a fool, since he has no heart for learning (Proverbs 17:16, NLT).

old.student

Having a desire for knowledge and education is important for all of us, not only for children. Otherwise we become dusty, archaic, and in need of a child to program the VCR. Which was the last thing I studied when it comes to our video equipment. I have much more to discover, and fast before I become a dinosaur like the VCR.

We need to study, grow and change. The qualities of children, dreaming, creating, and learning includes a childlike faith, a trait God highly esteems. We could take a class in something of interest. An art class, an online course, a business, technology or marketing seminar, or a Julie and Julia cooking class. Let’s foster our own curiosity, ask questions and learn the answers.

Walt_Disney

One of the most successful dreamers and creators of our day was Walt Disney. Mr. Disney said, “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” (Restated in the Disney movie Meet the Robinson’s)

Like Mr. Disney and Ken, let’s escape the dusty, old rut and commit to being a forever student.

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A New Monday

December 28, 2009 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 0 Comments

It’s Monday again, but not like all the others. This one is full of hope for life change, a wanting something different, and resolutions. Decisions that resemble those we make on New Years.

After bloating on Christmas goodies that so quickly followed Thanksgiving feasts, I decided to reset my heart, mind and body.

Heart: I will enjoy the presence of my God, walk with him, laugh with him and learn to work under his direction. Not that I haven’t been doing such, but I will intentionally spend more time focusing on him and remaining in his presence. Please join me in this adventure or pray for me as I go.

Mind: Along with reading the Bible, I will read more ministry related books and add some good fiction to spur creativity and enjoy the fact that I can read. Are their any books you suggest? Any recommendations of good fiction?

Body: The most common decision and the one where I struggle the most. Resetting my body will mean my heart and mind must be engaged. Eating healthy and exercising takes determination. I’ll need all the help I can get.

I found help in a cool online tool, thanks to a Twitter post by @mdemuth (Mary DeMuth). The Daily Plate is a free tracker of food intake. No writing down what I eat, or counting calories, or figuring out how many calories I burned washing dishes. The Daily Plate does it all. (iPhone App too.)

How I started:Apple

  • I went to www.livestrong.com, The Daily Plate is compliments of Lance Armstrong. Go, Lance. Go!
  • I typed in how many pounds I wanted to lose per week, my height, weight and age. The Daily Plate showed me how many calories I should eat daily to reach my goal. (Note: I skipped paying for the upgraded version and clicked on the bottom for the free version.)
  • I signed up for a profile and got My Plate.
  • Once the profile was done, I typed in an orange and coffee for breakfast. The Daily Plate tracker calculated the calories and showed how many more I needed for the day. I typed in lunch, snacks, and dinner and My Plate kept a cool personal record (menu) of what I had eaten. The challenge was to keep the calorie counter from topping its limit.
  • I explored the exercise calorie counter. I typed in “folding clothes” and the amount of time it took then it counted the calories I used. I can’t wait to type in my gym workout.
  • It tracks glasses of water I drink as well.

The Daily Plate is way cool and gives a visual of my efforts to obtain body health. Every day the tracker brings up a new page to fill in and provides an export of my data. And it’s free. Thank you, Lance.

Go, Robin. Go!

Go, reader. Go!

See you at the gym.

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Search for Peace in a World of Disturbance

October 28, 2009 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 0 Comments

Peace.      Still.      Rest.

Peace in a World of Disturbance
Peace in a world of disturbance

The Burden.
Ever push to make things happen? When I do, I become anxious, worried, and stressed. All actions feel like my responsibility. Like it’s my fault when it doesn’t go well. Or when it does, the credit is mine. During these times, everything seems to key off of me, what I do, or don’t do, if I’m good enough, or not. I don’t like the stress of that kind of responsibility.

The Freedom.
When I place myself in the presence of sovereignty, I have peace. Overriding the swirl of troubles, struggles, and circumstances, a peace prevails. My actions become obedience to the sovereign God instead of an ambition to control. I realize the results don’t hinge upon my behavior or ability. God’s responsible for the results. I’m responsible for obeying. By sitting down in submission to him, I find a peaceful freedom.

The Counsel.
“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act” (Ps 37:7). I should work physically while sitting still in God spiritually. But I forget that God’s in charge, and get busy, working, feeling responsible for the outcome. When things don’t go right, the responsibility turns into temptations to take control, get frustrated, and become angry. Psalms 37:8 states, “Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm.” “Be still,” or “Stop being angry!”

The Choice.
I must choose. “Be still,” or push-through-with-all-I’ve-got. The choice leading to peace is simple, but the “Be still” follow through isn’t easy. The option keeps coming back and needs a fresh resolve. Sometimes I make the right choice, and others…

Anyhow. Do any of you, like me, search for peace in a world of disturbance?

*picture by MJ Photography

The Creative Need in Leadership

August 17, 2009 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife, Leadership, Ministry to Women with 0 Comments

A visionary leader casts the vision, obtains the buy-in of key people, and garners the support of a following, but it’s not until afterwards that the hard work of making creative adjustments begins. To bring the vision into reality and keep the momentum going, constant evaluations and adjustments are necessary. The vision, buy-in, and support are important, but without creativity and change the whole effort might tank or at least become fruitless, like beating a dead horse. Creative leadership is a must for continued progress.

An ordinary man named Nehemiah showed awesome leadership skills. His leadership began with a passion and brokenness over the state of disrepair and neglect of his native land, Jerusalem. A vision of Jerusalem’s repair began forming. When the king asked about his downcast demeanor, Nehemiah took advantage of the opportunity to persuade the king, an obvious key person, with his vision and plan. After gaining the king’s support and upon entering Jerusalem, he obtained the buy-in of its key leaders followed by the support and following of the whole community. For an ordinary person Nehemiah began his leadership well.

Super Creative LeadershipGood leaders make the most of starting out great while remaining open and creative to make necessary changes. Well thought out modifications keep the momentum headed towards success. When things don’t go smoothly, which happens, a good leader has to make adjustments. He must be willing to change methods, be creative and proactive in the face of challenges, and continually inspiring to his followers.

Nehemiah fulfilled this need for creative leadership.

I want to be a creative leader too. So I asked God, “What are the creative adjustments I need to make?”

Still struggling with the “answer” to that question, I wonder if you’re seeking to be a creative leader as well.

Do you feel like you’ve hit a wall, making no progress, or needing a creative improvement? What changes are you willing to make? How has God led you to adjust your approach? What is your experience with the creative need in leadership? Please answer in the comment section.

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This post is part of the Insights into Ministry & Leadership Series. If you enjoyed it you may also like the Living and Working on Mission Blog Series, the Spiritual Journey’s Gentle Nudges Series or the other Blog Series.

 

 

Perspective

August 14, 2009 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 1 Comment

Perspective – You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. ~Joseph

perspectiveIt will happen. Bad things happen to good people all the time. What is our perspective on the bad things happening to us? If we have enemies, backstabbers, and nay-sayers, we can say to them, "Beware. Good will come." It’s a matter of perspective.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” (Gen. 50:20, NLT).

 

The S.O.S. of Wise Leadership

August 13, 2009 in Confessions of a Preacher's Wife with 0 Comments

Amazing leadership gets complete buy-in and financial backing from their enemies. I’d love to know how to change my circumstances, my enemies, and my world. Ezra, a student of the Law of Moses, demonstrates such awesome leadership that powerful leaders, kings, and even his historical enemies became his servants. His example gives leaders an application.

He [Ezra] came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the LORD his God was on him.  …[He prospered in his work quickly], for the gracious hand of his God was on him. This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the LORD and to teach those decrees and regulations…(Ezra 7:6-10, NLT)

Ezra was determined. He had a focus, a passion, a mission. He resolved how he would live and what he would pursue. Good leaders know where they are going and what they want to do. They are not easily deterred from their path. It’s obvious a good leader can go in a bad direction, but Ezra focused on a wise pursuit, which made his efforts successful.

S.O.S. Flag

S.O.S. Flag displayed by LeadershipEzra’s determined path proved both wise and successful because it included God. He decided to consistently study and obey God’s word, and boldly show others what he learned. But shouldn’t he focus on planning, organizing, vision casting, recruiting, budgeting, and the like? Isn’t Ezra’s direction too simplified and off target? The discipline to study, obey, and share God’s word gives bearing and muscle to the tasks of good management. Ezra’s S.O.S. delivers the wisdom and guidance that best practices give good leadership.

The S.O.S. of Wise Leadership:

  • Study: Seek God and study his word to know how to live.
  • Obey: Obey his word and the Spirit’s promptings to know where to go and what to do.
  • Share: Share what we’ve learned and how to implement it, or the temptation takes over to become legalistic and snobbish about what we know and do. It helps to remember what we were like without knowledge or obedience.

Whether in a position of ministry or business leadership, the results of following Ezra’s practices are the same. Our worst enemies may become our best supporters when we determine to study, obey, and share. Like Ezra, God’s gracious hand will rest on us.

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