Both of my parents have given me lots of great wisdom on how to live, how to be a good wife, mom & human. And here’s some wisdom my dad gave me about being effective in the ministry for a long time. My dad told me that if a person wanted to last & do a great job in ministry work, they need to be mindful of three things:
*doctrine – flakey doctrine will side swipe you & cause you to become ineffective
*morals – remain happily married to your spouse or stay pure as a single person
*money – dont mishandle the money people give you for ministry.
The quickie version my dad would use was: be careful with the gold, glory & girls. Seems like timeless wisdom to me 
Ministry advice from my dad
Published May 23, 2013 family , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , spiritual 1 CommentTags: learning, timeless, wisdom
leadership
Published May 22, 2013 Holy Spirit , living 4 CommentsTags: change, grow, leadership, learn, potential
I’ve been thinking about leadership lately and while I know there are BOATLOADS of great resources, books, conferences, etc to help us with becoming better leaders, here are just a few brief, but helpful thoughts:
- if you want a particular leadership position, act as a leader for that role before you ever get the title
- leadership requires us to be continually growing and changing lest we become a stiffling lid
- character is more substantial than any title
- effective leadership requires constructive communicating: both listening & talking
- the Jesus’ paradigm of leadership is service over superiority
- if no one is following you, you’re merely taking a walk so enjoy the stroll ,)
- fear is leadership poison
- good leaders foster teamwork over competition
- leaders look for ways to bring out the best in their team & to minimize the weaknesses
- mistakes and failures for leaders aren’t permanent
Just a few quick thoughts on this happy Wed
mumbo jumbo
Published May 21, 2013 Genuine love , Holy Spirit , living , relationships , spiritual , travel 4 CommentsI went to China for the last few days & returned home yesterday, so I’m finding that my thinking is kind of jumbled up & random, say nothing about my sleep. With that excuse, here are a few thoughts:
- being kind & patient with others tends to also be a generous gift to ourselves
- genuine love is like a reverse prism – it takes the fragments of life & helps us to see the beauties of daily living
- long-term investments often have the most fulfilling rewards
- Saving Moses is doing some very magnificent work!
- I’m thankful that God doesn’t give me everything I want
- relationships can help us to see and experience different facets of God
- take a walk outside
I promise that tomorrow I’ll write something more cohesive
People are important
Published May 19, 2013 Genuine love , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , seeing Jesus , spiritual , travel 1 CommentTags: China, observations, people, Shanghai
I’m just finishing my weekend in Shanghai & I’m always astounded by several things when I get to visit China (possibly one of my favorite nations in the world):
*the number of people in this nation is 100% boggling. As we were driving today, I was trying to figure out how to show you 23million people in one city – Shanghai (picture of a “few” apt buildings in this monstrosity of a city)
*God’s immense love for people – there’s not one person in the 23million who live in Shanghai that is irrelevant to God; the quantity of people doesn’t compromise quality of God’s love
*God’s hand is engaged throughout all things massive & micro
*these reflections help to encourage trust in my heart that God is totally involved throughout my life & is altogether trustworthy – for both of us
Loving me some China!
Published May 17, 2013 Genuine love , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , seeing Jesus , spiritual , travel 2 CommentsTags: China, enjoy, fellowship, travel
I started coming to China more than 25 years ago & I totally love this place & the people even more! China is wonderful in lots of different ways – rich history, very cool people, great food, diverse cultures & much more.
But let me encourage you that wherever you are at, God is present & eager to have fellowship with you. I believe with all of my heart that God made you for the purpose of enjoying your company in all places: whether you’re
*at home in the routines of daily living,
*in a really difficult season of life,
*swamped with an ocean of demands & responsibilities,
*going into a busy weekend
*enjoying China ,)
God loves your company!
Grumpy people
Published May 16, 2013 enemies to intimacy , Genuine love , Holy Spirit , living , relationships 1 CommentTags: build, communication, people
From time to time, we all get to hang out with or be around grumpy people, no matter how well refined our avoidance skills are. So here are some brief thoughts for your consideration:
*check yourself first – is the person being grumpy because of your actions, words or attitude?
*be gracious – Proverbs says that a soft answer turns away wrath
*be soft & gentle, looking for words that repair rather than escalate
*generous forgiveness is always a handy resource
*be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle – Plato
*confront dysfunctional behavior with constructive timing & opportunity
*seek to reconcile more than dominate
selective hearing
Published May 15, 2013 enemies to intimacy , family , Genuine love , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , relationships , seeing Jesus , spiritual 2 CommentsTags: choices, growing, hearing, listening
When I was growing up, I had a 2nd family with whom I was really close & I noticed after some time, that the husband / dad had some hearing difficulties. When I started to watch him more closely, I noticed that he could overhear “quiet” conversations in the next room, but would be oblivious to some conversations within his immediate hearing. I thought this was really strange until someone pointed out that he had a hearing condition called “wife deafness.” I had never heard of this condition & they explained to me that sometimes husbands or wives develop this impairment after several years of marriage – I got it, it was a joke, kind of ,)
While it was kind of funny to learn some of the quirky dynamics of my 2nd family, there’s some really good application that I use with this observation on a regular basis: there are some voices & conversations that don’t need my attention nor do they help me to grow closer to God. So some selective hearing is a good thing – like Jesus said in John 10, “My sheep know my voice & the voice of a stranger they won’t follow.” 
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