Category: Think About It

Money … everyone wants more of it. Somehow we think it is the answer to all of our problems.

No doubt money has great power … for good or for evil. It all depends on our attitude towards it and how we use it.

One of your goals should be to be financially ‘free’. In other words, to have your needs met and enough to give away. That’s a good definition of ‘prosperity’.

 

A great plan for achieving this is the ’10–10-80 plan’. It goes like this … Every time you receive any form of income give away 10% of it. Donate it to your local church or community organisation. Then take the next 10% and put it away in a savings or investment account. Finally, endeavour to live on the remaining 80%. If you do this consistently over a period of time, you will be financially free.

 

After all, THE key to financial freedom, regardless of what your income level is, is spending less than you earn and then saving the difference. Unfortunately, most people spend everything they earn and even more, going into destructive debt which causes so many problems.

 

Money … think about it!

 

P.S. A few years ago, I shared two messages with our church entitled Your Personal Money Makeover. Here are the message summary files, which we gave to our small group leaders.

 

Your Personal Money Makeover (Pt.1)

Your Personal Money Makeover (Pt.2)

Decisions … we make them every day. Yet, think about how important they really are.

You might have heard the funny story about the successful businessman who was asked by a young man what the key to his success was. After thinking for a moment, the businessman answered, “Good decisions, that’s the key”. The young man then asked, “How do you make good decisions?” After a pause, the businessman said, “Experience, that’s how you make good decisions.” Hesitantly, the young man asked one more question, “How do you get experience?” Once again the businessman paused then answered, “Bad decisions!”

 

Well life is a bit life that – we live and hopefully we learn!

 

But the truth is that who you are and where you are today is largely a result of the decisions you made yesterday. In the same way, who you will be and where you will be tomorrow will largely be a result of the decisions you make today. After all, our decisions, not our conditions, determine our ultimate destiny.

 

What decision do you need to make today? Many problems are just a decision waiting to happen.

 

Decisions … think about it!

Life brings disappointment from time to time. How do we handle it? How do we adjust? Where is God in it all?

The following poem Welcome to Holland was written by Emily Pearl Kingsley, a parent of a special needs child. It always move me, every time I read it …

"I am often asked to describe the experience
Of raising a child with a disability,
To help people, who have not shared that unique experience,
Understand it
And imagine how it would feel.
It’s like this
When you’re going to have a baby,
It’s like planning a fabulous trip to Italy;
You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans-
The Coliseum, Michelangelo’s David, the gondolas in Venice-
You may even learn some handy phrases in Italian.
It’s all very exciting.
After all the months of eager anticipation,
The day finally arrives.
You pack your bags and off you go
Several hours later, the plane lands,
The stewardess comes in and says
‘Welcome to Holland’.
‘HOLLAND!?’ you say. ‘What do you mean, Holland?
I signed up for Italy.
I’m supposed to be in Italy.
All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy’.
But there has been a change in the flight plan.
The important thing is
That they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place
Full of pestilence, famine and disease.
It’s just a different place.
So, you must go out and buy new guidebooks.
And you must learn a whole new language.
And you will meet a whole new group of people
You would never have otherwise met.
It’s just a different place.
It’s slower paced than Italy;
Less flashy than Italy.
But after you’ve been there for a while
And catch your breath,
You look around and you begin to notice
That Holland has windmills;
Holland has tulips;
Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy,
And they’re all bragging about the wonderful time they had.
And for the rest of your life you will say
‘Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go;
That’s what I had planned’.
The pain of that will never, ever go away,
Because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.
But if you spend your life mourning the fact
That you didn’t get to Italy,
You may never be free to enjoy
The very special, the very lovely things about Holland."

Continue reading “Handling Disappointment” →

We were created for friendship.

However, good friendships don’t just ‘happen’. They have to be cultivated and nurtured intentionally.

Each of us has various circles or levels of friendship.

1. Acquaintances – these are the dozens and maybe even 100s of people you know, but on a surface level.
2. Casual friendships – these are the many people with whom you have common interests and activities. There is a basic level of openness.
3. Close friendships – these are the people who are close to you and with whom you have common goals.
4. Intimate Friendships – these are the few people you have a deeper level of connection, commitment, and trust with. You feel safe with them.

It’s important to choose the right friends, as they influence us probably more than anyone else. We easily become like those we hang around with.

We all need to be friendlier. Reach out and make new acquaintances – out of these will come close friends. Make friends by being friendly. Ask questions, listen, and show interest.

There is a price to be paid if you want a valuable friendship. You can’t just order them through a drive-through window. It takes time and effort.

Friendship … Think about it.

Have you ever been depressed?

Maybe you have, but you didn’t recognise it as depression. Depression simply refers to ‘low mood’. We’ve all experienced times of at least mild depression at some time in our life – your football team loses, you fail a test, a friend moves way, or you have a difficult day. However, this type of mild depression usually passes within a few days or even hours. However, some depression can settle in for weeks, months and even years in some situations.

Unlike a physical injury or illness, depression is hard to ‘see’, but it is no less painful or difficult to work through.

Depression affects people in a wide variety of different ways. Symptoms of depression may include a negative change in thought, in mood or in behaviour. Depression can happen to anyone.

When you’re feeling depressed …

• Observe your thinking. Our thinking has a powerful affect on our feelings and also our behaviour. When we feel low, our thoughts and memories are usually selectively bad.
• Talk to a friend or counsellor. We all need caring relationships that provide emotional support to us, especially during tough times.

Freedom from Depression … Think about it.

One thing that we need to constantly guard against in our lives is complacency.

Complacency is becoming tolerant or overly-comfortable with the way things are. It’s about being too much at ease and in a state of stagnation, refusing to advance or move on. It is about mediocrity, which is the tendency to settle for ‘average’.

If we are not careful, an inappropriate casualness can settle into our spirit and passion for life disappears. We drift into complacency, indifference, apathy, and eventually hopelessness.

Complacency sometimes occurs because we have no purpose beyond ourselves. The resulting selfishness can lead to a loss of vision for our life. We end up living unmotivated lives, just marking time, just getting through another day, existing but not really living.

If you feel yourself starting to drift into complacency, stir yourself up. Shake yourself. Wake up! Open your eyes. Look around you. Find a need and begin to meet it. Start to live … beyond yourself. Make a positive difference in someone else’s life. Make your world a better place.

Someone once said that lukewarness is ‘serving God in such a way as to not offend the devil!’ Don’t be lukewarm – be the devil’s worst nightmare!

Be a pioneer, not a settler. Don’t retire, re-fire! Live a life of passionate purpose.

Complacency … Think about it.

Have you ever felt like you were addicted to something? Addiction is an abnormally strong craving for some thing or activity. It refers especially to things that control us that are not constructive or helpful.

Some well-known addictions include illicit drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and gambling. Other more ‘respectable’ addictions include: food addictions, television, computers (especially internet use), work, and even spending.

We live in a society where there is an epidemic of addictions taking place. Our world is filled with all sorts of cravings, appetites for mood changers, and a quick fix mentality that only feeds the likelihood of addictions. We are all vulnerable.

Finding freedom from addictions is not easy. However, it is possible.

• Be determined to change. Considering the consequences of not changing can be a helpful motivator.
• Pray and ask God to help you.
• Reflect on why you do what you do. Willpower is not enough. Observe your thinking patterns and motivations.
• Adopt a strategy for stopping. Your decision has to be turned into action. You have to change how you are living your life.
• Open up to helpful people. Speak to a counsellor.
• Turn your focus to alternative positive things.

Freedom from Addiction … Think about it.

We live in a world increasingly characterised by individualism, loneliness, isolation, and consumerism. Many people in society today lack true relational connection. In the midst of busy lives, overcommitted schedules, and congested cities, many people still feel alone. We are often surrounded by people but often we don’t really know them and they don’t know us. We are a culture craving relationship.

We can easily live life around many people, but possibly not experience life deeply with anyone. No wonder so many people feel alone and isolated, experiencing a kind of ‘crowded loneliness’. Our sense of community is under siege.

This is not good. We were never meant to live in a state of isolation. We were created to be relational beings. As author John Ortberg says, ‘I have never known anyone … who was isolated, lonely, unconnected, had no deep relationships – yet had a meaningful and joy-filled life.’

We were designed to be connected to other people in meaningful relationships. Doing life alone is ‘not good’.

Be counter-cultural! Invest generously in your family and friendships. Develop quality relationships characterised by kindness, sensitivity, warmth, closeness, openness, transparency, encouragement, forgiveness, and support.

Community … Think about it.

Have you thought about your strengths lately? Your strengths are the things that you are good at … and the things that make you feel strong.

It’s easy to get caught up in our weaknesses – the things that we don’t do well, the things that weaken or drain us. We often think that strengthen our weaknesses should be the focus of our time and energy. However, strengths consultant Marcus Buckingham says that “our greatest potential for growth and positive impact is in the area of your strengths.”

Take time to reflect on your own strengths … and weaknesses.

As you go through the week answer these questions as you go about your daily activities …

• “I feel strong when …”
• “I feel weak when …”

Why not play to your strengths more this week. Don’t allow non-invigorating activities to dominate your life. Have an open conversation with your boss or the people you work with about what you feel you do best and what you don’t feel very good at. Allow other people with strengths in the areas of your weakness to do those things. Focus on your best contribution.

Strengths … Think about it.

‘Margin’ – every book has one. Margin is the space between the words and the edge of the page. It helps the book breath a little.

Unfortunately, most of us live our lives without any margin. It’s a modern day problem: margin-less living. We fill our lives to capacity. There’s no space, no room to move. We’re stressed and overloaded. Our limits are being challenged. Margin has been lost … and if something unforeseen happens, suddenly we’re over the edge.

Limits aren‘t the enemy … overload is. What we need is a re-establishment of margin in our lives. Author and Doctor Richard Swenson defines ‘margin’ as ‘the space between our load and our limits’. It is the gap between rest and exhaustion.

Overload just happens. Margin requires great effort. It doesn’t just happen. We naturally tend to drift away from margin not towards it.

Healthy living requires margin in four areas: emotional energy, physical energy, time, and finances. Create a life with margin … beginning today.

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” [Ghandi]

“Westerners have all the watches but we have all the time.” [African man]

Margin … Think about it.

One of the most dangerous yet subtle enemies in our lives is a thing called familiarity.

It is so easy to take things in life for granted – to become familiar with them.

When things are new and fresh they often have a lot of excitement linked to them.

Here are a few examples …

• We start out at a new job … how cool.
• We fall in love with someone … how romantic.
• We have our first child … how exciting.
• We move into a new home … how fun.
• We make a new friend … how wonderful.

But if we’re not careful before long … the precious becomes common and romance becomes routine. The novelty wears off and we’ve been trapped … by familiarity.

If you want to break familiarity, then remember the ‘specialness’ of those things and people in your life. Reflect back to what it used to be and start to relive those thoughts and feelings. Keep your emotions free from negativity. Keep a grateful attitude. Don’t take things or people for granted. See them for how valuable and precious they really are.

Familiarity … Think about it.

I’ll never forget having lunch with an influential leader a while back. I asked him how he was doing and he went on to tell me how great things were and about all the good things happening in his life. He then asked me how I was doing. I paused for a moment … things had been a bit tough for me at that time. Would I take the safe route and tell him things were ‘fine’ OR would I open up and tell him the truth?

I decided to share some of the difficulties I was facing. Interestingly, the conversation went to a deeper level and he actually then began to open up and share some of his own struggles. As a result, we were able to encourage one another.

Openness … it’s an amazing thing. In fact, it’s the key to intimacy and a sense of closeness in any relationship. Obviously, you need to feel ‘safe’ in order to be open, but it’s usually worth the risk.

Be open, honest and real. Share how you are really doing.

Openness … Think about it.

Have you ever felt rejected?

Pretty much all of us have at one time or another.

• Maybe you were teased during your school years – just because you were different than everyone else.
• Maybe you were laid off from your job for no good reason – they said you were ‘redundant’.
• Maybe you were an unwanted child, who grew up without ever feeling love from one or both of your parents.
• Maybe you have been abused – verbally, physically or even sexually.

Experiences such as these can be very hurtful and can tend to leave wounds in your heart, whether you are aware of them or not. You feel rejected. It really hurts … deep on the inside. Naturally, when rejected we want to give up, to hold out on people, or fight back.

There are no easy answers but we can take some steps towards freedom from rejection.

1. We can accept ourselves, just as we are.
2. We can develop friendships with people who love and accept us.
3. We can choose to forgive those who have rejected us. After all, hurt people often hurt people. Break the cycle of revenge.

Freedom from Rejection … Think about it.

We live in a world in desperate need of more and better leaders. Leaders are people who can see a picture of a better future and then motivate other people to work together to make that vision a reality. Leaders create movement. They’re always pressing forward to bring about positive change.

In a sense, we’re all called to be leaders. Each one of us can catch a glimpse of a better world. Then we can work together to take steps in the right direction.

Each one of us can influence someone else in a positive way. That’s what leadership is all about … influence. The question isn’t whether or not we have influence but what kind of an influence we are. Is it positive or negative? Is it helping or hindering?

No doubt, we need more leaders. Don’t just look to other people all the time. What about you? Maybe you’ve never thought of yourself as a leader. Why not just go ahead and take the lead … today!

Leadership … Think about it.

I’ll never forget when our kids were much younger, one of them running into our bedroom on a Saturday morning while we were sleeping and saying, “Dad, someone wet my bed”! I said, “What?” “Someone wet my bed”. I said, “Well, no-one’s been in your bed but you; it must have been you”. “No, no, it must have been somebody else, it wasn’t me!”

Isn’t it amazing how we tend to rationalise and justify ourselves so quickly and then blame other people for what’s happening in our world? I guess this goes way back to Adam. When Adam sinned, God came and said, “Adam, what have you done?” Adam blamed Eve. Eve then blamed the serpent and of course the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on, but that’s an old joke!

It’s so easy for us to look at things happening in our world and blame someone else for them rather than taking personal responsibility. You can’t control what happens to you and what other people will do, but you can control your responses to those things.  Imagine the difference if each one of us would simply take responsibility for our lives.

Responsibility … Think about it.