Journal
My brother said he never wanted to be rich when he grew up. He just wanted enough! Enough, however, isn’t attainable, no matter how much we may try. At Christmas, we get constant enticements through commercials and social media blasting our screens with what someone else has and we don’t (but should have), or what we “deserve” to get for Christmas, and our loser status if we don’t get it. The noise can be overwhelming. In our human mind, we get depressed that ‘the good life” – getting enough – will always be out of reach. When we think only as human beings, we stay stuck inside our insatiable appetites of want. We keep ourselves trapped in the relentless gnawing itch of desire, which leaves festering wounds of unhappiness and self-loathing.
Are you seeking happiness or joy?
Happiness is temporary because it can only give you a physical feeling based on false, warped cultural truths. Joy, however, is eternal. It comes from a supernatural, powerful, and perfect God. And the wonder of it is that joy is attainable. It’s a Christmas gift you can receive immediately. It comes wrapped in contentment found in the birth and sacrificial life of Jesus Christ. It’s the gift of a life that is not subject to this world and eternal places where the relentless desire itch is satisfied. The Christmas gift of eternal joy can only be attained by choosing heart knowledge and not head knowledge. When we believe in God’s unwavering truth, our attitude shifts. It’s a mindset change that allows our heart to lead. It means believing in the awe and wonder of God, and its transformative gift. When that happens, personal desires become secondary and aren’t the priority. Our focus shifts to what God desires for us and for His Kingdom purposes: “His will be done on earth.” The Father’s desires lead us to joy found outside what is being advertised on our screens, which is empty, temporary happiness. Instead of having an appetite for the things of this world, we can have an appetite for His Kingdom living and choices.
Will it require the abandonment of cultural lifestyles or desires we once thought important?
It may. Often, where we are today is not the perfect place God has for us, and there may be suffering while untangling our lives from the grip of our failures and selfish desires. Being willing to abandon our plans for God’s better plan leads to a place of the unknown – wonder. It leads to contentment when there is nothing, and a joy that is inexplicable when it looks hopeless. It’s a place of safety that doesn’t make sense. When we are willing to surrender ourselves, He gives us the desires of our hearts, and it comes in profound ways we never saw coming. Worldly desires and choices change, and what we thought we wanted shifts toward desiring what God wants first to accomplish in our life, and to what pleases Him most – the desire to know Him. He becomes the God who gives enough.
Are you living a life of wonder and wanting to know more of God?
The truth is, we aren’t just physical beings – we are spiritual beings! We have a soul that will live forever when our physical body turns to dust. To know God, we must believe Him. And we must believe in the miraculous because God is a miracle God! We must believe that what He told us and is recorded in the Bible is true – all of it – the miracles of healing and restoration, the obstacles, challenges, and battles that were overcome, and all the disruptive, sacrificial choices that were made that changed the narrative so that God’s purposes could be fulfilled. There is no compromising or “living on the fence” with God. In our world today, it’s essential to trust in a living, supernatural God who sent the Son as a baby and who achieved His mission on a cross to save us for all eternity. He is the joy giver. As a child believes in all the wonders of childhood with unabashed enthusiasm, can we remember to embrace the wonder of who God is in our lives?
This Christmas, shift into a full-out childlike wonder of God.
Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, “…unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” This Christmas, shift your mind to your heart. Think and live in the spiritual and supernatural wonder of our Creator, leaving your natural mind and the limiting physical world behind. Remember that God operates in the miraculous. His power is seen in the wonder. He parted seas, helped a small, skinny boy to defeat a giant, and allowed three men thrown in a fiery furnace to walk out unscathed. God brings protection and provision endlessly. II Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we live by faith, not by sight.”
God surprises require us to stop thinking practically and start living in the unknown.
Living by faith means we never stop asking, but we also have to make sure we don’t cover our ears and stop listening. His directives can come through the Bible, or in prayer, or a trusted prophetic revelation. God requires us to trust Him even when the waiting seems long and hopeless. His miracles come in unexpected ways, from unexpected people, and in unusual places. We stop thinking with our intellect and start looking for God’s surprises. Get excited that you can’t attain the desires of your heart in your own strength. God can. His gifts of wonder are always aligned with His perfect purposes. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The awe (wonder – sometimes called ‘fear’ because God’s ways are strange and inexplicable) of God is the beginning of Wisdom.” He is an ever-present, wonder-working God. Be ready for God to amaze you in profound ways above all you have ever thought or dreamed.
This Christmas, may your eyes be filled with wonder – a magnetic fascination that brings you eternal joy and wisdom.
Journal
Just say no. I hear this a lot from leadership coaches. Know when to say yes and when to say no. Is your NO— really NO? Will leaving the door cracked lead to compromise and a warped journey? Do you fear that the exit sign will lead to emptiness and abandonment?
Be careful who and what you are listening to and how you’re being manipulated!
When I was growing up, I was taught the song, “Be careful little ears, feet, hands what you hear, for the Father up above is looking down in love, (His grace is unending) so be careful little (ears, tongue, feet) what you hear, say, do.” Maybe we should add “mind” to the song?
Your mind and thoughts affect your heart and passions, and your passions affect your choices (a.k.a. your hands and feet). Subversive messaging seeps into subconscious minds and affects choices. We often listen to the people who are telling us what we “want” to hear and not what we “need” to hear. Our ears hear the message, but are we discerning the right message? I give my family instructions daily that never seem to get carried out correctly because they often hear something different, or, frequently, only what they want to hear. The greatest mistake we make is the assumption that communication has been acted on correctly. Cultural influences send us thousands of media messages daily on multiple platforms, and in our 24/7 overbooked lives, we get beaten down and manipulated by the constant noise affecting our choices. Often it comes in first with a dribble – a slow drip – until we realize we have been overcome with a flood and been “hooked, line, and sinker.”
Exit. Get off the hamster wheel, put down your screen, and get off social media.
In artistic careers, it’s not easy to let go of what we set out to do creatively. Passions blind us to messages and signals we should be paying attention to, and we often push relentlessly harder, not willing to give up our dreams. Slammed doors, scripts unsold, auditions never booked, or projects never made create insecurity and depression, leading to desperation. And no one wants to hire or be around desperate artists. Could we have truly heard God’s voice? Is He listening to our prayers, laments, and wails? Could it be that we need to stop and listen to what we need to hear, rather than what just sounds good? The “NO’s” we face are perhaps a place where we can consider exiting the hamster wheel of striving. Are we listening to God’s voice and fishing on the right side of the boat? In Peter’s moment of insufficiency, Jesus told him to cast his net to the other side of the boat. Peter listened, trusted Jesus, and was rewarded not only with physical fish for that moment, but with a whole new direction for his life. (more…)
Journal
One of my most cherished gifts is getting away for some downtime on a boat and going deep into the ocean waters, skin diving. Sometimes, I have been caught in stormy waters, rocking and rolling – not the musical kind. I’m grateful for the captain’s knowledge and steady guiding hands, and for being secure in a good boat. The vessel’s core that holds it in the deep, turbulent water is its ballast. It lies deep in its core, not seen from the ship’s top and beneath the water line, allowing the boat to weather storms and reach their destinations.
Core values matter and are our personal ballasts.
Each New Year turns our thoughts toward how we will live differently and what we hope to accomplish in the coming year and our future. If our core values (our ballast) are not weighted correctly, the chances of reaching career and life destinations can be in question. Success depends on one’s core value choices. “The Lord expects you to be fair in every business deal, for He is the one who sets the standards of righteousness. Kings and leaders despise wrongdoing, for the true authority to rule and reign is built on a foundation of righteousness.” Proverbs 16:11-12 (Passion Bible).
What size boat are you building?
When building, we use a measuring tape to know how things will fit together. The Bible is our ultimate measuring stick for career and life goals. What we measure as essential core values affects our choices and sets the standards for our character and key decisions. We also use a level when building to keep things balanced. When considering future plans, a balanced perspective is necessary. That includes what people, messaging, and activities we allow to enter our lives and inform us. We determine our boat’s size by the waters in which we want to sail. Our ballast must have a measured and balanced core to float the size of the boat we’re building. We load it with weighted values based on our choices.
Core values define identity and bring acceleration.
Wandering off course happens when identity has not been weighted down in the foundations of Biblical truth. Key plans sink when core values are not firmly secured. However, when core values align with right decisions, explosive energy erupts, forming brilliant creativity and confident bold leaders. Everyone wants to be around and work with visionary, forward-thinking, and artistic people. Like magnets, we are drawn to them, feed off their endeavors, and want to go with them. They are our King Davids. When leaders are confident in their identity, it sets them apart as dynamic influencers in our culture. They are the people God is calling us to be in 2025.
This year, I want to strengthen my ballast. Want to join me? Here’s what I’ll be working on…
Gratefulness – Celebrating those tedious, mundane jobs and tasks – “Whistling while I work!”
Grace – Loving others like dogs love their owners.
Hope – Embracing life milestones without negativity but with childlike expectations.
Patience – Trusting with holy abandonment in God’s timing, and not mine.
Obedience – Taking unquestioning forward steps towards God’s desires and not my own selfish wants.
Personal Identity – Focusing my eyes on who God says I am and not cultural chatter.
Destiny – Learning more about heaven and traveling with Jesus to His destinations.
Intentionality – Turning up the volume of God’s voice within me so I can be tuned into others.
Longevity – Choosing healthy lifestyle decisions rather than what the world declares as beauty.
Mindfulness – Refocusing negative thoughts by worshipping the King of Kings.
Priorities – Spending more (and still more time) with Jesus in prayer and not on a screen.
Knowledge – Knowing God intimately because knowledge of Him informs me on all things.
Joy – Remembering that “the joy of the Lord” IS my strength.
What core value will you be working on?
Will you build a strong core to reach your destination in 2025?
