We are learning how to be more confident as survivors of abuse or trauma in my series, Confident in God's Hands. Today, we think about what matters the most to us so that we can build on it to create more courage.
The Pine Beetle
People who raise trees for a living start having anxiety attacks when they hear pine beetle. This wood-boring insect can destroy acres of trees within a very short period of time, wiping out decades of growth and profits.
I know a man who owns thousands of acres of pine trees. If you were to ask him what he felt passionate about, he would probably tell you the complete eradication of pine beetles from the planet.
If I were to ask you how you felt about pine beetles, most of you would shrug and say that you didn't even know what they were. You see, pine beetles don't matter to you, because they have never impacted your life negatively or hurt anyone that you know.
The apostle Paul found something that mattered.
In order to find a way to be courageous in this world, we must discover something that matters to us. Then, we have to build our days, our careers, our legacies around that thing that we can passionately talk about and try to change.
The apostle Paul started out as a Jewish zealot, arresting and killing every Christian he could find. He had found something that mattered to him, and he wasn't going to quit until he had eradicated all Christans, as timber men wish to eradicate pine beetles.
Paul felt really confident about what he was doing, but his efforts were outside of God's plans. So, Jesus met Paul along the road to Damascus and struck him blind.
Bewildered and terrified, Paul stumbled into town, trying to figure out where he had gone wrong. Soon after, God restored his sight, and you can bet that Paul had a new passion as a result of his life-altering experience. He became as zealous for everyone to become Christians as he had been bent on destroying them. (See Acts 26)
Got passion?
I meet a lot of people whom I ask what matters to them. They shrug, as most people might if I asked them to go on a crusade against the pine beetle. They have no passion for living, for changing the world, or for leaving behind a legacy. They seem like sleepwalkers to me, and I wonder how long it will take before they wake up.
If your child were kidnapped by a child molester, would you simply sit back and shrug your shoulders? No! You would develop passion in an instant to hunt down and bring to justice the person who took away your life's treasure.
Our pain creates passion.
If I had to present a seminar about eradicating pine beetles, it would be a boring 90-minute lecture. I don't have a fire in my belly about the subject, and I don't have any personal experience with pest control.
But ask me how childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, or PTSD affects survivors, and I could talk for days on end without tiring. My personal pain created by abuse has created a passion that will never end.
I believe that our greatest passion stems from our greatest hurt. This is why my life's work has revolved around helping women and children who have been victims of abuse. I don't want anyone else to suffer as long as I did in silence, shame, and confusion.
I want to leave a legacy that will be remembered for centuries after I'm dead. I hope that survivors of abuse and trauma will associate my name with encouragement and love. We must find some way to turn our pain into something worthwhile, otherwise, we live out our lives as sleepwalkers, oblivious to the opportunities to help others and, in the process, to develop greater confidence in ourselves.
Today's Challenge
What matters to you? Are you passionate about spaying/neutering cats? Protecting the great horned owl? Helping underprivileged kids get into college? Comforting widows? Adopting orphans? Identify something that kindles a passion in you today and write down, My passion is to__________.
Showing posts with label apostle Paul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apostle Paul. Show all posts
Friday, June 24, 2011
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Just Lean Into It
Jack Canfield's Success Principle #14
Instead of sitting on the sidelines, deliberating, reflecting, and contemplating, winners make themselves open to opportunities without any guarantees.
(1) Lean into it to create momentum.
When we set a goal, if we lean into it, we will set unseen energy forces in motion. When the universe begins working on our behalf, we begin to meet people and discover opportunities that surprise us.
Today, I want to write about what is happening with a goal that Joe and I chose to pursue. I would like to write books to encourage people to thrive, in spite of their life's circumstances. Joe has always dreamed of sharing his love of God with as many people as possible. We have known for years that this is our purpose, but we have never been able to figure out how to meld the two dreams.
Recently, I leaned into this idea by picking up the phone to call a Small Business Development Center advisor. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was pleasantly surpised by the confidence he exuded about the task. He offered to meet with me one-on-one, and I jumped at the opportunity. Just by leaning into the idea, God set energy and people in motion to help us.
(2) Be willing to start without seeing the whole path.
Jack calls us to be willing to explore what lies ahead of us, even if it is unclear where we may end up. So many people hang back, because of the uncertainty of where life may take them. His advice is to simply start. And once we're on the path, we should just keep taking logical steps in the direction of our dreams.
I had no idea when I met with the business advisor yesterday where this journey would take me. Our objectives are very vague at this point. After talking to this man for an hour, however, the fog began to clear. He laid out a simple plan for incorporating, financing, marketing, and insuring our business. He even gave me an outline for creating a business plan and offered to review it when it was finished. Again, I leaped on the chance for some expert advice, even though we're not entirely sure where all of this will lead.
(3) Roadblocks may be God's way of redirecting us.
Jack warns that we will all encounter obstacles along the way. We must not see them as insurmountable walls that turn us back from achieving our dreams. They are simply problems that we must solve.
At one point, Joe thought that becoming a military chaplain was the way to achieve his dream. But then he met me, and after we married, we decided that moving my three kids around every few years would not be in their best interest. They were struggling with PTSD, and we knew that they needed stability, not uncertainty.
Joe was very distressed by what he thought was the death of his dream. But God had other opportunities in mind for him. Just three years into our marriage, I was sudddenly paralyzed. While in the hospital, Joe looked around and realized that there was an unmet need for spiritual care among the patients and staff. Within months, God opened many doors that led him into hospital chaplaincy. What initally appeared to be a roadblock turned out to be a blessing.
(4) Look for your underlying motivation.
When roadblocks occur that seem to be stopping our forward momentum, we must stop and ask ourselves if we're headed the right way. If we have a goal, but we're beating our heads against a wall over and over, we may need to adjust the way we're trying to achieve it.
I knew before we got married that God was calling us to work together as a team. At one time, we owned a drapery workroom, and I believed that was how we would always work. Boy, was I wrong! Joe hated the tedious attention to detail and the back-breaking installations. He felt completely out of his element, with me trying to teach him what I had known for years. After I got sick, we had to dismantle our business and admit defeat. This left both of us feeling demoralized and confused about working together at anything.
It has taken nearly seven years to get back on track. The Success Principles has helped us to see that our workroom was a roadblock that God used to redirect us. We have set aside our fear of failure and reconsidered our original dreams to help people thrive by sharing the love of Christ with as many as we can.
(5) Keep leaning into it until a clear path appears.
By leaning into our dream to create momentum, we have set ourselves on a path that has not always been clear. There have been many obstacles, but seeing them for what they truly are has cleared away some of the confusion. Meeting with the business advisor has brought us to a point of understanding two things: we will begin with books, seminars, and workshops; and we will eventually open up a retreat center for people who are worn out by the demands of life.
(6) Keep your eyes open for the turning point.
Eventually, something will happen to let us know that we've taken the right path. It may come on the day that we earn more than we ever have, when we are recognized as leaders in our field, or maybe when we send our first retreat center client back out into the world, refreshed and confident that he can thrive because we have shared the love of Christ with him. All of us know what our turning point is. If we keep looking for it, it will eventually occur.
The apostle Paul thought that he was on the right path when he persecuted Christians and had them put to death. Then, God put obstacles in his way: blindness, imprisonment, a shipwreck, and persecution at every turn. Eventually, Paul came to see clearly that he was called to preach the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, and then he must die for Christ. When he reached a turning point in his ministry, he praised God, saying, "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (Rom 11:33-34)
Today's Challenge
You've given thought to your dreams. It's time to stop deliberating, contemplating, and reflecting now. Lean into your dream and set the unseen energy force in motion today. Make a phone call, sign up for a class, ask questions, volunteer. Do one thing today and keep leaning into it every day until you reach your goal.
Instead of sitting on the sidelines, deliberating, reflecting, and contemplating, winners make themselves open to opportunities without any guarantees.
(1) Lean into it to create momentum.
When we set a goal, if we lean into it, we will set unseen energy forces in motion. When the universe begins working on our behalf, we begin to meet people and discover opportunities that surprise us.
Today, I want to write about what is happening with a goal that Joe and I chose to pursue. I would like to write books to encourage people to thrive, in spite of their life's circumstances. Joe has always dreamed of sharing his love of God with as many people as possible. We have known for years that this is our purpose, but we have never been able to figure out how to meld the two dreams.
Recently, I leaned into this idea by picking up the phone to call a Small Business Development Center advisor. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was pleasantly surpised by the confidence he exuded about the task. He offered to meet with me one-on-one, and I jumped at the opportunity. Just by leaning into the idea, God set energy and people in motion to help us.
(2) Be willing to start without seeing the whole path.
Jack calls us to be willing to explore what lies ahead of us, even if it is unclear where we may end up. So many people hang back, because of the uncertainty of where life may take them. His advice is to simply start. And once we're on the path, we should just keep taking logical steps in the direction of our dreams.
I had no idea when I met with the business advisor yesterday where this journey would take me. Our objectives are very vague at this point. After talking to this man for an hour, however, the fog began to clear. He laid out a simple plan for incorporating, financing, marketing, and insuring our business. He even gave me an outline for creating a business plan and offered to review it when it was finished. Again, I leaped on the chance for some expert advice, even though we're not entirely sure where all of this will lead.
(3) Roadblocks may be God's way of redirecting us.
Jack warns that we will all encounter obstacles along the way. We must not see them as insurmountable walls that turn us back from achieving our dreams. They are simply problems that we must solve.
At one point, Joe thought that becoming a military chaplain was the way to achieve his dream. But then he met me, and after we married, we decided that moving my three kids around every few years would not be in their best interest. They were struggling with PTSD, and we knew that they needed stability, not uncertainty.
Joe was very distressed by what he thought was the death of his dream. But God had other opportunities in mind for him. Just three years into our marriage, I was sudddenly paralyzed. While in the hospital, Joe looked around and realized that there was an unmet need for spiritual care among the patients and staff. Within months, God opened many doors that led him into hospital chaplaincy. What initally appeared to be a roadblock turned out to be a blessing.
(4) Look for your underlying motivation.
When roadblocks occur that seem to be stopping our forward momentum, we must stop and ask ourselves if we're headed the right way. If we have a goal, but we're beating our heads against a wall over and over, we may need to adjust the way we're trying to achieve it.
I knew before we got married that God was calling us to work together as a team. At one time, we owned a drapery workroom, and I believed that was how we would always work. Boy, was I wrong! Joe hated the tedious attention to detail and the back-breaking installations. He felt completely out of his element, with me trying to teach him what I had known for years. After I got sick, we had to dismantle our business and admit defeat. This left both of us feeling demoralized and confused about working together at anything.
It has taken nearly seven years to get back on track. The Success Principles has helped us to see that our workroom was a roadblock that God used to redirect us. We have set aside our fear of failure and reconsidered our original dreams to help people thrive by sharing the love of Christ with as many as we can.
(5) Keep leaning into it until a clear path appears.
By leaning into our dream to create momentum, we have set ourselves on a path that has not always been clear. There have been many obstacles, but seeing them for what they truly are has cleared away some of the confusion. Meeting with the business advisor has brought us to a point of understanding two things: we will begin with books, seminars, and workshops; and we will eventually open up a retreat center for people who are worn out by the demands of life.
(6) Keep your eyes open for the turning point.
Eventually, something will happen to let us know that we've taken the right path. It may come on the day that we earn more than we ever have, when we are recognized as leaders in our field, or maybe when we send our first retreat center client back out into the world, refreshed and confident that he can thrive because we have shared the love of Christ with him. All of us know what our turning point is. If we keep looking for it, it will eventually occur.
The apostle Paul thought that he was on the right path when he persecuted Christians and had them put to death. Then, God put obstacles in his way: blindness, imprisonment, a shipwreck, and persecution at every turn. Eventually, Paul came to see clearly that he was called to preach the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, and then he must die for Christ. When he reached a turning point in his ministry, he praised God, saying, "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (Rom 11:33-34)
Today's Challenge
You've given thought to your dreams. It's time to stop deliberating, contemplating, and reflecting now. Lean into your dream and set the unseen energy force in motion today. Make a phone call, sign up for a class, ask questions, volunteer. Do one thing today and keep leaning into it every day until you reach your goal.
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