My friend read this in a Chick Fil A book about how they empower their restaurant owners (operators):
“We draw certain lines in the sand where principles are involved, and we expect those lines to be respected. But we don’t mind if Operators push their way right up to that line. We’d rather restrain mustangs than kick mules!”
“We encourage people to think and to experiment under reasonable circumstances. When you have a dynamic atmosphere, you never know where great ideas will come from. They just come.”
Filed under: Random Thoughts
Saw this on nationalgeographic.com. It bothers me to know that these exist in our ocean. Full story.
I also saw some crazy stuff on CNN…
Don’t want to be this guy
Or this guy
And I don’t understand why this is on national news. It’s cute…but really…..
God taught me a valuable lesson this past Sunday.
THE NUGGET: Walk in confidence when the Lord speaks because He is the one who will finish the work.
Now, before I get into the story you need to know that I hate (loath/detest/despise/abhor/cringe at/can’t stand) confrontation. God did not wire me to embrace it and see it as “an opportunity for success.” Although those are healthy responses to conflict, they are not my natural tendencies. I WANT TO RUN! QUICKLY! IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION!!
I’m sure no one else perceives conflict that way though.
So…to make a long story even longer…I’ve sensed the Lord telling me that all this cowardly foolishness of running away from confrontation is over. It’s time to learn to deal with it. It’s time to woman up and tackle the tough conversations that God has placed before me. It’s time to lead.
It’s about obedience. It’s about listening to what the Lord says and then doing it. Presenting the truth in love.
And then…when push back comes we can walk forward in confidence because of what the Lord has done. When we know it’s from him, we know the results are up to him and the hearts involved belong to him. It isn’t a reflection of me because I’m not the one doing it. It is the Lord.
It’s a glorious thing.
Filed under: Random Thoughts
This is what happens when senior management goes out of town….
I smelled it down the hall before I ever got into the offices. Glory.
On a serious note, pray for them today. They are “retreating” off site to think big and seek the Lord’s direction for NewSpring Church
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Filed under: Random Thoughts
Just found out a water line has busted.
Guess the construction peeps had a little too much fun digging.
No bathrooms for us (for now).
Thank you Jesus that it’s not Sunday.
Makes me wonder what we’d do if it was…
Just got back from an off site retreat with my team.
#1. They are awesome
#2. All women = laying out at lunch
#3. Holy crap…lot’s to do!
The Message rules.
- “Christ is God’s ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one.”
- “I [Paul] deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did – Jesus crucified.”
- “God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes.”
- “God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions.”
- “You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred – and you, remember, are the temple.”
- “Don’t imagine us leaders to be something we aren’t. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God’s most sublime secrets, not security guards to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge.”
- “When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them.”
- “God’s way is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life.”
- Talking about the sexual sin in the Corinthian church: “You must not simply look the other way and hope it goes away on its own….you want him on his feet and forgiven before the Master on the Day of Judgment…your flip and callous arrogance in these things bothers me.”
- “Your bodies are created with the same dignity as the Master’s body.”
- “Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life.”
- “Sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all.”
- “Knowing isn’t everything. If it becomes everything, some people end up as know-it-alls who treat others as know-nothings. Real knowledge isn’t that insensitive.”
Here’s a download of what I’ve been reading in the Message lately – specifically, Romans 12-16:
- “The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.”
- “Love from the center of who you are. Don’t fake it.”
- “Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder.”
- “Discover beauty in everyone.”
- “Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other.”
- “The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing.” (not easy for us night people!)
- “Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do.”
- “You’re fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you’re not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe – some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them – then you know that you’re out of line. If the way you live isn’t consistent with what you believe, then it’s wrong.”
- “Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, ‘How can I help?’ That’s exactly what Jesus did.”
- “All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief.”
Look what Skye brought to work today!
Almost forgot how much fun C3 was this year.
Free photo booths. Oh yes.
