Monthly Archives: November 2012

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Have joy in the small things

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Do you pray for the small things? A small prayed I said recently was, “Lord I thank you that nothing is lost, therefore I thank you that I find my pocket knife.”  It seems trivial to ask the God of the universe for something as inconsequential as a pocket knife but I was thinking about it so I asked.  The knife was out of my possession for about 6 months

I was looking for my keys in the drawer that I normally keep my keys and way in the back I saw the knife.  The joy that I felt was overwhelming.  My heart was warm and the smile on my face was one of those cheek burners (the kind of smile that make your cheeks hurt because you’re smiling too hard).  What struck me as odd is that I haven’t felt this way in a while. What caused me to feel this way about this small tool?

We are thankful for the things that give us joy more than the ones that make us happy.  Sometimes we take our joy for granted. Joy normally comes from gifts that keep giving.   Do you have people or things that are in your life that you do realize are truly significant? So why did I have so much joy in finding this small part of my Life?

 

Here are some reasons I have joy over this knife hopefully you will have more meaningful things and people that give you joy

  1. My knife is useful

This particular knife is a Case brand knife that is maybe 4 ½ inches long open and thin but it is not fragile.  It is strong enough to turn screws.   It can whittle branches to nothing and perform delicate razor operations

2.   A little attention makes it perform better

The second thing I did after I put it my pocket and tapped it a couple of times, was to sharpen it.  If I take care of it, it will cut anything I ask of it.  Just like the people around you.   Don’t take anyone or anything for lightly.

3    Joy is small enough to hide in plain sight

Many things that give us joy are right in plain sight.  This knife was tucked away in a drawer that I use daily and when I have it I throw it in my pocket where it stays until I need it.  Moments are precious – look around and be thankful.

 

The Bible quote that completes this thought is:

Philippians 4:6 (KJV)

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

 

God is interested in your well-being and your joy.  Look for the people and things that promote the warm feeling of joy and ask God to increase your awareness of them.

 

What gives you joy?

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False Alarm, Good Drill: Plan for the unexpected

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How prepared are you for when there is no power coming to you? The other day when our power went out, it was a few minutes before dark and we were settling in for the evening. At first we were content to wait 45 minutes for the power company to kick in to high gear and get the lights back on and then reality set in.   Now it is time to break in to action. Locate the flashlights and check for batteries.  Light candles, no locate candles then light them.  Now, I have to run outside and fire up the generator and locate the cords to power our lives.  Finally, we are ready to plug-in and have a mini-campout.  As soon as we do all of this and the evening turns completely dark, the power comes back on.

False Alarm, Good Drill

After going through all of these actions only and not using the tools I was a relieved.  Then I began to reflect on other areas of my life and I wondered did I have drills for simple things in life that more than likely will happen.  I needed to plan for the unexpected.  Could I set up some drills like the grade-school fire drills to have my family better prepared for calamity?

Could we use this as leadership lesson?  Sure.  Here are a few things leaders can do to be prepared for calamity.

  1. Make a list of likely challenges that will arise

What if you as a leader have to step away for an extended amount of time?  Is your organization or family ready for this?  If there is a flood or storm coming towards you, how long do you need to secure vital documents and essentials to start over?

2.  Be honest about your ability to overcome catastrophe

If you do not already have the tools to help during a crisis, acquire them.  Look at your situation honestly and make the necessary adjustments.  A lot of tools and plans are already in place if you assess them properly and put them in your survival plan

3.  Run the drill as if the event is actually happening

During the power outage, the only reason that we so calmly pulled out all of the things necessary to survive is that we had done this before.  There are a lot of things that have never happened in your organizations or in life but have a high possibility of occurring. Plan for the unexpected.  Identify these things and prepare a drill.  This is like having a will, having a business succession plan or writing who to call in an emergency on the inside of your wallet.

 

 

Tell me about some of your False alarms that were good drills.

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Change your thoughts and grow

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The Patience to Dominate is a state of mind that converts all of a person’s dreams, goals, setbacks and delays into positive progressions for ultimate success.  The process of procuring patience is a major key to dominating your life.

The principles of the Patience to Dominate have relevance for the wildly successful and those with limited success. You may think that you do not have anything successful to report.  If you are alive you have a slice of success.  And your decision to read this shows your interest in improvement.  Now let’s prepare to dominate.

 

I have formulated a definition for The Patience to Dominate it is:

Increasing ones capacity for calm, admirable endurance of a trying situation, circumstance or person, this comes out of understanding, mastery or control of oneself and the knowledge that the Creator has supreme determining or guiding influence over all.

 

You have the patience to dominate by mastering yourself. To master and control yourself, you must dominate your thoughts and dominate your actions. Your thoughts should line up with your goals. If you want something to change and you are continuosly thinking thoughts of “it is always going to be like this”, then you will not have change.  Focus your thoughts on the change you desire.

After your thought world is functioning proper, put actions to your thoughts.  Actions small and great are required to dominate your world.  Move forward at every opportunity. Even when you catch yourself falling into bad habits don’t give up, make a positive action in your mess.

 

Know that The Creator “has supreme determining or guiding influence over all.” He is there helping you dominate, you are not alone.  When you exhaust all of your options, positive thoughts and positive actions, He is already there with the help.  You have to settle this in your mind and heart and move without fear.

 

You will have the Patience to Dominate if you change your thoughts, change your mind and trust God.

 

What will use your abilities to dominate today?

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Letter #2 to Hurricane Sandy Victims

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This is the second letter that I would write if I had a friend that was victim to the tragedy of this great Storm Sandy.  It can serve as a letter to anyone that has been through a life altering experience.

Hello,

I was going to wait a week to send you another letter but I realized that the weekend was coming and you probably have a million thoughts running through your head.  Cast down all of your negative thoughts and replace them with thoughts of gratitude.

Help is coming, just not the way you think.  You may be out of luck, but you have plenty of favor, grace and blessings.  If you are reading this letter you have more physical and mental blessings than you can count.  I know it seems like you have been fighting a long time to keep it together, but that is just the fatigue and shock of going through this change.  You must continue to take a long term view to keep your mind right.

I know you have a lot of personal pride but please except help and assistance where it can be found.  Now that I have said that, get out and handle all of your business.  Do not be deterred from putting your life back together.  You will recover in the process of rebuilding.  You cannot wait to recover and then rebuild.  Move forward with tears in your eyes and the love of God in your heart.

A final note: If you feel like you are not strong enough to stay and fight then make your mind up to move on.  There is no shame in shifting your efforts elsewhere.  This will cause immediate intense heartache but will give you relief quicker than fighting through this trouble.  Ride with peace and your decisions will be easy.

 

Praying for you,

William J. Spencer, IV