Got a lot of stuff lying around your house or maybe the clutter seems to be piling up with no end in sight? Small tweaks to your home organization can make a huge difference in the quality of life you are experiencing. Feeling happy in your own home can make a huge impact on your overall health and happiness. Now that you have some extra time on your hands from today’s Covid-19 pandemic, it’s the perfect opportunity to clean up and declutter your home. A little cleanliness and organization can make a world of difference in making your home happier and healthier. Clutter’s Effects On The Brain and Body Clutter…
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Control
Feeling out of control? This is unpleasant, isn’t it? That is the nice way of describing it. If you are like me, or the other 8 billion people on the planet, control is something for which you strive. It may be conscious or unconscious. But we really want control. What I am about to share with you is very personal. By personal, I do not mean secret. I mean it was meant for me, in my life, at a specific point. It may or may not be helpful for you, in your life, as you are reading today. A few years ago, as I was praying, a very specific phrase…
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Essential Input
Do you ever feel overstimulated? Constantly there is a tap on your shoulder, “Look at this!” It pulls your attention from one thing to another and back again giving you whiplash. Whether it is from phone notifications, texts, social media or advertising, we go through our days pulled by the river of distraction. Then there are movies and tv shows to stream, podcasts and audiobooks to listen to, books and magazines to read. What is essential? We fill our minds with so much. The result is a fractured, overwhelmed and anxious self. The noise is too much. There is a better way. It comes not in adding more. We don’t…
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Eliminate Hurry
Is hurry running your life? How does that feel? Is it a good leader? Is it guiding you where you want to go? What if you could eliminate hurry from your life? Last month, I mentioned a few books on my next-to-read list. John Mark Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry was at the top of the list. Earlier this month, I read it. It only took me a week. The next week, my wife read it. This is an awesome book. Definitely putting it on my keeper list, aka my reread list. This is not a book to consume and move on from. It is one you want to…
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Monthly Focus
Some people find it helpful, in addition to or in place of a Quarterly Offsite, to create a Monthly Focus. → Select one focus for each month. This allows you to know your priority for each month. Most likely this would be in your work, since that is where you spend most of your time. However, if work were slow, a home project might be your one priority. The hard part is coming up with one focus. The Idea Loop can help. It will take you from ideas to one clear focus for your month. Here is the process: Ideation: What are the options for your monthly priorities? Some may…
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7 Books for Spiritual Formation
First, it is important to spend time in Scripture. Do that more than anything else. Start there. Continue there. Finish there. Start again. Complementing Scripture, there are many great resources to help you know and follow Jesus. Here are seven books I have found helpful in my journey with Jesus. Most are a collection of writings, not meant to be read through in one sitting. Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun Devotional Classics by Richard Foster The Philokalia The Golden Book of Prayer by Donald B. Aldrich Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority by John Eldredge Conversations with God: Two Centuries of Prayers by African Americans by…
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Starting a Nonprofit: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself
Nonprofit work is truly amazing. It is hard. It is fun. It is rewarding. It is exhausting. Nonprofit work is worth doing. If you are wanting to start a nonprofit, there are a handful of things to consider as you get started. Yes, there are a million things to work on when you get ready for the details. First, consider the big picture. Here are 5 questions to help prepare you for the nonprofit journey. Why are you starting a nonprofit? Who are you going to serve? What is your vision? Who is going to join you? When is this going to happen? Why are you starting a nonprofit? There…
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My 3 Favorite Questions
I believe it is important to be a learner, to be curious and to go deep with others. Here are my 3 favorite questions, great for personal reflection, a new acquaintance and an old friend. What are you passionate about? What is your story? What has God been telling you? Do you have a favorite question? Please share below.
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Ask
That is what we must do. Just ask. One child is afraid to hear “no,” so they do not ask. A second child is not afraid to hear “no,” so they ask. Sometimes the second child gets two popsicles. Whether you are talking to a friend, boss, stranger, customer, donor or loved one–even God–if you want something, ask. You do not have because you do not ask.
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The IDEA Loop
When you have an idea, the following process will help you gain clarity and move forward. Ideate First list all your ideas. Imagine a clean whiteboard. There is no wrong idea. Do not edit. Just write everything down. Decide Come to clarity on one idea. Decide to move in one clear direction. Based on all of your ideas, which is the one best option. What is essential? Eliminate Write down your top alternate options. Decide they are extra. Get rid of them. Act What action do you need to take? What is your next step? When will it be done? Who will hold you accountable? This is a process I…
