#1 Time Management Tip
I discovered a time management hack!
Like millions of others, I’m always looking for ways to streamline tasks and buy myself free time. Here are a few things I do that help me.
I use a planner.- I have routines.
- I meal plan.
- I use a timer to create structure.
I use a planner.These strategies help me with productivity. The more productive I am, the more discretionary time I have for family, friends and the things I love.
I decided to look at what the scriptures say about time, hoping to add to my arsenal of weapons. However, what I discovered was that many scriptures about time revolve around big ideas rather than detail about how to use time. Here are a couple of verses.
So, then, be careful how you live. Do not be unwise but wise, making the best use of your time because the times are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Ephesians 5:15-17
My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! Psalm 31:15
Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
I couldn’t find the ideas of goals and time in the same verse. The Bible has lots to say about goals and many examples, but I couldn’t find the ideas of goals and time in the same verse, which leads me to believe I need to learn about time from God’s perspective. Here are things I see in the scripture.
- Time is eternal. I might have goals and deadlines, but should I focus more on the goals or on how I want to impact eternity with my skills and talents?
- God is the master of time. I am a steward of time, but I don’t own time.
- Pursue wisdom. In all I do, I need to put wisdom first. If I partner Godly wisdom with integrity, I will be ready for the divine appointments God has prepared for me.
Father, I thank you for the talents and skills you’ve entrusted to my Friend. I pray her eyes and ears will be opened to see a bigger picture than what she has created in her annual goals. Give her eyes to see herself impacting eternity with her thoughts, words and deeds each day and in every place her feet go. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I disclosed someone’s secret!
It came so naturally.
We have all watched and learned from the people that raised us. I was surrounded by generous, gifted women. As a child I learned to cook, be a hostess, and nurture children by watching. I’ve always been proud of my heritage and what I gleaned from the collective of women that raised me. Their legacies have lived on through my life.
I didn’t notice when I picked up a bad habit that ran rampant in our family until one of my children confronted me.
Mom, I don’t share private things with you because you repeat every confidence you hear!
The women in my family confided in each other and then the one who was trusted with the confidence shared it with her inner circle until everyone knew the secret because everyone that heard it, shared it with 2-3 others. When my daughter confronted me with this truth, I was flabbergasted. Revealing private details with trusted confidants was a way of life and it never occurred to me that I was betraying trust.
After taking it to the Lord, repenting, and forgiving the beautiful women who taught me to live like that, I spent years changing my behavior to earn my children’s trust back.
You aren’t doomed!
If you can relate to my situation, I have a bit of advice for you.
- When you become aware of a generational consequence, take responsibility. Don’t laugh it off. Avoidance prolongs you from establishing the legacy you WANT to create.
- Create a list of other bad fruit that has come from your behavior.
Example: I didn’t keep confidences and affiliated behaviors were gossip and people-pleasing. I repented for all three of these sins. - Talk to God and an accountability partner. Transparency shows humility.
- Write a prayer that serves as a declaration of what you want your life to look like in this area. Read it to yourself out loud every day, until your life reflects what the prayer says.
Keep your legacy in mind!
A good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold. Pro.22:1
I almost missed my promotion!
I was so comfortable, I almost got passed up.
I’m an activator, and I’m jubilant! God has equipped me with the ability to bring order into chaos. I love collaborating to build something that delivers a service, a product, or a system that is orderly and powerful. It satisfies me like a delicious soak in a hot tub. The warm water is comforting. The pressure of the jets says to my muscles, “Let go; we’ve got this!” When my muscles are off duty, my mind follows suit. That is the exact way I feel when I have successfully collaborated with others and we create a product or system that works.
I’m a team member of an organization that has built a robust infrastructure supported by a high value in relationships. The leader of this team did a great job of making this happen, and I followed her like a puppy in search of warm milk. Robust infrastructure + relationships create a sustainable workflow.
This organization recently expanded, and I thought to myself, “Great! I will just reproduce what I’ve done successfully in a new context!”. I let leadership know I was willing and able to move into the new space, and there was a high probability I could reproduce the efficiency and effectiveness of the team I led, and then…
The door I expected to open easily didn’t open, even a crack. In fact, it felt like I was being uninvited to move on with everyone else. Notice I said it felt like I was being uninvited. Holy Moly! I was wallowing in some powerful, self-pitying emotions.
Because my emotions had gotten the best of me, I knew I needed to meet with God and do an Exchange. I needed to exchange my burdens for some clarity. I grabbed my Exchange Journal and retreated to the corner of my gold couch (There’s like a supernatural portal there.). When I was finished meeting with God, I realized how short-sighted I had been. It seemed reasonable I would take what I already knew and make a lateral move into a new place.
What a dork! Instead of looking for an opportunity to learn something new, I had looked to remain stable and comfortable. This is a direct contradiction to my message, ”Discover your God-given identity and live out His plan for your life!” Left to my own devices, I would have found a comfortable place to roost and be content to do what I already knew to do.
If you feel agitated because you can’t just do what seems reasonable and what has worked in the past, I recommend you do a few things.
- Process your emotions. Negative feelings impair our spiritual eyesight. Use The Exchange to do this work.
- Go back to any vision, purpose, or personal mission statements you’ve created. Review them and figure out how your current situation plays into the long-term vision for your life.
- When you have a fresh revelation, tell someone about it. Your testimony will inspire and encourage someone else.
I pray you are faster at looking at your situation with God’s eyes than I was. If you take a minute, don’t worry. The Bible says, “He makes ALL things work for good for those who are called according to His purpose.” Ro. 8:38 I’m an activator, and I’m jubilant. I create order in the midst of chaos.
God is preparing you for your future
And He’s preparing the future for you.
Do you have a promise from God that hasn’t been fulfilled? A dream that is ready to burst inside of you? Have you done everything you know to do, and you can’t make things move forward?
All you can do is wait!
Waiting feels like time is wasted. It looks like everyone else is moving forward, except you. Waiting is confusing and frustrating when you know what you want and are ready to do the work.
The Bible is full of examples of heroes that had to wait. Hannah and Sarah were barren during their childbearing years. They had to wait until God said, ”It’s time.” David was anointed king and had to wait 20 years before ascending to the throne. After the fall of man, God waited thousands of years before He could enjoy a relationship with His creation.
While God waited, history was made. Some men knew they needed God’s intervention, and He intervened for them. Some were prideful and stubborn. They never turned to God for help. They died in their sin. God waited long enough to collect hundreds of stories and proverbs, and then directed man to share the history of wisdom and foolishness with mankind. That collective is the Bible. You and I have a place to draw wisdom and life from because God waited thousands of years before He sent Jesus to redeem us.
What can you do during the wait?
- Create history with the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge you have right now. Make every day count.
- Develop the skills and talents you have so you are prepared for your future. Be diligent in being READY!
- Keep your priorities in order. God first, always. Dreams and goals should be birthed from a relationship with God.
You’ll never be sorry you waited for His timing. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14
What’s identity got to do with it?
I had no idea identity was a buzzword.
I was an elementary school teacher for 33 years. I retired in 2020 with a desire to help others get through some of the obstacles that had challenged me. We all have obstacles. My particular issues revolved around abandonment, fear, and rejection. These things didn’t keep me from reaching my goals. I completed college, have remained married for 40+ years, and have raised three children.
Abandonment, fear, and rejection didn’t prevent me from succeeding, but they never left my side. I worked with Camille Walker, a talented business strategist. Through my work with her, the Lord made it clear I am called to help people discover their God-given identity and purpose.
I began to sit with God as He gave me the downloads for tools and curricula I use with my clients and in the workshops I teach. I was already schooled in inner healing, and the Lord gave me tools to complement the resources I acquired in training. He gave me a new vocabulary to explain who I could help and how to help them. He said, “You’ll help people with identity and purpose.” I want to remind you I had been inside an elementary school for 33 years. Neither identity nor purpose was a part of my daily conversation.
The point I want to make is that God launched me into a professional space that was talking about identity and purpose. I didn’t get in line to be an identity and purpose coach and mentor. God called me that and then said, “Let’s let people know what you do.”
God did three amazing things as I launched into the world of Busnesstry (It’s both business and ministry.)
- He used my weaknesses and made them the things I teach about.
- He wasn’t concerned with my ignorance. He called me an Identity and Purpose Mentor and Coach and then taught me how to be one.
- He gave me a curriculum no one else has.
Do you dream of doing something you’ve never done before? What do you need to do to help others innovatively? Surrender your dreams to God. Ask Holy Spirit (the Breath of Life) to breathe on your dreams, then pick up the dream.
Who are you going to be this year?
Is that a weird question?
For years I had the practice of selecting a word for the year and then focusing on the characteristics of that word for 365 days. Two years ago, God spoke the following word to me:
DONKEY
I love makeup and fashion, and I exercise regularly to stay in shape. Do you have any idea how I felt when I heard that word? I was confused and thought I needed a spiritual hearing aid. I cleaned out my ears and repented for believing God was a liar, pulled out my journal, and tried again and again. Each time I pursued God, I heard the same word.
I was certain I heard correctly and was faced with the question, “What do I do with this?” I began to look in the Bible for places where donkeys were mentioned, and I found two stories that resonated with and humbled me.
- Numbers 22-24-In this story, a king and a prophet attempt to curse Israel. God uses a donkey to interfere with the plans of two men who were attempting to enforce their own plans, not God’s. The donkey was God’s instrument for blessing Israel.
- Luke 19-Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem on the day we call Palm Sunday, the week before the crucifixion. This was His final entry into the city that would forget His miracles and demand His death.
As I pondered these stories, my heart was warmed. Just like God used the donkey to interrupt man’s destructive plans, I felt chosen to do the same in my everyday, obscure life. If God used a four-legged animal, He could use me.
Jesus didn’t ride a majestic horse into the city. He rode a young colt that had never been ridden. That donkey, literally, carried salvation. I sensed that God was calling me Salvation-carrier.
After that time with the Lord, I was so satisfied with the idea He was calling me a donkey that I did two things:
- My friend, Bomi Roberson, made me a cuff with the title.
- I decided I won’t select a word of the year anymore. Salvation Carrier is my permanent word, reminding me of what God made me for.
As you make decisions about 2023, what new things you’ll try, and what stable things you’ll keep, I encourage you to lean in if you hear something you don’t understand. God will give you a deeper understanding if you’ll petition and wait for an answer.
Celebrate the Storms!
I mean it, throw a party.
It’s the end of the year, and you might be reflecting on your wins and learns from 2022. I have an accountability partner, Jennifer. We meet weekly, quarterly, and yearly to review our growth, areas where we should have moved forward and didn’t, and plans that didn’t give us the results we expected. We ask each other hard questions and problem-solve through our glitches.
I plan to celebrate the storms when we meet in January for our annual review. I had big plans for a book I intended to publish this year. I admit I should have started the writing process earlier, but I ran into problems I couldn’t control. I had issue after issue after issue.
I didn’t release the book in 2022 because of the pile-up of challenges, which was highly disappointing. I’m goal and action-oriented.
I felt like a failure, and I was confused. I’ve had time to reflect, and here are my reasons for celebrating my storm.
- Mistakes don’t mean failure. I made a few errors as I started the project and didn’t calculate the cost of not planning further in advance. It’s self-centered to think I thwarted God’s plan because of my naivety or carelessness. God is all-powerful and sovereign. He’s done lesser work with bigger goofballs than me.
- I had to step out of my disappointment. I could see my plan wasn’t going smoothly, and I was frustrated I couldn’t change immovable variables. I was disappointed and confused. How could things be going awry when I was diligent about listening to Him? One morning, I realized disappointment is a distant cousin to unbelief and bitterness. If I spent any more time with disappointment, I would impact the dreams God gave me. I’m in my 6th decade of life. I still have unfulfilled dreams and don’t have time to waste. I ended my relationship with disappointment in order to keep my future appointments with my God-given dreams.
- I asked myself what I needed to learn. God could have made it all come together, but He chose not to. Whether the enemy was the culprit or God held a heavy hand on the project, there was learning for me. I’m looking at the next writing project with a broader lens. I’m reflecting on what I can do differently and better. What persons need to be on my team from the beginning? I like moving fast, but I’m allowing Holy Spirit to slow me down If that’s what He wants.
In Luke 8, Jesus and the disciples are in a boat when a storm arises. The disciples cry to Him, “Master, we’re going to die!” Jesus responds, “Where is your faith?” When they got into the boat, they had all confidence in Him, but wind and rain changed their thinking. They believed what they saw and felt and forgot the authority and sovereignty of the One in the boat,
As you close out your year, examine your storms and celebrate your growth.
- You didn’t fail.
- Let go of disappointment.
- Ask yourself what learning came from the storm.
Is there something you want but are afraid to start?
Change is critical and scary!
In the book, Who Moved the Cheese?, two Littlepeople named Hem and Haw awaken each morning and run through a maze until they find and enjoy cheese. After a time, they know the way and lose their enthusiasm. Life becomes easy for them until the cheese is not in its usual place. Hem and Haw are disturbed but expect to wake up to normalcy, finding cheese where it used to be. They are unwilling to change their practices and beliefs to find and enjoy their delightful cheese.
I used to be terrified of learning new technology. I got quickly overwhelmed when I had to learn something new, and I developed a practice of pigeonholing myself. I functioned as a creative and visionary when I worked on a team. I ALWAYS expected my teammates to take care of everything involving technology.
I joked about being underdeveloped until I got tired of being the butt of my own jokes. I joked to hide my embarrassment. Hem and Haw got lazy and so did I. Instead of working my brain, I depended on others until I realized my dreams would never come true if I weren’t willing to embrace change.
Here are three things I did:
- I admitted fear was holding me back.
- I got professional help to work through the fear.
- I became consistent in doing mindset work.
I hope you have a dream you desire, something that ignites you to change. Elohim, God the Creator has your life written in His book (Psalm 139:16).
There were also two mice in Who Moved the Cheese?, Sniff and Scurry. They had simple brains, unlike Hem and Haw, but they refused to sit and wait to find the cheese in its regular spot. They took action. They tried different routes in the maze. They weren’t always successful, but they were smart enough to know THEY had to change if they wanted to find their special cheese.
When we live by faith, we can expect to be changed, but we cannot EVER expect God to change. He loves us and knows what’s best for us. He woos us to trust Him and change. He patiently waits when we resist change, hoping we can remain comfortable. We can count on Him to always be the same. He won’t change to fit into our plans if we want to enjoy God’s vision.
Being in the uncomfortable zone is much better than staying in the cheese-less situation.
– Who Moved the Cheese?
The reason leaders confront
When is the last time you had to make a decision about confrontation?
Whether you are the boss or you have a boss, you are a leader. There are perks to being a leader and there are also responsibilities that feel like weights. Not every leader is willing to take on the responsibility of confrontation because confrontation is SCARY!
What is confrontation?
Miriam Webster definition:
the act of confronting : the state of being confronted: such as
a: a face-to-face meeting
b: the clashing of forces or ideas : CONFLICT
c: COMPARISON
Confrontation is oftentimes neglected, ignored. It takes too much energy. I’ll just let them have their way. Have you ever had a situation irritating you and it won’t get settled if you don’t confront the situation and confrontation is uncomfortable? Whether you disagree in the workplace, in community service or within your family, the decision to confront is a big one.
There are four W questions to ask yourself when deciding whether to confront or not.
1) What do I believe? Mature confrontation is often about value differences. I need to talk to her about this because this is wrong! To prepare for confrontation, it’s critical to clearly define your reasons and align them to your values. Your what is interwoven with your why. Why is this so important to me? What will happen if I do nothing?
2) Who am I to address this situation? If you’re the lead in a project that isn’t going well, it’s easy to say, I have to address this. I’m the one responsible. If you’re not a top tier employee or community member, are you unqualified to confront a situation you view as unproductive or unjust?
Your God-given identity is your qualifier. The scripture shows we’re to respect authority. It also requires us to follow Him and His ways irrespective of corporate, cultural or societal expectations. Titles and pedigrees might impact how people view us, but they don’t Impact how Elohim (God, the Creator) sees us. Who God created you to be and what He created you to do are the qualifiers you need to confront a situation that should be brought to a halt or needs tweaking.
3) Are you willing to be wrong? Andrea Moore, founder and CEO of Her Legacy Network taught me that mature confrontation is two people seeking truth. As we pursue truth, we oftentimes discover we didn’t have enough information before confronting. It is easy to see something with our eyes and jump to conclusions without all the facts or without knowing a pertinent back story. Being careless about details can lead you to being wrong about what you thought was happening.
I remember being terrified but compelled to speak to a leader about actions I believed could be hurtful to a group of people. I was clear about my values which made it easier to begin the conversation. I knew I didn’t have an office with my name on it, but I was clear that my motivation came from the shepherding gift God has asked me to steward. I didn’t change her mind which was disappointing, but my conscience was clear before God. If negative fallout occurred, I wouldn’t be guilty of being too insecure to confront.
Interestingly enough, the confidence and courage the confrontation required affected my compassion for the leader. After the conversation, I thought to myself, I’m glad all that responsibility doesn’t fall on my shoulders. I was able to keep walking in love with someone I disagreed with.
You don’t have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand. – Anonymous
Are you ready to throw in the towel?
Mary was ready to throw in the towel.
Mary is an entrepreneur. Well, she is actually a solopreneur. She’s got big dreams, but at the moment, she has a staff of 1. She’s the CEO, CFO, and the Social Media Curator. I forgot to mention she drops her kids off at school, picks them up and has to clean the kitchen at the end of the day. Did I mention Mary is also a dreamer? She knows she was made for great things. She’s got skills and a work ethic to match.
Why was she ready to put an end to her dreams?
Mary was worn out, frustrated and frazzled. She kept herself spread so thin, her dream was waning, she canceled her gym membership and she didn’t enjoy her family like she once had. What was the problem? Mary thought she was responsible for doing it ALL. She believed if she wasn’t perfect, her kids would be messed up. She stopped taking care of herself so she could dedicate herself to work and the kids and the house. She started before the sun came up and kept things moving until way after everyone else was asleep. Something was missing in Mary’s life.
FAITH
Faith is partnering with God in His plan for our life. It’s the opposite of having a plan and expecting God to do His part.
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Heb.1:11
The faith walk can be scary. It requires us to take our focus off ourselves and all our magnificent God-given talents. Faith requires us to look to God and God alone. The Bible says, Iron sharpens iron, but iron is sharpened through friction. Here are three ways faith causes friction and sharpens us:
1) Faith confronts pride-When we operate in faith our focus is on God, not ourselves and sometimes that HURTS! It hurts our ego that we need God more than our skills to accomplish the goal or realize the dream. He needs our participation, but He does the heavy lifting. It requires humility to bow low and let Him be lifted up in the pursuit of our desires.
2) Faith diminishes our control-When we walk in faith, we’re taking direction from Holy Spirit. We’re no longer creating the plan and holding ourselves accountable to it. We get to listen to Holy Spirit say, ”Turn right, turn left.” This doesn’t mean we stop making decisions, but it means we’re following rather than leading.
3) Faith demands change– We oftentimes respond to things intuitively. There are behaviors in our lives that are second nature. When we surrender a goal or a dream to God and move in faith, He often asks us to do things that are counter-intuitive, they don’t make sense. Trust and faith are partners. They partner to change us and keep our eyes off self and on God. In order to trust we must obey, even when God’s direction doesn’t seem logical.
God’s not done with Mary. He’ll invite her to a walk of faith that will create friction so He can strengthen her in all the right places. He’ll invite her to release control and repent of pride so He can give her all He has planned for her life. He’ll do all the heavy lifting as she moves forward in His plan for her and when she reaches the goal line, she’ll have changed and won’t want the praise because she will want Him to receive all the glory.
I want to hear your story. Let’s talk.