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Category Archive: Church Scattered

How Wives Can Injure Husbands Without Knowing

Posted by on February 3, 2014

Regardless of what our culture tries to tell us there are tremendous differences between the emotional needs of men and women. This is especially the case in the context of a marriage relationship and sometimes without even knowing we are deeply hurting our spouses. This a great post by Ron Edmondson and will maybe give some new insights to how men are wired:

“I was talking to a man the other day. He’s injured. Not severely. He will survive. Hopefully. The wounds aren’t deep. Right now. But, he is injured.

It’s an emotional injury. Sometimes those are the worst kind of hurts.”

I am sure the husbands version is coming but for the ladies these are powerful words. Read More …

Categories: Marriage | Comments Off on How Wives Can Injure Husbands Without Knowing

7 Warning Signs A Leader Is About To Crash

Posted by on January 29, 2014

For the most part I have been successful at almost everything I have done as an adult. When I hit a major wall in 2007 I was failing at almost everything I tried to do. This experience revealed some things to me about myself that I needed to know and they were not very pretty. I now watch for the early warning signs that Ron Edmondson talks about in this post. If you don’t know them you are an accident waiting to happen:

“I’ve been there. I’ve faced burnout and frustration in my work. Thankfully, I’ve never “bottomed out”, but I’ve felt near the bottom in my spirit. More than that, I’ve walked through these times with dozens of other leaders.

I’ve learned there are some common indicators that a leader is heading towards burnout. The sooner we can recognize them, the sooner we know to reach out for help.”

Categories: Leadership Development Margin | Comments Off on 7 Warning Signs A Leader Is About To Crash

When To Say No To Good Things

Posted by on January 27, 2014

Most people reach a point in their life when then have the discipline and core values to walk away from bad habits that they know will hurt them or their family. However, I find the majority of people have an extremely difficult time walking away from the good so they can prioritize the best. Until you clearly know what the Yes’s are in your life you will not be able to see the No’s . Mark Merrill has some excellent insights in this post:

“Every couple handles commitment differently. First, there is the couple that is prone to overcommitting. Both are constantly in a mindset of, “We are the only two people in the world who can do this. We don’t have a choice!”

Great post Read More …

Categories: Core Values Marriage Work Life Integration | Comments Off on When To Say No To Good Things

When Your Kids Don't Want To Be With You

Posted by on January 22, 2014

No, this is not about the greatest news you have ever heard and they have all quote left the nest. Sorry, the real news is that parenting never ends and to me that is an incredibly good thing. Too many times we place our own emotional needs on top of our children and thats not good for anyone. Great post by Mark Merrill:

“I’ve always liked to hold hands with my daughters and still do. As they were growing up, I held their hand as we drove in the car, walked through the mall, and walked up to school.

But I remember learning a lesson when my oldest daughter, Megan, pulled away from holding my hand as I walked her into school. One day we clenched each other’s hand, the next, my hand was without hers. What had changed?”

Categories: Parenting | Comments Off on When Your Kids Don't Want To Be With You

Why You Need To Set Personal Goals

Posted by on January 15, 2014

We live in the reality of smart goals and clear objectives in our corporate life. Strangely, very few people value that same leadership discipline when it comes to their personal life. If we believe its ” smart” at work why would we not value the process even more for the people we care about the most? This was a helpful post on this important subject:

“One mark of high-achievers is goal-setting. Most of the successful people I know make it a priority to place targets at various points in the coming year and shoot for them.

You might already be working on your list of goals now. It could be increasing your income, launching a product, or starting a new business.

All that’s good. Go for it. But don’t neglect the areas you’ll regret the most if you fail to give them your attention.”

Categories: Life Plan Personal Leadership | Comments Off on Why You Need To Set Personal Goals

8 Secrets Of Marriage Conflict Resolution

Posted by on January 10, 2014

Have you ever been in a fight with your spouse and by the end of the argument you can’t even remember what started it all in the first place. When we get in conflict our natural response is to avoid pain and cast blame. In reality its never just one person’s fault and we need to own our part of the problem. This post was a good reminder for me:

In his book, Learning to Live with the Love of Your Life… And Loving It!, Dr. Neil Clark Warren provides eight secrets to working through conflict with your spouse.

1. Marriage is a “We” Business

Dr. Warren says, “Any couple who gains a ‘we’ perspective eventually experiences great success in marriage.” Shift the focus of your marriage to a “we” mentality, especially in conflict.

5 Questions When Attempting Life Change

Posted by on January 3, 2014

It is indeed a sad day when we realize that a worthy goal we set months ago has not been successfully accomplished. Usually for me it’s not the goal or even my motivation at the time but the process I put in place to accomplish the goal is flawed. This post by Ron Edmondson gives some great insight:

“Sadly, people end each year no better than they end any other year, because they continue to repeat the same mistakes and live out the same bad patterns and habits they have always lived.

If you want to make genuine, sustaining changes, consider your answers to the following five questions. For best results, write your answers to these questions on paper. There is a certain finality of purpose when you invest time and energy recording them.”

How To Reach Your Goals In 2014

Posted by on January 1, 2014

It never ceases to amaze me how many great ideas I have and how many sincere commitments I make only to be reminded a few months later that nothing really changed. We are often emotionally moved but rarely permanently changed and there are some practical reasons why. Carey Nieuwhof has some thoughts that will help all of us as we start the new year:

“Chances are you are already thinking about your goals for 2014.

And maybe you’re already wondering whether you’re actually going to hit them or not.

Why is that so many of us set out to accomplish something but fail to do as much as we’d hope?

The answer is simpler than you think.

It involves a dynamic few people talk about. But once you see it, things can begin to change. Radically.”

Categories: Goal Setting Personal Leadership | Comments Off on How To Reach Your Goals In 2014

Everyday Serving In The Workplace

Posted by on December 30, 2013

I will never forget the day when I realized that my work was just as much a part of my worship as anything I did on Sunday morning. It was a platform that God wanted to use to help other people connect with Him. The goal was no longer to make a profit but to make a difference. This post by Eric Geiger helps understand this concept:

“A common misconception among Christians is that their work is not spiritual, that a regular 9-to-5 day cannot be sacred. If they’re going to do anything spiritual or ministry-oriented, it’ll have to happen around these occupied time slots. But this implies that everybody needs to be a full-time pastor of some kind if they’re going to be “spiritual” for the better part of the day and week. The misconception that normal work is not spiritual is both inaccurate and damaging.”

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A Call For A "New" Faith And Work Movement

Posted by on December 23, 2013

Far too many Christians live segmented lives where their faith only impacts one part of their lives. We are called to represent Christ in every area of our lives especially at work. This may be the only opportunity that most people have to see the gospel lived out in the real world. This is a great video and organization that equips people to represent Christ in the marketplace:

David H. Kim presents the necessity of an integrated faith & work movement that takes seriously the sovereignty of Christ, remembers the renewing work of the Spirit and emphasizes the importance of a narrative comprehensive enough to drive forward the challenge of humanizing work.

Watch Video …

Categories: Church Scattered Contextualization Life Plan Missional Living Work Life Integration | Comments Off on A Call For A "New" Faith And Work Movement