post-methodist

new blog again

2011-02-18T12:50:00.003-06:00

It looks like we're going to reserve bibleonthebrain.com strictly for Scripture Memory Song Videos... so I've started a new personal blog at jasonwoolever.me... hope you are all well!

2011-01-31T10:56:00.003-06:00

If anyone ever checks this blog. I am now blogging at www.bibleonthebrain.com.

church growth and Kentucky Fried Chicken

2009-08-27T15:44:00.002-05:00

I just finished reading Bishop Willimon's book about salvation, "Who Will Be Saved?" The last couple pages had some really good quotes about church growth and decline. Some are pretty funny.

"Any congregation that is not growing-not restlessly probing the world, not reaching with Christ, not curious about what new beachhead Christ has obtained lately, not getting hammered by the world for having lunch with people like Zacchaeus- is not a faithful church." (130)

"'So, it's all about numbers is it?' This is the predictable response to my connection of ecclesiology and growth. It is unimaginable that Saint Luke, Saint Paul, or Saint John Wesley would understand the alibis that are offered for church decline and death under the guise that we are so faithful to Jesus, so theologically responsible that we are dying by attrition. Is it all about numbers? Take it up with Jesus." (130)

"When asked why the Episcopal Church in America is in precipitous decline, the presiding bishop replied that most of the growth is growing churches is through births to parents who are already church members and that the Episcopal Church, since it draws upon the better educated classes of society has a lower birthrate so therefore....Not one of the presiding bishop's better thoughts, I think." (130-131)

"I just closed a church after a seventy-year run. Their dying words were, 'There is no one anywhere near our church who might join our church.' What they meant is, 'We are in the middle of the greatest population growth that is all of a color and a language other than our own and it makes us uncomfortable that Jesus expects us to recognize them as part of us.' Church growth is an expected essential byproduct of a Savior who is relentlessly out on the prowl for fresh disciples. Church decline is an expected result for a church that refuses to follow a Savior who is relentlessly out to grow God's kingdom." (131)

"It really gets me that Kentucky Fried Chicken loves the people of West Birmingham more than my church loves them, has found a way to build and maintain the best-looking place in West Birmingham whereas we United Methodists have mostly abandoned that part of the city. Belief in Christian salvation should produce as least as compassionate and bold a business that sells soggy chicken." (131)

success and equipping

2009-05-12T14:55:00.003-05:00

I'm just finishing up a really great book by Don Cousins called "Leadershift." Here are some of the things I hope to remember and apply:

What is Success?

- Success is being faithful – doing what God has called you to do, using that which He has given you.
- Success is bearing fruit, both internally and externally (internally as the fruit of the Spirit characterizes who you are; externally as the gifts of the Spirit make you a person of Christlike influence).
- Success is experiencing fulfillment, entering into the joy of God (see. Matt. 25:23) as you faithfully bear fruit out of that which God has given you.
- Success is making God famous by serving in “the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11). The aim and the result of faithful, fruitful, and fulfilling service is to make God famous. (241-242).

Equipping

“The job of all leaders is to help their followers discover and use their gifts. This is the heart of what it means to equip the saints for the work of service” (236).

“Believers become a force of incredible influence when they begin using their gifts in an area of passion. The leaders’ job is to help them discover the piece of God’s heart deeded to them. This will require some exploration, experimentation, and the affirmation of the Holy Spirit in times of prayer” (240).

“Unfortunately many leaders focus their attention on the needs instead of the servers, and as a result, see servers as a means to an end. I call this approach, ‘usery,’ and it’s the opposite of equipping. ‘Usery’ takes something from someone in order to accomplish something else. Equipping gives something to someone for the purpose of building that person up. Leaders who focus their attention on accomplishing ministry objectives see the saints as the workforce to getting that done. They value a person’s contribution more than they value the person. The saints become a means to an end. Again, ‘usery’ – but no one wants to be used” (243).

perry noble on preaching

2008-05-08T15:50:00.002-05:00

I'm always interested in hearing about how other people prepare sermons. Here's Perry Noble giving away the process he uses.

The Art of Possibility

2008-05-08T15:35:00.003-05:00

I finished The Art of Possibility last week. And it was a very mind-opening read. I would recommend it. Each chapter is memorable slogan to represent a practice that the authors are trying to teach.

Here are the practices:
1. It's All Invented
2. Stepping into a Universe of Possibility
3. Giving an A
4. Being a Contribution
5. Leading from Any Chair
6. Rule Number 6
7. The Way Things Are
8. Giving Way to Passion
9. Lighting a Spark
10. Being the Board
11. Creating Frameworks for Possibility
12. Telling the WE Story

I recognize that these won't make much sense without expanations. You might want to read it for yourself. You'll probably enjoy it, but it is not a quick read. Its a "read a chapter and chew on it for a day and then read another one" kind of book.

cool quotes about potential

2008-04-26T09:07:00.000-05:00

"The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already." ~ John Buchan

"Focus on your potential instead of your limitations." ~ Alan Loy McGinnis

"If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never." ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Compliments of Leadership Wired

making a difference

2008-04-25T08:59:00.000-05:00

This story has meant a lot to my good friend, Lon. I like it too.

Strolling along the edge of the sea, a man catches sight of a young woman who appears to be engaged in a ritual dance. She stoops down, then straightens to her full height, casting her arm out in an arc. Drawing closer, he sees that the beach around her is littered with starfish, and she is throwing them one by one into the sea. He lightly mocks her: "There are stranded starfish as far as the eye can see, for miles up the beach. What difference can saving a few of them possibly make?" Smiling, she bends down and once more tosses a starfish out over the water, saying serenely, "It makes a difference to this one." (The Art of Possibility, 55)

being a contribution

2008-04-24T08:25:00.003-05:00

I'm currently reading The Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Ben Zander. Seth Godin said on a Catalyst podcast that if there was one book that he would recommend it would be this one. In this book they are trying to blow open old paradigms of comparison and scarcity with new paradigms of abundance and possibility. Ben Zander is a world renowned orchestral conductor, and Ros is a therapist/coach of some sort. Of course, since its largely secular, I must screen it all through the Bible, but it is refreshing to be sure.

Each chapter presents another catch phrase for reframing paradigms. I read part of the fourth one last night, which is entitled "Being a Contribution." Here's a blurb:

Unlike success and failure, contribution has no other side. It is not arrived at by comparison. All at once I found that the fearful question, "Am I loved for who I am, or for what I have accomplished?" could both be replaced by the joyful question, "How will I be a contribution today?" (57)

This seems healthy to me as a part of the church world, where it sometimes feels like churches are competing against one another, as strange as that may sound. What if we all continually asked ourselves the question, How can we contribute to God's to world redeption and Kingdom expansion?, and refused to compare ourselves to other churches/Christians?

Galatians 6:4-5 All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbour’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads.

cool quote

2008-04-23T13:53:00.000-05:00

It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.

- Confucius

save lives

2008-04-23T12:11:00.002-05:00

April 25 is World Malaria Day. In Africa, a kid dies of malaria every 30 seconds because he/she got bit by a mosquito.

I started a BUMC team, for participating in Nothing But Nets. This is a campaign to help fight malaria. Millions of people die each year from malaria - but there's a simple, life-saving solution, and all it takes is $10 to buy a bed net, distribute it to a family, and explain its use.

I set a $500 goal for our BUMC team to raise. One net will cover a family of four and protect them for 4 years. For each $10 net you buy, you're potentially saving four lives. If we can raise $500, that's 50 families and 200 people that we could keep alive. Its so simple. I'm stoked about how easy it is to help our hurting neighbors. I'm also proud of the fact that the United Methodist Church is participating in this with the NBA and United Nations Foundation.

Join me by Sending Nets and Saving Lives:

http://my.e2rm.com/TeamPage.aspx?TSID=187208

From our Team Page, click on the 'Join My Team' button to register and help us fundraise. If you can't join us, you can also sponsor our team by making a donation online.

In Christ's Love,
Pastor Jason Woolever

7 Practices of Effective Ministry

2008-04-22T15:57:00.005-05:00

In the last couple of days I read this short book written by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, and Lane Jones, founding leaders of North Point Community Church in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a list and explanation of seven practices that they have implemented since the beginning of North Point, which has taken it to a church of tens of thousands. Its a great, easy read, filled with baseball analogies.

Here are the practices:
Practice #1: Clarify the Win - Define what is important at every level of the organization.
Practice #2: Think Steps, Not Programs - Before you start anything, make sure it takes you where you need to go.
Practice #3: Narrow the Focus - Do fewer things in order to make a greater impact.
Practice #4: Teach Less for More - Say only what you need to say to the people who need to hear it.
Practice #5: Listen to Outsiders - Focus on who you're trying to reach, not who you're trying to keep.
Practice #6: Replace Yourself - Learn to hand off what you do.
Practice #7: Work On It - Take time to evaluate your work - and to celebrate your wins.

I'm thinking of going through it with some leaders of my church. But I truly need to wait and pray and see how much of this stuff will work for our smaller, more traditional setting. That's the catch. These guys have been doing this since before they got North Point going. Gleaning from their experience without trying to copy it - that's the trick.

leading change

2008-04-21T15:01:00.004-05:00

I finished Leading Change by John Kotter a few days ago. I'm trying to let it all sink in and also sort through what parts I can tranfer from its completely secular model for tranforming organizations to the church.

He proposes an 8-stage process for change. It is:
1) Establishing a Sense of Urgency
2) Creating a Guiding Coalition
3) Developing a Vision and Strategy
4) Communicating the Change Vision
5) Empowering Employees for Broad-based Action (by removing structural barriers, providing needed training, aligning systems to the vision, and dealing with troublesome supervisors)
6) Generating Short-Term Wins
7) Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change
8) Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture

One of my favorite parts of the book was the last chapter which said that the key to growing as a leader is the combination of a competitive drive and lifelong learning.

2 movies

2008-04-20T16:47:00.004-05:00

I have found that one of the keys to my wife's heart is being willing to watch movies based on Jane Austen books. I've seen more versions of Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma than anyone I know. A couple of nights ago, I sent her to our local Red Box to check out a movie, and she came home with this movie, which is a construction of what Jane Austen's life might have been like, since we really don't know. It was actually good, though I must admit a little more racy than I would have imagined. Still, that's hardly racy at all really.

Guys, never underestimate the power of being willing to watch chic flicks with your wife. It goes a long way.

Yesterday, I got to go to the Red Box to pick a movie for us. I ended up bringing home Next, with Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, and Jessica Biel. This was PG-13, and except for a couple of inferences of casual sex and a little violence it was squeaky clean and action packed. I had never heard of it before I went to the Red Box, but the young lady behind me in line was getting sick of waiting for me to pick a movie and said I really needed to see this one. It was a winner.

Is my vision from God?

2008-04-18T08:21:00.002-05:00

Here's a follow up to Perry Noble's last post about vision. Its about how you can know if your vision is something you made up for its from God. A very important thing to know!

Where does Vision come from?

2008-04-17T08:22:00.002-05:00

As I'm seeking to learn more about visioning, the Lord led me to this post by Perry Noble about where vision comes from. Very powerful stuff. Here's a blurb:

One of the questions that is often asked of me by pastors and church leaders is, “Where do you get your vision?”

My answer usually seems to frustrate them because…well…it’s simple. Leadership (and vision) is as easy as listening to God.

- Vision does not come through a committee. Good ideas may come that way. Much needed discussion may come out of a meeting like that…but not vision.

- Vision does not come through a conference. You may get INSPIRATION…but not REVELATION. I think of of the sad things in conference world today is pastors will attend a conference, go home & then try to be EVERYTHING except for what God called them to be.

- Vision does not come out of books. Once again–excellent ideas do. Wisdom comes from reading. You can seriously be challenged and stretched by reading…but vision isn’t in the pages of the next best seller.

- Vision does not come from trying to repeat what has been successful in the past…that’s not vision, that’s the leader being a victim of previous success.

I still say that passionate, white hot, hell charging, world changing & people inspiring vision comes from intentional and uninterrupted time with Jesus…in HIS Word, seeking HIS face through prayers–staying connected with HIS Holy Spirit throughout the day.

So when people ask me, “Where do you get your vision?” My answer is always the time…I meet with God & I don’t move until He tells me to move…but WHEN He tells me to move I go until He tells me to stop.

characteristics of an effective vision

2008-04-16T08:33:00.002-05:00

For the past few years, I've been trying to get my head around what it means to cast vision, what vision is, and its importance to leadership within a church. Last night I read Chapter 5 of Leading Change, which is about "Developing Vision and Strategy." I found it very helpful. On page 72, Kotter gives these "Characteristics of an Effective Vision."

>Imaginable: Conveys a picture of what the future will look like
>Desirable: Appeals to the long-term interests of employees, customers, stockholders, and others who have a stake in the enterprise
>Feasible: Comprises realistic, attainable goals
>Focused: Is clear enough to provide guidance in decision making
>Flexible: Is general enough to allow individual initiative and alternative responses in light of changing conditions
>Communicable: Is easy to communicate; can be successfully explained within five minutes

books - late October to early April

2008-04-15T08:38:00.001-05:00

Blogging has been a way for me to log what books I've read. Since I haven't blogged much in the last 3.5 months, I thought I'd list what I've read to have it on record. I've been enjoying a lot of stuff in the "classics" category lately. Its been a nice break from typical church related reading. Here's a list of the books I read from late October through mid-April.

1. Hell Under Fire - Gregory K. Beale, Dr. Daniel I. Block, Sinclair B. Ferguson, and Jr., R. Albert Mohler
2. Deception - Randy Alcorn
3. Traveling Mercies - Anne Lamotte
4. The Prophet - Frank Peretti
5. Sherlock Holmes and The Hounds of Baskerville - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
6. How Starbucks Saved My Life - Michael Gates Gill
7. The Way of the Small - Michael Gellert
8. Animal Farm - George Orwell
9. Home To Harmony - Phillip Gulley
10. Dr.Jeckyl and Mr.Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
11. How to Stop Worrying and Start Living - Dale Carnegie
12. 1984 - George Orwell
13. Go, Put Your Strengths to Work - Marcus Buckingham
14. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
15. I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church - Paul Nixon
16. GIG - Ed. John Bowe, Marisa Bowe, and Sabin Streeter
17. The Dip - Seth Godin

leaders and managers

2008-04-14T08:25:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I started reading Leading Change by John Kotter a professor at Harvard Business School. This book came out in 1996 and I picked it up off of a table of give-away books at my old District Superindentents office over a year ago. Pretty good so far. He's making a point that we need leaders instead of managers to make change. Here's a blip:

Management is a set of processes that can keep a complicated system of people and technology running smoothly. The most important aspects of management include planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling, and problem solving.
Leadership is a set of processes that creates organizations in the first place or adapts them to significantly changing circumstances. Leadership defines what the future should look like, aligns people with that vision, and inspires them to make it happen despite obstacles. The distinction is absolutely crucial for our purposes here. (p.25)

This is a helpful distinction I think. It also helps me recognize that its the management stuff that makes me crazy, not the leadership stuff, which I find exciting. Anyone want to manage my church for me so that I can just lead?

Dan in Real Life

2008-04-13T14:50:00.003-05:00

In the past few months, I've become a very die-hard fan of The Office, specifically of Steve Carell. My wife and I have been checking out some of the movies he made. A couple of weeks ago we watched Evan Almighty, a modern-day remake of Noah's Ark. Last night we watched Dan in Real Life. This is a great movie about grief, parenting, family dynamics, and love. I have to say that Steve Carell is an incredible actor, from his improv comedy stuff on The Office to the family comedy of Evan Almighty to the straight drama of Dan in Real Life. If you haven't checked out The Office, new episodes began airing last week on NBC - Thursday nights at 8:00pm. You won't be sorry (if your sense of humor is like mine).

The Dip

2008-04-12T19:55:00.002-05:00

Today I read The Dip: A little book that tells you when to quit (and when to stick) bySeth Godin - it absolutely blew my mind over and over. If you are trying to accomplish anything at all and are losing steam - read it. It will probably blow a hole in your head too. Here's what's on the second to last page of the book:

All our successes are the same. All our failures, too.
We succeed when we do something remarkable.
We fail when we give up too soon.
We succeed when we are the best in the world at what we do.
We fail when we get distracted by tasks we don't have the guts to quit.

incredibly moving

2007-12-27T10:42:00.000-06:00

Check this out. This was done by the youth at my old church. Incredible job gang. Great job, Pastor Grant Armstrong!

Hilary Clinton loves being a United Methodist

2007-12-11T14:08:00.000-06:00

I just read this article about the Hilary Clinton's religious beliefs. Here is a particularly disappointing segment:
The Methodist church leadership officially supports legalized abortion. Whereas a lot of conservative Methodists have left the church because of that liberal drift. Hillary says, "I am so comfortable in this church." That drift has been perfectly suitable for her.

why some Muslims convert to Christianity

2007-10-24T20:27:00.001-05:00

Here's an interesting article describing the responses of 750 Muslims who have converted to Christianity and why. Here's a blurb:

Many Muslims view dreams as links between the seen and unseen worlds, and pre-conversion visions and dreams often lead Muslims to consult a Christian or the Bible. Frequently a person in the vision, understood to be Jesus, radiates light or wears white (one respondent, though, said Jesus appeared in green, a color sometimes associated with Islamic holy persons). An Algerian woman had a vision that her Muslim grandmother came into her room and said, "Jesus is not dead; he is here." In Israel, an Arab dreamed that his deceased father said, "Follow the pastor. He will show you the right way." Other dreams and visions occurred later and provided encouragement during persecution. A Turkish woman in jail because of her conversion had a vision that she would be released, and she was. A vision of thousands of believers in the streets proclaiming their faith encouraged a young man in North Africa to persevere.

ministry celebrities

2007-10-24T15:41:00.000-05:00

Here's a great article about the need to stop worshiping "ministry celebrities." Here's a blurb:

Who do you follow? Is it Paul, or Apollos, or some other megachurch pastor or missional prophet? This may come as a surprise, but I believe that it is actually much easier to imitate your hero than to be yourself: to claim your own identity and calling; to wrestle with your own brokenness; and to struggle minute-by-minute with God to figure out what is the best way to lead in your context.

For just one season, forget the celebrities. Get in touch with God's unique design for your life and ministry. In the words of Fernando Ortega and Anne Graham Lotz: "Just give me Jesus."

don't worry

2007-10-15T21:40:00.000-05:00

I get a weekly tip from Dale Carnegie Training. I thought this week's was helpful:

“Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.”
- Mary (Mrs. Ernest) Hemingway

Worrying can have harmful effects on our lives. There really is no solution when you worry, it only creates more problems for yourself in the long run. Consider these four techniques on analyzing the situation at hand in order to minimize worry.

1. Get all the facts
2. Weigh all the facts - then come to a decision
3. Once a decision is reached, act!
4. Analyze the problem:
What is the problem?
What are the causes of the problem?
What are the possible solutions?
What is the best solution?

something to die for

2007-10-08T15:56:00.000-05:00

Dr. Martin Luther King said,

"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live. If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"

annual consultation

2007-09-27T14:37:00.000-05:00

Today I had my first annual consultation with my new District Superintendent. I've been experiencing quite a bit of anxiety of late, due to the fact of a baby on the way (and now here!), a new job, a new town, many new challenges, etc. I didn't know what to expect in my consultation, but I was so blessed I cried (just for a moment) as I drove away. She began by praying in the Spirit (not in tongues) for me, my ministry, and my family. Then she discussed in depth the church I'm serving, the opportunities and challenges. She threw good ideas and resources at me. Most of all, she kept pointing me back to seeking God's will and to Jesus Christ over and over. Before I closed our meeting in prayer, she asked how she could pray for me over the next 6 months. I just wanted to brag on her for a minute and say how blessed I was by our meeting today.

mclaren may be missing something

2007-09-26T16:52:00.000-05:00

Here's a strong critique of Brian McLaren's new book. I have a love/hate relationship with McLaren. His stuff feels refreshing when I'm reading it, but afterward my faith has been filled with dangerous doubt. I have a hard time recommending him.

new birth

2007-09-26T16:43:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, I became a father for the third time! Its a girl. Born September 23, 2007, 8:39pm, 7lbs 8oz. I'm happy, tired, proud, grateful, sleep-deprive, and blown away by God's grace.

one crazy guy

2007-09-22T13:49:00.001-05:00

Here's a great article about contoversial pastor Mark Driscoll.

what's so amazing about grace?

2007-09-21T20:19:00.000-05:00

I just picked up Philip Yancey's book What's So Amazing About Grace. The first chapter was so good I thought I'd share a few snippets:

"As I look back on my own pilgrimage, marked by wanderings, detours, and dead ends, I see now that what pulled me along was my search for grace. I rejected the church for a time because I found so little grace there. I returned because I found grace nowhere else."
- Philip Yancey

"The world can do almost anything as well as or better than the church. You need not be a Christian to build houses, feed the hungry, or heal the sick. There is only one thing the world cannot do. It cannot offer grace."
- Gordon MacDonald

"Many years ago I was driven to the conclusion that the two major causes of most emotional problems among evangelical Christians are there: the failure to understand, receive, and live out God's unconditional grace and forgiveness; and the failure to give out that unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace to other people.... We read, we hear, we believe a good theology of grace. But that's not thw way we live. The good news of the Gospel of grace has not penetrated the level of our emotions."
- David Seamands, counselor

problems are purifiers

2007-09-18T20:40:00.000-05:00

One of the new roles I'm experiencing as a solo pastor is that all the sudden I am finding that I'm the CPS, that is, Chief Problem Solver. Whereas in the past, as an Associate, I could just take all the problems in and dump them on my buddy and former Senior Pastor, Phil, I have now inherited the job in my new setting.

For example, two weeks after I arrived here, my worship accompaniest took a job somewhere else that could give her more hours. It seemed like God's leading in her life. Good for her. For a month and a half we didn't have a regular accompaniest. We had to find someone to do it every week! I even did it with my guitar one week. A couple of weeks ago, the world's greatest worship accompaniest showed up in our office to talk to me about taking the job. I was blown away. He starts in October! I can't wait. God is good. However, yesterday I found out that our nursery attendant, who has been giving up being in worship for four years, is ready for a change. She misses being in worship! I can understand that. It sounds like God's leading in her life. So the cycle continues...

This is my new life, I guess! Solo pastor and Chief Problem Solver. This morning I was praying and asking God about how to put to death the anxiety and stress that goes with my new role as CPS. Then the thought came to my mind that the problems are the purifiers. The new barrage of problems will force me to take God's promises more seriously and to take my prayer life more seriously. This is actually not a challenge to my Christian peace, but the very training course that will perfect it.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4

inspiring a shared vision

2007-09-17T14:13:00.000-05:00

I just listened to an Andy Stanley talk about "Inspiring a Shared Vision" here. A very helpful message.

In the talk he basically offers three steps for communicating vision that people can get behind. His steps are taken from Nehimiah 2:17-18, which reads:

17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work.

The steps are:
1) Define the problem, which engages the mind.
("You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire.")

2) Offer your solution, which engages the imagination.
("Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.")

3) Present the reasons why it is urgent, which engages the heart.
("and we will no longer be in disgrace." I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me.)

Then you get buy in.
(They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work.)

generating generosity

2007-09-17T14:10:00.001-05:00

“Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others.”
~ Barbara Bush

“You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.”
~ Winston Churchill

“What I gave I have, what I spent I had; and what I left I lost.”
~ Robert of Doncaste

word watching

2007-09-13T15:37:00.001-05:00

Brian Bill posted a very good article that he wrote a few years ago called Watching Our Words. Check it out. Very helpful.

2007-09-12T08:34:00.000-05:00

"Attitudes are more important than facts."
- Karl Menninger

the impulse to pray

2007-09-12T08:22:00.000-05:00

I came across this quote by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, which describes something I have often experienced:"Always respond to every impulse to pray. The impulse to pray may come when you are reading or when you are battling with a text. I would make an absolute law of this – always obey such an impulse."

broken window theory

2007-09-11T20:21:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting post by my friend Joe McDonald, describing what is known as the Broken Window Theory. Its a fascinating concept. Joe's really been doing a terrific job of blogging out good stuff.

godly friends

2007-09-11T19:54:00.000-05:00

So now I've been a solo pastor for almost two full months. A couple of days ago I ran into a pastoral challenge where I had absolutely no idea what to do. Then God's Spirit reminded me of one of the last things my friend Brian Bill, pastor of Pontiac Bible Church, said to me before I left Pontiac in July, when he came to my farewell reception. What were those words? They were: "You've got my number, right?"

When I emailed Brian with my pastoral challenge, he called my cell phone, helped me process the situation, and pointed me to some Scriptural guidance. God, speaking through Brian, led to a Kingdom building resolution to the issue.

One of God's greatest gifts to us as Christians is friends who say, "You've got my number, right?" who are a little further ahead of us in their journey with the Lord, who will help point us to Scriptural guidance and then pray us through. I've been blessed to have a few friends in my life that can do that for me, who have walked and do walk with me through all life's stuff. I'm very grateful for them.

2007-09-09T14:46:00.000-05:00

“If you think that the gathering of biblical facts and standing up with a Bible in our hand will automatically equip you to communicate well, you are deeply mistaken. You must work at being interesting. Boredom is a gross violation. Being dull is a grave offense. Irrelevance is a disgrace to the Gospel. Too often these three crimes go unpunished and we preachers are the criminals.”

- Chuck Swindoll

HT: Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox

God, leadership, and mood

2007-09-07T08:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I received an article about leadership and renewal in The Pastor's Coach. This line stood out:

"Daniel Goleman, principal author of Primal Leadership, draws upon new research and extensive field studies to conclude that the primary driver of outstanding organizational performance is the leader's mood."

Then this morning during my devotional time, I turned to a random page in My Utmost for His Highest, which happened to be May 20, and the reading was based on Luke 21:19. Here's the excerpt that stood out to me:

"There are certain things we must not pray about - moods, for instance. Moods never go by praying, moods go by kicking. A mood nearly always has its seat in the physical condition, not in the moral. It is a continual effort not to listen to the moods which arise from a physical condition, never submit to them for a second. We have to take ourselves by the scruff of the neck and shake ourselves, and we will find that we can do what we said we could not. The curse with most of us is that we won't. The Christian life is one of incarnate spiritual pluck."

the ability to deal with people

2007-08-30T21:53:00.000-05:00

"I will pay more for the ability to deal with people than any other ability under the sun."

- John D. Rockefeller

Two Kinds of People

2007-08-30T14:20:00.000-05:00

TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE
by Ella Wheeler WIlcox

There are two kinds of people on earth today;
Just two kinds of people, no more I say.

Not the sinner and the saint, for it’s well understood
The good are half bad and the bad are half good.

Not the rich and the poor, for to rate a man's wealth,
You must first know the state of his conscience and health.

Not the humble and proud, for in life's little span,
He who puts on vain airs, is not counted a man.

Not the happy and sad, for the swift flying years
Bring each man his laughter and each man his tears.

No; the two kinds of people on earth I mean
Are the people who lift and the people who lean.

Wherever you go you will find the earth's masses
Are always divided in just these two classes

And oddly enough, you will find, too, I ween,
There's only one lifter to twenty who lean.

In which class are you? Are you easing the load
Of overtaxed lifters who toil down the road?
Or are you a leaner who lets others bear
Your portion of labor and worry and care?

2007-08-28T08:20:00.000-05:00

"He is not worthy of the honeycomb that shuns the hive because the bees have stings."
- Shakespeare

"The hero and the coward both feel exactly the same fear, only the hero confronts his fear and converts it into fire."
- Cus D'Amato, fight manager

2007-08-27T11:50:00.000-05:00

"Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are a dime a dozen. The ones who succeed are those who get inside their players and motivate them."

- Vince Lombardi

points about priorities

2007-08-27T11:46:00.001-05:00

"Its hard to overestimate the unimportance of almost everything."
-N/A

"Devoting a little of yourself to everything means committing a great deal of yourself to almost nothing."
- Michael Le Boef, business consultant and author

"Since you can't change time, you must instead change your approach to it."
- John Maxwell

"The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook."
- William James

2007-08-27T11:12:00.000-05:00

"The most important measure of how good a game I played was how much better I'd make my teammates play."

- Bill Russell, winner of more NBA championships than any other player

2007-08-27T11:11:00.001-05:00

"The power of words is immense. A well-chosen word has often sufficed to stop a flying army, to change defeat into victory, and to save an empire."

- Emile De Girardin

2007-08-27T11:09:00.000-05:00

"The praises of others may be of use in teaching us, not what we are, but what we ought to be."

- August W. Hare

2007-08-27T11:08:00.004-05:00

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?"

- MLK Jr.

2007-08-27T11:08:00.001-05:00

"The universe is made of stories, not atoms."

- Muriel Rukeyser

2007-08-27T11:07:00.001-05:00

"Many a man would rather you heard his story than granted his request."

- Phillip Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield

2007-08-27T11:05:00.001-05:00

"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said."

- Peter Drucker

2007-08-27T11:04:00.000-05:00

"You can get everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."

- Zig Ziglar

2007-08-27T11:01:00.001-05:00

"Small opportunites are often the beginning of great enterprises."

- Demosthenes

2007-08-27T10:59:00.000-05:00

"There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher."

- Henry Van Dyke

2007-08-27T10:58:00.000-05:00

"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you."

- John Bunyan

2007-08-27T10:57:00.000-05:00

"I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."

- Albert Scheitzer

2007-08-27T10:56:00.000-05:00

"Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a permanent attitude."

- MLK Jr.

2007-08-27T10:54:00.000-05:00

"I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end."

- Abraham Lincoln

2007-08-27T10:53:00.000-05:00

"An egotist is not a person who thinks to much of himself; it's someone who thinks too little of other people."

- Anonymous

2007-08-27T10:51:00.000-05:00

"If each of us were to confess his most secret desire, the one that inspires all his plans, all his actions, he would say: 'I want to be praised.'"

- E.M. Cioran

2007-08-27T10:49:00.000-05:00

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too can become great."

- Mark Twain

2007-08-27T10:47:00.000-05:00

"Treat a man as he appears to be and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he already were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be."

- Goethe

leaders and consensus

2007-08-24T18:45:00.000-05:00

"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus."
- Martin Luther King Jr.

HT: Josh Barnett

go parents

2007-08-23T10:11:00.000-05:00

My friend Brian Bill recently shared this article describing how young people look to their parents as role models. Here's a blurb:

"Asked to name their heroes, young Americans surveyed by The Associated Press and MTV make their parents the collective top pick. Twenty-nine percent choose their mothers, 21 percent name their fathers and 16 percent pick their parents without specifying which one. Allowed to choose as many heroes as they'd like, nearly half mention at least one of their folks."

Its humbling to think about how great a thing God has entrusted to us when he gives us children.

harvesting books

2007-08-23T10:06:00.001-05:00

A good friend of mine checked my blog and noticed all the quotes on Commitment and thought that I must be preparing to go to battle with people on the issue of commitment.

I thought I would explain what I'm doing with all the quotes. The truth is that at my new appointment I have much less money to spend on purchasing books, so I've been checking them out at the library. I'm "harvesting" good stuff from them by posting them on my blog because I have to give them back!

The blogger system offers a great way to file away quotes and stories that might be useful at a later date.

comments on commitment

2007-08-21T22:50:00.000-05:00

"Anytime you make a commitment to something, it will be tested"
- John Maxwell, Today Matters, p.159

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other thing."
- Abraham Lincoln

"If something is worth doing, I will commit myself to carrying it through."
- John Maxwell, Today Matters, p.160

"You have to pay the price. You will find that everything in life exacts a price, and you will have to decide whether the price is worth the prize."
- Sam Nunn

"The moment one definitely commits onself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way."
- William H. Murray

"Anything worth having is gong to be a struggle. Commitment doesn't come easy, but when you're fighting for something you believe in, the struggle is worth it."
- John Maxwell, Today Matters, p.165

"If you want something out of your day, you must put something in it. Your talent is what God put in before you were born. Your skills are what you put in yesterday. Commitment is whatyou must put in today in order to make today your masterpiece and make tomorrow a success."
- John Maxwell, Today Matters, p.166

"The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"To bring one's self to a frame of mind and to the proper energy to accomplish things that require plain hard work continuously is the one big battle that everyone has. When the battle is won for all time, then everything is easy."
- Thomas A. Buckner

"Nothing is easier than saying words. Nothing is harder than living them, day after day. What you promise today must be renewed and redecided tomorrow and each day that stretches out before you."
- Arthur Gordon, A Touch of Wonder

"When you're interested in something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results."
- Ken Blanchard

"There's always a way through things if you work hard enough and look close. It all depends on your level of determination."
- Liz Murray

decisions

2007-08-21T22:46:00.000-05:00

"One of the most common mistakes and one of the costliest, is thinking success is due to some genius, some magic something or other which we do not possess. Success is generally due to holding on and failure to let go. You decide to learn a language, study music, take a course in reading, train yourself physically. Will it be a success or failure? It depends upon how much pluck and perseverance that word 'decide' contains. The decision that nothing will overrule, the grip that nothing can detatch will bring great success."
- clergyman and author Maltbie D Babcock

defining moments

2007-08-21T22:42:00.000-05:00

"Most people can look back over the years and identify a time and place at which their lives changed significantly. Whether by accident or design, these are the moments when, because of a readiness within us and a collaboration with events occurring around us, we are forced to seriously reappraise ourselves and the conditions under which we live and to make certain choices that will affect the rest of our lives."

- Frederich F. Flach, Choices

encouragement

2007-08-21T20:09:00.000-05:00

"There are high spots in all of our lives, and most of them have come about through encouragement from someone else. I don't care how great, how famous or successful a man or woman may be, each hungers for applause. Encouragement is the oxygen of the soul. Good work can never be expected from a worker without encouragement. No one can ever have lived without it."

- George Matthew Adams

correction and praise

2007-08-21T20:08:00.001-05:00

"Admonish thy friends in secret, praise them openly."

- Publilius Syrus

the greatest compliment

2007-08-21T20:06:00.000-05:00

"The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when someone asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer."

- Henry David Thoreau

a brilliant conversationalist

2007-08-21T20:04:00.000-05:00

" A gossip is one who talks to you about other people. A bore is one who talks to you about himself. And a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself."

- William King

give your best

2007-08-21T20:03:00.001-05:00

"You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself."

- Harry Firestone

healthy relationships

2007-08-21T20:02:00.001-05:00

"Your relationships are only as healthy as you are."

- Neil Clarke Warren

acting in spite of it

2007-08-21T19:58:00.000-05:00

"Truly successful people have learned to do what does not come naturally. Real success lies in experiencing fear or aversion and acting in spite of it."

- psychologist Joseph Mancusi

doing what failures don't like to do

2007-08-21T19:57:00.000-05:00

"The common denominator of success lies in forming the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do."

- Albert Gray

labels

2007-08-21T08:51:00.001-05:00

"Examine the labels you apply to yourself. Every label is a boundary or limit you will not let yourself cross."

- Dwayne Dyer

the leader's best friend

2007-08-21T08:32:00.000-05:00

"Momentum is a leader's best friend... When you have momentum people think you are better than you really are. When you don’t have momentum people think you are worse than you really are."

- John Maxwell

2007-08-20T20:56:00.000-05:00

John Maxwell recommends that we do the following with regard to thinking:

1. Acquire the Wisdom of Big Picture Thinking: Am I thinking beyond myself and my world so that I process ideas with a holistic perspective?

2. Unleash the Potential of Focused Thinking: Am I dedicated to removing distractions and mental clutter so that I can concentrate with clarity on the real issue?

3. Discover the Joy of Creative Thinking: Am I working to break out of my "box" of limitations so that I explore ideas and options to experience creative breakthroughs?

4. Recognize the Importance of Realistic Thinking: Am I building a solid mental foundation on facts so that I can think with certainty?

5. Release the Power of Strategic Thinking: Am I implementing strategic plans that give me direction for today and increase my potential for tomorrow?

6. Feel the Energy of Possibility Thinking: Am I unleashing the enthusiasm of possibility thinking to find solutions for even seemingly impossible situations?

7. Embrace the Lesson of Reflective Thinking: Am I regularly revisiting the past to gain a true perspective and think with understanding?

8. Question the Acceptance of Popular Thinking: Am I consciously rejecting the limitations of common thinking in order to accomplish uncommon results?

9. Encourage the Participation of Shared Thinking: Am I consistently including the heads of others to think "over my head" and achieve compounding results?

10. Experience the Satisfaction of Unselfish Thinking: Am I continually considering others and their journey in order to think with collaboration?

11. Enjoy the Return of Bottom-line Thinking: Am I staying focused on results in order to gain the maximum return and reap the full potential of my thinking?

(John Maxwell, Today Matters, pp.150-151)

thoughts on thinking

2007-08-20T20:37:00.000-05:00

"No one knows what a great leader would have done given a new set of circumstances. There is no tried-and-true formula for success that can be handed down through the generations. To succeed, we must do our own thinking."

- John Maxwell, Today Matters, p.131

"If you want to become a great thinker, you first need to become a good thinker. Before becoming a good thinker, you need to become a thinker. In order to become a thinker, you need to be willing to first produce a bunch of mediocre and downright bad ideas. Only by practicing and developing your thinking daily will your ideas get better. Your thinking ability is determined not by your desire to think, but by your past thinking. To become a good thinker, do more thinking. Once the ideas start flowing, they get better. Once they get better, they keep improving."

- John Maxwell, Today Matters, p.136

"Thought is the original source lf all wealth, all success, all material gain, all great discoveries and inventions, and all achievement."

- Claude M. Bristol, The Magic of Believing

"A small man is made up of small thoughts."

- playwrite Victor Hugo

"Capital isn't so important in business. Experience isn't so important. You can get both these things. What is important is ideas. If you have ideas, you have the main asset you need, and there isn't any limit to what you can do with your business and your life."

- industrialist Harvey Firestone

"Every time a person puts an idea across, he finds ten people who thought about it before he did - but they only thought about it."

- author Alfred Montapert

"For me, when an idea hits me, it strikes fire, almost like God speaking. I know that sounds heretical, but there it is. The more time that passes after the idea strikes, the less heat it gives off. I forget parts of it, it doesn't seem as great. Ideas have a short half-life."

- Dave Goetz, founder of CustomZines.com

creativity

2007-08-20T20:35:00.000-05:00

"Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity."
- jazz musician Charles Mingus

up or getting up

2007-08-20T15:38:00.000-05:00

“I’m never down. I’m either up or getting up.”
- Bobby

momentum starters

2007-08-20T15:37:00.000-05:00

“There are two kinds of people. There’s the person who gets up and gets the ball rolling and the person who waits for the ball to be rolled to them.”
–John Maxwell

quotes about problems

2007-08-20T15:33:00.000-05:00

"God doesn't waste tragedy."
- John Vertefeuille

"If you have a job without aggravations, you don't have a job."
- Malcolm Forbes

"A person whose problems are all behind him is probably a school bus driver."
- Dennis Rainey

"Most people grow only large enough to solve their problems - not to reach their potential."
- Gerald Brooks

"In 1962, Victor and Mildred Goertzel published a revealing study of 413 famous and exceptionally gifted people. The study was called Cradles of Eminence. These two researchers spent years trying to understand the source of these people's greatness, the common thread which ran through all of these outstanding people's lives. The most outstanding fact was that almost all of them, 392 had to overcome very difficult obstacles in order to become who they were. Their problems became opportunities instead of obstacles."
- Tim Hansel, Holy Sweat

idealism and problems

2007-08-20T14:21:00.000-05:00

"Idealism increases in direct proportion to one's distance from the problem."
- John Galsworthy

black and white

2007-08-20T11:12:00.000-05:00

"There are only two kinds of people in the world; those who divide the world into two kinds of people, and everyone else."
- Mark Twain

words

2007-08-20T11:11:00.001-05:00

"No man has a prosperity so high or firm, but that two or three words can dishearten it; and there is no calamity which right words will not begin to redress."
– Ralph Waldo Emerson.

"The power of words is immense. A well-chosen word has often sufficed to stop a flying army, to change defeat into victory, and to save an empire."
– Emile De Girardin

Billy Sunday via Brian Bill

2007-08-19T21:12:00.001-05:00

My buddy Brian Bill posted these cool Billy Sunday quotes today:

Your reputation is what people say about you. Your character is what God and your wife know about you.

If you took no more care of yourself physically than spiritually, you'd be just as dried up physically as you are spiritually.

To train a boy in the way he should go you must go that way yourself.

Don't stop with telling your boy to do right. Show him how.

Be careful, father, or while you are taking one lap around the devil's track your boy will make six.

Better die an old maid, sister, than marry the wrong man.

Whiskey is all right in its place -- but its place is hell.

passions and competencies

2007-08-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

One thing I believe with all my heart is that God has designed each believer so that he or she will find the most fulfillment when serving Him according to their unique passions and competencies. Often times, people get burned out when serving outside of their niche. This story illustrates that so well.

The Animal School
By George H. Reavis

Once upon a time, the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of "a new world." So they organized a school.

They adopted an activity curriculum consisting of running, climbing, swimming and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.

The duck was excellent in swimming, in fact better than his instructor, but he made only passing grades in flying and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to stay after school and also drop swimming in order to practice running. This was kept up until his webbed feet were badly worn and he was only average in swimming. But average was acceptable in school, so nobody worried about that except the duck.

The rabbit started at the top of the class in running, but had a nervous breakdown because of so much make-up work in swimming.

The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustration in the flying class where his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of from the treetop down. He also developed a "charlie horse" from overexertion and then got a C in climbing and a "D" in running.

The eagle was a problem child and was disciplined severely. In the climbing class he beat all the others to the top of the tree, but insisted on using his own way to get there.

At the end of the year, an abnormal eel that could swim exceedingly well, and also run, climb and fly a little, had the highest average and was valedictorian.

The prairie dogs stayed out of school and fought the tax levy because the administration would not add digging and burrowing to the curriculum. They apprenticed their children to a badger and later joined the groundhogs and gophers to start a successful private school.

remember people's names

2007-08-18T15:51:00.000-05:00

In the book I wrote about below, Maxwell shares a helpful technique for memorizing people's names. It was developed by Jerry Lucas. Its called the SAVE method.

S - Say the name three times in conversation.
A - Ask a question about the name (for example, how it is spelled) or about the person.
V - Visualize the person's prominent physical and personality features.
E - End the conversation with the name.

how to make people feel like a million bucks

2007-08-18T15:41:00.000-05:00

I just finished a marvelous little book written by John Maxwell and Les Parrot. Its good basic people skill stuff, filled out with lots of personal stories. It was Parrot's idea for John to share his relationship secrets, so Parrot did research and found examples of how Maxwell had used this principles throughout his memory. The stories were so good I was laughing and crying during much of the read. Here's the breakdown of the book:

25 Ways to Win With People - How to Make People Feel Like A Million Bucks
1. Start with Yourself
2. Practice the 30-Second Rule (give people your undivided attention for the first 30-seconds you make contact with them. offer them attention, affirmation, and appreciation)
3. Let People Know You Need Them
4. Create a Memory and Visit It Often
5. Compliment People in Front of Other People
6. Give Others a Reputation to Uphold
7. Say the Right Words at the Right Time
8. Encourage the Dreams of Others
9. Pass the Credit on to Others
10. Offer Your Very Best
11. Share a Secret with Someone
12. Mine the Gold of Good Intentions
13. Keep Your Eyes off the Mirror
14. Do for Others What They Can't Do for Themselves
15. Listen with Your Heart
16. Find the Keys to Their Hearts
17. Be the First to Help
18. Add Value to People
19. Remember a Person's Story
20. Tell a Good Story
21. Give with No Strings Attached
22. Learn Your Mailman's Name
23. Point Out People's Strengths
24. Write Notes of Encouragement
25. Help People Win

potential

2007-08-17T15:03:00.001-05:00

"My potential is God's gift to me. What I do with my potential is my gift to Him."
- N/A (via John Maxwell)

things turn out

2007-08-16T09:36:00.000-05:00

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."

- John Wooden

spare moments

2007-08-16T09:34:00.001-05:00

"Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a usefel life."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

seeking happiness

2007-08-15T14:43:00.000-05:00

"He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply grief which he purposes to remove."

- Samuel Johnson

attitude stuff

2007-08-10T13:05:00.000-05:00

During my 3rd year of seminary in 2001, I felt that God was really convicting me of the fact that I had a very cynical and negative attitude. At that time, I began working on having a faith-powered positive approach to life. I find that its a lot of work to keep my attitude positive, but that when I do it, the pay off is very positive as well. People feel better about themselves and life when you're around. You're trusting God and blessing him in all things. You're looking for God's presence and hand throughout the day. Anyway, I've found that when I'm going into a new venture, I have to do a lot of extra work to keep my attitude strong and faith-based because fear is so close all the time. I've been reading a lot of attitude booster stuff lately because I'm at the beginning of a challenging and very promising new appointment. The challenge is reversing the trend of decline which was caused by major church conflict. The opportunities are limitless. The demographic advantage in this town is surreal.

I'm currently reading Today Matters by John Maxwell. This morning I came across these pointers for Managing the Disciplines of Attitude on a daily basis.
1) Recognize That Your Attitude Needs Daily Adjustment
2) Find Something Positive in Everything
3) Find Someone Positive in Every Situation
4) Say Something Positive in Every Conversation
5) Remove Negative Words from Your Vocabulary
6) Express Gratitude to Others Daily

each day

2007-08-09T23:14:00.000-05:00

"Make each day your masterpiece."

- John Wooden