First Draft of My Personal Mission Statement

Mission Scripture - Philippians 2:3-5 (NAS)

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit,
but with humility of mind regard one another
as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests,
but also for the interests of others.
Have this attitude in yourselves
which was also in Christ Jesus...

God - I will use the gifts of both the Spirit and who I am that he has given me to serve His children and expand His kingdom.

Change Agent - I will find, embrace, & hone the skills to help people change the life focus by helping them operate in their "Circle of Influence." 

Husband - I will honor my beloved by encouraging her spiritually and by serving her. Together we will contribute grace and charity by being shining examples to others.


Father - I will love my children by showing them they are more important than things I do or am personally concerned with. I will cultivate them to see the great impact they can be for Jesus' Kingdom.


Friend - I will give of my time, talents and wisdom to lift my friends to greater vistas and joy.

Lesson from Shamgar

Judges 3:31

Fact is, if you aren't willing to take on 600 to 1 odds, you'll never achieve anything great. Nothing worth doing is ever easy. Significant achievements always involves a high degree of courage, focus, perseverance, and yes, risk.

Pat Williams

Abby is at College today

I know it is a lot easier to accept Abby going to College today given she is commuting but obviously it is still a major milestone in "our" lives. Val and I have done our best to give her winds to fly and she is using those wings just beautifully! Fortunately, she has a better Father than myself that she relies on to soar to the greatest heights.

I can't wait to see the path she takes as she finds her destiny in work and ministry. I couldn't be more delighted in her. Fly eagle fly!

Your First Encounter of the Day

"Your first encounter of the day has a more direct bearing on your attitude for that day than your next five encounters." Zig Ziglar

I really believe this is a valid axiom.  Let's presume for a second that this is indeed the case. Many of our first encounters for the day is work email. Now I don't know about yours, but mine usually range from the I need help to the full blown "emergency." If that is the first encounter I have, my day really does follow the path of slight negativity. However, when I start my day with meditation and positive impact thinking, my attitude is very different. The demands from work are put into a realistic perspective. I'm recommitting to starting my day the proper way. How about you?

The cure for procrastination

I've always had to deal with the spirit of Procrstination. Lately, though I have been doing much better and it's summed up well in an article by Rick Warren, Here are the five things to help:

1.  Stop making excuses

2.  Start today

3.  Establish a planned schedule

4.  Face your fears

5.  Focus on what you gain, not the pain

For Details on each of the five go to: The cure for procrastination     

Improvement: Remembering Names

One of my Self Improvment goals is to remember names of people I meet: Researching what will work best for me but I'm starting with this one:

http://www.wikihow.com/index.php?title=Memorize-Names-and-Faces&printable=yes

I think steps 2 & 3 are the ones that will make the biggest impact on me.

Steps

1. Decide that learning names is your main priority. The main reason why you are not able to recall someone's name may be this - you didn't hear it correctly in the first place.
   
   
2. Remember that the introduction of a person is always a fast event. If there are many to be introduced, each one will be thinking of his chance.As a result he won't be able to attend what other people tell!Therefore you should have a strong desire to remember the name.Try to think how remembering his name will be useful for you.
   
   
3. Concentrate all of your attention on the name. Set aside all other tensions and worries for a moment. Also make sure you hear the name clearly. If not ask him or her to repeat it. You may have an awkward feeling about this but take it as your first priority.
   
   
4. Try to use the name in the first few words of the conversion. Repeat the name immediately for a few times in some sentences will help you.Well its a party occasion and you are being introduced to a friend then why not start a conversation like this.
   
   
   
   • "Hey Richard, Its a pleasure to meet you or something like "John,how do you do pal!Oh its so great to have you here
     
     
5. Try linking the name with face. You can be a little more imaginative in it.If its a strange name,ask for the correct spelling and pronunciation. Don't think that person will be hurt. He will be happy that are taking interest in him. If you are in a function you get enough time to mentally review the names of the people you have met.Look at each one and try to recall what they are called.

Redefining my Twitter Following

I've decided to remove a lot of the sports followings on my Twitter account and replace the negative which most sports reporting is. Actually almost all reporting is negative. I've added a bunch of positive influences including:

John Maxwell @johncmaxwell

Dave Ramsey @ramseyshow

Dan Miller @48DaysDan

Max Lucado @MaxLucado

Tom Stanley @thomasjstanley
Zig Ziglar via his som Tom @TomZiglar

C.S. Lewis @CSLewisDaily

Andy Stanley @AndyStanley

Rick Warren @RickWarren

There are others but I find as I read more of the one liners that are left, I feel more and more encouraged and positive in general.

Book: Essentials of Skilled Helping

Another book I am starting. Like the framework already.

Book: 48 Days to the Work You Love

I've started reading this book and it is FANTASTIC. I've been highlighting it and I've never highlighted a book so much, ever! I'll post some thoughts on it soon but if you are struggling with purpose in your work, this is a must read!

Control your own destiny

Control your own destiny by controlling what goes into your mind. The books you read, the thoughts you think, the television you watch, the conversations you participate in, the people you associate with, and the music you listen to combine to create your future. Are you sowing the seeds for the life you want five years from now?

Dan Miller, 48 Days to the Work You Love

The Challenge of Change

A man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by you coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize its potentialities.

- Charles De Gaulle

Affliction that produces endurance, and endurance produces proven character, improving character produces hope.

Romans 5:3-4

What Love REALLY is

"Agape means a selfless love, you-before-me-love. It describes love as an act of the will; a choice I make.

However, what we often mean when we say "I love you" is not "I've made a commitment to place your needs above above my own.""

- James MacDonald, Lord Change My Attitude

Tuning out Criticism

Theodore Roosevelt said, "it's not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbles or how to doer of deeds might have done it better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

Book: Stop Acting Rich

Finished reading Tom Stanley's book, Stop Acting Rich. The book was excellent and Dr. Stanley's conclusions were based on a ton of research. Obviously, anyone who has read his other works,  already knew the conclusions that would be drawn.

1. Most millionaires live well below there means.
2. Discipline is essential to building wealth.
3. Hyper-spending is diametrically opposed to building wealth, even when you can afford it.
4. Millionaires tend to be happy by living below their means and not spending on trendy items.
5. People who purchase luxury items, e.g. Mercedes, Grey Goose vodka, expensive homes, are more interested in having the "Badge" of being considered rich than actually building wealth.
6. Products that cost a lot of money don't necessarily translate into quality or lasting value.

1 John 2:15-16 ¹⁵Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 

My conclusion is that living simply and within your means will more likely bring happiness than putting on the badge of wealth. I look forward to building wealth with the intent 'changing my family tree' and giving to those in need.

Day with Tim

Got to spend the whole day with Tim. We went to Six Flags Great America and he went on his first major coaster, the Raging Bull. He was scared out of his mind but enjoyed it. Not sure if it would have long term effects or not. I don't know how many years I have left on Roller Coasters :-) but I hope to be able to share some more with him. Regardless, we spent most of our time at Hurricane Harbor which was fun as well.

We then went out to Chile's and later retired home to watch Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. All in all a great day. I don't do enough of these days with him. One of the prices to be paid for being an Elder at church. My boy is a quality time guy and I hope the impression of the day is long lasting with him. He's SUCH a good kid. I'm grateful for having both of our children be good at heart.

Latest Message: 1 John 2:1-15

Message from 8/1/2010: http://podcasts.bbschurch.org/aw/1JohnP2.mp3

For Handouts and PowerPoint go to: http://bbschurch.org/messages/Elders/andy.htm

Latest Book: Stop Acting Rich

I had read the Millionaire next door a few months back. Great book guided by research that tells how Millionaires reached that level. Certainly nothing like the cultural expectation. They are not big spenders; living well within their means. So this book, "Stop Acting Rich... and start living like REAL Millionaires" is a follow up. They idea for me at least is to be able to accumulate wealth, not to become more affluent, but to give it away to my kids (if they handle money as they should) and other people in need. This desire, I believe, is knit into our souls.

Current Book: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leaderhsip

I don't know if I'll read this book all the way through but I'm really struck with one of the chapters. John Maxwell describes how if a leader does not have influence over others, they really have short circuited any chance to lead. The main way to influence is the ability to relate to people. If you have trouble relating to people, you won't be a leader. I'm going to read this chapter again and ponder it some more.

Fearless

Just finished the book, Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear. A very good book and encouraging for those of us who face fear consistently in our lives. By nature, this is who I am but by the grace of Jesus, I found as I read, that I left many of those fears by the roadside of life. Anyway, I'd seriously encourage reading this if you struggle with fears in your walk of faith.