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My Lead Reads ... What's in My Kindle.

Our family has been in a season of transition this summer and one area that has suffered as a result of being in continual packing and getting my house ready for sale mode is my self leading practices -- in particular my reading efforts.  Reading daily is a part of my Life Plan replenishmnet cycle and is necessary for me to keep my thinking sharp and my mind active to be able to resource myself and others whom I lead and influence.

As we settle in our new life in Fort Collins I am eager to get back into this practice of reading daily.  On the right column "What's In My Kindle" is the books I have or will be downloading to read during the last four months of 2012. 

Some have asked me how I come with my list. Here is some ways I go about putting my list together.  And I highly prod you to have a pipeline of books ready to read so once you finish one book you don't meander trying to figure out what's next, but rather having the next one ready to go!

• The Global Leadership Summit (GLS) this two day leadership training event usually produces a couple of books that catches my attention because either one of the speakers references the book or it is a book the speaker has wrote. John Ortberg's Who Is This Man ... is an example of such a book.
• There are some people I simply read whatever they write such is the case with Jon Gordon -- his fast reading, yet highly impacting books -- gives me a great boost of leadership energy.  His latest book is The Positive Dog.  In addition Peter Drucker also in this category of trying to read whatever he has written hence Innovation and Entrepreneurship being on the list.
• By recommendation by a friend and/or colleague.  In this case Dennis Anderson, whom I work with at Crossroads, suggested N.T. Wright's How God Became King.
• Interest in the subject matter.  Such is the case with Cynthia Montgomery's The Strategist.  Strategic is one of my core strengths -- so anything on this topic will catch my attention.
• The rest usually comes from me browsing a bookstore's store leadership and management section.  Why do I go to a bookstore still when I download all my books.  The main reason is that if you search Amazon by topic you get literally tens of thousands of listings.  In addition it is still easier to pick up a hard copy to scan the table of contents and read a few pages, though for reading an entire book -- Kindle is the way to go for me.

I hope this will prod you to come up with your own book list.  I am still open to a couple of suggestions so please let me know what you are reading.

READING IS LEADING

I know there are different ways to learn, however for me reading is one of the best means.  So as we wrap up 2011 and move forward into 2012 -- I have laid out my first several reads for the new year.  This is one of the best ways for me to keep on track in my self-leading efforts.

I can feel the difference when I do not regularly seed my mind with good brain food.

So in the column on my right: What's In My Kindle I have laid out the several books I plan to read this year.

Simply put "READING IS LEADING!"

What are you reading as you enter this new year?

"My First 11 in 2011" -- Reading List

Like a lot of people I am setting goals for this new year.  One of the most fundamental ones to me is putting together a reading list to help me in my self-leading efforts.  Listed below is the first 11 books that I will be reading in 2011 and a brief commentary on why I am choosing to read them.  I have downloaded most of them to my Kindle 2.  Links to respective books are in the column on the right.

I would love to hear about what you reading.  Please tell me what you are reading by commenting.

1. Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition by Michael J. Mauboussin (A book that caught my attention as a result of my Monday Morning Routine.)
2. Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down by John Kotter (One of the most insightful thinkers on change.)
3. Chief Culture Officer: How to Create a Living, Breathing Corporation by Grant McCracken (Another book that caught my attention as a resutl of my Monday Morning Routine.)
   
4. Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead by Charlene Li (Social Networking is not going away, the more we are up on it the better we can leverage it in our leading.)
5. Talk Less, Say More: Three Habits to Influence Others and Make Things Happen by Connie Dieken (A skill set that I can always use some learning in.)
6. Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God by John Piper  (His key thought that reading is thinking really resonates with me.)
7. Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just by Timothy Keller (Keller is one of my favorite author, I simply read whateve he writes.)
8. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Just curious about this book series that seems to be gaining popularity.)
9. Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction by Eugene H. Peterson (Our worship pastor Jason Denison referenced this book in our leaders meeting and got my attention)
10. Winning on Purpose: How To Organize Congregations to Succeed in Their Mission by William Easum (This is a work related read for a project I am currently working on.)
11. Well Being by Tom Rath (Rath's work through the Gallup Organization I find very insightful.)
12. The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn't Exist by Craig Groeschel (I know that I said 11, but there are just too many good books so I added one more.  One of the best innovative leaders in the church and I read everything he writes.)

I will also revisiting these two books that I have previously read:

In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson (I have given to this too most of my leaders to read)

Blue Parakeet by Scot McKnight (Our leadership team is reading it)

PRAY WHERE YOU ARE

I am always looking for fresh ways of engaging with God.  With my tendency to drift I need practices that help keep God in focus as the main thing in my life.  Here is a practice that I have come up with over the past year or so.  I do not do it well and fall short of its objectives often, however I keep at it because when I do engage in it I really sense God's hand at work.

This was to be shared in the message SHIFT that I gave on Sunday Dec. 26 as one of two ways to keep God in focus. 

The two key areas where I will need to do the most shifting is in respect to places that I inhabit and the people I interact with.  The first practice is ...

PRAY WHERE YOU ARE:  In its simplest form this practice involves praying  every time I enter a new environment. 

So here is how it might be lived out on an average day: first praying when I get into my car, my next stop would be the Starbucks where I get my morning coffee and praying there, then praying at my son's school when I drop him off, then praying as soon as I get into the office.  Then throughout the day when I run an errand or go to an appointment praying as soon as I get there, then later going to the gym and then back home praying as soon as I enter into all these environments.

Now what I pray will vary.  The main point is to acknowledge God's presence in all of these environments.  When I am faithful in this practice it has an incredibly shaping influence in my experience in these places. Instead of getting through the routine of what these places facilitate,  I find myself seeing things with more redemptive eyes and more intuned to the people around me.

Two key verses that have informed this practice are below.

Genesis 28:16,17
Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!’ And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

Matthew 28:20b
… I am with you always, to the end of the age.

I hope this will prod you PRAY WHERE YOU ARE  in 2011.

The second practice will be in a future post.

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Matthew 25:14-30: "I Want to Live with a Spirit ..."

A learning from last week's C3 conference has really impacted me.  A  teaching presented by Brian Houston pastor of Hillsong Church Australia.  He shared from Matthew 25:14-30 highlighting 3 ways he wants to live his life according to that passage.  To read the text click here. 

Here are three points that have prodded me to try and live differently. 

1. Live with the kind of spirit that anticipates and sees the master's goodness.
2. Live with a generous spirit, as one who gives and receives freely.
3. Live with the kind of spirit that expands and increases the master's domain.

25 Million Pieces of Legos

Yesterday I took my kids to Legoland for the first time.  In addition to my kids having a great time (the rides and attractions are just right for their ages 3 & 5 respectively)  I found myself marveling at how building blocks that I played with as a kids could be used to build such incredible works. 

It is said that over 40 million lego pieces have been used to build the various statues and exhibits seen throughout the park -- with over 25 million being used for Miniland alone.  I could have spent hours taking in the intricacies and details of what was on display. 

Check these out:

New York City

Mount Rushmore

Las Vegas

San Francisco

The inauguration of the President

Worship Leading Insights from the Gateway Team

Yesterday I shared some of my learnings from the Gateway team -- here are some thoughts that are speaking specifically about of some of their values regarding their worship leading.  These learnings have really challenged my leadership thinking in our own team and it is what I shared at our worship community gathering last week.

These insights were shared by Thomas Moore Gateway's lead worship pastor:

"We consider everyone on our platform as a worship pastor.  Even though they may not have pastor in their title -- they all know they are pastoring our church."

"A stage is built for performance.  A platform is built for influence."

"Someone should be able to come in from the outside, be with us for one song and then leave and say obviously that was the most important song these people have ever song in their lives."

On what they look for in their worship team members:

• CORE -- that they are worshipers at the core of their being.
• CHARACTER --that they have the character to sustain in ministry for the long haul
• CRAFT -- the skill level to lead effectively
  

Learnings from Gateway Church (at the Reveal Conference)

A couple of weeks ago while attending the REVEAL conference I was incredibly moved by the worship experience that the Gateway Church team (Southland Texas) lead us in and was challenged greatly by some of their insights on how they plan their weekend services.

I have been ministered to through Gateway's music since their first CD was released in 2006.  However, experiencing them actually leading us in worship gave me a window into the kind of kingdom impact they are having which is pretty inspiring.  Since then I have been sharing I have been sharing insights and learnings continually with my team.

Here are some key thoughts that have been speaking to me from their session.  I will do another post specifically on some learnings I received regarding their music ministry.

THOUGHTS ON CHURCH (by Senior Pastor Robert Morris)

"The church is a swimming pool -- it should have a deep and shallow end."

"I don't steal sheep, but I do plant grass."

"We cast a wide net."

OVERALL GOAL OF WORSHIP SERVICES:

• Minister to the LORD
• Minister the Word
• Minister to people.

THE THREE DIFFERENT TIMES FOR WHERE PEOPLE CAN CONNECT AND EXPERIENCE GOD:

• The worship (and the Word during worship)
• The message
• The ministry time
  

SENIOR PASTOR ROBERT MORRIS'S APPROACH TO PREPARING HIS MESSAGES:

• Spend everyday from 8am-12pm with God.
• "I think if we would spend our time on the mountain and  so that when we come off of that mountain our face was glowing and we had met with God.  I think that is a huge element that is missing."
• "What changes our life is spending time with God."
  

Willow Celebrates 33 Years this Past Weekend

One of the responsibilities that we have as a leader is to expose ourselves places that leadership is done well.  One of those places for me has been Willow Creek Community Church.  I attended this past Sunday where they celebrated their 33rd anniversary as a church (I have also had the privilege of being there for their 25th & 30th anniversaries respectively).

One memory of the service that stood out to me was how they had those who have attended Willow since year one sitting on the stage in an intimate environment as they celebrated God's goodness over the  past 33 years through the songs of Chuck Girard whose music played a pivotal inspirational role in the early years.  This stood out to me because in an age where people changes churches for a variety reasons -- mainly consumeristic-ones, there lay a few hundred people who stayed committed through the tough seasons, changes and probably decisions may be they did not fully agree upon.  But saw the grander vision of what God was doing!

Tomorrow I am looking forward to a great day of leadership infusion as I attend the REVEAL conference.

A Critical 50 Days of Self-Leading

Starting tomorrow (Oct. 8) and taking me to Nov. 27 (the day before Thanksgiving) marks a critical 50 day period where I hope to intensify my self-leading efforts. 

Over the years I have learned that the time period from Thanksgiving to New Years is probably the busiest of most of our year and therefore instead of getting frustrated about not having the time to self-lead the way I desire.  I have reconciled that, that time period is forgone and I should not expect by normal disciplines to be present.

So here is what I hope to accomplish in the next 50 days to intensify my efforts before the busy season.

READ THE FOLLOWING BOOKS:  (most of these books have links in the right column of this blog)
ID: The True You by Mark Batterson
Joseph by Chuck Swindol
Patriotic Grace: What It Is and Why We Need it Now by Peggy Noon
The One-Life Solution by Henry Cloud
A Sense of Urgency by John Kotter
The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company by David Price
Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands: Lessons in Non-linear Leadership by Nancy Ortberg

ATTEND THE FOLLOWING:
Spiritual Formation lead by Dallas Willard at Bethel Seminary October 9 & 10
The Reveal Conference at Willow Creek Community Church Oct. 14 & 15

Solace in the City

This question that Bill Hybels has presented at several Leadership Summit sessions has always stuck with me: "Whose responsibility is it to keep their leadership fresh or to self lead well?"  The answer "I am." Or "You are." 

There are many ways to for us to recharge our spiritual life and leadership core and it really is a matter of preference.  Some like the mountains.  For others the desert.  For me it is the city.  Many would find this strange, but I find a sense of solace by getting lost in the midst of the activity that a big city presents.  And in this case it is Chicago.

Over the next couple of days my leadership passions will be further refueled as  I will be engaged in a series of discussions and sessions at the Leadership Summit Pastors Debrief.

And when you are in Chicago -- you gotta have Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza -- it is simply the best!
(I had big slice for you Ed at your favorite Chicago Pizzeria.)

How I Prepare for the Leadership Summit

Ephesians 5:15,16 (ESV) says, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."�

I believe the one area the enemy of our souls would love to see neglected and thwarted all together is time invested toward events and practices that exponentially move us forward in our leadership and in our overall relationship with God.� Such an event is the Leadership Summit taking place this Thursday and Friday August 7 & 8.� I believe it is the subtle distractions that derail us from what potentially good be a life-changing experience.� I have attended 10 of the 12 Leadership Summits to date and have learned a few things to leverage this learning experience to its maximum potential.

So here is how I prepare for the Leadership Summit:

1. Pray - for a comprehensive list on how to pray for the summit click here.
2. Prepare in advance by reading books by the speakers.� For my Summit reading list click here.
3. Plan with extra fervor.� I mean in all areas of your life.� If you have people watching the kids make sure they are well equipped with enough food, changes of clothes, activities to do etc., etc.-- I would hate to think that a critical moment in a session would be interrupted by my mom calling me because she does not know where the diapers are.� If you are taking time off work, leave clear instructions on who is in charge of specific responsibilities, lay out clear parameters to what necessitates an interruption and have back up plans already in place.
4. Put on the calendar now a time to re-engage with leaders to process learnings together.
5. Resist the temptation to utilize breaks to check in with the office or catch up on work -- some of the best learnings come from conversations with other attendees immediately following a session.
6. Structure your life around on-going, year round leadership development� -- I believe this event is leveraged fully when it serves as a catalyst to an overall leadership growth plan.
7. Treasure your intellectual capital and learnings.� You receive a great conference notebook when you attend -- I personally take notes in a Moleskine journal.

How to Pray for the Leadership Summit

This Thursday & Friday August 7 & 8 Journey Community Church, for the 5th time, will serving as the San Diego host-site for the Leadership Summit.  I cannot fully describe the exponential impact this conference can have in the lives of individual leaders, their church and their spheres of influence. 

So please pray for the following, that ...

1. Every Leadership Summit attendee in San Diego, across the United States and in Canada will come with un-distracted & open hearts and minds with an attitude and spirit to learn.
2. God would anoint each summit speaker in their presentation and in the content that they present. 
3. All the programming elements (music, videos, etc.) would fit in well with overall session themes and be executed with excellence. 
4. Local Summit Site hosts will have a real sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and what is taking place in the room. (please pray for me specifically as I serve as the host at our site)
5. On the technical side of things that their will no challenges here or in South Barrington (where the L.S. Is broadcast from) in the satellite transmission. 
6. Everyone of the summit serving team members would serve with passion and present the highest level of customer service. 
7. There will be many walk-up registrations — that there will be a lot of last minute promptings to attend. 
8. Churches will have a vision for leadership development as a year round process and also make the summit an annual non-negotiable. 
9. Those attending, who are un-churched, spiritually seeking and/or irreligious, would sense God’s movement in their lives and pursue God more fully. 
10. Churches will have significant takeaways and begin to implement learnings to help them reach their redemptive potential.

The Best Advice I Ever Got

Late last night in my attempt to get caught up with some magazine reading I started reading the latest issue of Fortune called The Best Advice Issue that featured 19 people, from business, entertainment & politics, sharing the best advice they ever got.  This was probably not the best thing to be reading for someone who stays up late to begin with.  The content of magazine got my mind racing and pondering what has been the best advice I have ever received.  I am still pondering. 

I hope you will be prodded to pick up this issue.  A couple of things stood out. One, who they received the advice from and second, at what stage of their life they received the advice.  (When you read the article you will see what I mean.)

This prodded me to consider the weight of my words.  You never know how your words may affect someone.  Our words of encouragement might be just the fuel or insight someone may need.

Becoming a Foolish Leader

I read I Corinthians 3 this morning and verse 18 really spoke to me in regards to leadership.
"Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise."

Here is what I journaled.

Let no deceive himself
One of the great dangers or flaws of a leader is a lack of self-awareness.  Resulting in an  inflated view of our intellect, character and capabilities leading to an inability to learn and to receive feedback.

If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age,
The key part of this verse for me is “in this age” part.  In the realities we live in today things change at faster rate than imaginable.  We need to be continually thinking and re-thinking our leadership strategies.  The shelf life of our leadership learnings is very short. So we may be really wise -- just wise 10 years ago.

let him become a fool that he may become wise.
This may sound contradictory.  Yet there is great wisdom in this statement.  For me, to be a fool in this context means two things:
1. Because I do not know a lot, I have a lot of room to grow and learn, which is where I always need to be as a leader in continual growing and learning disposition.
2. I may overlook conventional wisdom (what has been proven to be successful ) and be willing to take a risks and be open to ideas and thinking that is fresh, new and sometimes beyond my realm of understanding. 

Reading Rhythm

Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, continually challenges leaders to ... read, read read!  Now this discipline comes to some much easier than others.  For me, it takes a real effort to set aside time to focus and do this.  What I have found helpful in getting into a rhythm of reading is being strategic in how I approach this discipline.  Here are few suggestions that you may find helpful.

1. Come up with a list of books to read for a designated period of time.  I like to choose a 3 months.  This way you will have a clear goal in front of you with clear beginning and end dates.

2. Pick way more books than you can read.  So if you think you can read five in that time frame -- have a list of 10.  This is important because initially the first two or three titles may not work for you initially that you may get back to later.  Now you have a larger pool to draw from so your process does not get disrupted.

3. Select what may be considered "easy reads."  Now, when I say "easy reads" this in no way speaks to a lack of importance or lack of depth of content, but rather it speaks to a writing style that has a easy flow to it.  For example, the two books I most recently completed The Three Signs of a Miserable Job and Who Stole My Church would fit into that category. By reading these type of books first you can check some titles off your list quickly and give you the confidence to move ahead with more challenging reads.

I hope this will prod you to ... read, read, read!

The Total Money Makeover

I have been prodded by a friend and work colleague Todd to read The Total Money Makeover.   He went so far as to order the book for me.  So I had to put it at the top of my Spring Reading list even putting aside what I had currently been reading. 

After reading the book I journaled about some of the potential changes we as a family need to make regarding our finances.  I am still praying and processing these through and will hopefully share them in a future post. 

For now I want to share what I found to be the most meaningful and challenging thought which, ironically, had nothing to do with money.  It speaks to the importance of self leading in all areas of our life and it also speaks to the notion that  when someone is successful in an area of their life and it looks easy for them -- it has come as a result of a lot of hard work and discipline.

"We read about marriage, we go to marriage retreat weekends, we date weekly, we sometimes take a Sunday school class on marriage, and we meet once in a while with a friend who is a Christian marriage counselor.  Do we do all these things because our marriage is weak?  No we do all these things to make our marriage great.  We have a great marriage because we work at it, make it a priority, and seek knowledge on marriage.  Great marriages don't just happen."  (p. 80)

What I Will Read Toward Summer

Here are what books I plan to read toward Summer in the next three months. 

What Got You Here, Won't Get You There  by Marshall Goldsmith
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
There is a God by Anthony Flew
Focus by Al Ries
Become a Better You by Joel Osteen
The Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni
Reaching Out Wihtout Dumbing Down by Marva Dawn
Leadership from The Inside Out by Kevin Cashman
Who Stole My Church  by Gordon MacDonald

My New Word for Today

Continuing on in my learning discipline that I mentioned yesterday my new word that I had to look up its meaning is ...

"Recidivism," A slipping from a higher or better condition to a lower or poorer one.
(This word was discovered in my continual reading of "The Faith by Chuck Colson -- the definition was provided by answers.com.)

A Renewed Discipline

Today I felt prodded to renew what was once a very beneficial discipline.  This discipline included keeping a dictionary with me as I read a book -- so when an unknown word to me came up in my reading,  I would not only look it up, but write the definition in the margin of the page where I read the word.  So today I started this practice again here is the word:

"untenable," defined as --not able to be held, as of an opinion or position, unholdable, indefensible." 

This definition was from the website:  Allwords.com.

U23D

Last Friday during the final session at the The Leaders Table Nancy Beach posed this question "What refuels yourself creatively?"  One of the ways she mentioned that refuels her is attending events (movies, live theater, concerts) anything that celebrate the arts.

Last Saturday I watched U23D filmed for IMAX presentation, this movie that has been out in limited release and was released nationwide today.  Though I have been a U2 fan since 1987 I have never had the privilege of attending a concert.  Yet, from what critics have said and a friend who attended a concert (during the same tour as featured in the movie) and had seats just a few feet from the front stage told me this experience was even better than the live version.

Superlatives cannot explain what an unbelievable way this is to see a concert on a 60-foot screen and incredible sound.   I found myself wanting to clap after every song and even stand at times.   This was definitely a refueling experience!

I hope you will be prodded to go and see it.  I am planning to see it at least one more time, probably more.

Final Thought for the Weekend (2/8/08)

Martin E. Marty in his forward to the book Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down by Marva Dawn, he shares a very good reason why one should read this book, but in this statement he also presents a very challenging statement for all who are involved with weekend service planning in their church.  I know I was very challenged by it.

"She knows why it is urgent for worshippers to be evangelists, why those who would make the services of worship inviting have to do some inviting, to make the newcomers, strangers and shoppers at home."

The Leaders Table

I simply love learning and later today  I will be participating in The Leaders Table where I will spend a day with about 20 other worship/creative arts point leaders from the Southern California area.  The time will be lead and facilitated by Nancy Beach, whom for many of us, has served as a mentor from afar and this is an incredible opportunity to be able to participate in this intimate learning environment.  I look forward to sharing my learnings with you in future posts.

21 Days of Prayer & Fasting

Yesterday our church began a 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Initiative to conclude on Saturday February 16.  The goal of this initiative is raise the temperature of spiritual life and overall seeking after God and to challenge our church to step out in faith in fresh, new ways.  Therefore, the goal is not necessarily for us as individuals to be fasting for the 21 days, though some may choose to do so, but to have prayer and fasting to be happening by someone at all times during the 21 days.

It is pretty awesome to think that right now someone is praying and fasting on behalf of our church!

The people with real commitment will be fasting on this day, Super Bowl Sunday, the first major holiday of the year.

If this day is not filled, Valentine's Day, then the pastor's have to take it.

Starting the Year Right!

I know I ma playing catch up on my posts so please indulge this somewhat dated event.  One of the real gifts that was given to my wife and I during our trip to Hawaii was my mom watching our two children every morning for one hour.  Starting January 1 every morning, until we left, we went to a Starbucks literally a one-minute drive from my parent's home.  I could not have started 2008 off better:  Starbucks coffee, a Moleskine journal to collect my thoughts, a Bible and a new Ipod Nano filled with some great new tunes.  2008 is going to be great!

Just What I Needed

As I mentioned in my previous post of my struggles in self-leading during this season -- I believe I have experienced a breakthrough.  Thursday is my regular day off -- yet during this active season it can be extra hard to guard this time and make it non-work related.  However, with the exception of few phone calls and a few e-mails that needed to get out -- I took some time to do some extended reading.  And the book I chose to read could not have been better.  It was The Age of Speed by Vince Poscente (on my Fall reading list on the left column of this blog). 

The essence of the book deals with our current reality where speed is not an option in how we do business and life.  And though this train of thought is nothing new it takes to time address some of the negative stereotypes that are often connected with speed and serve as excuses in why we do not embrace it.  In addition Poscente does a great a job in addressing how we need to choose when to exercise speed in specific settings so that we can take time to savor the things that are most important to us.  Another great insight was how speed can mean different things depending on the setting and context.  The subject matter was exactly what I needed to get my mind moving -- in fact it was racing with thoughts and ideas.

The book was also written with speed in mind.  The book has 30 plus chapters ranging anywhere from 3 to 8 pages in length -- I finished the book in a few hours. 

Here is a quote that I hope will prod you to read it:

"Simplicity is needed to achieve and maintain speed.  So the act of pursuing speed in life and business results in an environment of simplicity.  This is counterintuitive, because we tend to think of slow as simple and fast as chaotic; but fast can be the surest way to simplicity." p186

 

Self Leading Struggles

Self leading during the month of December is hard!  With the month filled with various seasonal gatherings and with extra time needing to be put toward Christmas Eve services -- the seemingly non-urgent gets pushed out of my schedule -- maybe you can relate. 

The effects of my lagging in this discipline is having its effects.  Like the feeling you have when you have not physically exercised for a while, my mind and thinking have felt sluggish and lazy of late and if there is such thing as your brain feeling fat -- that is how I have felt in some respects.  One example of my sluggishness is that a book that would normally takes me a week to read has taken me almost a month to complete. 

Therefore over the past few days I have made a commitment to self-lead and given time to it no matter how late it may be.  All ready I am feeling better and benefiting from pressing through.

I have been reading Walking in Your Own Shoes by Robert A. Schuller and here is great thought from this book that has given me some intellectual stimulation and encouragement.

"Don't mistake motion for progress and growth in your life.  Be patient, be hungry, establish your priorities, and don't be afraid to cut your losses.  The most mature people you know have had to do all four -- and so will you." p. 149