Quiet Time

The Friday before Christmas I did something I have never done before but have intended to do for some time now.

For about the past 2-3 years I have intended to spend a day with God-just a day to be quite before Him. However, life always seemed to get in the way so I would always push the date out.

After some challenges from a couple of friends of mine, I finally did it. I went to my sister's cottage and spent the day with God. It was incredible!

I truly felt his presence and had some great conversations with Him. He gave me some clarity about some decisions I need to make and really gave me a peace about some things.

I have to admit this was a very difficult thing for me to do. Spending the day being quiet before God was not tough, but clearing my calendar for a day was brutal. But it was worth it!

I have made a commitment to do this regularly and have scheduled my next two spiritual retreats over the next six months. As my friends did to me, I challenge you to do this sometime this next month. You'll be glad you did!

"Be still, and know that I am God."

Psalm 46:10a

Appreciation

Have you ever had anyone thank you for touching their life? I mean a truly heartfelt thanks? If so, you know how good that can make you feel.

Do you know what I think feels even better than that? Telling someone how much you appreciate them.

I challenge you to write a note, send an email or call someone and tell them how they have impacted your life. This will not only make their day, but you might be surprised how this picks you up.

Watch this 3 minute video. I promise you it will inspire you.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Lead By Example

Does this cartoon ring true of your work environment? Does it ring true of you?

I have experienced some of this during my career and I have to tell you, it drives me crazy!

This type of attitude is contagious. It can infect an entire organization.

If you work at a place like this, you can make a difference. Even if you are not in a position of leadership by title, you are still a leader. With persistence and perseverance, if you continually do what you say you are going to do, others will start to take notice. Colossians 3:23 tells us, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men." One way to live this verse out is to fulfill your commitments.

If you are the leader of an organization and this is taking place, it is probably because you do this yourself. Remember, people will do what you do rather than what you say. Lead by example!

Giving of Yourself

Many gifts were given and many received in our household this Christmas. However, one gift stood out to me this year.

My son Robbie (11), was contemplating what to get for his parents and his two sisters. He only had $25 which he had saved from his allowance money. This past weekend, he went upstairs and made cards for each of us on the computer. Then he came down and put envelopes with each of our names under our tree.

When it came time to open gifts, he proudly presented each of us with our envelope. Inside was a very thoughtful card along with some money. He gave me $5 and each of his sisters $5 and his mom $10. He had given everything he had to us.

That is the true spirit of Christmas. My son gets it. He put all selfishness aside and gave of himself fully this Christmas. How cool is that!

Merry Christmas

I won't be posting for a few days so I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!

Dilbert Leadership

An article in today's Toledo Blade talked about a worker who had posted a "Dilbert" cartoon on the company's bulletin board. Apparently, the management team did not think it was very funny as they felt the worker was poking fun at them so they sued him. However, the judge found in favor of the worker.

I can see management's point. I agree that employees need to show respect and submit to the authority of their supervisor.

However, I believe that management (the leadership) needs to lead in such so as to not provide employees an opportunity to find a cartoon that shows their leadership style. Management needs to earn the respect of their employees.

In the case pointed out in this article, my bet is that the cartoon was probably a pretty close depiction of how these employees were being led. Rather than sue an employee for posting a cartoon, the management team should have looked inwardly and used this as a wake-up call to see how they were leading and what they needed to change.

Rock Solid Leadership

I believe that leadership is a spiritual gift from God. Some receive it and others receive other gifts. However, I also believe that each of us is a leader. Each of us is influencing someone, someplace. By definition that makes us a leader.

I encourage you to watch this 3 minute video which summarizes this very well - click here.

More Political Correctness

Did you happen to see this? This appeared in the Christian Post:

Barbara Walters recently criticized a Christmas card she received from the White House this year for featuring a seven-line scripture from the Bible.

The card, signed by the President and Mrs. Bush, was among a small stack of Christmas cards showcased by Walters on last Thursday’s episode of ABC’s “The View.”

“Usually in the past when I have received a Christmas card, it's been 'Happy Holidays' and so on,” said Walters.

But the veteran anchor expressed dismay that President Bush and the First Lady would send out a “religious Christmas card” with a direct Bible verse from the Old Testament printed inside:

“You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.”

After reading the scriptural message of the card, Walters asked in a critical tone, "Does this also go to agnostics, and atheists, and Muslims?"

"Don't you think it's a little interesting,” continued Walters in her questioning, “that the president of all the people is sending out a religious Christmas card?"

The card, which was paid for by the Republican National Committee, closes: “May the joy of all creation fill your heart this blessed season 2007."

This sort of thing is ridiculous.

I acknowledge President and Mrs. Bush for sticking to their Christian values and not wavering despite the heat they receive. As leaders we all must do that despite the cost.

Lead By Example

I don't hide the fact that I am a huge Ohio State fan. That's why I was thrilled to read this excerpt in a magazine about the Buckeye's head football coach, Jim Tressel:

Ohio State Linebackers coach Luke Fickell arrived at the Woody Hayes Athletics Center a few seconds after his boss one morning earlier this year. Then he watched Tressel, walking in the front door in front of him, picking up trash on his way to the door.

"And I'm looking around like I'd better find something to pick up, too," Fickell said. "If he is picking up trash, I mean, what kind of example is that? Just little things like that every day lets you know it's about people, it's about doing the right thing, it's about being a good person."

Cool stuff. Something we can all learn from!

Quotes

I think we can learn in a lot of different ways. One of my favorite ways to learn is to listen to or read something written by others, especially those who are in the game, doing the right things. I also love to read quotes--little nuggets that can help change your life.

I stumbled on this neat video which shares some great quotes from famous leaders. I hope it inspires you! Click here.

The Scandal of Christmas

If you have read the Christmas story from the gospels of Matthew and Luke, you know that it was scandalous. A young unmarried woman was pregnant. Her fiance knew he was not the father. Should he stay with her or leave her?

And then, a King was born.

I just read of a movement that is catching on throughout the world that is encouraging Christians and their churches to restore the “scandal” of Christmas by observing the holiday more authentically.

They suggest buying simpler, more personal gifts that foster relationships rather than fuel the materialistic machine that Christmas has become. A great idea.

Click here to read the article.

True Friendship

Check this out--friendship in any language...

Wouldn't you like a friend like that? I challenge you to be that friend to someone - after all the best way to get a friend like that is to be one yourself!

If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Ecclesiastes 4:10

Political Correctness - No Thanks!

What do you think of when you think of someone from an organization called the Equality and Human Rights Commission? I have to admit my first thought is of someone who is all about "political correctness" which makes my skin crawl.

That's why I was pleasantly surprised to read this in a recent Reuters article in London:

It's time to stop being daft about Christmas. It's fine to celebrate and it's fine for Christ to be star of the show," said Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

"Let's stop being silly about a Christian Christmas," he said, referring to a tendency to play down the traditional celebrations of the birth of Christ for fear of offending minorities in multicultural Britain.

Way to go Trevor! I could not agree more!

Responding

I am a big believer that all circumstances work out for good, even if we can't see it at the time. In fact one of my favorite bible verses tells us this is true if we "...love God and are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) In other words, God never wastes a hurt.

Zig Ziglar wrote something along these lines that was too good not to share:

When you respond to life, that's positive; when you react to life, that's negative. Example: you get sick and go to the doctor. Chances are good that after an examination he or she would give you a prescription with instructions to return in several days. When you walk back in if the doctor starts shaking his head and says, "It looks like your body is reacting to the medicine, we're going to have to change it," you probably would get a little nervous. However, if the doctor smiled and said, "You're looking great! Your body is responding to the medication," you would get excited and feel much better. Yes, responding to life is good. Reacting to the incidents of life is negative - and that's bad. The next example validates that fact.

Today there's much turmoil in the job market and many people are losing their jobs through downsizing, mergers and takeovers. This creates some unusual "opportunities" for many people. One positive from this is that in the last five years, according to the Wall Street Journal, over fifteen million new businesses have been created, well over half of them by women. Interestingly, very few of these women had any marketable skills and all of them had great financial need. Most of the new businesses were "trust" businesses, meaning that the women collected the money before they delivered the goods or services. The Journal comments that virtually none of these women have been prosecuted and jailed for failure to deliver on that trust. That's exciting!

Many of these new businesses - possibly most of them - would never have been started had not an unfortunate event occurred in these people's lives. When those events did occur and needs became obvious, these women chose to respond and there's little doubt that many of them are better off now than they were before the "tragedy" took place.

The message is clear: If you will respond to life instead of react to it, then I've got a much better chance of seeing you AT THE TOP!

You've Got To Be Kidding Me

Did you see this? This appeared in the Spokane, Washington newspaper:

Crosses to be removed from police chaplain badges

By Karen Dorn Steele
Staff writer
December 5, 2007

Crosses will be removed from badges worn by Spokane Police chaplains under terms of an out-of-court settlement between the city and a former Lutheran pastor-turned-atheist who sued over the government agency’s use of the insignias and Christian prayers.
Additionally, lawyers from the Center for Justice who represented former pastor Ray Ideus will get $1,000.

“It’s a milestone,” said Ideus, who volunteers eight hours a week with the police department. “It’s very important that they’ll have to take that cross off. It’s not a Christian police department. The chaplains have to minister to all faiths – and non-faiths,” Ideus said.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Absolutely ridiculous. Wasn't our country founded on Christian principles? Wasn't Christianity one of the main driving forces behind the founding fathers risking all to start this country?

We must "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." (Ephesians 6:14-17)

Life is a Mist

This has been a sad week. Two days ago I learned about a guy who was the friend of my next door neighbor who was in his 30s and passed away. Yesterday morning, I learned about a friend of mine who had a baby boy who died two days later. Yesterday early evening, I received a call from a friend and neighbor telling me that his wife had just passed away.

The thing that was in common with all of these was how quickly they all happened. My neighbor's friend died after a few days in the hospital-prior to that he appeared fine. My friend's son died after living only two days. My friend's wife had been diagnosed with cancer only three weeks ago.

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14

How true.

It is a shame that it takes tragedy in our lives and in the lives of those we know to make us realize what James is telling us.

Our life is but a mist. We must take advantage of this day God has given us. We must lead like crazy. We must love like crazy.

Carpe Diem!

Smile

Is this picture awesome or what!

It reminded me of two things. One, of how much God loves us.

And two, of something we can do each day to make us more effective leaders. It is something I have never seen written in a leadership book. It is something that is not taught in any leadership classes. Yet it can be very powerful.

The thing we can do to help us be more effective leaders is simply to smile. Try it. You'll find that it will help you to be a more positive leader and it will help others want to follow you more.

Choices

As many of you know Zig Ziglar is a favorite author and speaker of mine. He has a way of saying things that make the complex understandable including this regarding the choices we all have in our lives:

Our success in life is determined by the choices we make. You are going to be making choices that will determine your success as you learn to manage yourself and others. To be effective in making proper choices, you must understand the difference between reacting and responding.

Let’s say you go to the doctor, who then gives you a prescription and tells you to come back the next day. When you go back, if he looks worried and tells you he needs to change the prescription because your body is reacting to the medicine, you’re probably going to be concerned. On the other hand, if he tells you your body is responding to the medicine, you’re going to smile because you know you’re on your way to recovery. So, to react is negative and to respond is positive – the choice is yours! It’s a fact that you can’t tailor-make the situations in life, but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations before they arise.

There are some things that are simply not going to change. If you were born white, you’re going to stay white. If you were born black, you’re going to stay black. I don’t care how much thought you give it, you’re not going to add a single cubit to your height. You’re not going to change when you were born, where you were born, how you were born, or to whom you were born. However, you can choose how you will respond to all of life’s circumstances. All of life is a series of choices. Realize that every choice we make, whether it is good or bad, has consequences! You can choose to get drunk tonight, but when you do, you have chosen to feel miserable tomorrow. You can choose to eat properly today, and when you do, you have chosen to be healthier. All the circumstances in your life will not be positive. You must choose to respond to both the positive and the negative.

As a leader in your organization others can tell a lot about you by how you respond, or react, to the little nuisances that crop up in your day as well as the big obstacles that come along. Lead in such a way that causes others to make wise choices and benefit from those choices.

Pride Before The Fall

On Saturday I was a very interested observer of some of the college football games. Even though my team, the Ohio State Buckeyes weren't playing, their fate lied int he balance. If Missouri lost to Oklahoma or if West Virginia lost to Pittsburgh, then the Buckeyes would play for the BCS National Title.

As I watched ESPN's College Gameday that morning, the announcers all said the same thing regarding the chances of West Virginia losing. They all said it was impossible. They were debating how big they would win--by 5 or 6 touchdowns.

Kirk Herbstreit even went on to say something like this, "Congratulations West Virginia, you are headed to New Orleans to play for the National Championship!"

Later that evening, West Virginia (and Missouri) found themselves on the short end of the score.

While I was thrilled with the outcomes of these games, I was reminded of the times when my pride has preceded a fall for me. Pretty painful stuff. But a good reminder to us all.

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18