I Quit

Have you ever felt like giving up? How about at work? Did you ever just want to tell your boss those famous lyrics, "Take this job and shove it"?

A couple of days ago I put up a post for those who have a Bad Job. Based on the comments received, it has struck a nerve.

One commenter had this to say, "Thanks for the post. I'm going through some crises in my work right now and through out the week I had thought about just quitting, but now I plan on first be thankful to God for the job and the opportunities it has brought my way and secondly change my attitude towards it.(God help me!!!)."

Haven't we all been there before? I know I sure have. This person is making the choice to embrace his or her situation and to look for the good in it. That is awesome!

The one thing that struck me when reading this comment was that, if we are truly looking for a greater purpose in our work, tough times bring about terrific opportunities--in fact, greater opportunities than times of prosperity. It is during challenges that others are typically looking at you to see how you will react.

Look at what is happening in Major League Baseball right now. It is 24/7 coverage of the steroid issue because of Alex Rodriguez's admission that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Everyone is tuning in to see how he will react because he is in hot water.

The same is true of us where you are. If you can act in a Christ-like way, amazing seeds can be planted. Perhaps, someone might even ask you how you are able to react the way you do. Then, you have an open door to share what God is doing in your life.

Embrace the challenge...it can lead to much good!

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

1 Peter 3:15b

TGIF Part 2 - Get To vs. Have To

Yesterday I talked about how we can change the acronym TGIF from "Thank God It's Friday" to "Today God Is First."

I just read an article written by Jon Gordon, the author of The No Complaining Rule, Positive Ways To Deal With Negativity At Work which shares another change we can make in our attitude which can help us to change the TGIF acronym. In the article he talks about an important distinction between "get to" and "have to":

Who knew that two simple words could change one’s mindset, perspective and approach to work and life? Just two words have the potential to enhance joy, productivity, performance and change a complaining voice to an appreciative heart.

So often we say things like, "I have to take the kids to practice." "I have to go to this meeting." "I have to finish this project." "I have to go to work today." "I have to take care of this customer." "I have to share this new information with my team." "I have to see my family this weekend."

We act as if we don’t have a choice. As if we are imprisoned by a paycheck and the expectations of a world that forces us to do things we don’t want to do. But in reality we do have a choice. We can choose our attitude and our actions. We can choose how we view our life and work. We can realize that every day is a gift. It’s not about what we have to do. It’s about what we get to do.

We get to live this life while so many like Tim Russert and my Mom have left this world far too early. We get to drive in traffic while so many are too sick to drive a car. We get to go to a job while so many are unemployed. We get to raise our children, even if they drive us nuts at times. We get to interact with our employees and customers and make a difference in their lives. We get to use our gifts and talents to make a product or provide a service. We get to eat three meals a day while millions of people are starving. We get to work on projects, answer phone calls, serve customers, participate in meetings, design, create, share, sell, lead and suit up every day for the game of life.

Yes, there will be challenges and life isn’t easy, but each day we wake up we get another opportunity to make today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today. We get to uplift, inspire, encourage, and impact others. We get to live this life. Let’s make the most of it by remembering that life is a gift, not an obligation.

Shattered Dreams

Have you ever had your dreams shattered? Perhaps you've had dreams of retiring early only to find your portfolio isn't worth very much today. Perhaps you had dreamed of being a nurse or a doctor because you wanted to help people in need. Perhaps you had hoped to be a pastor so you could spread the news about Jesus.

All these dreams, yet here we are, not living them out...or so we think.

So what does this mean? Does this mean that the hopes and dreams we have inside of us are worthless? Absolutely not! God's plans are much better than our plans and it typically takes much time for us to look back on our situation to see that what God worked out was much better than we could have planned ourselves, even though it was not done the way we would have done it.

I came across this story recently which addresses this very well:

They were discussing their hopes and dreams when The first tree said, 'Someday I hope to be a great Treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver And precious gems. I could be decorated with an Intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.'

Then the second tree said, 'Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take Kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. People will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.'

Finally the third tree said, 'I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill, look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.'

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees.

When one came to the first tree he said, 'This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter, and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, 'This looks like a strong tree. I will be able to sell it to the shipyard.' The second tree was happy Because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true.

One of the men said, 'I don't need anything special from my tree, I'll take this one,' and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.

The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark.The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest Treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep.

While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said 'Peace' and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the treets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts.Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.

We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11