Lemons or Lemonade?

I just found out last week that a good friend of mine had just lost his job. I called Rick immediately to see how he was doing and he said something like this, "I'm absolutely fine! I have a sense that God has something else in store for me." He almost sounded a bit excited.

What an amazing reaction. I heard it said once in on online interview I was listening to that when we lose a job, our reaction ought to be, "Wow, I can't wait to see how God's going to provide for me now!" That is obviously much easier said than done. However, Rick's response was basically the same as this...expectant on God to do something really cool. He is expecting God to turn lemons into lemonade.

I don't have a clue what God has in store for Rick but I do know that even through this difficult time, Rick is pointing people toward Christ through his example. Something we can all learn from for when we are faced with difficult challenges.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

Pains Purpose II

On Monday night I had a deep tissue massage. It had been quite a few years since I had this done. I had always remembered it to be a very relaxing, enjoyable experience. Monday's was anything but enjoyable. In fact, it was quite painful.

The therapist said the I am a massage therapist's dream because there is so much work to be done on me. She didn't even leave my shoulders and neck area for the hour-long session. It seems like there were about 50 marbles in that region of my body that she tried to work out, hence the pain.

On my drive home I did feel a bit more relaxed in my shoulders. Then yesterday morning brought with it more pain. It had felt like I had lost a back-alley fight. I am still sore even this morning.

In spite of this pain, I am going back again on Monday because I know I need to get this worked out to help me with some issues I am having in my arms. So, this is a time when I can truly be thankful for the pain, because I know it will lead to good.

In relation to life I suppose there are a few parallels:
1. If we have pain in our life, it will lead to good if we love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)
2. To get where we need to go, we oftentimes will need to fight through unpleasantness and persevere (Hebrews 10:36)
3. Like I posted about yesterday, our pain could be God preparing us to minister to others who will go through similar pain (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Finding Good in the Bad

In an interesting article in the NY Times, Jeffrey Katzenberg (pictured above), the CEO of DreamWorks Animation shared a few valuable nuggets:

* He learned his most valuable lessons from his worst bosses.
* In regard to leadership in today's world, the most important thing is to make people feel secure.
* In order to be innovative you must take risks. Taking risks means that failure is a possibility so they don't expect that every single thing will be a hit. As a result their employees aren't afraid to make mistakes.
* In leadership respect is so important. Not so much from the followers, but rather from the leader to those he/she is leading.
* One of the most valuable lessons came from being fired from Disney...it opened up all sorts of doors.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

Positive Attitude

Yesterday I got my haircut by Mari, a good friend of ours who has her own hair studio. I used to work with her and she now handles all of the Lange's hair.

She was telling me about her son Josh (I think he's in the 6th grade) who started school on Tuesday of this week. Josh is an athlete and hangs out with other athletes which is normal for kids of that age.

He was assigned to his home room and when he walked in he saw that none of his friends were in his room. In fact, most of the kids in his home room were not athletic at all and were part of a different crowd. Then he looked across the hall and all of his friends were in the other room slapping high fives because they were together.

He was obviously very disappointed. Mari, who was with him because it was orientation day, said she was heartbroken.

Josh grumbled about it several times over the next few minutes. Then as they walked out the door, Josh said to Mari, "Mom, I think I'll have to bring my football each day to school." Mari asked why he would want to do that and Josh replied, "So I can teach these kids how to throw. I think I'll have to step up this year and be a leader."

What a great attitude!

How often do we grumble about our circumstances rather than just sucking it up and making the best of it like Josh. I think we can all learn from this!

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

Bad Bosses

At Toponlineengineeringdegree.com, there is an article about the 25 worst bosses of all time. I'm not sure how they determined the rankings but it makes for a fun read.

If you have a rotten boss, it will more than likely make you feel a little better--at least you might realize that it could be worse.

This list can also be a reminder to us that we don't want to be on anyone's list of worst bosses. As many of you know, I had a boss who I would rank right up there with those on the top five of this list. He was an egotistical tyrant who made life miserable for all who worked for him. He truly believed in the adage, "The beatings will continue until morale improves!" He so impacted me that I wrote a book (Bleedership, Biblical First-Aid for Leaders) where I contrasted his leadership style with the great leaders of the Bible.

Now I am so thankful he was in my life because God used that tough situation to change the entire trajectory of my life. So if you are dealing with a tough manager, hang in there--at some point in time you will probably see this time as a blessing.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

Highs & Lows

Each night when we are able to eat dinner together as a family we try to do our "Highs" and "Lows." We each take turns telling our low point of the day followed by our high point.

Last night, something happened which was a first for us. My daughter Kristin who is in her last year of nursing school said that her high and low were both the same thing.

She had a final exam yesterday morning at 8 AM which she had been studying tirelessly for. For some reason her alarm clock volume was turned way down so she did not hear it yesterday morning. She ended up getting up at 8 AM, the exact time her exam was starting!

She raced around, put her hair in a pony tail and brushed her teeth. Thankfully, my wife Connie was home as she prayed with Kristin before sending her on her way out the door.

Kristin arrived very late and calmly took her exam. She said that though she was 45 minutes late, she finished her exam before many of her classmates. She said she had a very clear mind and was filled with peace and she thinks she did well on her final.

Upon hearing this, two things immediately came to mind:

1. The incredible power of prayer and
2. Our troubles can actually turn out to be victory when we let God enter in.

We may not see that victory immediately, but it will eventually happen if we love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Politics Schmolotics

Like me, are you tired yet of all the political ads and accusations going back and forth? Are you worried about how the election will turn out?

I receive a weekly inspirational email from Brian Keel at Toledo YMCA corporate office. I thought I might share it here:

“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. “ Romans 13:1

The quadrennial American trip though the mud is nearly over. Yes, I do mean the Presidential election, a process that seems to become more angry, divisive and hard to stomach with each go-around. Politics by its nature creates opposites...every issue has a camp for and against after all. But more and more that difference of opinion on issues quickly leads to anger, harsh words and attacks on a person’s very character.

I believe the verse above is clear. We are called to submit to, or show respect for, those who are elected to lead us. Just a few days ago Sen. Obama from Illinois showed up unannounced at the YMCA branch attached to our corporate offices for a morning workout. I disagree with the Senator on a variety of economic, political and social issues. But he had come to our facility not to discuss policy, but rather for a quick strengthening of the spirit, mind and body. And so I took the opportunity to observe him in a candid moment, to see him accept an offer of prayer from our YMCA pastor and even to shake his hand. In a few weeks he might be elected to lead our country and whether we agree with that decision or not, we must show respect to the office. I did it...it’s not as hard as you think…..

Those are great words.

In addition to this, the result of this election is really in God's hands. And as I shared last week, He works everything out for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28 paraphrased). The bottom line is that God is in control. Why worry if He has it taken care of?

I have heard it said, if you are going to worry, why pray? If you are going to pray, why worry? I would suggest we pray!

Contrarian Indicators

I used to pay a lot of attention to the stock market. I actually used to study it and try to pick stocks just as they were breaking out and hopefully going upward. It was kind of a hobby of mine. Those times are long gone for me as I just couldn't keep up with it as too many other things became more important.

However, one thing I remember very well. That is a contrarian indicator. Investor's Business Daily had several key indicators they used to show when a stock was worth buying. One of them was the overall health of the market. They showed over the course of history that when optimism in the market was very high, that is when markets crashed and conversely, when it is very low, that is when markets did very well. In other words, the crowd is always wrong in investing (as is the case in much of life).

I am not trying to give investment advice and I certainly would not recommend anyone buying stocks right now. What I am saying is that I am optimistic. From a worldly standpoint, all this fear is good for the market. From a Christian perspective, I believe all this is good also (in fact I know God will use it for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose - Romans 8:28 paraphrased).

I read an interesting article this morning in which the author had this to say about our uncertain times:

So why am I hopeful? Because I believe the coming years are going to reveal some pernicious weeds in our culture for what they are. One of the characteristics of weeds is that they suck up resources from other plants. They are quick-growing, quick-spreading, invasive. They do not coexist with the other plants in the garden, they overtake them. Kudzu is a weed not because it is unattractive in its own way or even has no rightful place in the ecosystem, but because it grows over and chokes out other valuable and beautiful things. Weeds are, as every gardener knows, the easiest thing to grow.

And I believe the fundamental weed in the American garden is, in fact, ease. Easy-ness. Effortlessness. Along with the incredible benefits of the rise of technology has been this terrible weed: the idea that things should be easy. The Staples office-supply chain has profited handsomely selling the ultimate symbol of our times: a plastic button that does absolutely nothing but is great fun to push, labeled "easy."

To read the rest of this story, go here.

So are you worried or fearful today? If you love God and are called according to His purpose, then be encouraged by Romans 8:28. God will work all this out for good!

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28