Did you know that you will spend an average of 5 years of your life waiting in line? 6 of those months will be at stop lights! That’s not all. You’ll spend an average of 8 months opening junk mail, one year looking for things you misplaced, two years trying to call people back on the phone, four years cleaning the house, and six years eating. (Source: Priority Management Pittsburgh, Inc.)
The point? I don’t think we realize how much time we waste every day. It’s time to stop and ask, “What do I WANT to do with my time?” If we aren’t intentional with our time, it will waste away.
Here’s a good reminder: Everyone has the same amount of time in a day. True, some people live longer lives, but we each have 24-hour days. Have you noticed that the older you get the faster time goes? Boy I have. It seems to zip by. Since time keeps zipping by faster and faster, I need to spend my time doing what I WANT to do - with intent.
Edward Griggs said, “Fifteen minutes a day devoted to one definite study will make one a master in a dozen years.” Here’s the challenge. Let’s start with 15 minutes a day and intentionally do what we WANT to do. Pick something that will make you a better Christian, a better children’s pastor, a better parent, etc. Start now!
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Good reasons to say no
1. There simply aren’t enough hours in a day to work on it, even if I get to work early and stay late.
Just say no!
2. You are booked
Just say no!
3. My other work will suffer if I take on this assignment.
Just say no!
4. I don’t have the necessary skills to complete this project and I will not be able to attain them in
time.
Just say no!
Ok it’s your turn again. Know any reasons to say yes to no?
jw
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Bad reasons to say no
1. The project looks too difficult. Don’t say no to an opportunity to grow and learn.
2. It isn’t part of my job description. Never let these words come out of your mouth
3. I’m in the middle of planning my wedding and can’t focus on anything
right now. What? This was told to me by a leader once, life never stops, learn to balance personal stuff and your ministry. There will always be something going on at the same time as something you need to do for ministry. Both life and church must go on.
How about you? Know any bad reasons to say no?
jw
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Here are 6 questions to ask before saying no for no sake.
1. Am I already working on several important assignments that leave me no time for this one?
If so maybe no is the right answer.
2. Can I delegate some of my other work to make room for this assignment?
If no maybe no is the right answer.
3. Can I put some of my other assignments on the back burner while I work on this one?
If not maybe no is the right answer.
4. Will taking on this assignment cause harm to my other work?
If so maybe no is the right answer.
5. Do I absolutely lack the skills necessary to complete this assignment?
If yes maybe no is the right answer.
6. Am I the only person who can successfully complete this assignment?
If no maybe no is the right answer.
more to come…
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Let’s look at our example (JESUS) Here are eight times Jesus said no..
1. He said no to the devil (Luke 4)
2. He said no to religious people and their doctrines & traditions (Luke 5 & 6)
3. He said no to family (Luke 8:19-21)
4. He said no to a man who wanted Jesus to act as a judge between an inheritance dispute
with his brother (Luke 12:14)
5. He said no to miracles because of the lack of faith of people in their hometown (Mark 6:5)
6. He said no to his disciples when they asked him to send the people away so they could buy
themselves food. He said no, you give them something to eat (Mark 6:36 & 37)
7. Said no to the Syrian Phoenician woman because she didn’t have a covenant (Mark 7:26)
8. He said no to ministry (Matt. 8:18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.)
Notice he didn’t say no to all these situations all the time but what these verse give me is permission to say no to even good things as well as bad things. It also let’s me know that sometimes no is the best answer.
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Have you ever wondered, “Am I really making a difference in the lives of kids?” “Are they really getting what I’m teaching?” The answer is yes. The cool thing about the Orange Conference for me was that I ran into at least one child or leader from all of the 4 churches I’ve worked at in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and the 00’s and yes they got it. They are now all grown up, not only loving Jesus but they all also ministering to children themselves. They know this children’s ministry stuff works, it worked on them. Don’t ever forget this… YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF CHILDREN THAT WILL IMPACT GENERATIONS TO COME!
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Most people work on their strengths and ignore their weaknesses. I believe it’s good to know your strengths and develop them to their fullest. I get a lot done, I do, time management fascinates me.
I have a true confession: “My greatest strength also covers up my biggest weakness!” I’ve always been a sucker for “it can’t be done.” I’ve also had a hard time passing up the challenge, “no one can do this.” I don’t think I’m a workaholic. Sure I enjoy what I do. My wife says I have the gift to turn hobbies into work. Over the past year I have learned to separate my self-worth from my performance. I have been called driven and maybe I am. I sometimes have unrealistic expectations for myself and others. I have been known to enjoy the high of success although the pressure can be too much some time. The truth is I have a hard time saying no! Okay I said it!
I struggle with when. I struggle with how. I struggle with why. I’m having to work on walking out the fact of “just because I am asked to do something that it doesn’t mean it’s God’s will for my life!”
more to come…
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It has been exactly a year since I talked to my pastor of 17 years for the first time about my departure from the staff there. I never thought I would leave but it was God that I did. What a year this has been! It’s been amazing to watch the Father’s care for me and my family. It’s wild how a step of obedience can be both the best of times and the worst of times. Peace and faith went head to head against wonder and unknown and won. If you had told me this time last year that I would be on staff at a new church, I would be living in Tennessee, giving my leadership club away free to children’s pasters under 30 years old and I would be seeing another dream of mine coming true, launching a 12 month mentoring service, I would have said….naw. It’s been the greatest year of learning, reflecting, evaluation, dreaming, and change I’ve experienced in years. I’ve prayed more, laughed more, cried more, repented more, traveled more and ate more than I should have but it’s been a great year! I’m healthier, happier, and less stressfull. I’ve found myself asking people “How are you doing?” more than “What have you been doing? or “What’s going on?” As I think about the question “What will I be writing in a year?” I don’t have a clue what the new year holds but I know it’s going to be good. I choose to have only 2 kinds of days…good days and better days! And I am committed to spend the rest of my life pouring into the next generation of leaders. Thanks for your prayers and coming with me on the journey.
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Albert Mehrabian, a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at UCLA, says that within 30 days, people forget 90 percent of what they have learned unless it is repeatedly reinforced.
Stop and think about what you did last Sunday with the kids in your ministry. How much time was spent reinforcing what they learned the week before, and the week before that? Remember the old saying, “Practice makes perfect.”
If you don’t intentionally plan to reinforce and review what has already been taught, it will go by the wayside. So here’s what I’ve decided to do. I’m going to write review time into my kids church schedule starting this Sunday. I can’t be content with simply asking review questions and giving candy to the kids that answer my questions right. That’s got to be one of the lamest ways to review. I’ll have to get creative. If I want them to retain more than 10% of what I teach, I don’t have a choice.
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I’ve always believed that getting new things now and then is the best way to breathe some fresh air into your ministry. Tonight during church I was thinking about some of the new things we’ve done between last Sunday and today.
1) Ladder Ball Golf - I was walking through WalMart doing my weekly candy / supply run for Sunday and picked up 2 sets of Ladder Ball Golf. What caught my eye was the fact that they were big and they require more than one person to play. I set them in the back of the kids church room for kids to play as a pre-service activity with their friends. The kids love it and the cost of each set was less than $20.
2) While at WalMart (that same day) I bought 2 boxes of Sock’em Boppers. These aren’t new to the toy department but I thought they would make a great game since my lesson last week was on bullies. We made a masking tape line on the floor and two kids took turns slugging each other with the inflatable boxing gloves. Don’t worry, they had to keep it from the head down and I managed to keep my job in the process.
Continue reading ‘A breath of fresh air’
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