John Maxwell talks about a fundamental message in Nahum.  That no matter how much power you accumulate as a leader, it can never compensate for spiritual failure with God.  That leadership success w/o spiritual success equals failure.  If Jonah had some understanding of this and in his spirit he knew the rulers would fail to lead people spiritually then why not wipe them all out now instead of a century later?

Timing

God’s timing is not our timing – bottom line. For someone like me who moves fast, I hear myself consistently saying out loud, “I trust You, God.  Your timing will be perfect”.  At times my kids will hear me mumbling it and ask if I said something.  It may seem odd to anyone who can hear me but it’s a process that I’ve had to develop in order to not rush God or get ahead of Him.

There is time to be a “father” – so full of grace and love.  And there is time to be a “judge”.  Not judging people since we are called to be witnesses but rather judging situations.  In order to see the situation clearly we need to take some time.  Time to put the logic together, time to move past the emotions and time to speak into the situation.

So if you see me talking to myself you’ll know exactly what I’m doing.  Taking time.

1. To shake off everything that is not of Christ
2. To stir up the giftings inside
3. To let Him pour Himself over you

As we set our hearts and minds to walk this way, we will truly come to know and understand the POWER we have been given.  We will walk in POWER as we rise up to be everything God has called us to be. Each of us has been given an opportunity to be an influence in this world thus enlarging the Kingdom.  Have you identified what that Everything is?  Don’t settle for what is comfortable, keep growing – keep stretching – keep surrendering to His leading.

Understanding the POWER He has placed within us, we can confidently position ourselves in each season of life as “more than a conqueror”.  Believing that “No weapon formed against us will prosper” becomes a deep seated truth rather than a confession or something we’ve read.  And lastly, learning to wield this power, we will effectively lead others into freedom.

Be not a stranger to POWER.  Do not be conditioned by the rules of “religion” and know what love would do in every situation.  Go beyond yourself and further into Him, dying daily to pride and self survival.  Reach past the circumstances, pressing into Truth by applying an active faith that moves moountains.

We’ve missed the point.

There is a great teaching that surrounds the theme “Ready…Aim…Fire”.  Success requires these 3 steps in that particular order.  Most often though, when we find ourselves in a restrictive environment or mindset we either take the stance of:  “Ready…Aim…Aim…Aim…” or “Ready…Fire…”.  Any leader who is “locked” down for too long looks for a way out.  Fear and frustration will drive them to search for the trap door or simply push through the perceived barriers justifying their actions by saying “Forgiveness is easier than permission”.

There is a better answer when we find ourselves in this environment or season of life.  Here are 3 things you can do to while working through these times:

1.  Refuse to take on that mindset. – Remember you reap what you sow.

2.  Know that excellence is doing the best you can with what you have so be okay with the best your environment allows.

3.  Don’t dumb yourself down to mediocrity but rather in this season, prepare for the great opportunities that will eventually present themselves.

1.  Trail Mix/Veggie Trays – In order to keep from grabbing something unhealthy to eat, I keep trail mix on the counter and a tray of veggies washed and prepped handy.

2.   Salads - chop and place lettuces in a zipped baggie – it will need to be used within 3 days though.  (I think those plastic knives help keep lettuce from browning).  I pre-chop most veggies
for our salads too and put them in    separate containers so the kids can mix up their own salads.

3.  Popcorn – (link embedded) in the microwave is a favorite of ours.  Using coconut oil makes it even healthier.

4.  Spaghetti – I pre-brown & season ground beef that was purchased on sale and portion it into freezer bags for this meal.  Left over sauce and noodles get mixed together and reheated in a pan coated w/some butter
for “fried spaghetti” lunch the next day.

5.  Roasts – I cook up an extra roast when making pot roast and shred it.  Freeze for a bbq sandwich meal later. Throw it frozen into my crockpot and add some bbq sauce and ketchup then let it cook on low for 4hours.

6.  Pizza Dough:  I make it, portion it into balls and freeze it before the rise.  Let the dough rise in the fridge for about 8 to often 24.  It makes for a nice taste when the yeast has time to flavor the dough.

7.  Onions/Garlic:  I cook with a lot of garlic and onions.  In order to save prep time I will purchase larger quantities of both and freeze in portions. (Note: both may lose some nutritional value due to peeling and processing)

Purchase a bag of Sweet Vidalia Onions and let them sit overnight in the fridge.  The cool air helps minimize the onion’s ability to make me cry when chopped.  It’s not 100% full proof but it helps.  To process, I trim both ends and peel the outer layer.  Rough chop and process them in the food processor.  From there I portion them into 1/2 cup servings filling my silicone cupcake pan and freeze.  Once frozen I pop them out and into a quart size zipped baggies then placing as many quart size bags into a gallon bag as I can.  The double bag helps minimize the onion odor.  Anytime I need onions for a casserole or soup, I just place them in my pan to thaw or start cooking from there and add some oil once it’s defrosted.

For garlic, I purchase the large container of peeled garlic at Sam’s Club.  Process them again in the food processor and form into a thin meatloaf shape on a cookie sheet lined w/a silicone mat. After frozen (about 1 to 2hours) slide the loaf onto a cutting board (it will not be frozen solid) and cut into 1/2 inch cubes and place in zipped baggie as you did the onions.  They come apart easily when you need a cube or two and will defrost in your pan just like the onions.

8.  Chicken can go into many casseroles.  I always cook up extra chicken breasts or buy the rotisseries on sale and freeze the shredded or cubed meat in portions.  Chopping up chicken and placing red onions and celery is the base for chicken salad sandwiches.  I freeze this mix and when thawed I throw in cut up apples, pecans, a dash of salt/pepper/rosemary, and mix in some mayo.

9.  Fruit – as fruit comes into season I purchase extra to freeze for smoothies or desserts.  Freeze berries or chunks on a cookie sheet first on freezer paper so it removes easily and place in freezer bags.  Bananas always turn brown too fast for us so we place these in freezer bags as well for banana bread.  When you thaw the bananas save the juice and reduce it with a tsp butter, tbs. brown sugar and tbs of balsamic vinegar for a syrupy  topping.  Poke holes into just out of the oven banana bread and pour the sauce over the top.  If you cook the bread with chopped nuts on top you’ll never see the holes.

10.  With any meal that I make, if it’s freezable then I make 2.  One to eat that night and one to freeze and eat later or to bless someone.

The trick is to move towards that dream so that it becomes a reality.  It will require growth.  It will require time, energy and even sacrifice.  Anything short of that is not moving towards a dream but rather living in a fantasy.  Fantasy can sabotage dreams because they are easier – more shallow.  Dreams though, create depth within us.  Trenches even.

That’s why a shattered dream hurts us to the core.  Chunks of our heart can get bruised or even worse yet – scarred.

I’ve been there.  So broken that I felt paralyzed.  Comforted only by pulling the blankets over my head while I wait for the tears to come. Wandering around aimlessly waiting to hear something from God.  And usually He says – “Keep moving and dream”.

Don’t get stuck in the brokenness of a shattered dream.  Give it to God.  He can and will restore any part of it that came from Him.  And He’ll make it better!  Once, when I felt I had to step out of my destiny for the betterment of my family, I thought life as I knew it would never be the same again.  I would never be able to impact lives like I once did.  I had to lay my calling on the alter and walk away.

And I realized AGAIN how amazing God is.  And how I allowed myself to minimize His ability to move in my life.  He is the Great Restorer.  And when He gets our dreams, our hearts and our feet, our hands, our minds – He will exponentially make what we imagined so much greater.  He can always always always take what the devil meant for harm and turn it around for His goodness – His glory.  In our weakness He is made strong every time.  And because we are His children, it is His joy to overtake us with FAVOR!

I realize now that I didn’t leave my calling – I simply gave Him time to tweak it and make it better – make me better.    I don’t need titles, or positions, or props to minister.  I simply need people.  And there seems to be an abundance of them!  No matter where I am I have the power to love – to encourage – to strengthen – to teach – and to pray for them.

I gave God the old and He made it new.  I challenge you to dream.  And to dream more and make it  BIG!  Pray and read and grow into your dreams and watch what He does in you and through you.

It’s easy to get caught up in the comfort and familiarities of life.  To believe that what got us here will carry us forward.  To enjoy the journey at a pace that requires simple steps.

At some point though, we will face challenge – be given a new goal.  One that will require a commitment of risk… of faith… and of strength.   A commitment that says “I will trust in You, Lord and lean not on my own understanding”.  A commitment that declares “This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it”.  A commitment that whispers “Teach me Your ways Lord and lead me down right paths”.

And the rewards?  We get to grow.  We get to cross over into new places – into new depths of life as He meant for us to walk in.  And best of all, we get to be His finger print on those around us.

I’ve had to deal with several labels pinned on me over the years.  Especially with all the temperament and giftings tests I’ve taken while working and serving in the church.  Each time I take one, the results are the same.  I’m a task driven, people loving, hard on the outside and mush on the inside person.  I love systems and I love to be creative.  I equal out in two different ditches making it very easy to adapt to who I’m talking to.  However it’s raised many eyebrows to those that have a well defined box to live in.

As a kid I chose to be different than my family.  And I caught the backlash from it.  I knew I wanted to do and be someone different than what I was experiencing.  I didn’t understand that drive within me then but as I grew older and started taking bigger risks to start my own legacy I got a few labels thrown at me.  Basically as I chose to live at a higher standard it magnified the lack of standards in others and you know how the story goes.  I just chose to allow the pain to drive me forward rather than break me.

Labels can hurt but they can also illuminate blind spots. I use labels to help identify the pitfalls of my temperament as well as my strengths.  I use them to give my kids handles as they learn to communicate to each other.  Never though do I allow us to get stuck under a label.  They are merely tools to assist in our awareness of ourselves and those around us.  They are subjective.  As I’ve learned to live as God has called me to be rather than what the labels say I am, I can walk out my destiny with freedom and joy.

Free spirit or nerd?  I don’t care really.  I just know budgeting is not my strength so I have some of the most creative envelopes in place that set me up to win.  I love to make anything a party while working hard. And no matter what I am required to be a responsible, loving adult that reflects the image of my God.

I did a quick Google search asking “advice a person who is supporting someone with cancer should know”.  Not much came up.  I know that there is a line when supporting someone can actually turn into enabling but where is that line?  What are the code words I need to listen for so I can fall back on a system of specific questions to ask when emotions are raging on the other end of the phone?

These questions are what make up my part of this journey.  It’s not just my mom’s journey fighting cancer anymore.  It’s also the journey of a daughter and her husband, a grand-daughter and her brothers, a pastor and his church, and friends …etc.  As team members we too have to endure.  So, as I move forward in this battle I choose life abundantly – for myself and for those around me.  I choose to press in and find the hidden treasures of this journey so others that come after me can be lifted up.  I choose to broaden my horizons and stretch myself further to enlarge my sphere of influence – because I am world changer – even if it’s one life at a time.

Don’t underestimate the importance of understanding the proper weight and balance of team dynamics.  A heavy task load that is taken for granted, and hasty calculations of time will affect the team’s center of gravity causing damage to the very people we need most.  If we as leaders spend more time considering these things up front we will accomplish more in the long run.

Some teams will need more speed, as in race car.  Others will need more strength, as in a tank.   As a leader, our job is to know what vehicle is needed before we build these teams and it’s systems.  Otherwise we’ll burn our people out.  Keeping your finger on the pulse of the vision will keep you attuned to when times for speed and times for strength are needed in order to be most effective.

Here are some tips for working with speed and strength:

When you power a larger gear to a smaller gear you’ll get speed by “gearing up”- the race car.

• While increasing speed can be a good thing, the trade-off is a reduction in strength.  As the leader, you have to be willing to shoulder a heavier load.

When you power a smaller gear to a larger gear you’ll get strength by “gearing down” – the tank

• While increasing strength can be a good thing, the trade-off is a reduction in speed. As the leader, you have to be willing to slow down.

Lastly…leaders, tap into The Battery.  Spending time in The Word and Prayer is what powers us as motors.   Your teams and their functions are the gears. Without a strong motor the gears will not be effective.

Where do we go from here?

We hold fast to the fact that God is good – the devil is bad.  No pity parties, no shaking of our faith – God is good. Period.  We’ve committed to a journey that will glorify God.  Knowing it will be and has become a trial like no other, we are determined to stand strong.  We are blessed with an incredible church,  friends and family members.  We’ve realized how important it is to pour into others because now we’re needing them to pour back into us.  We’ve also realized that until you go through something like this you really don’t understand the depth of the value of this support system.  So thank you to all of you who’ve held us as we’ve cried, fed us when we’ve been hungry, prayed for us when we needed strength.

There is an enemy who is totally occupied with taking us out, tearing us down and pulling us away from Truth.  But we choose to look to the Father, stand on His Word and when we’ve done all we can do we will simply keep standing – repeating all the right words and actions that He’s called us to do.

God is good….so very good.  No weapon formed against us will prosper.  What the devil means for harm – God WILL use for good.