What a Waste!

My brother has a 1976 Cosworth Vega he bought about 25 years ago. It is a very rare car and it only has around 30 or 40 thousand miles on it. Every once in a while, on special occasions, maybe a couple of times a year, he would pull it out, wash it, and wax it. Then he would drive it around a little and park it back in the barn. For a while he parked it in my Grandpa’s garage but somehow it got put back into the barn. He put a tarp over it and then it’s almost like he forgot about it. The car has been sitting there for more than fifteen years. The tarp has rotted off. It’s completely covered with bird dirt and dust. Mice have gotten in and built nests on the engine, in the air breather, in the glove box, and who knows where else. The whole car smells like mouse pee. There is even mold growing on the steering wheel.

This is perfect illustration of what can happen when we allow worry and fear to go unchecked in our lives. They don’t just go away, instead they get worse and turn into anxiety and depression. If they’re neglected long enough they become insanity. What a waste. It doesn’t have to be this way. Take action now while the problems are smaller so that you can be the rare and precious person that you were meant to be in the first place. Don’t waste your life. Just like my brother’s Vega, if you neglect working on these things now it will cost you much more to fix later.

Taking it to the street:1.) Write down some things in your life that you are doing that you don't like. 2.) Ask God for forgiveness about these things and for help to practice the opposite.   

Pressing On with Excellence,

Keith

12 Steps to Financial Freedom

What does financial freedom have to do with worry? Everything. Finances are one of the things we worry about the most and, when our finances are in order, much of our worry goes away. So here it is, the 12 Steps to Financial Freedom.

12 STEPS TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM

 

1: We admitted we were powerless over stuff and our lives have become unmanageable.

2: Came to believe that stuff had complete control over us and that a power greater than stuff could restore us to sanity.

3: Realizing that it is our will that desired stuff, we turned our will and our lives over to the power greater than stuff.

4: Made a list of all our stuff and became willing to sell it all.

5: Admitted to God, ourselves, and to another human being that our selfish, self-centered, and prideful selves were the main cause of our troubles.

6: Became willing to have God remove all of our stuff if it is necessary to achieve financial freedom.

7: Humbly asked a power greater than stuff to remove our stuff.

8: Took our list of stuff and sold it high or low and used the money to pay off our credit cards.

9: Made direct deposits into a savings account whenever possible.

10: Continued to take inventory of our stuff and when we got too much, took it back or gave some away.

11: Sought, through prayer and meditation, a relationship with this power greater than stuff.

12: Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we carry this message to others still suffering from stuff-i-tous and continue to practice these principles in all our affairs.

What About Worry?

Why do you worry? I think about this. Why do I worry? Is it because I'm selfish or self-centered or greedy? Maybe it's the fear of losing something that I have or fear of not getting something that I want. (I think it goes beyond these character defects.) Maybe it's a lack of faith. Could that be the answer? I have heard it said and have said it myself; If you pray, why worry; if you worry, why pray. I think that it goes deeper than that. I think it has to do with two things; belief and acceptance.

Now, maybe I'm splitting hairs when I separate belief and faith, but, for me, belief is: I know that I know that I know that something is true. What if I believe God loves me? How would that make me feel? Would I really have to worry about anything? If I knew for sure that something was going or not going to happen, or that I was going to get something or have it taken away; if I truly believed that all things good or bad come through the Father's hands before it gets to me, would that change my mind about worry?

If I accept that all things that come to me through the Father's hands are his perfect will for me, then I need to trust him for the outcome. All things work for good for those who love the Lord. He is doing a work in me and I don't have to worry.

To me worry is a waste of time and energy. If I used the same amount of time and energy and devoted that toward something else, I would be much better off .

What do you worry about? Why?

Wait

Since we have been looking at Acts:8 and how we can have part in the power of the Spirit, I wanted to take a look at Acts 1. Here is, I think, one more key to accessing his power in our lives. The disciples are told to wait for the Holy Spirit's indwelling. During this time they prayed and waited. Why would Jesus tell them to wait? I cannot answer this. I do know time after time in my life God has asked me to wait and it has helped me to grow spiritually. It has taught me patience and how to trust Him, and to seek Him and His will for my life. Waiting teaches me to get me out of myself, and has taught me to not worry or fear. To just be still and know He is God and that He loves me. Waiting is not easy; it can wear you down, but it does seem to produce good results. During the waiting I get to experience the now, which is the only time I can really experience Him. Have you waited on God? What have you learned during this time?
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Passing it on

 I wanted to comment about what we talked about in the last post. One of the things that I learned over the years is that, left to my own devices, I cannot change anything on my own. No matter how much I wished I could change, I could not do it myself; the power wasn't there. I have learned to allow  the Holy Spirit to control my mind. When the Holy Spirit controls my mind, then I act differently, almost without trying. It just happens. So when it comes to my kids I teach them to do this to the best of my ability. I only have them for a little while. I teach them how to make good choices to the best of my ability. What I'm trying to do is to prepare them because I know someday they are going to be put in a position to choose for themselves. I pray they will make the right decision, but, ultimately, it is their decision to make. To do that they will also need to learn to trust Him. If you know that God loves you, and is with you, and cares about you. Then you can have confidence that what is happening to you is for His glory and good. The best I think we can do is to prepare them for that day. If they screw up they will at least know where they can turn. If they learn how to allow the Holy Spirit to control their mind and are guided by the Spirit then they are in good hands and I don't have to worry about their future. Are you passing it on if so how?
Passing it on with excellence !!
Keith 

EVERYTHING or nothing!

Have you ever thought that about God? Either he is everything or he is nothing. That thought alone could change your life. Think about it. If, when you're worried about something, you took that worry to God and said; "God, you are either everything or nothing. I give this worry to you," would that change your perception? You can take any problem to God and say your will be done; I accept whatever out come you have for me, Lord. When God is everything, any problem you take to God can melt before him instantly. You can know that he already knows and is already at work on it. How much time do we have to waste fretting over something that is nothing for God? If God is above all in your life, truly, then we should not fret over anything. Yet I do. I still waste precious moments of my life that I could be using somewhere else on something more important. When will I ever learn that God is either everything or he is nothing? I have been around long enough to know he is everything, yet I still forget that sometimes.

Pressing on with excellence!

Keith

New and Better Life

With the events over the past few weeks, I don't know, but it looks like I need to change my focus. I'm in a transition where I think one part of my life has to end before a new one can begin. I've been looking forward to this but, none the less, it's still kind of scary and I'm tempted to worry. I wished my boat would have been a little closer to the dock before I had to jump, but it is what it is and I'm trusting that God has a plan.
It's kind of exciting not knowing what God has next. I've been out of work before, but never like this. Really, I've been praying about this new and better life for at least a year now. Yet, sometimes my thinking can go negative. I've been in the process of trying to change the way I think for a couple of years, so I know what to do when my thinking is negative. I've been envisioning a new and better life for the last couple of years. I don't know exactly what that is going to look like but I do know that for sure I was never going to be able to see it from where I was at. Sometimes we need a little push out of the nest to take the next step.

Pressing on with Excellence,
Keith

Living in the Unknown

Well, I don't know what to write about. First, I want to apologize that I haven't written a blog for a couple of weeks. We went on a family vacation and then I was in an accident at work. Now I've been thinking about the unknowns. I have a lot of unknowns in my life right now.

1)         I don't know if I will be able to go back to work

2)         I don't know if I want to
3)         I don't know if the woman that I hit is okay or not
4)         I don't know if I want to know

I'm doing okay under the circumstances. I haven't worried about what's going on very much. I've really had to practice what I've been preaching lately. And I'm glad to tell you that it has been working. I know that God is in control and I have had a lot of peace, no matter what happens.

I've been suspended from work while they investigate and that has given me time to process through a lot of things. I've been doing all that I can do and that is all I can do. I have to let God do the rest. Whether I have a job or not does not matter to me. I just pray that the lady is okay. Pray for her right now please. That is all that really matters. Everything else is replaceable.

Pressing on with Excellence,
Keith

The Little Foxes

Solomon said in Song of Solomon 2:15, “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.” What was he talking about? I think that he was telling us to watch out for the little things. Be persistent in living a life of excellence in all areas of our lives.

It is easy to slip back into mediocrity. Am I doing the best that I can? Can I do better? Persistence is sometimes hard to muster. I have found that if I do things with excellence in one area of my life, it rubs off into other areas. This also works the other way around. If I slack off in one area of my life it affects the others.
That is why it is important to practice excellence in small unseen ways, so that these little foxes don’t creep in and ruin my efforts. It seems like I wasted parts of my life by having big breakthroughs only to mess them up again. By not being persistent in my actions, and slipping backwards, I had to make another trip around the mountain. If I persist in what I learn, and don’t fall back, then I’m free to learn something new instead of having to learn the same thing over and over again. Have you ever had that Groundhog Day feeling? You don’t have to have that. Practice excellence in the little things. Ask yourself, can I do better here? Then do it.
Being diligent in the little things will have a payback. Check out Matthew 25:29. The New Living translation says “to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given.” It has to do with sowing with excellence and reaping what you’ve sown.
Pressing on with Excellence,
Keith

God LOVES us!

Since worry is a habitual coping mechanism, I believe now that it can be changed. Here I was a Christian and believed in God, but I didn't, way down deep in my heart, believe that he could or would or does love me. I don't know why, but for some reason, I really had a hard time with that. This is the real cure for worry; just really believing that God loves me. It gives me peace and joy and eliminates worry.

So, what kept me from believing that God loves me and how did I change this habit? The way I have been able to do this is by changing the way I think and therefore changing my belief. About the only thing that I really have any true control over is my thoughts. One of the questions I ask myself is: does this thought bring glory to God? Or; how does this thought bring glory to God? If it doesn't then I have to jump off that train. I believe that every thought I have either moves me closer to God or farther away.

Pray. Ask God to help you to recognize these thought patterns and pray also for Him to show you just how much he loves you. I think that these are key to mustering the willingness needed to change the way you think.

Pressing on with Excellence,

Keith

The Change Challenge

No wonder it's so hard to change. If you truly reap what you sow, and you keep sowing the same thoughts over & over, different results are impossible and how then can there be any change at all? You reap what you sow. Thank God he is patient with me because for years and years I was never intentional about my thought life. If you want to change, if you want to quit worrying, if you want to get rid of anxiety, you have to change the things you think about.

To begin with, I would like to challenge anyone who wants to change, starting right now, go 30 days with no news. If you listen to the radio or watch TV, when the news comes on, shut it off. If you listen to political talk radio, shut it off. Trust me, the world won't end if you don't know what is going on in it for thirty days. If you absolutely can't go thirty days without listening to something, try some good audio books or listen to a good podcast. You could listen to Dave Ramsey or Dr. Laura, but put something good into your head and pay attention to what is going on inside it.

Pray that you would be hypersensitive and aware about the thoughts you think, subconscious thoughts especially. Be aware of some of the negative comments that come out of your brain, that spew out of your mouth. You can't hide what's going on inside your head. It will ultimately come out. Do you hear yourself say things that are negative or condescending; either out loud or, worse yet, inside your head? Planning revenge or condemning someone else? Even simple things like "you idiot" whether focused on you or someone else? Watch for self talk or verbal talk that doesn't edify you or others.

Ask yourself: does what I'm thinking about bring glory to God?

Pressing on with Excellence,

Keith

New Life

This Christian life seems hard sometimes. I fail constantly. I don't always treat people right. I judge, condemn, and ridicule them. I know that God wants me to treat them the way I want to be treated, but old habits are easy to fall back into. I must forgive them for what they do to me and I also must forgive myself for how I treat them. I need to change the way I treat them. To begin with, I used to think that just not hurting anyone today was good enough. From where I've come from that was a monumental feat.

Now I'm trying to be different and I'm sowing seeds for a new life that I want tomorrow, so it's not good enough to just not hurt someone today. Now I want to see how I can help someone today; to listen to them, to really care about them.

This is a big change for me to actually care about someone else and their concerns. I used to just worry about myself and my concerns all the time and not care about others. I'm glad for this new life and, even though it seems hard sometimes, it's a lot easier than the life I used to live. So, I will plant seeds of peace and sow a harvest of righteousness. (See James 3:18.)

Pressing on with Excellence,

Keith

Killing Time

One of the reasons that I think I used to worry so much was because of lazyness and apathy. If I worried and prayed then that was good enough. If I quit worrying, pray, then get off my lazy butt and make a plan of action, I have just turned worry into concern. I don't have to sit around and worry, I can work on the plan of action or I can focus my energy somewhere else. I have spent a lot of time sitting around worrying instead of taking productive action.
Do what you are able to do. Don't be afraid to ask for help for that which you are not able to do and leave the rest of it up to God. In the long run, I get more peace and feel more energetic than if I sit around and worry. Apathy breeds apathy.


Pressing on with Excellence,
Dr. Worry

Persistence

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chiotsrun/3596439006/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Persistence. That's the thought that keeps coming up in my head. I've heard it said that persistence is faith. I think persistence is faith in action.

I have set out on a quest to see what my life would look like if I change the way I think. See, I've had enough of worry and anxiety and fear. You reap what you sow. So I've been intentional about what kinds of thoughts I've been sowing. But it's not harvest time yet and that's where persistence comes in; continuing to press on and grow and cultivate and irrigate, reading, listening, and putting good stuff into my head, eating right and watching who I hang out with. These things I work on to see what I will harvest.

I see new life coming on and plants growing. But it's still not harvest time yet. Oh, when will it be harvest time? This is when I need to be persistent and have faith that it will be worth it all. My life is so much better already. The rows are straight and most of the weeds are gone, but I still have some growing to do and some maturing before the harvest time.

This crop has to be bountiful because I haven't sown like this before. I can't wait much longer. This is going to be awesome.

Pushing on towards Excellence,

Keith

Honor

What is honor? The Bible tells us to honor God, also to honor our mother and father. It also tells me to teach my kids to honor and obey God.
I read somewhere that honor is a combination of three things. 1) Doing more than what is expected, 2) treating people as special, and 3) having a good attitude. The combination of doing those three things, and making them a daily habit, is a good habit to get into.
I’ve been teaching this to my kids, but, before I could teach them, I had to do some learning myself. It’s hard to do more than what’s expected if I have a bad attitude. It’s also hard to treat people as special when you have a bad attitude. I have found that if I do it anyway (treat people as special and do more than what’s expected), regardless of how I feel, that doing those things can and often does change my attitude. This is once again one of those weird paradoxes that I have found to be most helpful. It also helps me drop worry, anxiety and frustration and allows me to have peace and joy in my life.
Sometimes you have to go through the motion and the emotion will follow.
Have you ever tried this?

Pressing on with Excellence,
Keith

Break Down the Walls

Do you have walls up in your life? For a long time in my life I did have walls up. I did not even see them as walls. What I mean by that is, I had a lot of fear, worry, anxiety, and bitterness in my life. These were my walls. They kept me from really accomplishing anything. They kept me down and produced a cycle of gloom and impending doom. That, in itself, is a wall that blocks me from becoming what God wants me to be. I think that distractions like this are what Satan fed me to keep me from being effective. My pastor talked about the power of the Holy Spirit inside us, and how the Holy Spirit has the power to change us. But I believe that I get distracted by emotions or circumstances. These walls render me ineffective. This is what Satan wants. There's nothing better for Satan than a Christian that is tossed about like a sailor at sea in a big storm of emotions and circumstances, rendering him useless. How can I break through these walls?

The Holy Spirit has the power to do all good and great things. For me the wall that probably blocked me the most was the wall of unbelief. I didn't really believe that God would give me the power of the Holy Spirit. I thought I had to do these things on my own.

It takes time and a decision that I can't live this way anymore, and it takes mental discipline and a new way of thinking to break down the walls. Are you on this road yet? What are you waiting for? Are you making a difference in this world? Does the way you think and the way you act bring glory to God? Are you ready to break down some walls?

Pressing on with Excellence,

Keith