Daily Stop & Thinks

Wisdom

If we pay attention, the treasury of wisdom from our elders should astound us. (Tim Sprankle, pastor)

Doesn’t it seem like a great number of TV commercials are addressed to the young and virile (or the wannabes): e.g., exercise equipment to help you stay young and athletic. Even the ads for the elderly are often geared to help them think and act younger. As Sprankle suggests, those eager young adults might learn a lot more about life and living if they listened more to the gray heads.

The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old. (Proverbs 20:29)

Faith & Love

Faith moves mountains, love transforms heart. (John Paul Warren, author)

Which is more difficult? Actually, both are impossible in normal human experience. Gigantic earth-moving equipment can move mountain-like landscapes. But there is no similar tool to change your heart. But many can testify to a heart change when they met the “right” person. And the Bible reveals a God who can transform lives by a change in their heart’s devotion. 

Jesus: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.” (John 14:27)

Pressure

Don’t let social pressures turn you into something you’re not. (Source unknown)

Sometimes we have to deal with social pressure, whether it’s from the expectations aroused on social media or the request/demands of a friend. We may be tempted to yield because we want to please someone else, or we don’t want to be thought less of. But when we hide who we really are, or let others influence us, we do take a step backward in character development. 

If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small. (Proverbs 24:10)

Responsibility

Life is the acceptance of responsibilities or their evasion. (Ben Ames Williams, late short story writer)

Williams continues, “. . .it is a business of meeting obligations or avoiding them.” We do have to make choices, and Williams says, “By the manner of his choosing you may fairly measure [a man].”  We may want to avoid our responsibilities at times, but to do so can have really tough consequences. It’s best to face our obligations head-on, prepare well, and move forward.

Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct. (Galatians 6:4-5)

Be Effective

We spend most of our days being busy and productive; take your life to the next level by focusing on being effective. (Source Unknown)

As many others have observed, “Being busy is not the same as being productive.” There is much to be learned from God’s creatures, like bees or ants. Not only are they busy and productive, but they also contribute to the balance of nature and we all profit. Plan and prepare well so that your busyness will be effective in achieving your goals.

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. (Proverbs 6:6)

They aren’t strong, but they store up food all summer. (Proverbs 30:25)

Higher and Deeper

We need you to reach higher than you’ve ever imagined and to do so you must dig deeper than you ever have before. (Author unknown)

Most people probably wish to achieve more—to climb higher in their profession or avocation. Everyone recognizes that it takes a lot of work to accomplish anything of lasting value. But like erecting a building where foundations have to be really deep to support a skyscraper, so climbing to new heights will require a deeper study and understanding of the principles of achieving. 

He will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. (Isaiah 33:6)

Leadership II

The litmus test of a great leader is if you can write down the five names of people you have developed (Mike Pumphrey, religious worker)

We’ve often heard the comment that if there is no one following you, you really aren’t a leader. Pumphrey suggests a good test to evaluate leaders. It’s simply this: If you have worked with a group for a reasonable amount of time, is there any sign that future leaders are being developed and moving on to their own opportunities for leading others? If not, why?

Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher. (Luke 6:40)

Leadership I

Leaders [are] those who empower others. (Paraphrase of Bill Gates, business leader)

Most adults work or serve under a variety of leaders over their work life. We have found some of them to be easy to work for; others made it difficult because of their leadership style. Some of our most profitable times were likely those when our bosses shared the plan, provided what we needed to work with, and gave us the authority to do our job in the way we thought best.

If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. (Romans 12:8)

Taking Risks

You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore. (William Faulkner, late Nobel prize-winning author)

Author Mark Batterson put it another way: “The greatest opportunities were the scariest lions. Part of me has wanted to play it safe, but I’ve learned that taking no risks is the greatest risk of all.” It’s often a difficult decision: do I, or don’t I? The answer may depend upon ability, resources, and opportunities. And considering the risks is an important issue to answer first.

A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. (Proverbs 22:3)

Busy

It’s not how busy you are, but why you are busy. Bees are praised. Mosquitos are swatted! (Mary O’Connor, business assistant)

In modern American, the hectic pace of life creates all kinds of problems for people who try to catch or keep up. Busy, busy, busy seems to be the answer to “how’s it going?” O’Connor’s observation assumes there might be the need to evaluate our “busyness.” Are we engaged in worthy activity with beneficial results or just aimlessly being a pest?

We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. (Psalm 39:60)

The Danger of Wealth

We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us. (Winston Churchill. British prime minister)

Is it possible that we could become so enamored with our houses that we begin to emulate them? If we built the bare minimum, could we somehow live that frugally? Or, if we really enlarged our dwelling and furnished it to the max, we would surely be living in an ostentatious way. But. remember what happened to the rich man in the Bible that kept expanding his property. 

“I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones.” “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for? Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” (Luke 12:18, 20-21)

Courage

Courage is far more than just a lofty, noble concept appropriate only for fairy tales and movies. (Keith Caver, leadership consultant)

Caver says, “Courage is meant not only for the battlefield. . . Rather, it’s a skill that is essential to ensure a thriving, high-performance culture.” When things are difficult in life, whether it’s a business problem, a personal issue, or any one of many potential problems, we can give up or we can face the situation with determination—that takes courage, too!

Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged. (1 Chronicles 28:20)

Take courage as you fulfill your duties. (2 Chronicles 19:11)