The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director. Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year. God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started i...
In Ft. Lauderdale today/tomorrow for church life cohort. It's always a very enriching time, with a lot to think about. We had dinner tonight with Dr. Lee and the Coopers. Always so much to talk about and not enough time! I love being sharpened by discussion like this. By the time I finish two years of this co-hort I should be like a razor! Praise God!
I have gotten to love this part of Florida since we have been here so many times. By the time this co-hort concludes next year, I believe I will have come here 13 times. I absolutely love it here, it's such a beautiful city with so much to offer.
I shared my thoughts with Doc tonight on the fact that happiness in ministry is who you work with. Relationship really is key. Doc sort of acted like it was a "revelation" too...it's so simple, yet why don't we see it many times? Doc said he has even worked on "mediocre" teams in terms of skill, yet was happier because of the relationships on the team. In our case, we have both - great skill and excellent relationship with those we work with. I guess until you have experienced both sides to the coin to the extreme, you do not see how life can be either way. In my case now, I have had the true heaven and hell tour (with the last year being heaven). So, I realize both how bad things can be, and then how good they can be.
Larry and I took Doc back to the hotel and had a good talk with him on the way back...I think the Lord arranged that time for us. We had a great talk about co-pastoring plus more...and you know, rare is the person who can understand the language I'm speaking on the subject. Dr. Lee is one of those people and it's so refreshing.
There is so much to do...we have come so far yet so far to go. And while I have my "initiative list" weekly that I follow strictly to get everything done, I think I need to make a larger initiative list that is my initiative list not only for the week, but for the year, and for the next five years. It's one thing to have a vision for an organization, such as the church. But every person needs a vision for their own life. I have a vision for my life...I have that all written out, as far as my purpose statement, my core values personally, etc. But I do not have an "initiative list" to stay on course with with how I need to continue growing, developing, improving. Sometimes I don't see beyond the week because the week has me so consumed.
I don't want to get to the end and say, "why didn't I look sooner at the big picture?" I have my "blue leaf" of goals and dreams. But I don't have the route to get there mapped out. I need to make a whopper initiative list and start doing things that are larger goals to be accomplished over years time. I think maybe I'll type that out on the way home from Lauderdale this time.
I get so much work done on these trips, it's outrageous. It's because I have four hours in the car on the way there and back and I work on the laptop the whole time, uninterrupted -- except for on the way back Larry and I also debrief about the co-hort meeting. So I'd say I type about 7 hours and we talk about an hour.
I wish I had more time. I know everybody has the same amount of time in life. No one else is given any more than me. It's all in how one uses their time. I just have so many things I want to do, I wish there was a lot more time to do them. My "big picture" is humongous and 24 hours a day doesn't do it justice sometimes. I am a woman possessed with purposeful dreams. In the midst of living out those purposeful dreams I want to do a whole lot of living and loving. Like Hezekiah, I want to say, "STOP THE CLOCK!"
I wish I had more time. I know everybody has the same amount of time in life. No one else is given any more than me. It's all in how one uses their time. I just have so many things I want to do, I wish there was a lot more time to do them. My "big picture" is humongous and 24 hours a day doesn't do it justice sometimes. I am a woman possessed with purposeful dreams. In the midst of living out those purposeful dreams I want to do a whole lot of living and loving. Like Hezekiah, I want to say, "STOP THE CLOCK!"
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