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What To Do First to Make a Profit

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...
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Life on the patio

So much to do, but not so much that I'd break my "self promises". As my WW leader says, we make promises and keep them for everyone but ourselves. We are often not a good friend to ourself. I've worked hard on changing that these past few years. I'm really back on track with taking care of myself and making sure I'm at my optimum best to lead.

Sometimes I just get a "wake up call" physically that I'm slipping and it's time to invest more time in maintaining me. Sunday was one such day as I had a worse headache than I have had in a long time and my friend Lisa Currie took care of me til' it got better. (She's a headache expert, seriously...since she struggles with them often.)

I have so much to do for the Kingdom and I have to be well to do it. So I'm totally on track once again with being good to myself.. (Pastor Lisa Alexander-- my accountability partner -- I know you are reading this! So just know, I am keeping up with working out and walking!) Speaking of Pastor Lisa, I'm going to her church in a few months to Houston, TX to speak!!! And I will see her IN PERSON -- yippee!!! (thank you for inviting me, btw...) Moving on to a devotional note...

Today as I was reading Secrets of the Secret Place I came upon another quote I enjoyed, "Many of you reading this book have a call to neighborhoods, to cities, and to nations. As you devote yourself to the secret place with God He will birth something within you that will spread, in His time, to the four corners of your sphere. It's an awesome secret: the call of God burning in your breast will be uncontainable and unstoppable as you devote yourself to the fiery passion of intimate communion with the lover of your soul."

Mmm...that's good stuff. People have no idea what they are missing by not having this type of relationship with God and getting in "the zone" as I call it.

This is a beautiful night in Florida. Breezy, just the right temp. Beautiful sunset as I walked about a mile, came back home and prayed on the patio til it got dark. (After I had cooked supper, cleaned up, spent some time with Chocki, etc. etc.) Hard to believe he's graduating in less than 2 weeks. Yikes! I'm getting details finalized for his party. I have a few surprises for him that I know he will enjoy, and the rest I planned with him. I don't know why I get nervous about these things -- they always turn out great. Maybe it's that I just want everything to go "perfect."

I am feeling as though I am getting the theme of the second message for the weekend. I've never been this up against the wall in preparing a message (I'm always done so far in advance) but I think God really wanted me to spend some more life on the patio on this one. As I swing in the stillness of the night, I often get my most profound thoughts dropped into my head from the Lord.

Well...it's about time to wind my patio time down now. I've been outside on the laptop, not wanting to come inside where there is noise. Time to pick up a few things in the house/straighten up, medicate Geena one more time, and spend time with the one I love before bedtime. I am looking forward to some connection time with him this weekend. It's rare that I get to take him with me and when it's a really awesome place like the resort this conference will be at this weekend, I just don't want to have that beautiful inviting room all to myself! So during the "free time" at the conference and at night when we sleep, I'll have Larry with me. This will be good for him too...he can have some time apart to read, pray, rest. As usual I'm working practically at the speed of light to get everything ready to make the trip. Once I get on the road I always breathe a sigh of relief!

God is so good to me. Sometimes I just love to sit out on the patio and just tell him that. And nothing else.

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