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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 inve
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Off to a good start


It's been an exhausting first Sunday of the year - but it was a great one!

This morning was a relatively smooth worship rehearsal which is always a positive start to the day. Then I went on to my favorite part of the morning: my Sunday School class. I love teaching SS. It's my favorite thing in the world to do. Oh how I love it! You couldn't pry me away from my SS class if you tried. To say I'm HUGE SS fan is an understatement.

Then we had our first morning worship service of the year and I believe it was an incredibly positive one! I sensed something great in the air. As the old song says.............

I just feel like something good is about to happen...
I just feel like something good is on it's way
He has promised that He'd open all of heaven...
and brother it could happen anyday!
When God's people humble themselves and call on Jesus, and they look to heaven expecting as they pray...
I just feel like something good is about to happen...and brother it could be this very day!

Amen!

We ate lunch with a few families and I even squeezed in a very short rest in the afternoon and then headed to another worship rehearsal and our "increase" prayer meeting tonight. I sensed a great presence of God there tonight and a hunger in people's hearts for a fresh touch from God in '08. We are believing for big things.

After church tonight we went to Steak and Shake with Pastor T and Misty, their kids, our kids, Pastor Linds, Cathy & David, Stephen and Kristen. Fun! It's sort of our last fling before getting into serious routine again. Dustin starts college tomorrow morning! Can you believe it? He's been waiting several months since he was too sick to start last semester after being in the hospital with MRSA. So tomorrow's the big day!

Jordan and Savanna start again on Tuesday. Back to the land of homework, school lunches and projects.

This is our week of prayer - with prayer events happening daily/nightly.

I have a full week of work initiatives ahead of me.

This week is going to be incredibly busy but I'm ready for all that it holds. More than anything right this moment I'm ready for SLEEP. Last night once again was a difficult time for me in getting to sleep. As I've said many times before, my mind is like a computer that just doesn't want to power down. I find shutting down hard to do. My mind is always racing with new and creative ideas, challenges I face, analyzing solutions in my head and thinking of lots of nonsensical stuff or praying. Sometimes in my mind I am considering message themes, other times something like table settings for events I'm planning. I try not to think of the challenges or solutions as much and stick to the other stuff. God's working with me on that...

Last night as I laid there I was considering paint colors for a project in my house. I was going to try something new on my kitchen wall but now I'm coming back to the same color I have now but just giving it a fresh coat. My common areas of my home are painted Benjamin Moore, Concord Ivory. Don't let the "ivory" part fool you. It's really not ivory. It's a very goldish color. Anyway, in researching it and looking for a color that would compliment the concord ivory on the living room and dining room walls I discovered that Concord Ivory is one of Benjamin Moore's top selling colors. It's very popular. Evidently a lot of people like it besides me, so it's a choice of very good taste. I think I'm going to keep it the same - freshen it up and then go on to work more on another room of the house. So...I solved that issue in my mind last night.


Tonight I'm hoping to solve nothing in my head and just sleep.

Larry probably won't want me to just go to sleep, knowing him. Because it's like this - I'm married to Mr. Romance. I heard it said one time that ministers are people of passion and really, that passion extends to more than their ministry. No problem with that - I'm happy with a passionate husband. I'm rather passionate myself if you haven't figured it out by now.

Confession time here.

Are you ready for this?

Okay, intensely personal but then again, as my son Jordan is famous for saying, "that's the way I roll! "(GRIN)

I'm married to a man who is crazy about me. I know, it's a blessing. I'm crazy about him too, but at times I'm also tired from the 8,356 initiatives I have on my plate at any given time. I get extremely exhausted and truly need to just go to sleep. So what do I do in these desperate sleep deprived times?

I wear boring underwear.

That's right, I don't wear my usual bras, panties or slips. I purposely wear something that is really plain, and non-descript. No, not grannie panties but something really plain Jane-ish. That way hopefully as I'm getting dressed (or undressed) it's no big deal. The goal? That he will just yawn and go watch a game or catch up on his Pittsburgh newspaper or something. Please know this is not all the time, just on VERY rare occasions when I'm crazy tired. But I hate to say it...as much as my husband makes jokes about hating flannel nightgowns and all that stuff, I can really wear anything and he still adores me. :-) He loves the fancy schmancy stuff but then again I can still purposely wear a plain white bikini pair of Hanes underwear even when completely untanned in the wintertime and he still thinks I'm the most compelling woman in the world.

I know - it's a blessing, not a curse. But I'm still tired! :-)

G'night everybody. He's watching hockey and writing a prayer for the Northside blog right now. Time for me to go to sleep while I still have the chance. :-)

Comments

Deborah said…
Deanna, always such fun reading your blog, could you please let us see the new hairdo, as its a bit far for me to come to the USA to have a personal look. lol
1:31 AM
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