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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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I love going to the dentist!!!!!!


Stay tuned to find out just WHY I love going...

Well, I do brush my teeth but I still got into this fix. At least it's over. My three hour ordeal of getting my tooth done is complete. Halleluiah. I feel so much better now. I have a temporary crown and in two weeks they put the permanent one on which is painless and only take a few seconds.

Although I brush my teeth a lot I did miss my six month cleaning with all else going on and it caught up with me. Other than that I've been really good at 2 checkups a year but I still seem to have a lot of cavities since I moved to FL. So, I made a decision today. I'm getting four cleanings a year. My insurance pays for two, and even though I'll pay for the other 2 out of pocket it will be worth it, especially since they are only going to charge me $22 for them. I asked today and my dentist has a policy that if you have insurance and you get additional procedures they don't cover - they only charge you what they would have charged you had the insurance company denied a claim! Pretty cool huh? So I'll get a $90 cleaning, but only pay $22. Awesome! I think if I go every 3 months it will keep me cavity free and I won't find myself in this painful position again not to mention shelling out all this money for a crown. I think that's wisdom...no pun intended. :-)

I don't like going to the dentist as far as getting my teeth worked on, however I LOVE GOING TO THE DENTIST!!! So much I can't believe I missed my check up last time, but other stuff in life sorta took over. But anyway, the people at my dentist office ROCK. I had the privilege a few years ago of developing a relationship with the office manager and leading her to the Lord. She's just a young woman in her 20's and her name is Lia. We are still good friends today and just remarked that the next time I come in we'll have to schedule my appointment around lunch time so we can go together and spend some time with each other. She just brought up today about the wonder of God putting people in your life for a reason and now asked me to pray for someone who God has now put in her life to minister to. God is good. Really folks, THIS is what it's about.

If you never figured it out about me yet, I have a passion of reaching people for the Lord, and pretty much an almost aversion to religious pharisaical types. :-) Religious people can sometimes drive me crazy. My passion is to reach the lost and mentor them and this is something that is my priority over anything else. I've found through the years that generally people who are also doing that are pretty well consumed with it and have little time for the pettiness that some so called Christians get wrapped up in. I'm so glad years ago I made a decision to make this my focus. Lia (office manager) is one person I'm getting to take to heaven with me as a result.

I referred earlier to Pastor Craig Sloan's excellent post from today. Craig and Tara have both been incredible life-speakers to me over the years and during a difficult time in my life years ago it was Craig's preaching tapes that lifted me to a new level in God. They both have such good insight, and specifically here's some of what he had to say today:

"What amazes me the most is that people who are critical spend all their time criticizing you, when in reality they envy what you got. They will criticize you over your new blessing until you leave it, and then they will come right behind you and scoop it up. Don’t allow their negative spirit to distract you from what is yours. Your blessing is your blessing, it doesn’t belong to anyone else, but when you focus on the critics you forfeit what is yours. Let them talk; it just reveals that they are so consumed with your life, that they don’t have a life. I want to close with one statement to all those critics, doubters, naysayers, and hateful people who are so focused on our failure, GET A LIFEI

My blessing is indeed my blessing, Pastor Craig. Thank you for those life giving words today. You have reminded me that people like Lia the office manager are (in addition to my children) my spiritual harvest and there are many in addition to them.

I've heard people get mad at their critics before and say things like, "Yeah, I'd like to line 'em up and shoot 'em." No, not me. No shooting necessary, not to mention it's not Biblical. Here's what I'd like to do. I'd just like to ask critics, "please give me a list of everyone you've personally led to the Lord and discipled in this past year" and ask them to line them up for me. No, don't give me someone your pastor gave you to go pray with at the altar. No, not someone you went behind and laid a hand on at heaven's gates hells flames while the evangelist prayed. I want a LIST...an actual LIST of the people you've found and personally led to Jesus and then discipled in the past year.

Hmmmmmmm.........

I always tell our Northside people, "if you're too busy rowing the boat, you don't have time to rock it."

It really IS all about gettin' a life, isn't it? In my opinion there really is no life without leading people to the Lord and discipling them.

I'm so glad I don't pastor a religious church. Can I get an amen up in the house?

Comments

Anonymous said…
I love the way you reach out as you "do life". That's how Jesus ministered to others. It's people like you who witnessed to me at school, at the mall, in the neighborhood, etc. who impacted my life as a teen. At first, I thought they were a little too much but as the spirit of God dealt with me, I did come around and now I am in ministry too. I reach out to people like that too. It's amazing how God will move if we obey.

PD, It's exhausting being fabulous! You must get worn out! LOL I appreciate your creative mind and big heart. TwoAsOne
4:51 PM
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