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Showing posts with the label Ramblings

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...

The One Question I'm So Sick Of (And a prayer...for us)

"What do you want?" This is a very popular question people are often asked in business, in counseling, in coaching. I've never had a problem knowing and describing exactly what I want. Ever. My entire life I have been able to define and articulate what I want, how I want it, when I want it, and who I want it from right down to the exact details. For all of that realization, I am often frustrated. Because I've found that defining what you want doesn't solve your problems. Even knowing what you want and going after it wholeheartedly doesn't solve all your problems. Because sometimes no matter how hard you try, it doesn't go the way you want it to go. Sometimes it also takes more than one person to make it work. Like the song says, "It takes two to make a thing go right...it takes two to make it outta sight..." It's been my experience that anything I want that is possible to achieve by myself, is no problem. When I desire somethi...

Let's not get ridiculous

I'm seeing this more and more. Christian authors, speakers, musicians and many others are Facebooking and Tweeting constantly, and I love that. As we receive tidbits of information from them all day long, sometimes it's profound and other times not so much. We might hear a powerful quote from their latest message, or we might find that they really like McDonald's shamrock shakes.  So at times these Christian celebrities, for lack of a better phrase, come out with a status or tweet something like this: "God has you in mind..." So later on whether it be five minutes later or five days later somebody writes on their Facebook wall or their Twitter, "God has you in mind..." and someone else pipes up and says, "that's a Beth Moore quote, by the way." Really. I love Beth Moore. And Joyce Meyer. And Christine Caine and many of the other amazing people of God that are quoted. I just randomly chose Beth in my illustration, but here is my ...

Why it's good to speak up, even if it gets you killed

When you take a risk and share your heart you run just that, a risk. Sometimes when you share your heart you lose everything. Who knows but that such an unsettling event might be the catalyst that moves us to make the mark we are called to make on the world? Yesterday a friend in ministry said to me, "Deanna, you are a voice, not an echo." That put some things in perspective for me.  I'm really excited right now about a few things I've written that are getting ready to be published that for me are revolutionary. One is an article that I was requested to write and it's very edgy. It's pushing the limits for sure. Perhaps even disconcerting, but a message that is desperately needed. I can hardly wait to see it in print but more than that I can hardly wait to see what changes it may bring about in some people's lives. The other is the current book I'm working on. With every day I become more impassioned about the message. Yesterday I shared with ...

What does your favorite Christmas gift say about you?

Time goes on in our lives and we progress from screaming with glee over opening an Easy Bake Oven Set, a Barbie, a toy gun or a video game, to other things. Decades beyond childhood, the Keurig and a Tempur-Pedic pillow are my two favorite Christmas gifts.  I got to thinking about what this says about me. At this stage of my life I value comfort over play. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not but it's just reality at this moment. I read a blog post by Michael Hyatt this week that really challenged me to embrace discomfort.  It's the last thing I wanted to hear. I've been in an uncomfortable place for quite some time trying desperately to grab on to any bit of comfort that I could find and still retain ministerial credentials. ;P I'm only half kidding there.   I have hope for 2012. Even if just a little bit on some days, I still have hope and on the days it's low, a few friends give me some that they have to spare. Lucky for me, I have some friend...

Do something powerful. Remind yourself.

I feel weird. I mean weirder than usual. I'm living on Zyrtec and Zicam after returning from NC with a bad cold.  Last night before I preached I told the crowd, "Sorry for any accidental heresy that may come out tonight...I'm high on cold medication and really don't know what I might say..." I have to do a bunch of church work today and tomorrow, plus handle four job seeker appointments, and somehow I'll manage this even though my head feels like it has about a million tiny push pins in it. I can't put off doing anything because I leave Thursday morning again for North Carolina for another few days of ministry.  I can't put it off til' later, cuz there is no later... So here I am blogging. I'm sure some may wonder, "why?" If I'm so busy, why do I blog? If I feel bad, why do I blog? If I have other work sitting there that needs to be done, why do I take a break and blog? Because this is an important daily reminder to ...

How did this word get such a bad reputation?

Clique [klik] noun a small, exclusive group of people; coterie  Every time I hear this word in any form or fashion, it's always with distain. I've often pondered the subject of why.   I'm a compassionate person by nature and definitely don't harbor the "us four and no more" mentality when it comes to Christianity or church.  I believe it's important for us to welcome people with open arms. At the same time, my heart tells me that there is sometimes an appropriate setting for a clique of sorts in certain settings of life.  Are my husband and I not in a clique by literal definition being that we are an exclusive couple, not allowing another woman or man into the inner sanctum of our relationship? Is my family of five not a "clique" when we go on a sacred family vacation together or have a family meeting, "just us five"? Last night and for the better part of today my husband and I have been at a denominational leadership...

I hate this dumb question

I read an article today that frustrated me.  Perhaps I was so disappointed because I've read so many like it, and feel even more pressure when I receive what I view as unworkable advice.  The article was about time management, scheduling and stress.  The basic premise of this article was the question: "What if you knew you only had six months to live?  How would that impact your daily decisions on what to do or not do? "  The article went on to advise that however you would live if you only had six months should be how you are living right now.   Although I'm all for asking people powerful questions, I don't believe this question always works in the real world. If I only had six months to live, I'd stop flossing my teeth.  Right now.  I'd never do it again. If I only had six months to live, I'd forget about having my mammogram this year. Forget the pap smear too. See what I mean?  It's a bad idea to just stop doing everything ...

Of planks and peas

It really doesn't take that much to start a new craze. Whoever thought that the latest form of entertainment would be to find places to lay down flat as a board and have a friend take a photo of you and post it on the internet?  Yesterday I had no idea what "planking" was and had to ask facebook friends about this new thing I saw six unrelated friends posting on their statuses yesterday.  I was rather taken aback to see the pictures of these friends laying face down on their living room chairs or cars and posting them on facebook.  It seemed a rather odd thing to do and I was curious.  I noticed that one of them labeled it "planking" so I asked and received the answer that planking is simply laying face down perfectly straight and having someone photograph you. Seriously?   One friend, Joy Morey posted this in our discussion on my facebook page:  "Planking is just another trend of silliness. Nothing strange or drug induced, just for fun. I ...

Because I CAN!!!

Lately I've seen a lot of people posting statuses and blogs that say, "Why do I do this?  Because I CAN!". Usually this is after sharing that they've done something like climb a mountain or do a triathlon or something like that.   I started thinking about this phrase, "because I can" and the thought came to me that just because I CAN do something doesn't mean I SHOULD do something. For instance... I've been asked to take leadership positions I COULD handle, but turned them down. I've been asked to serve on several boards or teams beyond the ones I'm currently on, but said no. I've had people invite me to join them in training for marathons and the like.  As of yet I haven't taken them up on it. Factors for me... Is it wise? Has God specifically called me to do this particular thing? Will it affect my relationship with God or His call on my life? Will it affect my husband/children in a negative manner?   Is there et...

My husband is going to be married to
four or five women before it's all over...

The other day Larry and I were talking to some friends who are going through some "growing pains" in their ministry and we told them about how much we've grown and changed over the 24 years we've been married. You don't know something until you know it. You never know what life holds 'til you live it. Some things never change for us - like core theological beliefs and values, but other things have definitely changed - some slightly,  others completely. How I feel about many things in my 40's is radically different from when I met my husband as a teenager in bible college.  I told him things back then that I'd never do, things I'd always do, things I'd always believe, things I'd never believe.  Guess what -- a lot of that has changed on both our parts.  For a while we held each other to those things but no longer do.  This has usually resulted in an adjustment period for the person who is adapting to the other person's change. As ...

We don't always get what we wish for

I've been on a forgiveness journey for a few months, and have written about it weekly in my "cup of coffee" devotional e-zine that I send out on Wednesdays but haven't written too much about it here on my blog.  Today however, it's heavily on my mind for a few reasons , one being that today is shaping up to be one of the more challenging days in the process .  So I'm going to write about it here today. Some of you may wonder why I'm using the terms process or journey.   The fact is that some hurts are deeper than others.  If someone just forgets to call you  when they said they would or neglects to say hi to you, that's a very small slight, something that most people can easily forgive and forget in a few moments time.  Other hurts are things that rock your world, or cause long term ramifications.  Those things aren't usually forgiven overnight and you go through a process of steps to total forgiveness. The person I'm forgiving has caused...

I need my medication!!!

There comes a time when you are face to face with your own spiritual, physical and emotional well being. A time when pleasing  people fades into the background and doing what you need to do to take proper care of yourself comes into focus. I am feeling little tolerance for anything stressful right now.  I'm losing concern for what happens around me as long as it just doesn't drive my stress level up any further than it already is. I'm gaining the power to set boundaries and not really care who gets mad at me. I'm so there. Excuse me while I go take some deep breaths and then hug my dog Max.  He is otherwise known as "Meds".  He truly is my medication.  He is the only medication I am currently on.  And it's my goal for it to stay that way.   Every time I hug him I feel my blood pressure go down.  I'm not imagining this.  Studies show when you pet your dog, your blood pressure goes down. Now if I could just take Max everywhere wit...

I wrote a blog

I wrote a lengthy blog several times last night and deleted it every time.  I didn't intend on doing that, in fact it was incredibly frustrating. Philippians 2:14 says, "do everything without complaining."   I really believe complaining is the devil's food.  Complaining is to the devil as praise is to God.  That's not to say that I have never complained and still don't complain sometimes.  I struggle like anyone else.  But it's still wrong, and it's not pleasing to God.  I blog everyday.  It's also my desire to obey God's Word. Sometimes I just need to pray through, and hit the delete key.  Like yesterday, and today. Pray for me.  I'll pray for you.  Together we will overcome.

Everything has changed

I usually don't blog anything big on a Saturday.  The reason being, most of my readers aren't here.  They are out weeding their yards, like I often am on Saturdays.  They are doing laundry, attending ball games, baby showers, shopping, or watching TLC.  Rarely are they just sitting around reading blogs on Saturdays.   My stats tell me loud and clear each week that the majority of my readers depart by Friday afternoons and come back in droves Monday morning. For a season I started just posting a photo I took or a video of a song that was meaningful to me on Saturdays and saved the "important stuff" for later when people were actually around to read it.  But today I don't care.  Here I am.  With something big...at least to me. I've been disobedient to God on something.  Some of you might think I chose Saturday to bring out the fact that I've been a naughty Christian , since fewer readers are here...ha ha!  No, not really, the timi...

Lord, I believe...help my unbelief

I'm going to church today fully believing for a miracle for someone.  For a lot of people, actually. I have no problem at all doing that.  My faith is high and many times I do see miracles.  I've got faith that the blind will see, the lame will walk, provision will be granted, people will be employed, promotions and favor will be given, destiny will unfold... heck...I have no problem praying to raise the dead!  Bring it on! There's only one thing or person it's hard for me to believe for and that's...me.  Maybe because it's my life, not somebody else's.  When it comes to believing for other people and their situations, I just know a slice of their life as compared to the whole pie.  And then when I look at my circumstances, they seem insurmountable.  My friend Cassandra Stafford told me the other day when I told her this that it's very common problem, this whole having a hard-time-believing-for-your-own-breakthrough thing.   I know I'm not...

Everybody needs a soft place to land

A few months ago during the holidays I was working one Monday at the church office and was completely and utterly exhausted by day's end.  It wasn't all from the workday -- it was a carry over from Sunday.  In addition to early morning rehearsals, teaching my class, and leading in the worship service, we also had a late night of ministry in a leadership meeting where I also taught.  Then on Monday I got up early and had a full day at the office that was really busy with a lot of standing up and working on a Christmas project all day.  I told Larry, "I'm so beat, I'm just aching all over and my feet are the worst.  I'm going straight from work to get a pedicure."  I was miserable.  Couldn't wait to just sink in the chair, feel the massage (the place I go has AMAZING chairs that are such a treat in and of themselves) and go to the special place in my head that I go to when Mai (the lady who does my feet) works on me. I got there and she said, "Dee...

My love/hate relationship with the phone and other ramblings

Yesterday on Fun Friday I had lunch with a friend and then I almost had my husband all to myself for a few precious hours of time.  Except for the constant interruptions of my husband's phone it was the PERFECT day.  We were involved in deep, amazing, intimate conversation and within the first fifteen minutes, his cell phone rang FOUR times, with four DIFFERENT individuals calling.  And it continued several times through the night.  This is not uncommon, in fact it happens every time we spend any time together.  Every single time!!!  If they had cell phones back before we had kids, it's doubtful we would have ended up with any children. The phone would have interrupted us from conceiving every time.  I might have had to get artificial insemination if I ever wanted to become a mother, due to my husband's cell phonus interruptus.   You think I'm kidding?  I really am not exaggerating that every time we have a conversation or go anywhere or ...

Although it never gets any easier, these things do help me personally

Yesterday I shared about  my long time struggle with weight management and wellness and the fact that it really never gets easier, but that it's not an excuse to give up. Even though it doesn't get easier I've found that some things are helpful to me on the journey.  I've found it's key to share with others about this because those who struggle learn so much from each other.  (That's one of the reasons I'm committed to Weight Watcher meetings -- as they say, "the meetings are the magic.") I thought I'd share a few things that are helpful to me since this is a topic that seems to resonate with so many, and quite frankly I've learned that wellness has so much to do with how I'm doing as a woman, wife, mother, minister, employee, friend, etc.  It affects EVERYTHING. Here we go... Accountability WW meetings, plus a few friends I'm accountable to who ask me the hard questions. With a full house of others who are not all on the sam...

Does it ever get any easier?

I have been back on the journey to wellness for a while now. This is not a new year's resolution.  I knew way before the new year that I needed to make some big changes to not only get back to where I need to be, but beyond where I used to be.  One reason I committed to this before the holidays ever came was because I knew Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year would pack at least another 10 lbs onto me and take me even further down a spiral I didn't need to be going on.  I needed to get a grip on things before then.  So, I did. How's it going?  Very slow, but steady.  I'm learning that once you hit 40, it's harder than it was before.  It's like the weight goes off of you kicking and screaming, pulling to stay on you like a toddler in the candy aisle.  It's so frustrating at times but I'm just determined to not let it keep it's monstrous hold on me.   I don't really talk about it a lot (and really haven't blogged about it at all) even ...

Secret Crosses

Bette* is a woman in ministry who has a special needs child.  In addition to all of her other responsibilities her life is filled with  taking her child to 100 times more doctor's appointments than most other moms around her face.  She lives with physical and emotional demands on her can't be explained, only experienced.   Tressa is a woman in ministry whose pastor-husband struggles with depression.  He won't get help.  It has almost killed their marriage but no one would ever know it by what they see on the outside each and every Sunday and mid-week service.  Melinda is a woman in ministry who just experienced the foreclosure of her home and church this past year.  Her family is temporarily living in a house another minister's family had available for them to stay in.  No one really knows the fear and anxiety that have gripped Melinda concerning their future. I often think of my many friends in ministry and what people don't know ...