It seems like we all are waiting on something to happen before we start doing what we know we are supposed to do. Let’s think about it: Do you need to start working out? Do you wait ‘til the New Years day to try to stop smoking or say “I’ll just wait till I finish this pack”?  How about you need to study harder in school but decide to just wait tell next semester? This is one I hear a lot “when I get married I will start doing this or stop doing that”.

Why is it when we know what we need to do we choose to make excuses to start it later?  I image the conversation in our head goes something like this. “I know I need to get better, but, I’ll do what I need to do in a month or so”. What sense does that make?  That makes about as much sense as saying, “Look! A stop light!  I’ll stop when I get on the other side of it”.

When it comes to doing what we know we need to do, procrastination is not our friend, but our enemy. Let’s not continue to make excuse about what needs to be done and just do it!

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What will you do today to get better? Now that’s a pretty vague question.  “Get better at what?” is probably what you’re thinking. See most of the time we think of getting better as something athletes do. Like, I won the bronze medal last Olympics so for the next Olympics I’m going for gold. See most of our lives we live to get to a certain place or goal and once we get there we stop trying to improve upon ourselves. When we get that job we wanted or when you get your PHD or now you are married.  Once the goal is reached we feel like we can stop striving to get better.

But what would happen if we were to look at every part of our live as a chance to get better?  Maybe you need to be a better husband or wife, perhaps a better parent or child, maybe a better leader or follower. How does one even know if they need to get better?  I’ll start by saying no one is perfect so that leaves the door wide open for us all to get better.  So let’s stop and examine our lives and see what we can do to get better.

All this week we will look at different ways that we can get better on a daily basis.

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I am reading a book by Charles F. Stanley. While reading I came across a section where he says “Each of us faces a four-fold challenge about any task we undertake”

It was very impactful to me so I thought I would share them with you.

1. Productivity  -  doing as much as we can
2. Quality  -  doing things as well as we can
3. Time management  -  doing things as efficiently as we can
4. Maximum impact  –  doing things as effectively as we can

That’s great insight to think about when we are taking on any task whether it’s at work or at home. So I challenge each of you as you start your week off to weigh what you do against these 4 things.

The name of the book is “How to Reach Your Full Potential for God”. It’s a great read and I will be doing a full review as soon I finish.

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Are you rock star? Have you made it to level in life where you feel you are entitled to have things your way?  If you don’t get your way do you make sure someone hears about it?

Let me give you an example in my own life. About every month my boss asks his team to make an appointment with him. Everyone on the team makes an appointment but me.  Now if your thinking I don’t meet with him that not the case. See we meet but I just walk up to him and start talking. It’s the same way with my barber. I’ve been going to the same guy ever since I got out of the army 10 years ago. I’ve never made an appointment. I usually just send a text and say I need a cut that day and somehow he works me in.

I’m not even sure why I do it, maybe because it makes me feel like a rock star. Well, I’m not and even if I was I should have more respect for people and their time. See Jesus came to serve, not to be served Mark 10:45 and if there was ever anyone who should have been treated like a rock star it was Jesus, yet he washed feet and gave his life for us. John 13:1-17

In this New Year let us all do our best to serve others rather than expecting others to serve us.

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LEADING YOURSELF WELL  by (Heather Zempel)

Romans 12:8: “If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.”

Leadership is a stewardship issue.

1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, as I imitate Christ.”

Leadership begins with becoming a leader worth following.

1. Create a spiritual development plan (Acts 2:42-47)

• Seeking is the spiritual dimension of discipleship.  We want to be disciples who practice spiritual disciplines, discover and implement their spiritual gifts, develop the fruit of the Spirit, and understand and participate in the work of the Holy Spirit.
• Learning is the intellectual dimension of discipleship.  We want to be disciples who endeavor to have the “mind of Christ” and long to know more about Him.  We want to be people who are actively reading, memorizing, meditating upon, and studying the Word of God.  We want to be people who understand the core doctrines of their faith.
• Influencing is the relational dimension of discipleship.  We want to be disciples who change the culture of our generation, love our neighbors, and pass the faith to the next generation. It’s about community, discipleship, service, and mission. We want to influence neighborhoods and nations for the Kingdom of God.
• Investing is the stewardship dimension of discipleship.  We want to be disciples who are investing our finances, talents, time, energy, and resources into Kingdom work.  We want to be people whose calendars and checkbooks reflect Kingdom priorities.

2. Lean into your strengths.

3. Identify areas in which you’d like to grow.

4. Read.

5. Get around others who excel in the areas where you want to grow.

6. Write down what you are learning.

7. Put yourself in leadership situations that stretch you.

8. Have an apprentice leader.

9. Create accountability environments for yourself.

10. Take care of your personal life- family, friendships, health, finances.

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