THE STEPS OF PRAYER

           THE STEPS OF PRAYER
           First, decide what you really want.
           Second, decide whether the thing you
           want is a Christian thing.
           Third, write it down.
           Fourth, still the mind.
           Fifth, talk with God about it.
           Sixth, promise God what you will do to
           make this prayer come true.
           Seventh, do everything loving that comes
           to your mind about it.
           Eighth, thank God for answering in his
           own way.
           Ninth, release the whole prayer from
           your conscious thinking.

         E. STANLEY JONES






Muck, T. C. (1985). Vol. 2: Liberating the leader's prayer life. The Leadership Library (151). Carol Stream, IL; Waco, TX: Christianity Today, Inc.; Word Books.

Feeling Afraid is the "Norm" In a Living Walk with Christ

“If you open your doors Lisa, I will send the people” 

Kind of sounds like a corny line from the Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams. But it wasn’t from a movie. It was a message resonating, continually in my spirit. “If you will trust Me, and open your doors, I will send you the people”. These doors He was referring to was my Life Coaching business.

Take one obedient step at a time as He calls..

Most entrepreneurs can’t wait to get their ventures afloat, however, at the time; I was insecure and fearful of failing. I argued with God (which I don't recommend) for quite a while…I reasoned (begged) that I wasn't finished with everything I wanted to accomplish; I wasn't ready. I needed more education, more wisdom, more money, more connections, more courage, more, more, more! 

Still wrestling with God, I left for a yearly conference in Nashville. One of the first speakers that week was author and coach, Dwight Bain. Dwight started his session that day with Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD you God is with you wherever you go.”

This happened to be one of the first scriptures that the Lord had given me years ago concerning my life purpose. If this wasn't enough to completely deflate my argument, Dwight’s next statement cinched it.  “If you will open your doors, Dwight encouraged, He will send you the people” Wow! Could He be any clearer?

In His infinite grace, the Lord went one step further to reassure me that He would do what He promised. Returning from the conference, although still apprehensive, I had determined in my heart to do what the Lord had asked. The following morning, I received a call from a woman that I played tennis with occasionally. She had seen something on T.V. about Life Coaching and asked if I knew of anyone who did this Life Coaching. I was stunned!

   

He sent me my very first client and from that day on, I have always had clients. Not once in all this time have I been without clients. I didn’t advertise, in fact, in the beginning, I didn’t even have an office, but through referrals and a free website I put together myself (and I knew zero about this kind of thing); I had a steady stream of clients. For those of you unfamiliar with this industry, without your own coach or business connections, this is unheard of! But He who calls is faithful.

I don’t know what He’s entreating you to do. I’m not sure what fearful step He’s put in front of you to take. But I do know this; He who asks is trustworthy.

It’s not too late. You’re not too old. It’s not too hard. There is a way, you just can’t see it. However, that’s part of the point, isn’t it? Don’t miss this valuable opportunity for a concrete encounter with His love and grace. Your transformation by God Almighty, as you trust in the voice of His Spirit, is far too priceless of a gift to let slip away.

Surrender your fears and insecurities to Him and take one obedient step toward His call. What will that step be today? Commit to Him. Ask Him for the strength and He'll show you how. 

Isaiah 34:3-4 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God…will come and save you."

Follower of Christ• Total Failure • Amazing Grace

  Even my worst failure-as-a-mother-moments can ever 

  overshadow the power of His grace.

I didn't want to go.

I’d been crying since we pulled out of the garage, now late, for our much anticipated night out with two of our best friends.

“I really don't want to go out to dinner like this”  I emphatically pleaded a second time to my husband (whose only response was to maddeningly continue driving despite my protests!).  

Who wants to eat with someone literally sobbing in their soup? Come on. I tried to reason with him...but to no avail, my sweet husband, bless him (really!), kept driving.

Only a half our earlier I’d been yelling at my 17 year old son, in a-most-definitely-un-Christ-like-way. How did I lose it so quickly, I miserably wondered as a fresh wave of guilty tears slid down my cheeks? Replaying the scene in my minds eye, I winced as one of the most frowned upon curse words, (sans filter), came flying out of my mouth.

But wait! It gets even better. The worst part was that over the last several months this type of scenario had occurred three other times! I can't describe (and maybe I don't have to) the weight of the shame towering over my senses and draining any possible hope for redemption. 

Despite his mothers childish (or spawn of Satan-like) behavior, my son calmly looked me in the eyes, gently put his hands on my shoulders, and said in a very parental, yet loving tone;

“Mom… now…I want you to ask yourself something. You aren't a person who’s for cursing, and you’ve been cursing a lot lately... (wince)... so I want you to ask yourself a question...what you think that might be causing this.” 

I’m not exaggerating, that’s literally as word for word as I can recall. My mouth hung ajar. He went on in the same tender approach, “…and I think I can tell you what the problem is too”.  It was clear to both of us that I didn't have a clue and was far too astounded to respond, so he continued with his diagnostic assessment of his mothers root problem which was manifesting itself as mommy-with-a-mouth-like-a-sewer.  “You’ve been working too much and for too long, and now you’re totally stressed out”.

Although simplistic, his diagnosis was spot on.

This is the reality of the extraordinary God we serve. Instead of condemnation, in his amazing grace he taught me a valuable lesson about love, grace and redemption:

• ·         God is good even in our sinfulness.
• ·         We can’t ever mess up too badly to be used by God.
• ·         My son experienced an incredible affirmation of a God-given strength that day        despite my sewer mouth.
• ·         I was out of balance and people I loved were getting hurt because of it.
• ·         I stopped working so many hours.

·      

      Only with Gods grace could Wyatt have come out of this exchange blessed and affirmed. In fact, God continues to bless him through this. Wyatt knows I often use this experience as a teaching example with my clients, and that others, besides his mother, are regularly blown away by such a profound perspective and response for a 17 year old son.  

I am a weak, sinful, senseless person who can be filled with the Spirit and still manage to mess up big, but the grace of God is his faithfulness despite my failures.  He does far more than merely rescue us; he delights in blessing us despite our fiascoes and botched attempts to follow the example of Christ.  Not even my worst failure-as-a-mother-moments can ever overshadow the power of His grace.

Romans 5:2
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Inundated with Inauthentic Coaching Vernacular

You know, I read things like this every day "achieve your dreams" "believe that you can succeed and you will!" "I coach others to reach their full potential" or "attend my tele-seminar for the 10 secrets...." now don't misunderstand me, I'm not dismissing these statements altogether (in fact I've written them or spoken similar things many times!), however, there's something amiss when the language used to communicate hope and convey your unique strengths becomes so often repeated, with the same or very similar vernacular, over and over again, that the message begins to feel as genuine as a commercial for diet soda or laundry detergent!

As coaches we are in the people helping profession; our tanks are filled when others excel, thus we must reach deeper to carry that substantive truth to our prospective audience. When we lack the enthusiasm and discipline to invest in our message, we can end up sounding like a used car salesman! I don't want that for myself, nor do I want it for you! Therefore, we must choose to put consideration and authenticity into how we articulate ourselves as we deliver our competencies with integrity and sincerity. People are turned off (well, at least I am) by the used up jargon that is redundantly reinserted into emails, ads, and social media! For goodness sakes, if you're not actually reading the Bible please don't quote it as if you are! Be real! People can smell deception from miles away; don't be that 'guy'.

I am cognizant of the real potential that exists (is happening) for cheapening the profession of Life Coaching and Christian Coaching by the use of superfluous coaching 'lingo'. Let's put thought, energy and passion into a career that flows out of our life story and desire to serve Christ! When was the last time you read a new book on leadership, spirituality, personal growth or someones biography (no it doesn't count if you've skimmed through it on your ereader or read the back cover)? We must be continually immersing ourselves with credible and honorable learning opportunities to acquire fresh and profound ways of expression that can accurately represent our distinctive and unparalleled endowments.

I say all this foremost to myself. However, I believe this is such a potentially destructive trend that it demands our attention. If our genuine motivation is to help others through the truth of Christ, or our profession, then we must apply ourselves to the task wholeheartedly. This is the missing and critical element to success (as both a representative of Christ and as a professional), and one that's been heavy on my heart. I share it not with condemnation or judgement, but as encouragement and motivation to run the race well!

Whether you're a Christian Coach or Professional Coach you must recognize that you are a leader, and leadership carries a responsibility to those in your field of influence to be ever-learning and ever-growing yourself. I'm not there, you're not there, there's so much more for us to discover and realize.

Therefore, in light of this, let's strive to be imaginative, reaching deeply and prayerfully, for newfound ways to communicate our distinctiveness to others and you'll not only succeed professionally, but you'll live well as you climb.

A Look into Jane's Journal

I want to give you a peek into Jane's journal...she could be any of us and I think after reading a few excerpts from her writings you'll agree.


Day 1: Oh Lord, I'm so thankful to you and for all your blessings! It's a New Year and things are going to be different this year!

Day 2: Oh Lord, I've got to get it together! What's wrong with me? I've got to stop this. I've got to lose weight and get healthy! Please help me to make healthy choices.

Day 3: Todays going to be a better day! I feel great! I woke up today and got on the treadmill and drank a protein shake for breakfast! Wow! How much better I feel; I'm going to do this...I'm going to get in shape and be a healthy person. Thank you Lord for your strength!

Day 4: I don't know whats wrong with me...why am I so weak?? It's like I can't do anything right...I was yelling at the kids all day...we picked up fast food again for dinner... what's the point of even trying?

Day 5: The sermon was spot on today! That's exactly what I needed to hear from you! It's so wonderful to be loved by you! This is going to be a better week!


Day 6: I feel completely depressed today. I'm hopeless. I had to go to the doctor today and of course they wanted to weigh me....uuuhhhhggg! Why do they even need my weight anyhow? WE ALL KNOW THAT I'M FAT!

Day 7: I am completely at your mercy Lord...if you wont help me...if you won't rescue me...then I will never be free of this..I can't do it alone...I don't have any will power...I need Your Power...I need you...



Point 1: Our feelings and beliefs are in a continual state of motion if we do not anchor them down with truth.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Phil 4:8