Bloom Where You are Planted.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Burned out with religion?

28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest." From the Message

It doesn't get any better than that!

"The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace." Psalm 29:11

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

Have you found peace with God?

Friday, July 15, 2016

"God has created each of us with a unique contribution to make in our world and our times. No other person has our same abilities, motivations, network of friends and relationships, perspectives, ideas, or experiences. When we, like misplaced puzzle pieces, fail to show up, the overall picture is diminished." Richard Stearns: President of World Vision U.S.
Quote from his book: The Hole in our Gospel

Chapter 24: How Many Loaves Do You Have?
"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try spending the night in a closed room with a mosquito." - African Saying

Study Guide

Reviews from "Good Reads"

"The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace." Psalm 29:11

Have you found peace with God?

If you have, maybe you could share this post with a friend...? On Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin?

A good Book that explains clearly how we can make a real impact on our world through the investments we make in Christian non profits.

Have you found peace with God?

If you have, maybe you could share this post with a friend...? On Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin?

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Does it matter where I get my strength from in order to "Bloom"?

Best place to get your strength is from the creator of the universe!

"The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise."
Psalm 28:7

"The Lord is the strength of his people,
    a fortress of salvation for his anointed one."
Psalm 28:8

"The Lord gives strength to his people;
    the Lord blesses his people with peace."
Psalm 29:11

My Strength or God's Strength?

God’s Call

Just a few questions you may want to ask yourself

What is God calling me to do? Have I asked Him?

What is my passion? My Spouse’s

Where do the world’s needs and my passion intersect?

Have I taken the online S.H.A.P.E assessment?

Have I taken the Strengthsfinder 2.0 Assessment to see what my “strengths” are?

Have I taken the IDAK Talent Assessment?

What are my dreams?

What can we do? (Add spouse’s name if married)

What about interests?

How would I spend my time?

What is important to me?

What can I do that will outlive me?

What experiences have I had that my give me a clue to the above?

What are my gifts?

Am I using my talents, gifts in my local church? If not, why not?

Am I a good steward of my gifts, time, abilities, etc.?

What would I do if I had a million dollars or more?

Do I have enough information or do I have info overload?

Who do I need to contact, email, call?

Do I need some more training in some area?

Are these the correct questions to ask myself? And my spouse if married?

Some excerpts from: God’s Best for My Life by Lloyd John Ogilvie

“What are we daring to attempt which could not be accomplished without His strength and intervention? So often we plan our lives around what we could do without Him on our own. A sure sign that we are in communion with the Lord is that we are attempting what only He can do? Can you identify that in your life?”

My Latest TWEETS

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

9 easy questions to ask your neighbor if you want to make an impact on your neighborhood!

We first need to believe that God has a plan for your neighborhood!

What role do I play in God's plan for my neighborhood...so I can make a impact on His plan?

Following is an easy method to start using.

Here is a good easy way to start the process

A little role playing is a good way to learn the process..before going out into a neighborhood.

Two people go out together
One prays while the other starts the conversation.
Usually they go in a neighborhood...door to door.
They are not going to prosletize or get people to go to their church.

This survey is also a great "tool" that church planters can use...both locally and internationally!

NEIGHBORHOOD SURVEY

Used with permission from Stan Rowland. Neighborhood Transformation

http://neighborhoodtransformation.net/

What do you like about your neighborhood?

What would you like to see different in your neighborhood?

What groups are you involved in, within your neighborhood?

What do you like to do with your hands?

What would you like to learn if training were available in your neighborhood?

What’s one thing you’d want to be part of if it was happening in your neighborhood?

What‘s one thing you could teach?

Is there anyone in your house that is over 65 or disabled?

9. Anything we can pray about for you and or your family?

Name _______________________________

Address________________________________

Phone___________________

Stan Rowland of Neighborhood Transformation has a BLOG
He updates it frequently.

Stan and his team put on weekend & or week seminar/workshops all over the country throughout the year.

Neighborhood Transformation has lots of free resources you can use...

http://neighborhoodtransformation.net/

Short video about cities

My Latest TWEETS

Friday, July 8, 2016

Something For Jesus to Do! (SFJTD)

We make plans everyday...but it's best to let the LORD direct our footsteps!

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

Proverbs 16:9

“Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1^st. Thess. 5:16-18

Recognizing that this is NOT my home. I and Nomi are just passing through. Travelers, not settlers…Citizens of another world! The Lord provides some great inns, but not to get too comfortable in this world.

Material things valuable only to the extent that they facilitate our mission. We are ambassadors for the Lord. Hoping and praying to take as many people with us to our real home in Heaven.

As each tick of the clock brings me(us) a second closer to our heavenly appointment with the Lord Jesus when we will stand before Him and give an accounting of how we lived our lives, I want to have my mind focused now on things above, not on earthly matters…Col 3:2-12.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Roman 12:12

Want to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant” When I stand before Jesus one day.

Made a list

Some or quite a few of these items are desires, ideas, longings “old dreams” resurrected, etc, but will be bathed in prayer & discussion with Naomi!

Trusting that all these items were promptings from the Holy Spirit! And are items pleasing in the Lord’s eyes. And NOT my good ideas which would require me to accomplish them! Visions are from the Lord…God does…with my hard work also! God gets the glory!

I assume some of my “ideas” were a result of 5 years of “Perspectives on The World Christian Movement” course.

Also from reading some of Randy Alcorn's books.

The resources of heaven are ready and waiting for the people of God who desire to make much of him in this world. For the people of God who long to see his power at work and who live to see his purposes accomplished, he will give us absolutely everything we need according to his very presence alive in us. “

“Instead of imagining all the things we can accomplish, we ask God to do what only he can accomplish. Yes, we work, we plan, we organize, and we create, but we do it all while we fast, while we pray, and while we constantly confess our need for the provision of God. Instead of dependence on ourselves, we express radical desperation for the power of his Spirit, and we trust that Jesus stands ready to give us everything we ask for so that he might make much of our Father in the world.”

“Jesus commands us to go. He has created each of us to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, and I propose that anything less than radical devotion to this purpose is unbiblical Christianity”. How can WE do this?

“God gave his people his image for a reason-so that they might multiply his image throughout the world. He created human beings, not only to enjoy his grace in a relationship with him, but also to extend his glory to the ends of the earth.”

It’s all about: Relationships, Communication, Forgiveness: 3 Basic Concepts that result in “Peace” “Shalom”

ALL Tentative, subject to change at any time!

By Holy Spirit and His opening and closing doors!

Not necessarily in any particular order or priority.

Result of lifetime reading Bible, over 150 Christian books over the years and compiling and looking over “old” notes taken over the years.

Making the most of every opportunity!

Seizing opportunities is directly tied to the spiritual gift of discernment. When we see what looks like an opportunity, we have to discern whether we are seeing a true opening or just our own wishful-thinking or a random idea.

Just because an opportunity arises does not mean that we should take it. An opportunity is just a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something. We still have the hard work of determining whether it is something WE SHOULD DO!

Opportunities are doorways that God opens. It is divine leading, even though we may not be able to predict what lies beyond.

Ability to see with the eyes of God, think with the mind of Christ, and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit!

The "list" following gives us (my wife Naomi) and I a wonderful opportunity for discussion and prayer to help us determine where & how the Lord may want us to use our gifts in ministry.

Hope this helps in some way in helping you make your list!

Blessings!

Happy New Year!

Focus on Jesus and live one day at a time.

My Latest TWEETS
_______________________________________

Friday, July 1, 2016

Your Calling, Purpose alnd Worldview

"In his insightful and challenging book, The Call, Os Guinness defines our purpose as "the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion, dynamism, and direction lived out as a response to his summons and service" This perspective give meaning to every moment, and it challenges us to live with integrity in every choice and relationship because we represent God at all times."

" So, does this perspective inspire you to use every part of your day more effectively as God's servant, or does it threaten you because you realize some things in your life aren't what they should be? It should do both."

Taken from Daily Insights with Zig Ziglar and Dr Ike Reighard January 29th

Added thought: "If you wish to be a leader you will be very frustrated, for very few people wish to be led. If you aim to be a servant, you will never be frustrated." -Frank F. Warren

My latest TWEETS on Twitter

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

The Key to Joy: It's all about "Relationships", "Communication" and "Forgiveness"!....

As my good friend Ron says, "It's all about relationships".

With "social media"...it's about "friends", "connections" and "followers".

If you can't wait to get to the end of this post...It's all about Forgiveness!

Over the course of time, I have added, "Yes, and it's all about Communication."
Communication, Communication, Communication.

All about Relationships: Yes, with Jesus through God our Father...and then relationship with each other.

To develop any relationship, we need to listen and to communicate.

So it's all about Communication, Communication Communication.

With God, we communicate through Prayer.

With each other, we communicate in many ways.

But in any relationship...even with the best of Relationship and Communication, we mess up. It's called sin.

With God we can repent and ask for forgiveness.

So to complete the circle...I have added yes, and it's all about Forgiveness.
Forgiveness, Forgiveness, Forgiveness.

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you." -Corrie ten Boom

Just as we can have a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ and with each other...We can communicate our love and needs to Him and also to other...but in the process we have a tendency to mess up. But again, we can ask God for forgiveness...and as He has made His forgiveness available to us, we then also need to forgive each other.

Alot of times...when there is a lack of joy in our lives and we have forgiven others and ourselves...we might forget to forgive our parents for real or imaginary hurts. Perception is real.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and clearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the LORD forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Romans 3:12-14

As Eugene H. Peterson says in The Message: Matthew 6: "In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part."

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you." -Corrie ten Boom

So how can we NOT forgive others?

As we truly experience God's forgiveness and grace, it's then pretty easy to forgive others! Or at least it should be!

So, do we have joy?

If not, might be a good time to examine our relationships with others...our spouse, family members and maybe more important to examine our relationships with our parents...if we still have living parents.

I also remember a verse from the Bible in Exodus 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you."

So don't forget to forgive parents, even if they are long gone! Time is short, eternity is long.

As Don Wilkerson says, "Never be defined by your past. It's a lesson not a life sentence.”

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you." -Corrie ten Boom

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." Psalm 133:1
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer In Life Together says, "this is the Scriptures' praise of life together under the Word. But now we can rightly interpret the words "in unity" and say, "for brethren to dwell together through Christ." For Jesus Christ alone is our unity. "He is our peace.
Through him alone do we have access to one another, joy in one another, and fellowship with one another."

A parent's greatest joy is found in this verse: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John:4

When we do that...we can truly have JOY!

Maybe not as easy as it sounds!

There IS help available!

Check out this book;

Solutions: Relational healing for the next generation

by Cathy Morrill with Wendy Coy and the cross/fire team.

For young people, but any age can benefit!

It's a PDF of the complete book!

Check out the Table of Contents...but here are a few key truths about life!

See P. 87: Not the Brady Bunch...Every family has a story.

See P. 98: Forgiveness..."Forgiveness heals. It removes bitterness and sin from our hearts, and gives Jesus more room..."

See p.122: Mom, Dad & Me. "Our heavenly Fther really cares. he has not left us to work out our relationships on our own. Family is His idea and He has the power to bring change."

As a first step in relational healing, I highly recommend this book!

It was part of a ministry called "The River" many years ago.

Cathy's blog!

____________________________________________________________

Another good resource is Celebrate Recovery, with chapters all around the country.

A very good program for Believers also!

Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered program with foundations firmly established in Biblical truth. The 12 Steps with accompanying Scriptures and the 8 Principles based on the Beatitudes offer participants a clear path of salvation and discipleship; bringing hope, freedom, sobriety, healing, and the opportunity to give back one day at a time through our one and only true Higher Power, Jesus Christ. The 12 Steps and the 8 Principles work seamlessly together, tying historical recovery to timeless Biblical teaching.

Celebrate Recovery Ministry & Principles

Sometimes the hurt, grief or trauma is so great that you may need help.
Different Christian denominations may have their own resources, but a good national Christian Ministry, Stephen Ministry is available in most metro areas of the U.S. A short video A one on one weekly meeting with a trained counseler that can last as long as one year.

Living Waters is another ministry which helps with Anger, Unforgiveness and many other issues. A 20 week program.

Labels