David Lynch: “It takes four hours to get one hour of creative work done.”
Learn this lesson to thrive or sink [gossip]
Learn this lesson to thrive or don’t and let it sink you
Proverbs 18:8 – “The words of gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts.”
This year marks 16 years of being in ministry and I can honestly say that gossip is one of those small foxes that destroy the vineyard.
I have had the privilege of living in nearly every Southern African country, traveled extensively in the US and been a part of some amazing churches……… with that being said I have also seen how gossip has ripped through people’s lives and torn apart relationships. The sad aspect of this is that I don’t see it getting better and it is not something that is talked about much.
Recently, Christ Life Church hosted the Dave Ramsey, Momentum workshop. Chris LoCurto taught a session on the fundamental values of the Dave Ramsey organization – one of the values is a tenacious drive to squash all gossip I WISH the church in general could get its head around this ….. or rather …. if we are Biblical here …. it’s body [You might get that later].
I love that TENACIOUS DRIVE TO SQUASH ALL GOSSIP. [UPDATE: Just read on Chris blog that he just posted on gossip]
GET THIS – the scripture in Proverbs 18:8 tells us that gossip is like a tender morsel …. fine steak, chocolate covered strawberry or add you line here ___________. Get the point …… IF YOU LISTEN TO GOSSIP …. it will take ROOT in your life. Once gossip gets a ROOT it is very difficult to get it out. In fact, often times doubt, negativity, suspicion and more sets in. Here is the sad part ……. the probability is high that when you ‘heard’ or ‘took’ in the gossip you never took the time to actually clarify that the gossip was either true or not.
ACTION POINTS:
- If someone starts to gossip – just leave. This takes some discipline as we tend to enjoy the gossip
- If the gossip has to do with someone in authority …. be extra careful to stay away from this person as there could be a deeper issue here.
- Avoid the ‘holy prayer gossip’ like to plague ….. Oh Lord, we pray for sister so and so …. you know she is in a terrible ________ add gossip here.
- I am a big believer in ‘time’. Time will truly tell the intentions of the person ….. if the gossip was just ignorance or if this person truly has a deeper issue.
- Consider gossip talking negative about someone and they are not right in front of you.
- If you feel you have a tendency to lean towards gossip - get an accountability partner and have them pray for you. Also ask the question of why you feel you need to talk down about people. You might find you have some unresolved issue’s from the past.
Over the last year I have become very passionate about helping people best this issue of gossip and in fact a cancer that is tearing down churches and organizations. Lets agree together as the scripture says, Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. …….if you keep on reading the next verse talks about grieving the Holy Spirit …… maybe the conclusion would be that our negative talk not only hurts people but also grieves the Holy Spirit or maybe a better word would be ‘saddens’ the Holy Spirit.
Ok – enough of me, I want to hear from you on this issue. I do you fight it in your own life and what are some tactics that you use to destroy gossip in and around you.Journal vs iPad
Journal vs iPad …. that is the question that I have been asking a lot lately …..
Friday’s is normally a day that I spend at home, look after the kids, get caught up on errands and a bunch of other things. One of the main things that I like to do on Friday’s is to have an extended time writing, dreaming, Bible study and the list could go on. In 2011 I used my iPad most of the time to achieve my goals in this ‘Balcony Time’.
For my iPad I used apps such as:
- YouVersion – Amazing online Bible with a qadzillion translations
- Logos Bible Study Program – The most in-depth Bible scholar program available
- Evernote – in my estimation the best note taking program out there right now that is available on my computer, iPhone, iPad and from any other person’s computer if needed.
- Notes ‘n More – I use this interchangeably with Evernote
- iPhone/iPad music player ….. gotta have some good tunes when writing and studying
I do truly love my iPad …. access to the web, documents, the cloud, google and a long list of other app’s allows me to have immediate access when I am in a writing and studying mode …..
It also provides for a lot of distractions … twitter and facebook tend to just jump off the page plus a host of other distractions …. name your own here ___________ .
[see below the picture for my thoughts on the paper method]
The Paper, Journal, Moleskin, Diary or whatever you feel you need to name it!
Recently, in 2012 I have returned back to the paper version. I still use my iPad for my Bible and a few other things … play music while I write but most of my writing is now going down on paper.
Here are the advantages that I currently see for myself [Yours can always be different - what ever allows you to move forward is best]
- Speed – I have tried a host of keyboards but I still feel slow ……
- Creativity – I use a red pen, blue pen, highlighter and pencil …. yes a little skitzo but it really allows me to get my creative juices going.
- I have been journaling since 1996 and as early as 1992 …. I keep them in a closet and once in a while will pull them out and breeze through them to see God’s faithfulness. I would say that this is NUMBER 1 REASON for journaling …… seeing how God has worked, is working and will continue to work in your life. I tend to think that this would be a little harder in the digital form ….. but will continue to become more popular as many of our teens are moving directly towards digital form.
- I like to draw, sketch and brainstorm various thoughts that I have …. still having a tough time finding an app that would work well for my mind that tens to jump around .
I would love to hear your thoughts below.
Flipboard plus iPad equals 2nd screen for SuperBowl
Are you a football stats nut or a triva geek? Have an iPad or iPhone …. then this is the app for you – Flipboard
Flipboard is one of my top apps for browsing my news, blog, magazine and social media feeds.
TODAY – they have a special Super Bowl XLVI (Giants vs Patriots) section with all the stats and trivia you need during the game
So download the Flipboard app from the iTunes application store here and set up your Super Bowl feed and you are good to go.
Flipboard had this to say about the Superbowl feed they have prepared:
Sunday’s Super Bowl promises to be an epic re-match between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants—the first Super Bowl rematch since 1994. And even if it’s not epic, the ads will be, plus Madonna is slated to play the half-time show. It’s the most popular televised event in the world, which probably has nothing to do with the GoDaddy ads.
Follow along by adding our Super Bowl section to your Flipboard. We’ll be filling it up with insightful analysis about the game, Super Bowl recipes, classic commercials, photo galleries, chest thumping and more. Find it by opening your Flipboard and tapping on the red ribbon. Source: http://inside.flipboard.com
I am always looking for good news feed applications for my iPhone & iPad – I would love your suggestions in the comment section.Refresh Your Day with this Celery Smoothie
Refreshing Celery Smoothie:
On its own, I don’t like celery at all – however, this smoothie is incredibly refreshing!
- 1 apple, cored and sliced
- 1-2 stalks celery
- 4 – 8 strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- 4 oz. water
- 4 – 6 ice cubes (if not using frozen strawberries)
- stevia to taste
….place all ingredients in a blender and blend until combined and you have your celery smoothie.
Enjoy …..
Another great resource for healthy living is over at Dr. Josh Axe website
Feel free to add your variation of the smoothie in the comment sectionWhat I learnt from the Daniel Fast
Tomorrow Christ Life Church ends its Daniel Fast, so I thought I would jot down some notes titled “What I learnt from the Daniel Fast”, mainly for it to serve as a good reminder for next year!
- We saw some tremendous miracles happen in our church – Phil Goldsberry, our Lead Pastor will be sharing a huge miracle in his life tomorrow during all our services.
- Fasting the garbage of this world totally turns you towards God! i could seriously get on my soap box right now but I will reserve myself. All I need to say is look at the time we spend watch tv, online and gaming, plus the ever growing obesity epidemic ……… ok ……. next point.
- It reminds me every year how powerful our physical bodies are vs our mind and spirit.
- I LOVE seeing new Christians take this on with passion and intensity ……..
- By the way ….. these young Christians see massive break through in their lives
- It SADDENS me how the ‘mature’ Christians pass this by as just another ‘thing’ the church is doing.
- For myself, this tends me a time of high-octane quiet times and a heightened sensitivity to the Holy Spirit
- Every single year that I have done this ( 7 years) I have seen demonic strongholds broken over people lives.
Mark 9:25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.”27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
- Accountability is KEY. Danielle and I keep each other in check, I always recommend that you find someone to journey with during this time.
- The 21 Day Daniel Fast has become pretty popular over that last few years and there are a number of good books out there. Jentezen Franklin, Fasting is one of the top books to read and get your mind and heart in the right place.
- Once again, my church does a 21 Day online devotional to help keep you focused each day, and at one time we also provided a drive time CD for you to listen to in the car.
I could keep the list going but there just so much to put down about what God is currently doing in my life!
NOW IT YOUR TURN …. I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU IN THE COMMENT SECTION
