I had the opportunity to lead a group through a session on time management in our local NXTGEN Pastor’s Cohort (a small group of seminary students that is outside of the classroom or internship, that meets monthly to grow in six soft skills categories). Much of the material in this article was adapted from that module.
We have all heard about time management, but what is it really and why is it important? In our session we learned that:
“As Christians, we should be managing our time because it is not ours. Just as we should think of our possessions and money as on loan to us from God, so is our time. Time management is important because God calls us to be good stewards of all that he has entrusted to us. But time management is not just learning how to cram more into an already life. Time management is about balance in life.”
We learned that:
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Monthly Archives: October 2022
New and Upcoming Music You May Be Interested In
Here are 4 new Christmas albums, as well as 3 other new releases that you might be interested in:
Christmas Albums
Milk & Cookies: A Merry Crowder Christmas – Crowder
Crowder will release Milk & Cookies: A Merry Crowder Christmas on October 21. The 14-song project is a mix of originals, re-imagined classics, and creative collaborations. Continue reading
11 New and Upcoming Books You May Be Interested In
I love to read books in a variety of genres – leadership, professional growth, biography, sports, theology, Christian living, etc. Here are 11 new and upcoming books that you might be interested in:
The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team by Patrick Lencioni
Here is the Amazon description:
“New York Times best-selling author Patrick Lencioni unveils a truly groundbreaking new model that will change the way we think about work and teams forever.
The 6 Types of Working Genius is the fastest way to help people identify the type of work that brings them joy and energy and avoid work that leads to frustration and burnout.
Beyond the personal discovery and instant relief that Working Genius provides, the model also gives teams a remarkably simple and practical framework for tapping into one another’s natural gifts, which increases productivity and reduces unnecessary judgment.
In classic Lencioni fashion, Pat brings his model to life in a page-turning fable that is as relatable as it is compelling. He tells the story of Bull Brooks, an entrepreneur, husband, and father who sets out to solve his own frustration at work and stumbles into a new way of thinking that changes the way he sees his work, his team, and even his marriage.
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More New and Upcoming Books in Various Genres Continue reading
THIS & THAT: A Roundup of Favorite Articles and Quotes
- John MacArthur’s Open Letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom. On September 28, pastor John MacArthur sent this open letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
- Where Abortion Is on the Ballot in 2022. Joe Carter writes “For elections in 2022, 137 statewide ballot measures are certified for the ballot in 37 states. Five states have ballot initiatives related to abortion that will be voted on November 8, 2022.”
- ‘Jesus Has Left the Building’: Scotland’s Secular Slide—and Signs of Hope. Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra writes “In his retirement years, (Sinclair Ferguson), one of the most influential modern Reformed pastor-theologians will spend his time preaching mainly evening services on one of the most secular streets in Scotland.” Also, listen to “Why Sinclair Ferguson Moved Back to Scotland’s Most Secular City” on the Recorded
- Why You Should Memorize Psalm 23. Kevin Halloran gives us five reasons to memorize Psalm 23.
- Helping One Another to Forsake Sin and Follow Jesus. Randy Alcorn writes “If you love someone who says they want to follow Jesus, you don’t ignore sin that is destroying their lives. You go to them humbly and prayerfully, and represent Jesus and help them fulfill their stated goal of honoring Christ as Lord.”
- 10 Short Prayers That Might Change Your Life. Kevin Halloran shares ten examples of short prayers that might just change your life.
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- More interesting article links
- Favorite Quotes of the Week
Plan Practical: Business Building Tips for Disabled Parents
If you’re a parent with a disability, you may be facing more obstacles than others as you work to establish a small business. Thankfully, there are plenty of exclusive opportunities to help you get a leg up. Today, our guest writer, Ed Carter from https://ablefutures.org/about-us/ is here to cover some of the basics of small business planning, as well as provide a few helpful links.
Research
Before you invest time and money into a venture, it’s important that you first understand the market landscape. This means researching competitors and identifying reasonable demand (and who/where these potential customers are). Take the time to learn about methods of researching and see how these can be applied to your business – the right methods involve adaptation depending on your customers’ needs. Continue reading
What is Your “One Thing”?
Over the past few years, I’ve read a number of good books about our calling or callings, the latest of which is Master of One: Find and Focus on the Work You Were Created to Do by Jordan Raynor. In some ways, the book reminded me of Jeff Goins’ helpful book The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do. In his book, Raynor uses “our one thing” to mean our calling.
Do you know what your “one vocational thing” is? We often hear people say that they are a “Jack of all trades, master of none”. Perhaps you have said it as well. Raynor tells us that we are often good at a lot of different things, but we aren’t excellent, masterful, or exceptional at any one of them. He tells us that this is the wrong approach. He tells us that we were not created for mediocrity, we were created for mastery. He says that to best glorify God and love others through our vocations, we must do our work with excellence. And we can’t do our most excellent work until we discern the work God has created us to do most exceptionally well, and then, once we’ve found it, focus on becoming a master of that craft. We need to discern the one vocational thing God has called us to in this season of life and work at it with all our hearts. Importantly, Raynor tells us that the purpose of focused, masterful work isn’t for our own glory, but rather to glorify God by reflecting his character of excellence to the world. Continue reading
MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS
There’s a Rainbow Somewhere: The Songs of Randy Stonehill – Various Artists
****
This album, by some of the best Christian artists from the 1980’s to the present time, is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Contemporary Christian Music pioneer Randy Stonehill’s 1971 debut album Born Twice. Just looking at the names of the artists that contributed to this album brought a smile to my face and many great memories of the music I listened to as a new believer. Tom Gulotta and Ray Ware served as executive producers of the project.
I thoroughly enjoyed this album. Here is the track list, and just a few comments about each song:
Lazarus Heart – Phil Keaggy. The song was produced by Phil Keaggy and Rex Schnelle. Keaggy provides vocals, acoustic and electric guitars.
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- More of this review
- Music News
- Song of the Week Lyrics ~ On Jordan’s Stormy Banks by Keith & Kristyn Getty
BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS
Talking to GOATs: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You Never Heard by Jim Gray. William Morrow. 2020
****
I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Emmy Award-winning sportscaster Jim Gray as he looks back on his four decades of sports reporting. The “Foreword” is written by his good friend, Tom Brady, one of the GOATS (Greatest Of All Time) that he writes about in this entertaining book.
Gray begins by writing about interviewing boxer Mike Tyson after he bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear. Among the others that he writes about are Muhammed Ali, Bill Walton, of whom he writes that there is no better friend, Jerry West, John Madden and Hank Aaron. He writes at length about an interview with Pete Rose which he was forced to apologize for. He writes that what Rose did was damaging to Gray, and the ramifications of that moment have reverberated ever since.
He writes about Bud Selig and the steroids era in major league baseball, Tiger Woods, Don Shula, Michael Phelps, Floyd Mayweather, the “Dream Team”, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest and the “Malice at the Palace”, Mike Ditka, and LeBron James and “The Decision”.
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BOOK REVIEWS ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Providence by John Piper
I’M CURRENTLY READING…. Continue reading
A Prayer for the Fall Season
Our Father in Heaven,
We thank you for the crisp cool fall mornings and evenings that we are experiencing now. It makes us aware of the cold winter weather that will soon be upon us. Before that however, we get to enjoy a colorful fall season, with joyful fall festivals, cider, pumpkins, raking leaves, and everything else that goes with this wonderful season. And we don’t forget to notice the beauty of the changing sunlight and lengthening shadows.
It seems like just last week that I saw the first signs of the green corn and soybean plants breaking through the fields of rich Illinois soil. But it’s actually been much longer than that. Some of the fields have already been harvested, and those that remain are brown, and will soon be harvested and laid bare until next spring.
The leaves on the trees that I see on my afternoon walks are changing from green to red, orange and yellow each day. The burning bushes, and the red sunset maple in our back yard, planted in my mom’s memory more than twenty-five years ago, will soon be a spectacular show of red.
Father, you are so faithful. Each day the sun comes up in the morning, and sets in the evening. Throughout the year we get to experience the seasons of spring, summer, fall and winter. The great hymn by Thomas Chisholm tells us:
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
We thank you for your faithfulness, your wonderful creation and for this fall season. We thank you for the new morning mercies you provide us:
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
In Jesus’ precious name I pray,
Amen
THIS & THAT: A Roundup of Favorite Articles and Quotes
- Keith Getty on Lessons from the Life of Queen Elizabeth II. Keith Getty writes “At a time when so many leaders—even within the church—do not finish well, their lives and ministries tainted by sin and scandal, Elizabeth’s well-run race reminds us to hold fast in faithfulness.”
- Evangelical and LGBT+ Ally: Why You Can’t Be Both. Joe Carter writes “As Michael Gerson notes, being an evangelical means being committed to the Bible’s authority—a position he seems to have now abandoned.”
- Why Student Loan ‘Forgiveness’ Is Intergenerational Injustice. Joe Carter writes “President Biden has “forgiven” millions in federal student loan debt. Here’s why this action is a form of intergenerational injustice.”
- Failure Need Not Be Final. Zack Eswine writes “Like many of us, the apostle Peter was acquainted with failures and their relentless reminders. How did Peter come to believe this grace-truth that failure isn’t final, that a failed Christian isn’t a finished Christian?”
- The Most Accessible Person in the Universe. There is no minimum bar you need to get over to get to him. All you have to do is collapse to get into the heart of Christ. Watch this short video from Dane Ortlund.
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- More interesting article links
- Favorite Quotes of the Week