Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Advice on Advice


I would like to give you some advice on advice
Why? I guess spurred on from what I have seen in the last few years regarding advice.
I want to give you something to think about?
Maybe encourage you to look at it a little more closely?
Because it can be a wonderful friend or a terrible foe, all depending on what it is…

Beyond my mere opinion on it, the Bible has quite a bit to say regarding advice
It has advice on advice so to speak.

It talks about advice and how it can come from good sources and bad.
It talks about advice being really important when it comes to the biggest challenges we face in life.
It talks about advice and how we need to be careful where we get it from. That a wrong source of it, while seemingly ‘good’ can end up bad.
It even talks about advice being given and ignored.

My ultimate place to go for advice is God.
I am unashamed in that! Nothing else comes close to going back to the source of my life and the one who has a fantastic plan for my life.
I also go to trusted people who I know care more about me than my feelings. They are the people who want to tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear...and that is challenging I have to admit.

When you are looking for advice I would suggest this…

Only talk a few people. Maybe 2 or 3. No more.
Beyond that you will potentially get confused or you will go with the crowd.
(Avoid FACEBOOK for big advice needs! hint hint)

Try to talk to people who don’t necessarily have a vested interest either way in a decision outcome, but yet still have vested interested in you personally.

Simply pray about it honestly and ask God to show you His guiding and to especially give you His peace.
A great test is to ask yourself if you really have asked Him and listened to Him. If not, please do it.

Here is a scripture to consider…

Proverbs 13:10 niv
Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

I think great advice is such a fantastic gift to us all.
Grab a hold of it and let it make your life so much better.

Something to think about…

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Winter


It is essentially winter in our part of the world now.
That means all of us have to try and keep warm.
Some people are digging out their winter wardrobe or hitting the shops for some new winter threads.
Some people have already been chopping wood before this event to make sure they have fuel for their fires.
People like me who don’t have a wood burner are planning our power consumption carefully and trying to get the balance right.

The point of all that I have mentioned is this…
To stay warm you have to put some effort into it.
It won’t just happen on its own.

I think the same applies to your relationship with God.
Paul told Timothy to fan into flame the gift of God.
Fanning means to make some effort, to take some responsibility for it.
Doing something to get the fire going.

The Bible even talks about Hot and Cold.
That each of us have a temperature reading that totally reflects where we are at with God.

So as you reflect on the change to winter.
As you reflect on your need to keep yourself warm.
May it remind you to put some effort into your relationship with God. To be intentional about it.
That way, while you sit there keeping yourself warm in a natural sense, you can enjoy being also warm or even hot in a supernatural sense.

I think that sounds pretty good...don’t you?

Something to think about…

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

it is finished...well mostly

I have decided to stop this little series I started called Pursuit of Happiness...
It ended up being not so little after all :)
I hope you have enjoyed it and has been helpful in some way to you.

Looking forward to what I get to share with you next. Time for something new!

And everyone out there...I would really appreciate hearing from you and getting your feedback :)

God bless
Locky

Pursuit of Happiness - Part 24


I got to go to Auckland the other day for a series of meetings. The bonus of this particular trip was I managed to go a day early essentially.
My mate Chris picked me up from the airport.
We headed straight to Wendy’s to try the new Warriors themed burger even before it had been released
officially. Not long after that we went to a 3D movie.
But not just to any 3D movie experience. It was at one of the fancy as places where you have a electronic laziboy chair, plus waiters bring you whatever you want to eat and drink…
It was amazing!
In fact the movie seemed better because of it.

This got me thinking.
Why did I enjoy this evening so much?
Was it because of the company? Sure was.
Was it because of the food? Partly.
The overall thing that impacted me I believe was that it had ‘new’ things.
There were new experiences. New things to my senses.

I am sure you are like me. You probably like new.
But we all face a battle to some degree. We wrestle in life with wanting comfort and familiarity and then with what might be new.
The former can feel safe while the latter can feel dangerous and out of control.

God is all about new in my opinion.
He says things like that one day all things will be made new. That He is doing a new thing.

If you want to enjoy this life and find some happiness…
Can I suggest that adding ‘new’ to the mix no matter how comfortable you may feel, will ignite something inside you?
Explore something new this week. Go on. I dare ya!

Something to think about…

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Pursuit of Happiness - Part 23


One of the things I enjoyed about being a kid was pretending…
I pretended a lot!
Pretended to be a soldier in some world war defending my platoon from the evil hoard.
Pretended to be an astronaut taking those first tentative steps on a far away planet.
I even pretended to be a rockstar with millions of adoring fans…

The reality for every adult is that I think you can only find true happiness in learning who you really are, and then actually living like who you were always meant to be.

A bible verse that helps explain this has been used mostly to express what we are supposed to do.
But I believe it also paints a picture of something bigger around that concept.

Ephesians 2:10 niv
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We are simply and firstly God’s handiwork.
Now because of that, it makes sense to me to go a step further and find out what His handiwork was designed to be like. What I should look like. What I should do. How I should act…
In other words, ‘being yourself’ actually takes on a whole new significance!

As a leader I actually love helping people find out God’s dream for them. Others did that for me. Now I get to help others and pass it forward.

So if you are not happy being what you think others expect you to be, or you just don’t honestly know what you are on this earth here for…
A great place to start is to check in with God.
Plus you should find a leader who you trust and you know has some belief in you.
Then you will find out who you really are.
You won’t ever have to pretend to be special because you will already be special.
And I think that will make you and I a lot more happy...

Something to think about…

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Pursuit of Happiness - Part 22


This is one idea I wanted to avoid for most of my adult life...the idea that my health could affect my happiness.
As a teenager I loved living on pies and coke, with instant pudding and ice cream chasers…
As an adult I wanted to eat a Cookie Time Cookies everyday for the rest of life, plus whatever else took my fancy!
After I got married I really enjoyed stuffing myself with toasted cheese sandwiches every single day!
I hoped that having a relationship with God would cover this issue for me and take away the issues it raised…

The reality is that having a somewhat healthy life, does translate into a somewhat happier life.
While God doesn’t tell us what weight to be or what fitness level to go for directly, He does drop some big hints for us on health.

He tells that us that our bodies are the temple of His spirit. That we have some obligation to make the most of this shell entrusted to us.

Paul tells Timothy one day to drink some wine for his stomach problems. Must have been a help to what he had, otherwise he wouldn’t have suggested it.
And I bet you $100 that Timothy probably had lots of prayer over this problem...
Sometimes there seems to be something we can do.

Maybe what we can do as we look after our bodies, is see that as honouring the one who made them?

If you are not that healthy and by that you are not so happy…don’t beat yourself over it!
Recognise this ‘thought’ for what it is...something to encourage you to try and change. Grab someone who could help you, and ask for them to help you!

Maybe you are someone who has battled this and won, well guess what?...you can help someone else now!

Something challenging to think about…