All posts tagged wisdom

Happy New Year

by John on January 1, 2011 in Personal, Quotables with No comments

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man.” – Benjamin Franklin

Leave it to a “Founding Father” to sum up one’s goals for the upcoming year! 2011 makes me a little nervous and excited, it will be my first year without being in ministry, it’s my year of being 40, and it’s also the year that I HAVE/MUST/WANT to drop the weight that’s I’ve been carrying most all my life.

It seems that I must always fight against the “natural man” as Oswald Chambers described. My angers, my fears, my habits, my prejudices… And that is the beauty of New Years, it’s a chance to start anew and fresh.

I pray that this year brings you blessings and joy, and the Lord blesses and keeps you and makes His face shine upon you.

Getting Off The Couch

by John on May 6, 2010 in Health, Leadership, Personal, Running with 3 Comments

Last night was inevitable. It was destiny…it just HAD to happen. I started training again for another 5K in June. It was hard, painful, and afterward, I could really ‘feel’ it.

But then again, whenever we make dramatic changes into our lives, the changes are always difficult and, while we’re going through it, we can feel the effects of our efforts.

You may not be running a 5K, but you may be trying to lose weight, quit smoking, stop cussing, quit gossiping, or just stop being negative, it all involves us having to take that first step, throw the cigarettes away, choose to NOT speak, or in other words, we need to get off the couch.

4 Suggestions to Help You Get Off the Couch

Choose to Change – No one can do it for you, you MUST chose to change for yourself.
Quit Listening to the Negative Voices – whether in your head or the people you hang out with…STOP listening to the junk. You CAN change, you CAN be better.
Surround Yourself With Support – people, books, podcasts, music…fill your life with the POSITIVE support you need to achieve your goal(s).
GET UP / STOP / QUIT / FORGIVE /ETC – get off the couch. Move. Do something…immediately. Don’t wait, don’t put it off any longer. Whatever your couch is, I know it’s comfortable and safe, but LIVING life is never comfortable or safe. To truly live, you must take chances and conquer challenges.

Please know that I don’t have it all together, but I am on this journey with you. Please let me know how I can help you in your journey. I believe in you and you should believe in yourself. You can do it, just like I can. But we BOTH need to just get off the couch!

I’m Done

by John on May 1, 2010 in Friends, Leadership, Personal with 6 Comments

I’ve come to a place in my life where I believe that I’m really over myself.

I’ve had so many conversations with people, friends, leaders, pastors, counselors, and people on the street about life and living that I’ve come to this conclusion: I need to pull my head out of my own ass. (Apologies to all my Christian brothers and sisters)

I found this video and thought that I needed to heed it’s invitation.

So, as of today, May 1, I am Fasting from Negativity, in my words, thoughts, and my every day life.

“I am not my own, I am bought with a price, I belong to God. I choose to grow in and put on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,and self-control.” -Trevor H. Lund

SO…I’m done. I’m done with the negative thoughts, negative words, negative actions, and the negative self-condemnation. I’m done with it all. I know I will stumble, but over the next 40 day, with God’s grace and strength, I will succeed in fasting from negativity.

I am asking for your prayers, your grace, and support. This is a HUGE undertaking for me. But I do not walk this path alone…I have the Holy Spirit to guide, Jesus to sustain, God to empower, and people to walk with me.

I WILL do this. I have to…