Grow!

I have been meditating on 2 quotes that particularly impacted me when Floyd was so sick.  The Lord brought them to my attention a few days ago.

"Nothing that comes to us can injure us unless it causes us to have a wrong attitude.  It is one's response that blesses or burns."  Paul Billheimer

I remember praying over that quote more than once and asking God to help me to have a "good" attitude in all that was happening in our lives.  I wanted to come through it all without getting burned.  When I struggled with something, didn't understand something - I learned to immediately take it to the Lord.  I didn't always get understanding, but the Lord helped me give things to Him.  He protected my heart from a "wrong" attitude.

"The eternal essence of a thing is not in the thing itself, but in one's reaction to it.  The distressing situation will pass, but one's reaction toward it will leave a moral and spiritual deposit in his character that is eternal."  Amy Carmichael 

Wow - that's a pretty big statement!  And it's so true.  Most of the hard things I go through will pass - but I want my heart to remain right.  I want to "react" in a Godly way.  I asked the Lord many times in the years past with all we were going through to help me respond the right way.  There were some big ministry things as well as Floyd's illness and my cancer - and some other hard things happening in our extended family.  Sometimes it felt like a tsunami hitting me - things from all sides.  I thank the Lord for carrying me through it all.

I’m glad I was reminded of these quotes because I'm praying them afresh with things I'm walking through now.  I find them a good guideline for normal life - as well as going through hard times.  Christ in us/me is greater than the pressure of anything around us!  Our inner strength in Him protects us when blows and burdens press upon us.   

"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being."  Ephesians 3:16 

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."  James 1:2,3

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."  Hebrews 10:23

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior."  Habakkuk 3:17, 18

That last verse has been a key one for me.  Continually speaking out praise, worship, trust and thankfulness to the Lord has protected my heart and kept me focused on God's goodness.

It also allowed me to see the "blessings" in the midst of the hard times.  It kept me from being "burned."  And there were many blessings!  I'm so grateful that God helped me see them.

Through all these things I’ve gone through during the last years my heart's desire has also been to grow.  To grow in being more like Jesus.  To grow in intimacy with the Father.  To grow in maturity.  To grow in wisdom.  To grow in trust.  Just to GROW.   

I didn't want to go backwards in my walk with the Lord.  I didn't want to blame, or mistrust, or grow cold in my walk with the Lord.  There were hard things to deal with.  There were many things I didn't understand.  There were times when I felt stretched to what I was sure would be my breaking point.  There was pressure upon pressure.   And there were so many times when I didn't know what to do and I had huge decisions to make.

Through it all I told the Lord I wanted to grow - and I asked him to help me!!

A friend sent me a video clip recently that warmed my heart.  It so resonated with me.  In it there's a small stump of a tree right beside a  metal pole of a stop sign.  Out of that stump a tree starts growing inside the metal pole - up, up, up until it reaches the top of the red stop sign.  From there green branches of leaves burst forth in abundance.  It's quite amazing!  I have used a similar picture at the top of this post to give you an idea.

It speaks to me that when we want to grow - nothing, absolutely nothing, can stop us.....and certainly not with the Lord helping us.  I've grown these last years.  It's sometimes been painful growth, but the Lord has been right by my side, holding my right hand, and helping me.  I am eternally grateful for God helping me grow in the midst of extremely difficult times.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  Matthew 11:28-30

"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."  Isaiah 41:13

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"  Psalm 34:8

"Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice."  Psalm 63:7

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace."  Numbers 6:24-26

The Lord wants nothing more than for us to grow closer and closer to Him.  He will help us get through every obstacle we face.  He loves us and wants us to have intimacy of fellowship with Him.  What a precious gift it is.

God has been so good to me!  I couldn't have made it through all these years without him.

Do You Want to Grow as a Leader?

This article is taken from the Acts 29 blog site found here.

GROW

By Ron Edmondson

“Here are seven sure ways to grow as a leader:

1. Desire growth

Sounds simple, but we tend to seek what we desire most. If you truly want to grow as a leader you will continually find ways to do so. Check your heart. Do you really desire to grow as a leader?

2. Accept correction

No one enjoys hearing they did something wrong, but many leaders view all correction as criticism rather than an opportunity to grow. Growing leaders realize that correction helps them improve so they can do better next time. (Proverbs 12:1) Check yourself. Can you take correction, even when it stings a little to hear, and turn it into something good?

3. Listen to wiser voices

Experience is the best teachers. And, all of us are surrounded by people who have grown wise through their experiences. Growing leaders glean all they can from other people. Would others consider you a wisdom seeker? Can you name specifically the voices you are learning from these days?

4. Invest in others

Growing leaders learn or reinforce leadership principles while helping others learn them. Sometimes it is not until we talk through an issue with others that we find clarity in the issue ourselves. (“Give and it will be given back to you”…) Ask yourself…Am I helping to grow other leaders? Am I allowing others to learn from my experience? Coul you name those people if asked?

5. Recognize weaknesses

And strengths. When you become more aware of what you do well and what you don’t, you grow as a leader. You start investing more energy in the strengths and seek to minimize the weaknesses. Can you admit there are some things you simply aren’t good at doing? Are you confident enough to recognize your strengths?

6. Refuse mediocrity

Growing leaders push themselves beyond the limits of normalcy. Average is common. Exceptional takes work. Are you seeking to go beyond what’s expected? Are you holding yourself to standards nothing short of your very best? (Isn’t that even Biblical?…”Whatever you do…do as if unto the Lord”.)

7. Embrace failure

Falling dow. Getting back up. Falling down. Getting back up. Growing leaders have learned this is a part of maturing as a leader. In honest evaluation, would you say you have allowed failure to shape you as a leader, or hold you back from all you could be as a leader?

I am certainly not suggesting this is an exhaustive list. I am advocating that growing as a leader requires intentionality on the part of the leader. It doesn’t automatically happen.

What are you doing to grow as a leader these days?”

Ron Edmondson is a pastor and church leader passionate about planting churches, helping established churches thrive, and assisting pastors and those in ministry think through leadership, strategy and life. Check out his blog here.