Tag: Faith

3 Ways to Prepare for Life Changes

We May Encounter Many Defeats But We Must Not Be Defeated.” – Maya Angelou

Welcome back to another school year!! My kids aren’t quite there yet, but if you spent anytime on Facebook recently you saw tons of back to school and first day of school pictures. How was your family prepared for the start of the school year? Is your family prepared for other life changes that may come?

Personal Experience

When my wife and I were looking into buying our home, we got a very important piece of advice. That advice was to look for a house that you can afford on one person’s income. Just in case, God forbid, that one person lose their job, you can still make the mortgage payments. We listened to that advice and a couple of years into living in our home, I was the one who lost my job. Because we listened and were prepared, my family didn’t lose our home.

How can we prepare for life changes? We don’t want to have “life happen” and then we’re scrambling trying to get resources together so that everything doesn’t fall apart.

How to Plan Ahead

  1. Practical Planning. This sounds boring, but it is probably the most important. We struggle with life changes because we’re not fully prepared for them. Dave Ramsey pushes having an emergency fund for this very reason. It will help you be prepared for the emergencies. Then they  no longer seem like emergencies to you.

Since the school year has started, this is a great time to plan out the year. If planning a year seems to daunting go by semester. What would make it a success? Is it a certain GPA? Getting volunteer opportunities. For younger children or it could be reading a certain number of books or focusing on an area to improve that was a struggle last year. Whatever the goal is, you want to prepare for this change and define what a successful school year would be.

      2. Overcome Obstacles. We know that the obstacles will come. How will you overcome them? Every new year we set new resolutions of habits, and life changes we want to make. Most people don’t see those changes last because when an obstacle comes up, the resolution gets dropped. Not because they didn’t want to change, but because they didn’t think about how they would overcome obstacles.

      3. Find an accountability group. Preparing for the unexpected life changes is one thing, it’s another to intentionally bring about a change. It’s great to have a goal of doing something. You won’t get it done by yourself though. You’re going to need an accountability partner or group. People that will push you when you don’t feel like getting up early or who will give you some encouragement when you’re feeling low. The people around you are just as important as the goal itself.

It’s the start of a new school year, are you prepared for the change? Are you prepared for life changes?

 

 

5 Everyday Ways To Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

It’s Time to Step Out

Stepping out of our comfort zone can be a scary thing. We may not say it’s scary but our actions indicate that we are scared. Our actions tell more about us than we may ever say with our mouths. Stepping out of our comfort zone leads us to the thought that we have to do some amazing, earth shattering thing. While there are times when that it required, there are ways that we can step out of comfort zone everyday that we overlook.

Practice What I Preach

My wife really enjoys dancing. If she saw it on Dancing with the Stars then she wants to try it From the Salsa to the Waltz she’s all in. I stepped out of my comfort zone and we took a dancing class at a local studio. The surprise; I enjoyed myself more than I thought I would. There are lots of everyday things that we can do that will help us to step out of comfort zones.

Everyday Ways to Step Out

  1. Encourage someone today. Most days we talk to the same group of people and mostly about the same things. It’s easy to have a conversation with them. Step out of your comfort zone and talk to someone that you normally wouldn’t. Take it a step farther and encourage them.
  2. Take a risk. Don’t put your livelihood in jeopardy here. A daily risk that you can take; unplug from your phone for the day. You don’t realize how attached you are to a device until you’re forced to go without it. There’s freedom using your phone as a phone and just a phone. You’d be surprised at how much time you get back.
  3. Read a book this month. It is far too common to hear people say that they don’t read. AT ALL. Not sure where to start?here are libraries around that will help you. Reading will expand your vocabulary, open your mind and imagination. Want to grow in an area? Read about people who have done what you want to do. Learn from them.
  4. Volunteer.  We tend to associate with people who are like us. They usually come from the same background and are interested in the same things. Volunteer for a day or even for a couple of hours will force you out of your comfort zone.
  5. Pray. Pray for someone today. Many times people will like to dump their problems on us. Instead of just being a sounding board, offer to pray with them about the situation. Men, pray for your wives and family. Lead the prayers. It is a part of us leading our families. Step out of our comfort zone and pray for our families.

There are many more things that we can do step out of comfort zone everyday. How are you stepping out of your comfort zone today?

 

Mentor & Mentee

       There is a misconception in the world today. If you’re like me then you may not even be aware or even thought  about it. What misconception am I referring to? Mentors & Mentee relationships. We need to have both in our lives. There is so much information around us, on the internet, and in textbooks that there isn’t possibly a way for us to know or even be proficient in it all. In pursuing the dreams that we have, going after the callings or things that God has placed in our hearts, we have a need for mentors. People who have traveled the road before us. The dictionary defines a mentor as an experienced and trusted advisor. A mentee is a person who is advised, trained, or counseled. I’ve found that there are times when I have been the mentor and times when I’m the mentee. As of  recent this year I found myself in a mentee position. Every Sunday morning when I get to church there was another man who would come up to me and adjust my tie. Fix the knot or just straighten it up. This may not seem like a big deal, but it meant a lot to me. I like to be at my best on Sundays and for someone to notice and then help me in just sharpening or tightening up my tie is awesome. This same man would later show me how to shine my shoes. Again, that might not seem like a big deal to everyone, but in that moment I needed someone to show me something that I didn’t know. That’s what a mentor does. They don’t have to be at the final destination of where you want to go, they just have to be further along the journey than you are. We all can’t have Bill Gates be our financial advisor. What we can do is have a mentor that has; a successful marriage that’s been married longer than you, own their home, started a successful business, and so on and so on. We may not want to be a millionaire, but we desire to be successful in our relationships.  Our mentors can be many people along the way from where we are to that final destination. While we’re forging our path to new places and destinations, we also should have someone coming behind us who could use our advice and experience to help them. Someone who struggles with what we used to struggle with. Relationships are not about being selfish. It’s not always what we can get from them. They have to flow back and forth. There is a free flow of giving and receiving. So we have to be open to developing relationships at every level. It may be someone who needs to be mentored. There are benefits to being a mentor. Being able to help someone fulfill their dreams is one of the best feelings in the world. We don’t get to our destinations by ourselves. The journey is great when we can see someone further ahead than were we are and it’s a beautiful thing to help someone  coming up behind us.