GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE AND LET'S GO A LITTLE DEEPER...

When setting up a team for a Retreat, God leads me through a weekly prayer focus for the participants that includes a musical opening, some scripture, points of reflection, and prayer. They are designed to take 5-10 minutes- about the time it takes to finish a cup of coffee. The response from people always humbles me and has encouraged the launching of the EVERYDAY LEADERSHIP INNER CIRCLE- a place where our Leadership and Faith run in tandem. And, though still developing our look and feel, wanted to make the content God continues to share available as we start 2015.  Subscribing to the Inner Circle gets you-

4+ shots of express worship (one each week), priced comparable to one grande of your favorite Starbucks : )

And, once a month, The Leader's Minute, (literally one page) of the tips, techniques, tactics and talks I've used to catapult hundreds of leaders and their teams to better performance.

And, as we develop our Everyday Leader's Toolbox, you'll have an all access pass to it.

Whatever your Leadership goals are this year, you will find something in The Leader's Minute and the toolbox for you.

Wherever you are with God this year,  join me on this journey, integrating the power of music, God's Word, our reflections, and prayer.

In fact, let's do it now! Go grab a cup of coffee, breathe in, and as we listen to this song- "Word Of God Speak", shared here by my friends, Tim and Eleanor Tracey... let the music and the words wash over us and speak...

Psalm 46:10 ..."Be still and know that I am God..." (emphasis added)

As we move from Christmas into the New Year, things ramp up pretty fast. Pause and think when the last 'be still and know" moment was...

Be purposely still for a few seconds and ask God to "pour down like rain" washing anything keeping Him from being heard in this moment.

As the stillness settles in, focus on basking in God's presence in the quiet...

Ask God to bring His Word into sight and into mind throughout the day to continue to usher in His presence and His voice...Ask to see His majesty more than all the other things clamoring for our bandwidth.

Offer God a prayer, speaking in a soft voice, sharing reflections of what He revealed in the stillness.

This week, let's focus our being still into really being still...

To join our inner circle now, click on GO DEEPER on the top right of this post and WELCOME!

Giving Thanks for the Small Things

Over the years and with the help of Joyce Meyer (more on that in a minute), the practice of filling a blank sheet of paper with all the things I am thankful for has helped me to be more grateful in all areas of my life. Sometimes, it's a page in my journal. Sometimes a sheet of sketch paper that gets posted where I can see it. Sometimes it's a walk around list- inspired by Joyce Meyer. After hearing Joyce share a rather humorous perspective on having a machine that washes and dries our dishes and yet, somedays we can't even muster up the energy to empty it... was born the walk around list- going through a routine day and thanking God for all the little things that do make life easier : )

Whichever method, let's do it as we go through this Thanksgiving. Each of you reading this is at the top of my list. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a writer and while some might argue that blogging is not writing, it's close enough for me. Before a post is published, you are in my thoughts and prayers...as you will be throughout this weekend...Happy Thanksgiving!

I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy  because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:3-6 NIV

Strengthening Our Core To Lead By Example

Core Values. As individuals, do we have them? Are we clear on them? Are they situational? Yet, they are behind the behaviors and thoughts that we model as Leaders. In the world of physical exercise, having a strong core supports posture and stature. In the world of spiritual exercise...having a strong core reveals the character of Christ in us, which supports His stature. In 1 Timothy 4:12, the Apostle Paul instructs Timothy to "set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity."

Jesus instructed in John13:34-35, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." So not unlike the sit-ups, there's the foundation for our core values- Christlike love. This week,  let's ask God to show us our core values and how we can strengthen them...for His glory.