I may regret this, but hey ~ it's Christmas!

I just decorated early. I think because I want some sort of do-over for last year... I want to celebrate fully and connect deeply and I want to GIFT MEANINGFULLY!

So, here's the offer.

Check out our Bridges Product page for your Gift List OR your Wish List.

Use the code MEANINGFULGIFT for all our products* for 15% off till Dec 1!

That includes everything from our video workshops all the way up to our certification courses! We haven't had a deal like this EVER!

It's worth the click to check it out and remember, use the code MEANINGFULGIFT for the discount. 

Have fun shopping! (and if you purchase a gift remember to use the contact info for the person you are gifting to!)

Thankful for each of you and ready to celebrate!

Cindy

*Books from Amazon excluded (I couldn't figure out how to make a coupon for that - they are fairly inexpensive anyway...)

I have no idea if this book is any good, maybe you should give it a try, or we can cut to the chase and you can work with some version of these three simple questions.

1. What are you hoping will happen?
2. What are your options?
3. What will you do?

We all do it. 

We have a compulsion to be "tellers". Our hearts are probably right. We want to help people toward solutions. We want to save them the pain we had to walk through when we dealt with their "thing". We want to expedite the process.

But it's not the Jesus way.

Jesus asked us to make disciples, not dependents. That's really the heart of coaching. When we ask questions instead of teaching or telling we empower people to learn to discern God's voice in their own lives. 

Here's how that works.

Recently I was talking with a co-worker who needed some advice. She was dealing with a tricky situation she needed to confront. 

• I could have told her my stories of how I confronted situations like that in the past....

How should we grow? How will we know?

This is a time of redefining norms for our world and for the church.

As we move through this season - people are coming back to church in person, or not. People are getting back to relationships they once invested in, or not. People are sticking with new habits they formed, or not. People are pursuing plans they once had, or not.

There's a lot to navigate.

For me personally, I would love it if God just gave us a step-by-step plan that we could follow, and then we would KNOW we were doing "it" right! 

I would love that full confidence and embrace the challenge to do all the things.

Turns out that is not how He designed our faith walk to be.

Well, not exactly.

The truth is He does have a step-by-step plan for us, but it is an individual path. You probably know the verse as well as I do, but Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path."

I wish He would just give us a...

Ever wish you had the golden question? 

The single bullet question to clarify everything?

Well, today is your lucky day!

This question is too easy, but the hardest question you'll ever answer, and one you will be asking and answering the rest of your life.

True coaching, for yourself or others, is based on this one single probe!

Ready?

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 spells it out for us! 

"So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ."

Did you see it?

WHAT IS YOUR FAITH PROMPTING YOU TO DO?!

This passage is so beautiful and SO CHALLENGING!

Let's break it down a bit. There are two kinds of prompts.

1) General prompts - these are for all...

As I sat down to write this blog many times, I ended up getting interrupted by one of my 4 girls, my phone reminding me of the demands of life… or the laundry buzzer cutting through any ounce of concentration. 

Here I am though at 12:08 am determined to blog away. It’s finally quiet and time to introduce myself.

I could tell you about my really awesome husband, our girls that keep life exciting, the different jobs I work from home or the other important things (well, I sure think they are important) that I do. 

But, really, if there is one thing I want people to hear about, it’s how God poured His love into my heart at a young age, won my affection for life and silenced all wondering in my seeking teenage girl’s heart. He laid a solid foundation of acceptance that has stood strong through many storms.

Because I have experienced such security, I can’t help but want to see others enjoy that freedom as well. What a privilege it is to be loved...

Saboteurs whisper to us all, they sound like friends, they seem wise, but they infiltrate our minds like a poison that tastes sweet.

Discipleship saboteurs say things like,

• if you don't tell them what to do, they will mess things up, it's just the responsible thing to do
• it will take too long for them to move forward with coaching, they would be better off if you just tell them what to do
• it's wrong for you to withhold your story if you went through whatever they are going through, they should learn from your mistakes and do it just like you

The best poison is only a small percent deadly, but if you take it in you will eventually die...

Using coaching as the Biblical way of discipleship helps people build their own relationship with God. 

Coaching builds disciples not dependents.

Coach training can teach you how!

Saboteurs whisper their hopelessness on the other side of coaching as well. Coaches have helped me discern many of the following as limiting...

“Coaching?! I bet I’d be great at coaching! I love when people come to me for the answers to figure out their life. Because, to be honest, most people’s lives are messed up and I usually know what they should do...”

I look back and laugh now, but I’m pretty sure that was basically my thought when I first heard about coaching. People who are bad at managing their life hire someone to manage it for them, right??

Boy, did I have some perspectives shift over the next few years!

Let me tell you a little of my coaching journey:

I took my first coaching course, Coaching Culture, because of a desire to help other people. But I needed help first.

• I needed to learn to let go - to trust that God is speaking to everyone and that they can hear Him for themselves.
• I had to release my “need to be needed” and recognize that the best coaching empowers and gives support for growth.
• I needed to learn how to listen, how to REALLY listen, with curiosity,...

Even Jesus had to answer these age-old questions. 

     "What should I do?" & "When should I do it?"

In coaching, we often focus on the first question. We help people discern a goal and then make SMART goals to move toward that goal. 

BUT, what if we are missing a key element? 

TIMING!

Imagine Jesus as a young adult. Let's say He is 23 and He is fully God and fully man. He is capable of miracles. He knows his mission is to bring the kingdom of God to mankind - to change the way people relate to God from His time forward.

What a mission?!

I would have been anxious to get going! 

I would have jumped the gun! 

He was sure of His calling. He had an important destiny. He waited on His Father for the right timing.

I often rush....I want to move things forward so badly that I often pre-empt the perfect timing of God. Ahhh, to know His voice and discern His will, not just in the destination but in the timing!

"Jesus said to his brothers, ...

We all have them...  Conundrums are "a confusing and difficult problem or question."

That's the core of coaching really - helping people through the stuff of life.

Every good movie has a plotline with a believable crisis.  Yet, in real life, we don't seem to welcome conundrums. 

James 1:2-5 says, "My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete and will have everything you need. But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous to everyone and will give you wisdom without criticizing you."

Just like the enigma had a different code every time - God wants to work with each of us individually. He has a key code He wants to offer for each situation. 

Good coaching = A conundrum + Codebreaking

Good...

Honestly, I'm not a big fan...

What was God thinking when He gave us free will?

He knew we would mess up. He could foresee that all of us would miss the mark of perfection. It was a super risky choice.

When God made humans He made them different than the animals. Let's take a quick look at this passage from James 1:17-25 (highlights mine for further reference)

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your...