4 Steps To Shift An Aspirational Goal To An Actual Pathway!
I desire to retire well, to be self-supporting and not a burden on my children.
I also want to write a book about pendulums that will help people discern how God is guiding them.
I'm hoping to lose 4 inches in my middle (just keeping it real).
And I dream of being close with my children and grandchildren as we all grow older.
These are all genuine goals for me. I really desire them all. But they will most likely remain dreams if don't add a pathway of intentional action steps toward the goals.Â
Sometimes churches have aspirational goals too.Â
   We will break the 200-person attendance ceiling, or we will get to 1000 or whatever number...
   More than 50% of our people will be in small groups.
   Giving will increase by 20% in the next year.
Here's the thing. Clarifying a goal is good, but it is only a first step. Drilling down on a desire gives you something to shoot for, but it's like setting up a target and then not shooting any arrows. No matter how descriptive with g...
What is Benevolent Detachment? Benevolent Detachment - #1 of 5
I am LOVING John Eldridge’s Pause App prompts and the new 30 Days to Resilient plan! (I just completed my first round and am excited to repeat the whole thing!)
That’s where I first heard about Benevolent Detachment.
If you aren’t sure what that is a quick definition includes, in Eldridge’s words, “releasing everyone and everything to Him.” It’s the art of letting God be God and letting go of our compulsion to change people or situations. It involves a combination of a rooted perspective of who God is in our lives, mixed with a healthy understanding of free will, prayer, and trust in God to be there for us and for others.
When we fix our attention on what’s wrong in our lives, other’s lives, or our world - our attention is not where it needs to be. On Jesus.
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Benevolent Detachment is a reminder to hit the refresh button in our souls. To close our eyes to the world around us and the chatter within us and commune with Him there. To allow the River of God to well up within us and wa...
It's All About The Donuts? [Guest Blog by Natalie Scott Fabretti]
Maybe you can relate...
I love donuts (ok, everyone can relate to that, I hear they even make gluten-free now).
My favorite donut place is Ridge Donut in Greece, NY. I donut go there often (see what I did there?) so I often get confused about which exit to take. I always think to myself “I will know it when I get there”.
The last 2 times, I have overshot and had to take the next available exit then monkey around to get back to the shop.
I could’ve used Google maps. I could write down the correct exit. I could phone a friend.
But I didn’t.
Life lessons can feel that way too.
I am a passionate person and one thing I have been trying to work on is using my emotions as indicators instead of becoming a slave to them. I can feel myself getting angry or overwhelming sad by circumstances that don’t go my way.
Similar to the donut exit, I think I will know what to do when I get there.
But the truth is, I don’t.
There are many resources like the Bible, good friends, and journal...