The Monday Memo from John Stanko

539: Your Garden Work

When I was in Zimbabwe last December, I taught on the topic of purpose in the book of Revelation. Now that's something I imagine you haven't heard anyone else try to do! Since I love risks, I thought I would take the next few weeks, seven to be exact, to share with you what I talked about there. If it doesn't work out, we can blame it on the Antichrist!

THE GARDEN

Jesus came to restore all things that were lost when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden. Before they sinned, our parents freely ate of the tree of life.  They had fellowship with God, purpose, creativity and the ability to work together as a team.  When they fell, they lost all that, or at least it was marred by their sin.

The evangelical church has emphasized, rightly so, that Jesus came to offer us forgiveness for sin and to restore our fellowship with God. The problem is that the message has stopped there. The church has done little to tell people, "Once your sins are forgiven, your fellowship with God also enables you to have purpose, be creative and work in a team with others."  Therefore believers forfeit much of the finished work of Christ due to ignorance. Their sins are forgiven but they are cut off from "the tree of life," which in part is purposeful, joyful work.

That brings us to the book of Revelation and to what I call your Garden Work.

THE TREE OF LIFE

The book of Revelation contains many references to familiar symbols from Old Testament, like the Temple, tabernacle, and covenant. This is to indicate that what was begun in the Old Testament was finished in the New through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  There are two important passages that indicate Jesus restored what was lost:

1. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Revelation 2:7). 
2. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lambdown the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:1-2). 

So if the tree of life is once again available to God's people, then that means the conditions of the Garden have been restored and you are now free to pursue what I call your Garden Work, or purpose, because of the finished work of the cross.  Since God paid such a high price to restore your ability to flow in purpose, don't you think you should urgently be about finding and fulfilling it?

The message of Revelation is not one of fear, but of liberation. The Lamb is on the throne and reigns, and that means that we reign too.  Part of our royal rule is to function in purpose and finish our Garden Work under God's direction with your gifts and creativity once again rightly related to God. I hope this series helps you live in the fullness of Christ's work for your life.  Have a great week!

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FOOD FOR MIND AND BODY:  Our supplies are heading over to Kenya, and I am getting ready to go over on March 15 - but I need your help!  $550 came in last week so we are on our way to raising the second half of The Big Blessing $25,000 goal.  Read the latest from Pastor Peter in Kenya here (the picture at left is of two young men who are waiting for the library) and then please do what you can to help me provide food for minds and bodies over there. You can give through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.

WWJA: I started my latest daily devotional called What Would Jesus Ask? on January 1 and it is going well.  If you would like to check it out or subscribe to receive it every day, you can do either here.

MEMO INDEX:  Did you know that every Monday Memo I have ever written is on my website?  Did you also know that there is an index with the title, topic and biblical cross references for each Monday also on my site. To browse through any of the 538 prior Memos, you can go here.  Next month, the Memo turns 11 years old! 

ISRAEL 2013:  Just so you know, I have postponed my next trip to Israel until September, 2013. If you are interested in information when it is available, drop me a line and let me know.

538: Joy Oil

I am in the midst of a rewrite of my book So Many Leaders, So Little Leadership, which I wrote in 2000. I have half-jokingly said that I no longer believe some of what is in that book, but I think it's that my views on leadership have matured since then. It was time to put those new views on paper. I am already behind my publisher's requested submission date but I think I am two days away from completion - if I can find some chunks of time to work on it uninterrupted.

When you put this much work into a project, you ask yourself along the way, "Why am I doing this?" and you consider quitting altogether or at least postponing completion until a more opportune time, which of course will never come.  So I have learned to press on and look for the joy oil while I work.  Let's consider that concept now.

JOY OIL

I was at a meeting of pastors this week and one of them read Hebrews 1:9, which got me thinking about this week's Memo: "You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”  This verse makes reference to Jesus Christ and of course Christ means "Anointed One."  Notice what Jesus' anointing was.  It wasn't power or authority or knowledge.  It was joy.

In my leadership book revision, I talk about the importance of anointing, not just in church work but in any purpose work.  If the joy isn't there, there are no anointed results - and anointed simply means that God is helping you do the work.

As I write and get bogged down or discouraged, I look for the joy oil.  And the joy oil for me is visualizing people reading, learning and growing.  It's people closer to understanding and fulfilling their purpore than before they started reading. The oil isn't in the money, there isn't very much in publishing unless you have mass media to market, but I write for the joy.

FIND IT

I have been asking audiences lately, "Why does a bird sing?"  A bird doesn't sing for an audience or money.  A bird sings because it has a song inside it to sing, nothing more nothing less. I supposed a bird can't have joy oil, but sometimes when I watch them sing, I think maybe they do!  Or maybe they sing just to bring us joy. Why will you sing or write, or compose, or teach, or lead?  It may be for money or to serve others, but ultimately it had better be for joy because that's what's in you to do.

If you are going to write or do just about anything related to purpose, then you must find that oil of joy to be successful and fulfilled.  Where is it for you?  Are you afraid of it? Are you trying to operate without it? All those are good questions to address this week, while I work feverishly to finish my manuscript.  When you find your joy oil as I have found mine, you will have all the motivation you need to carry on and through all opposition and hindrances, especially those that come from within you.  Have a great week!

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KENYA REPORT:  I depart for Kenya in six weeks and must raise $12,000 before then to reach my goal of $25,000 for The Big Blessing. I will start writing and updating you in earnest next week and I know the Lord will come through, using you in the process.  You don't have to wait but can give through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8881, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0881.

MEMO INDEX:  Did you know that every Memo I have ever written is on my website in groups of five, along with an index that includes every Scripture reference, topic and Memo title.  If you are looking for something specific, you can look here, or just do some reading of back issues at your leisure.

WWJA:  Have you checked out my new daily devotional, What Would Jesus Ask?  If not, take a look here and subscribe at the same site to receive it every day. 

ISRAEL POSTPONED:  I did not have enough people interested for this May, so I have rescheduled the next Israel trip for September, 2013.  It will be here before you know it, so plan to be part of that trip now.

537: Afraid of Happy?

Two weeks ago we looked at a summary of five regrets of the dying, as reported by an Australian woman who worked with those who were terminally ill.  We have covered two of the five regrets the last two weeks, and this week we will cover a third (and last), and the move on.  The fifth regret was "I wish that I had let myself be happier."  Notice they did not say they wish they were happier, but rather they wish they had let themselves be happy.  That means that they actually did not give themselves permission to be happy and enjoy life. How sad. 

APART FROM THE LORD

I know there is no true fulfillment or happiness outside of the Lord, and it's possible that some or many of those surveyed were not believers.  My experience, however, is that some or perhaps many believers are guilty of the same thing:  they are fighting themselves and their joy.  They are so conditioned to think that joy and happiness are traps and not really consistent with the Christian life that they avoid joy and happiness.  In other words, they are afraid of joy?  Is this possible?

The writer of Ecclesiastes conducted a life experiment, as you can read in Ecclesiastes 2.  He tried all kinds of pleasure, pursued knowledge and wisdom, undertook great projects and amassed considerable wealth.  None of these things in and of themselves brought the writer happiness.

Having done all these things, he came to this conclusion:

A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26).

So let me ask you a question based on the writer's conclusion:  Are you happy in your work?

AFRAID OF HAPPY?

Do you enjoy your work or are you afraid of the joy and happiness it can bring?  Are you conditioned to think that work must be miserable or at least only tolerable?  Have you put the pursuit of the big three, career, a nice salary and benefits, ahead of joyful work?  There is nothing wrong with any of those three things, but if you are pursuing them and don't have joy, you will eventually be frustrated and even burn out.

When you are afraid of happy, you are in some ways fighting yourself, resisting who God made you to be and what He created you to do.  God wanted to make the process a bit simpler for you but attaching joy to the work He has for you to do.  When you fight the joy, you fight God as well as yourself.  So do yourself a favor, listen to the writer and pursue what you love - the money will follow eventually, I promise.  Don't let yourself be scared of your own shadow of happiness, but let it come into the fullness of the light of your daily existence.  Thank you and have a great week!

536: Hard Work

Last week, I shared the five regrets of the dying as reported by a women in Australia who worked with many dying patients, which you can access here. We looked at the first regret and that was people wished they had been more true to themselves and not to others' expectations. I wasn't planning on going through the other four regrets, but let's at least look at one or two more before we move on.

HARD WORK

The second regret was, "I wish I had not worked so hard."  That is interesting to me, for work is God's gift to mankind.  When the writer of Ecclesiastes discussed his life lessons learned from pursuing many things, he came to this conclusion: "So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot" (Ecclesiastes 3:22).  That verse and conclusion number two led me to ask a question:  Were the people doing the right work that caused them to wish they had not worked so hard?

You see, if it is God's lot for you to enjoy your work, then why would He not want you to engage that work as often as possible?  Isn't the joy an incentive to pursue the work, at least in part? I wonder if the regret should have been worded, "I wish I had not worked at the wrong work so hard"?

PAUL'S PERSPECTIVE

Years ago I was complaining to the Lord that I was working too hard. I had a dream one night and heard this verse in my dream, and have used it as a guide for most of my adult life.  It is in 1 Corinthians 15:10: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."

Paul acknowledged that it was God's grace with him that caused him to work as hard as he did.  I felt the Lord was indicating that He was not going to send me any less work, but actually more work.  Yet it would be work that I would enjoy, work that He would help me achieve.  I would say He has done that for me, and I think He wants to do it for you, too.

If I got the end of my life and had devoted thousands of hours to work I hated or that didn't matter, I think I would regret that like those who were part of that woman's conclusions.  Rather I have worked doing what I love and that has made my adult life enjoyable, meaningful and rich.  My father retired from his work at 62, and I will be that age this year.  I cannot even imagine stopping doing what I love to do something else or nothing at all. I hope you feel the same.

If you don't, what are you prepared to do about it?  It's not too late to lay the foundation for meaningful, enjoyable work.  What are you waiting for?  Most people know what that work would be, but they let fear rob them of the efforts to perform it. Don't end up like those people in the survey who wished they had not worked so hard. Instead be like Paul who rejoiced that God's grace empowered him to work hard and see results.  Thank you and have a great week!

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THE BIG BLESSING UPDATE: I posted some new pictures, a video and a financial update for The Big Blessing $25,000 target raised by March 15 on my blog site.  Take a look when you have a chance and then help me reach my goal!  Thank you. 

PURPOSEQUEST ASSESSMENT:  Don't forget to take the free Purpose Assessment on my website to determine where you may be on your individual purpose journey.

LAST CALL FOR ISRAEL:  If you are interested in my trip to Israel from May 15-29, you must let me know immediately so we can hold airline seats. Just drop me an email and let me know that you are interested.

535: The Five Regrets of the Dying

I found a link to an article over the holidays and wanted to share it first chance I had, so this looks like a good week.  It's written by an Australian woman, Bronnie Ware, and can be found in its entirety here.  I will summarize the five points of her article "The Five Regrets of The Dying," and focus on one point in particular.

THE FIVE REGRETS

Here are the five regrets that Bronnie discovered in working with those patients close to death over the years:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I didn't work so hard.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Here is what Ware had to say about the first point, the courage to be true to self and not others:

This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people have had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

DON'T LET IT BE YOUR REGRET

It takes courage to be true to yourself and who God created you to be. Before David went out to fight Goliath, King Saul tried to have David wear his (Saul's) battle armor.  Saul was a tall man, however, and the armor didn't fit.  David did not try and please the king. Instead he rejected the armor and took along his sling shot, something that was more true to who he was.  His success is legendary (see 1 Samuel 17:38-40).

Are you wearing someone else's armor?  If you are, then you are headed for the number one regret expressed by the dying.  Don't do it!  I cannot say what you should do, but I can only urge you to follow your heart and stop living your life for someone else, unless however it is for the Lord.  I was challenged by this list and I hope you are, too.  Now get about the work of living before it's too late. Have a great week!

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KENYA LIBRARY UPDATE:  We were able to ship 179 boxes weighing a total of 7,500 pounds to Texas to be containered for shipment to Kenya. You can read about it here.  My thanks to so many who made this next step possible, but stay tuned:  We will need more help before this is all complete.

PURPOSEQUEST ASSESSMENT:  Don't forget to take the free Purpose Assessment on my website to determine where you may be on your individual purpose journey.  Then let me know how I can help you be even more purposeful.

534: Teenie Harris, Frank Lloyd Wright & Larry Fitzgerald

I am still on vacation, but have used this time to refresh and retool for the coming year.  To help do that, I traveled out West and also took some time to visit a museum in my hometown.  I encountered three men of purpose during the holidays who inspired me. I would like to tell you about them and their impact on me this holiday season.

THREE MEN

The first man is Charles "Teenie" Harris. He was a local photographer in Pittsburgh who worked for the famous black newspaper, The Pittsburgh Courier.  Harris spent his life taking photographs of the African American community in Pittsburgh (and things of interest to the black community).  He amassed a collection of 80,000 pictures in his lifetime and they are on display now through April 7 in the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh (If you live in or near Pittsburgh, run, don't walk, to see this exhibit).

The second man is Frank Llloyd Wright. Wright was the famous American architect who spent 70 years creating architectural concepts that revolutionized how modern buildings were and are designed. There is a display honoring Wright's work here at the Phoenix Museum of Art.  Wright's blueprints and conceptual drawings are framed and hung as art, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation has its headquarters here in Phoenix at a complex Wright designed called Taliesin West.  I am going to visit there later today.

The third man is Larry Fitzgerald, a wide receiver for the professional football team here in Phoenix called the Arizona Cardinals.  Fitzgerald played his college ball in Pittsburgh and has gone on to become one of the best receivers in the NFL today.  I saw Fitzgerald perform yesterday when the Arizona Cardinals played the Seattle Seahawks here in Phoenix (Fitzgerald had a great game and I think half the people in the stadium were wearing his jersey).

ONE MAN

What do these three men have to do with me (and you)?  These men were or are the best at what they do.  They impacted the world while alive and two are still impacting the world after their death. They did not try to do all the things they could do, but rather focused on being the best at the one thing they could or can do that no one else could or can match. 

That is what I want my legacy to be. I want to do what one man can do, with God's help, to touch and change the world.

I want to be the best purpose coach and writer I can be.  While I cannot guarantee the results now or after I am gone, I want to give God my best results and present Him things that, if He chooses, can be used to bless and touch others. 

With that in mind, I commit myself to be the best expression of who God intended me to be in 2012.  I want to produce resources that will help you and others.  I want to "sing my song," and trust God for the results, even if I am only singing for His ears.  An audience of one, if God is that One, is not time wasted.

So Happy New Year to you and yours.  I invite you to join me, along with Teenie, Frank and Larry, to be the best person in your work that you can be in 2012 and beyond.  Continue to lay the foundation and pay the price to be the best you can be, and trust God for the results.  Who knows, maybe some day, someone will come to visit your display in a museum and another person like me will write about you.  Have a great week and year!

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THANK YOU:  We met our matching grant deadline.  $650 came in yesterday, so we qualified to receive the $750 matching grant.  The cool thing about it is that the last $300 came in at 11:30 PM, thirty minutes before the grant deadline.  Isn't God good?  I don't have the totals, but I believe this puts us about halfway toward our $25,000 goal for March.  I will have the totals for you next week.

This week we ship 180 boxes of books and supplies to Kenya for our arrival in March.  Please pray that all goes well.  And thank you for your giving and prayers that helped us once again meet a deadline for the orphans and widows.

MATCHING GRANT: You can issue your own challenge grant to help me fulfill the second half of our $25,000 goal. All you have to do is give me an amount ("I will give $1000"), and a deadline ("I will give $1,000 by January 31") and then I challenge my readers to give toward that grant.  If we receive $1,000 in matching gifts and you give your $1,000, you have effectively doubled your gift!  Let me know if this is something you would be interested in doing and I will take it from there.

PURPOSEQUEST ASSESSMENT:  Why not start off the year by taking (or retaking) the free Purpose Assessment on the home page of my website. Then follow up on the email I send you with your score.

NEW DEVOTIONAL:  I have started a new daily devotional called "What Would Jesus Ask" and you can check it out or subscribe to receive it on my personal blog site.  I pose a question every day from the Bible and give you some thoughts to help you seek the answers to the questions.  

533: Daylight on the Night Shift

This week I borrow another classic Monday Memo from the archives in honor of Christmas. After you read it, please make sure you see the announcement at the end of the Memo for another matching grant for Kenya that expires on December 31. Here's wishing you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons!

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I receive many emails every year asking how to find purpose. Many say they have "no idea" what their purpose is and ask me for help. While I respond as best I can, after all these years I know that I cannot help anyone see his or her purpose.  I know the One who can, however, and how He does it is similar to the story of the shepherds at Christmas, something I call daylight on the night shift.  Read on to see what I mean.

THE NIGHT SHIFT

The shepherds in the Christmas story were working the night shift, doing what they and their ancestors had done for centuries. They went to work that night without any thought that anything extraordinary was about to happen. On the night Jesus was born, they were tending their flocks on the hillsides outside Bethlehem, minding their own business. Suddenly God sent them messengers, who brought great light to the night shift:

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. (Luke 2:8-16).

These shepherds were doing what they knew to do at that time in their life and God interrupted them with a special news report. This both scared and thrilled them. That's how it is when you find your life purpose. Often you are doing what you know to do at the time, usually a job or role that is less than fulfilling. Suddenly God, the Great Communicator, breaks into your conscious being and brings a message of purpose, of what He has always wanted you to do. That not only terrifies you but also gives you a desire to clarify and fulfill it.

That night the shepherds went to work like any other day. God spoke to them, however, and they were never the same. They started by sitting on a hillside in cold weather; they ended by finding a great treasure in Bethlehem, a treasure that had not been revealed to anyone else but them.

YOUR PURPOSEQUEST

Maybe you have been in a desperate search for your purpose and its expression. As we end this year, I suggest that you be encouraged as you remember the shepherds. Finding your purpose doesn't depend on your diligence; it depends on God's grace. Yes, you must search for your purpose, but only God can reveal it to you. I don't know when or how He will do that. It may be one cold, dark night when you go about your business like countless other nights. At that point, God may send His messenger and change your life forever. I don't know when or how He will do it, I just know He will.

So have faith and relax this holiday season. Keep asking God to help you see who you are and what you were born to do, and after that, trust Him. You may even want to thank Him for your purpose whether or not you understand what it is.  He wants you to fulfill your purpose more than you do. He will show you in the fullness of time, bring you daylight even if you are working the night shift. When He does, you will join with the shepherds as laborers who found more than business as usual one night when they went to work. May the God of purpose speak to you soon and may you have the courage to believe what He says!  Here's wishing you and yours a happy holiday season!

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This week I received a $750 matching grant toward The Big Blessing for Kenya to help feed children like those pictured here. The grant offer expires, however, on December 31. That means for every dollar you give between now and then, you are actually giving two dollars. Don't miss this chance to be a blessing and to double your gift.  You can give through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.  Remember to mark your contribution "Matching Grant" and I will take care of the rest. Thank you and Happy New Year!

531: My Work, Your Work

I wrap up my stay in Africa today and will be home tomorrow, Lord willing!  It has been a great stay, as always, with many open doors for the purpose message.  It's time to go home, however, and I have been seeking the Lord about "home" while I have been here.  I thought I would share some thoughts with you in this Memo.

GLORIFY GOD

Jesus had work to do that only He could do. That seems like an obvious statement. When Jesus was praying in John 17, he said:

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do" (John 17:1-4, emphasis added).

Jesus glorified the Father by completing the work the Father had assigned. He did not glorify Him by talking, singing or preaching. You will glorify God in the same manner.  Because there are many things you can do, it is essential you identify and engage the work that only you can do. 

MY WORK, YOUR WORK

I have prayed this year that God would help me structure my "world," which consists of: 1) pastoral duties; 2) college instructor; 3) author; 4) administrator; 5) coach; and 6) consultant. I have been looking for how I can perform more effectively in all these areas, or seeking to determine which areas I should eliminate or reduce. 

In my most recent efforts to structure, I have been praying, "Lord, show me the work that I am supposed to do, that only I can do, and then help me delegate or eliminate everything else." One big breakthrough is that I hired an administrative assistant who has been a wonderful addition to my life and work (my first assistant since 1991).  Yet there is more to be done if I am to do the work that only I can do and glorify God in the process. I sense I will have to stop doing some things, perhaps many things, if that is to occur.

This will require some additional adjustments and changes as I enter 2012. I must ruthlessly jettison all things that others can do in the interests of doing what only I can do.  That will require courage and self-awareness, for I must pay attention to my heart: "Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy" (Proverbs 14:10).

No one can tell me the condition of my heart, or yours for that matter.  No one can tell you, "Oh, you should be so happy with what you are doing.  You are so talented and gifted, there is no way you should be doing this or not doing that."  It is my job to get in touch with my heart and then follow its leading, trusting that God is in control, fulfilling the promise in Psalm 37:4: "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."  God fulfills those desires because He placed them there in the first place.

As you close out 2011, I encourage you to do what I am doing:  Take a good, long look at your "world" and identify the work that only you can do. Then with courage and determination, structure your life to do that work. As I return home, I don't have all the answers, but I will not give up, for I want to glorify God just like Jesus did - by completing the work God gave me to do.  Have a great week!

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THE BIG BLESSING: I distributed almost $3,000 here in Kenya toward the library project and food for Upako Centre and Each One Touch One Orphanage. Yet there is much more to do as I work toward the $25,000 goal of The Big Blessing to be collected and distributed by March, 2012.

As you pray about your year-end giving, I urge you to consider my work here in Kenya. Conditions are tough (19% inflation, shortage of cooking gas, high fuel prices and an election next year that always seems to cause great economic turmoil).  Help me start libraries where children can have electricity and find their textbooks to do their homework. Help me feed hungry orphans. Help me build a facility where HIV/AIDS widows can learn, work and grow. If you want to read more about my work in Kenya that The Big Blessing will support, you can do so here. 

Then please give as 2011 ends through my website or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.  When you give, the orphans will give you a big "thumbs up" for your kindness and mercy shown them. And I hope and pray that you and yours will enjoy the blessings of Christmas and enter into a prosperous New Year.  Thank you and God bless you!

You can read the first thank you from my most recent trip here.

530: Live Like You Were Dying

I had some time in my hotel room this week, and decided to listen to some music on iTunes. It was then that I listened to a song that I downloaded years ago and wrote about in a 2008 Monday Memo. It's sung by country western singer Tim McGraw, and it's called Live Like You Were Dying. I thought I would share the lyrics with you again and let you draw your own lessons from what they have to say. (If you would rather watch it performed, you can do so here.)

THE SONG

He said, "I was in my early forties
with a lot of life before me,
when a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
And I spent most of the next days
looking at the x-rays,
talking bout the options
and talking 'bout sweet time.
I asked him when it sank in
that this might really be the real end."
How's it hit you when you get that kinda news.
Man what would you do?

And he said,
"I went sky diving,
I went Rocky Mountain climbing.
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu.
And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying.
And he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying."

He said, "I was finally the husband
that most the time I wasn't.
And I became a friend a friend would like to have.
And all of a sudden going fishin
wasn't such an imposition,
and I went three times that year I lost my dad.
Well I finally read the good book
and I took a good long hard look
at what I'd do if I could do it all again."

"And then
I went sky diving,
I went Rocky Mountain climbing.
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu.
And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying.
And he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying."

"Like tomorrow was a gift and you got eternity to think about.
What would you do with it? What did you do with it?
What did I do with it?
what would I do with it?"

"Sky diving,
I went Rocky Mountain climbing,
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu.
And then I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,
and I watched an eagle as it was flying.
And he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying."

ARE YOU READY?

Are you ready to live today and everyday like it was your last? If so, what changes do you need to make? Do you need some calamity to make those changes, or do you have the courage to make them today? I am ready to live today like I was dying. Will you join me?

    Feel free to add your comments to this entry on the site where it is posted.

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I NEED $500:  If I receive another $500 before I leave Kenya on December 10, I can give two of our orphan ministries $1,000 each to buy food. Can you help me out?  If you can, please do so through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.  Write and tell if me if you send a check and I will front the money until I get home. Thank you and God bless you.

 

 

KENYA TIME:  I will be in Kenya this coming week. I will be conducting a three-day seminar from December 5-7 for The Pacific Institute and then a one-day seminar on Saturday, December 10 for Royal and Rich.  I am attaching the Royal and Rich flier to this post (click on it to enlarge).  If you are interested in The Pacific Institute, I can send you plenty of material that describes exactly what that is - which is quite simply the best training for goal setting and change with which I have ever been involved!  Write me for more information and then invest in yourself at one or both of these outstanding seminars.

529: Exile

I am back in Zimbabwe for the first time in four years and it is great to be back. I have seen a lot of friends and have a ton of memories that I am processing from all my visits here from 2001-2008. I often refer to those years as my years in exile, for most of the work and ministry doors closed to me in the States and it was the people of Zimbabwe and several other countries that saw me through my hard times. There were nights when I was traveling that no one knew where I was but the Lord.  It was an eerie feeling, but He always went with me.

I NEEDED THAT

Frankly, I needed my time in exile.  Those years taught me a lot about myself and helped me find and develop my voice, the message that I carry today to the world via my speaking and writing.  I needed silence and the lonely nights in some hotel or guest house gave me just that - a lot of time to think and process. I needed the time to grow, learn and unlearn.

In 2009, when my so-called exile ended, I was almost sad to see it go.  It was such a special time and I was grateful for what it had done in me and for me.  Now the results fo that exile are flowing through me and I like what is coming out.

DANIEL IN EXILE

In Daniel 5, we have the famous story of the handwriting on the wall during a drinking party hosted by the Babylonian king, son of Nebuchadnezzar.  No one was found who could read and interpret the writing, until the queen recommended that they summon Daniel.  Now my question is:  Why wasn't Daniel present in the court?  He had served the kingdom faithfully, but a new king came along who did not include Daniel in his inner court.  Daniel was summoned and did interpret the writing, which forecast the king's demise, which occured that very night.

My point is that after Daniel had been used mightily by God and served with distinction, he went into a season of retirement, perhaps involuntary.  He was the main man in one man's rule, and forgotten in the next.  Daniel came back, however, stronger and wiser than ever.  I wonder if his exile served him like mine?

Perhaps you are in exile, not close to the influence or power you once enjoyed.  Or maybe God has taken you away, sort of on an extended spiritual retreat, so that you can think and learn. If that's the case, I urge you to do what I did: Make the most of your time.  Have faith that you will be used again and use the time to prepare for what's ahead. Confront your fears, doubts and inadequacies and make the most of every day. When I look back (and ahead), I thank God for my exile and I thank God He has brought me back to my own special place to show me how far I have come since 2001.  Have a great week!

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ZIMBABWE, HERE I AM:  It's great to be back here in Zimbabwe and I hope I connect with many more friends this week.  If you would like to be part of my visit, you can read about my schedule here.  I have seminars this coming Wednesday and Friday.

NEED FOOD MONEY:  I departed last Friday for Zimbabwe and Kenya.  I can certainly use more cash to distribute to the orphans and widows there.  If you can give a special Thanksgiving offering, please do so through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.  Thank you and God bless you!

 

 

KENYA TIME:  After Zimbabwe, I will be in Kenya for a week. I will be conducting a three-day seminar from December 5-7 for The Pacific Institute and then a one-day seminar on Saturday, December 10 for Royal and Rich.  I am attaching the Royal and Rich flier to this post (click on it to enlarge).  If you are interested in The Pacific Institute, I can send you plenty of material that describes exactly what that is - which is quite simply the best training for goal setting and change with which I have ever been involved!  Write me for more information and then invest in yourself at one or both of these outstanding seminars.