Process

Attitude, Outside the Box, Perspective, Process, Stress

Joseph Series: Think Outside The …

The circumstances you find yourself in

The pain that is in your heart

The broken relationship that you can’t fix

The disease that will not quit

The home that has been broken and shattered

The great plans you have for your year

The retirement that for which you can hardly wait

The new House

The new Car

The new Job

The new sweetheart you have on the side

The plans of discarding all that is right and true

The one night stand

Think

Think outside the box that you find yourself in.

Joseph had to. He had to look for more than childhood dreams. They just weren’t working out how he had envisioned them. The prison box that he was held captive in did not house the dream that was in his heart.

All he had left were hopes and dreams, and you know? They were probably too small.

What box, what pressure cooker are you living in? Perhaps, the very thing creating all the pressure is forming you, for the better, the best.

Think.

You Don’t Have To Live; You Get To!

Attitude, Character, Confidence, Process

Positioned For The Amazing

When does the Amazing happen?
When does the ‘Break’ occur?
When does your ship come in?
When does the answer come?

All of these questions preclude a moment. Some people are ‘wired’ for moments, for a moment. They are waiting, anticipating, and desiring the resolution, the ‘break,’ the answer. Will it happen, or, when will it happen?
My answer? “I don’t know.”
What I do know is that ancient Joseph, the Dream Coat Joseph, had a dream. He perhaps naively exposed that dream to those he thought cared about him. They did not. For thirteen plus years he suffered and was put down, down and down again. He was about as low and betrayed as he could get when all of a sudden, all that changed.
Joseph in a moment went from the dank, dark, dungeon of depression to prophetic advisor and everything changed. His Amazing happened.
All the way through this ordeal, this process, Joseph wrestled with the God he so trusted. We know this because the scripture tells us that he remained in his dilemma “till the word of the Lord proved him true.” (Psalm 105:19, NIV) You see, Joseph wasn’t the keeper of the moment; only God could and was that keeper and God was Joseph’s keeper.
Will the moment appear? Will your moment appear?
God is your keeper. He is the one who oversees your life. He knows where you live or where you have been thrust. Let his word prove you true. Allow and encourage his character development in you.
If you will do this, and continue to do this, you will be in position for the Amazing.

You Don’t Have To Live; You Get To!

Attitude, Process

Change That Works and Lasts

As soon as I catch a hint of vision, of something great, I want to be there sooner than later.
Raised around the push-button culture, I have been affected. If it takes more than a second for a screen to pop up on the internet, I start double clicking buttons and seeing if I can speed it up a bit. Oh yes, we expect instant, immediate, and we can even marshal a Broadband Speed Test to verify our angst.
We are the result of our past culture and have continued to perpetuate impatience in our present.
Even though the foot tapping and fingernail clicking pass the time as we wait, it is counterproductive for what is important.
There probably isn’t a person who doesn’t want to change in some regard in their life. This desire makes itself evident from marketing in our culture and purchase financing that accompanies it; we are looking for the missing ingredient to change and make our lives better, faster, more comfortable, efficient, and more desirable.
The fact is the part isn’t missing. The component is age-old, and it works at the speed of change as it has for many millennia.
It works through a chain of events that are intrinsically linked. These work with precision and accuracy and may well be one of the only ways that lasting change can happen.
The chain is this: suffering, trials, and faith testing -> perseverance, maturity, character, and completeness -> hope, not lacking anything. (James 1:4, Romans 5:3-5, NIV)
I would rather push a button as I would bet you would as well; this is why many swear off on our generation and say that once you become an adult, you don’t or can’t change.
But, you can! Do you want to change? Do you really want to become the person you vision in your dreams?
The formula then is: suffering -> perseverance -> character -> and hope. It may not be inviting, but it doesn’t have to be negative. The label will ultimately identify the attitude you take toward the discomfort that comes with true change. That label is what you determine, either positive or negative.
Here’s the thought; keep the focus on who you want to be and process these uncomfortable requirements. You won’t have to hunt them down; they will present themselves to you soon enough. The result of this three to four step process will be a new hope and new future, but not right now. Process.

You Don’t Have To Live; You Get To!

Process, Uncategorized

There was a process, but at the time Joseph, the Dreamcoat Joseph, must have thought it was just pain and suffering! Joseph was mistreated, on second thought; his siblings grossly mistreated him. It doesn’t get much worse than being discarded and left for dead, but then it did. They, being the ultimate dysfunctional family sold him. While putting the cash in their pockets, they collaborated the deceit and lie about his whereabouts.

Joseph went from his original stack of family problems to a whole new paradigm of endurance. He knew what it was to have ‘no-say’ when it came to the affairs of his life, but even this deepened to a whole new level. It took over 13 years to process the dreams that Joseph had in his heart. He had no way of knowing that he was moving toward his dream. He wasn’t just in a holding pattern. He was progressing toward his desired end, but nothing of the process looked anything like his dream.

So, what is your dream? If you are like me, you want to step from where you are to where your dreams have you. You can take a step, but it will probably be into the process. Just don’t forget about the one who is behind the process, the one who created the dream in you.

Joseph’s words, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Process.