Let me give you some “en-couraging” thoughts if your “C” meter is on “E”:

“Giving” is the root word of “forgiving.”  It’s almost safe to say they come from the same “root.”

Here are the top 5 things you can focus on to keep yourself “sharp” during these challenging times:

Your ATTITUDE is contagious—the power of a complaint

The Bible gives the secret: “Be strong IN THE LORD and in the power of HIS MIGHT.” (Eph. 6: 10)

We all want to do better with our time. The secret of using time wisely is in the “perfect day.”

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke went to heaven this week. Perhaps the greatest evangelist of all time, he watched 79 MILLION people respond to Christ in his 35 years of crusades.

I knew him well.

HERE IS MY STORY OF THIS GREAT GENERAL:

Destiny” is a big word.  It sounds like your whole life in seven letters. 

Actually, it is easier thank you think.  Destiny is when you connect your purpose to the purpose of God.

God has a purpose.  It is eternal.  It was there before the world began.  Some parts of that purpose, however, will not be done until we connect our purpose to God’s purpose.

Here are my four main concepts of how to shape your destiny:

I tried a little gardening when I was first married (no money!).  I usually ended up with a huge pile of weeds and some tiny, even microscopic “fruit.”

My neighbor staked his tomatoes with “PVC” pipe and carefully poured water down the pipe to the deep roots of his plants.  He weeded every day.  He fertilized, protected with insecticide (not so good now!) and organized his rows so that each plant had space to grow.

Is it any wonder that his tomatoes looked the size of oranges when mine looked like marbles?

Try these five simple observations on productivity:

Elijah had an amazing day.  He wiped out 850 idolatrous prophets and ended a 3 1/2 year nationwide drought by one prayer!  Not bad, huh?  Why in the world is he praying to die the next day?

Mood swings.  They are real.  It feels like the floor disappeared and you are in a free fall. 

What was the source of Elijah’s downward spiral and how did he come out of it?

A policeman has a uniform, a badge, and a weapon.  Without them, he blends into the crowd.  He has no authority.  Wearing them, he carries all authority.

Jesus said, “I have all authority in heaven and earth.”  Why are Christians still living as “victims” instead of “victors?”

Let’s go to work on how you see yourself and why you have lived a life of “retreat” and “defeat”:

The famous hymn, “It Is Well" is one of my favorites.  We all love to sing it but never answer this question:  “Is it well with my soul?” 

HERE ARE THREE KEY QUESTIONS THAT WILL HELP YOU TO KNOW THAT:

A compass is a small thing.  If you are totally lost in the deep woods, finding a compass on the ground could save your life.  You’re not “out of the woods” but you’re on your way out of the woods.

“One small decision” (like the compass) can start a process that ultimately unravels a tapestry of bad financial, career, relationship, or other personal decisions.

Want to know how?  Read more.

Have you ever thrown something away you wish you had back again?  Whatever you do, don’t throw away your confidence!  You have every reason to hold on to it. 

“Confidence” affects everything:  your spiritual life, your work life, your social life, your moral life. 

Here are five elements of confidence that can shape your legacy:

Decisions cause regret.  Someone said, “If you made no decisions, you would have no regrets!”  Regret can paralyze your forward motion for years.

How do you recover from a bad decision…especially one that can never be reversed? God can defeat your regret. 

Here are some steps I have followed to get it OFF my trail:

“Drive” is important.  It is the motivation to progress, to accomplish, to produce, to excel.  Nothing every happens without drive.  God made us to “be fruitful” but that doesn’t mean that crops will grow by themselves.

“Driven” is dangerous.  It wrecks relationships.  It turns to envy and road rage.  It damages health.  It forces us to perform rather than fulfilling us when we perform.

 How do you know when you are being driven?

Sometimes, leaders face impossible circumstances…like Jericho.  Two huge, impenetrable walls.  No way out or in.  No hope.   We all face those walls. 

How do we get the impossible to move out of our way?

The biggest giants you face are the ones in your mind.  I have learned that “limiting beliefs” are holding me back from any area I must conquer.

Here are the “FIVE GIANTS” of limitations that you must conquer to enter your promised land of success: 

Clarity wins the day.  Every time.

If you find your leadership is more “wandering around” I know the problem.  Work on your CLARITY.

Israel had two “silver trumpets” (Num. 10).  Everything in the Jewish life and culture was clarified by their sound.

HERE ARE THE FOUR THINGS THEY DID, AND HOW YOUR LEADERSHIP CAN BE “CRYSTAL CLEAR”:

Depression, loneliness, and anxiety are at an all time high.  Yet, we have more possessions, connections, and options than ever.

What’s the problem?