Daily Dose - Episode #58

Daily Dose #58 (Monday, May 18, 2020)

Hey church family it’s the start of a new week!  What new adventures does God have for us this week??

Before we get to today’s Daily Dose, I just wanted to let you know that our Elders are meeting one evening this week via Zoom.  No doubt many of you have seen the Guidelines for Places of Worship that have been put out by the Province of Alberta as part of the province’s re-launch strategy.  We as Elders would appreciate your prayers as we discuss what that means for Brooks Alliance Church in the weeks ahead.  Thanks for praying for wisdom for us.

For today’s Dose, I want to turn our attention again to another resource from Arrow Leadership.  

Six Questions You Should Be Asking as Covid-19 Shifts

The last few months have been a hard grind for everyone.  For some, the last few months have been brutal.  Hard decisions, long hours, personal risk, job loss, financial ruin, loneliness, sickness and even death have been uncommonly common.

In the midst of crisis, there isn’t much time for us to reflect.  Then, when we begin to see some space to process, the temptation is to keep our heads down and push through.  After all, we are tired, and there’s much more to do.

As the first wave of COVID-19 begins to shift – with the possibility of more waves ahead  - let me urge you to find and take some space to intentionally reflect on this crazy time.  It’s important for your mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health.  These factors greatly impact your days.

Here are six reflection questions to get your started.  You can tackle one question a day or carve out a longer time to reflect on more.  Find a quiet space, get out your journal and ask God to guide you.

1.     What do you need to grieve?

The losses have been significant over the last few months.  Many plans, hopes and dreams have been dashed.  Special events and life markers have been cancelled.  There’s been separation, suffering and sickness.  Lost jobs and financial strains.  Loneliness and hard decisions.  Make a list.  Share the grief and losses honestly with God.

2.     What can you celebrate?

Make a list of blessings you’ve received or seen.  Who has stepped up around you?  What innovations have worked?  Where have there been breakthroughs?  How has God provided and protected?  Give thanks to God.  Write some encouragement notes.  Take time to celebrate with people.

3.     What have you learned?

Make a list of what you have learned about God, yourself, your family, your job, those you work with and about the world you live in.

4.     What do you need to take with you?

As we begin to move out of this first wave, what learnings, mindset, habits, patterns or perspectives do you need to take with you from this difficult season?   You have a unique opportunity to incorporate these things into your life going forward.

5.     What do you need to leave behind?

Moving from one season to another gives you permission to leave some things behind.  What mindset, habits or perspective do you need to leave behind?

6.     Where will you catch your breath and get some rest?

Some people have been working long hours; some have been working nonstop.  Long-planned vacations that were already a needed oasis of rest and refreshment were cancelled.  Then there has been the emotional toll of high-stress situations and hard decisions over week and months.  You likely need to make some time and take some steps to restore although you may be tempted to keep your head down and keep pushing through.  If you are depleted – and you likely are more depleted than you think – you can’t just keep going like nothing happened.  This is especially important when there may be more COVID-19 disruptions coming.  It’s important for your mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health to intentionally reflect, so you’re better prepared to live through the upcoming season.  Find a calendar and mark some long weekends and vacation time.  Even though these may be staycations, they can make a real and needed difference.   

 

Praying for you today church family as you process things these days.

Daily Dose - Episode #54

Daily Dose #54 (Monday, May 11, 2020)

Good morning church family – here is Daily Dose Episode #54.  On Friday I received an email from our National Ministry Center for the Alliance in Canada.  In the email there was a link to something written by our denominational president David Hearn earlier in the week.  It was excellent, so I thought I would include it in here for us today.

 

Self-Quarantine or Quarantine Self?  (David Hearn May 4, 2020)

I was recently on a massive conference call with over 2000 Christian leaders across Canada. People shared words of wisdom and revelation providing great inspiration and hope. During this time, one Christian leader stated, “I believe God is calling His church to not just self-quarantine but to quarantine self in order to serve those around us.” I was deeply convicted by her words.

Recently, I went to Costco to pick up a few items. Toilet paper was not even on my list, until I saw someone exiting the store with a cart filled with toilet paper. Something snapped in my mind and I grabbed my cart and began to rush to the toilet paper section in the store. I was dodging people, cutting people off, and became so focused on my own preservation that nothing else—and no one else—was considered. I got my toilet paper, but it felt like I flushed my spirit down the toilet.

It is so easy, in a time of crisis, to allow self-preservation and self-protection to rule our actions rather than self-sacrifice.

The history of the church reveals that when the Holy Spirit invades our hearts, one of the first evidences is the denial of self and the desire to serve. In Acts 4:32, when the church is under extreme persecution, we read “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.” Everyone shared their toilet paper!

In fact, people were willing to sell their homes and properties in order that the proceeds could be “distributed to anyone who had need” (Acts 4:35). The economic news is terrifying and even though the Canadian government is doing its best to subsidize those who are hardest hit, the reality is that it will not be sustainable. Could it be that God’s gift in this moment is to wean His followers from self-orientation and launch us into a compassionate response to our neighbors, our co-workers and our communities?

Martin Luther, who survived the Bubonic Plague of 1527, wrote;

“I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me, and I have done what he expected for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me however I shall not avoid places or person but will go freely as stated above.”

A Christian leader shared how she went to her local supermarket with the intent of buying supplies that she could share with her neighbours. She specifically prayed that she would find N95 masks and toilet paper. When she arrived, the shelves were empty, but she prayed for a miracle. She turned down an aisle and was thrilled to find a large supply of N95 masks and toilet paper. She purchased as much as she could and began handing them out to her neighbors. One of them was an atheist who was deeply moved by her generosity. She stated, “It is just like God to use a roll of toilet paper to soften the heart of an atheist.” It is time to “quarantine self” so that we can live freely and fully in the care of the Father and boldly in the service of our world.

Daily Dose - Episode #48

Daily Dose #48 (Monday, May 4, 2020)

Good morning church family!  Who knew I’d actually like getting things in my email inbox – but here is another great note from Arrow Leadership to encourage us today. 

It is entitled Seven Practices to Keep Your Head Clear.  Keeping your head clear is incredibly important.  You need to think well, especially in times of crisis and challenge.  Yet, it is really easy to find yourself frazzled and fatigued – and to find your headspace foggy – rather than focused.

Despite all the pressures around him, Jesus kept His head clear.  He did this through a regular rhythm of pulling away, even though He was very busy!  Keeping your head clear isn’t a luxury left for quiet seasons.  It is an intentional discipline that can radically and positively change your head and heart space, especially in the midst of crisis and difficult seasons.

Here are seven practices to help you keep your head clear:

1)    Scripture – we need a steady diet of God’s Word.  And this discipline is even more important in times of crisis.  One simple idea is to focus on one verse of Scripture and return to it several times that day.  Write it on a post-it note and put it on your laptop screen or car dashboard (or home office workspace).  Pause at lunch to read a larger Scripture passage.

2)    Get Moving – move away from your desk every 45 minutes.  Try to physically step out away from your work every afternoon and take 15 minutes to walk around the block.  A run can also quiet and clear your head.

3)    Silence – With so much media noise, silence can refocus us.  Rather than starting the day with your newsfeed, take 3-5 minutes of silence and add short windows of silence to refocus during your day.

4)    Community – if you are an external processor, you’ll need to process out loud with others in order to clear your head (which can be challenging in our current reality).  If you are an internal processor, you’ll need time alone to clear your head before processing with others.

5)    Rest – getting good sleep is key to keeping your head clear.  Studies show that a nap of 20-25 minutes can dramatically improve focus and attention.

6)    Restore – invest time in an activity or hobby that lets your head rest or focus on something restorative.  This is an investment that replenishes, which is different than simply numbing your brain or killing time.

7)    Focus Words – as you look back on this challenging time, what are 3-4 words or phrases that you would like to be able to say about how you handled it?  Use these words as filter and focus words for your decisions and actions.  For instance, if “bless and serve” are two focus words, ask yourself how you can “bless and serve” in this moment or decision.  Keep going back to these words to find clarity.

What can you do to clear your head today?  It may be the key to clarity, focus and confidence.

Daily Dose - Episode #41

Daily Dose #41 (Monday, April 27, 2020)

Thanks to everyone who signed the card for Erland and Esther’s 70th anniversary celebration yesterday.  Thanks for loving on them so well.  

For our Daily Dose today I want to turn to yet another great Arrow Leadership resource I received recently.  It is titled Five Questions to Discover Opportunities in the Midst of Crisis.

Times of crisis and uncertainty usually bring constraints.  In the case of COVID-19, there are many unprecedented constraints.  Public gatherings and movement have been restricted.  The ability to physically meet with people is a constraint.  Funds may be a constraint.  Your list may be unique and long.

At first, constraints can seem very frustrating!  They often flow from circumstances beyond our control and it’s easy to feel like you are stuck or a helpless victim.

In A Beautiful Constraint, Adam Morgan and Mark Barden share story after story demonstrating how constraints can be leveraged to launch people and organizations into amazing breakthroughs.  Here are two examples: 

In the 1970’s, Southwest Airlines wanted to keep their four routes but had to sell one of their four planes.  Four routes with three planes seemed impossible against the constraint of time.  However, this constraint sparked creativity and collaboration that introduced several innovations.  Southwest dramatically reduced flight turnaround time and went on to break service and profit records.

In 2006, Audi of America needed to find a way to win the famous 24-hour Le Mans Circuit with the constraint that their car could go no faster than the other cars.  Thinking outside the box, they introduced diesel technology and saved so much time from fewer pit stops, that they won the race three years straight.

Surprisingly, these stories demonstrate that constraints can actually be helpful.  Creativity, thinking outside the box, reframing problems, innovation, renewed focus and collaboration are all positives that can flow from constraints.

If you are lamenting a constraint right now, is it possible your limitation could actually lead to a new insight or approach that might be helpful, beneficial, and even….beautiful?

Here are five application questions for you to consider:

1)    Could there be a pre-existing issue God wants you to address?

a.    Sometimes God can use constraints to focus us on priority issues we need to address before we are ready or able to receive more provision.

2)    How could you reframe your thinking about your constraint?

a.    What would happen if you moved from “we can’t because….” to “what if…..” thinking?  

b.    Identify the question that frames your goal in light of your constraint.  

c.     Is there opportunity in this constraint?

3)    Whom could you engage or learn from to help you think outside the box of your constraint and circumstances?

a.    Who is facing the same problem?  

b.    How could you collaborate?

4)    How can your constraint or weakness be an opportunity for God to demonstrate His sufficiency and for you to depend on him in a deeper way?

a.    “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

5)    How does prayer fit into your constraint?

a.    Prayer helps break our self-sufficiency and brings us and our limitations to Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who provides.

Remember Jesus telling the disciples to throw their fishing net on the other side of the boat after catching no fish all night?  John 21:6 says, “When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.”  That bursting net is a great reminder that Jesus can see and do things we can’t.

Remember Paul locked down in prison?  His days as a traveling, church-planting and pioneering missionary seemed to be over.  Yet as Paul writes in Philippians 1:12-14, “….what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.   And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.”

We are in a season where innovation is critical!  May the Lord remind you that He is not constrained, and He is still powerfully at work!