Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 56). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) We really do need to know where we are going but we also need to know how to get there. Matt says, “You know where you want to go from personal leadership, and personal management is the skills, practices, and focus involved in making that happen. It addresses the problem of knowing where you want to go but not knowing how to get there. “Personal management involves             • determining your intermediate goals,             • choosing the activities to which you will give your time,             • defining and managing your projects,             • determining your next actions, ...

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 54). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” Matt says, “God calls us to always be ‘abounding in the work of the Lord.’… that is a type of being unstuck. How are we doing with that? How can we abound in the work of the Lord more fully? “Central to abounding in the work of the Lord is not simply devotional fervency, but also productive skill. Skill in being able to get things done, achieve goals, and make ideas happen. After all, isn’t that what Paul is exhorting us to do? He is calling us to accomplish work, and these are the very things that work involves. They are an essential part of work. And note: Paul isn’t exhorting us just to try; we are actually to accomplish the work we are ...

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 50). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) We all have been there and a great many of us right now, are there.  Matt says, “You seek to do something important and therefore likely difficult. It might go great at first. But eventually, you encounter obstacles. That is, you get stuck. “We’ve also seen that all is not lost. People who have accomplished historic feats, including Einstein, Mark Twain, and Martin Luther, have experienced being stuck, and they got through it, so you can too. The Bible also talks about being stuck and gives us the encouraging truth that the times when we are stuck are often times when God meets us in a special way. So, you look to God, you implement certain methods to help you get unstuck, and with perseverance, hard work, and skill, you get unstuck. “What do you do now that you are unstuck? Is that it?” He sa...

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 48). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) So, let’s clarify what he means. Matt says, “It would be a mistake to conclude that since God ultimately gets us unstuck, we should not take action ourselves.” He goes on, “Sometimes, there literally is nothing we can do but wait. In those cases, waiting is what we must do. But when there is something we can do, we are to do it . Not as a substitute for prayer but flowing out of our prayers… We do not stop working because God is working, and neither does God stop working because we are working. Rather, God works in our working . His work is first, but we are to take action to do what is in our power. Then we can rest, knowing that the results are left to God. “Martin Luther captured this perfectly: ‘Work and let him give the fruits therefore! Rule, and let him prosper it! Battle, and let him give victo...

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 43). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) For your purpose to truly flourish it needs to be more than material. Matt says, “In other words, even secular thinking is coming to see—and backing it with research—that traditional views of success as wealth and fame do not fulfill and are not true flourishing. They may be a byproduct, but those who are truly content with their lives and have those things found them as a by-product, not the original goal. “Seligman (in his book Flourish ) makes the great point that full flourishing, or well-being, has five components: ‘positive emotion, engagement, meaning, positive relationships, and accomplishment.’ One of his key insights is that well-being is a result of the integration of these realities, not a single concept. That is, it is not because of just one thing you do; it is from the bringing together of th...

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) We really do, don’t we? Matt says, “We want to be getting the right things done in the right way and for the right reasons. Because we live in a fallen world, we know that obstacles are inevitable. And so, to begin, we can sum up what it means to be unstuck like this: getting important work done through obstacles. “Note that this summary statement encompasses all three of the things we need: vision, execution, and overcoming obstacles.” He goes on, “We see vision in the phrase ‘important work.’ You aren’t just doing anything. You are doing important work —work that stems from and aligns with a vision. It meets needs and utilizes your abilities and capacities. “We see execution in the word ‘done.’ You are ‘getting important work done .’ You aren’t just trying (as noble as that is!). You are actuall...

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 32). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) So where am I going? Matt says, “Sometimes we aren’t sure what we need to do or want to do at all—with our lives, with our career, with the next project, or even with the next hour. When this happens, we may feel disoriented, lacking direction, or just confused (that is, stuck!). “Lack of direction is a very significant—and much overlooked—source of being stuck. For you can’t get where you are going if you don’t know where you are going! The problem here is lack of vision .” He goes on, “Very often, even when we do know what we need or want to do, we aren’t sure how to do it. We aren’t sure what the path is—or how to chart the path and move along it. This is like being in the water and seeing your destination, but not knowing how to swim. You know where you want to go but can’t move yourself there. Th...

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 13). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) We really do, don’t we? Stuck in traffic! Matt says, “We can get stuck in traffic, stuck in line, even stuck in the mud. You might be stuck in a job you don’t like, stuck in your attempt to lose weight, or just plain stuck in a rut.” He goes on, “At root, we are stuck when we really want to do, change, or accomplish something, but something prevents or blocks us from doing it. Those things can be internal (sometimes we are the reason we are stuck!), or they can be external. “One of the biggest ways we get stuck is in our productivity. We’ll focus on that in this book because productivity has such an impact on everything we do every day. And it’s getting worse. More and more people are noting that being frustrated and stuck in their productivity is one of their biggest pain points in work and life. ...

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 11). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) It seems like right now all of us are stuck, doesn’t it?  Matt says, “Mark Twain got stuck when writing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , Einstein got stuck when developing the general theory of relativity, and Martin Luther got stuck trying to grasp the doctrine of justification by faith alone. “Even the apostle Paul got stuck on his missionary journeys (Acts 27:20; 1 Thessalonians 2:17–18). ” He goes on, “We all hate being stuck. But it happens to everyone in various ways—sometimes in big ways and very often in smaller ways. You can even be stuck in multiple ways at once. “You likely are stuck in some way right now. You might feel like you don’t know where you are headed in life, which is certainly one major type of being stuck. Or you might know where you want to go but keep running into obst...

A thought by Max Lucedo, from his book, God Will Carry You Through (p. 95).  Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.   (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) And the story of Joseph from the Old Testament is such a story. Max says, “In the chaos called ‘Joseph’s life,’ I count one broken promise, at least two betrayals, several bursts of hatred, two abductions, more than one seduction, ten jealous brothers, and one case of poor parenting. Abuse. Unjust imprisonment. Twenty-four months of prison food. Mix it all together and let it sit for thirteen years, and what do you get? The grandest bounce back in the Bible! Jacob’s forgotten boy became the second most powerful man in the world’s most powerful country. The path to the palace wasn’t quick; it wasn’t painless, but wouldn’t you say that God took this mess and made it into something good?” He goes on, “And wouldn’t you think he can do the same with yours? Tally up the pain of your past. Betray...

A thought by Max Lucedo, from his book, God Will Carry You Through (p. 70).  Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.   (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Thanks, Max, that’s good news! The Bible in Jeremiah 30:24 (NIV) says, “The LORD will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart.”  Max says, “There is nothing trite about your wheelchair, empty pantry, or aching heart. These are uphill, into-the-wind challenges.  But nor are they random. God is not sometimes sovereign. He is not occasionally victorious. He does not occupy the throne one day and vacate it the next. This season in which you find yourself may puzzle you, but it does not bewilder God. He can and will use it for his purpose. “God is in all days.  Stay focused on God.  ‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10 NKJV) reads the sign on God’s waiting room wall. “You can be glad because God is good. You can be still b...

A thought by Max Lucedo, from his book, God Will Carry You Through (p. 61).  Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) And this that we are going through right now is a struggle. Max says: “• My e-mail today contains a prayer request for a young mother just diagnosed with lupus. Incarcerated by bad health.  • I had coffee yesterday with a man whose wife battles depression. He feels stuck (chain number one) and guilty for feeling stuck (chain number two).  • After a half-century of marriage, a friend’s wife began to lose her memory. He had to take her car keys away so she wouldn’t drive. He has to stay near so she won’t fall. They had hopes of growing old together. They still may, but only one of them will know the day of the week.” And so many of us feel imprisoned in our homes by this virus that we are facing.  He goes on, “Each of these individuals wonders, Where is heaven i...

A thought by Max Lucedo, from his book, God Will Carry You Through (p. 18).  Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) So, what is it? Max says, “Your destiny. Can we talk about it?” Max then says, “ You are God’s child.   He saw you, picked you, and placed you. ‘You did not choose me; I chose you’ (John 15:16). Before you are a butcher, baker, or cabinetmaker; male or female; Asian or black, you are God’s child. Replacement or fill-in? Hardly. You are his first choice. “… He chose you. The choice wasn’t obligatory, required, compulsory, forced, or compelled. He selected you because he wanted to. You are his open, willful, voluntary choice. He walked onto the auction block where you stood, and he proclaimed, ‘This child is mine.’ And he bought you ‘with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot’ (1 Peter 1:19 NKJV). You are God’s child.” Max goes on, “Y...