Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Shaun Nepstad from his book,  Don't Quit in the Dip  (p. 48). Worthy. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Have you found that to be true? Read on. Shaun says, "Jesus saw them wrapping up their night of work and still came over to ask if He could get into their boat and finish teaching the crowd from it. They agreed, but can you picture the look that must have been on Peter’s face? He was exhausted, his blistered hands were washing his nets, and then this guy walked over and asked them to go back out. It’s like if you’ve ever worked at a restaurant and you close and lock up at 9:00 p.m. so you can clean up and go home. And then someone comes at 9:05 p.m. asking if you’re still open. Jesus got in the boat before Peter climbed back in. He was still washing his nets, wanting nothing but to leave and clock out from his shift. But Jesus is always ready before we are. You need to know that He’s just waiting for us to get into ...

  A thought by Shaun Nepstad from his book,  Don't Quit in the Dip  (p. 43). Worthy. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Now that is a great thing to know. Shaun says, "A lot of things in our world promise 'more,' but there’s actually only One who can deliver more, and that’s Jesus. Only He can offer us the deep satisfaction that our hearts are longing for. He promises us, 'A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of' (John 10:10 MSG, emphasis mine). The devil came to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus came to bless, give life, and restore." He goes on, "We have an innate desire for more; discontent is the human condition. Either you haven’t accomplished all that’s in your heart, or you have achieved all your earthly goals only to discover it doesn’t satisfy. What you thought would deliver the ultimate fulfillment...

A thought by Shaun Nepstad from his book,  Don't Quit in the Dip  (p. 31). Worthy. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Do you have an area in your life, are you in the middle of a dip and you've asked God to work but you don't see anything happening? Shaun says, "He is working behind the scenes of our lives. In fact, He is always working all things together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), even though many times when we are in the dip, we can’t see it. We need to let Him work." Later he asks, "So, in what area in your life has the devil backed you into a corner and gotten you to believe you’ve lost? That you’ll never succeed? That you can’t win because time is up? Is it your marriage? Your kids? A dream? Where in your life is there a pile of facts that say it can’t happen?" He goes on, "Be encouraged today by remembering that God is bigger than the facts...

A thought by Shaun Nepstad from his book,  Don't Quit in the Dip  (p. 23). Worthy. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Is that you, sometimes? Shaun says, "Most people, when asked to pray publicly, would rather die. They say, 'I’m not good at praying.' What does that even mean? Can you talk? Great! That’s all prayer is: talking with God. Why are we so intimidated by prayer? I’ll tell you why. It’s performance anxiety. We get scared because either we are trying to impress people when we pray, or we attempt to sound like someone else when we pray. God is not impressed when we are trying to impress. But He is impressed with honesty and transparency and faith. Prayer is simply talking to God. If you are doing that, whether privately or publicly, you can never go wrong." He goes on, "In our prayer meetings, we would show worth to God. We’d spend time telling Him how much we love Him. We’d thank Him for what He’s already done...

A thought by Shaun Nepstad from his book,  Don't Quit in the Dip  (p. 4). Worthy. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Maybe this is where you are but didn't know what to call it. Shaun says, "When you’re in the dip, you can see where you want to be, but no matter how hard you try, it seems you can’t get there. You begin to loose hope and doubt you’ll ever reach it. The dip is where your dream is just out of reach and you feel stuck. We all have a dream, but there is always a dip before you get there. Sadly, most people give up in the dip. But successful people don’t quit in the dip and they’re the ones who see their dream fulfilled. We’ve all been in a dip at one point or another. Maybe you’re there now." He goes on, "None of us have the perfectly filtered life we present on social media, right? Every person, even the ones who seem to have everything together, has at least one area in life that isn’t what they want it to be...

A thought by Shaun Nepstad from his book, Don't Quit in the Dip  (p. 3). Worthy. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)  Shaun says, "There is a story told of a chess champion who is on vacation. Also an art connoisseur, he finds himself wandering through the hallways of a prestigious art gallery. One masterpiece stops him in his tracks and captures his full attention. It’s a painting of a chess game. But this is no ordinary chess game. On one side of the board sits the devil, leaning back in his chair with a fiendish grin, confidently tapping his fingers on the table. On the other side sits a young man in utter terror, clenching his teeth, wringing his hands, sweat dripping from his brow. The painting is titled Checkmate . It appears that the young man’s soul is dependent on the outcome of the game—and he’s about to lose. "The chess champion is so taken with this painting that he cannot look away. As his eyes scour the chessboard, his...

A thought by Chad Veach from his book,  I Work with People   (p. 67). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)  And that is another good question in determining the way we react. Chad says, "What circumstances or factors turn you toward the 'dark side'? Think back on times when your emotions have gotten the best of you and take note of any patterns. Leading yourself starts with knowing yourself, and part of knowing yourself is understanding the external factors that could be affecting you internally. Some factors might be specific to you and your situation, but many are probably the same things that tend to affect all of us negatively. What are some of these factors? "To start with, unmet or urgent physical needs can trigger emotional instability. These include tiredness, hunger, hormones, stress, illness, and chronic pain, to name a few. For example, if you skipped breakfast, ate only a bag of chips for lunc...