Today's Task

Today I vow to breathe positive words.

Today I swear to stay positive in my outlook.

Today I will be as positive as I can be.

Today I will think positively.

Today I will become the epitome of positive living.

Today I will be the picture of positive thinking.

Daily Deliverance

22Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

23They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)

God offers His children new mercies morning by morning.

That should satisfy us.
New mercies "every morning" mean that we can experience God's love with a daily newness.  We do not have to do anything but accept His gracious love and mercy for us.

That should sustain us. 
We are "not consumed" because of what He offers us and does for us.  He makes it possible for us to remain here due to His faithfulness, love and compassion.

That should strengthen us.
His preserving us with new mercies daily should give us strength.  We should become strengthened due to what God has to offer.

Living by Saintly Standards

According to 2008 U.S. statistical data from the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), 34,169 people claimed "no religion." That includes atheists and humanists.  That is almost 5,000 more people than in 2001.  In 2008, according to the same survey, over 173,000 people identified themselves as "Christian." That's over 13,000 more than in 2001.

Obviously, Christianity grew and expanded during this period.  That sounds good.  However, the adult population surveyed increased by approximately 20,000 during this period.  We gained 13,000 and the "no religion" folks gained 5,000.  That means 2,000 people became Muslims, Jews or some other religion.  Or, the same 2,000 just did not dare claim any religion at all.  Either that or it is some mix between the two of them.

The world has its own standard.  It may not be one that we, as Christians, desire to follow but it exists.  It is alive and well within the world.  That's suitable for those who do not know the Lord.  It works for those who live in the darkness of unbelief.

It doesn't work well for Christians.

For us, things are just a little different.  We answer to a higher calling in Christ Jesus, seeking to mature in Christ as we walk with Christ.  We are to live by a different standard than the world.

So what is this standard of living for Christians and where does it come from?

• The Lord sets the standard.  He lays it out based upon His supreme reign over all things as the Creator, the Maker and Elohim.  He answers to no one.
• The Lord shares the standard in the Scriptures.  Christians have the upper hand because we have been provided the play book.  We can read it.  We can reference it.  It is for our consumption.  The Lord gave it to us.
• The Lord demonstrated the standard.  The Word became flesh.  He dwelt on earth and dealt with some serious troubles like being born to poor parents and living in a society where foreigners ruled over His people.  He showed us the standard and expects us to live up to the standard.

Live it up.  Live a life of influence that inspires others from interacting with you and your business.  Live up to Christ's standards as you work, as you play golf and as you go to and fro.  Handle your business and live up the Lord's standards.

Scale Down to Start Up

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing – that's why we recommend it daily."- Zig Ziglar

Starting up a business may require you to scale down your big dream.




Don't read into that.  I did not say it may require you to drop or dump your dream entirely.  I just said you may need to scale it down at the start to get things started.


You may need to slice it up into manageable pieces, so that you can get things set up and in place to advance to new levels, stages and phases.  I tend to favor a modular approach when I work with clients on programmatic funding or business planning, identifying phases where new components, services or features can be added based upon the state of the core business.  There it is.  I seem to have have given it away, but that should be the focus; your core business.  Scale things down to the core.  Get things down to the bare essentials and build from there.

I think Avon does an excellent job at providing a business model based on a similar cocnept.  You may like fashion or cosmetics, even costume jewelry.  Avon isn't trying to get you to open a kiosk at the mall or storefront on Main Street.  The company provides each "Avon lady" with the essentials to the catalogs and ordering forms as well as support that allow her to experience success on a small scale and grow from there.  It is obvious that Avon's core business is beauty products, not blue jeans or handbags.

Start out small, while continuing to think and dream big.  Post photos, sketches and anything else related to your dream above your PC's monitor, on your car's dashboard and taped to the fridge.  Keep it visible, but be sure to set things in order first. 

 

Don't get tripped up that you haven't accomplished or achieved the full dream yet.  Just get started. Get started right.  Get started doing the core business of your dream and build from there.