I had that desperate look in my eye. We needed help back then (we still do but it was more painful--to me--back then). I often felt that without somebody's intervention the doors could close any day now. I mean I was doing everything that I knew how to do, working 20 hour days, covering as many positions in our young company as I could, praying, working out as my single outlet, and falling apart on the inside. The non-profit program that my family built (are building) had such massive need and yet the response to support seemed minimal to me . . . I was caught up in these thoughts until she interrupted me. She was the newest member to our advisory board. She pulled me aside for little more than seconds, and said more to me with her eyes than anything else, but her spoken message was this, "It will be OK. Don't look like that, it will be OK." Then she squeezed my arm and walked away. She was a successful entrepreneur in my town and had taken a moment to notice and respond to something in me. For years I pounder the words she said and the words that she didn't say. I considered the challenges she must have faced building, maintaining and growing her business locally and nationally. I studied the concern in her eyes and I learned something. There are those who respond to need, but overwhelmingly people respond to success. They (we) want to be a part of something that works and works well.
And when I learned that I changed my focus to the fact that we are successful at raising children and in turn I changed my look and my conversation to focus on "whatsoever things are good." My conversation about New Hope also changed, I told the stories of our success. I quit allowing my face to tell the story of my personal struggle, it tells the story of impending success. And you know what happens now? People ask me, "How can we help?"
But wait a minute! I don't want to gloss over this truth right here! I changed the way that I pray. The Bible says that I can "come boldly come before the throne." I learned that a portion of that boldness comes from confessing the words that I know God will respond to. I discovered that "God has an expected end for me (Jer 29:11), and that good success is an option for me (Joshua 1:8), and that men would give into me pressed down shaken together and running over (Luke 6:38), that greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world (1 John 4:4), that God is giving us a new thing and that now it shall spring forth (Isaiah 43:19), and that in unity we cannot be stopped (Genesis 11:6), and that I can do all things through the power of the Word that strengthens me (Philippians 4:13), and the list goes on and on. These are the thoughts that I chose to flood my mind with. I set a few moments aside a day to study the Words that encourage and build me up, and I take the time to restate them in MizJAI speak so that they stick to my soul and come out of me like flowing waters when I need them.
Said plain, after I ask God for something in my life, I now spend the rest of my time finding more examples of the promise that I need and want in my life and I make my confessions my conversations. This makes me bold and causes me to fear less and less and to stand harder and stronger and with more grace and expectation!
But that's not all. The third part of the process is easy and fun, but crucial to long term success of any kind, I'll see you guys next week.
MizJAI
Friday, May 30, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
PART 4a: 2 Conversations That You Need to Have with God
He knew what she wanted, but he was waiting for her. She smiled at him and looked down. She laughed at his jokes and danced around the real issue. This is how she was. Certain and exact about what she wanted from people. Slow and unclear about asking. People usually just covered her. They often read her mind and gave her what she wanted. After all, she was pretty and nice enough and this just seemed to work for her.
Of course they weren't reading her mind for real, they were reading her body language. And whether Miran realized it or not, she had become used to this, never-really-speaking-up, things-just-kind-of-happening-for-her type of existence. It made her a little prideful. But it was subtle to her, she couldn't feel it happening. She simply became use to getting what she wanted regardless of what she did. But Les was different.
Les Morrison was the kind of man who enjoyed the company of beauty. The thing is nobody could tell it by the company he kept, because what he found beautiful in people was often a little hidden to the naked eye. Besides, he didn't need visual stimulation. He could barely see as it is, couldn't drive and declared legally blind. The clincher, he was 'gorgeous'. In crown 'gorgeous'. Can't look at him too long or I'll go blind 'gorgeous', and it was all lost on him which made him even more 'gorgeous'.
He found his pleasure in the voices and the texture of the words. He could hear the weight of convictions when people spoke and because of that he often knew when they where being real. And Miran was holding something back and he knew what it was and he could help her, but he would not if she did not ask. "I hope she asks," he thought to himself, never wanting to keep a good thing from anybody.
Are you like that with God, you never take the time to speak up and ask Him for what you really want. So you kick at the rocks and hold your hopes and heartaches to yourself. When they simply need to be spoken to the One in your life who knows just what to do with you.
"Father don't let me be a fool."
"Help me to make my business work. Teach me new things."
"Show me how to use this 'power to get wealth.'"
"I keep choosing the wrong men, show me how to love, show me how to live. Don't let me get me jacked up."
God made you, surely He is strong enough to deal with you, the real you. Oftentimes we pray these big grandiose prayers, when all we need to do in order to be heard by God is speak to Him honestly, listen for the answers consistently and our lives will change dynamically. He is not like everyone else that you have been dealing with--you must ask for "it". If you ask for any promise that he has already spoken to you through the Word, then you can trust that you will receive it.
Try it and see what happens . . . and in the next post we'll uncover the second even more life changing part of this prayer thing. It's the kind of information that can make or break your faith. And when your faith falls apart, so does all your dreams.
MizJAI
Of course they weren't reading her mind for real, they were reading her body language. And whether Miran realized it or not, she had become used to this, never-really-speaking-up, things-just-kind-of-happening-for-her type of existence. It made her a little prideful. But it was subtle to her, she couldn't feel it happening. She simply became use to getting what she wanted regardless of what she did. But Les was different.
Les Morrison was the kind of man who enjoyed the company of beauty. The thing is nobody could tell it by the company he kept, because what he found beautiful in people was often a little hidden to the naked eye. Besides, he didn't need visual stimulation. He could barely see as it is, couldn't drive and declared legally blind. The clincher, he was 'gorgeous'. In crown 'gorgeous'. Can't look at him too long or I'll go blind 'gorgeous', and it was all lost on him which made him even more 'gorgeous'.
He found his pleasure in the voices and the texture of the words. He could hear the weight of convictions when people spoke and because of that he often knew when they where being real. And Miran was holding something back and he knew what it was and he could help her, but he would not if she did not ask. "I hope she asks," he thought to himself, never wanting to keep a good thing from anybody.
Are you like that with God, you never take the time to speak up and ask Him for what you really want. So you kick at the rocks and hold your hopes and heartaches to yourself. When they simply need to be spoken to the One in your life who knows just what to do with you.
"Father don't let me be a fool."
"Help me to make my business work. Teach me new things."
"Show me how to use this 'power to get wealth.'"
"I keep choosing the wrong men, show me how to love, show me how to live. Don't let me get me jacked up."
God made you, surely He is strong enough to deal with you, the real you. Oftentimes we pray these big grandiose prayers, when all we need to do in order to be heard by God is speak to Him honestly, listen for the answers consistently and our lives will change dynamically. He is not like everyone else that you have been dealing with--you must ask for "it". If you ask for any promise that he has already spoken to you through the Word, then you can trust that you will receive it.
Try it and see what happens . . . and in the next post we'll uncover the second even more life changing part of this prayer thing. It's the kind of information that can make or break your faith. And when your faith falls apart, so does all your dreams.
MizJAI
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
PART 3: 2 Tips That Will Get You EXCITED About Finding & Studying the Promise
It turns out that God weighs in on more areas of our lives than we have ever taken the time to notice including fame, fortune and careers, as well as our relationships. Let's find out about that now.
I work with children and young adults and I notice that almost all of them want to be filthy, stinking rich; they want to be famous; they want a man (a woman); and they want to live big. And a few of them have the career goals that they believe will give them the life: athletic star or music star. Then there are others that want the careers that make them feel important where they believe they are giving back and making a good living: science based careers like psychologist, biologist, doctors, as well as business owners and real estate moguls.
I am excited by their dreams but I noticed that for a lot of them without intervention and specific skills it could easily become a fantasy, "something that I wanted once upon a time." And the same could happen to anyone us. But when we find and study the promises, it keeps our minds clear about where we are going, it keeps our hearts fresh about what God thinks about it and it's step 1 to keeping the dream in front of us. Here are two tips to help you move the dream out of fantasy land:
1. Know that God wants to get involved in your life and He has a plan to bless you. "I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer. 29:11 NIV
2. Get excited about wild, crazy and exceptional success and don't fear prosperity because God has a plan for that as well. “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deut 8:18 (NKJV)
God has made you so many promises. It is time to rediscover them and to make that discovery a constant part of your reality. Finding and studying the promises keeps you focused and your spirit ignited. I gave you two scriptures above that are perfect for the Business-Minded. Get a Journal; label it "my success journal"; from the front to the back write every scripture that you find that relates to your success, wealth and the dream; flip the book over and from the back to front write down every idea that you have through out the course of the year. I use a small journal so that it can fit in my handbag because ideas come at any moment and I want to be ready, because I now know that ideas are often the beginning of my answered prayers.
In the next post we'll discover the most important conversation of your life!
-MizJAI-
I work with children and young adults and I notice that almost all of them want to be filthy, stinking rich; they want to be famous; they want a man (a woman); and they want to live big. And a few of them have the career goals that they believe will give them the life: athletic star or music star. Then there are others that want the careers that make them feel important where they believe they are giving back and making a good living: science based careers like psychologist, biologist, doctors, as well as business owners and real estate moguls.
I am excited by their dreams but I noticed that for a lot of them without intervention and specific skills it could easily become a fantasy, "something that I wanted once upon a time." And the same could happen to anyone us. But when we find and study the promises, it keeps our minds clear about where we are going, it keeps our hearts fresh about what God thinks about it and it's step 1 to keeping the dream in front of us. Here are two tips to help you move the dream out of fantasy land:
1. Know that God wants to get involved in your life and He has a plan to bless you. "I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer. 29:11 NIV
2. Get excited about wild, crazy and exceptional success and don't fear prosperity because God has a plan for that as well. “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deut 8:18 (NKJV)
God has made you so many promises. It is time to rediscover them and to make that discovery a constant part of your reality. Finding and studying the promises keeps you focused and your spirit ignited. I gave you two scriptures above that are perfect for the Business-Minded. Get a Journal; label it "my success journal"; from the front to the back write every scripture that you find that relates to your success, wealth and the dream; flip the book over and from the back to front write down every idea that you have through out the course of the year. I use a small journal so that it can fit in my handbag because ideas come at any moment and I want to be ready, because I now know that ideas are often the beginning of my answered prayers.
In the next post we'll discover the most important conversation of your life!
-MizJAI-
Monday, May 12, 2008
PART 2: 5 Keys to Maximizing Your FAITH & Applying Dynamite to Your Prayer Life
Every successful entrepreneur uses it daily. You can't get around faith if you want to build anything that will last whether you're there or not.
"Let's try this new product line I believe it will be a great addition to our store."
"Let's hire her I trust that she will bring in new business and be a great asset to the team."
"Let's go for it I have faith in our latest fundraiser."
What exactly is faith anyway? It's you and I believing in a dream and living like our hopes could become our realities. It's far more simple than we realize and far more specific. Faith is the substance of our hopes and the evidence of the ideas that dance around in our heads. When a woman decides to start a business, faith is the steps and the actions that she takes to turn her thoughts into a concrete and productive business. Faith is fundamental; we don't last without it because we give in. Since faith is so important then each of us needs to do something dynamic and specific to make sure that we develop ours. There are 5 key things that we can do in order to maximize our faith and apply dynamite to our prayer life:
F-Find & Study the promise
It turns out that God ways in on more areas of our lives than we have ever taken the time to notice including fame, fortune and careers, as well as our relationships. We'll find out more about this in the next post.
A-Ask & Confess the promise
This truth will anchor your prayers and change the way that you talk in a dramatic and powerful way. But it turns out that while you wait you should do one more than you do the other.
I-Internalize the promise for the long haul
The promise must become a part of who you are or at least who you plan to be. There are some very simple steps that will explode this concept in your heart and mind.
T-Train and Take action for the reality of the promise
What good are your prayers without action? But what kind of action and what kind of training? And does this part really matter? We'll find out.
H-Hear and hear and hear the promise
"I heard that already." We call it redundant, but what does God call repetition? Without hearing and hearing--the dream will die. This one step could elevate your thinking and drive you right back to the beginning again, fresh and renewed. But how?
-MizJAI-
"Let's try this new product line I believe it will be a great addition to our store."
"Let's hire her I trust that she will bring in new business and be a great asset to the team."
"Let's go for it I have faith in our latest fundraiser."
What exactly is faith anyway? It's you and I believing in a dream and living like our hopes could become our realities. It's far more simple than we realize and far more specific. Faith is the substance of our hopes and the evidence of the ideas that dance around in our heads. When a woman decides to start a business, faith is the steps and the actions that she takes to turn her thoughts into a concrete and productive business. Faith is fundamental; we don't last without it because we give in. Since faith is so important then each of us needs to do something dynamic and specific to make sure that we develop ours. There are 5 key things that we can do in order to maximize our faith and apply dynamite to our prayer life:
F-Find & Study the promise
It turns out that God ways in on more areas of our lives than we have ever taken the time to notice including fame, fortune and careers, as well as our relationships. We'll find out more about this in the next post.
A-Ask & Confess the promise
This truth will anchor your prayers and change the way that you talk in a dramatic and powerful way. But it turns out that while you wait you should do one more than you do the other.
I-Internalize the promise for the long haul
The promise must become a part of who you are or at least who you plan to be. There are some very simple steps that will explode this concept in your heart and mind.
T-Train and Take action for the reality of the promise
What good are your prayers without action? But what kind of action and what kind of training? And does this part really matter? We'll find out.
H-Hear and hear and hear the promise
"I heard that already." We call it redundant, but what does God call repetition? Without hearing and hearing--the dream will die. This one step could elevate your thinking and drive you right back to the beginning again, fresh and renewed. But how?
-MizJAI-
Friday, May 9, 2008
5 Keys to Maximizing Your FAITH & Applying Dynamite to Your Prayer Life
Christians say the word alot. And when life becomes a real challenge so does everybody else. But what makes faith more than just a catch phrase to sling or avoid? What makes it more than just another 5 letter word?
I have a dream in my heart that is burning me up on the inside. I'm trying to tell you about it and all you can say is Pray and Have Faith. What good will that do me? I told you I have a dream in my heart and I need the hook up to make it a reality. Who do you know that you can tell about me? What money can you give to help me? Make this process fast and easy man because I'm frustrated and tired. Help me out! That's what I want from you, but here you come with prayer and having faith.
I have had those words slung at me a time or two. And when I say slung, I mean I thought the person was using those suggestions as a "get out of the conversation quick" card. But no matter why I am told to pray and have faith, the power in the truth doesn't change. So I decided to take advantage of this prayer and faith thing, and you can too. It turns out that to God, praying and having faith isn't a suggestion but a mandate. It turns out that there are at least five things that we can do to impact our faith and create an explosive and dynamic prayer life. The kind of life that responds to the spoken words we utter and shapes them into reality. It happens everyday anyway. But with correct knowledge we can better shape our futures. It turns out that faith is an action, so let's get to the bottom of what we need to be doing in order to activate our F-A-I-T-H and explode the impact of our prayer lives because there is work to be done, dreams to be living and people to reach out to:
5 Keys to Maximizing Your FAITH & Applying Dynamite to Your Prayer Life
F- __________________
A-__________________
I- __________________
T- __________________
H-__________________
Well, I am out of time for today. So we will have to take this up on Monday. I'll see you then.
-MizJAI-
I have a dream in my heart that is burning me up on the inside. I'm trying to tell you about it and all you can say is Pray and Have Faith. What good will that do me? I told you I have a dream in my heart and I need the hook up to make it a reality. Who do you know that you can tell about me? What money can you give to help me? Make this process fast and easy man because I'm frustrated and tired. Help me out! That's what I want from you, but here you come with prayer and having faith.
I have had those words slung at me a time or two. And when I say slung, I mean I thought the person was using those suggestions as a "get out of the conversation quick" card. But no matter why I am told to pray and have faith, the power in the truth doesn't change. So I decided to take advantage of this prayer and faith thing, and you can too. It turns out that to God, praying and having faith isn't a suggestion but a mandate. It turns out that there are at least five things that we can do to impact our faith and create an explosive and dynamic prayer life. The kind of life that responds to the spoken words we utter and shapes them into reality. It happens everyday anyway. But with correct knowledge we can better shape our futures. It turns out that faith is an action, so let's get to the bottom of what we need to be doing in order to activate our F-A-I-T-H and explode the impact of our prayer lives because there is work to be done, dreams to be living and people to reach out to:
5 Keys to Maximizing Your FAITH & Applying Dynamite to Your Prayer Life
F- __________________
A-__________________
I- __________________
T- __________________
H-__________________
Well, I am out of time for today. So we will have to take this up on Monday. I'll see you then.
-MizJAI-
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
What about those days . . .
What about those days when life just "ain't" right, when there seem to be more challenges than victories, when it feels like more loneliness than company, when we experience more struggle than pleasure? What about those days when it just "ain't on and poppin?" The days that leave us fighting for our peace and contending for our joy?
I'm talking about the kind of days that leave us (some of us) wearing the mask and faking if for our friends. What happens when life gets "too real?" What happens then, when there is no catch phrase or high minded words to express where we truly are, what do you do on those days to keep from going under?
I find a way to wrap myself in tomorrow's hope, because no pain has the right to take me out. I find a way to dance in a simple truth: my Father said that in my darkest hour He would give me "beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning." I find a way to rest in this new reality: I am not alone, even though it "feels like" a lonely season, I am not alone. I find myself resting in the images that are tattooed on my soul: images of hope in-spite of, images of coming over no matter what, images of survival, images of strength, images of winning, images of hell in my rearview mirror and hope in my future. I find myself fighting for my joy, because I will not go down without a fight. I find myself sitting in pictures . . .
MizJAI
I'm talking about the kind of days that leave us (some of us) wearing the mask and faking if for our friends. What happens when life gets "too real?" What happens then, when there is no catch phrase or high minded words to express where we truly are, what do you do on those days to keep from going under?
I find a way to wrap myself in tomorrow's hope, because no pain has the right to take me out. I find a way to dance in a simple truth: my Father said that in my darkest hour He would give me "beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning." I find a way to rest in this new reality: I am not alone, even though it "feels like" a lonely season, I am not alone. I find myself resting in the images that are tattooed on my soul: images of hope in-spite of, images of coming over no matter what, images of survival, images of strength, images of winning, images of hell in my rearview mirror and hope in my future. I find myself fighting for my joy, because I will not go down without a fight. I find myself sitting in pictures . . .
MizJAI
Friday, May 2, 2008
This Love Thing 2
They wore their masks with absolute commitment and dedication to the facade. He thought to himself an idea that was so deeply buried he could not even hear the thought, but it was there. A very real and telling part of him, "If I can make her think that I'm the man, then maybe when I look in the mirror I'll believe it myself." But he wasn't the only one with these buried ideas that barely registered consciously but clearly guided their everyday relationship choices. "If I can make him remember me as the Diva, then maybe I can find value in me too. I just need somebody to say it. Say it. Say I'm pretty, say I'm hot, say you like my dress, say you love my legs, maybe I should show a little more. Ok, that's perfect, I'm ready. Let's go." Let go into the lion's den and see who responds to me.
He wore this mask that looked like a man, but was really an angry boy. She wore this mask that looked like a woman, but was truly was a lonely girl. We enter into these relationships with the images and not the realities, and we beat each other up with our insecurities. I used to want a hero to save me. But my weakness could only attract a weak man and a strong God, but I chose the weak man over and over again. So now, in the darkest places I change my mind and I seek the One who made me, I seek His love to minister to me, to heal my brokenness, to restore me. And in the light of day when I am strong again with the power of God's love and clear with the blessing of His deliverance, I seek relationships with a whole heart, now. See, I'm a superhero myself, and I need a strong man with a big heart and a real relationship with the power of God's love to heal and deliver him from his own pains.
I'm not saying that from now on we have to be perfect and the people we love have to be perfect. I am saying that we have stop choosing relationships to feed and camouflage the worst in us. I am saying that we have take the mask off and let God deal with our hearts. The hearts that where broken as children when we were molested. The hearts that were devastated when we were betrayed. The hearts that were embittered because of bad relationship after bad relationship. I'm saying it is time to tell ourselves the truth, to deal in the harsh reality of the lies that we may have been living. I'm saying that it's time to grow up, to get close to Love and allow Him to deal with us intimately and honestly. It's time for us to trust God to grow us past the pain.
Pull the box of who you really are out of the closest. It's time to face heaven with the truth and come out as the real, honest and free person that God made you to be, mask free and whole. Remember, this is a process, so deal with one issue at a time, but set your will to see yourself, to do better and to get help.
My preferred help of choice is a Bible Believing Church that teaches the Practical Application of Gospel, one that keeps it simple, sweet, Biblical, real and practical so that I can get it. I have tried counselors and psychologist, but I get further with the Word which is Jesus who is the Son of God who is Love. So the Word is the greatest love letter ever written, once we understand it.
You can keep looking for love in other people, but I have finally learned that if I don't find out what real Love is then I won't know when I have encountered a hustler that calls himself a lover, when I have experienced lust that simply calls herself love, when I have fallen for lies that mask themselves as truth, when I have chosen out of my weakness instead of God's strength. Real Love waits for you. Real Love pulls the best out of you. Real Love never contradicts the God in you. Real Love loves you back for eternity. Real Love builds you up. Real Love challenges you. Real Love won't stop searching until He finds the best you. Real Love highlights your beauty. Real Love fights for you and not against you. Real Love loves real and Real Love brings integrity and standards and grace and freedom and honesty and excitement and happiness and joy and patience and everything that you truly need . . .
-MizJAI-
He wore this mask that looked like a man, but was really an angry boy. She wore this mask that looked like a woman, but was truly was a lonely girl. We enter into these relationships with the images and not the realities, and we beat each other up with our insecurities. I used to want a hero to save me. But my weakness could only attract a weak man and a strong God, but I chose the weak man over and over again. So now, in the darkest places I change my mind and I seek the One who made me, I seek His love to minister to me, to heal my brokenness, to restore me. And in the light of day when I am strong again with the power of God's love and clear with the blessing of His deliverance, I seek relationships with a whole heart, now. See, I'm a superhero myself, and I need a strong man with a big heart and a real relationship with the power of God's love to heal and deliver him from his own pains.
I'm not saying that from now on we have to be perfect and the people we love have to be perfect. I am saying that we have stop choosing relationships to feed and camouflage the worst in us. I am saying that we have take the mask off and let God deal with our hearts. The hearts that where broken as children when we were molested. The hearts that were devastated when we were betrayed. The hearts that were embittered because of bad relationship after bad relationship. I'm saying it is time to tell ourselves the truth, to deal in the harsh reality of the lies that we may have been living. I'm saying that it's time to grow up, to get close to Love and allow Him to deal with us intimately and honestly. It's time for us to trust God to grow us past the pain.
Pull the box of who you really are out of the closest. It's time to face heaven with the truth and come out as the real, honest and free person that God made you to be, mask free and whole. Remember, this is a process, so deal with one issue at a time, but set your will to see yourself, to do better and to get help.
My preferred help of choice is a Bible Believing Church that teaches the Practical Application of Gospel, one that keeps it simple, sweet, Biblical, real and practical so that I can get it. I have tried counselors and psychologist, but I get further with the Word which is Jesus who is the Son of God who is Love. So the Word is the greatest love letter ever written, once we understand it.
You can keep looking for love in other people, but I have finally learned that if I don't find out what real Love is then I won't know when I have encountered a hustler that calls himself a lover, when I have experienced lust that simply calls herself love, when I have fallen for lies that mask themselves as truth, when I have chosen out of my weakness instead of God's strength. Real Love waits for you. Real Love pulls the best out of you. Real Love never contradicts the God in you. Real Love loves you back for eternity. Real Love builds you up. Real Love challenges you. Real Love won't stop searching until He finds the best you. Real Love highlights your beauty. Real Love fights for you and not against you. Real Love loves real and Real Love brings integrity and standards and grace and freedom and honesty and excitement and happiness and joy and patience and everything that you truly need . . .
-MizJAI-
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