Celebrate Wins!!

This blog post reminds us to celebrate wins.

from GaryLamb.org by Gary
This morning as I left the gym, I had an email Libby had sent to our staff from a first time guest this past Sunday. In the email they were thanking us for our BRINGING SEXY BACK series and for doing church the way we do it. They shared some other private things about how God was working in their lives and it was a GREAT way to start the day.
It reminded me the importance of Celebrating Wins. Ministry is a thankless job. If you do this gig for the money, for the hours, for the lack of stress or because you think working in a church is easy you will VERY quickly not want to be in ministry anymore.
However every time I hear of someone giving their life to Christ, a marriage being restored, an addict getting cleaned up, etc. it REMINDS me why my family has given their lives to doing what we do. At Revolution, we are very intentional about sharing stories of life change with each other. We forward emails, share stories, and are continually letting each other know how God is working in our various ministry areas.
If you are a church leader, I would encourage you to make sure you’re celebrating wins with your teams. This is what keeps our people going. Our set-up crews don’t get up at 4:30 a.m. to set up a building because they have nothing else to do, they do it because they know it helps lives be changed. If we never share stories with them how would they know?
I think leaders we tend to focus on the negative instead of the positive. Today share with your teams a win that is happening in your ministry area. You’ll see the difference in their attitude on Sunday because of it.

Understanding Leadership

I'm reading the book "Understanding Leadership" by Tom Marshall and thought this quote was applicable to the Power in Remembering blog.

It is at the extremeties of our strength that we run into God's strength...Past deliverance gives secure grounds for future hope. In the bad times, remember the good times. Paul is emphasizing the importance of recall - remembering our past experiences of God's faithfulness and intervening mercy. The prophets of Israel were always doing this. In the darkest days they rehearsed again and again God's saving acts. Remember how he delivered us from Egypt. Remember how he opened the Red Sea. Remember how he fed us on manna and brought water out of the rock. Remember. Remember.

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:21-23)

Remembering the important things

After finishing my last post on new year's resolutions in the month of February, I looked at the next topic on my page and recognized what a possible resolution could be. Are you good at remembering the important things, or do you spend most of your time running from one place to the next, trying to get the most urgent things done, never stopping to look at the big picture? As I think about the important things in life, I think about what God has told us is important, which is found in the Bible. There are a lot of ways to soak up the Bible. A lot of people decide they are going to read through the Bible in one year. This usually starts on January 1 and ends around January 6th or 7th. I'm not saying this is wrong, but how can we provide the lasting importance of reading or memorizing scripture? Here is a fun way to memorize scripture that my mom sent me...

Scriptures From A to Z
A Cure for Sleeplessness
Marian Groen

Directions: Quote these scriptures when you have difficulty sleeping. You will fall asleep before reaching the end of the alphabet. The devil would rather have you sleep than quote scripture. Scriptures are from the New King James Version

A-And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
B-Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6
C-Casting all your care upon Him for He cares for you. I Peter 5:7
D-Delight yourself also in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
E-Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17
F-For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes on Him, should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
G-Give and it will be given to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:38.
H-Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Word will by no means pass away. Matthew 24:35
I-In All your ways, acknowledge Him and he shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:6
J-Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
K-Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23
L-Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me. John 14:1
M-My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
N-Nor is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12
O-Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8
P-Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
Q-Quench not the Spirit. I Thessalonians 5:19
R-Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4
S-Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Isaiah 55:6.
T-Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
U-Unto You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Psalms 25:1-2
V-Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. John 3:3
W-Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Proverbs 30:5
X-Xalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool-He is holy. Psalm 99:5
Y-You are the light of the world; a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:13
Z- Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice because of Your judgments, O Lord. Psalm 97:8

Remember your new year's resolutions?

Do you remember your new year's resolutions from one month ago? Are you following through on these resolutions? Isn't it funny that we can forget about our new year's resolutions after one month? I have to admit that I didn't come up with any new year's resolutions for this year. Maybe I should come up with some now. Do you have any ideas for me?

Remembering who has the authority...

Who has the authority in your life?

For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
Luke 7:8

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
Luke 10:19

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
Matthew 28:18-19

Remembering who we pray to...

THAT WE PRAY to God in heaven is a reminder that we become part of a large struggle by praying this prayer. The thing between us and Jesus is not merely personal; it's cosmic. The God whom we have been taught by Jesus to address as "our Father" is the one who rules the whole cosmos, who speaks in earthquake, wind, and fire. Any less of a god wouldn't do us much good.

William H. Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas, Lord Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/january/31.62.html

Remembering Gary Vermeer

Gary Vermeer, 90, inventor and founder of one of Iowa’s premier farm and construction equipment manufactures died Monday.Pella-based Vermeer Manufacturing grew out of a business that Vermeer and a cousin created in 1948 to manufacture wagon hoists. Vermeer got the idea from neighbors who had to shovel corn out of farm wagons. He invented a hoist that attached to the wagon and would dump an entire load by lifting the front end of the wagon.“His reputation for invention and management is well known,” said Mike Ralston, president of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.Gary Vermeer was 29 when he invented the wagon hoist in 1948. He went on to create a number of other innovations for farm and construction equipment, including the first round hay baler, the first stump cutter and a line of trenching equipment that is now sold worldwide.His motto, which became the title of a family biography last year, was “In Search of a Better Way.”Vermeer retired in 1989 at the age of 70, turning management of the family-owned business over to his son, Robert Vermeer, and daughter, Mary Andringa, who are co-chief executives of Vermeer Manufacturing. Today, the company employs more than 2,000 workers with more than $600 million in sales.The family business has a reputation in Iowa and in the equipment industry as being one of the most efficient, well-run manufacturing operations in the country. Last summer, as part of a 60th anniversary celebration, the company invited writers for farm and construction equipment trade publications from around the world to visit the “Vermeer mile” in Pella, an area on the edge of town where Vermeer manufacturing plants stretch on for a full mile. As part of that tour, the writers were shown how Vermeer has used lean manufacturing techniques to cut costs and save time. One example was the amount of time required to build a wood chipper, one of the company’s signature products. The time required to make one chipper has been slashed from 52 days in 1999 to less than three days today, Andringa told the writers.The family biography, which coincided with the 60th anniversary of the family business last summer, noted that Gary Vermeer and his wife, Matilda still live in the same modest home outside Pella that they moved into 55 years ago. It also noted that the couple’s favorite restaurants is McDonald’s.Gary and Matilda Vermeer traveled widely, circumventing the globe on three separate trips. Funeral services are pending at Van Dyke-Duven Funeral Home in Pella.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090202/BUSINESS/90202025/1029/archive

http://www.garyvermeer.com