“Please make me good at this.” I prayed those words in 1997. Exactly 20 years ago to the month. I’d just been hired as a student pastor. But my prayer was about public speaking. I was terrified of public speaking throughout my college years. I would meet with professors and ask them not to call…
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There are specific appetites in your life that you must own or they will own you—then ruin you. Whenever you find one of these appetites heightened, watch out. I came across an acronym years ago that best reveal those appetites: H.A.L.T. I have since added a letter: H.A.L.T.S. It’s with these five appetites you are…
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Dry-mouth. Aaarrrgh. You’ve worked hard. You’ve prepared well. You’re passionate about your message. You love your audience and want to improve their lives, fuel their joy, and bring them hope. Then hello, dry-mouth. M.a.d.d.e.n.i.n.g. Trust me, I know this well. And it’s distracting—not only to you, but to your audience. You’ve been there. You gulp…
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You have two minutes. In two minutes the audience will make up their mind about you—whether to tune you out or give you a chance. If you love people and deeply want to influence their lives with your message, those first two minutes are mission critical. So here is the #1 way to immediately grab…
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“I still can’t wait to get my pants on in the morning,” said three-time Pulitzer Prize winning American Journalist, Thomas Friedman. Does this describe you? Or are you the person that wishes morning happened at noon? Perhaps you’re more like American writer, Nicholas Baker, who stated in an interview with Mason Currey, author of Daily…
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Are you one of those who can’t figure out how to enjoy life? Many people are experts on making themselves (and others) miserable. So how can you flip-flop it? Here’s a start: * Lighten up. G.K. Chesterton said that angels are able to fly because they take themselves lightly. So don’t take yourself so seriously. And…
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Beware. Beware of imagining yourself at the center of drama. Beware of emotions getting the best of you. Beware of grudges. Beware of taking anything personally. Beware of dwelling upon words and actions of others and arriving at conclusions without evidence for those conclusions. Beware of ingratitude. Beware of not believing the best of others…
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The time will come when we must confront someone(s) with truth to protect them from themselves and/or protect others from them. But truth must always involve love. And love must always involve truth. If you have truth but not love, they will hear nothing you say, only the way you say it. If you have…
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I have a journal entry from December 14 asking myself a simple but piercing question. “Am I hiding anything?” “Am I hiding anything from my wife and/or my children?” Am I hiding anything from those whom I influence and lead? Am I hiding anything from those who consider me an example? A role model? How…
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The late comedian and actor, George Burns, once said: “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” You might especially agree after the holidays! But what about those loved ones—friends and family you deeply loved—who left you? Someone else said: “The hardest grief is when the person you love is still…
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Messes mess with me. (See what I did there?) As the leader of a church with dozens of staff, over 3000 people, and five locations, my office and schedule gets messy. In addition, with an overwhelmed wife, four energetic kiddos, a temperamental Chihuahua, and a rambunctious Boxer messiness easily takes over the Jones home too.…
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These 10 Ways I’ve learned from personal experience—a few the hard way. Hope it serves you well! Let’s get to it. Spend time with God. Carve out quiet time and space in your day to read Scripture, pray, and journal. Get out of your head and into God’s mind, truth, and promises. Vent on the…
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Family Thanksgiving. It’s coming. Are you ready? Here’s how you can be: 1) Be thankful. Family. You’re all together. Take a look around. Enjoy them—the good, the bad, the ugly. Don’t forget: They are your family. 2) Take nothing personal. Odds are something will be said to offend you or provoke you. Whether it is…
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Blessing. You can’t just pray for it. You have to put yourself in the place where God’s blessing already dwells. Where is that? 1) Family Time with your spouse, your children, your family is never wasted time. Family is a well of God’s blessing. But cheat your family, you’ll end up with a well of…
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There’s the story of a Rabbi who told his students that if they studied the Torah it would put Scripture on their hearts. One of them asked, “Why on our hearts, and not in them?” The Rabbi answered, “Only God can put Scripture inside. But reading sacred text can put it on your hearts, and then when your hearts break, the holy…
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