Goal Setting pt3

Have you ever thought about what you want written on your grave stone? I know that sounds a little morbid, but what few words would you like as a memorial to your life? Lots of families put a scripture that their loved one cherished, and many just put a birth date and a death date with a name. I really love what my mom had engraved on my dad’s gravestone. It says a life worth imitating. When I think about that phrase, I hope someday that can be said of me. When we look at the Bible and see the times Paul told us to follow him, like he followed Christ, or when we are told to imitate or be like Christ, it seems like that should be something that every believer should be able to say. Unfortunately, that is not so. But when we take a moment to think long term, the young teenager will be a grandma someday. Will she be proud to tell her grandkids about her behavior as a teenager? Sometimes we forget that our legacy is generational. In fact, it really is eternal. What kind of legacy will you leave? Is it one that is excellent, and represents Christ-like qualities? We have it in us, because the seed of greatness is in every believer. We become great not when we are famous, we become great when we learn to serve one another in love. That is the greatest legacy of all.

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Goal Setting pt2

I know there are many people who have had great aspirations in their life and have let life slip on by, because they never put action to what they wanted to accomplish.  One thing to remember is that often the ones who accomplish the most are the ones with the most on their plates. (My great  helpers with my dailyeword are an outstanding example of this! Our media team is amazing!) We admire people who are thorough and pay attention to details and can accomplish their goals because they have a plan that works. So let’s make this week a time for goal setting and  a re-evaluation time. Are you wasting time on unimportant things?  Put the important things first – and make a simple plan that you read daily, and then work toward accomplishing it.  God has great dreams and desires for you – let’s make sure we fulfill them by following His leading, writing down our goals and desires, and seeing them come to pass! One great way to move toward the right direction is to see the end you want to get to right from the beginning.  It has to do with vision.  What vision do you have for your life?  Do you see yourself accomplishing it before your earth assignment is done?  I hope you do.  That is God’s plan for you. I encourage you to start reaching for your goals today!

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Goal Setting pt1

It’s already May, and all of our talk about New Year’s resolutions are far behind us now.  Or so you thought!  Actually, I’m not nearly as fond of resolutions as I am about goal setting. Hi this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for your day.   We should make goal setting a part of everyday life. (My dad would be proud! He always told us to set goals and make every move count, every single day.) Setting goals is a spiritual principle that makes sense.  The Bible tells us In Habakkuk 2:2 to write the vision down and make it plain, so that those who read it can run with it. Be encouraged today to accomplish your goals! Here is your daily eword.

 

Monday

Here are four steps for setting and accomplishing goals, one at a time right out of Habakkuk.

1)  Write it down – Typing is fine too!  Just use you pen or keyboard to express what you want to accomplish. Small goals are as important as the large ones!

2)  Make it plain – Keep it simple.  Enough of life is complicated.  Keep it easy to read and easy to run with.

3)  Read it – Keep it in front of you – on your dashboard in your car, or on your mirror in your bathroom, or on your screen of your computer.  Read it as a reminder and as an encouragement to yourself.

4)  Run with it – Be a doer! Don’t just think about it, put it into action.  Don’t put it off until tomorrow, begin today and do it now.

 

There is a great sense of accomplishment that comes when you achieve your goals.  I am a firm believer in lists, and I even get satisfaction from checking off each item as the day goes by.  If improving your life and becoming more like Jesus is what we want to do, (I hope it is!) let’s make a clear plan to get us where we want to be.  Life should be an enjoyable experience with great rewards along the way.  There can be joy in work as well!  It starts with setting goals you can accomplish, and then seeing them come to pass.  That is an encouraging way to live!

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Excellence pt7

Sometime little things can make a big impression. The same is true in the opposite direction.  Sometimes little things make a big negative impression. We can’t ignore little things or hope that nobody notices.  How does that apply to our own lives?  Usually we’ll give ourselves a lot more grace than we give anyone else.  I think the reason we do that is because we know our intentions. For example, we know that we tried to make it on time, but we had unexpected traffic, or a sick child. But because we don’t always believe the best in others, we just think that if they had just planned better they could be on time, even though they might have had the same issues we faced. When we might have been late a time or two we think to ourselves that it is beyond our control and couldn’t be helped.  Another little thing is the mentality that prevails when we’re volunteering. We may think that we’d do our best if we were getting paid, but “Hey, this is free labor, so you get what you pay for”.  Another little thing is the attitude of mediocrity that says “I’ve served my time, now it is someone else’s turn”.  If we all felt like that, nothing would get done for the kingdom. To combat  these “little foxes” that can steal, we need to remember that even when others aren’t watching, God is.  He sees the big picture and not only sees your actions, but He knows your heart. If we want to represent the church on the earth as a place of quality and excellence, it is up to us as individual members to act like it is our responsibility.

When we take ownership not only of our own actions, but of our attitudes, we can move from mediocrity to a place of excellence, and really glorify God, not only in word, but in deed as well.  Is there someplace in your life where you can see a need to rise above mediocrity and go the extra mile?  Why not do it today!

 

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Excellence pt6 for kids

How is your attitude today?  Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for kids today.  I bet your parents have asked you that question before.  All of my kids have had attitudes before! The greatest thing about being a human is that we can change our attitude.  I hope you end up have a great attitude when we are done with your daily eword for kids today!

 

Eword for Kids

Today I will be encouraging you to have excellent attitudes.  The Bible actually tells us to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus.  What kind of attitude do you think He has? He has confidence, but at the same time has the heart of a servant.  He is secure, and at the same time is willing to lay down His life for others.  It sounds like he has a self less attitude.  He cares more about others than he does his own self!  That should make us want to be more like Him.  Let’s wake up every day and determine that we will have the same attitude that Jesus has.  We won’t try to put ourselves first.  We won’t try to make everyone notice us.  We won’t try to make ourselves the center of the world!  We are important to God, but He didn’t make us the center of the world.  He is. Our world should revolve around him.  So why not today, check your attitude.  Does it look like the attitude Jesus has?  Does your attitude glorify God?  Does it make you helpful around your house?  Does it make you want to serve others?  Then you are on the right track!  Keep it up. Having an excellent attitude lets others see Jesus in you!

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Excellence pt5

Don’t you just love to be pampered?  Even getting your hair cut can feel like pampering as the hair stylist washes and massages your scalp.  Having a back massage, or taking the time out to have someone paint your nails, just enjoying a nap once in a while, or even sitting in a hot tub can leave you refreshed and revitalized.  I don’t think there are many people on the earth who don’t enjoy at least one of the things I mentioned. During our Ladies Conference we always try to find ways to pamper the ladies who attend in some way.  We have great items to give away, and try to let every lady know how special they are.  It is always so sweet to receive thank you notes from those who are so thankful and appreciative that we would go out of our way to give them gifts and make a special place for them to fellowship.  It was so wonderful to see how a little effort on or part, makes women feel pampered.  Sometimes little things can make a big impression.  Why not do something for someone to show them your love today?

 

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Excellence pt4

Let’s look at excellence on the human level.  What are the “quality materials” needed to build a strong foundation in our lives?  The basics include – starting with a true relationship with Christ, reading, studying and meditating on His Word, spending time in prayer and praise and worship, and fellowshipping with other believers around His Word.  Those are elementary.  It really does surprise me and disappoint me at the same time at how many “long term” Christians don’t do those foundational things even one time a week.  I’m sure I’d be surprised at how many people even in our congregation who haven’t cracked open a Bible on their own in a long time.  If we ignore the foundational principles, things begin to crumble around us.  We are representing Christ – the living Word, the Bread of Heaven, and often we haven’t had a “bite” of His Word on our own in a long time.  We’ll be spoon fed at church, but to break it open and feed ourselves just takes too much time and effort.  If we want excellence on the outside, we have to have quality on the inside. That means getting the Word inside our heart. Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against God.  What goes in is what comes out! Thank God for the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  There is hope for change, and all it takes is a decision. My hope and prayer is that we can say, “I’m putting quality materials into my inner man, so that my outer man represent Christ excellently”. Encouraging you toward quality living.

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Excellence pt3

Have you ever done an addition or a remodel in your own home? Right now we are adding on some new offices and making more effective use of the space that is available.  Several years ago, we added on to our church.  We doubled its size and are now enjoying the new possibilities that more space makes!  Most of all, we appreciate more room so there are more opportunities to serve our community, and more opportunity to minister to lives. We are talking about excellence and how we as believers represent Christ on the earth.  We also said that excellence starts in the heart and works its way outward.  During the process of building an addition or doing a remodel, things can get messy.  Grass has been torn up, so that means there is dirt everywhere. In other words, during the construction phase, we have to remember that excellence is a process.  It’s a time where you keep things looking as good as possible, and ask for grace in the areas that we have no control.  Quality building takes time. Quality and excellence go hand in hand.  If we want to have excellence in building, we use quality materials.  We want to make sure the foundation and structure are firm and strong and constructed with the best quality materials available. As we continue the construction process in our own lives, let’s strive for excellence.  Let’s be the best representatives for Christ that we can be.  That alone could be some awesome encouragement for someone around you.

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Excellence pt2

If we want quality on the highest level – the treasure on the inside of us needs to be expressed.  We do hold a treasure in an earthen vessel.  That’s the KJV way for saying that Christ lives in people, who are simply cracked pots!  It doesn’t sound very flattering, but when you think that a King would want to take up residency in you, it makes you feel like royalty.  It makes me want to clean up the earthen vessel, make it as beautiful for the King as possible. It also makes want me want to use the gifts and talents He gave specifically to me to the best of my ability and more, because they are the stamp of God in my life.  When we know what our gifts are and we are using them for the glory of God, it means there might be things that we lay aside so we can run the race God has for us without any hindrance.  Are there distractions in your life that you know you need to lay aside?  Why not do it.  It will give you the room and the time to grow and get better. If you are willing your life will step up a notch!  Are you ready to get bigger and expand on the inside?  I hope you are!  Then your life can be evidence of God’s glory, and it can show up on the outside.  I hope you are ready, because we’re moving on up!  Let’s be our best for the King of Majesty. Today I’m encouraging you to live for God with excellence.

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Excellence pt1

Anything worth doing is worth doing right.  I’m not sure where that quote is from, but my Dad gets credit for saying it millions of times while I was growing up. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your daily eword.   Whether it was cleaning my room, arranging some flowers, or mowing a lawn, you do it right the first time, and do it with excellence, because Dad said so!  Our heavenly Father likes excellence too.  Let’s do our best for God!  Here is your encouraging word for today!

 

Monday

I’ve been thinking a lot about excellence lately, and how important it is for believers to realize that we represent Christ on the earth.  We are his ambassadors, or representatives, and when the world (those who don’t know Christ yet) looks at us, they should see a good facsimile of who Jesus is. That kind of puts the pressure on – but in this case, it is good pressure!  We should be much more than mediocre.  We should be much more committed than average.  We should be people of impeccable integrity and character. We should be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, not only when people are watching, but every moment of every day.

 

As big as I am on making things look good on the outside, that certainly isn’t the heart of the issue.  The heart is the most important issue. We all know that just changing outward circumstances doesn’t make a change on the inside.  Real, lasting, effective change happens from the inside out.  That usually means making some adjustments, changing our thinking, controlling our thought life, and making the decision to live and serve others with excellence.  When that happens on the inside, there will be dramatic change in what people see on the outside.  That is the Word at work within you!

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