Leadership : The Team Holds the Dream

Good-tempered leaders invigorate lives; they're like spring rain and sunshine. ~Proverbs 16:15 (The Message)

One of the mistakes people make is that they focus too much attention on their dream and too little on their team. But the truth is that if you build the right team, the dream will almost take care of itself.

If you want to achieve your dream-I mean really do it, not just imagine what it would be like-then grow your team. But as you do so, make sure your motives are right. Some people gather a team just to benefit themselves. Others do it because they enjoy the team experience and want to create a sense of community. Still others do it because they want to build an organization. The funny thing about those reasons is that if you're motivated by all of them, then your desire to build a team probably comes from wanting to add value to everyone on the team. But if your desire to build the team comes as the result of only one of those reasons, you probably need to examine your motives.

The Friendship Secret by Carla Barnhill

What we need is both far simpler and far more elusive than a larger circle of friends.

There are days when I think I’ll poke my eyes out if I have to read one more article about the power of girlfriends. I read these pieces and I think I know, I know, I know! Friends are great! I want friends! I don’t need to be convinced that friendship is a good idea!!

I don’t think any of us needs to be told we should have friends—are there really women out there who doubt this? I know that the people writing these articles have the very best of intentions for their readers. They know we sometimes feel lonely and isolated, and they want to help. I get that. But the help we need isn’t a push to make more friends or strengthen the friendships we have—we know that already. What we need is both far simpler and far more elusive than that. What we need is time.

Nearly every woman I know—old, young, single, married, with or without children—struggles to find the kind of time every friendship needs to thrive. When we’re young, friendships happen naturally because we spend the bulk of our time with other kids, other teenagers, other college students. But when we get a bit older, we spend our time doing everything but developing friendships—the responsibilities of life take over and leave little room for socializing. Even when we do spend time with friends, it’s a few hours on a Saturday or a quick lunch on a workday. And that’s simply not enough time.

The solution, then, becomes far more complicated than starting a book club or taking a girls’ weekend away. The solution is to reframe our lives so that friendship becomes the rule in our lives rather than the exception. Instead of squeezing our friends in to the leftover moments of our lives, we bring them into our lives in a more integrated way.

Here’s what I mean: Most of us live in categories. We have family, work, home, church, friends, hobbies, and other little boxes into which we put our time and energy. But what if we made it our goal to get rid of the boxes and find ways to mix these parts together and create a whole life? What would that look like?

For me, it looks like my church. I know not everyone has a church they adore, but I do and one of the things I adore most is that the people I see on Sunday are the same people I see on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday. We eat meals together. We go to movies together. We go to each other’s plays and concerts and office parties. We paint each other’s houses and help each other move. We babysit each other’s kids and know each other’s parents.

For you, that community might exist at your office, or in your neighborhood. And it might take your effort to bring it into being. Communal life doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you decide you want deeper relationships and so you invite everyone from the church over for dinner—really, we do this at our church. Or you let everyone in the office know about your birthday party. Or you offer to host a movie night for the neighborhood.

If someone is moving, offer to help. If someone is sick, offer to coordinate meals for their family. If you can’t do that, connect with friends through a Facebook account or a blog—there’s something profoundly relational about staying tuned in to the little details of other people’s lives. Serve, share, give, show up. It all makes a difference.

The Bible is filled with examples of communities that live and function together. In fact, nearly every book of the Bible tells the story of a community of people in one way or another. Our lives aren’t meant to be lived in little boxes. They’re meant to be integrated and interwoven with the lives of other people. That’s how we were created.

Community—and the meaningful friendships that come with it—doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and intentionality to develop relationships. It takes a conscious effort to break out of our categories and mix and match the pieces of our lives with the lives of other people. But that effort pays off in a major way when we find ourselves surrounded by friends who know us and care about us and support us.

Source: http://blog.todayschristianwoman.com/walkwithme/2008/10/the_friendship_secret.html

Bamboo Puppy

strangest puppy ever seen.. the Bamboo climbing puppy.. so cute :D

Super Cute Puppy

so cute!!!!! :)

Water for Your Soul by Max Lucado

Water for Your Soul

by Max Lucado

Where do you find water for the soul? Jesus gave an answer one October day in Jerusalem. People had packed the streets for the annual reenactment of the rock-giving-water miracle of Moses. Each morning a priest filled a golden pitcher with water from the Gihon spring and carried it down a people-lined path to the temple. He did this every day, once a day, for seven days. "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water' " (John 7:37--38).

He "stood and shouted" (NLT). The traditional rabbinic teaching posture was sitting and speaking. But Jesus stood up and shouted out. Forget a kind clearing of the throat. God was pounding his gavel on heaven's bench. Christ demanded attention.

He shouted because his time was short. The sand in the neck of his hourglass was down to measurable grains. In six months he'd be dragging a cross through these streets. And the people? The people thirsted. They needed water, not for their throats, but for their hearts. So Jesus invited: Are your insides starting to shrivel? Drink me.

Internalize him. Ingest him. Welcome him into the inner workings of your life. Let Christ be the water of your soul.

Toward this end, I give you this tool: a prayer for the thirsty heart. Carry it just as a cyclist carries a water bottle. The prayer outlines four essential fluids for soul hydration: God's work, God's energy, his lordship, and his love. You'll find the prayer easy to remember. Just think of the word W-E-L-L.

Lord, I come thirsty. I come to drink, to receive. I receive your work on the cross and in your resurrection. My sins are pardoned, and my death is defeated. I receive your energy. Empowered by your Holy Spirit, I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. I receive your lordship. I belong to you. Nothing comes to me that hasn't passed through you. And I receive your love. Nothing can separate me from your love.

Don't you need regular sips from God's reservoir? I do. I've offered this prayer in countless situations: stressful meetings, dull days, long drives, demanding trips, character-testing decisions. Many times a day I step to the underground spring of God and receive anew his work for my sin and death, the energy of his Spirit, his lordship, and his love.

Drink with me from his bottomless well. You don't have to live with a dehydrated heart.

Receive Christ's work on the cross,
the energy of his Spirit,
his lordship over your life,
his unending, unfailing love.

Drink deeply and often. And out of you will flow rivers of living water.

From
Come Thirsty
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado

Maxwell Leadership - The Plan of an Effective Leader

Now I will come to you when I pass through Macedonia . . . And it may be that I will remain, or even spend the winter with you, that you may send me on my journey, wherever I go . . . But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. ~ 1 Corinthians 16:5-9

Paul had a plan to reach the major cities of his day. In a conversational manner, he describes his plan to start in Macedonia, then move south to Corinth, and finally visit Asia Minor and the major port city of Ephesus, where "a great and effective door opened" to him.

Effective leaders don't drift from one place to another. Paul had a plan to impact major cities that would in turn influence those who visited these cities. He focused on the metropolitan areas, knowing that well-trained followers would bring God's message to the smaller towns and villages in the region.

Leaders can do anything, but they can't do everything. Paul did not spend his energies haphazardly, but charted the course to reach the Roman Empire in his lifetime. What kind of plan do you have?

The Maxwell Leadership Bible

Alert! How To Detect a Two-way Mirror

How To Detect a Two-way Mirror
Beware of Mirrors in Hotels or Public Washroom! Because you never know!

How to determine if a mirror are 2 way or not (Not a Joke!) Not to scare you, but to make you aware. A policewoman who travels all over the US and gives seminars and techniques for businesswomen passed this on.

HOW TO DETECT A 2-WAY MIRROR:
When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, changing rooms, etc. How many of you know for sure that the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall is a real mirror, or actually a 2-way mirror ( i.e., they can see you, but you can't see them).

There have been many cases of people installing 2-way mirrors in female changing rooms. It is very difficult to positively identify the surface by just looking at it.

So, how do we determine with any amount of certainty what type of mirror we are looking at? Just conduct this simple test:

Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is a GENUINE mirror.

However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE, FOR IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR!

So remember , every time you see a mirror, do the "fingernail test." It doesn't cost you anything. It is simple to do, and it might save you from getting "visually raped"!

This is a really good thing to do. The reason there is a gap on a real mirror, is because the silver is on the back of the mirror UNDER the glass. As a two-way mirror, the silver is on the surface. Keep it in mind!

Ladies: Share this with your girl friends.
Men: Share this with your wives, daughters and/or girlfriend or friends.
PASS THIS ON FOR SAFETY