“I will give you back
what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the
stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great
destroying army against you."
Career decisions are hard. Do we take a new job? Do we stay in the
ones we have? Do we relocate for the company we work for or stay put
and miss the promotion? Do we hold onto the job we have even though we
don't like it because with the way the market is today we don't want to
take a chance that we might be going to a company that would be laying
off soon? Even in the best of times when there were lots of
opportunities, career decisions were hard. And we have all been in some
job sometime where we feel like we are wasting our time with frustration
and stagnation. In today's job market I see and talk to many who feel
this way. They are sitting in jobs where they aren't happy but they
feel stuck and they wonder what this is going to do to their careers.
Others are taking any job they can get regardless of title or salary and
their resumes are now showing regression versus progression and this is
causing much concern and consternation. I feel led to speak to those
of you who are in these points in your career where you feel like the
time is being taken from you and that the best years of your career may
be wasting away from you.
God gives us a word for this in the book of
Joel as he describes the last days. The Lord says, “I will give you back
what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the
stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great
destroying army against you." Of course, what we are going through in
our careers is not anywhere to the magnitude of that God says the end
days will look like, but the promise is the same. If we stay true in
our Faith and dependence on Him, any situation where we feel like the
days, months, or years are being stripped and taken from us, He will
restore them and do so in a way, where I believe, we will look over our
shoulder into our memory and remember those times as growing and
learning periods in our lives. Today, if you are feeling lost, trapped
or stripped down in your job, take the problem to God. Ask Him to come
to work with you today and to open your eyes and mind to what you should
do next and then trust fully that He will become the best career
counselor that you could ever imagine. He will! He is the OPne who can recover anything that is lost.
Reference: Joel 2:25 (New Living Testament)
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
day 980: Backing Up
"With all these things in mind, dear bothers and sisters, stand firm
and keep a strong grip on everything we taught you both in person and by
letter."
Yesterday I wrote of the recent hard drive crash I experienced on my computer on Friday afternoon September 14th. I detail the date here because it is important to know that as I write this over a week plus has passed and the best of the best in hard drive recovery have been working on it in a clean room and still have yet to recover any of the information. Unless one has had a hard drive crash, without being fully backed up, you don't realize the severity and the crippling effect that this can have on one's productivity and psyche. How dependent we become on the shortcuts and ease that technology has provided for us! For instance, we have now long gotten used to the auto-populate to line feature in emails. Someone sends us an email, we respond and from that point on their email address will pop up, like magic in the "To" line and we just keep going, not ever thinking that that shortcut causes us to not add them into our contact list where it can be backed up and saved. When the hard drive crashes, all of those magically appearing email addresses are gone for good. Businesses build in redundancy to their systems and while the cloud looks like its' own magic it is still the business of servers talking to servers to ensure that no data is ever lost. We would be better off if we always have a mindset of being "backed up" and not susceptible to the viruses and failures that can come. We can stretch the metaphor further and also want to ensure that we are always backed up in our jobs with the next person/talent who can be ready behind us if we physically or emotionally have a failure. These are the costs of doing business and being backed up is critical to a long term success.
God is always calling us to be backed up in Him. His Word sits in front of us at all times and He calls us into it to give us a foundation and steadfast hold on His direction for our lives. But, like my recent failure to back up my computer, we can get lazy and sloppy in our spiritual lives too and find that we have missed days, weeks or months without spending time in God's Word and backing ourselves up to Him. Today, let's be sure we have a back up routine in place so that when the crashes come, we are never too far out of synch with where we should be.
Reference: 2 Thessalonians 2:15 (New Living Translation)
Yesterday I wrote of the recent hard drive crash I experienced on my computer on Friday afternoon September 14th. I detail the date here because it is important to know that as I write this over a week plus has passed and the best of the best in hard drive recovery have been working on it in a clean room and still have yet to recover any of the information. Unless one has had a hard drive crash, without being fully backed up, you don't realize the severity and the crippling effect that this can have on one's productivity and psyche. How dependent we become on the shortcuts and ease that technology has provided for us! For instance, we have now long gotten used to the auto-populate to line feature in emails. Someone sends us an email, we respond and from that point on their email address will pop up, like magic in the "To" line and we just keep going, not ever thinking that that shortcut causes us to not add them into our contact list where it can be backed up and saved. When the hard drive crashes, all of those magically appearing email addresses are gone for good. Businesses build in redundancy to their systems and while the cloud looks like its' own magic it is still the business of servers talking to servers to ensure that no data is ever lost. We would be better off if we always have a mindset of being "backed up" and not susceptible to the viruses and failures that can come. We can stretch the metaphor further and also want to ensure that we are always backed up in our jobs with the next person/talent who can be ready behind us if we physically or emotionally have a failure. These are the costs of doing business and being backed up is critical to a long term success.
God is always calling us to be backed up in Him. His Word sits in front of us at all times and He calls us into it to give us a foundation and steadfast hold on His direction for our lives. But, like my recent failure to back up my computer, we can get lazy and sloppy in our spiritual lives too and find that we have missed days, weeks or months without spending time in God's Word and backing ourselves up to Him. Today, let's be sure we have a back up routine in place so that when the crashes come, we are never too far out of synch with where we should be.
Reference: 2 Thessalonians 2:15 (New Living Translation)
Monday, September 24, 2012
day 979: Crashes
"With all these things in mind, dear bothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on everything we taught you both in person and by letter."
If you are a regular reader of Purposed worKING, you will notice that I haven't made a post since Friday September 7th. Since October 1, 2008, I have on each working day, written and posted to the site, but something strange happened on September 10th that began a series of events that I can only sum up as a set of "crashes". It has been a busy season for me and I have found myself over-extended and more consumed than usual. As such, I have lost a bit of my usual disciplines and with that came a fragility that is not normal for me. First, many times when I know that I am going to be traveling or disrupted, I will write ahead for these posts and have them timed and ready to go. In my mind I had done so for the week of 9/10 as this was the week that Patti and I were packing up and making the seasonal transfer back the to west coast. It is always a stressful time and I know that I have to have other things in order to be able to balance all that comes with the move. So, I went about that week thinking that at least I had my writing in place. It took a couple of days to realize, but come late in the week I found that I didn't/hadn't written ahead and that nothing was being published. As I prepared to get back in the writing saddle, on Friday September 14th, my hard drive crashed and I lost all of the notes and preparation (years worth) that I draw from for my writing (as of this writing the information on the drive has still not been recovered). So, for the past week I have been somewhat paralyzed and was starting to spiral into questions such as, "Is this the time I am supposed to stop writing this blog?" And then, like God always does when we earnestly take our questions to Him, I knew that "crashes" are part of our spiritual journey and if we allow the crash to get the best of us, that we are not living and walking with the faith that He has given us. What shuts and opens our eyes and hearts to God are personal and situational and we each are affected by different crashes in different ways. These things happen in our work, in our lives, and little and big both can rock us and it is these times that we must return to the One place where we are always stable, in the arms of our Lord.
So, accept my apology for me letting myself get "crashed". I have certainly learned a lesson about the importance of always being backed up and I learned a life lesson about the same. More about that tomorrow. Paul tells us to be sure to stand firm and keep a strong grip in the crashing times. These are words to take to heart.
Blessings to you as you continue in your mission to bring glory to God in your work!
Reference: 2 Thessalonians 2:15 (New Living Translation)7
If you are a regular reader of Purposed worKING, you will notice that I haven't made a post since Friday September 7th. Since October 1, 2008, I have on each working day, written and posted to the site, but something strange happened on September 10th that began a series of events that I can only sum up as a set of "crashes". It has been a busy season for me and I have found myself over-extended and more consumed than usual. As such, I have lost a bit of my usual disciplines and with that came a fragility that is not normal for me. First, many times when I know that I am going to be traveling or disrupted, I will write ahead for these posts and have them timed and ready to go. In my mind I had done so for the week of 9/10 as this was the week that Patti and I were packing up and making the seasonal transfer back the to west coast. It is always a stressful time and I know that I have to have other things in order to be able to balance all that comes with the move. So, I went about that week thinking that at least I had my writing in place. It took a couple of days to realize, but come late in the week I found that I didn't/hadn't written ahead and that nothing was being published. As I prepared to get back in the writing saddle, on Friday September 14th, my hard drive crashed and I lost all of the notes and preparation (years worth) that I draw from for my writing (as of this writing the information on the drive has still not been recovered). So, for the past week I have been somewhat paralyzed and was starting to spiral into questions such as, "Is this the time I am supposed to stop writing this blog?" And then, like God always does when we earnestly take our questions to Him, I knew that "crashes" are part of our spiritual journey and if we allow the crash to get the best of us, that we are not living and walking with the faith that He has given us. What shuts and opens our eyes and hearts to God are personal and situational and we each are affected by different crashes in different ways. These things happen in our work, in our lives, and little and big both can rock us and it is these times that we must return to the One place where we are always stable, in the arms of our Lord.
So, accept my apology for me letting myself get "crashed". I have certainly learned a lesson about the importance of always being backed up and I learned a life lesson about the same. More about that tomorrow. Paul tells us to be sure to stand firm and keep a strong grip in the crashing times. These are words to take to heart.
Blessings to you as you continue in your mission to bring glory to God in your work!
Reference: 2 Thessalonians 2:15 (New Living Translation)7
Friday, September 7, 2012
day 968: Impression Perceptions
“...we are not to be selfish and not to live to try
and make the best impression"
We are taught from the time we are first walking and talking that the impressions we make on others is one of the most important intangible assets we have. Whether it be mom or dad or a teacher, we heard, “you only have one chance to make a first impression” and that first impression was worth a great deal. And that surely carries right into the workplace. From the first impression to obtain the job or to attain the promotion, we work to manage the impression that others have us. While on the surface, there is nothing wrong with that, and in fact, in the work world where we have counter forces working against to diminish the impression of us while others put themselves ahead, we have to somewhat manage the impression that others have of us. It would be naïve to think that in all cases that we can, without restraint, be ourselves. There are times for a more mature you than you might want to be and there are times for a more optimistic and cheerful you than what you feel at the moment. So, we all manage our impression. But, Paul says in Philippians 2:3 that we are to not be selfish; and we are not to live to make a good impression on others. I had to process this for awhile to understand what he was saying. Why wouldn’t it be right to try and give others a good impression of ourselves? Aren’t we more able to have a greater impact on others if their impression is favorable? At work, this always seemed to be true. We depend on a favorable of impression of ourselves preceding us when we walk into a meeting with others we don’t know that well. Certainly the opposite can be disastrous.
So, how far are we off base if we try and create a positive impression? The key to what Paul was saying was the first part of the sentence when he said, “we are not to be selfish and not to live to try and make the best impression". If we are selfish and we are living, or being all consumed and obsessed in the impression we make on others, then we are not being cognizant and considerate of others. It means we would be self-obsessed and that attitude is not what we are to possess. So, I take Paul that isn't that he doesn't want us to make a good impression on others, but to do so in the spirit that will be one of concern to others and those around us, and let the good impression that we make from that spirit and attitude be the one that precedes us. If we start with being selfless and let ourselves flow from that place, then it would be hard to not make just a good impression, but the best of all impressions.
Reference: Philippians 2:3 (New Living Testament)
We are taught from the time we are first walking and talking that the impressions we make on others is one of the most important intangible assets we have. Whether it be mom or dad or a teacher, we heard, “you only have one chance to make a first impression” and that first impression was worth a great deal. And that surely carries right into the workplace. From the first impression to obtain the job or to attain the promotion, we work to manage the impression that others have us. While on the surface, there is nothing wrong with that, and in fact, in the work world where we have counter forces working against to diminish the impression of us while others put themselves ahead, we have to somewhat manage the impression that others have of us. It would be naïve to think that in all cases that we can, without restraint, be ourselves. There are times for a more mature you than you might want to be and there are times for a more optimistic and cheerful you than what you feel at the moment. So, we all manage our impression. But, Paul says in Philippians 2:3 that we are to not be selfish; and we are not to live to make a good impression on others. I had to process this for awhile to understand what he was saying. Why wouldn’t it be right to try and give others a good impression of ourselves? Aren’t we more able to have a greater impact on others if their impression is favorable? At work, this always seemed to be true. We depend on a favorable of impression of ourselves preceding us when we walk into a meeting with others we don’t know that well. Certainly the opposite can be disastrous.
So, how far are we off base if we try and create a positive impression? The key to what Paul was saying was the first part of the sentence when he said, “we are not to be selfish and not to live to try and make the best impression". If we are selfish and we are living, or being all consumed and obsessed in the impression we make on others, then we are not being cognizant and considerate of others. It means we would be self-obsessed and that attitude is not what we are to possess. So, I take Paul that isn't that he doesn't want us to make a good impression on others, but to do so in the spirit that will be one of concern to others and those around us, and let the good impression that we make from that spirit and attitude be the one that precedes us. If we start with being selfless and let ourselves flow from that place, then it would be hard to not make just a good impression, but the best of all impressions.
Reference: Philippians 2:3 (New Living Testament)
Thursday, September 6, 2012
day 967: Humility Pill
“…other than at work”
I worked many a year and I don’t think I can remember a day that I rose and on my way to the office, I said to myself, “Today, I am going to work really hard at ensuring that others get ahead of me”. It’s just not the way that work is structured. Organizational hierarchy has only one box at the top of the pyramid and so on and so on. So, instead it is ingrained in us to reach for the top and to get there, with or without regard to the others we work. It’s not malicious or mean-spirited, but it is just the way it is. But, as we find purpose in our work, we are to think of ourselves differently.
In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul says to us that we are to think about others as better than ourselves. Yes, you read that correctly, we are to put others in front of ourselves and Paul didn’t say, “…other than at work”. No, we are to adopt this spirit of humility in all that we do, including work. I find this not only a formidable challenge but also as one that runs so counter to what we face day-in and day-out that the only way we can live up to this challenge is to draw deeply on our faith and believe that if we work as Paul describes that we can still succeed and advance in our careers. But, if we take heed of Jesus’ words how we finish up on the organization chart has no forbearance on how we will receive our eternal rewards. So, it is a no lose proposition, we are to put others in front of ourselves and let the rest of it work itself out. I know, it is not easy, but what in life and work is? Remember, nothing worth good is easy. So, today, take that humility pill and allow yourself to put others in front of you and wait for the rewards.
Reference: Philippians 2:3-4 (New Living Testament)
I worked many a year and I don’t think I can remember a day that I rose and on my way to the office, I said to myself, “Today, I am going to work really hard at ensuring that others get ahead of me”. It’s just not the way that work is structured. Organizational hierarchy has only one box at the top of the pyramid and so on and so on. So, instead it is ingrained in us to reach for the top and to get there, with or without regard to the others we work. It’s not malicious or mean-spirited, but it is just the way it is. But, as we find purpose in our work, we are to think of ourselves differently.
In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul says to us that we are to think about others as better than ourselves. Yes, you read that correctly, we are to put others in front of ourselves and Paul didn’t say, “…other than at work”. No, we are to adopt this spirit of humility in all that we do, including work. I find this not only a formidable challenge but also as one that runs so counter to what we face day-in and day-out that the only way we can live up to this challenge is to draw deeply on our faith and believe that if we work as Paul describes that we can still succeed and advance in our careers. But, if we take heed of Jesus’ words how we finish up on the organization chart has no forbearance on how we will receive our eternal rewards. So, it is a no lose proposition, we are to put others in front of ourselves and let the rest of it work itself out. I know, it is not easy, but what in life and work is? Remember, nothing worth good is easy. So, today, take that humility pill and allow yourself to put others in front of you and wait for the rewards.
Reference: Philippians 2:3-4 (New Living Testament)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
day 966: Company Company
"Don't be too
proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people".
Yesterday, we talked about harmony in the workplace and the areas that each of us can watch and know about ourselves to ensure that we are doing our part to keep harmony. One of the areas that Paul speaks about in Romans 12:16 is the company that we keep. He says, "Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people". While this seems a simple statement and one that is not that profound, it does have major implications to how we conduct ourselves at work. Work is one of the most cliquish environments I know. Everything is set up for cliques to be created. There are departments, groups, pay grades or bands, titles, office configurations, etc. Ever notice how people of the same title and pay grades hang together at work? If you haven't just check out the lunch room today and take notice of who eats with who at what tables. It becomes pretty obvious very fast.
One of the way that we can model a believer's life is by taking Paul's advice and be conscious at work about who we hang with and not let either pride or our title or responsibilities interfere with ensuring that we know and spend time with everyone in the company and we don't slip into our own little world of work friends. It's not that easy to do as it takes time and effort to know lots of people and spend time with everyone, but it is worth it as you will be known as the friend to all and with that comes a welcoming and respect. And when the time comes for harmony to be challenged at work, you may find that you become the bridge of peace between groups and people. What a fantastic reputation that would be. So, today, branch out from your normal set of people at lunch and invite others to join you. Start today and keep it going and I know you will pleased with the results.
Reference: Romans 12:16 (New Living Testament)
Yesterday, we talked about harmony in the workplace and the areas that each of us can watch and know about ourselves to ensure that we are doing our part to keep harmony. One of the areas that Paul speaks about in Romans 12:16 is the company that we keep. He says, "Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people". While this seems a simple statement and one that is not that profound, it does have major implications to how we conduct ourselves at work. Work is one of the most cliquish environments I know. Everything is set up for cliques to be created. There are departments, groups, pay grades or bands, titles, office configurations, etc. Ever notice how people of the same title and pay grades hang together at work? If you haven't just check out the lunch room today and take notice of who eats with who at what tables. It becomes pretty obvious very fast.
One of the way that we can model a believer's life is by taking Paul's advice and be conscious at work about who we hang with and not let either pride or our title or responsibilities interfere with ensuring that we know and spend time with everyone in the company and we don't slip into our own little world of work friends. It's not that easy to do as it takes time and effort to know lots of people and spend time with everyone, but it is worth it as you will be known as the friend to all and with that comes a welcoming and respect. And when the time comes for harmony to be challenged at work, you may find that you become the bridge of peace between groups and people. What a fantastic reputation that would be. So, today, branch out from your normal set of people at lunch and invite others to join you. Start today and keep it going and I know you will pleased with the results.
Reference: Romans 12:16 (New Living Testament)
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
day 965: Harmonics
"Live in harmony with each other.".
Over the years, we've spent time on resolution of conflicts in the workplace. Let's revisit that theme for another day and expand it to how we work with each other to get the the best from our ourselves and others. The best selling business book by Pat Lencioni; The Five Temptations of a CEO, describes one of the fatal temptations of a CEO being the quest to keep harmony in the workplace. While on the surface and in the context of his book, the point is a good one, I have also been in too many workplaces where what is really needed, is a big dose of harmony. You have seen it too where companies, teams, departments, or in groups where it is always a constant fight among individuals and constant politicking. So much so that the politics of the organization take over the culture and there is no harmony other than the harmony that everyone is political. This does not make for a fun or purposed workplace and it becomes nearly impossible for an individual to feel as she or he can rise to their full potential and purpose in that environment.
In Romans, 12:16, Paul is clear though that we are to strive for harmony. He says bluntly, "Live in harmony with each other.". It can be done, but it means that each of us have to dig deep into our souls and see if we are a part of the problem. If we are a part of the politics or the division of people and objectives, then we need to find a way to rise above the fray and become leaders of a different way. Each workplace has a definition of what harmony could be. That definition can be explored and uncovered by meeting and talking to those who are the best representations of harmony and alignment and staying on task or mission. And, usually, they are the people who everyone wants to work with or for. Can today, you seek out those people in your company and talk to them about how they have achieved this harmony in their team and then bring some of it back to your own team? Can you become an example and role model of how to bring harmony into the company and how to work with each other in a way that everyone can feel good about and be happy? I know you can!
Reference: Romans 12:16 (New Living Testament)
Over the years, we've spent time on resolution of conflicts in the workplace. Let's revisit that theme for another day and expand it to how we work with each other to get the the best from our ourselves and others. The best selling business book by Pat Lencioni; The Five Temptations of a CEO, describes one of the fatal temptations of a CEO being the quest to keep harmony in the workplace. While on the surface and in the context of his book, the point is a good one, I have also been in too many workplaces where what is really needed, is a big dose of harmony. You have seen it too where companies, teams, departments, or in groups where it is always a constant fight among individuals and constant politicking. So much so that the politics of the organization take over the culture and there is no harmony other than the harmony that everyone is political. This does not make for a fun or purposed workplace and it becomes nearly impossible for an individual to feel as she or he can rise to their full potential and purpose in that environment.
In Romans, 12:16, Paul is clear though that we are to strive for harmony. He says bluntly, "Live in harmony with each other.". It can be done, but it means that each of us have to dig deep into our souls and see if we are a part of the problem. If we are a part of the politics or the division of people and objectives, then we need to find a way to rise above the fray and become leaders of a different way. Each workplace has a definition of what harmony could be. That definition can be explored and uncovered by meeting and talking to those who are the best representations of harmony and alignment and staying on task or mission. And, usually, they are the people who everyone wants to work with or for. Can today, you seek out those people in your company and talk to them about how they have achieved this harmony in their team and then bring some of it back to your own team? Can you become an example and role model of how to bring harmony into the company and how to work with each other in a way that everyone can feel good about and be happy? I know you can!
Reference: Romans 12:16 (New Living Testament)
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