day 1423: This Planning Thing

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago."


"Plan. Better than no plan", said by former Secretary of Treasury, Tim Geithner.  He's right, we all have to have plans.  Without plans we end up doing and going any which way. At least with a plan, good or bad, there is a common direction to work from that others can see, hopefully understand, and better yet, follow. I have a friend who plans very little and it shows to everyone around her.  Her husband says it drives him crazy in one way and makes him admire her even more for her freedom to change and adjust for what comes.  But, even he says that they need more planning in their lives.  Companies and organizations that are good at planning are typically ones that succeed in gaining team alignment and achieving objectives on time and within budget.  Without good planning, just about anything can happen.  That all said, when was the last time your organization said, "We need more and better planners"?  If that is not a common statement, then you might want to reassess and be sure that the emphasis on planning is getting enough attention.  And don't get all concerned that too much planning will stifle creativity and innovation.  I haven't seen the movie, nor know what its content is like, but I'm fascinated that the movie "Boyhood" took 12 years to film so that to tell the story the same actor was used as he grew up.  Pretty creative. A whole lot of planning!

What if we could see the plans that God had drawn up for us and then saw that the date stamp on those plans were tens of thousand of years before we were born?  Would that open our eyes even more to the awesomeness of God?   This may be how it worked, we don't know, but we do know that He planned good things for us long ago and that He desires for us to fulfill His plan for us.  Part of that plan is today and what we do with the hours we have in front of us.  Will we work towards His plan today, or delay that plan by a day by working towards our own plan?  God has great things in store for us if we will just let His plan play out for our lives. God's Plan.  Better than all plans!

Reference: Ephesians 2:10 (New Living Translation)

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day 1029: In The Know

"I am not saying these things to all of you..."

Why is there so much power in being in the know?  The number of hours and the energy spent in any given week where people are jostling for the position of being in the know, would be mind-boggling if it was measured.  I imagine if we each spent a few minutes thinking about the people in our company we would come up with more than one name of a person who has become known for this trait.  Because I am in church on Sunday mornings, I end up using the DVR to catch up on the Sunday morning talking heads shows.  Actually it's a better way to watch the programs because you can compare what the same person might have said across more than one network interview.  This last Sunday all the focus was on Secretary of the Treasury, Tim Geithner.  What the interviewers were trying to get, at the bottom line, was some kind of information, a piece of data, a word from him, that would put them and their viewers in the know in some way that everyone else wouldn't get.  It didn't happen this past Sunday, but we can count on them trying again next week and the week after, etc.  It's the same in business.  Someone, or a group of people, are always trying to get in the know and one-up everyone else.  We have to be ready and able to deal with this and also not get caught up in the game.  It is a game for sure and an energy-sucking, culture damaging game at that.

In John, Jesus put a few of disciples in the know when he told them how to spot who it was who would betray Him. While it is not good for us to spend out time here on earth, trying to get in the know, as it relates to our Heavenly Father, we can't ever get enough of what He is trying to say to us.  Why Jesus revealed Himself to the Disciples was because He wanted to show them (again) an example of how they could see the work of God and believe in Him.  That is what He does as we get to know Him better and better.  When we are in the know with God, we see His works and miracles and can only believe that these come from Him.  It's an amazing paradox and gift He has given us; the more we are in the know - the more we can be amazed and in awe of what He can do. This is the season to get to know Jesus better than ever!

Reference: John 13:18 (New Living Translation)