Archive for Spiritual

More Than Brothers

By JCRiley on March 30, 2010

I meet with a group of other men each week.  While enjoying our morning coffee, we discuss scripture, family, work, and anything else life has brought to our attention that week.  Last time we met, the topic of fellowship was brought up.  I don’t mean fellowship as in, eating a casserole with some people you see for an hour each Sunday.  We were talking about real fellowship.  The kind where two people share an empathetic bond.  David and Jonathan kind of fellowship.

Everyone needs this.  Someone who celebrates your successes with the same enthusiasm as you do.  Someone who feels the pain of your struggles and can help pull you through.  My mind began to wander durning this conversation as I thought of a quote by a friend of mine who once said “The older I get, I realize I have many more acquaintances and less true friends”.  I began to take inventory of my own relationships.  I’ve met many people and my wife can attest to the instances of rarely going someplace in public when we don’t meet someone who I know from someplace else.  I have a vast network of contacts, a small pool of true friends.  By true friends, I mean someone who I could call when in need, that would set aside their plans to aide me even at their own inconvenience.  But, what about true fellowship?

I was quick to realize the blessing I have of two people with whom I share true fellowship.  I’ve been blessed with many siblings, two of which I share that special bond.  Frank and Rusty are the two guys in this world that I feel the freedom to share anything with and receive only wisdom and encouragement in return.  Free from judgement or ridicule.  Oh, they’ll set me strait, but out of love, not distain.  I truly feel they celebrate with me and are joyous when I’m experiencing some sort of success in my life.  I can count on them for a partner through battle or for a hug in sorrow.  I also feel them hurt when I’m battling some struggle.  I too gain great joy from their accomplishments & morn their hardship.  With them to turn to, I have true fellowship and am truly blessed.

Thanks guys.  Love ya.

Comments (1)
Categories: Rants & Raves, Self Evaluation, Spiritual

Feeding Kids During School Break

By JCRiley on December 18, 2009

Making a difference is something we can all do.  Yesterday, a small group of people made a difference in the lives of 5 families with young kids who struggle to eat during times that school is not in session.

After contacting a local elementary school and speaking to their school counselor, it was apparent that there was a great burden on the hearts of some of the teachers for the children in their classes.  You see, Edmond OK is thought of by many to be a relatively wealthy area and thus, people send any assistance they may give, to other areas and ignore the struggling individuals in their own back yards.

I sent a brief email out to about 50 people a few days ago about an idea I had.  Maybe, we could raise enough money to feed 3 families through the Christmas holiday school break.  Kids who rely on school lunch programs, wouldn’t need to worry about how their tummies would be filled while others were attacking piles of gifts like lions on a fresh kill.  Boy did the recipients of the email respond!  In a matter of hours, $350 was raised to provide food for the kids in need.  This will make sure they have some basics to provide nutrition for the two and a half weeks that school will break.  Though many are from great families that are falling on a rough time, some of these kids may fend for themselves, so, easy to prepare and providing nourishment was the focus.

Oatmeal, peanut butter, canned vegetables, bread, cereal bars, cereal, apples, oranges, mac & cheese, pancake mix and much more was provided to 5; yes 5 families very quickly.  The picture below shows the items in the identical packages that were given to the families of these children.  Great news too.  the total spent was around $250, so, that means we have a head start on the next long weekend or school break.

After doing this once, we now know that about $50 will provide one of these packages for one family.  If you’d like to take part, please contact me through the email on this site.  Money isn’t the only function here.  There are many ways to help.  We hope to help many more families for spring break and could use some help with everything from shopping, to packaging and delivery.

PIC-0047

Comments (2)
Categories: Self Evaluation, Spiritual

Don’t Compromise.

By JCRiley on November 16, 2009

Compromise.  You WILL be asked to do it.  Today.  The word sounds like a good, “touchy feely” thing to do.  However, more often than not, compromising can be harmful.  We’re taught as children to compromise in situations such as sharing our toys and compromising some of the fun we’d have with a toy in order to allow someone else time with the toy.  In turn they might let us play with their stuff some time.  Very soon though, life begins asking us to make less neutral compromises.  In most cases it means allowing small doses of harm come into our families, our workplaces, or lives in order to temporarily experience pleasure, praise, or success.

Every day, we are asked to compromise things like our integrity, beliefs, health, and values in order to create a false sense of peace or unity with the people around us.  Will you compromise?  If I compromise my integrity by indulging in certain activities I normally wouldn’t in order to “fit in” with a client or my supervisor, then how could I ask my daughter not to compromise herself to fit into a crowd or to please a demanding boyfriend?  I know that seems a little bit of an extreme example, but it’s really not.

Don’t compromise today.  Don’t compromise your ability to create a quality product or premium service in order to make a few more dollars.  Don’t compromise your integrity to lead a client into a decision that’s not best for them.  Don’t compromise your employees by demanding more for less.  Don’t compromise your values to make a sale.  Don’t compromise your family for the receiving of flattery.  Don’t compromise time with your spouse for a project that will still be waiting tomorrow.  Don’t compromise the chance to play dress up with your daughters or wrestle with your sons for football on T.V.

You will be tempted to compromise today.  Will You?

Comments (1)
Categories: Leadership, Self Evaluation, Spiritual

Move On: In Your Spiritual Life

By JCRiley on September 23, 2009

Once again this week we’ll be looking at Mark 6:1-6 and seeing how Jesus handled a certain situation.  Then seeing how this example can be used in our daily lives.  Heres a brief rundown of what’s happening in this piece of scripture:

We hear the story of Jesus teaching people in his hometown.  The people there saw miracles and learned good things, however, they couldn’t accept His authority and teaching on scripture because they only could see him as the carpenter son of Mary and Joseph.  They couldn’t look past what they’d “known” him to be and behold the wisdom he was sharing at this time.  So, What did Jesus Do?  He Said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives and in his household.”  Then, he picked up and took his ministry on the road.  You see he knew that he could stay the small time prophet who would be battling his reputation as the “hired help” but be comfortable and familiar with His surroundings.  But, this wasn’t God’s plan for Him.  It wasn’t His highest and best use.  If he was to be the savior of humanity, He needed to do his work someplace else.

How does this relate to us?  Well we’ve checked it out in our work lives, how it pertains to fitness, and today let’s see how we can use his example in our own walk with Him.barpic

Your Walk With Christ:  Many of you may have grown up in a home where you learned the importance of a relationship with Christ and have lived that out from an early age.  If you’re like me though, that came only after many years of poor decisions, bad relationships, and a ragged internal battle.  This meant (and sometimes still means) many naysayers about my walk with Christ.  If you’ve experienced a similar life before coming to know Jesus, you’re likely to be invited to occasions you used to participate in.  Be expected to take action in the same activities you once did, be expected to enjoy the same movies, jokes, language and whatever else you once did.

Take heed!  These naysayers will keep you from God’s best.  Move on.  Hang out with new people.  I don’t care who you do or don’t know.  Who’s feelings you do or don’t want to hurt.  How bored you might be until you find a new crowd.  Find the new crowd.  Notice Jesus didn’t hang out waiting for new people to move to town.  No, he moved on and went to find new people.

Now go.

Comments (0)
Categories: Leadership, Marketing, Self Evaluation, Spiritual

Move On: With Your Health

By JCRiley on September 22, 2009

This week we’re taking a look at the book of Mark, chapter 6, verses 1-6, and seeing how it relates to different areas in our lives.  Yesterday we looked at a couple of ways it related to our work life, and tomorrow we’ll see how it relates to our walk with Christ, but today we’ll check out how it relates to our health.

Here’s a link to the verse so that you can read it.  Basically here’s what’s happening here:fitness

We hear the story of Jesus teaching people in his hometown.  The people there saw miracles and learned good things, however, they couldn’t accept His authority and teaching on scripture because they only could see him as the carpenter son of Mary and Joseph.  They couldn’t look past what they’d “known” him to be and behold the wisdom he was sharing at this time.  So, What did Jesus Do?  He Said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives and in his household.”  Then, he picked up and took his ministry on the road.  You see he knew that he could stay the small time prophet who would be battling his reputation as the “hired help” but be comfortable and familiar with His surroundings.  But, this wasn’t God’s plan for Him.  It wasn’t His highest and best use.  If he was to be the savior of humanity, He needed to do his work someplace else.

How does this relate to us?

Your Health: Have you ever decided to get in shape?  I have… many times.  Of course the reason why it’s many times is that I haven’t actually done it.  If you have, I’m sure you’ve encountered the treatment if not the words of others who let you know you’re just wasting your time again.  They’ve heard it before.  They’ll always know you as the chubby guy.

Move on!!!   Hang out with different people.  Pray that God give you perseverance, or energy, or will power, or take away cravings, or whatever you need to get it done.  But by all means, stop putting yourself in the company of those who refuse to see you for what God has in store for you, but instead see you for how they’ve known you in the past.

See you tomorrow when we look at this verse and our own spiritual walk.

Comments (0)
Categories: Leadership, Marketing, Self Evaluation, Spiritual

Move On: @ Work… Jesus Did

By JCRiley on September 21, 2009

Sometimes it’s best to move on to new ground,new people, and new opportunities.suitcase

Let me explain before everyone tells their boss to “shove it”.

Many of us have been in a situation where those who knew us at a different time period were dragging us down.  I’d like to take this week to show you a situation Christ encountered and show you how it relates to your work, health, and your spiritual walk.

In my favorite collection of books (the Bible) you can find a great example of Jesus facing a problem many of us face each day.  In the book of Mark, chapter 6, verses 1-6: We hear the story of Jesus teaching people in his hometown.  The people there saw miracles and learned good things, however, they couldn’t accept His authority and teaching on scripture because they only could see him as the carpenter son of Mary and Joseph.  They couldn’t look past what they’d “known” him to be and behold the wisdom he was sharing at this time.  So, What did Jesus Do?  He Said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives and in his household.”  Then, he picked up and took his ministry on the road.  You see he knew that he could stay the small time prophet who would be battling his reputation as the “hired help” but be comfortable and familiar with His surroundings.  But, this wasn’t God’s plan for Him.  It wasn’t His highest and best use.  If he was to be the savior of humanity, He needed to do his work someplace else.

How does this relate to us?

At Work: Many of us have either suffered or witnessed someone else become the victim of the “I knew you when” mentality that can hold some people back at work.  Sometimes it’s the warehouse guy who can work his way up to warehouse supervisor but can’t seem to land that job at the next level.  Not because he’s not qualified, but because the people hiring for the position just think of him as “warehouse guy”.    Or the salesman who’s been with the company for years but is still treated like the 20 year old kid off the street with now experience that the owner gave a chance to 10 years ago.  Sometimes, it’s best if you have the conversation with those in charge and say something like, “hey, I know you knew me then, but I’ve grown since (be prepared to prove it) and am not that guy you hired years ago.  Then, be prepared to take it to the next level someplace else and move on.

In Sales: Plain and simple.  Quit arguing with people to convince them that you’re right and they’re wrong in order to make a sale.  Share your products or services with those whom you can truly help, and if they’re unwilling to accept that… move on.  Quit spinning your tires and bogging yourself down in the mud.  Help someone else who’ll listen.

Check tomorrow and we’ll see how this relates to our health.

Comments (1)
Categories: Leadership, Marketing, Self Evaluation, Spiritual

Goal Motives

By JCRiley on September 1, 2009

I was thinking this morning about my business goals.  It’s easy to say you want to make “x” amount of money or accumulate “y” number of new clients in the next quarter.  However, many times there’s more behind those things than meets the eye.  A person’s goal motives are found in the motivation for those statements.

Not long after Pepper and I got married, we found ourselves listening to a classic Amway presentation.  The poor guy fishing for new down-liners was asking the room to dream.  Dream big.  What car would you drive if money weren’t the issue?  What neighborhood would you live in?  How would you feel about yourself?  Would you feel accomplished and successful?  This is a great tactic.  This guy knew that just earning money wouldn’t draw you into his web.  He would need to create in you a desire for something more.  What would you find worth working tirelessly?  He was searching for your goal motives.

This experience popped into my mind during my goal overview session this morning and I found myself thinking of what my goal motives are.  Money alone is not enough to drive me to succeed.  It won’t keep me striving to grow.  I would eventually hit a comfort level and ease off.  I needed to find my goal motives.  What are my aspirations that the growth of my company can help me meet.  For many people, it’s a boat to make memories on the lake.  Or, a pool in the back yard to relax and enoy with your spouse.  Maybe for you it might be that BMW which you always related to success when you were young in your career.  I began to get worried because I don’t see those things really driving me.

I drive a great 5 year Saturn with no major problems.  My wife drives a 13 year old car that runs fine most of the time.  We’ve given away newer cars than we drive now.  When our cars die, we’ll likely shop for the best deal on another used car to drive until it dies.  My home sports plenty of room for my family.  My kids have thier own room to sleep and play while still being small enough to bring them into the main area of the house with the rest of the family.  Heck, I even have a garage to park my car in.  Thats right.  My car has a house that’s nicer than the homes most families in the world live in.  I live in a country with infrastructure that allows my trash to be hauled off for me.  Clean healthy water comes into my home with the twist of a wrist.  A store less than 1/4 mile from my home is stocked with food and clothing that I can earn money to buy.

What more could I ask for?  And, since this is how I feel about these things, what will drive me to accomplish more?

Here it is…  I want to give.  I want to give big.  I want to reach my professional and financial goals so that I may be a funnel for God’s provision to flow through me into the hands of people who need it.  When I see a single mother in need, I want to be able to do something about it.  When I hear of the child who has warm water for dinner because it will help their empty little belly feel full, I want to be able to do something about it.  I want to help a family be able to afford sending their child someplace safe after school instead of being unsupervised at home.

These are the things that drive me.  These are the type of things that make up my Goal Motives.  What are your goal motives?

Comments (1)
Categories: Leadership, Marketing, Self Evaluation, Spiritual

Holy Discontent

By JCRiley on March 27, 2009

I often hear people talk about wondering what to do with their lives. I’ve even wondered myself. Now, I’m not talking about whether to spend my Saturday watching college basketball or roaming “children’s expo” to show my kids all sorts of cool toys they’ll never own. I’m talking about people wondering every day what they can do to make a difference. How can I leave a legacy. Everyone wants to have that feeling that once they take the long nap, their work will live on, either through their children or through the people who’s lives have been touched by their work.

The answer to this question is quite simple. Everyone should align their life toward their holy discontent. What is holy discontent? Oh, well that’s pretty simple actually. Pastor Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv is who I first heard speak of this. I’ve since heard people describe it in many ways and noticed that Bill Hybels has even written a book about it (e-version). I’ll describe it like this. – Holy discontent is different in every person. It’s a certain situation, injustice, illness, etc. that, when you witness it, makes you so angry or upset you could cry. Then when you happen to be witness to something being done about it, you are so touched and happy you get chills and cry. There, that’s a simple meaning of holy discontent.
All of us have some form of holy discontent. Put there intentionally by God, to pull at us and urge us toward a life of using the unique passions and talents that He has instilled in each of us individually. It is up to us to align our lives to leave a mark on the world in our area of holy discontent in the name of Christ. For some, it may mean changing careers to become a full time mommy, or work for a non-profit organization. For others, your full time job may seem to have nothing to with your holy discontent, but is a means of funding or allowing time to do the things needed to leave your mark.
See, that was easy. Now you know what to do with your life. Well, once you figure out what your holy discontent is.
Comments?
JC
Comments (0)
Categories: Leadership, Self Evaluation, Spiritual

Visiting the Tulsa LifeChurch.tv Campus

By JCRiley on March 23, 2009

This past weekend, I took a visit to the Tulsa, OK area to visit one of my brothers. It was a great trip, and we were able to play some card games and visit while my daughters spent some time with cousins they rarely see even though we live less than two hours apart. After piling on sofas for our Saturday night slumber, we did what most Christian families do on Sunday mornings – argue with our kids about doing what needs to get done so we can get to church on time. Oh, don’t look so shocked. It happens at your house too. Anyway, one of the nice things about being a partner/member of LifeChurch.tv, is the ability to attend our “home” church in many cities around the country (or world using their Internet campus). We decided yesterday to visit the mid-town Tulsa Campus located on 41st street. Since we’ve only once visited a LC campus other than the Oklahoma City Campus that we call home.

Being a marketing minded guy, my mind always takes mental notes of my experience when walking into any business or organization that invites people in. That is, after all, a key determining factor that determines whether or not people will enjoy their visit and do business/visit your organization again. Following is a run down on my experience yesterday at the LifeChurch.tv, Tulsa OK Campus.
  • The drive up: My wife and I are not familiar with the Tulsa area but found the campus easy to locate and, even better, the building appeared to be one of the best kept in the area. The signage and even colors of the building were uniform with what we recognized in a different city. These things made us feel good about pulling in.
  • Parking: The parking lot was sort of cramped but I realized later that there was more parking available at the rear of the building. Not a turn off or a turn on for me. Getting out was simple and that was more important to me.
  • Kids area: I really liked the layout of the kids area. I’m sure that if we’d gotten assistance to check our kids in, we’d have been directed as to where to take them, however, we used our existing LifeKIDS check in number and assumed we’d easily find where to go. Toon Town (the 6yr old thru 4th grade experience) was easy to find since it was near the check in area, but we initially weren’t sure where to take our 4 yr old. We saw there were some rooms upstairs so assumed we’d head that way. Once rounding the corner to the second lift on the flight of stairs we saw a sign telling us to take a left to find our destination. I didn’t notice a sign at the bottom of the stairs telling us to go there to begin with. If it was there, it wasn’t as obvious as the sign at the top of the stairs. Problem was that we couldn’t see the one at the top of the stairs until we already committed to that direction anyway.
  • Main Lobby: We headed to the main lobby which had a great buzz to it. Unlike the Oklahoma City lobby where people seem to rush in and rush out, many not arriving until the worship music had begun or seeming annoyed by bumping into someone else on their way out as fast as possible, this place was full of people grouping in circles and sharing their week’s experience. It made one feel like you could make a friend and be in a “circle of friends” by next week. It had a great feel and you could even get a smile rather than a glare if you made eye contact with someone you didn’t know.
  • Into The Experience Room: Upon walking into the main experience room, you got the feeling that something big was about to happen. The lights were down. Spot lights were slowly scanning the room through a hazy fog. It was great. Here I was, a long time LifeChurch member who knew the basis if the week’s pre-recorded message (more on that later) and I still could feel my pulse increasing and myself getting anxious as the 10 minute countdown began and the crowd began to flow in to get their seat. This was real nice because I was anticipating a worship experience where people were already in the room rather than being distracted by seat shuffling as people finally came in all though the worship experience. I’m the kind of guy who is prone to close my eyes and focus on God during this time, but often get distracted by the late arrivers (I know that’s a pretty selfish comment, but hey, that time is to focus on God, right?). I just appreciated the anticipation that drew the crowd in early. I was much less distracted even though the place was much more crowded.
  • Worship: This is something I was really looking forward to. I am a huge fan of Derrick Henslee (the worship pastor there). Behind my friend Stephen Cole, he may be my favorite guy to lead me in worship. These two seem to not try so hard to “lead worship” as much as they are the “lead worshipers”. That passion really softens me up. I was terribly disappointed in this part of my visit. Derrick “seemed” to do great, however, I could barely make out a word that he sang. I’m a huge fan of pumping up the volume of the music. I’m a horrible singer so I only want God himself to hear me singing along. I don’t even care to hear myself. But, the level of volume I experienced yesterday made me miserable. All of the instruments seemed to blend together as one big noise. It was so loud that I thought my ears might bleed. Unfortunately, after looking forward to worshiping with Mr. Henslee, I was praying for this segment of the experience to end as soon as possible.
  • Pastor’s Welcome: After the musical torture experience, we were welcomed from the stage by Dave Branham. This was good. He made me feel welcome and didn’t come across as if he was racing through some over-rehearsed stage time influencing opportunity. There were even times that he seemed to search for his next words. It was nice, normal, human, welcoming.
  • Message: This was the second week of a three week teaching by guest Dave Ramsey. I won’t say much about it other than that it was AWESOME. If you didn’t experience this message, I’d suggest you click HERE and watch the last two weeks on line. Then make plans to watch next weekend’s message in person or on line if there’s not a LifeChurch campus near you.
  • The Final Moments: The close and exit of the experience all went smooth. Back in the lobby, people were mingling and enjoying each other’s company rather than rushing home.
Overall, if this campus was closer to home, I’d definitely visit again. However, I would hope that my ears were not assaulted again.
Let me know your thoughts and tell me about some places you’ve visited. How was your experience and how will it effect future visits.
JC
Comments (0)
Categories: Marketing, Spiritual

Plan of Action vs. Goal

By JCRiley on January 8, 2009

For many people, early January is always a time of goal setting. For many of those same people, by early February, those goals are set aside only to be tried and failed the next year. And, so the cycle continues.

I’d argue that the main reason people don’t accomplish their goals is because of focusing too much on the goal itself, rather than the action plan to reach that goal. They simply focus on their goal which seems far away and with “plenty of time” to achieve until one day, the deadline is upon them and they feel like a 5 year old about to clean their bedroom. The goal seems unreachable and they don’t know where to start.

Example: Steve may set the goal of getting up at 5:30am each morning to spend thirty minutes in quiet prayer with God. However, if Steve doesn’t make a plan of action which might include setting the alarm clock for 5:20am (so he can hit the snooze button once), he will likely oversleep thus not reaching his goal. When this happens, people begin to focus on the goal and how they will “cram” the end result into their schedule. At that point, they may be “working in” thirty minutes of prayer, but, how likely is that thirty minutes to focus on and honor God?

Another example: Company ABC sets a first quarter sales goal of $500,000. Company ABC should then figure how many sales that breaks down to, the number of sales per sales rep that equals, and how many sales per week each rep would have to make to reach individual goals that the company goal would break down to. Furthermore, to keep the sales rep from focusing on that large individual goal, show them how many phone calls per day to make to sales leads to average one sale. Show them how many potential customers to drive out and personally meet to average one sale. On a company level, how many fliers must you mail to average one generated lead? Do it. How many leads will $5,000 in Internet marketing bring your company? Buy it.

Do your task list plan of action and pre-set only periodical times to compare your actual year-to-date numbers to your pacing for your goal. Other than those times DON’T FOCUS ON THE GOAL! Focus on the things to do each day. If you take care of those things, the goals will happen.

JC

Comments (0)
Categories: Leadership, Marketing, Spiritual
Next Page »
Search Posts By Category
Search Posts By Keyword
  • Site Search
  • Wikipedia
  • Google
  • Facts
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • Outlook
  • Gmail
  • Y! Mail
  • Twitter
  • Search & Share