Promises, Promises

We've all made them and we've all broken them. Sometimes, we are accused of making and then breaking promises (usually by our kids who don't always understand the difference between promise vs. possible). Unfortunately we have all been hurt by broken promises and have likely hurt others by breaking promises. That's why I was so encouraged today when reading in Joshua 23:14;

"You know that with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed."

God is faithful! His promises are secure! In a world where keeping your word is less and less common, isn't it reassuring to know that there is someone we can go to that will keep their promises? We don't have to wonder which promises will be kept and when we'll be left hanging. We know without a doubt that He can be trusted. If we know that, shouldn't we trust Him?

Life Lessons from a Sandwich Shop III: Learning From Mistakes

Awhile back I did a post based off of a sign that I saw at a Jimmy John's sandwich shop and since they have so many great signs, I decided to make a series out of it. Today's post is the third post in the series based on the sign above.

The best way to gain experience (really the only way) at something is to do it. Whether it is a job, a hobby or a skill there really is no substitute for "getting your hands dirty". Unfortunately when you are just starting to gain experience in something mistakes are part of the equation. I know, some people are able to pick some things up like they have been doing it forever, but, that is more of an exception than the norm.

For most of my life, I have avoided things if I wasn't reasonably sure that I would do them well. How silly is that? How can I possibly expect to do something well the first time that I do it? As silly as it is, that has frequently been my mindset. There are at least a couple of problems with that mindset: I missed out on a lot of things that I may have really enjoyed, and I missed out on the opportunity to learn from some mistakes.

We all make mistakes! The important thing is whether we learn from our mistakes. How do you handle mistakes? Do you allow them to define you as a failure? Do you allow them to cause you to quit? Or do you use them as an opportunity to grow and to get better? Without mistakes we wouldn't have (or at least not as soon as we did) Post-it Notes, Coca Cola, Tires, the light bulb, penicillin and many more things. Mistakes are important in helping us learn and grow. I don't necessarily recommend intentionally making mistakes or continuing to make the same mistakes, but, I do encourage you to not waste your mistakes, after all, "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."

I Don't Like to Read

I have a bit of a problem. I like to learn but I don't really like to read. Now-a-days with all of the technology available to us, this isn't as big of a problem as it used to be. Even though I have tons of access to podcasts, vodcasts, apps, YouTube, etc. there is still something to be said for books. Which brings me back to the problem I started with; I like to learn but I don't really like to read.

That's why I was so excited a few weeks ago to hear about a website called "Study Leadership". This site offers book summaries for leadership books. In other words, they read the book and then give to their subscribers a much shorter (10-20 pages) summary of what the book said. So, instead of spending several hours over the course of several months (my typical book reading results), I can now get the main pieces of a book in only 20-30 minutes. What a great way to solve my problem.

These books aren't for everyone as they are focused on leadership and most are specific to church leadership. However if you are a manager or a leader (mom, dad, boss, coach, etc.) there are many books that I am sure you would find helpful.

If you like to learn but don't have the time to read full books, check out these summaries. And if you go to Crosswater (the church where I am one of the pastors) ask me about how you can get free access to these summaries.