Category: Kingdom Mechanics

The Process Is The Prize

I’ve always been a goal-oriented, achievement-motivated guy. I was the kid in the backseat repeatedly asking my father, “When are we going to be there?”

As an adult, that characteristic manifested in a drive to succeed. The vision of obtaining the prize, whether it be the winning brief, the jury verdict, or a financial milestone, energized and enabled me to work hard, sometimes crazy hours.

Just this week, I worked from 8:00 a.m. until 5 a.m. the next day on a brief because I was so focused on winning the case and wanted the brief to be the absolute best it could be. Continue reading “The Process Is The Prize”

A Key To Success In 2011

King Solomon was a pretty successful guy.  It is recorded he had 1,400 chariots, 12,000 horsemen and that during his reign silver and gold was as plentiful as stones. (2 Chronicles 1:14-15).

In today’s dollars, that is like 500 Ferraris, 500 Porsches, a Bentley and enough gold and silver to hire Bill Gates as your chauffeur.  So, I’m guessing dude knew something about success, probably more than the self-help guys who are ready to pawn their secrets to you on late night television for $19.95–if you call right now, of course.

Here’s what Solomon said about success:  “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage.” (Proverbs 21:5). There are two things here, says Solomon, that lead “surely” or “certainly” to success. Continue reading “A Key To Success In 2011”

On Being vs. Doing

If you are Christian, the twin goals of your life should be the expansion of the kingdom of God on earth and becoming conformed to the image of Christ.  (Matthew 6:33). That means one of your goals should be to live WWJD.

In modern Christendom there seems to be more of an emphasis on being rather than doing. Being is more mystical and attractive to post-moderns who have rejected the religiousness of an older generation and its attendant hypocrisy. Being professes no standard and thus risks no hypocrisy.

Doing holds up a standard and thus risks not attaining it. It’s this failure–a failure inevitable in a fallen world–that has led so many Christians to reject it as a means to sanctification and so many non-Christians to reject it as an ends. Continue reading “On Being vs. Doing”

3 Ways To Find The Christmas Spirit

Christmas is only three days away, and with the work you are trying to get done before the Christmas break, the gift-buying you still have to do or with preparing for the upcoming Christmas travel to be with friends or family, you may feel Christmas is about to slip past without you having engaged the Christmas spirit.

I fight this every year for all the reasons I just mentioned, but I’ve also learned a few tricks that help me step out of the powerful current of holiday busyness and commercialism to a quiet place on the shore.

Here are three things I do to make sure I don’t miss the true spirit and celebration of Christmas: Continue reading “3 Ways To Find The Christmas Spirit”

Ripples In The Pond

Back in 2002, author George Grant gave me two Moleskine journals.  He told me he had carried them for years to record thoughts and quotes from books he read.  I began carrying one and writing in it.

I soon became frustrated though because my handwriting was so bad.  I didn’t like the way my writing looked on the page.  It seemed to detract from the profundity of some of the quotes (weird, I know).

So, I decided to relearn cursive writing.   I bought some handwriting books and began retracing letters, just like we all did back in grade school. It took weeks, but as my handwriting was being transformed I began to appreciate the beauty of cursive lettering as an art form–which, by the way, it is (calligraphy). Continue reading “Ripples In The Pond”