Posts Tagged ‘Work’

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Getting Things Done and Keeping My Sanity

August 21, 2013

Getting Things DoneThis time of year is always the busiest and most hectic for me. In business, I’m gearing up for the fall travel season plus planning for the next year.

I’m very involved with soccer and have been the referee assignor for 25 years. Practice for teams start at the beginning of August. I have almost all my games assigned for the year by then. Suddenly plans change. Referees drop games. Schools add games. I just went from needing to fill only 6 games to 21 games in the past three days. (OK, to my friends in Toledo, Columbus and Dayton, only 21 games is almost heaven, I know.)

I try to research and find topics 4-5 days a week for this blog. I have a business blog–The Manufacturing Connection–from which I derive a little income. I have several writing gigs.

Not to mention a new ministry leadership position in the church.

Getting Things Done

At times the workload seems overwhelming.

Then I take a deep breath. Maybe a walk around the block. Then tackle the list one thing at a time. Soon, I’m back in control, and much work gets accomplished.

I follow David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD). And I use a Web-based application called Nozbe to help follow the methodology.

This approach of living only in the present (that is, not worrying about tomorrow–see Jesus for advice); taking a few deep breaths to relax, then tackling the to-do list from most important (not urgent!) down, is how I’ve survived over the years. Try it.

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Translating Passion into Action

November 16, 2010

I ran into another aspect of “faith and works” last night at a meeting. It’s having a passion for something and sustaining that passion through the hard work of acting on it. Passion starts out as an emotion. Maybe God speaks to you and you get really fired up about His suggestion. Maybe it’s starting a mission to another country. Maybe it’s feeding people thrown out of work by the recession. But it’s a God call.

God doesn’t expect you to only be fired up about it. As my new best friend James says, faith without works is dead. Or as Bill Cosby once described about his college football team (probably just a funny story) where the coach gave a rousing speech to get them all fired up to go out and win the game in the second half and then the door was locked from the locker room. The passion expired.

So there are stages to the process. You start out on fire with an idea. But then you have to do two things that can be tough. And you’ll lose some of that exuberance. These are planning the details of the work and convincing others that this is an important call from God. At first you’ll notice some fraying of the passion. You begin to doubt just a little in the face of opposition.

That’s when you take the advice of Thomas a Kempis I noted yesterday–just do something. Take the next action. Talk to the next person. That will get you back on track. And you’ll accomplish the work God has placed before you.

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Work Your Way Out of Spiritual Darkness

November 15, 2010

After spiritual highs come spiritual lows. After Jesus’ baptism and vision came 40 days in the wilderness full of temptations. St. John of the Cross wrote “Dark Night of the Soul” describing the phenomenon. Happens to all of us. Sometimes we just don’t “feel” the presence of God.

How do you get over that feeling and get back to the with-God life? Thomas a Kempis writes that you should do good works. Modern psychologists hold that you should consciously act the way you want to be and feel, and it will come. I wrote earlier about looking for opportunities to start the day by doing something good for someone. It turns out that that is good for your soul.

You are not saved through your works–God’s grace takes care of that. You don’t want to be like the early American Puritans who held that God picks some and not others. You don’t know if you’re one, but you don’t want the community to know that you’re not in the chosen, so you act like you are. No, those are false trails.

It’s simply that you can’t trust emotions. You have accepted God’s grace. But you just don’t feel it every day, every minute. What you do, is look for that first opportunity to do something good for someone. As soon as you do, then it’s easier to do it again. And that will help you get your focus back on God–where it belongs.

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No Freedom Without Constraints

November 13, 2010

I was listening to, of all things, a podcast of a speech on computer programming. The speaker brought in illustrations from literature, among other things. The basic point was that you have freedom to create only when you are focused by constraints. You have freedom to creatively express your thoughts once you choose a form–for example, writing in haiku or sonnet forms comprises a constraint, but it also frees your mind to express your thought.

Adolescents are fond of trying out the idea of freedom of action without constraints. When I observe people, I sometimes think that there are way too many adults who have not progressed beyond those adolescent urges. Too many choices leads to chaos, while narrowing your options leads to freedom.

God is wise in these matters. Once again, the adolescent mind says, “I should be free to do whatever I want. There should be no constraints on my thoughts and actions.” But God says, “If you live within the constraints that I have established for a good and fruitful life, then you will truly achieve freedom and life.” It’s a little like a paradox.

You have to experience it for yourself in order to understand the truth. But subduing your emotional reactions to events and your adolescent urges to satisfy every sensual desire, enables a life with God where you are free to change your life and the lives of those you meet.

If you live a life in nature, you will be tossed from emotion to emotion, desire to another unfulfilled desire. But if you live a life in the Spirit, then you bring focus and attention to your life and you are free to live a fulfilled life of peace, joy and service.

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Strive not for talk but for virtue

November 11, 2010

The political season is over (albeit briefly) in the United States. That is always an exhausting season for people emotionally. Every media if stuffed with candidates and pundits striving to reach a message that stirs your basest emotions so that you’ll hate the other guy and vote for him/her. As much as analysts have discussed for at least 40 years the changes that will be wrought in politics and business if we just have more women  involved, I have yet to see any difference in actuality.

Interesting that Thomas a Kempis puts these words in a dialogue between Jesus and the disciple, “For the kingdom of heaven consists not in talk but in virtue. Attend, rather, to My words which enkindle the heart and enlighten the mind, wich excite contrition and abound in manifold consolations. Never read them for the purpose of appearing more learned or more wise. Apply yourself to [subduing] your vices, for this will benefit you more than your understanding of many difficult questions.”

It’s not what we say as much as what we do. People watch you. Kids will mimic your actions, not your words. The old phrase, “Actions speak louder than words” speaks to this. If you say one thing and do another, people will believe what you do–not what you say.

If you talk about your relationship with God, yet do not practice virtue, who will believe you? If you have memorized vast amounts of the text of the Bible and do not act differently from how you acted before, who will listen to you? And in the end, what will it benefit you with God? Go out this morning and look for the first opportunity to help someone. That will start the day off right.

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Jesus is with you

August 23, 2010

Returned from another business trip where I’m on the go from early until late. Still pondering Mark’s gospel, though.

There are two endings to the gospel. It appears that some in the community long ago added another ending–perhaps because what appears to be the original ending seemed to stop short. No one can know for certain today. But both endings have a similar conclusion. Jesus went with the disciples as they spread the gospel of God’s salvation.

Sunday, our pastor challenged us (based upon the three stories in Luke 15) to find the lost. Remember the three stories? The lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. While he was talking, I was thinking–how do you approach those who have been in the church then left in bitterness because of something someone said or did years ago? It’s hard. I’ve had those conversations. You don’t just sweep in and drop a few words of wisdom and solve all the problems.

Then I read the conclusions of Mark again and it dawned upon me. You don’t approach situations just within your own emotions and intellect. You step back momentarily and find that Jesus is with you (you could say the Spirit or God–all the same). Then you use the added help that you now have because you are with Jesus. He’s helping you do the work.

Those early Christ followers really felt Jesus’ presence. How long since you have? What better things could you do if you realized that he’s walking with you?

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Servant Leadership

May 16, 2009

Last weekend I was involved with a youth soccer tournament. It’s the 14th. The last two weeks are always stressful for me, since I recruit and assign referees. Then during the weekend I have to make sure all the games are covered  when refs have to leave or get injured or something. But when things are going well and I don’t have to calm coaches or soothe irate parents, I have time for observation.

One thing I’ve noticed over the years of this and other summer projects is how normally nice people seem to get on little ego trips during these events. If they are on the committee or sometimes even just peripherally involved, some just need a status symbol. In these events, it’s a golf cart for riding around the site. I want exercise, so normally I’ll walk even though I have a cart at my disposal for getting to the scene of controversy quickly or ferrying referees from place to place. Some who have no responsibilities just seem to want to have one to ride around in.

This is not extreme, but it does remind me that Jesus’ example was washing feet. If you want to be a leader, then be a servant. When I watch others, I’m challenged to look at myself and ask whether I’m still fulfilling my roles as a servant leader or as a lord ruler. How about you?

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Helping others

September 2, 2008

A week ago Sunday I was just minding my own business helping with Big House Sunday getting coffee to all the caffeine junkies when someone asked those fateful words, “What are you doing tomorrow?” Just working, I reply. Well, at 5 am Monday morning I found myself in an SUV heading toward Cleveland along with eight other guys. We loaded over 26,000 pounds of medical equipment and supplies into two cargo containers headed for a medical mission clinic in Honduras. Want proof? Some pictures taken with my Treo mobile phone are here. It was a good time, as all work projects that help others are.

Next time someone asks you to help out on a special project, say yes. It’ll do you–and a lot of other people–good.

Gary Mintchell

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