Our Pastor has been speaking more about Ministry in the Marketplace, reminding all of our church members that they are Ministers in their workplaces. It’s so good to hear everyone being reminded of this. We have been commissioned to go ‘out there’ and minister to others about our faith, about our experiences, about what Jesus has done for those we live and work with on a daily basis.
Perhaps you have no idea what to say or how to say it? Don’t worry about it. We don’t need to be eloquent speakers, practiced in witnessing or preaching. Rather we are charged to just share our own personal experiences. If you are working with someone who is having a challenge in life, think about whether you’ve experienced similar and share your experience with them. Let them see from your own personal experience what choices you made in life and where you are today. Our own life experiences are what others need to know about. Our actions speak louder than words. Just be a friend and a support and encourager. Let God do the rest.
Do you set New Year’s resolutions each year? Or do you set goals? I find that goals seem to have a date attached to them and have more defined purpose.
The Pastor at church this weekend spoke about New Year’s resolutions and he referred to Philippians 3:12-16, the passage where Paul talks about ‘pressing towards the goal’. He said we should follow Paul’s example and gave us the following to think about:
Press on - to reach our goals. He also referred to Romans 5:3-5 about the need for perseverance as we press forward.
Forget what is behind. What is done is done. We were reminded of what Paul’s life was like when he was Saul - he had a lot of baggage he needed to get behind him. He couldn’t let his past define his future and neither should we. In other words let the new year be a new year - not a repeat of the past year.
Look forward to the future. What is God’s purpose and mission for your life? These are the things we should be straining towards, the things we should be setting goals for. Remember that we are not in this struggle alone and that God is with us and will be with us throughout the new year, no matter what.
Philippians 4:4-8 encourages us to Rejoice in the Lord always and that we should present our requests to God. That also includes presenting our goals (or resolutions) to Him and seeking His blessing on them.
Last January (2007) I set aside a whole day to think about what I wanted to do and to set goals that met both personal and business needs in my life. I wrote them out by hand and then set them up in PowerPoint. Each year the goals are printed in colour and large type, often with pictures that reflect the goals, then laminated and stuck on my office wall above my computer monitor so they are visible on a daily basis. Helps me keep on track and I usually meet at least 75% of the goals each year.
Whilst I was putting this plan together I spent the day in prayer also, and an email I received during that very time in prayer, made it even more special. You see, one of my goals was to increase my speaking engagements, i.e. I want to begin focusing on being a public speaker more. Another goal was to finish writing a book and get it published - I achieved both of these and many other things too. But going back to that email I received - it was a Google Alert that spoke of speakers ‘Lisa Bevere and Kathie Thomas….’
You probably already know who Lisa Bevere is and just the thought of sharing a stage with her is mind blowing - to be listed as a speaker with her at the same event… well! When I checked the Google Alert link it was a journal entry from a guy in the US who was writing about a conference coming up and the Kathie Thomas mentioned is a Pastor in the US.
At any rate, this seemed like a confirmation for me that I’m heading in the right direction and that my goals are ones that God will bless, and has blessed. My book was published and launched in September this year, the number of speaking engagements I’ve had this year has increased and I have bookings for 2008 already. I was also able to cut down on my working hours for 2007 and had every second Friday off in the first half of the year and every Friday off for most of the second half of the year - by ‘off’, I mean from client work. I still had plenty of my own work to get done but much of it included writing. There were a couple of other items I achieved as well. All in all, 5 out of 7 goals were achieved.
Ps Luke reminded us this morning in closing that we should turn our attention from our problems and focus on God. So, with the new year almost upon us, I hope that you will spend time in prayer and reflection re your goals for 2008 and that you will include our Father in your planning - you never know where He will lead you!
You’ve probably heard of Alpha - many churches run this course. And there’s Marriage Alpha too - I have a couple of friends doing the course currently and my husband and I will be enrolling in the next session early next year.
Today I went to a business breakfast and Jon Seeley, the National Director Alpha Australia spoke and he had some really great stories about how business alpha has touched the lives of people in their workplaces. Jon has had an interesting life and been in lots of places and has faced the same question that many Christians in business face - am I supposed to be in ministry in the church, or in the workplace? Like me, he’s recognised his ministry is in the workplace and after two separate approaches, finally agreed to become the National Director of Alpha Australia.
Until today I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do an Alpha course for business - I do get to mix and mingle, network and fellowship with a lot of Christians but Jon’s talk showed me clearly that there are people out there that I can reach out to through Business Alpha. Bayside Church in Cheltenham, Victoria, will be hosting a training session on Saturday November 17th and I’ll be attending. It will be a half day session. If you happen to live close enough to this area and would like to learn about Business Alpha also, why not join us on that day - please contact me so I can get you listed for attendance. In the meantime, I thought I’d share with you their delightful Factory Viral advert which can be found on Youtube - if you receive this post via email just click on the heading of this post to see the advert on the web.
I haven’t posted for awhile here - life has been very busy and those who read my other blogs will know some of what has been going on. The good news is I have just published a book based on The Proverbs 31 Woman blog I own and it is called Worth More Than Rubies: The Value of a Work At Home Mum.
But that’s not why I am here today, although the book has played a role. The most awesome thing happened today and I wanted to share it with you.
A few days ago I was annoyed to receive yet another email newsletter from some group I’d never heard of. Because they were obviously Australian, and bearing in mind the spam legislation here, I emailed them and asked how I got on the list - to give them the benefit of the doubt.
The guy answered today and advised I’d signed up for their regular newsletter last December and this was a special one-off. I emailed back and suggested that they actually advise who the ‘parent group’ is so that recipients know who the sender actually is. He responded and agreed and then he emailed me again:
Kathie, you’re a Believer! So am I!!
I just clicked on your link for http://worth-more-than-rubies.com/
Where do you fellowship?
He’d seen the link for my new book in my signature block and followed it and knew instantly where my heart lay.
We ended up emailing back and forth and it turns out that 3 years ago he and his wife was touched by a special ministry that operates from my church. More than that, his wife works at home but is struggling and none of their friends can relate as they are not in a similar position. He asked if I would consider chatting with her on the phone to encourage her and of course I said ‘yes’.
It is important that we always respond and ‘react’ to things in a way that is not seen as rude or bad character at any time. We never know who we’re connecting with and the internet allows us to connect with anyone and everyone at any given time. We are on duty, God’s duty 24/7. If I had not responded ‘nicely’ it’s possible we would not have discovered what I now believe to be a ‘God-connection’ and it thrills me that once again, my Lord is using me to help others.
John 5:17
Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."
My name is Kathie and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I grew up always knowing that God was with me and formally accepted Christ as my Saviour when I was 14 years old. I have had many experiences where God has been involved at my places of work and amongst my work colleagues.
A few years ago I heard the founder of Australian Christian TV speak - I don't remember a lot of his talk but I do remember one particular phrase that has stuck with me ever since. He said "Whatever your passion is, that's your vision" . It struck a chord with me and I realised that the very things that made me passionate are the same things that I do daily in my business, and through those things I know I touch many lives. I believe I am where our Lord wants me to be.
I've recently been reading Faith & Work: Do They Mix? by Os Hillman. Excellent book and it was whilst reading it, I got the idea for this blog - and was pleasantly surprised that this domain was waiting for me to purchase. I will be sharing what I've been learning through reading and research in the hope that it will also provide answers to your searches and prayers. Would love to hear from you. Bless you, KMT
My name is Kathie and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I grew up always knowing that God was with me and formally accepted Christ as my Saviour when I was 14 years old. I have had many experiences where God has been involved at my places of work and amongst my work colleagues.