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“I sat alone because Your hand was on me.“ Jeremiah 15:17 NIV

I get a daily devotional called The Word For Today which has great messages. Today’s centred around the above verse and reminded the readers of the number of times that Jesus withdrew to be alone, or when Daniel, Elijah and Moses all had times of withdrawal and being alone.

When I read this message I was reminded why I love being alone. I run a business at home and of the 14 years I’ve been in business I have been in my home alone for the most part. Sometimes a family member or two are around but most times I am alone so I can get on with my work and just think and read uninterrupted.

I love that I can sit in the office early morning, read my bible, have breakfast and a cuppa and catch up on all the messages that have arrived overnight. I have many friends overseas who all have similar outlooks on life and it’s always good to catch up with them.  But most of all I just like to be able to sit, contemplate, think, write and pray and not have to answer anyone’s questions of ‘what are you doing?’ or feel that the constant noise around me is disturbing. In fact, other than my fingers on my keyboard, the only other ‘noise’ nearby is the radio that is on all day long.  It is tuned to a Christian station and so the songs, and chatter are uplifting, encouraging and often have some humour in it.

As mentioned in today’s Word For Today, I do not feel lonely – and I enjoy being alone.  Perhaps this too is evidence of the confidence I have that I am where God wants me to be, doing the work He intended for me.

It’s been interesting to see the comments online and various reports about the Law of Attraction. As if it’s new thinking or something.

Back in the early 1990s I learnt about the ‘RAS’, the reticular activation system from a doctor in psychosomatic medicine. Works pretty much on the same principle.

What you think about you are drawn towards… Your mind is like a magnet… What goes around comes around… You reap what you sow… Do any of these sound familiar?

If you are a woman wanting to have a baby, everywhere you look there are pregnant women, or women with pushers or young children, aren’t there?

If you’re a guy shopping for your first car, the make and model (or colour) that you’re interested in seems to be everywhere doesn’t it?

What about when you were learning to drive and told to look out for that xxx… did you hit it? Or come very close to hitting it?

Being focused on something means that we are aware of when that something is around us or passing us, or we are passing it. We become more alert – our radar is active and draws our attention to what we might ordinarily pass by in other circumstances. Our subconscious kicks in and is seeking out opportunities for the very thing for which we crave or seek, whether that thing be good for us or not.

What we think about – both negative and positive – can affect the way we live our lives and what happens to us in our lives. There’s nothing magic about it at all. But some have learnt to better harness this wonderful ability we all have. Both Dale Carnegie and Napoleon Hill wrote about this law many years ago. And heaps of others since. As each generation grows up, they rediscover this law.

What does the bible tell us about it?

Matt 7:7 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (NLT)

Luke 11:10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (NLT)

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (NIV)

Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (NIV)

In the first two above we’re encouraged to ask God for what we want. That doesn’t mean we will get everything we ask for – not everything we ask for is good for us, but if we are sincere within and what we ask for is in His will, we will get it. Some prefer to make it happen in their own right, rather than waiting on God, and this often means we go through challenges in life that aren’t necessarily good to go through (think about Abraham and Sarah when trying to have a son of their own – see Genesis chapters 16-25).

And if we are persistent and keep working towards a certain goal we will most likely achieve it, if we don’t undermine ourselves. Many think that overnight successes are ‘lucky’ but the reality is they’ve spent years working towards a goal to achieve it – although the general public aren’t aware of those people till they’ve ‘made it’! So how focussed are you on your goals or are you easily distracted?

By the way, has it occurred to you that your goals or desires within may be related to the very reason God has placed you on this earth?

Pay it forward… is another saying – giving to others without expectation invariably means that later down the track, when you have need something will be given back to you. Luke 6:38 backs this up and when you think about it, so does Gal 6:7. Basically God views our actions and responds accordingly. Kind of makes you want to start giving daily doesn’t it? And that doesn’t mean money necessarily – giving of yourself is a very important part in this law of attraction to work!

For more thoughts on a Christian view of the Law of Attraction, why not visit Three Sticks – Personal Development for Christians which has an excellent post on this topic.

Christianity and the Law of Attraction, The Secret, Christianity, Ask, Seek, Knock

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.

witnessing, sharing experience, ministry in the marketplace

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:

1. Press on – to reach our goals. He also referred to Romans 5:3-5 about the need for perseverance as we press forward.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.