“Peace of mind is attained not by ignoring problems, but by solving them.”  Raymond Hull

When was the last time you backed up your computer?

I am leaving you with a gift– peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.  (John 14:27, NLT)

If you’re like me…in fact if you’re like most of us…you rely on your computer more than you like to admit.  Have you ever lost all the information you have stored on your computer?  I had it happen once–and it isn’t pretty.  Even though I experienced the pain of a disk crash, I still couldn’t discipline myself to regularly back up my computer so that I would be protected when it happened again.  Notice that I didn’t say “if,” because the statistics on disk problems are so bleak that “if” isn’t even an issue…the issue is really when. 

Even though I’m aware of that fact (and I’ll bet you are too), I still couldn’t bring myself to back up even as little as once a month, let alone once a week or, heaven forbid, once a day.

Technology comes to the rescue again.  I recently learned of an amazing company named Carbonite, Inc. who automatically backs up all the files on your computer, no matter what size disk you have, for the incredible price of about $4.00 a month.  You don’t have to do a thing except have your computer linked to the Internet.  Within minutes of the time you add or change a file, it is backed up and kept safe.

I don’t want this to sound like a sales letter…I’m truly sharing this with you to bless you with some information that may help you avoid the pain of a data loss.  However, I do want to be upfront about this, if you use the link below you will not only get the free 15-day trial that you would get directly from Carbonite, but you also get a free month of service if and when you subscribe.  You also help us, in that if you subscribe, we get an extra three months on our subscription.  Sounds like a win-win.

Prayer Power
Lord, I thank You for computers.  I thank You for the great assistance they can be to us as we go about our daily tasks.  But they can be fickle at times.  I truly praise You that technology has made it possible to effectively eliminate the very unpleasant consequences of a computer failure…and most of all for the peace of mind that comes from knowing that all that information is safe.

Link of the Day
Carbonite

Blessings (and peace) on you as you go about your daily tasks today.
 

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”  William Arthur Ward

How many presents are you still carrying around with you?  Aren’t they getting heavy?

And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph. 5:20, NLT)

This may seem to be a little soon to revisit the issue of gratitude (see last Friday, September 28), but this is one of my favorite life principles.  Hopefully it won’t show so much that I sound like a broken record.  (Hmmmmm…showing my age again.  I bet not too many people know what a record is, let alone remember what a broken record does.  Oh well.)

Actually, the very day I sent out that Reflection, we got an email (not from anybody on our list) that had a Gratitude Dance as one of the links.  This is so good, we couldn’t wait to share it with you.  Click on the link below and start practicing along with Sharon and I.  Hint…it’s harder to do when you’re feeling down, but you won’t stay there very long if you give it a try.

Speaking of the name, Daily Reflections, we got an email last week from one of our great friends and cheer leaders, Janet Kennon.  She called the mail she had been getting her Daily Gram.  We loved it!  So, we’re officially changing the name.  From now on, they’re Daily Grams.

Enough for one day.  Have an incredibly fantastic weekend!!!  See ya at the dance?

Prayer Power
Father God, we thank You from the bottom of our hearts for the past week and the many incredible blessings you bestowed upon us.  Please forgive us for the times when we were so preoccupied that we don’t even seem to notice.

Link of the Day
The Gratitude Dance

Blessings on you as you find new ways to express your gratitude for the “little things” that come your way.
 

“We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere.”  Tim McGraw

How are you raising up leaders to leverage your message?

You have heard me teach many things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Teach these great truths to trustworthy people who are able to pass them on to others.  (2 Tim 2:2, NLT)

One of the things I love most about training lifestyle coaches is the caliber of Christian leaders I get to work with.  Almost without exception, these are forward thinking men and women who are either at or destined to rise to the top of their fields.  The incredible (and humbling) aspect of that is the fact that as these folks assimilate coaching into their “way of doing ministry,” they will undoubtedly pass along their new skills and leadership paradigm to those they work with, who in turn, will pass them along to those they work with, etc.  Talk about leveraging time and influence.  Wow!

At the risk of offending those whom I don’t name, I feel compelled to help you begin to understand the impact and significance of what I just wrote by giving you just one example.  About two years ago, I began training John Chasteen, Associate Dean of Southwestern Christian University Graduate School in Bethany, OK.  Lest you think John is one of those “lofty” academic types, you should know that his deanship came on the heels of 21 years of pastoring, church revitalization, and church planting.  In there somewhere, he also served as a Conference Superintendent over a number of churches within his denomination.

Among other things, John likes to write.  When I started training him, he had just been asked to be a regular contributor to Charisma Magazine.  (I was impressed.)  Now his articles are popping up in Ministry Today as well.  But what I want to particularly draw your attention to is the weekly blog entitled “Hey Coach John” that he started writing almost two years ago.  Follow the link below and you’ll see the most recent article.  (I believe you’ll see why I sometimes feel like a proud papa.)

John took to coaching like a “duck takes to water.”  His leadership paradigm was truly transformed.  As you might expect, John is making plans to incorporate a coaching track of courses in the Graduate School.  He has so embraced the coaching concept that he feels that pastors need to have this training to be effective leaders of their flocks.

There is no way I can ever express to John, or to the 200+ other leaders like John whom God has allowed me to train as they learned coaching, just how much of a blessing each and every one of them were (and continue to be) to me.

Prayer Power
Father, I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve great Christian leaders of the caliber of John Chasteen.  As I use John as an example of the many you have allowed me to work with, I ask that you bless each of them and their ministries as they go forth and spread the coaching message.

Link of the Day
The Quiet Coaching Revolution

Blessings on you as you minister to others this week.
 

“Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild.”  Welsh Proverb

Why do you suppose grandchildren are so special?

May you live to enjoy your grandchildren.  (Psa 128:6a, NLT)

Some people are blessed to be grandparents.  And then some people are even further blessed to live in relatively close proximity to their grandchildren (but not too close). I’m proud to say that Sharon and I are in the first group, but sad to say that we are not in the second.

Our grandchildren have always been one to two thousand miles away from us…a little more than a Sunday afternoon drive.  Our first grandchild was born while our kids were living in Colorado and the second while they were living in upstate New York-a little closer.  Well, wouldn’t you know it…they just moved back to Colorado.

Sometimes technology moves in our favor (tongue-in-cheek).  A couple weeks ago, with the help of a totally free piece of software (Skype) and a $50 webcam, we had the incredible pleasure of spending close to an hour seeing and talking to our grandchildren–up close and personal as they say.  And there was not even a long-distance charge.  While it’s no substitute for holding them in your lap and holding their hands while going for a walk with them, it sure beats a three-day old letter…or even a phone call.

Give it a try.  Sharon is currently using Skype to coach a missionary in Africa and I have used it in the past to train a number of coaches in Korea and Singapore.  How cool!!!

Prayer Power
Lord thank You for grandchildren.  They truly are an incredible blessing.  And given the mobile culture and generation we live in, we thank You for the technology that makes it possible for us to visit with them, up close and personal, even when they’re thousands of miles away.  You truly are an awesome God!

Link of the Day
skype.com

Blessings on you as you enjoy your grandchildren (or somebody else’s).