5 Reasons We Should Be Kind

Through tears she said 'I just think we need to be kind to each other.'  This was one of the hardest things I have ever heard from my wife.  I had always thought I was a good guy, never harmed her or even though about it, yet something in how I was acting was giving my wife the reason to suggest that kindness was not being shown to her...by me.  Decision time, right?  If kindness is important to someone I care about, it was going to be important to me.  Full disclosure - I am not one who is naturally kind so this was going to take some work.
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The Power of Spiritual Habit

If you tell me what your habits are I can tell you what your life will be like in a few years.  I can't predict the future and I have no idea what events will happen in your life, yet I can predict with accuracy who you will be by what you habitually do.

• If you save a certain amount of money each month for retirement, you will have financial peace in the future.

• If you exercise in a practical manner and on a consistent basis you will have lower stress, a healthier heart and body.

• If you visit with a counselor, read a few good books, journal and learn to communicate your feelings, you will have a stable emotional life and some strong relationships.

The things we do now that seem mundane develop who we are and our experiences in the future.  So if I may meddle a little, what will your spiritual life look like in the future?

What is Coaching?

I am asked a lot, 'What is this coaching stuff?' Although professional coaching has been around a while, a lot of people have images of an athletic coach, a drill sergeant or a counselor want-a-be when they think of professional coaching. None of these images reflect what professional coaching is or provides.

The International Coach Federation uses the following definition of the coaching process: Professional coaches provide an ongoing partnership designed to help clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Coaches help people improve their performance and enhance their quality of life.

The definition of coaching I prefer is : Coaching is a partnership that turns hopes and dreams into plans and progress.

In the true sense, a professional coach can help someone by listening, asking questions, giving attention to goals and helping them devise a game-plan to win at life.

Some topics for coaching:
How do I develop a spiritual growth plan?
What is the best way to set goals for my employees?
How can I improve my relationship with my brother?
What do I do to add value this week to my team?
How do I worry less?

You can see the potential coaching topics are endless, and they are decided by the coachee! That is the beauty, the coach is not dictating what the coachee should do, but together they are discovering a plan of action to tackle the need. Very, very cool indeed!  

Do I know God, or KNOW God?

I heard the story about a traveling Shakespearean actor.  Every summer he would perform as a one-man show reciting classics with skill and a dramatic flair.  The actor was gifted at his craft and audiences grew and grew as the summer went on.  Each evening he would conclude his performance by a dramatic rendering of the Twenty-Third Psalm.  His enunciation was perfect, his emphasis on certain phrases exquisite.  Without fail, when the actor was finished with reciting the Psalm, the entire crowd would stand to their feet with a thundershower applause.
     One evening when he was about to introduce the Twenty-Third Psalm, a hand shot up from the audience.  The hand belonged to a young lady, a teenager really. She humbly asked if she might have a try at reciting this Psalm.  The audience was quite large this night and for a moment the actor hesitated, not wanting to give up the stage.  He was take off-guard a bit and read the crowd as wanting to hear from the young girl.  What could it hurt he thought to himself, an amateur would only make his performance that much more powerful the next evening.
     The young lady made her way up to the stage, stumbling on the top stair.  She regained her balance and turned to the crowd.  She cleared her throat and started to speak.  When she finished reciting the Twenty-Third Psalm there was no sound, no applause, no standing ovation.  All that could be heard was the weeping of a crowd that did not have a dry eye.

To the astonishment of the actor the crowd stood and left in silence.  
     He ran up to the young lady and asked her what she had done to move the crowd, had she trained somewhere, did she have experience an acting tutor?  He had to know....
She kindly and quietly responded, "Sir you certainly know the Twenty-Third Psalm, I however know the Shepherd."

The LORD Is My Shepherd - A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23 ESV)

Amen!

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