Are You Breathing...?

'Inspiration' is a 'breath of fresh air into the lungs'...and it is associated with the concept of 'inhalation'. Are you consistently breathing in fresh air in the natural world?  Ha! I should hope so. If we are spiritual beings inhabiting a physical body, then I would conclude that it’s also necessary to breathe spiritually—to be ‘inspired’. When you're in the Word, in church, or with other believers, are you inspired— inhaling fresh air, revelations, new ideas, new goals, and challenges?  Are you letting the breath out—inspiring other people, challenging other people, encouraging, and sharing wisdom? It's time to start pursuing a higher form of breath, than you've ever know before. Start going places and spending time with people who inspire you...and when you have inhaled enough...let out some "healthy" carbon dioxide!

I'm Intentionally Giving A Definition

(It's about time that I define the theme of this blog--Living with Intention.)

Do you ever get to the end of your day and know that, while you have checked some things off "the list", you still lack any true sense of satisfaction or accomplishment? Ever have a mishap because you weren't "paying attention"? This can be the consequence of "accidental living" or not "living with intention". To live with intention is to depart from your comfort zone--that mindless, habitual state of unconsciousness that is more doing than being; intent is an action "preformed with awareness, done deliberately and with purpose" (Dictionary.com). Obviously proven by experience,To-Do list are great, but how do they encompass your purpose or vision? How do they encompass God's plan? Do you know what your purpose is? Do you even have a vision for your own life or any sense of purpose to fulfill? While it is not reasonable to expect every second to be purpose-driven, perhaps we each could feel a bit more fulfilled if we injected more consistent intention into our daily living.

Let every word, action, especially every belief, priority and relationship be purpose-filled. (P=T=F=A=R ( remember this equation..it was discussion previously?) will help with this.)

Most of what I write on this blog is information that has been shared with me by many individuals who have made it their goal to intentionally live, make decisions, conversations, fulfill vision and inspire. Not only do I want to pass on to others and share the things taught to me, but almost all of the words in these post have come straight out of a journal, off of my Dry Erase board, various pieces of weathered paper on the dashboard of my car, and anywhere else I can jot down notes. That means.....

.....That I'm writing and defining these concepts, equations, and analyses to myself, also. I have challenged myself to Live With Intention. Hopefully, you will too.

Got Results?

P.T.F.A.R—five of the most life-changing and motivational letters that will ever cross your path. Not because they are a spoonful of sugar to go down with your medicine, a Psalm to give you comfort in a time of trouble, or a song to get you up and singing in the morning. However, the concept of them all, when put together, is so undoubtedly true, that no matter how hard you try, you will never see your day-to-day occurrences the same way again. Living by this concept is not only rewarding to you, but rewarding to the people around you, the people who watch you, and those who look up to you. This equation of letters creates the only solution to the unsettling results that too many of us see or experience in our lives. 

"P=T=F=A=R
(P=Programing   T=Thoughts  F=Feelings   A=Actions  R=Results)"

What do you program yourself with? Do you program with truth, reality, the Word of God? What information do you feed yourself with, what do you believe, how do you believe that, and how have you told yourself what is important, who you are....etc. What do you program yourself with?


How you are programmed, leads to your thoughts--how you mentally respond to your beliefs. Are you constant? Are you doubtful, or unstable? How are you thinking?


Our thoughts always lead to our emotions. How we feel that our life is going, and how we feel about situations, people, things, concepts....etc. Are your emotions constantly up and down? How are you feeling?


Most of the time, our actions are firmly grounded in our emotions. Whatever we think is right, will lead to what we feel is right, thus we will do what we think is right? Are your actions biblical based? Are you sure about that? We act on what we feel. What are your actions like....


....and what are your actions resulting in? What are your results in life? How is your life going? Are you seeing abundance and spiritual prosperity in your life? Are you seeing miracles, blessings, and faith-filled occurrences? Do you have friends? OR, is your life a "mess", full of pain, unfaithful friends, doubt, challenges with seemingly "no hope"?


Because of our actions, results will occur--whether good or bad. Our actions are based on our emotions, which are based on our thoughts and beliefs, which are based on our programming. Aha! We found the solution to the equation! Your programming is either the source and root cause of your bad results, or it is the source of abundance. For just a quick example....Are you programming yourself in and to have faith? Or doubt? Are you programming yourself in the gift of prosperity through Jesus Christ, or are you preaching the poverty gospel? 


Inevitably, whenever you know the source, you can change your results.

Rubber Bands: "Creative Tension Model"

I came across this model the other day while doing some research on a topic, and was simply amazed at how true the concept was! To begin, here is a quick background of this Creative Tension Model. Robert Fritz, a modern-day philosopher, calls this a tension-resolution system and stretching a rubber band is considered the applied example. As one stretches it, this creates tension and the tendency of the rubber band is to pull back to resolve the tension in the system. He says to imagine that your "vision" is represented by your right hand and your "current reality" is represented by your left hand, and you have a rubber band around both hands(see the above picture). The greater the gap between your vision and reality, the more the rubber band will stretch, the greater tension that will develop, and the stronger the motivation and energy in the system will try to resolve that tension.


Now, this concept holds the same reality in my eyes, however, i'll add a bit of twist-- a significance that applies more to life in service to God. To start, instead of  "vision" and "current reality", I believe the two ends of the rubber band can better serve this discussion when labeled "vision" or "calling" and "daily life". 


Often, men and women of God (and anyone else for that matter) have a dream, a vision, a calling, or passion in their life--divinely ordained, or not. However, our daily life often separates its events and regular occurrences away from that vision or calling. The stronger that our routine pulls away from what we're "meant" to be doing, the more tension forms in both our soul and spirit. That tension has to be solved, and will be solved, somehow.


With a rubber band, when it is stretched in opposite directions, the force either pulls the two ends back together  in a swift and mighty motion--relieving all tension--,or it breaks; it snaps in half. Only by Gods mercy are we able to stretch our calling ( whether personal calling or general calling as Christians) so far from the way we live day and our "normal" routine without breaking. (Breaking = death/unusable) The force of the painful release of tension, however, may be a shock, but it's always worth it in order to have a fresh start at a life in complete service to God, and complete obedience to what he is calling you to do. But for many, Gods saving mercy is not chosen.....                 .......only leaving one other option. You fill in the blanks.


Let's not let our actions, daily life routine, traditions, assumptions--or anything else--keep us separated by tension from our calling, purpose, passion and vision.

Investments...

"EC+RC=PC

Emotional Capital ( Programming, Thoughts, Feelings, Actions) +

Relational Capital =

Prosperity Capital"

What are you investing in? What are you putting your "capital" towards? John 10:10 says, "the thief comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. What is the definition of abundance? It's not "just enough"; it is "overflow, more than needed--too much". Jesus came and He wants to give us ( He wants us to have) an overflow of prosperity in our lives, but we have to make investments in that gift of abundance. 

Balance Bean: Francis Chan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA_uwWPE6lQ

God has not called us....to live the safest life possible.

Outside The Box

Get a pen and some paper and copy down the nine dots arranged in a square below. To solve the problem, you need to 1. join all nine dots by drawing no more than four straight lines. 2. The straight lines must be continuous (you must not lift your pen from the paper once you start drawing.) Don't read any farther until you have tried to solve the problem.

If you have managed to solve it by now, than great! You are on the right track. If you are not there yet, I applaud your patience and your hunger to learn--keep trying! Here is a clue to help you: If you're like most people, you have tried to solve the problem by keeping your lines inside of the "box" that is created by the dots. But, if you look at the instructions (and the title of this post), there is no requirement to do this. There is no requirement to stay inside of the box. So, have another go at solving the problem, allowing yourself to draw outside of the box. Again, do not read any further until you have either solved it, or given up...

...For sure, by now, you have either solved the problem, or completely thrown away your sanity. You may now click on this link for the solution to be revealed.

http://lateralaction.com/base/media/post-images/nine-dots-sol-1.png

The idea in it's most basic form is this: in order for your creativity, your full potential, and complete and constant progress to occur in your life, you always need to challenge your own assumptions and look at things from a fresh and seemingly radical angle. Break out of conventional thinking, tradition, and doctrine, and take off the blinders formed by possible past experiences. We can't solve the problem as long as we are thinking "inside the box" created by our assumptions. Once we start to think "outside the box", we open up more possibilities. It may not necessarily be easier to find the solution, but you have almost written a whole new equation, given opportunity for that solution to slap you in the face, and you have opened the proverbial doors to revelation. Think outside of the box today. 

Extra note: The usual way of presenting this problem is for a individual to only give the first set of instructions ( like I did), but without mentioning the fact that you are allowed to go outside the box with your line. Nearly everybody completely fails to solve the problem. Also,unlike me, most individuals do not give out the second clue--they simply reveal the solution only to cast astonishment and protest from an audience : "That's not fair! You didn't tell us we could go outside the box!" Typically they receive this response: "Aha! But I didn't tell you that you couldn't go outside the box!"

Tell people to go outside of the box in their life, show them that it is okay. Almost everybody is bound by rules, tradition, and dogmatic assumptions even though those instructions are not truly present.When your problem is inside the box, sometimes the only possible solution is outside of the box. Fortunately, this is so much more than just a business cliche. It's the reality of an extraordinary life. Find the boundaries of your box...and learn as fast as you can to get out from under those limitations.Not all truth and reality is going to be outside of your box, in fact, most of it you may already have with you. However, all truth is important, and I wouldn't want to leave any of it out.