The Make It Happen Moment ® Plan For Results

June 27, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede The Make It Happen Moment ® , , , , , , Leave a comment

Alice In Wonderland

Where you want to get to?

Quote: “Information is the difference between your present and your future!” – Dr. Mike Murdock

So where are you and your team headed this year?  It’s a good question you must answer if you are going to get there.  Consider the following excerpt from Alice in Wonderland:

“Would you tell me please which way I ought to walk from here,” said Alice.

“Well that depends a great deal on where you want to get to,” said Cheshire Cat.

“I don’t much care where,” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you walk,” said Cheshire Cat.

As leaders guiding our teams, we must know what we are trying to achieve or accomplish before we ask the question of how to accomplish it.  Once we have answered the question of what, the answer of how can be determined.  Otherwise, the advice of Cheshire Cat rings true; it doesn’t really matter what you do to get where you are going because any direction will get you there.   After you have spent appropriate time strategically planning your goals for each year, you will be well equipped to complete the tactical plans for achieving each goal, fully understanding that the purpose of nuts and bolts planning is simply to produce the results you desire.  Time spent planning today is not time wasted, it is time invested in your future.  To get closer to the future waiting for you, follow the command found in Habakkuk 2:2, “Write the vision and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run who reads it.”  Without the vision written down, it will be extremely difficult for you or your team to see it accomplished. 

Again, I ask the question, what do you want to accomplish this year?  More specifically, what has God put in your heart to accomplish this year?  In prayerful meditation, ask God to reveal His plans for you in each area of life.  Jeremiah 29:11 states, “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  With a spirit of commitment and excellence, diligently invest time planning for the future God has in mind for you and boldly pursue the plan believing in Him to deliver the results!

The Make It Happen Professionalism Value: “Make It Happen” People Are Professionals!

Have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Edited by The Make It Happen Moment ® Editorial Team

The Make It Happen Moment ® Plan For Results Copyright 2005, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Plan For Results, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

Good Works

June 26, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede Faith And Family , , Leave a comment

Scripture

Titus 3: 8 “This is a faithful saying, and these sayings I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.”   

Observation

In this passage, Paul is mentoring Titus, a trusted son in the kingdom of God, by directing him to constantly affirm with people who believe in God that they should be careful to maintain good works of faith because such good works are profitable to men. It is clear that Paul has an expectation for Titus to instruct and teach people in the body of Christ, the importance of demonstrating their faith by their good works which produces good fruit in Christ. At the same time, Paul clarifies in the previous verse that believers are saved by grace through faith in the Lord’s loving-kindness and mercy expressed toward us by Him and not by any works of righteousness of our own. With salvation firmly established in our hearts by the washing of regeneration and the perfect renewing work of the Holy Spirit in us, we are to maintain good works that demonstrate our faith in Christ and bless other people.

Application

As a believer saved by grace through faith, I must be careful to maintain good works of faith in Christ that demonstrate my faith and bless other people. In fact, the Bible says in James 2:26 that “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” And even furthermore, the Lord Himself says in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Therefore, our good works as believers in the body of Christ really do demonstrate loud and clear to those around us how much we actually do love the Lord, our God, with our whole heart, mind, and soul and our neighbors as ourselves. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the perfect work of salvation that You completed on the Cross for me to be saved by grace through faith. With my salvation secure in You for eternity through my faith in Jesus and Your sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in me, help me to demonstrate my faith each day by my good works in You that bless and benefit others. I love You Jesus! Amen!

Good Works Copyright 2010, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, Good Works, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

The Make It Happen Moment ® Oxygen To The Soul

June 20, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede The Make It Happen Moment ® , , Leave a comment

Spectrum = gas discharge tubes. The gases: hyd...

Encouragement = O2 to the Soul

Quote: “Encouragement is oxygen to the soul!” – Jessie Duplantis

Did you ever think that encouragement could actually provide a source of oxygen for someone’s soul?  The reality of this spiritual law is extremely powerful in the emotional development and healthy well-being of others.  Just a few simple encouraging words to someone at the right time can change desperation into inspiration that produces life for the moment and hope for the future. 

“Good morning Timothy!  I really like the tie you’re wearing today!  By the way, you did an awesome job with your presentation yesterday!  Thank you so much for the diligent, thoughtful effort you put into it.  Your recommendations are going to help us do some great things for our customers!”  It’s only 50 words and 14 seconds of time, but how much do you think those words of encouragement and recognition are worth to Timothy?  It’s difficult to say; however, if you were Timothy, you would probably have a much better day than if you received no greeting at all and your diligent efforts had gone unnoticed. 

Now if encouragement is oxygen to the soul, then it is reasonable to believe that discouragement is carbon monoxide to the soul.  Therefore, as encouraging words build people up and provide a source of hope, the opposite is true of discouraging words – they tear people down and provide a source of hopelessness.  What happens when someone takes in too much carbon monoxide?  In the physical realm, they can become extremely ill.  The same is true in the spiritual realm when people are only recognized in a negative light and discouraging words are spoken as a curse over their lives. 

With a spirit of generosity, become a lighthouse of encouragement to people that showers words of abundant blessing and encouragement upon them.  As we develop a daily habit of encouraging others, we will be pleasantly surprised that it also produces abundant blessing in our lives as the law of sowing and reaping multiplies and returns encouragement back to us.  And at the end of the day, remember, each new day is a gift from God to start afresh in the abundance of His mercy!

The Make It Happen Celebration Value: “Make It Happen” People Celebrate Accomplishments Abundantly!

Have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Edited by The Make It Happen Moment ® Editorial Team

The Make It Happen Moment ® Oxygen To The Soul Copyright 2005, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Oxygen To The Soul, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

No Fear

June 18, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede Faith And Family , , , , , , 3 Comments

Scripture

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Observation

In this passage, Paul is writing to encourage Timothy and build up his faith as he leads the church at Ephesus. He exhorts Timothy to stir up the gift of God that is in him [the free gift of the Holy Spirit] by the laying on of his hands and emphasizes to him that God does not give us a spirit of fear.  Instead, God gives us His Spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind which overcomes any fear from the enemy and empowers us to walk in peace as bold witnesses of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to the world around us.

Application

As a believer, there will be times when the devil will attack us in our minds with the only weapon he has – fear – because he knows that he can rob, steal, and kill everything that God has for us if we live in fear rather than faith.  When this happens, we must recognize that any such spirit of fear is not of God because God gives us His Spirit of power, love, and sound mind which overcomes any spirit of fear cast toward us by the enemy. 1 John 4:4-5 states, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” We can overcome fear because the Holy Spirit lives in us and He is greater than any illegal trespass of fear by the enemy.  Plus, the simple truth is that fear has no chance at all with us because the Lord loves each of us perfectly and 1 john 4:18 states that perfect love casts out fear.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your perfect unconditional love for me which casts out all fear. Because You are Jehovah Shalom, the Lord Our Peace, I am thankful to walk in Your peace, peace not as the world can give, but peace that only You can give as my Lord and Savior.  I love You Jesus! Amen!

No Fear Copyright 2010, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, No Fear, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

The Make It Happen Moment ® Expect The Best

June 9, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede The Make It Happen Moment ® , , , Leave a comment

A "Village Teacher"

Expect The Best

Quote: “The leader who expects his people to perform the best will achieve the greatest results!” – Joe D. Batten

Did you know that a person performs to the level of expectation that you have of them?  Having this knowledge and acting upon it is extremely powerful for the leader who wants to achieve great results with people.  To test the validity of this leadership practice, a group of organizational development researchers conducted a research trial that studied and analyzed the effects of teachers’ expectations on the performance of their students.  The name of the research trial, “The Harvard Test Of Inflected Acquisition” is referenced in Joe Batten’s book, Tough-minded Leadership.  The outcome of the trial is totally amazing! 

Teachers were told that their students were going to be tested for their mental aptitudes and intellectual potential by administering a test designed to identify the top 20% that would bloom intellectually over the course of the school year.  Little did the teachers know that the test was nothing more than an outdated, rarely used IQ test, which wasn’t even going to be graded by the researchers.  Instead, the researchers randomly selected 20% of the students and identified them as students with significant growth potential.  Would you care to guess how those students performed over the year?  Amazingly, those students whom the teachers expected to progress, grow, and improve over the year did in fact do so by as much as 50% in their performance scores.  How powerful is the reality of expectations and its effect on people’s performance? 

This is so important because when leaders expect people to perform their best, they will actually begin to perform their best.  High expectations of people demonstrate that you believe in them and think that they are first rate; however, leaders must be careful to distinguish between high expectations and unrealistic expectations.  Expecting someone to pull a rabbit out of a hat when he or she isn’t a magician is an unrealistic expectation.    Guard against unrealistic expectations by clearly defining expectations that people are capable of reaching and achieving with proper tools, training, and encouragement.  Then, in the spirit of faith, hope, and love, expect people’s best performance and be amazed at what can happen!

The Make It Happen Professionalism Value: “Make It Happen” People Are Professionals!

Have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Edited by The Make It Happen Moment ® Editorial Team

The Make It Happen Moment ® Expect The Best Copyright 2004, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Expect The Best, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

Favor With God And Man

June 4, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede Faith And Family 1 Comment

Scripture

Proverbs 3:3-4 “Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.”

Observation

In this passage, King Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived on earth, shares with us that the key to finding favor with God and man is found through a heart full of mercy and truth. As I meditate upon this truth, I am reminded how people loved to be around Jesus, even despite the truth of their sin and shame.  Jesus had favor with tax collectors, adulterers, drunkards, and even the righteous in their own sight because He embraced them in His unconditional love with mercy while at the same time never embracing their sin or condemning them in the truth of it.   Instead, in His loving-kindness Jesus drew people into repentance and in His mercy He delivered them from the power of darkness and conveyed them into His kingdom where we all find redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins.

Application

To become more like Jesus, we must have a heart full of mercy and forgiveness because that is the heart of the Lord. Psalm 86:5 says, “For You Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.”  When we keep mercy close to our hearts and shed it upon others through love and forgiveness, we find mercy with God for ourselves along with favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.  In addition to Proverbs 3:3-4 highlighted above, this is confirmed in the writing of James 2:13, “For judgement is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs judgement.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for showing me mercy through Your unconditional love, forgiving me for all of my sin against You, and remembering my sin no more.  Help me to never forget Your loving-kindness and mercy towards me, despite the truth of my sin and shame, so that I may keep a humble heart full of Your love, mercy, and compassion towards others, despite the truth of their sin and shame as well. I love You Jesus! Amen!

Favor With God And Man Copyright 2010, Gary J. Borgstede.  You have permission to reprint the personal devotion, Favor With God And Man, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.