I’ve never had a panic attack but my guess is that one started to kick up in my heart as I started thing about what I want to accomplish over the course of my life and ministry.

That’s too big for you.
That’s way too hard.
Do you realize how impossible that is?
You don’t even know what you are doing.
You can’t possibly begin to think that you of all people could ever…

My chest tightened and my confidence eroded. That voice was and is right about everything.

My dreams are big.
Leading and serving is hard.
I don’t always know what I’m doing.

I have no faith in myself. My faith is somewhere else.

My faith is in the One who is the Biggest and Greatest.
My faith is in the One for whom nothing is too difficult.
My faith is in the One who does the impossible.
My faith is in the One who was and is and is to come.

Ultimately my faith is not in the abilities that I have or the circumstances that surround me. Mt faith is in Jesus.

Colossians 1:15–20 NIV11
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

My dreams are big.
Leading and serving is hard.
I don’t always know what I’m doing.

But I have confidence that One who who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. In this, I have no doubt.

You can have that confidence too!

For the last week, I have been taking a few minutes out of each day in order to plan and set some goals for 2012. Over the years, I have gathered a handful of tips that have helped me set and achieve goals. I have come across these tips in books or at conferences or from practical experience. It is my hope that at least one of these tips will help you. Nelson Searcy talks about living a philosophy of “Learn & Return.” He says that anytime you learn something significant you should gladly return it back to the Kingdom by sharing what you’ve learned with others. It is my hope that by sharing some of what I’ve learned about setting goals that your life will be impacted in such a way that you will want to share this with someone else.

Begin and End In Prayer
When setting goals you definitely want to begin with prayer. You want to make sure that the plans you are making or the things you want to accomplish are firmly set and find their meaning within the purposes of God. When I am in a season of setting goals I often start by praying through Psalm 139. Asking God to search your heart and to test your motives is a difficult but crucial task if you are going to do anything of real significance for God this year. The psalm ends by asking God to lead you in his way- his will for your life. You can pick some things to do this year or you can ask the God of the Universe to help you accomplish great things that will have a lasting impact on you and those around you. To me, the choice is easy. Spend some time praying before you just start listing things you’d like to do this year.

Also, make sure to end your planning time in prayer. Thank God for the wisdom and insight he has provided. Pray that he will give you the strength and focus you need to carry out the goals he has given you. Praying before and after your planning puts a Prayer Parenthesis around your goals.

Think in Categories
In 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey encourages you list out the various life roles you play on a daily basis. For me, I have about six roles and relationships that I do life in every day. I am a Disciple of Jesus, a Husband, a Father, a Minister, a Friend, and a Son/Brother. Each of these roles call for a different set of responsibilities and growth happens differently in each of the realms. I have a different set of goals for developing my relationship with Jesus and I have different goals to help me be a greater spiritual leader in my home as a husband and father. There is a sense where growth in one area will impact the others but I feel like God calls me to list specific goals for each of these separately.

You can also break up your goals in to areas such as Emotional, Spiritual, Relational (What are my goals for my relationships this year?), Influence (Who do I need to influence this year and how?), Physical (What are my goals for my physical health this year?), Financial, and Intellectual (How am I going to grow intellectually this year?).

Breaking you goals up into categories helps you see what areas need growth and it can help you be specific about what goals to set.

Be Specific
Often, our goals are pretty vague. Getting specific helps us craft a plan for actually achieving the goals we set before us.

“I want to grow closer to God this year.” Ok. How? What steps are you going to take to grow closer to him? Will you spend more time reading your Bible? Will you make it a goal to pray more consistently? Be specific with this goal by stating something like this:

It is my goal to grow closer to God this year. In order to do this I will start my year off with a fast and I will read one of the gospels each week for the entire year.

“I want to love my wife more deeply.” What are you going to do to achieve this goal? Will you write her a love letter each week? Will you arrange a babysitter each week so that you can treat her to a weekly date night? Specific example:

It is my goal to love my wife more deeply through daily sending her a text message telling her how much she means to me, weekly sending her a card by mail, and monthly planning a date night to reconnect as a couple.

Don’t set vague goals. Vague goals do not change lives.

Tell Someone
Accountability is setting goals is a must. Tell someone your goals. Share with someone you hope and plans. Let a friend celebrate your victories and lift you up when you fail. Goals set in community impact a greater number of people. Don’t keep your goals to yourself.

Pray Hard, Work Hard
A phrase that I have always loved is “Pray like it depends on God, Work like it depends on you.” I have been using this phrase since I first heard it in college. This idea of Praying Hard and Working Hard recently popped up again because it played a big role in Mark Batterson’s The Circle Maker and Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership (two of my top 5 books for 2011). Batterson writes that too often we set goals, pray to God about what we want,and then fail to do anything because we want God to just give us what we’ve asked for. We shouldn’t simply pray and walk away. We should pray and entrust our needs and desires to God but then we should be faithful to get after it and work toward that end. Sometimes God is gracious and drops things in our laps. Most of the time though God answers our prayer when we are obedient to him. You aren’t working to curry God’s favor so that he will give you what you desire. You’re work is carried out as an act of faith and trust in the One who truly determines every outcome. God delivered his people from the hand of Pharaoh but Moses still had to travel to Egypt. God gave Jericho to the Israelites but Joshua still had to march. Jesus prayed that God’s will be done but he still had to go to the cross. Praying hard and Working hard are not at odds. Both are acts of faith and both are needed when you set out to plan and achieve godly goals.

Celebrate
There are 366 days, 52 weeks, and 12 months in 2012. Celebrate little victories along the path of achieving your goals and celebrate big time when you are able to cross a goal off of your list. Two passage that will help you celebrate small and large victories are Ecclesiastes 3:11 and Lamentations 3:22-24.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV)

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:22–24 ESV)

God wants to accomplish great things in and through your life this year. It is my prayer that you will set aside some time in the next few days to plan and dedicate your time, talent, and treasure to following after the goals God sets in your heart.

For more on prayer and setting goals, check out The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson which helped inspire and give structure to today’s post.

Leadership is a choice. Stop worrying about when those other people on your team are going to step up and quit whining about those ahead of you who are supposed to be the ones out in front. Leadership isn’t a position. Leadership isn’t power or control. Leadership is choosing to do the right things in order to help others achieve. You can choose to wait for someone else or you can choose to lead right now wherever you are.

Development is a choice. “I don’t have time to read.” Wrong. You choose to do other things with your time than read. “I can’t afford that conference.” False. You choose to spend you money on other things. Each day you have an opportunity to get better at whatever it is that you do. You can read a book, access a blog, call someone, attend a conference, download a podcast, etc, etc, etc. You can choose to remain the way you are right now or you can choose to develop yourself in order to achieve greater results.

Parenting is a choice. When I became a dad the greatest bit of advice I received was when a friend told me, “Parent is a verb.” That has stuck with me every single day. You can choose to not engage with your family or you can choose to parent.

Discipleship is a choice. When Jesus called us to follow him he called us to be his disciples. A disciple is someone who seeks to pattern their life after their teacher- their rabbi. 1John 2:6 says, “Whoever flames to follow him must live as Jesus lived.” Following Jesus means choosing to live like he lived. It means choosing the way of Jesus over my way. Disciples grow and mature and are transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. They do not remain the same as they were when they were called. You can choose your way of living or you can choose The Way of Life.

Serving is a choice. Jesus made a conscious decision to serve. “For the Son of Man came to serve not be served.” Serving others is a choice. You can choose to use others for what they can do for you or you can choose to be like the King of the Universe and serve others.

Life is a series of choices. What will you choose today?

Christmas can be an incredibly hard time for those who have lost loved ones. The pain and hurt is only magnified if this is the first Christmas without them.

I’ve always appreciated the way Eugene Peterson translated Matthew 5:4 in the Message. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives comfort to those who mourn saying, “You’re blessed when you feel like you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.”

Take some time today to pray that those who are hurting and missing their spouse or child or friend will be comforted by God. Pray that he will embrace them as only he can and will carry them through their grief.

Additional Scriptures:
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:1–3 NIV11)

“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 NIV11)

As November came to a close, I began thinking how I could start something meaningful through the month of December to continue a heart posture of thankfulness. This morning, I heard God issue me a challenge.

As of today there are 21 days until Christmas Day. The holidays can be a wonderful time filled with family, friends, music, celebration, and joy. In fact, this is probably my favorite time of year. However, just below the surface of this joyous season, pain and hurt and confusion and sorrow are also present.

What if I spent the next 21 days praying for different groups of people during the holiday season? What if we prayed for people who were hurting and struggling? What is we prayed for people that were experiencing times of joy and love this season? What if prayed for those overseas?

What if we did it together?

For the next 21 days, I will be posting a prayer each day here on the blog and through my status update on Facebook.

So, I’m issuing this challenge: Will you join me in praying for people over the next 21 days? Between now and Christmas day, will you take time out of your day to lift others up in prayer?

I will post the first prayer later today- around 2pm CST.

You don’t have to have cash flow to focus on your VALUES.

You don’t have to arrive in order to live out your CORE BELIEFS.

Too many sit around and bemoan the facts that they can’t do anything with the little that they have.

If you chase after a VISION from God and live out those VALUES that are consistent with your CORE BELIEFS than I would be willing to bet that soon you won’t lack any of those resources you want.

One of my favorite ministry management books is Youth Ministry Management Tools by Olsen, Elliot, and Work. I have consistently  come back to this book over and over in ministry in order to draft forms or plan events. The whole first half of the book is dedicated to Getting Organized so I am cleaning out the office based on some of their suggestions and tips. Here’s what I’m doing:

• Stuff to FILE: Fill this box with forms, old pictures, personal notes, archives, anything “paper-ish” that you need.
• Stuff to READ: Fill it with magazines, catalogs, brochures, fliers, event posters, conference brochures,  curriculum samples, and general ministry mail
• Stuff to GIVE AWAY: In this box sort all your miscellaneous items, free stuff you’ll never read or use, old stufff you’ll never really need, pens, desk junk
• Stuff to THROW AWAY: Anything you can’t put in the other 3 boxes. Ask, “Can I get this information somewhere else if I throw it away?”

• FILE: label each item in the box with a Post-It note giving the name of the folder in which the item belongs. Then invite you assistant or a volunteer to file each one.
• READ: Use Post-It Notes to identify any article you wish to save. Ask your assistant or a volunteer to rip out or photocopy necessary articles, toss the rest of the magazine, and then file the article.
• GIVE AWAY: Give yourself 1 week to find  home for all your “good junk.” Then toss it in box 4!
• THROW AWAY: Give it to the Trash gods ASAP!

In a little over 2 hours I was able to tame the chaos and regain control over my work space.

My next step will be to clear out and organize my file cabinet so that I can actually file the important things that I have uncovered today by cleaning my desk area. My hope to also utilize Evernote to digitally file everything where it is easily accessible and searchable.

I hope you found some of these tips helpful. Having a clean and usable work space is key to getting stuff done. We all have important work to do. Clear the clutter and get back to work! People are counting on us!

I hope you are sitting at your computer as you read this. The stats presented here are incredible!

I was at my local Borders just days before they closed up shop and I overheard one of the customers bemoaning the fact that the store was shutting down. He said, “I hope this doesn’t start a trend (of brick and mortar book stores closing).”

I thought to myself, “This isn’t the start of the trend, buddy. You’re right smack dab in the middle.” These stats bare that out. The old paradigm of browsing the local bookstore changed drastically even before Borders was forced to shut down and will continue to change due almost exclusively to Jeff Bezos and Amazon.

I browse Amazon daily- for book deals, mp3s, and movies. I have almost made the full jump to reading exclusively on my Kindle. I never thought that would happen but it has.

Amazon has literally built an empire. Don’t believe me? Check out the graphic below.

Source: Frugaldad.com

I am also excited about getting to catch up on some things that I haven’t had time for over the past few weeks. In fact I have Five Things I Want to Do Over Thanksgiving Break.

1. Listen to the new Switchfoot Album- Switchfoot put out a brand-new album back at the end of September. September!!! It has been sitting in my iTunes since then and I haven’t listened to one track yet because I wanted to sit and listen to it all the way through. This week, I will have some time to strap on the headphones and finally listen to Vice Verses.
2. Make a big dent in Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson- I also have yet to dive deep into the biography to end all biographies. I have read reviews, reflections, and opinions on it but I have only read a couple of chapters. This week I want to really burn through a good part of the book.
3. Organize my Office- Actually I want to organize my office at work and clean my office at home. Loose notes,stacks of paper, and old magazines- you’re on notice.
4. Catch up on some podcasts- I have a handful of podcasts that I haven’t gotten around to listening to. Sometimes I hate listening to them in the car because I don’t want to drive and take notes in my Moleskin. Call me crazy, but if I’m taking notes on living and leading more effectively than wrapping my car around a tree seems counter productive.
5. Rest- Vacation is all about spending time with the ones you love and just being present. I want to spend some time just being over the next few days.

Enjoy your break and enjoy your Thanksgiving everyone!

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

I was struck by how PEACE and THANKFULNESS seem to go hand in hand.

Too often our focus on what we DON’T HAVE or what we DESPERATELY WANT or what SOMEONE ELSE HAS keeps us in a state of discontent and turmoil. Cultivating a heart that is THANKFUL will help us keep our focus on God and not on lesser things.

When I spend more time THANKING God for ALL that he has done on my behalf and ALL that he has blessed me with the less time I have to spend worrying about all that other stuff. Thankfulness paves the way to peace.

I made a quick list of just some of the things I am thankful for right now…

I am thankful that Jesus saved/saves me! (Titus 3:4-7; 1 John 1:7)

I am thankful for my smoking’ hot WIFE who cares for me, encourages me, keeps me in check, and puts up with ALL of my junk. She takes care of our home and is an incredible mother! (Proverbs 31: 10-12; 26-31 really sums it all up)

I am thankful for my incredible SON who is a constant reminder to me what pure joy looks like. That kid PLAYS hard and LOVES deeply. I LOVE THAT KID!!!

I am thankful that we have another BABY on the way that is due in May! Right now, everything looks healthy and progressing the way it should. We had an ultrasound earlier this week and the little guy or girl gave us a great big wave “Hello!” Very, very thankful!

I am thankful for OUR CHURCH and that I have the opportunity to serve, teach, care for, and lead this group of people week in and week out.

I am thankful that I have a TEAMMATE in ministry that I get to work alongside. I love sharing an office with someone who shares my vision for ministry and is excited about what God is doing in and through this community.

I am thankful for the ability to READ and LEARN. This is no small thing. I am often struck by how incredibly blessed I am to have- not just the opportunity to read- the ABILITY to read and comprehend things. I don’t know where I’d be without the gift of learning.

I am thankful for MUSIC. Again, no small thing. I never want to take for granted some of the pleasures that God has given me. I love listening to, talking about, and pretty much everything else about music. Thank you for U2 and Fender and iPods and bass and Beats by Dre headphones and guitar licks and lyrics and iTunes and … you get the point.

So here’s the challenge for you… Make your own list. Take some time today to tell God “thank you” for the gifts and blessings in your life.