In the Name

Monday, August 2, 2010

Dale Carnegie asserts, “Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” One of the simplest ways to make people feel appreciated is by remembering names. Our name sets us apart. It makes us unique. When I was a classroom teacher, I used to play the “name game” on the first day of school. I introduced myself to a student who introduced me to another student. Each student in turn introduced himself and all the previously named students. By the end of the game, I had heard each student’s name multiple times and was able to recite everyone’s name. This simple game was the first step in developing a relationship with my students.

Remembering and honoring the names of his friends and associates was one of the keys to Andrew Carnegie’s success as a leader. He could recall many of his factor workers by name and while he was personally in charge of the steel company, there were no workman strikes. FDR took time to remember and recall the names of his staff, even the mechanics for his car.

Napoleon the Third, Emperor of France, boasted that he could recall then name of every person he met. If he didn’t hear the name distinctly, he could ask the person to repeat it. He would often ask them to spell it. During the conversation he repeated the name several times and tried to associate the name with the person’s features, expressions, and general appearance. When he was alone, he wrote down the name, concentrated on it, and then tore the paper.

Jesus knew the importance of recognizing people by their names. In John 10:3 Jesus described himself as the Good Shepherd who calls his own sheep by name. What Jesus was proclaiming was that he as our Shepherd knows us intimately. When Mary Magdalene stood sorrowfully outside the tomb after Jesus’ death, Jesus called her my name. Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).” John 20:16. Her mourning was turned to dancing at the sound of her name. Because of his job as a tax collector, the local Jewish community would have hated Zacchaeus and yet Jesus did two things that welcomed him into the family of God: he called him by name and dined with him. Through Jesus’ example we see the importance of knowing names in order to develop relationships.

Let’s also remember that the name of Jesus is actually the sweetest name of all. His name is above every name. Thanks be to God!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, Philippians 2:9 & 10

Overwhelm

Monday, July 26, 2010

Living in overwhelm can mean having too much to do and not enough time to do it. Or it can mean having limited time and energy to get tasks done. Or it could mean living with the fear that you’re not capable of getting a job done. Overwhelm has emotional overtones of stress and anxiety, and it exhibits itself physically, as well. Chronic overwhelm is one of the major causes of anxiety and anxiety disorders. When you’re overwhelmed, your mind overloads with all that’s going on. When you’re overwhelmed, you feel as if you’re carrying a heavy load, a burden. Carrying around this weight takes a toll on your nervous, immune and hormonal systems, and left unattended, likely will produce cycles of anxiety, fatigue and temporary despair. People on this kind of overload are more susceptible to disease and they age faster. What can you do about overload?

My guilt overwhelms me— it is a burden too heavy to bear. Psalm 38:4

An ancient Greek myth holds that Zeus punished the Titans for waging war against him. As the leader of the Titans, Atlas received a harsh punishment. He was forced to hold up an extraordinarily heavy weight. The proverbial version has him holding the weight of the world on his shoulders. When we become overstressed and overwhelmed, we often feel we’re holding the weight of the world on our shoulders. Each year when I go to New York City, I walk past the GE Building and see a huge statue of Atlas, straining under the weight of the world. Then I walk across the street and down the block to enter St. Patrick’s Cathedral. There I see the beautiful Pieta statue, a work of art that depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion. I am reminded that when he died on the cross, Jesus took the weight of this world’s sin and sorrow off our shoulders and put it on His shoulders.

Are you letting him carry your weight?

Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the Godly to slip and fall. Psalm 55:2

Dumbbells

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Let’s look at problems as opportunities. They are opportunities to grow our faith and often to grow relationships. They’re a lot like dumbbells. The word dumbbells originated in Tudor England when athletes used hand-held church bells to develop their upper body and arms. The bells ranged in weight from a few ounces to many pounds. Since the church bells would have made a great deal of noise, the athletes would take out the clappers so they could practice quietly; hence the name "dumb,” as in "no sound", and "bell" – dumbbell. I use them nearly every day. I don’t really like them. My arms get tired when I lift them over and over. When I put the dumbbell in my arms and then raise my arms above my head, I’m not really having fun, but the activity of lifting the dumbbells will eventually make me stronger. In the short term, I get tired. In the long term, I’ll grow stronger.

If we look at problems as opportunities to grow and learn, we can rest assured that we will be stronger in the long run. In the middle of a problem, it’s good to ask, “What can I learn from this? How is this making me stronger?” Remember, it’s not the final solution that makes us stronger; it’s the activity of solving the problem that makes us stronger.

Part of the activity of working out our problems is calling on God for guidance. The Bible teaches us that God is with us. When Jesus was born, he was called Immanuel, meaning “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) He’s a friend that sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24) We can talk to him and lean on him. We can run to him with our inmost thoughts. He is always available. He wants to help us sort out life’s smallest and greatest problems.

It’s in lifting the dumbbells that we develop our muscles. In sorting out the challenges of life, we exercise our faith and develop our spiritual muscles. Lifting weights is a physical workout; problem-solving is a mental and spiritual workout.

Like the English athletes who silenced the bells, let’s silence our complaints and use our problems as opportunities to grow stronger. Let’s exercise our faith.

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. I Timothy 4:8

Staying Power

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Pancho Gonzalez was the world’s number one professional tennis player for an unequalled eight years in the 1950s and early 1960s. He is still widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. A 1999 Sports Illustrated selected him number 15 in the magazine's 20 "favorite athletes" of the 20th century. In 1948 this virtually unknown player won the national tennis championship in a grueling battle. A sports writer commented that Gonzales had a marvelous serve and a skillful volley but said the factor that won the championship was his staying power. “He was never defeated by the discouraging vicissitudes of the game.” In other words, he didn’t let the constant changes or fluctuations get the best of him. When the game didn’t go his way, he didn’t let discouragement creep into his thoughts. The player was able to face his obstacles and run with endurance the race set before him.

More recently, two young men, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, vied in another Wimbledon tennis match, the longest game in the tournament’s history. Isner of Tampa, Florida, came out as winner after 11 hours and 5 minutes. Previously, neither Isner nor Mahut of France had made it past the first round in the tournament at Wimbledon.

It was a grueling three days. It has been estimated that during the course of the tournament each player sprinted 24 miles and sweated nearly 10 pounds of water. Their body temperatures probably vacillated between 95 and 105 degrees. Some say they could have burned 6,000 calories during the marathon event. Isner reportedly consumed 12 energy bars and gallons of water and energy drinks during the match. He attributed practice in Florida’s intense heat and humidity to his ability to endure. Isner told NBC's "Today" show that he'd gotten a mere "six hours" of sleep the night before the final match and had "no skin left on any of my toes.”

Sports psychologists have noted that players must also go through emotional conditioning in order to handle the stress. The men seemed equal in skill and determination. Both needed to be single-minded in their effort to endure a match of this length.

Both men had staying power. They did not become defeated by the vicissitudes of the game. How do we get that staying power? How can we never become defeated by the vicissitudes of the game?

How do we train so that we’ll last through the hard times? What can we learn from these young men about duration? About tasting victory? About never giving up?

We too can be strong when facing trials. We must train our minds, bodies, and spirit to go the distance. Scripture reminds us to throw away anything that entangles us and to run with perseverance to win the race. With God’s help we can win. We can last. We too can have staying power.

Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

The Slump

Monday, July 5, 2010

Josh O’Reilly, manager San Antonio Club in the middle of the last century, had a roster of great players but they were in a slump. They experienced loss after loss. O’Reilly knew he had a team of powerful and successful hitters, but they had lost confidence in themselves. He wanted to help them to regain belief in their ability to hit. O’Reilly asked each player to give him his two best bats. They were to stay in the clubhouse until he returned. He put the bats in a wheelbarrow and off he went with them. An hour later he returned and told them he’d gone to Schlater, a popular neighborhood preacher who claimed to be a faith healer. The manager told his players that the preacher had blessed the bats. He said the bats contained a power that could not be overcome. The players were delighted and enthusiastic about the news. The next day they overwhelmed Dallas. They won again and again. They even won their way to the championship that year.

Now what happened to the San Antonio team? What caused their amazing turnaround? Was there power in the bats? No, it was in their minds. They began thinking in terms of expectation, not doubt. They began to expect the best. A new thought pattern changed the men and they lived up to those new expectations.

What do you do when you’re in a slump? Do you complain that good fortune always passes you by? Do you eventually give up and settle for less than your best? Do you begin to expect the worst and then always get it? How do you get re-charged when you get it a slump? Consider going to the real source of power, the power we get through our faith. The New Testament provides powerful scripture to inspire us and encourage us to get out of a slump. Norman Vincent Peale compiled 40 scripture passages that he called 40 Thought Conditioning Verses and suggested we memorize them and let them fill our conscious with positive thoughts. Following these faith concepts will change us from skeptics to expecters and then achievers.

Enjoy these “thought conditioning verses” –

Thought Conditioner No. 1
The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Luke 18:27
Thought Conditioner No. 2
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
Thought Conditioner No. 3
Renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10
Thought Conditioner No. 4
Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
Thought Conditioner No. 5
What things you desire, when ye pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. Mark 11:24

Bird Waking

Sunday, June 27, 2010

In his book The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale told of a successful businessman who was always in a rush. Each morning he jumped out of bed and hit the ground running. He was in such a hurry to get the day started that he made soft-boiled eggs “because they slid down fast.” Then one morning as he looked outside his window, he noticed a bird waking from his night’s sleep. The bird slept with his head under his wing and his feathers pulled around his little body. As he awoke, he pulled his bill from under his feathers and stretched one leg. Next he wrapped his wing like a fan over the leg. Then he repeated the process with the other leg. Resting a bit more, he laid his head on his feathers for a quick nap and then poked out his head again. This time the bird threw his head back, stretched his wings and legs and sent up a thrilling, melodic song of praise to the day. After hopping down from the limb, he dunked his beak in the bird bath and then started looking for breakfast. The high-strung, tense businessman said to himself, “If that’s the way the birds get up, sort of slow and easy like, why wouldn’t it be a good method for me to start the day that way?”

What can we learn from our fair feathered friend about starting our day?

He woke up slowly.
He stretched.
He paused for a meditation.
He sang a song of praise.
He refreshed himself with water.
He went in search of food.

“This is the day that the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

Let’s remember to wake up slowly with a time for meditation and praise to our creator.

Hole in the Wall Prayer

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Norman Vincent Peale, in his book The Power of Positive Thinking, tells the story of a man who opened a small New York City business and described it as a “little hole in the wall.” In order to grow the business this man vowed to fill the “little hole in the wall” with prayers and optimistic thoughts. He used his own creative thinking and a curious formula that he credits for his very successful business operation. The formula for this three-point prayer method is...

• PRAYERIZE
• PICTURIZE
• ACTUALIZE

Prayerize

The man practiced a daily system of creative prayer. When he encountered a problem, he talked it over with God by praying without ceasing. He conceived God as being present in his home, his office, and his car. God was as near as his closest friend. He discussed everything with God in a natural, normal tone of voice. God's presence dominated his conscious and unconscious thinking. Living by prayer, he "prayerized" his life. By prayerizing his mind, he was able to influence his actions.

Picturize

The next step of the “curious formula” was to “picturize” the future. In psychological terms Peale called this type of visualization a “realizable wish.” The belief is that when success or failure is picturized, it tends to actualize.

This idea has been expressed throughout the ages:

• Proverbs 23:7: “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
• Psychologist-philosopher William James: "Belief (confidant thought) creates the actual fact".
• Clergyman William Ellery Channing: "Secret study, silent thought, is the mightiest agent in, human affairs. What a man does outwardly is but the expression and completion of his inward Thought.”
• Rev. Jonathan Edwards: "The ideas and images (thoughts) in men's mind are the invisible powers that constantly govern them
• Henry Ford: "Whether you think you can or think you can't-you are right."

Today, psychologists refer to Peale’s picturizing as creative visualizing or imaging. With this strategy a person doesn’t just think about success, he or she sees success.

Peale was quick to point out the importance of praying about a matter and testing it according to God’s will before picturizing it happening. When considering this technique, it’s important to pray for God’s direction and will. Then, once you are convinced that you are moving in God’s will, imprint a picture in your mind as if it is happening. Surrender the picture to God’s will and follow his guidance in his timing at his pace. When picturizing, we must remember to do our part to achieve success in the matter.

Actualize

If you have petitioned God’s help in the situation and visualized it getting resolved according to God’s plan, you will be amazed at how the picture is actualized. Peale’s belief was that what we prayerize and picturize will actualize when we invoke God’s power on it and give ourselves fully to its realization.

A realizable wish + God’s power + your power = actualization.

Is there something that God is asking you to do that you need to actualize? Why not try to prayerize and picturize it?