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Simple plans that are put into motion are usually much better than elaborate plans full of unknowns. I have found then when planning it is better to stick with things I know to do. It can be easy to fall into the trap of planning and planning but never taking action. 

The key is to put the plan into motion. There are some aspects of our plans that we can never figure out by sitting down and making a plan. We only understand it while in motion. It is better to make a very short simple plan of things that you know to do and get started than to waste a bunch of time planning things that will probably never happen and not taking any action. 

You can figure things out as you go. Yes, you should plan, but the plan should be more about getting clear on the destination. Then keep it simple and focus more on executing, because there are some problems that can never be solved until you get moving and are in the middle of it.  Learning to live this way requires trusting tha...

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We have the amazing opportunity to come boldly to the throne of grace to receive grace and mercy from God in our time of need. This is a time of year where there may be some pressure, and we can boldly pray asking God for help. To be bold is to stand up and be confident, but it is also balanced with the humility of knowing we need help. 

One of the keys to prayer is boldness or confidence in God. The confidence of knowing we can approach him freely because of Jesus and the confidence that he wants to help and nothing is impossible for him. Whenever you need help come to God with boldness asking for his help. I was once down on my face praying and lamenting with a lack of boldness. Immediately after praying I opened my Bible while still down on the ground to Joshua 7:10 where God tells Joshua... Stand Up! What are you doing with your face on the ground?

From that point on I almost always pray standing up, and aim to do so with boldness and confidence. Yes, there i...

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Our goal in the Abundant Life Blueprint is to make other people great, and part of making others great is launching people out. Our goal should be to make others greater than ourselves. Even Jesus said, if you believe in me you will do what I do and even greater. Many people don't believe this, but it is what he said. 

People always need another level to progress to and if you are a leader in any way the goal should be to make others great by launching them out. In any organization there will be some people that God created to stay with you and be a team(these people also need another level), while some will be looking for the opportunity to launch out and do their own unique thing. In these cases the goal is to mentor, disciple, and help them get started. Leaders often view this as competition, but in reality it may take both of you to the next level and it may open the opportunity to partner with them in new ways. 

In today's communion we are asking for God's h...

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This time of year there is often some pressure. God can give us the ability to stay calm and poised under pressure and he also has a way out. Jesus is the way. In sports pressure is often a tactic used to force your opponent into making bad decisions. For example, in football defenses will try to pressure the quarterback in order to get him to freak out and make a bad decision. But, when a really good quarterback is playing they are not fazed by the pressure, because they know when pressure comes it leaves their opponent exposed for a big play. A good quarterback understands the situation and knows the way out of the pressure. 

In basketball defenses will also try to apply full court pressure to the person handling the ball. They will often send multiple defenders to try to trap the ball handler in the corner. During these times the best thing the ball handler can do is keep moving forward with his eyes up and stay away from the corners, because once again the def...

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How do you respond when the pressure is on? Do you stay calm and poised or do you lose control? This time of year you may be experiencing an increase in pressure. Think of a sports game or season, all of the pressure is at the end. So if you are experiencing some pressure right now it may be a sign that God is preparing you for a victory and to move you to the next level. God is not going to take away the pressure but he can work in you to handle it in a completely new way, with calm, poise, and beauty under pressure. 

When God helps us stay calm, pressure can be a gift, because it helps us move to the next level faster. Most every high level athlete knows that staying relaxed and calm puts the body into a state the produces better results. The key to staying calm under pressure is rolling it over onto God. We were never meant to carry the weight of it. 

Pressure and time are very related so here are a couple of things that can help to reduce pressure. Build more...

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Yesterday was one of those days where it seemed like things were coming at me from every angle and there wasn't enough time to get it all done, maybe because it was Friday the 13th. As I was reflecting on this before bed I felt God nudging me to open up my book The Miracle Year. In The Miracle Year the second half of the book goes week by week through the year and talks about what we may be experiencing during different times of the year. The title for the week of August 12th was... Pressure. 

This time of year is a time of increased pressure. God's major deadline for the year is coming up on the Day of Atonement(Sept 15-16), and anytime a deadline is set pressure increases as you get closer to the deadline. As the pressure increases it may also feel like time is slowing down and the days are moving slower. Pressure and time are very related.

We often view pressure as a bad thing but a little pressure is good. Pressure helps us to grow and mature by learning to r...

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We are currently in the 40 Days of Teshuva that lead up to the Day of Atonement(Sept 15-16). Teshuva means to turn or repent, and when we turn to God times of refreshing come from his presence. In God's presence there is fullness of joy and he gives us the power to enjoy the things he adds to our lives. 

Have you ever had a time when you were striving after some goal or thing you wanted only to find when you got it that it didn't live up to your expectations? God can give us the power to enjoy the things he adds to our lives. Ecclesiastes 5:19 says... when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability/power to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. 

I think there are two parts to this. First, we must make God our source of joy and contentment. Things on the outside such as money and stuff, aren't meant to be our source of joy and contentment, God is supposed to be that source. When he is our source then we ca...

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There is a place on the inside of us that can only be filled with God. Think of it like a missing piece of a puzzle and people go searching to fill that void with money, success, education, food, alcohol, drugs, sex, and even other people. Eventually these things can become gods and the thing that we seek the most. You could make more money, have a PHD, and relationships but as long as this piece is missing there will be a lack contentment and fulfillment. Once God has been restored to his right place he has no problem with adding money, success, and relationships to us but we must become content first because God is with us. 

An easy way to identify if this is happening is by looking for areas of life that make you want to pout, sulk, get frustrated, envious, etc? Here are some examples... Maybe you get upset because you want to make more money or have some thing(house, car, whatever) and haven't seen it yet. Or maybe you get upset because someone isn't living up...

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We are currently in the 40 Days of Teshuva that lead up to the Day of Atonement on Sept 15-16th. Teshuva is a Hebrew word that means to turn or repent. This is a time of year to turn or make corrections. In 2 Corinthians 3:18 it says that when we turn to the Lord and get face to face with him that he transforms us from one degree of glory to another. Turning to God even if it is a small adjustment back to him brings us into his presence... And in his presence there is fullness of joy, transformation, and refreshing. 

Acts 3:19-22 MSG says... Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. For the time being he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be.

As we turn to him there is grace and refreshing but ...

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Lately Bible verses about God being in the cloud keep jumping out at me. In the Old Testament God led the people through the wilderness with a cloud that was over the tabernacle by day and night. His cloud also contained his glory. When Moses was up on the mountain God appeared to him in the cloud. Jesus was taken up to heaven in the clouds and is coming back in the clouds. And in Leviticus 16 it says that on the Day of Atonement God would appear to the High Priest in the cloud above the ark of the covenant. 

The High Priest could only enter into the area with the ark of the covenant and the cloud one day per year... The Day of Atonement. And he had to take a lot of precautions otherwise he would die. But, Jesus tore the veil and we have access to God all the time now, including his presence in the cloud. In our culture we have a saying for someone who dreams a lot... "their head is in the clouds." 

Because of Jesus we have the opportunity to have our head in the...