How To Stop Intending And Start Doing

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We have all been there: We intended to accomplish a task or become something new but then days turned into weeks and weeks turned into years. No one wants to fall short on the calling on their life but somehow many people feel dissatisfied in how they are currently living. So how do you reach your goals? What do you need to do to find success? Today, I want to share with you five tips to shop intending and start doing!

Tip #1: Determine Priorities 

You have 168 hours in each week. Whether you are running for President, a missionary overseas, or the mother of two there are still a finite number of hours in your week. You must determine your priorities to know if you are accomplishing your goals. A fifty-year-old man, who spends a week on the beach, might be reaching his priority of finding rest and might be reaching on of his goals but if a mother of two toddlers is at the beach she might feel great but that might not line up with her true priorities. What does success look like for you at this point in your life? How do you know you are stewarding those 168 hours well? Take some time right now to write down your top priorities in life and see how your time is lining up with those goals.

Tip #2: Create Laws

How do you continue to move forward with your goals, when you live such a busy lifestyle? I believe the key is creating laws for yourself and sticking to them, even when it’s a hard call. Laws, like railroad tracks, can keep you on task to reaching your goals. For instance, you might create the law of a weekly date night or weekly church attendance. Life will get busy, and you may want to break away from your laws but when you create these laws, they will help you continue down the path to success. Are there any laws you are currently living by? Have you taken the time to write them out so that you can hold yourself accountable? Take time today to lay down the tracks that will guild you for the years to come.

Tip #3: Establish a Rhythm of Work. 

In order to stop intending and start doing you need to establish a healthy rhythm of work. If you jump in the deep end, trying to reach all of your goals all at once, you might drown. Instead of sitting down today to write a book from start to finish, how about establishing a rhythm of writing where you try to write a chapter each month for the next year. After you have determined your priorities and laws, you will need to establish the rhythm to how you are going to get the work done. Find that healthy balance between pushing yourself and long-term sustainability. Ask yourself, “What do I need to cut from my life in order to create a more healthy rhythm to my week?”

Tip #4: Find Balance in the Big Picture. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Naturally, in life there are seasons. For most people, December is a very busy season and you might not take many big steps in reaching your goals. Keep in mind the big picture of your life and the seasons that you will be going through. Make sure you are finding balance in the big picture. There are days when you work is demanding and you may need to cut out hobbies, but if work is always getting in the way of hobbies then you might not have a healthy balance. Remember that life is a marathon, and you will need to push yourself to get to that goal. There might be times of walking and times of running but continue moving in the right direction. 

Tip #5: Evaluate

Evaluation is key to the important things in life. When was the last time that you seriously evaluated why you are doing what you are doing? When have you sat down to even look at your intentions? Maybe today, the best thing you can do is stop reading blogs on the internet and sit down with a blank piece of paper or a friend at the coffee shop.

Don’t wait until the new year to resolve to reach your goals. Set aside time today to write out your priorities, create laws, establish a rhythm, find balance, and evaluate!

3 Common Mistakes KidMin Make (And How to Avoid Them)

3 Common Mistakes

Hopefully, you are not the same caliber leader you were last year. And hopefully, you are not making the same mistakes today that you made yesterday. At least a dozen times I have heard Jim Wideman say, “Successful leaders make mistakes, and then they learn from those mistakes and keep going.” Today I want to share with you three common mistakes kidmin leaders make and how to avoid them.

1. Self-Reliance

Far too many KidMin leaders are relying on the strengths that God gave them instead of the God who gave them those strengths. Psalm 127:1 clearly states, “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” God has also blessed you with a team who He has given specific and intentional gifts. Are you equipping those under your leadership to use their talents for God’s kingdom? If you are making the mistake of self-reliance, take a step in the right direction today by repenting and asking both God and your team for their forgiveness.

2. Not Allowing Outside Voices

One of the greatest catalysts for taking your next step in leadership is allowing someone to speak truth into your life. Find someone further down the road than you and invite them into your life. Ask specific questions that allow the mentor to address personal character issues as well as areas of failure that you might not see. Also, learn from coaches or people who you might not have a relationship with by reading their books and blogs. Learn from others successes as well as their failures. If a coach gives you personal access to them, ask great questions and apply the wisdom they shared with you. There are also local kidmin leaders who you can learn from if you allow the opportunity. If you are not allowing outside voices into your life, take a step in the right direction today by researching a mentoring group or inviting someone to speak truth into your life.

3. Failure To Prioritizing

Kids ministry is never really finished. There are always more prayers to be prayed, more conversations to have, and more people to evangelize. The sad truth is that while many kidmin leaders are busy doing work, very few are getting the important work done. With 168 hours in the week, you need to know and live by your priorities. If God is truly number one, is this reflected in your time and finances? If your family truly comes before your ministry, is this demonstrated in your kid’s attitude towards your job? If you are failing to prioritize, take a step in the right direction today by physically writing out your priorities and creating an action plan to keep them in the right order.

What Mistakes Do You See? 

I have outlined 3 common mistakes KidMin make and how to avoid them. What mistakes would you add to this post and how do you avoid them? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!