Hang In There!

February 6, 2019 by Mark Eastman

It is hard to “Hang In There”. Holding on for dear life with the weight of the world on our shoulders. It’s lonely hanging there all by ourselves as our arms get more and more tired. We just want to let go. DON’T LET GO!

We forget or are unaware that we don’t have to do it alone. There are others around who will help us and who we can help (“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2). Not to mention God’s willingness to help carry the load (“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28).

Success isn’t the absence of failure, it’s the perseverance to continue moving forward in spite of it. Successful people fail consistently, over and over. A few examples are Walt Disney, JK Rowling and Steve King, all who were told that they couldn’t do what they ultimately did. They “hung in there”. Even Jesus had failures, i.e. when the people of His home town didn’t believe Him and took Him to a cliff at the edge of town with intentions of throwing Him over, Luke 4:14-30. Consequently Jesus did very few miracles in His home town. Do we put these same restrictions on miracles God would do for us?

Popularity is often how success is judged, but it’s a poor way to rate success. If we don’t feel popular or are passed over for a job we feel like failures. Rejection is hard to take, but Jesus was rejected. Just look at how His hometown treated Him. One of the tools in the Devils arsenal is rejection. If we get down and stay down we will never succeed.

Persistence is the key that unlocks the door to success so “Hang In There”!

How Do You Make Your Dream Become A Reality?

February 2, 2019 by Mark Eastman

It’s A Choice You Make…Or Not!

It doesn’t matter if you’re dreaming about building a new home, a successful business or a great life, you have to choose to make them a reality. The importance of intentionality to dreams is critical to the outcome.

This week I’ve been working on finalizing the proposal for my niece Hannah’s out of the box home. This is the dream house that is going to be built using salvaged grain bins and some conventional construction. We began discussing this project a year ago. Some will think that’s taking too long. It’s important to realize that dreams don’t magically become a reality overnight. Dream building is a process that requires time.

There are 5 things needed when choosing to turn a dream into a reality:

1^st you need to realize that it’s your responsibility. You’re responsible for your dreams becoming a reality. This doesn’t mean that crazy unrealistic dreams will happen (see needs 2 and 3). On the other hand too often we let our own limiting beliefs keep our dreams from becoming a reality. You are the only one who can control your own thoughts. Our thinking dictates our decisions and we are where we are because of those decisions…good or bad.

2^nd you need clarity of purpose. I believe our dreams are one of the ways God tells us what His plans are for our lives. If we believe what it says in Jeremiah 29:11, “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.” If our dreams are in alignment with God’s plans, then there is no reason they shouldn’t become a reality. God will move mountains to make our dreams real. It’s up to us to be ready to move ourselves.

3^rd you need guidance. Often when building dreams, we are going into unfamiliar territory. Whether it’s building your first home or starting a new business, you probably won’t have the experience or knowledge needed. Dream building can be a lot safer and more fun if you have an experienced guide. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t go climb a mountain with out a guide that had been there and done that.

4^th you need to act. A dream won’t just build itself, it requires action. This is one of the scariest things about turning dreams into reality. People generally approach action in one of two ways. Either they jump right in without thinking or they don’t do anything while over thinking it. Experienced guidance can help balance these opposing positions and help you to move forward with your dream while minimizing disasters. When faced with doing nothing or doing something you better choose to act if you ever want your dream to become a reality.

5^th you need to persist. I think this is the most important one. If you ever hope to get your dream built you will need persistence. There will be disappointments that will cause you to want to quit. There will be times when you are so tired you don’t think you can do one more thing. You can begin to convince yourself that it wasn’t real…it was just a dream. This is the point where most dreams die. Somehow successful people continue moving forward when others quit. Sometimes God see’s fit to give us a wakeup call.

As Hannah and I work together to build this project it will be the building of two dreams, both hers and mine. We will each take RESPONSIBILITY for our part. We will continue sorting things out and finding the CLARITY for the dream. We will accept and give GUIDANCE when and where needed. We will intentionally ACT to keep moving closer to the completion of those dreams. Above all we choose to PERSIST and never quit until our dreams become reality.

If you or someone you know needs help finding solutions for building dreams, contact us in the comment section below.

It’s Time To Rise and Shine and Enjoy New Beginnings

January 8, 2019 by Mark Eastman

I Can Only Imagine How Bright Things Will Be With God’s Light On Them

This Sunday was about new beginnings… It’s the beginning of Pastor Lee’s fifth year as a valuable part of our church family. It’s the beginning of Epiphany, the commemoration of the coming of the Magi, the first manifestation of Christ to the gentiles. It’s the beginning of a new year full of so many possibilities and opportunities “I Can Only Imagine” what wonderful things 2019 has in store.

The key to it being a great year is the attitude in which we choose to approach it. We can concentration on the negative empty part of the glass or focus on the positive water portion. To make this point Pastor Lee told a story about three men each carrying two sacks, one in front hanging around their neck and the other on their back. The Legend of Three Men and Their Sacks, https://nice-inspiration.blogspot.com/2018/12/an-old-legend-about-three-men-and-their-sacks.html

The first man carried the good things his family and friends had done in the sack on his back and in the front sack he had all of the bad things that had happened to him. Because the bad things were always in front of him they got all of his attention. This kept him from making much progress in life.

The second man had the good things he’d done in the front sack. This allowed him to see them and share them with others. The sack on his back had all of his mistakes. The weight of these was heavy and slowed him down.

The third man was walking much easier and making better progress. When asked about his sacks he answered, “The sack in front is great. There I keep all the positive thoughts I have about people, all the blessings I’ve experienced, all the great things other people have done for me. The weight isn’t a problem. The sack is like sails of a ship. It keeps me going forward. “The sack on my back is empty. There’s nothing in it. I cut a big hole in its bottom. In there I put all the bad things that I can think about myself or hear about others. They go in one end and out the other, so I’m not carrying around any extra weight at all.” This appears to me to be the best way to live.

The only way we’ll ever accomplish the things God as put us here to achieve is by asking for His guidance and persisting through difficulties. When researching for last week’s blog post, “Living Life Well Is All About Perspective” I came across a person that is a great example of persistence and perseverance. His name is Nick Vujicic, http://www.nickvujicic.com/. He was born with no arms or legs and has accomplishing amazing things. He’s a great inspiration. If he and God together can do the things they are, then what’s my excuse.

In Isaiah 60:1-6 it says that this Baby that the Magi went in search of is the light in the darkness. He is the Guiding Star in our a dark world.

It’s the beginning of the rest of a super great life and I’m seeking this Light to guide my path.

Living Life Well Is All About Perspective

January 5, 2019 by Mark Eastman

What Ever Your Situation – Attitude Makes All the Difference

Perspective is “a particular way of viewing things that depends on one’s experience and personality”. Our individual perspective effects every part of our lives. It’s up to us to decide how we are going to view things.

As a part of preparing for the new year, I reviewed the past one. In many aspects this past year was a dismal failure. Revenue was considerably less than our target. It was even less than the previous several years. We didn’t get anywhere near the blog traffic that we planned to. It would be easy to focus on those negative things and let them become my perspective.

At the same time there were several positive things that happened during the past year. While the financial numbers were down, we paid off more debt than any previous year. My goal was to write and post at least one solution each week and I did.

Years ago, I would have fixated on the negative and not seen the positive. This disappointment would have been the way I viewed things. This unproductive attitude would have been blocking my moving forward to bigger and better things. This was not any way to live life well.

At a point nine or ten years ago, I decided I was tired of living in this negative funk. There was no one specific thing that caused this shift, but rather a collection of small things. They consisted of reading, learning, journaling, praying and believing. Over those years I didn’t realize the difference that was happening but now looking back I can see and feel a major difference.

We have the power to choose what our attitude is going to be. With this power we can change our perspective. The 5^th Decision in The Traveler’s Gift is, “Today I Will Choose to be Happy”. In this Joyful Decision, Anne Frank says, “Our very lives are fashioned by our choice. First we make choices. Then our choices make us.”

I’m not saying that it’s some easy flip a switch kind of magic. It’s hard work, but worth it. If you fall down, you get back up. When you fall down the next time you get back up again. We’ve all seen kids learning to walk. They don’t try it once, fall down, and never try again. They’re persistence is what makes it happen. They keep trying over and over, one small step at a time, until they succeed. They don’t give up.

With it being the New Year many of the blogs and podcasts that I follow have focused on planning and goal setting. One of those was Ray Edwards interviewing Cliff Ravenscraft about how to make our resolutions stick. In the interview they talk about how we may not have control over the circumstances, but we always have control over how we will choose to respond or what actions we will take. To make this point they use Nick Vujicic as an example of perseverance. He was born with no arms or legs and has achieved and accomplished more things than most people. If you feel that you had a rough year and things didn’t go like you had planned, you need to quit whining and watch these videos.

If we keep moving forward and continue getting back up after we’re knocked down anything is possible…just ask Nick.

I will persist without exception.